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.
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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