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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1995)
Daily t Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln J. Christopher Haiti. .....Editor, 472-1766 Rainbow Rowell.... .Managing Editor Mark Baldridge.. ..Opinion Page Editor DeDra Janssen.... i.....Associate News Editor Doug Kouma. ....Arts & Entertainment Editor JeffZeleny...Senior Reporter Matt Woody.Senior Reporter James Mehsling.....Cartoonist Best Buy Merit Scholars spell big business . The University ofNebraska-Lincoln welcomed 43 National Merit Scholars this semester—that represents a substantial increase over last year’s 25. This is good — as our own Joan Leitzel, interim chancellor, was quick to point out in Friday’s State of the University address. More Merit Scholars represent prestige for the university now— and in the future. Because these students have a track record of success,—and successful alumni are good for the university. If s just good business. Think of them as a commodity, a resource. They represent, in short, an investment in the all-important reputa tion of the school. And that’s smart money. Improved reputation will bring further rewards in the shape of grants and increased enroll ment. A university lives or dies by its reputation. The University of Okla hotiia works hard on its reputa tion, welcoming 245 National Merit Scholars this fall. That’s good for them but — since there are only so many of these talented kids around — bad for us. Why are we losing face to Oklahoma? Can’t we stomp them on the gridiron? But they run circles around us here. Why? Well, for starters, Okla homa offers more to these stu dents. Down there aMerit Scholar can expect a full ride, early enrollment opportunities and separate housing. The university will even help them move in. And the community is involved as well. Hotels and restaurants offer special rates for the visiting families of Merit Scholars. UNL offers free tuition and little else. In a choice of one wasteland over another, Oklahoma’s incentives tip the scales for students from all over the country. So what can we do about it? Well, first off, it’s not the fault of UNL per se. The state of Oklahoma has determined the future value of these students is worth the money. It has subsidized this specific group of students, allowing its university to profit from a limited resource. The state of Nebraska should do the same: Spend the smart money now and reap the return later. It’s just good business—for the university, the state and students who hope to graduate some day. Because the prestige of our diplomas long after graduation will depend on a lot of factors, and we can’t afford to neglect this one. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent the official policy of Ac Fall 1995 Daily Nebras kan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebras kan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to supervise the daily production of the paper. Accord ing to policy set by the regents, respon sibility for the editorial 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 material ■ submitted. Readers also are welcome to submit mate rial 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 include the author’s name, year in school, major and group affiliation, if any. Re quests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, Neb. 685884)448. Concerts should stay I am sorry to see that the Pershing Auditorium administration is rethink ing having rock concerts at the venue due to incidents at the recent (Aug. 14) Soul Asylum/Matthew Sweet concert. Nonetheless, I understand the frus trations and concerns felt by the ad ministrators. This concert’s pitiful re-enactment of a lame MTV video was not only embarrassing to me as a Lincoln concertgoer, but it proved that the youth of Lincoln are incapable of thinking for themselves or behaving in anything other than an imitative manner. However, I don’t think that elimi nating rock concerts in general is the solution to the problem. I think that eliminating bad rock concerts (like that of the 14th) may be a good idea. After all, the average Iron Maiden crowd acts more intelligently than the 14th’s preppie mob. Another radical thought: Perhaps the injuries sustained at the concert couldhavebeen prevented by a policy of no body surfing — any body surf ers who make it to the front of the stage get removed from the venue. Alternately, all body surfers could be required to wear life preservers or some other kind of flotation device. ' Somewhat sincerely, Carter Van Pelt HoUand, Neb. Poindexter and Rice The Plainsmen held a demonstra tion on the north steps of the state Capitol on Aug. 17 at noon. This demonstration commemorated the 25th anniversary of Officer Larry Minard’s murder. Minard was killed while investigating a suitcase in an abandoned house in north Omaha. He, and other police officers, had been decoyed to the location few the purpose of killing them. v David Rice and Edward Poindexter were justly convicted of this murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. There has been an ongoing effort to free them. We demonstrated to add our EM PHATIC NO! to this effort. Life im prisonment was a lenient sentence for this act of terrorism. They must serve out this sentence. Larry Ball Lincoln Women as disease Regarding the letter (“Women and War”) by Ryan Grone in the Aug. 23 DN: If I understand Grone’s metaphor correctly, he compares being female to having a “disease.” This kind of comparison indicates, to use Grone’s own rhetoric, that “he either has a fundamental misunder standing of his disease, or does not understand what women can do.” via e-mail Elizabeth Ahl Graduate Student English Women and war I write in reply to Ryan Grone’s letter making the very tired claim that women are not fit for combat or war. Mr. Grone cites his year of expe rience in the Marine Corps as his grounds for this observation. Mr. Grone seems to have missed the thousands of women who served honorably, ably, and often with par ticular distinction, under fire and in combat support during the Gulf War and in Vietnam. These experiences so clearly settled the issue of women in combat that all branches of the service, in cluding the Marine Corps, now allow women in combat positions. Only a very, very few positions are restricted, and those will ulti mately be open to those women who can meet the qualifications. As a veteran of 22 years in the Air Force, from Vietnam to the Gulf War, I believe I understand war and its demands on humans. Gender is not a criterion for ability to deal with the rigors of battle. The characteristics needed in war—or in any other endeavor — are found in people of all genders. via e-mail Stephen G. Charest First year College of Law Send your brief letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588, or Fax to (402) 472-1761, or E-Mail dn@unlinfo.unl.edu. Letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification.
