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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1995)
Professor: inequality, racism remain today By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter The United States is at a social crossroads, and the people making decisions are making them based on fear and not living up to the example set by Martin Luther King Jr. That message was delivered by Venita Kel ley at a Monday program celebrating King ’ s birthday. Kelley is an assistant professor of African American and African studies. “Dr. King was not afraid to fail,” Kelley told more than 100 people at the Nebraska Union. “He understood that only in the trying could the triumph be had.” Kelley said society had failed King’s legacy by adopting a collective stance of uninformed neutrality. Meanwhile, the naysayers remain active and those with a vision of change take the hits alone, she said. “Our children are inheriting a legacy of despair, selfishness and short-sightedness,” she said. By accepting that choice, Kelley questioned whether society had accepted the assassina tion of King and his legacy. “(King) defined himself,” Kelley said. “He defined what he could do and what he would not do. He was murdered for trying to show that he cared.” Kdlley said it was important to remember that the society King struggled against — one that saw African-American people as “inhu man beasts of burden” — existed only 30 years ago. “You have to work hard to build that kind of unjust society,” Kelley said. “So we have to work even harder to build a society that is just.” Today’s society has yet to confront its op pressive nature, she said, and its people are still being exploited. Inequality and racism still exists in employ ment, education, housing and health care, she said. “Truly we have only begun to strip off the many years of oppression that have crippled this nation,” Kelley said. “Many people feel that we have done all we can, or all we should do (toward achieving equality),” she said. “But we have not sue ceeded ... and the time is over to rest.” UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier, who also spoke at the program, said that King was one of the great risk takers, and that he also was a champion. Spanier said affirmative action and equal opportunity were two of the fundamental caUses King championed. Today, many feel those are causes for which to apologize, he said. “When the question comes up, ‘Have we gone too far?’ the answer is obvious,” Spanier said. “No, we haven’t gone too far. In fact, we have only just begun.” Given the nationwide celebration of King’s birthday, Kelle^ said it was obvious that soci ety did not believe the dream was dead. 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Modem suodes Open Daily 11:00am-7:Q0pm 476-8602, Helo available for filins returns April tax crunch avoidablewith early, electronic filing By Erin Schulte Staff fteporter The annual crunch at the post of fice to get income-tax returns in by the April deadline can be avoided this year by students who know the basics of filing a tax return. Most students have an easy time filing tax returns because they can claim low-income and dependent sta tus. However, tax filing is a skill that seldom is taught. Elva Vollertsen, owner of Aim Diversified, an income-tax and book keeping service, said the first step was to pick up the proper tax form at a post office. Some banks also dis tribute tax forms, Vollertsen said. Vollertsen said most students should use a 1040EZ or 1040A form. The 1040EZ form is for those who earn less than $50,000 per year, Vollertsen said. Students should use their perma nent addresses on tax returns during their college years because mailing the IRS a change-of-address form every year is a hassle, Vollertsen said. Vollertsen also said students should be sure the social security number they used on their returns was the same as on their social secu rity cards. One’s social security num ber is the most important identifying factor, and a mistake would delay a return, Vollertsen said. Unmarried students with no chil dren should claim single status, Vollertsen said. Vollertsen said there was good news for married students this year. A new tax law offers an eamed-in come credit, such as a tax cut or extra refund money, to married couples overage 25,whoeam less than $9,000 a year or less than $25,296 if they have children, Vollertsen said. W-2 forms are required to file a tax return. A W-2 form is a report from employers and banks of a person’s earned and interest income. Most W-2 forms are mailed in Janu ary. According to the IRS tax informa tion booklet, people who have not received a W-2 form from employers by Jan. 31 should call the employers and ask for one. Taxpayers are re sponsible to report estimated earn ings even if a W-2 form is not re ceived. A workbook accompanying tax forms describes in detail how to pre pare a tax return. Since the traditional deadline of April 15 falls on a Saturday this year, returns must be postmarked by April 17. In case of a delay in filing their taxes, people should call the IRS and request an extension, according to the booklet. The IRS charges 5 per cent