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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1995)
Opinion Thursday, January 26,1995 Page 4 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln JeffZeleny. 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' Get tough Lowering legal limit not proper solution Eight convictions, one death and countless court appearances later, Michael Fogerty was sent to jail again Wednesday for driving drunk. This time, the Lincoln man will spend at least 4 1/2 years in prison. Fogerty has been in the news for years. His name has become associated with drunken driving and the problems with such convictions. Stiffer sentences could have prevented his arrests from multiply ing. If tougher laws against habitual criminals were on the state books, his latest run-in wouldn’t be a second offense. There has been—and is bound to be more—talk about drunken driving during this year’s legislative session. A bill, proposed by Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln, is leading the stack of proposals to curb drunken driving. Crosby’s proposal, LB 150, seeks to lower the legal blood alcohol content level from. 10 to .08. Initially, this proposal sounds good. Why not do everything we can to eliminate drunk driving, right? Next to prohibition, tougher sentences and more convictions are the only two effective methods to curb drunken driving. Lowering the legal limit wouldn’t have worked in Fogerty’s case. We need to turn our attention to getting repeat offenders off the road and keeping them off. Clear view Ito makes right decision about cameras Let them have their Juice. This was, in essence, what California Superior Court Judge Lance Ito ruled Wednesday, concluding that the live television broadcast of O. J. Simpson’s highly publicized double-murder trial should continue. The issue came into question Tuesday when an alternate juror’s face was broadcast, accidentally was caught by a CourtT V camera. After that happened, Ito ordered a recess and said he would consider ending the coverage and return with a ruling the next day. Facing the prospect that its opening statement might not be broadcast, defense lawyers argued before Ito that, out of fairness,. he must let the broadcasts continue in light of the prosecution’s hours-long opening statement, which characterized Simpson as a man who killed his wife because she no longer wanted him. Prosecutors said ending the coverage was fine with them, that the trial should be aimed through the courtroom at the jury and not through the media at a TV audience. But the legal battles already have been taking place for months in front of the cameras, and this case is very much for the public. As long as the broadcast doesn’t interfere with Simpson’s right to a fair trial, they should continue. Ito recognized that and appropriately weighed in the technical blunder. He made the correct ruling. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1995. Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board Editori alsdo notnecessarilyrefiectthe views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU BoardofRegents. Editorial columns represent die opin ion of die 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 bythe regents, responsibility for the edto ri al 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 wilt be selected forpubli cation on the basis ofclarity, originality, timeliness and space available. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject all material submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit ma terial 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 die Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned 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 Submitmaterial to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. VAE4-4S/lKlfir<g|l<WV' kIebr^rmI Mb VMM TME mx. 1 \S \T (\NMt-XOU I cm EVEN TELE VWKT \T IS. WHKT I CRKP. I Stf Cur I THE FOViblM^, I Daily Nebraskan readers say: --M Send your brief letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln, Neb. 68588. Or fax to: (402) 472-1761. Utters must be signed and include a phone number for verification. Women’s basketball I am writing as a duate of UNL to express my ippointment in the lack of student support for the women’s basketball team. It seems like game in and game out, there is a very small percentage of students attending the home games. How about showing pride and support for all athletic teams at UNL? It would surely help the team. I hope to see more of you at the games. Donald Cunningham Lincoln Paternalism ; In response to the editorial entitled “Closed Minds” (Jan. 24), I wonder if this is a reference to the mental limitations of the DN editorial staff? I find it interesting that you attempt to associate a poorly written and researched newspaper article in The Lincoln Star, and the responses it aroused, to a conspiracy by the opponents of multiculturalism. The Daily Nebraskan used stereotyping, generalizations and name-calling to defend multiculturalism. I thought that terminating such behavior was a goal of multiculturalism, not a tactic. The editorial stated that “when people hear ‘multicultural’ they immediately get scared. This comes from ignorance.” What I will comment on is the Daily Nebraskan’s paternalistic attitude — paternalism being defined as providing for a person’s needs, without giving them respon sibility. Paternalism, when displayed by a newspaper, is despicable. Accord ing to author Sissila Bok, the most dangerous form of deceit is the desire to advance the public good, to engage in paternalism for a perceived benefit to the community at large. The paternalistic assump tion of nobility, good breeding and superiority by those making these decisions also carries a great danger; it risks turning to contempt toward those to which you feel inferior and incapable of deciding issues for themselves. Your paternalistic attitude has blinded you to your own biases, and you take away the right of students to make their own decisions concerning their curriculum, culture and beliefs. Randy Griffin UNO graduate student public administration Critics Surprisingly enough, the only article in the Daily Nebraskan that has motivated me to respond is that by a parasitic critic who has knocked The Stone Roses’ latest release, “Second Coming” (Jan. 24). Critics make me ill. The whole notion of putting down the creativ ity, ingenuity and innovation of those with the courage to express themselves is pure cowardice. It is even worse when it becomes evident that the reviewer lacks knowledge of the bands being attacked and attempts to label artists outside of their own context. I suppose we are doomed to being exposed to critical leeches that wouldn’t survive without powerless host organisms, but as readers, we deserve better than opinionated drivel by writers who don’t understand the vibe or the spirit within the art that they are criticizing. Nick Myers senior Teachers College Big Red fans Congratulations, Comhuskers, for the great football season and winning the national champion ship!! I have always been very proud to say I am a Comhusker and defend our state all the time. Not only are the players good athletes, but good students as well. Tom Osborne gets nothing but praise for his great program. My husband and I are full-time RVers and are both natives of Trenton, Nebraska. We traveled through Canada and Alaska last summer and were in Haines, Alaska, when Nebraska played West Virginia. We couldn’t get any TV recep tion in the campgrounds, so we drove* into Haines, parked our pickup on a hill and watched the game on our little 5-inch AC/DC television that we plugged into the cigarette lighter. We were so excited to be watching the game, even though it was in our pickup. We didn’t leave until it was over. When we stop RVing, we plan to come back to Nebraska to live and, now and again, come to Lincoln and watch a game in person. Joanne and Stan Duckworth Livingston, Texas Issue Forum Every Wednesday, the reader response section of the Daily Nebraskan will become a forum for one particular issue or current event. Readers’ submissions should be short, so as many letters as possible may be printed. Next week’s topic: The O.J. Simpson case
