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
Jeff Zeleny.Senior Reporter
Matt Woody.Senior Reporter
James Mehsling.Cartoonist
_
Bret Gottschall/DN
Talk is cheap
Action needed to halt campus violence
The chanting of protesters and the glare of national television
cameras have not yet left our memories.
The controversy surrounding Lawrence Phillips has placed an
enormous amount of attention on a number of campus issues, of
which one of the most important is violence on campus.
Now a task force to study violence on campus has been ap
pointed by Interim Chancellor Joan Leitzel.
“We have a special interest in how UNL can become a com
munity where we have a common value that violence is unac
ceptable,” Leitzel said.
No one discounts the need for violence on campus to be ad
dressed.
Blue lights sprinkled across UNL remind us nightly of the
potential for violence on campus.
UNL is a safe campus by most respects. But any campus can
be safer.
The Task Force on Conduct Standards and Behavioral Expec
tations holds its first meeting today.
Leitzel said the task force would examine violence on cam
pus, gather input from the university community and recommend
how to communicate UNL’s values.
This is a serious issue and the university may be stepping in
the right direction, but only if it leads to action.
There’s no need for more talk. No need for more messages.
Only action in the form of prevention and penalties can help
halt violence on campus.
The blue lights, the campus escort service and now a task force
all show that UNL is interested in continuing to provide a safe
campus environment.
This semester has served as an important reminder of the need
to address violence on campus.
And the university has taken a step toward addressing the prob
lem by forming a task force.
But more discussion is not the answer.
We need action.
t
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 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 mid 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. 68588-0448.
-1
Just a glance
A glance at the front page of the
Nov. 6 Daily Nebraskan shows that
the most important item is that
Lawrence Phillips is back on the
football team.
This is made clear by the bold
type, the large amount of space for
the first half of the article, and the
rather large picture of Phillips. ,
To begin with, this is hardly
news. The fact that he was to return
to the team has been publicized and
debated already.
However, more disturbing to me
was the fact that, judging by the
amount of front page space devoted
to the topic, Phillips return is more
important than the assassination of
Israel’s Prime Minister, Yitzhak
Rabin.
Admittedly, Rabin’s death has
been publicized since its occurrence
on Saturday, but that is certainly
more recent than when the news on
Phillips came out. I also hope it is
more important.
Sadly it seems that, to the Daily
Nebraskan, his death is less impor
tant than the return of Phillips to the
football team.
Catherine Souliere
Senior
History
via e-mail
Double take
Israeli Prime Minister Rabin is
assassinated over the weekend, and
your Monday morning 6x8 front
page photo is of a FOOTBALL
PLAYER?
Charlotte McAvoy Kyriss
Housing Office
via e-mail
NOWI
Athletic programs across the
country are beset by violence. Most
of these incidents involve violence
toward women.
Currently the Nebraska football
team features a player who was
convicted of attacking his former
I
girlfriend. The fact that he continues
to represent Nebraska on the playing
field is a disgrace.
The Faculty Women’s Caucus at
the university is suggesting an
amendment to the Student Code of
Conduct which would suspend from
extracurricular activity any student
who is convicted of a crime.
I support and encourage their
effort and urge the university to
adopt this amendment to the Code.
There will be no end to battering,
rape and murder of women until
society insists on severe penalties.
Silence is our enemy.
Anne M. Golonka
President
S. Nevada National Organization
for Women (NOW)
Huh?
I must respond to a letter
submitted by Jared Solomon (Nov.
6).
He said his response to Aaron
McKain’s regular column, was
“huh?”
I read Aaron’s column every
Friday. In fact, it is one of the few
things I consistently read in the DN.
I never have any difficulty seeing
the greater message which Aaron
tries to convey.
Obviously the speed and com
plexity of Aaron’s thought pro
cesses, reflected in his writing, are
too much for some.
Perhaps his no-holds-barred style
is too much for others.
We all must remember that this is
an institution of learning, and an
important place to start is by
learning to interpret what others
have to say, and by dealing with
how they say it. I hope you, Jared,
and others will continue to ride
Aaron’s verbal roller coaster, and
try to see the world as it is, despite
the blur.
Mike Moscrip
Junior
Anthropology and History
via e-mail
Parking
Few people will disagree with the
assessment that the city of Lincoln
exudes a certain small-town charm
the likes of which many cities the
same size are simply not capable of
achieving.
However, there is one small-town
attribute that the city of Lincoln
holds onto steadfastly.
I am referring to the city’s
metered streets and lack of parking
available to the working people of
the city.
Recently police have apparently
cracked down on the heinous crime
of parking for more than the allowed
two hours on the streets around the
state capitol. When I originally
started employment in that area I
was assured that vehicles were
“rarely marked”.
But in the last two weeks tires
have been “chalked” virtually every
single day, no doubt to increase the
city’s revenue.
Most of those vehicles belong to
employees who either must pay the
$5 per violation ticket, or must tear
themselves away from their duties in
order to move their vehicle, usually
to another spot just a few yards
away. Just where is the logic in this
practice?
I propose that the employees of
Lincoln’s downtown area and state
employees rally together and
vociferously oppose this practice.
By implementing a decal system
for employees’ vehicles, the city of
Lincoln can send us a message that
we are as important to it as we really
are.
These decals would ensure that
any downtown employee would be
able to park in any area without fear
that doing so might cost them a
good portion of an hour’s pay.
Tim Bodnar
Dwight
via e-mail
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i O 7/)0 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.,
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