Opinion
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Haiti.Editor, 472-1766
Rainbow Rowell.Managing Editor
Mark Baldridge.Opinion Page Editor
DeDra Janssen.Associate News Editor
Doug Kouma.Arts & Entertainment Editor
JeffZeleny.Senior Reporter
Matt Woody.Senior Reporter
James Mehsling.Cartoonist
Fair’s fair
Punishment for violence must fit crime
Talk about sending messages.
Members of the University ofNebraska-Lincoln Faculty Women’s
Caucus want to suspend any student convicted of a violent crime
from extracurricular activities for seven years.
The Faculty Women’s Caucus was one of the groups most vo
cally opposed to the return of Lawrence Phillips to the football field.
They didn’t get the results they
wanted from the current sys
tem; now they want to change
the system.
Even if Lawrence Phillips
had never assaulted his ex-girl
friend, the system did need
changing.
Crimes of violence are dif
ferent from other crimes.
Though theft or slander can
damage another person, it’s just
not the same as having teeth
knocked out or fearing for one’s
life.
And there is no place for
violence among students of a
university. We live in a hot
house of human contact and
^ ^ emotion — tnings can get
Jason Grtdow/DN . , , u •
tangled enough without having
to wony about getting beat up
for what you say or who you date.
A strict and universally applied penalty levied against students
who, for one reason or another, can’t think of one more cogent point
to make without raising their fists would send the right kind of mes
sage.
But this message may be too harsh.
There is a big difference between seven years and the six weeks
Lawrence Phillips sat out.
There must be a middle ground somewhere.
In addition to a seven year ban from extracurricular activities for
conviction, the caucus suggests immediate suspension once a stu
dent is charged with a violent crime.
I hat s not right either.
The penalty doesn’t take into account that every day innocent
people are charged with violent crimes.
Members of the caucus say the issue is one of face:
What kind of students do we want representing our university?
But if we are afraid that recent events have sullied the reputation
of the university, this is not the answer.
Yes. Tell the world that violence is intolerable and that those
who practice the ways of violence will in no way and under no
terms be allowed to represent our school.
Make the severity of the case no contingent.
Say to those convicted of violence, on or off campus, that they
will not be allowed to wear our colors.
But don’t discount the difference between being charged and
being convicted.
And don’t create a penalty that’s too harsh.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the 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 die paper. Accord
' ing to policy set by the regents, respon
sibility for the editorial 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 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 arty. Re
quests to withhold names will not be granted. Submit
material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union,
1400 R St Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.
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Karis
Dear Editor,
It seems that Jim Mehsling (see
Editorial Cartoon, Oct. 26) needs a
“savior” from his Spanish 201
inferno.
I would like to extend him a hand
of grace by oITcring him free
tutoring for the rest of the semester!
Jill Hasenauer
Jim's Spanish Instructor
via e-mail
ESA
For over 20 years, the Endan
gered Species Act has worked to
preserve and protect America’s
national treasures.
Under the ESA the best available
scientific evidence is used to
determine which species arc in
danger of going extinct.
Eight species have been recov
ered and removed from the endan
gered species list, including the bald
eagle and the gray whale. More than
25 others are approaching their
recovery goals. Overall, 38 percent
of all species now on the list are
either in stable or improving
condition.
Now the U.S. Congress is
proposing to turn its back on two
decades of endangered species
protection. A new bill, HR 2275
will significantly scale back the
ESA by eliminating habitat
protection and the goal of species
recovery to open up more land for
exploitation by the oil, timber and
mining industries.
This bill’s short-sighted emphasis
on industry greed betrays the ESA
and the legacy we will leave for the
future.
Matthew Ramspott
Lincoln
Rush is Wrong
Limbaugh would be proud, Mr.
Carson (Letters, Oct. 26), for it
appears that you have learned quite
a bit as a disciple of the reactionary
right. I saw nothing in what Mr.
Burger wrote (Letters, Oct. 24) that
would imply that he will “find job
hunting a bit frustrating.”
Seems that you picked up on
Limbaugh’s tendency to throw a
cheap shot at those with whom you
disagree, instead of dealing with the
disagreement — it’s a hell of a lot
easier to just change the subject,
isn’t it?
As far as Rush being “self
confident, well-read, and always
right...” There are plenty of self
confident idiots in this world. There
are even some self-confident idiots
who can read. His self-confidence
(and his ability to read, for that
matter) has absolutely nothing to do
with the validity of his arguments.
Kevin Haake
Graduate Student
Computer Science
via e-mail
Tripdilyicious
I wanted to drop a letter in
support of the recent columns
written by Mark Baldridge. He
should be complimented for his
frank discussion of the topics of
drug use (“LSD shines on one bright
day,” Oct. 23) and prostitution
(“Legal prostitution beneficial,”
Sept. 11).
I do not understand why Mark
Nispel (Letters, Oct. 25) fears the
opinion of Baldridge.
If he’s had all he “can stomach”
of Baldridge’s writing, no one is
forcing him to read it.
In the same Letters column, Eric
Black feels that Baldridge’s column
is “another example of irresponsible
media that we don’t need.”
I believe that discussion in a
public forum is a good thing. How
can Black be so “sure” that
Baldridge won’t be talking about his
drug use to his children?
And if he has “statistics of young
people who experience permanent
psychological damage from using
acid,” then why didn’t he cite them
and their source in his letter?
K.R. Theesen
Illustrator
Dentistry
via e-mail
Tripscandalous
I would like to express my
disgust at Mark Baldridge’s column
on LSD.
First of all, referring to LSD as a
sacrament is very offensive to me as
a Christian; it appalls me that such a
hideous remark is printed. Second,
if his life is so poor that tripping on
LSD stands out for him, that’s fine,
but please don’t subject us to
writing like this.
It may be opinion, but voice
worthwhile, helpful opinions, not
opinions that say drugs are cool.
He’s right — we don’t care what
he does with his free time, just so
long as he doesn’t spend it writing
columns like this.
Christopher Wachholz
Freshman
Criminal Justice
Husker fan count
After reading the guest column
by Emily Poulsen and Zoe
Triantafillou (Oct. 23), I’d like to
comment on a quote. They write,
“For all you Husker fans and
players, having a safe, legal abortion
is much safer than playing football
with a one in 25,000 chance of death
per year.”
In response, what about the one
out of every three unborn Husker
fans who are killed by the “choice”
of abortion each year?
Nicole Beran
Freshman
Broadcast Journalism
Catholic protestant
I am surprised by Krista
Schwarting’s blatantly anti
Catholic column (“Religion
detached from reality,” Oct. 20).
She emphasizes that the Church
must adapt to the modem world if
it is to survive.
I find this conclusion illogical
and historically ignorant.
What logical basis can
Schwarting provide to demonstrate
that a religion must change its moral
teachings in order to be true? Truth,
not fads, must be the primary
concern of religion.
If abortion, or premarital sex, or
whatever, is wrong, then the Church
must say so — even if it offends
Krista Schwarting.
Michael Dalton
Junior
Broadcasting
No pity
I am writing in response to
Lawrence Phillips’ reinstatement to
the football team. Particularly to a
statement I read in the Omaha
World Herald on Oct. 25, made by
Phillips’ lawyer, Hal Anderson.
It read: “I think the young man
has suffered an awful lot. Good
gracious, the Heisman trophy was
his, and it disappeared.”
Excuse me, but WHAT?
You mean to say that a man
goes out and beats someone up, a
woman, and we’re supposed to
feel sorry for him because he is
suffering the consequences of his
own actions?
And those consequences are so
minimal he can still play football?
Kristina Winnett
Senior
Biochemistry
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