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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1995)
Opinion Wednesday, January 18,1995 Page 4 Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln Jeff Zeleny..Editor, 472-1766 Jeff Robb.....Managing Editor Matt Woody...Opinion Page Editor DeDra Janssen.....Associate News Editor Rainbow Rowell...Arts & Entertainment Editor James Mehsling..Cartoonist Chris Hain.. .Senior Reporter Regent remake Appointing NU Board not the solution They spout off. They make people angry. They fight among themselves. The NU Board of Regents is—and has always been—guilty ^_ of tb cse and many more negative attributes. But that is certainly no reason to change the elected board to a governor-appointed one. Gov. Nelson’s idea of appoint ing the regents may sound good initially, but it is unlikely that his proposal will yield a better group of people to run the state’s uni ver I sity system. Ever since Chancellor Graham Spanier took over the head post at the University of Nebraska-Lin coln, he has faced much criticism, most of it from one source: Regent Robert Alien of Hastings. > -•> James Mehsling/DN Allen’s voice and been loud, and sometimes, seemingly cease less. Just last month, Allen asked NU President Dennis Smith to terminate Spanier. Robert Allen is seen by many as a the Regents’ loose cannon, a man who will speak his mind with little regard to what he is actually saying or the consequences of such words. Even thoughNelson saidhis proposal “was not related to any one incident,” it makes us wonder. It would be sad to think that Gov. Nelson would take the power of the ballot away from the voters of Nebraska merely because some people are outspoken about views that may differ from his. People should be wary whenapolitician suggests givinghimself more power. Certainly, Ben Nelson is an honorable man, and his motives most likely are indeed pure. Regardless, voters need more, not less, control over their gov ernment representatives. An appointed Board of Regents falls on the wrong side of that equation. And even if Nelson were to have his way, and the Legislature would approve it, this would not necessarily bode well for Nebras kans. The appointing of regents would undoubtedly become highly politicized. The state could end up with Nelson lackeys running the board. Subsequent governors could re-form the regent makeup to mirror their ideologies. Appointment processes have long been associated with cronyism, back-room deal-making and scandal. Elections are perhaps the American system’s best means of accountability. Appointing government officials undermines that accountability. A constitutional amendment to enact Nelson’s proposal was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings. The Daily Nebraskan urges state senators to not pass this legislation. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1995. Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editori als do notnecessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opin ion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to su pervise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the edito rial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its students. Letter policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor from all readers and interested others. Letters will be selected for publication on the basis of clarity, originality, timeliness andspace available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all mate rial submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit material as guest opinions. The editor decides whether material should run as a guest opinion. Letters and guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re turned. Anonymous submissions will not be pub lished. Letters should included the author’s name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Requests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. m wf\ if FoR 'feoK\S ■■■■■-. ■ readers say: iVos Send your brief Nebraskan, Nebraska Union, 1 Lincoln, Neb. 68588. 0 10) 472-1761. Le t signed and hu puuud number for verificaticn. PaulKoester In response to Paul Koester’s letter in the Daily Nebraskan (Jan. 13): Gee, I bet you’re fun at parties. Lighten up! Craig Patak junior broadcasting Better approach In response to Ezekiel Bahar’s letter (Jan. 16): The sacrifices that you and your family have made are commend able, as you have used those experiences to better yourself and your life. But it seems that an important lesson was missed in your education. You should be proud and happy of your achievements, but rather you use your energies to unreason ably criticize others. First, it is good to expect others to act above and beyond the norm, as you and your family have done, but it is unwise to demand it. Second, because people do not succumb to your wishes, you degrade them with name-calling. Someone else could look at your comments, say that you are insensitive and write a letter calling you an idiot, etc., but what would that solve? Anger as a response to anger only causes more anger. In any case, we certainly expect a more enlightened view from an university professor, but we cannot demand it. We can only hope for more appropriate and compassion ate behavior in the future. Please remember we all come from different backgrounds. Thank you. Adam Cederlind senior Russian Pro-prevention This letter is in response to Sara E.Schlife’s letter to the editor on Jan. 16. Several times I have been asked what position I take regarding abortion. My response is usually non-committal — not because I don’t have strong convictions, but because I don’t believe in either of the current movements aimed at abortion rights. No one can argue the fact that my womb is part of my body. However, if a baby has a separate blood type and its own heartbeat, is it really part of my body? I am not arguing for the right to choose abortion. I believe that people, both pro-life and pro-abortion, have focused too far from the real point: prevention of unwanted children! Planned Parenthood successfully provides the services for preven tion! So while Sara is out on the street comer educating the public about what abortion does to babies, maybe she should begin to think about how to educate people before they have arrived at this difficult choice. Just call me pro-prevention! Polly Ann Najarian graduate student agricultural meteorology Bret Gottshall/DN Dads responsible, too I am writing in response to Michael Justice’s column “Time to eliminate free lunches” (Jan. 16). It amazes me that we are attacking the welfare system in hopes of saving taxpayer money! If you want to save taxpayer money, my suggestion is to attack the programs that end human life and destroy human dignity (for example, the military). Justice implies mothers sit at home and watch television all day. What right has Justice to lump all mothers into this category? Justice doesn’t once mention the man’s obligation to his children. He writes as though women get babies the same way they get headaches —they just happen! My solution to the welfare problem is to make every parent (not just women) responsible for half of everything a child needs. Then we could switch our anger to both parents if a child’s needs were not being met. Once fathers take care of their responsibility, this welfare di lemma will be a thing of the past. Jeanne Stolzer senior family science Lighten up I sincerely hope his highness Paul Koester will forgive us commoners celebrating our school’s first national championship in 23 years. How silly of us to enjoy a sport and a victory when so much injustice is going on in this world that we can stop by simply not watching football. His holiness Koester has shown me the light! My suggestion to King Paul is to get off his high horse and start working toward a solution for the many problems he trumpets. By the way, go Big Red! Scott Campbell freshman broadcasting