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 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. r-- \ > vmm mm IFTO'M? X ; ■ I \mm feGo® A ^&UlT..MI0tEWLH f\MT 1 we*i 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 must be signed Vs'"O'j/ and include a phone number for verification.