. •
• •
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Haiti.... ..«..Editor, 472-1766
Doug Kouma....Managing Editor
Doug Peters....Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Scale l.....Associate News Editor
Matt Waite... Associate News Editor
Michelle Garner......Wire Editor
Jennifer Mapes .........r,....... Columnist
BretGottschall/DN
Behind bars
Lincoln rids itself of Lauck, not hatred
After one year in Danish and German prisons, Nebraska neo
Nazi Gerhard Lauck finally knows his trial date.
On May 9, proceedings against Lauck will begin in Hamburg,
Germany. Prosecutors aim tooonvict Lauck of 3 8 counts of distrib
uting Nazi propaganda and inciting racial hatred, among other
crimes. Chances are, they will succeed.
That’s fine with us. It’s fine with most Nebraskans. Lauck,
because of the international attention he has brought to Nebraska
during his 24-year career as a neo-Nazi propagandist, is not exactly
this state’s favorite son.
He is so disliked, in fact, that the Lincoln City Council last year
passed a resolution “disassociating” the city from neo-Nazi activi
ties. The Nebraska Legislature attempted to do the same thing, but
failed.
Other parties have been quick to write Lauck out of the picture
as well. Newspapers call him “‘former’ Nebraska neo-Nazi,” or
“Ex-Nebraskan Gerhard Lauck.”
He’s gone, the reasoning goes. Let’s forget about him.
That won’t be easy.
Lauck’s organization continues to operate — yes, still out of its
Lincoln post-office box. What’s more, foreigners convicted of crimes
usually serve only half to two-thirds of their sentences before be
ing deported — Lauck likely will be back in Lincoln before the
year 2000, and there’s nothing any of us can do about it.
Finally, his activities are 100 percent protected in the United States
by the First Amendment.
So where docs that leave Nebraska?
Lincoln is still the headquarters of an international neo-Nazi or
ganization, as much as we may want to “disassociate” ourselves
from such activities.
Gerhard Lauck is only a symptom of a greater problem. Hate
was not imprisoned with him, in fact, it still thrives — even in Lin
coln. The issues of his “New Order” newsletter that have been pro
duced and distributed since his imprisonment are evidence of that
We wholeheartedly support anyone’s right to freedom of speech
and expression, no matter how offensive the ideas. We arc happy to
live in a society where freedom is more than a word.
But we still can take the guilty pleasure of thanking Denmark for
doing something America could never legally do: putting Gerhard
Lauck behind bars.
At least for a while.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the official
policy of the Spring 1996 Daily Ne
braskan. Policy is set by the Daily
Nebraskan Editorial Boani. 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.
fi—. )j hwb**!*"”*
| "ONL V
G>RAt>ol\T£ I
50 VEMiS
^own m ?m> *
" WHEN \ WAS IN College we HAD "TO W TEN WEES T«M CAtAVOS AND
WALK THREE WL.ES SnJST TO CATCH THE SHUTTLE bOS> AMU THE ?AVMM£>
Verves were So ekeeusne \nje COOldNY ajfrjwd t> r/Y SWfs tdr cxk T££T
Article misses mark
Brooks Hitt’s article, “Alternative
music label fading fast” (March 11)
is drenched with overdone cynicism
and blatant falsehood.
Contrary to what Brooks may
believe, no station in America plays
a given song even close to “at least
once an hour.” Such a station would
suffer a ratings disaster. Further
more, I have yet to hear a station that
has “no sense of musical history.”
Even contemporary formats like Top
40 and modem rock have ’80s songs
on iheir play lists. It’s absurd to
suggest that music suddenly loses its
aesthetic value when it gains mass
appeal, or that “songs to sing in the
shower” arc inherently worthless.
Music serves one primary function
— entertainment. If a song inspires
deep thought, that’s an added bonus
that I happen to appreciate. But not
everyone docs, nor do they have to.
The fact of the matter is, if it
weren’t for the mass success of
groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and
the like, there wouldn’t likely be a
market for so-called “respectable
bands” like Fugazi, which have more
limited popular appeal.
As cruel as Brooks may think it,
this is a capitalist country, where
money DOES matter. And that’s just
fine with me.
Nick Wiltgen
junior
broadcasting
Low turnout no
surprise
You know, it really doesn’t
surprise me in the least that there
was a low voter turnout. Not in the
least. The problem facing this
University in the ASUN elections is
that voting ballot booths are not in
the key locations on campus. We
I— -—
! [
BretGottschall/DN
had both the ACTION and OFFICE
parties speak at our senate before the
elections and they were under the
impression that the Harper/
Schramm/Smith Residence Complex
was going to get a booth, but I guess
they were wrong. Somehow the
election committee for ASUN turned
their eyes away from our complex.
Could this be because ASUN
doesn’t want to get the Residence
Hall residents to vote so that they
can keep ASUN mostly Greek?
The HSS Residence Hall usually
houses about 1,500 students yearly,
and most of them are freshmen.
Generally, freshmen aren’t aware of
the upcoming ASUN elections,
except for reading about it in the
paper. I would advise the ASUN
election committee to make these
booths available for the students of
the residence halls ... especially
those as greatly populated as HSS.
David Williams
junior
English/sociology/film
Harper/Schramm/Smith Complex
president
Parking (cont.)
I am proud to say that I am a
- faithful reader of Steve Willey’s
’'articles. And I am in no way con
nected to Parking Services. Though
to my amazement it appears that
Willey has now bitten off more than
hecanphewgi gg» ^ sa jjgj
It seems that you (Steve Willey)
have forgotten a few basic powers
that the University holds. You hit the
nail on the head by stating, “If you
don’t pay the fines, you won’t
graduate.” But the powers run much
deeper than that. You see, unlike
you, I have read my tickets in which
it states that if my ticket is not paid
within 30 days, that they have the
power to impound my vehicle.
I can see your concern with the
devastation a $25 ticket can impose
on an already poor student. And in
your case $50, with your willful
disregard, can really put a dent in a
student’s budget. But should you
have taken your ignorant disregard
of rules out on our beloved Meter
Maids? Remember these low-life
carnivores may have computers to
which I am sure your name, address,
class schedule and vehicle descrip
tion are on their No. 1 hit list.
So I heed you this warning in
your war against an entity that might
even know when you brush your
teeth. Always watch your back
because they can appear out of
nowhere, just as I have seen once my
meter had run out. Remember, “they
repel from buildings, hide in bushes,
and lurk in the sewers” (Michael
Justice).
So when you park your vehicle on
campus, remember to bid it farewell
and good riddance, because it will
inevitably be sought out because of
your so-called, “War on Parking.”
Robert Kelley
junior
biology
Send your brief letters to:
ID tho Daily Nebraskan, 34
Nebraska Union, 1400 R St.,
- Lincoln, Neb. 68588, or Fax
to (402) 472-1761, or email
cletters @ unlinfo.unl.edu.>
|-=.- Letters must be signed and
Nebraskan KM””
— — --—-T—J
j •• •• , ' . .; % . ’' ’ ; l ;