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Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
... University of Nebraska-lincoln
Jeff Zeleny..... y..... 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
Obscene on-line
Don’t let traffic cops on this highway
The specter of censorship is haunting America once again.
And once again, Sen. James Exon is behind it.
Exon, a Nebraska Democrat, has been pushing his Communica
tions Decency Act of 1995. It is remarkably similar to legislation Exon
tried and failed to pass lastyear, the Communications Decency Act of
1994.
The proposal would punish people who distribute obscene material
on computer networks with up to two years in jail and $100,000 in
fines.
Exon says he wants to protect children from pornographic material
on the Internet.
That is a laudable goal.
One distinction that must be made, however, is between obscenity
and pornography. The two are often equated, but before the law, they
are two different things.
Obscenity is something that does not receive any First Amendment
protection, while pornography is merely sexually explicit material.
So, what Exon may call obscene actually may be a protected form of
speech.
Regardless, the federal government is notcharged with baby-sitting
American children. And the government’s role is not to arbitrarily
judge what is acceptable and what is not. That’s what parents are for.
If parents do not wish their children to see pornographic images or
sexually explicit messages from the Internet, they should supervise
their children’s computer use.
The telecommunications reform bill, with Exon’s amendment
attached, passed the Senate Commerce Committee March 23. The bill
is on the Senate’s agenda and could be discussed this week.
Organizations from the American Civil Liberties Union to Morality
in Media are gearing up for the next round of debate on the Decency
Act.
But it would be unwise to rely upon them alone to fight the battle
against censorship. Each citizen who values his or her First Amend
ment right of free expression must be vigilant against any legislation
that threatens it.
The Daily Nebraskan encourages University ofNebraska-Lincoln
faculty and staff to educate themselves on Exon’s amendment and
speak out. One source of information is the Voters Telecommunica
tions Watch, whichperiodically posts an update on the amendment on
the Internet.
The Internet is a vast web of interconnected computer networks that
spans the globe. Itconnects literally thousands ofdiverse communities
—all with different standards of what is acceptable and what is not.
Since it was formed, the Internet has been an invaluable resource
for the academic community.
Now more than ever, though, the Internet is an invaluable resource
for everyone — from businessmen to artists, from mayors of small
Nebraska towns to the President of the United States.
The Internet’s greatest strength lies in its anarchical organization.
No one party has control over it.
And none should.
The Daily Nebraskan is grateful that, with retirement looming,
Exon will have no more chances to endanger free expression on the
Internet.
Hopefully, the bad idea of curbing free speech will accompany
Exon when he leaves office.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the Spring 1995. Daily
Nebraskan. Policy is aetbythe Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Board Editori
alsdonotnecessarilyrcflectthe views
' of the university, its employees, the
students or the NUBoardofRcgents.
Editorial columns represent the opin
ion ofthe author. The regents publi sh
the Daily Nebraskan. They establish
the UNL Publications Board to su
pervise die daily production of the
paper. According to policy set by the
fPgpnta, responsibility for the edito
rial content of the newspaper lies
solely in the hands of its students.
Utter policy
The Drily 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 Drily
Nebraskan retains the right to edit or rgect all material
submitted Readers also are welcome to submit ma
terial as guest opinions. The editor derides whether
material should run as a guest opinion. Letters and
guest opinions sent to the newspaper become the
property of die Drily Nebraskan and cannot be
returned. 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.
Sriaratmaterial to the Drily Nebraskan, 34Nebraska
Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln. Neb. 6858S-0448.
Send your brief letters to:
Daily Nebraskan, 34
Victims
How many ridiculous talk shows
are out there? But the real issue is
what these shows carry, and that is
the victim.
Today’s society has more
victims than ever. Victims of
parents, victims of children,
victims of friends, victims of
gender, victims of race. We are all
crying and sobbing and asking
why. 1
The worst part of this victim
culture is that it diffuses the true
problems of society. There are
victims in the world — women
who are repeatedly beaten by
husbands, men who are harassed by
the police because of the color of
their skin, children who starve
because their parents will not care
for them.
When I look at students in the
classes I teach and know that
tonight they will be sleeping in a
tent, I cannot help but feel disgust
at the “victim culture” of our
society, which complains it was
given love, but not enough. It was
harassed, once; it was abused,
once.
Yet we as a public feed on this,
encourage it, embrace it. We shout,
“I’m a victim, too — fix me!”
There are too many real prob
lems in the world to deal with, and
I have learned that complaining
goes nowhere. Action does.
Stephanie Call
junior
secondary education
‘Audacity and gall’
On the evening of March 29,
ASUN Republicans visited
Barrymore’s for a celebration of
recent elections. We welcomed
their patronage as we have in the
past; however, their actions on the
above-mentioned date left very
much to be desired.
On no occasion have I or anyone
in my employment been so dis
gusted, repulsed and astonished at
their behavior (or anyone else)
while in this establishment. If their
actions on that evening are any
indication of their maturity and
ability to serve and represent, both
BretGottschall/DN
the University of Nebraska and the
people they represent should take a
close look at with whom they are
associated.
On that Wednesday we enter
tained, or rather the members
entertained us and our customers,
for several hours. Unfortunately,
during that time the actions of
several reflected on the group as a
whole.
Someone had the audacity and
gall to chew tobacco and spit it on
die carpet repeatedly. Only when
the waitress presented him with a
cup and demanded he use it did he
curtail his well-reasoned activity.
To further add to their impres
sion that evening, a group of them
ventured upstairs to our meeting
room and proceeded to rip two
pictures (secured with screws) off
of the wall. They were found the
next day under some tables at the
back of the lounge.
If that was not enough, they took
the time to stop on their way
upstairs to unwrap a present, left
there for someone not in their
group, and strew the contents over
die floor. Nice class for politically
aspiring students.
To say the least, their rudeness
and juvenile attitudes left much to
be desired. It also drew many
negative comments from other
customers, who likewise found die
actions and manners of this group
to be less than exemplary aricToften
repulsive.
Perhaps in the future, the ASUN
Republicans would like to carry on
these actions in the company of
those who elected them along with
members of the UNL faculty and
administration. I’m sure they would
make a great impression; maybe
even better than they did with us
and the other customers around
them on March 29.
Laird Haberlan
manager
Barrymore’s Lounge
Marlene Beyke, ASUN’s adviser,
told the Daily Nebraskan that she
received a similar letter from
Haberlan. She said she was looking
into the matter. — Editor
Protest
I had a chance to protest the
master of homophobic rhetoric,
Pastor Fred W. Phelps, and I didn’t
go.
I had been asked to go and
didn’t because I expected there
were mixed motives for the protest.
I am certain I was right.
The U.S. military kicks a man
out for being gay and what do
Nebraska homosexuals do? Not
much. When Nebraska Social
Services banned homosexuals from
being foster parents, why wasn’t
there a sit-in at the governor’s
place? When the Omaha Police
confiscated homosexual art from an
Omaha bar and when homosexuals
were arrested in the parks, where
were the protests?
I am certain that many of those
who protested Phelps did so
because he is a pastor. Once again,
this makes homosexuals look
irreligious in the eyes of the public,
no matter how many people are
willing to dismiss Phelps as a
lunatic.
Protesting Phelps, while it is the
right thing to do, will not do much
to help homosexuals achieve the
goal of full citizenship, for he does
not have the power to deny homo
sexuals citizenship.
Andrew Sullivan
Omaha
