The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 07, 1996, Page 4, Image 4
Opinion Thursday, March 7,1996 Page 4 Nebraskan Editorial Board University of Nebraska-Lincoln J. Christopher Haiti Doug Kouma.. Doug Peters. Sarah Scalet. Matt Waite. Michelle Garner... Jennifer Mapes.... .Editor, 472-1766 .Managing Editor .. Opinion Page Editor Associate News Editor Associate News Editor ---Wire Editor .Columnist Aaron Steckelberg/DN Take action Give students a reason to care Wednesday’s victory by the ACTION party was hardly a surprise; it was simply the latest step in a long progression of ASUN election wins by parties that, to the average student, are looking more and more the same... And less and less interesting. ACTION won in a landslide — 70 percent of the vote went to president-elect Eric Marintzcr. But ASUN continues to lose. This is not to say Marintzcr will not do a capable job—just that fewer students than ever will care. Marintzer’sjob, the job of all ASUN election-day winners, is not to get better seats in Memorial Stadium or eliminate parking prob lems, although both would be nice. The new administration has one job and one job only. That is: to bring legitimacy to ASUN. To do that, they have to get people to care. Seventy percent is a huge win, but the accomplishment fades a bit when looked at under the voter-turnout microscope. Fewer than one out of 10 students, a total Marlene Beyke, ASUN’s director of development, called the lowest in memory, took time to vote in this year’s election. To be exact turnout was 8.4 percent. Of that 8.4 percent, 70 percent voted for ACTION. You do the math. ACTION, instead of scoring the apparent landslide, had the support of 5.8 percent of the student body. Even Lamar Alexander did better than that in the GOP presidential race, and he just dropped out. Simply put, 5.8 is not a mandate from the masses. Marintzcr and the rest of the ACTION party must dedicate themselves to the little things—the things that students who are not involved in ASUN will notice. Get the library to stay open weekend nights (and later on weekdays). Not all of us spend our Saturdays at the Rail. Don’t request money for projects, raise it. Live up to your name — take action instead of writing resolutions. Maybe then more of us will care enough to vote. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent die official policy of the Spring 1996 Daily Ne braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the university, its employees, the stu dents or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent the opin ion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL Publications Board to super vise the daily production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility 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. 68588-0448. i i/m us ro i in; i duor Black and white The comment of Kristi Kohl (March 5) that South Africa took its first step toward desegregation when a judge ruled that five black children must be allowed to go to a white school fails to represent the factual truth of what is happening in the New South Africa.' All cultural groups have an equal legal right to attend their school of choice. These changes are by no means new or “first steps.” The country went through a process of change toward racial integration in the last decade and specifically in the past five years. I am an Afrikaner (we arc not from Dutch descent only as is often mistakenly stated, but represent British, Dutch and French descent) and strongly feel that this group is often mistakenly blamed for apartheid. A minority far right group out of the Afrikaner population, known as the Afrikaner Weerstands Beweging, (AWB or Afrikaner Resistance Movement) is extremely racist, but by no means do they represent the sympathy of most Afrikaners. We do not think that mixing racial groups is a sin and that allowing blacks to attend the school would erode the Afrikaner culture. The black population forms an integral part of the Afrikaner culture. Although I grew up under the Apartheid era, I cannot recall my parents ever supporting it, but I do recall their efforts and encourage ment toward building a better future for all. If we concentrate more on what unites us, namely that we are all creations of God, uniquely, and less on what divides us, the world may be a better place. Ena van Zyl graduate student animal breeding and genetics iuumnmnimns! BretGottschall/DN Rear View In response to Mr. Willey’s “Fighting Mad” article (March 6), 1 would like to express my opinion why we need the parking service officers. The most obvious reason happens to be you and others like you. If parking services did not patrol the campus, then individuals who lived in residence halls could not park near their dorms, which obviously would increase assaults of our fellow students. Also, commuter students could not park in lots on campus to make it to their classes on time because “individuals” who hang toilet paper on their rear view mirrors, such as yourself, are parking in the commuters’ lots. If all that was to be given for citations were warnings, I believe you would continue to hang your T.P. on your rear view, and our parking problems would be worse than they presently are. Your I reference to Parking Service Officers as “the lowest form of vermin” was completely uncalled for considering that these individo* als are the one and the same college students who go to this university with the most ungratifying job on campus. It’s our job, not what we like to do with our spare time. Dustin Donner senior Spanish Parking Service Officer Priorities The disregard for accountability by industrial giants has infected state and local communities. Lincoln is under siege by the Burlington Northern Railroad Co. They currently are looking to expand the Hobsen Yards. Unfortunately, that expansion would fill in about 66 acres of wetlands in Lincoln, including 44 acres of rare saline wetlands, which are nearly impos sible to replace when destroyed. The railroad would lead you to believe otherwise. I would think that no one could buy into the bizarre idea that the perfect ecosystem of a wetland could be duplicated. I’m sure Mother Nature would be appalled. We should not sacrifice a very integral part of our ecosystem to the Railroad. The consequences would be devastating. We would be replacing a gift of nature that aids in flood attenuation, aquatic wildlife and breeding grounds for heavy, metal cars carrying coal, for instance, that would pollute our air and make our water toxic. Which should be more important to us? Chris Miller Lincoln Send your brief letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Ne braska Union, 1400 “R” Street, Lincoln, NE 68588, or Fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail <letters@unlinfo.unl.edu>. Letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification."