Opinion
Tuesday, February 21,1995 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
Life lessons
Multicultural training benefits officers
Multicultural ism has become a buzzword.
It is uttered often, but it is acted upon less.
Cultural awareness classes have been implemented in schools of
every level—it is only fitting that they also were implemented into the
curriculum at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in
Grand Island.
For two days last week, the Daily Nebraskan observed how law
enforcement officers were trained. It is obvious through watching
classes and exercises that times have changed in the way officers are
trained.
But have classes changed enough to keep up with the times?
Police officer candidates must take 516 hours of classes. It is
unfortunate that the majority of these hours focus on legal aspects,
arrest procedures and investigation. Only 13 hours are specifically
targeted at cultural awareness.
Learning to understand those who speak a different language
should be a topic discussed on a daily basis. It should hold just as high
- a priority as learning various police techniques.
Butthe law-enforcement center should be commended formaking
initial strides. Just months ago, only two hours were devoted to
cultural awareness.
Hopefully the 13 hours will make future officers aware of what is
out there in the changing demographical field. After all, that is where
the real training begins — out with all people of Nebraska.
Pricey puff
Suit against tobacco giants unfounded
The cost of a smoke could soon go up dramatically.
The physical toll of cigarette smoking already is high, and the
financial burden could jump, thanks to a federal judge.
A Friday ruling by the U.S. District Judge Okla Jones II in New
Orleans cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit against tobacco
companies that could potentially include millions of plaintiffs—“all
nicotine dependents persons and their families.”
Anti-smoking advocates are reveling about what may happen. A
lawsuit with that many plaintiffs could be funded well enough to play
on an even field with the tobacco giants, who wield large amounts of
both money and influence.
For that very reason, it would be nice to see the tobacco industry
brought down. The cost of cigarettes would surely go up, but that
doesn’t really matter.
It is ludicrous that the industry still claims that there is no proof that
nicotine is addictive or that cigarettes cause cancer.
But suing for damages because people became ill after years of
smoking is even more ridiculous, and unfortunately a likely scenario
in ourever-more-litigious society.
It seems that we will sue anybody for just about anything nowadays.
The Daily Nebraskan has trouble believing that anyone could think
inhaling hot, dirty smoke over and over would not have any affect on
the lungs.
Sure nicotine is addictive, and many have been ensnared in the
tobacco companies’ web, but let us not forget that nicotine is, after all,
a drug. And people make the choice of whether to use that drug.
When they do smoke, they assume responsibility for what happens
to them and give up any c laim they may have that cigarette companies
are liable.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the Spring 1995. Daily
Nebraskan. Policy is set fay the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editori
als do notnecessarityreflectthe views
of the university, its employees, the
students or the NU BoardofRegents.
Editorial columns represent the opin
ion of the author. The regents publish
tire 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 hand* of its students.
Utter policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the
editor from all readers and interested others. Letters
will be selected forpublication on the basis of clarity,
originality, timeliness and space available. The Doily
Nebraskan retains therighttoedit 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 die 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.
Suhmitmaterial to the Daily Nebraskan. 34 Nebraska
Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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Daily
Nebraskan
readers say:
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Send your brief letters to:
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Lincoln, Neb. 68588. Or fax
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Lincoln
unemployment
The otherwise-informative
article “Lincoln’s unemployment
stats misleading ...” (Feb. 14)
Tnissed the major reasons why our
low unemployment rate is decep
tive.
Usually people associate low
unemployment with rapid growth
in the demand for labor, so they
think that it should be easy for
someone like a college graduate to
find a good job in Lincoln. But
Lincoln’s employment growth has
not been extraordinary.
Lincoln is exceptional in that it
has a high proportion of employ
ment in government, education,
health, finance and other technical
services. These sectors are rela
tively stable, so there are few
layoffs; they recruit their highly
educated employees internationally
so the workers already have a job
when they arrive in Lincoln, and
their workers tend to change jobs
infrequently.
In addition, Lincoln s labor
force entrants are relatively well
educated, and these mostly young
people are relatively mobile. When
job prospects appear dim here, they
leave the state rather than enter the
ranks of the unemployed.
These are the unique character
istics of Lincoln that keep its
unemployment rate deceptively
low. Ironically, if Lincoln is
successful in its efforts to attract
more industry, it will drive up its
unemployment rate.
Craig R. MacPhee
professor and chair
economics
Jamie Karl
I agree with the the statement
“men have it bad, too.” After all,
men are often represented by
people like Jamie Karl. Fortu
nately, the majority of men I know
disagree with Karl’s attempt to
analyze gender relations.
In his Feb. 16 commentary, he
claims, “that one sex can do a
particular job better than another.”
Such archaic thinking limits and
oppresses both men and women.
Imagine applying for a job at a
day care and being told that you’re
biologically incapable of caring for
children. In Karl’s particular case,
this may be true, but most likely
because he’s intellectually stunted,
not because he’s a man.
I’d also like to comment on
Karl’s so-called “gender war,”
which is not and never has been
between men and women. The
battle is between people who
acknowledge the need to move
beyond their expected gender roles
in order to accommodate an ever
changing world, and those who
resist such change.
I think that men and women
have come a long way. It’s Jamie
Karl who has a long way to go,
baby!
Melissa A. Borman
senior
art
BretGottschall/DN
Stories not‘filthy’
Reading about myself (“Phone
tales from the Markside,” Feb. 19)
and my Storyline and posing for the
photo was fUn and allr but 1 resent
the characterization of my stories,
ANY of my stories, as “filthy.”
Whose opinion does this
represent anyway? Certainly not
my own, nor that .of anyone 1 know.
I hope no one is taken in by
writer Hambrecht’s editorializing
on this subject.
Mark Baldridge
Lincoln
UNL Housing
I wonder if anyone at University
Housing has ever taken a logic
class. I doubt it. Let’s look at their
logic concerning the recently
implemented rule banning the use
of candles and incense in the
residence halls.
At the beginning of this school
year, UNL Housing announced that
it had decided to ban the use of
candles and incense for reasons of
fire safety. This was best illustrated
last spring when a student in Abel
Hall left a candle burning, which
subsequently caused a fire.
When the sprinklers in this
person’s room went off, every floor
in Abel got wet, including the
basement.
Now housing has decided to
alter the rules a little. Candles can
be burned for special occasions, but
only if a housing official, such as a
resident assistant or a residence
director, is supervising it.
By making this rule, housing is
saying, in effect, “Housing employ
ees are more responsible than die
average resident.” I’ll ignore the
more insulting aspects of that for
the time being and grant them the
claim.
This is the problem: The person
who started the fire in Abel was a
student assistant.
Basically, there are two groups
of people, A and B. A starts a fire;
B loses the privilege to use candles.
A can still bum candles in his or
her room, because A is a housing
employee. They will be there to
supervise themselves.
Unless, of course, being more
responsible than the average
resident, they decide to light a
candle, then leave for several
hours.
Michael C. Valerien
senior
philosophy
