Opinion
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
Bad call
Government should stay out of strike .
Seven and a half months and counting.
The major-league baseball strike continues to drag on. Appar
ently someone wants it to end, because now the matter has been
taken to a new playing field: The court system.
It’s a full count. The baseball season is Set to start in five davs,
J 7 -I
with replacement players if necessary. The owners aren’t showing j
any signs of compromise and neither are the players, who will be- !
gin to feel the effect of the strike on their wallets.
So the National Labor Relations Board is bringing in a pinch- /
hitter, asking U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor to issue an in
junction that would bring back the old agreement between the own
ers and the players.
But such a court order will not bring the two sides any closer to ,
resolving the problems at the heart of the dispute. ^ !
And there is a good chance that the owners will impose a lockout" j
on the players. The owners are playing hardball; they want a new
agreement. * j
But the one inescapable truth is that neither side is willing to
budge. Both are rigidly set in their demands.
The Daily Nebraskan wants the government to stay out, for the
good of the game. Any agreement the two sides might reach only
after the government’s strong-arming probably won’t last long.
Until all sides are serious and willing to resolve the dispute, the
strike should continue.
Deathly dumb
Protest of dance performance hateful
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus has been littered
with hate this week.
A Kansas church has distributed fliers protesting tonight’s Bill
T. Jones/Amie Zane Dance Company performance at the Lied Cen
ter for Performing Arts. Jones founded the dance company with his
homosexual companion, Amie Zane, who died of AIDS. Jones is
HIV-positive.
The fliers, released by Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church, reek
with hate. They feature a picture of Jones with a triangle and the
number 666 placed on his forehead. “Filthy Face of Fag Evil,” the
flier screams. Below Jones’ chin is a picture of Herbie Huskerwith
“AIDS” emblazoned on his hat and “FAGS” on his overalls.
Tonight, the church will deliver its hate in person, protesting at
the Lied Center an hour before the show.
The protestors, lead by Pastor Fred W. Phelps, have every right
to express their anger about and disgust of homosexuality.
That doesn’t make their hateful message right or safe. And it
doesn’t mean people should listen.
Like the Christians who blamed the Black Plague on the Jews,
Phelps wrongfully suggests that AIDS is an evil disease delivered .
from God to punish homosexuals.
But AIDS is a disease, not a deliverance. Viruses don’t discrimi
nate between good and evil.
Phelps claims he is trying to save homosexuals. He seems to be
tiying to find a cure for homosexuality, when instead we should be
finding a cure for AIDS.
Phelps calls tonight’s performance dangerous. But the most dan
gerous thing at the Lied Center tonight will be Phelps and his con
tagious hate.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the Spring 1995. Daily
Nebraskan. Policy is set by the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editori
alsdonotnecessarily reflect the views
of the university, its employees, the
students or the NU BoardofRegents.
Editorial columns represent the opin
ionofthe 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 die 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 and space available. The Daily
Nebraskan retains therighttoedit orreject all material
submitted Readers also ate welcome to submit ma
terial as guest opinions. The editor decides whether
material should nip as a guest opinion. Letters and
guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the
property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be
retiimed Anonymous submissions will not be pub
lished Letters should included die author’s name,
year in school, major and group affiliation, if any.
Requests to withhold names will not be granted
Submit material to the Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska
Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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. readers
Lincoln High
Lincoln High celebrates its
diversity. It proudly proclaims so
when it underwrites programming
on Nebraska Public Radio. Just like
UNL.
Like any large high school, it has
a wide diversity of students whom it
serves uncommonly well. Just like
UNL tries to do in its well
intentioned and occasionally ham
handed way. Lincoln High has
outstanding programs in the arts and
has as many wins and losses on its
playing fields as other schools. So
does UNL.
Lincoln High also has uncom
monly good academic standards and
a host of bright-as-a-button high
profile scholarship winners. Sadly,
they’re often the ones who get swept
out of state as brains are drained
from the Comhusker State.
Should unwed teen-age mothers
be forced to drop out of school?
Unshaven legs may not be
everyone’s cup of tea, but have you
ridden a bus in Europe lately? Some
people do things differently.
Lastly, what’s a rugged, clean
shaven, macho brute doing reading
. Seventeen magazine?. Sounds to me.
like someone has a lot of time on his
hands that might be better served
studying.
And to tell the truth,.I always .
thought Seventeen was a, well,
“girl’s” magazine. Might this augur
for a wider perspective vis a vis
gender roles and inclusivity? Maybe
there is a light at the end of the
tunnel after all.
James Hejduk
associate professor
music
Adoption
I have had enough of the news
. reports of overcrowded orphanages
and foster homes when there is a
large population of ready and
•willing parents to take these children
and give them just what they want
and need: a loving and stable home
environment. •
Who better to teach a child about
love than a couple so committed to
each other to risk ridicuie and
alienation to be with each other?
Olivia Thoene
sophomore
wildlife management
BretGottschall/DN
First Amendment
In response to the editorial
“Stifled Liberty” (March 27): I am
shocked at the middle-of-the-road
stand the Daily Nebraskan has taken
on this issue.
First of all, Gerhard Lauck was
arrested for Committing a crime, not
just a random comment or letter. He
was purposely spreading propa
, ganda, which is against the law in
-•Germany.
Second, he was arrested outside
of U.S. soil, so I see no reason to try
to uphold his American rights and
freedoms.
Third, I understand why the
Daily Nebraskan says freedom of
speech should be protected, but let’s
use some common sense here. The
ideas Lauck is promoting led to a
World War and the killing of
millions of innocent people.
Lauck isn’t just exercising
freedom of speech. He is promoting
a dangerous and deadly ideal that
needs to be stopped.
The Daily Nebraskan needs to
realize that while this conduct is OK
in the United States, it is a serious
offense in Germany, and I’m sure
you could find plenty of support for
his arrest in this country as well.
And I do believe that in this case,
Lauck’s liberty should be stifled
wherever the crime is being commit
ted.
Maybe a quick look into the
history books by the Daily Nebras
kan staff will show what toleration
of this ideology can lead to.
Brian Owens
junior
international business
Jamie Karl
| This is a letter in response to
f Jamie Karl’s column “Students need
more character” (March 16). As a
“single-functioning parent” of a
Link, I was appalled at Karl’s lack
of sensitivity as a human being in
regards to the comments he wrote.
As a parent, never have I heard
anyone who works in the public *
school system say, “If it feels good,
do it!” Not once. That statement in
itself implies very strange connota
tions, that Karl being a sexist pig
probably understands. I am unaware
that the LPS system “commands” its
students to do anything except to be
the best that they can be.
And what’s so wrong with LPS
wanting to help a child build their
self-esteem? In these days where
adolescents are under “a lot” of
pressure from this society and their
peers, they need all the encourage
ment they can get.
I have never heard anyone utter
that building self-esteem was, as
Karl put it, a “cure-all” for the
problems that plague our adoles
cents.
The insensitive, downright low
blow that Karl shot at Lincoln High
was an ignorant article that leaves
some parents, like myself, to wonder
how in the hell people like him find
their way into journalism.
Maybe The National Enquirer is
looking for someone of his caliber.
Annette M. Satchell
Lincoln