interest for every month past the April deadline. Some students may choose to have their taxes filed electronically by a tax preparer. Leif Anderson, a tax preparer for H & R Block, said gift certificates were issued to all gradu ates of Lincoln high schools last year for a free tax-preparation and elec tronic-return service. An electronic return enables cus tomers to receive their tax returns immediately, instead of waiting the usual 21 to 40 days. A tax consulta tion and electronic return usually cost around $40, Anderson said. The main advantage to having taxes prepared by a tax service is the peace of mind of knowing there are no errors, Anderson said. The IRS booklet also recommends electronic filing to achieve accuracy and ac knowledgment that the return has been received. New software called 1040PC has hit the market this year to help out with filing income-tax returns, ac cording to Edward Daemon, a public affairs officer for the IRS. The pro gram is available from several com panies, he said. Daemon said the new program was easier for the IRS to process, so it sped up the refund process and reduced mistakes by up to 50 percent. Free help for tax filing is available from IRS hot lines, which give pre recorded answers to several com monly asked questions. The IRS of fice at 15th and O streets in Lincoln also is open to the public for free help with tax filing. I bex on the airwaves with JNPR I By Kathryn A. Ratliff | Staff Reporter For college students, this week the subject is sex. National Public Radio is airing a series through Jan. 22 that examines issues college students must face when entering into a sexual relation ship. According to Quincey Johnson, spokesman for NPR, “The Subject is Sex” will focus on religion and sex, sex in the work place, sexual harass ment, homosexuality, gender rela tions and the changing attitudes soci ety has toward sex. Johnson said the series would be a full exploration and analysis of sev eral important issues. “We hope the series will allow people to think more thoughtfully about sex and to understand different people’s perspectives,” Johnson said. Also among these important is sues are sexually transmitted diseases and safe sex, fear of the AIDS virus, unplanned pregnancy, coercive sex and abusive relationships, said Pat Tetreault, sexuality education coor dinator of the University Health Cen ter. Tetreault said the way partners respected and felt about one another was a concern, but men and women often had different expectations con cerning sexuality when entering a relationship, she said. Psychology professor Richard Dienstbier agreed. “Males are more accepting of sexual expression independent of emotional relationships,” Dienstbier said. “And women are less so.” Although a double standard exists regarding society’s acceptance of the “Television suggests that everyone is having sex and enjoying it. We have unrealistic expectations as to how sexuality affects our lives. ” ■ RICHARD DIENSTBIER psychology professor sexual expression of males and fe males, Dienstbier said, women’s atti tudes and behavior are becoming more expressive, and so are society’s lines of communication regarding sex. “Our society has shifted to being more open in relationships,” Tetreault said. “There’s more social support for talking about the issues.” The media have played an impor tant role in bringing sex to the fore front of society’s attention and in creasing awareness. And awareness has changed the way people think about sexual relationships, Tetreault said. More awareness about HIV and AIDS, for example, has increased people’s effort at reducing risk, she said. But some continue to live higher risk lifestyles. “College students are notoriously uncapeful,” Dienstbier said. “They often have an ‘away from the rest of the world’ mentality and so feel pro tected.” Johnson said, however, that some college students were concerned about the negative images of sex in the media. “The media tend to portray sex as recreation, not as an important, emo tional activity,” Johnson said. Dienstbier said that portrayal helped contribute to the mixed mes sages college students have about their sexuality. Young people are confused about their sexual values, he said, because they are tom be tween different standards and back grounds. “Television suggests that every one is having sex and enjoying it,” Dienstbier said. “We have-unrealis tic expectations as to how sexuality affects our lives.” This confusion can lead to feel ings of guilt and unsafe sex, he said. Tetreault said every issue stemmed from relationships, and making well informed, caring decisions based on respect. Dienstbier said, “It’s important not to make sexual decisions in a value vacuum. Sexual values should match other life values.” Students should remember, he said, that sexual involvements lead to emotional involvements, and hav ing an emotional commitment to a person before becoming sexually ac tive helps decrease emotional prob lems. “The Subject is Sex” will air on NPR’s news magazines “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition ” NPR wants college students to lis ten to the program and submit com mentary on the sexual issues they face.