Nebraskan
. Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Hain..Editor, 472-1766
Doug Kouma..... Managing Editor
Doug Peters.Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Scalet.Associate News Editor
Matt Waite.Associate News Editor
Michelle Gamer.Wire Editor
Jennifer Mapes..Columnist
Bret Gottschall/DN
Old glory
US. flag symbolizes the entire country
It’s not always high-flying, and it doesn’t always make every heart
ring true, but it’s still a grand old flag.
Just ask the “Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club” of Phoenix.
About 50 members of the group and their families walked into the
Phoenix Art Museum on Saturday and dismantled two displays
showing American flags draped over a toilet and placed on the floor.
It was the second time the displays had been dismantled since “Old
Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art” opened in Phoenix
on March 16. The exhibit has drawn daily protests ever since.
Phoenix Councilwoman Frances Emma Barwood has even pro
posed selling the museum’s publicly owned building—and the land
on which it sits — in protest. The museum itself is a private
enterprise.
“I don’t want to be responsible for stuff like that,” Barwood said.
“Let it be done in the private sector.”
Barwood has received support among other council members, and
corporate sponsors have withdrawn aid from the museum.
And rightly so.
The First Amendment guarantees that artists who choose to do so
have every right to create such displays.
But with that right comes a responsibility to act within certain
bounds of respectability. And wrapping a toilet in an American flag
just doesn’t seem to fit the mold.
Are such exhibits artists’ interpretations of this country’s ills?
Probably. Is trashing the American flag the right way to bring those
issues to light? Probably not.
The flag is more than apiece ofcloth. It’s more than a few stars and
stripes. It’s more than one unjust law, one Supreme Court ruling, one
unpopular president.
It’s a symbol of everything that has held this nation together for
more than two centuries, through war, depression, civil unrest and
racial strife. It should remind us of the strong ties that unite us as a
people, not the differences that divide us as individuals.
It’s a shame that artists who desecrate the flag don’t understand,
that in doing so, they spit upon that which gives them that right.
Editorial policy
Staff editorials represent the 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 die
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
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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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Wise guy
I am writing in response to last
Friday’s article by Andris Dellinger
about “who sponsored the phoney
mob dude.” First of all, let’s get our
facts straight. The speaker was
brought in by Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity in conjunction with
Gambling with the Good Life. Also,
_ “Bobby Jay’s” position on gambling
was neutral.
Let’s now address the issue that
he is a “phoney.” I think Mr.
Dellinger needs to quit watching so
much TV. The Godfather is a
fictional movie based on the mob of
a couple decades ago. Today’s mafia
is much less powerful outside
Chicago and New York. If BJ is a
phoney, why did he testify in front of
the United States Senate earlier this
year about legal and illegal gam
bling? Why are there 10 mafia
members in jail because of his
testimony?
I just think that the DN and
Andris need to get their facts straight
and wise up. BJ was a very interest
ing and informative speaker.
Scott Erickson
< senior
chemical engineering
Bret Got!schall/DN
was available on three sides of the
building; 4) trash cans, both federal
and city, were removed from the
outside perimeter of the building,
and 5) the initials for the General
Services Administration are, of
course, GSA. I do not know about
the cost of heightened security, but
your reporters need to check their
facts, even the minor ones, or else
the whole article becomes suspect.
J. E. Thomas
federal employee
help secure $5 million in funding
earmarked for faculty and staff
salaries. No state funding higher
tuition the story goes (April 15).
As a UNL staff member, 1 find it
rather unethical that some faculty/
staff (endorsed by chancellors and
the like) are using emotional means
to secure their raises.
I ask Vice Chancellor Griescn,
what’s wrong with knocking a
couple more layers of management
out of the middle. Downsizing — it’s
happening all over the private sector.
How about delaying the union
project? Or maybe think twice
before spending $200,000 on green
space, soon to be paved again.
Perhaps looking long-term and
cutting the budget is just what we
need. Start with waste like the loads
of intercampus announcements and
newsletters mailed every day to staff
and faculty (why do we recycle?!).
Help property tax relief. Help your
long-term tuition rates. Help send a
message. Write to President Smith,
Chancellor Moeser and the like and
tell them to cut the $5 million from
the fat (or even our salaries — what’s
4 percent?).
Joe Heinzle
UNL staff
Security breach
The story on federal security
increases (April 15) was very
interesting, but also very incorrect.
So, just to set the record straight:
1) It is the Robert V. Denney Federal
Building; 2) the magnetometers were
previously on the fourth and fifth
floors because of Federal Court
rooms; 3) before the Oklahoma City
bombing, public metered parking
Trim the fat
Because of their concern for
rising student tuition, UNL faculty
and staff are urging students — and
their parents — to write to their state
legislators. Supposedly, this is to
The tragic death of 7-year old
Jessica Dubroff is proof that liberal
ism has gone past the extreme. It’s
about time our generation takes on
the responsibility that the baby
boomers have irresponsibly evaded
for the last 30 years, and interject
into our culture some common sense.
Greg Simon
senior
accounting
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