Opinion
Wednesday, April 24, 1996 Page 4
Daily
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
J. Christopher Main.Editor, 472-1766
Doug Kouma.Managing Editor
Doug Peters.Opinion Page Editor
Sarah Scalet.Associate News Editor
Matt Waite.Associate News Editor
Michelle Garner.Wire Editor
Jennifer Mapes.Columnist
Hands off
Santees deserve economic freedom
A casino in a cafe is causing a lot of conflict.
The 68 slot machines in a small building on the Santee Indian
Reservation in Northeast Nebraska have initiated debate. A debate
about not only gambling in the state but about the relationship be
tween Native Americans and the government.
The Ohiya casino opened Feb. 2 and both state and local govern
ment officials have since been trying to shut it down.
Santee Sioux tribal officials maintain they are permitted to oper
ate the casino under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But
Nebraska officials contend that the casino is illegal because the state
doesn’t allow gambling.
Until now, this dispute has taken on the flavor of stubbomess.
Last week, U.S. marshals confiscated $87,194 in casino assets from
a South Dakota bank. And tribal officials have frequently parked
heavy equipment in front of the casino to deter a raid.
Tribal chairman Butch Denny said: “If they come down and physi
cally try to stop us, we are going to get physical,” Denny said.
The Nebraska Legislature rejected expanded gambling in the state
this year. The Daily Nebraskan supports that decision but not the
reluctance of state officials to negotiate with Santee leaders.
There is no dispute that gambling is illegal in Nebraska. Nebras
kans are gambling there. But the reservation is not really a part of
Nebraska.
Legally it is considered “a domestic dependent sovereign nation.”
Tribal officials operate their own police force and government. And
they have to provide for their own economic well-being.
This casino may be a road to economic independence for a group
of people who are already, in many ways, politically independent.
But Gov. Ben Nelson, Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg
and U.S. Attorney Tom Monaghan are all trying to stop the Santee
people’s progress.
The Santee casino conflict should be resolved through some old
fashioned negotiation. The Santee Sioux tribe should temporarily
close the casino, but the state of Nebraska should put together an
agreement with the tribe that allows them to keep their casino open.
And their future alive.
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 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
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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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Release valve
I was highly gratified to see the
lack of support for the “Plaboy”
protest (their misspelling, not mine)
on Monday. It consisted of five or
six people presuming to speak for
the entire UNL campus in saying
that Playboy is not welcome. UNL
docs not necessarily advocate the
opinions of the all-too-frequent
religious speakers that dominate
outside the Union, and those
preachers are far more intrusive and
annoying than Playboy has been.
And they have as much of a right to
their opinion as I do.
Playboy did not precede the
sexual desires that motivated its
creation. =
Getting rid of erotic material
would not eliminate these desires; it
would simply redirect them towards ^
flesh and blood women. I, person
ally, am glad that Playboy and
magazines like it exist to provide a
safe, healthy, and private outlet for
people’s (yes, women enjoy Playboy
too, and not just the articles)
impulses. Can you imagine walking
into your favorite meat-market bar
(or anywhere, for that matter) if
there were no other outlet for that
energy?
Let’s face it, every sperm is not c
sacred. The more sperm that are t
splashed on a glossy page the less I
there are around for unwanted 3
pregnancies.
So, splash away, guys, and let me 1
act as the spokeswoman for my five 3
or six friends that want to welcome s
Playboy to UNL. I
1
Laurel Rankin r
sophomore t
news-editorial I
Cartoon tact
r
This is in response to Jason t
Tselentis’ letter (April 19). If James t
Mehsling had been as tactless about I
Berringer’s or the Columbus kids’ i
deaths as he was about Jessica t
Dubroffs, would you still be I
laughing? I mean charred wreckage e
and a tragic death was funny when it 1
was a little girl and two adults, right? t
Just imagine the humor in dental
records and floating cars. And, as a (
- WT XT'" ...- - - ,ii
BretGottschall/DN
riend pointed out, her age doesn’t
natter if it was mechanical failure —
oes it?
Emily Elowsky
sophomore
English
A word from the top
I am writing to provide a brief
xplanation of how the University’s
tudget is affected by actions of the
legislature and the Governor this
rear.
The university submitted a deficit
>udget request last fall that sought
17 million to fully fund faculty and
taff salaries. Since that time, the
Revenue Forecast Board twice
owered its expectations for state
cvenues. In light of these projec
ions, the Legislature’s budget bill
►rovided $5 million worth of the $7
nillion the university requested.
Last month, actual revenues
eceived were some $20 million
•elow. last year’s numbers. This fact,
aken together with other high
unding priorities for the Legislature
nd the Governor, imposed addi
ional significant budget constraints,
iarlier this week, the Governor
nnounccd the veto of $2 million,
caving $3 million added this year by
he Legislature for salaries.
This year’s appropriation clearly
loes not meet all of our legitimate
needs. We are faced with difficult
decisions about how to support
faculty and staff salaries that are not
fully funded by the state. Nonethe
less, given the circumstances this
year, we are satisfied that the
Legislature and the Governor gave
full consideration to the University’s
needs and treated the University
responsibly.
We appreciate the support
provided by students, faculty, staff
and friends of the university during
this legislative session. All of the
calls and letters make a difference.
Thank you for your active support.
L. Dennis Smith
president
University of Nebraska
Play ball
I love Russ Barger’s baseball
analogy in his April 18 letter to the
editor. He’s right on target. Being
Catholic is a lot like being a baseball
player, and the priests and bishops
are a lot like coaches. Let’s take
Barger’s image a bit further. Imagine
that you arc a baseball player, a
well-trained baseball player, one
who has been through 12 years of
formal baseball school. After
baseball school, you become very
active on your team, and you even
help the coach with some of the
coaching responsibilities. After
many years you are traded to another
team. When you go to your first5
baseball practice, you notice that the
team uses wooden bats and practices
many outdated methods and has
different rules than those you have
ever seen. When you ask the coach if
you can help him out like you did on
the other team, he says no. So, being
hurt and confused, you ask for an
explanation, and you don’t get one.
So you ask other players and they
don’t know why either. Finally, you
and some of the other players get
together to discuss the problem.
Then the group decides it should
invite the coach to discuss its
questions. And the coach replies
“turn in your uniform, you are outta
here.” Gosh, coach, my feelings are
really hurt; I just had a few questions
about playing the same game the rest
of the league plays.
Barbara Tracy
Lincoln
Send your brief letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Ne
l Please \ braska Union, 1400 “R” Street, Lincoln NE 68588,
S or Fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail
' ^yVf rlt?iDav>r\ 1 *J) <letters@unlinfo.unl.edu>. Letters must be signed
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