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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1995)
Opinion Wednesday, April 19, 1995 Page 4 Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Uncoln JeJfZeleny.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 Plug drain Graduate loss means $1.23 million less A recent report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City proves one thing — the “brain drain” that plagues Nebraska must stop. According to figures released by the bank, the brain drain costs the state of Nebraska about $246 million annually between 1985 and 1990, with a total income loss of $1.23 billion. That translates into a 1.1 percent loss annually in the state’s total personal income, according to the report. Nebraskans have known for some time that brain drain was a big problem for the state, but now a price tag has been attached to it. Nebraska simply cannot afford to lose $1.23 billion every five years. It shouldn’t have to. Deron Ferguson, research associate at the Federal Reserve Bank, said the state’s total personal income loss was due largely to the departure of professionals, executives and managers. It is crucial forNebraska to implement policies quickly to get the state back on track. State officials and business leaders need to make the Comhusker state more appealing for professionals. Nebraska graduates should not have to look elsewhere for greater opportunities. The state could put a plug on the brain drain if it could have attracted large companies like Micron and Pfizer. The efforts to lure Micron were valiant, but they were not enough. There are other Microns and Pfizers out there. Nebraska can’t afford to let those get away. Fat chance Milk scare eliminates another pleasure Two percent milk not only comes from cows, it makes them. The latest attack on Americans’ collective fat tooth came from one of our own — Phil Sokolof of Omaha. You may have seen ads promoting milk in magazines of late — featuring the likes of Christie Brinkley and Iman with cutesy little milk ‘staches. Sokolof launched ads in 40 newspapers Monday parodying these ads, but his featured a slightly plumper model with the mustache. His message? “The American public is going to come away knowing that they should be drinking skim milk,” he said. But that’s not all they will come away with, says Ann Grandjean, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha. She says people will be scared off the moo juice completely, adding to our severe national calcium deficiency. Add to that the fear of Chinese food and movie-theater popcorn, and there’s noth ing left. “They end up eating no meat, no milk, no eggs and not enough protein and minerals in general,” she says. Sokolof s claim that a serving of 2 percent milk has the same amount of fat as bacon is farcical. While it’s true Americans eat more fat than almost any other country (thus we are the most over weight), we are tired of being terrified with these fat facts. We know what is bad for us. If we want a ice-cold glass of 2 percent from the fridge while snarfing down a bag of Fudge Stripes, we will eat broccoli tomorrow. Enough already. Let us enjoy our fat in peace. 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 not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the qpwtents or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opin ion of the author. The regents publish die 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 and space 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. 68388-0448. WKKnOA TIME wi, m? \\ -- rimw) wm. | - Daily Nebraskan ■; ■ Send your brief letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St, Lincoln, Neb. 68588. Or fax i: (402) 472-1761. Letters Censorship Last week the Daily Nebraskan published an editorial concerning the dangers of limiting the free exchange of ideas. You condemned the student takeover of a university newspaper as an act of censorship. You stood by the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Very commendable. But you fail to see the hypocrisy in your letter policy. You claim “the right to edit or reject all material” that you deem inappropriate, irrelevant or tasteless. Your letter policy, when used incorrectly or selectively, is a form of censorship. You invite reader response, and in return, you reserve the right to alter those responses to fit your criteria for correctness. The next time you cry out that the fourth estate is being limited or curtailed, remember that you do the same to your readers and thus share in the blame for such actions as being seen as acceptable. Alan M. Green senior political science ft ml« ..I. AnTtraK The front-page story on Amtrak in the April 14-16 edition of the Daily Nebraskan is very timely and generally provides a good update on the beleaguered rail passenger service. However, the information on the California Zephyr, which serves Lincoln and four other communities in Nebraska, is somewhat misleading and deserves clarification. Noting that the Zephyr’s “whis tling roar” has been heard every morning for more than 50 years, “but a $200 million financial gap will force Amtrak to cut the Zephyr’s service (or frequency) down to four days a week on June 1,” is not correct in the context of the train’s daily service (eastbound and westbound) through Nebraska. When the Zephyr leaves Chi cago, it also includes care of the Pioneer, which continues three days a week from Denver to Seattle, and the Desert Wind, which runs from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and was reduced from daily to tri-weekly service. The latest cut, involving the Zephyr proper, trimmed its service from daily to four days a week only from Salt Lake City to Sacramento and Oakland, Calif. The Zephyr, westbound from Chicago and eastbound from Denver, will continue to offer daily service to and through Nebraska. Dan Lutz president Pro Rail Nebraska, Inc. Lincoln Bret Gottschall/DN Rodeo I would like to respond to Nick Myers’ letter (April 17) about the sport of rodeo. There are so many safety guidelines regarding the humane treatment of livestock, it would be inpossible to try to list them. I can, however, count on one hand the safety rules for cowboys and cowgirls. This alone should show the respect the rodeo industry has for its four-legged athletes. Doug Iske senior Teachers College ;J Union homeless As staff members at the Nebraska Union, we were very disappointed by the April 17 editorial about homeless people in the union. It seems as if the editorial writer does not read his or her own newspaper. The editorial referred to an April 11 story written by Chad Lorenz about non-university people in the Union who have caused disturbances. The original article was fair and accurate. The editorial was neither. Since someone missed the point of the original article, we’ll repeat some quotes from it. — “Daryl Swanson, director of Nebraska Unions, said he was working with police to prosecute vagrants for panhandling, consum ing alcohol on campus and public disturbances.” (Note that nothing was mentioned here about being homeless.) — “Swanson said most of the homeless in the union were harm less; they lounged and watched television.” —“Swanson said he still wanted to prevent discriminating against the union visitors who didn’t cause problems.” Quoting from the editorial, “The homeless are people and deserve to be treated as such. Criminals are criminals who also deserve to be treated as such. Don’t blur the line that separates the two.” We, the management and staff of the Nebraska Union, are acutely aware of the difference, and our treatment of all visitors to the union reflects this. Your editorial does not give credit for this. Non-university visitors to the union, like Brian, Kermit and the late David Ball, and many nameless others like them, some of whom are homeless, have never been singled out for any type of discrimination based on their status. Dorothy Portsche night custodial supervisor Nebraska Union Bill Behmer operations manager Nebraska Union