Opinion
Monday, March 4,1996
Page 4
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Haiti
Doug Kourna.
Doug Peters.
Sarah Scalet.
Matt Waite.
Michelle Garner...
Jennifer Mapes ....
.Editor, 472-1766
.Managing Editor
. Opinion Page Editor
Associate Nev>s Editor
Associate News Editor
.Wire Editor
.Columnist
Hockey monopoly
Stars join the Lincoln sports scene
Friday's announcement that the United States Hockey League
will be expanding to Lincoln was long overdue.
Lincoln has been ready to take this step for at least five years.
; The Lincoln Stars — who will
J begin play next fall at the State
] Fair Coliseum — will provide the
i city’s growing population with an
: other team to back.
I For years, the community has
provided enthusiasm and support
for the city’s high school and col
lege teams. Nebraska’s football
: team has sold out Memorial Sta
'■ dium for more than 30 years. The
Cornhusker volleyball team con
sistently receives sonic of the best
fan support in the nation. Thou
i sands of fans pack the Bob
Dcvancy Sports Center for Nc
S braska basketball on a weekly
i basis.
,-r—T — The entire sMe congregates iii
Lincoln every spring to celebrate the high school state wrestling,
swimming and basketball championships. But hockey has been miss
ing.
The Lincoln Stars will fill that gap.
Amateur hockey in Omaha already has proved to be exciting.
The Omaha Lancers, who arc the most successful team in the USHL,
consistently outdraw the Racers and Royals, both of whom arc pro
fessional teams and play their sports at a much higher level than
USHL hockey.
But the Lancers and the Stars have a monopoly over the state’s
hockey Ians, and the two teams should develop an intense rivalry
over the next tew years. But don't expect the Stars to compete right
away.
In the Lancers’ first season, they didn't win a single game. The
fans kept coming back, however, and eventually the team moved
from Hitchcock lee Arena to AKsarben, where they now draw more
than 6,000 fans for every game. A scat at a Lancers’ game is the
toughest ticket in town, and second only to Husker football in the
entire state.
The Lincoln-Omaha rivalry is a natural. Star fans should pack
the coliseum every time the Lancers travel to town. We know the
same will be true when the Stars journey to Omaha. Because the
engineering debate between UNL and UNO appears to be cleared
up, the two cities arc in need of a reason to fight. Hockey can give
them a reason, a healthy reason.
With the exception of the week-long Nebraska State Fair, the
fairgrounds arc nearly devoid of life. The Stars have a chance to
pump some excitement into the fairgrounds from October to April.
Lincoln has the ability to rally around the Stars just as Omaha has
rallied around the Lancers. As Lincoln has expanded to the north
and south, the city has been in need of something extra. Next fall, it
will finally arrive.
Editorial policy
Stall" 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 Dally 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 runasa 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. 68588-0448.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
No respect
The Nebraska fool ball team still
has not reeeived the respect they
deserve. What is it? Every day 1
drive down Avery Avenue and look
up at the scoreboard in the north
stadium. This is the scoreboard that
has the National Championship years
on it. There is still no 1995 sign on
the scoreboard. What’s the problem?
Money? HA HA. Not a chance. The
university makes millions from their
football team. 1 am willing to
volunteer my time to put up the sign,
that is if the athletic department can
afford it!
Gel me a ladder, and I’m there.
Jason Lemon
senior
communication
Rabid Congress
endangers
wilderness
Last summer. President Clinton,
pushed by a rabid, anti-environment
Congress, signed into law the so
called “salvage” rider. Hidden in a
government belt-tightening bill that
included aid to Oklahoma City
bombing and California fire victims,
the pro-timber amendment has
unleashed an all-out war on
America’s wildlife and forests.
Clinton, and some members of
Congress, claim they reluctantly
endorsed the proposal because they
supported “salvage” logging of dead
and dying trees. But such forest
management practices ignore the
significant value of dead trees,
which help replenish the soil and
provide vital habitat for cavity
nesting species such as woodpeck
ers. Aptly called the “logging
without laws” rider because it closed
the courts to citizens and suspended
all environmental laws, the rider
defined salvage so broadly that any
tree made of wood could be cut.
As a result, some of our last
ancient forests arc being put on the
chopping block.
According to a report issued by
the Congressional Research Service
in early February, the rider has cost
taxpayers more than S50 million in
subsidies to the timber industry.
Surely Rep. Bereutcr and Sens. Exon
and Kerrey cannot justify robbing
Americans of their hard-earned
money and the destruction of our
national forests. They should support
efforts to repeal this disastrous law
and save what little wilderness
remains.
Kathleen Marvis
Lincoln
Eat your
veggies
Responding to the topic of
vegetarianism could cover this entire
page. While Ms. Johnson’s idea
(Feb. 29) that people should become
vegetarians may be impractical at
present, Mr. Paulson’s attack (March
1) was very short-sighted.
Setting aside the problems with
changing people’s livelihoods
(ranching vs. farming), the idea of
feeding the earth with fruits, veg
etables and grains is very feasible.
The question is not of the amount of
food that cattle provide but rather
one of land use and water availabil
ity. Cattle as well as sheep and hogs
eat feed grain and hay, forage on
pasture, etc. To produce the feed,
water and land are used. To maintain
the animal, more water and land are
used. Basically by eating a vegetar
ian diet, people bypass the animals’
consumpt ion of vegetal ion?
By eating a vegetarian diet, the
global population would more
efficiently use land and water. When
speaking about the problems with
feeding the world, population
increases hamper the sustainability
of providing food.
There are too many circumstances
surrounding the world’s religions to
make religion an issue associated
with vegetarianism. During the time
of Lent, as an Orthodox Christian, 1
practice a diet of no dairy, no meat,
no egg. This is private and personal
and is certainly not an issue regard
ing my stance with meat vs. veggies
one way or the other. EFFICIENCY
IS THE ISSUE!
Polly Ann Najarian
graduate student
agricultural meteorology
via e-mail
...to the
Daily
Nebraskan
Send your brief letters to:
Daily Nebraskan, 34
Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.,
Lincoln, Neb. 68588, or Fax
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