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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1996)
Opinion Thursday, April 25, 1996 Page 4 ■ V- ‘ J * ■ . — “ ■ ■ ---— Daily 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 Garner...Wire Editor Jennifer Mapes....Columnist V'-'V'- ■ • j I—-—— f Simply business Playboy ad not an endorsement Eighty-six cents. It’s the price of one cup of coffee. It won’t even buy a beer. It’s the amount of change jingling in many students’ pockets right now. It’s also the amount of student fees — refundable student fees — each student pays per semester to help offset the Daily Nebraskan’s printing costs. Every year, it seems, the DN is forced to explain its sources of revenue. With the recent debate about the advertisement for Playboy’s interviews for “The Women of the Big 12” issue, it’s time once again to set the record straight. The ad has been the subject of much controversy in several local media outlets. Unfortunately, much of the information surrounding the controversy has been incorrect. The facts are simple. Less than 5 percent of the DN’s budget comes from student fees. The rest comes from advertising. Although DN offices are in the Nebraska Union, the newspaper is not supported by UNL’s general fund. If it were, there wouldn’t be a need for advertising in the first place. The Playboy ad does not amount to a university endorsement. In fact, it doesn’t amount to an endorsement of any kind. It’s simple business. If Playboy opponents want to purchase space in the DN, they’re welcome to buy advertising space just as Playboy did. It’s irresponsible for protesters to stand against something when they don’t have their facts straight, and it’s irresponsible for the media to report on it without checking their information. Beyond the questions of funding, the issue becomes one of free speech — an issue that at least one person protesting the ads said she didn’t particularly want to address. Of course not. She would have been fighting a losing battle. The DN staff has the right to choose the ads that run, as long as they are not obscene or offensive. The Playboy ad was not obscene. It didn’t cater to the “prurient interests” of community members, nor did it encourage illegal activity — the ad is protected speech. If this isn’t enough to convince the ad’s opponents, and if you’re still upset with the Daily Nebraskan, just ask for your 86 cents back. That’s your right. Editorial policy Staff editorials represent the official policy of the Spring 1996 Daily 'Ne braskan. Policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Boaid. 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. Playboy glorifies women My question is: Have the Playboy protesters ever actually read a Playboy magazine — because I have for 10 years, and never have I felt disgusted, degraded or considered it obscene. When I was 12,1 started reading my brother’s Playboys out of curiosity. Society has a lot of misconceptions about this magazine. Playboy does not demean women — it glorifies them. Not all women have 36DDD breasts. Women who pose in Playboy are not lost souls willing to do anything for money. Unlike “Cosmopolitan,” “Self’ and “Seventeen,” which were always telling me my clothes weren’t good enough, I needed a diet, a man and multiple orgasms, Playboy made me feel OK about my body and more comfortable with my sexuality. So let it be known — a hetero sexual 22-year-old female actually does read Playboy, and my conclu sion is that society needs to lighten up. Alison Hays senior fine arts No respect On Tuesday evening I witnessed a terrible act of disrespect. A near accident led to an altercation between an elderly man and a college-aged man. Although I did not see the incident that sparked the argument, I watched disgustedly the argument that ensued. The argument started at 11th and P streets. The younger man shouted obscenities at the older man. The older man, who had his wife in the car, stepped out of his car to discuss the situation or maybe ask the youth to stop talking that way in front of BretGottschall/DN his wife. At that point, the younger man stepped out of his car and dared the older man to hit him, then continued with his insulting verbal diarrhea. I think this is a sad commentary on our society today. I’ve seen it before — it is an immense lack of respect between generations, and, more broadly, between human beings. I am not denying that this disrespect may run both ways and may actually be passed down from generation tageneration like some ugly, degenerative disease. This lack of respect for others, I think, is the fundamental root of hatred and violence in our society. Following the advice of Elie Wiesel, I am choosing not to remain indiffer ent. Please leam from this incident and always respect those around you, whether they’ve inconve nienced you or nearly gotten you into a car accident. Nita Washburn graduate student educational psychology ? Healthy pride I’m one Nebraskan who is happy to see Veera Supinen go. I feel I have put up with her critiques of 1 American society for far too long. I have determined that her eight months here have been a complete waste of time because she has learned nothing about us. I have found her to be narrow-minded and judgmental of things/issues you know nothing about. I’m glad that my grandparents from Norway fell in love with this country and that, as a second generation American, I have the opportunity to reap from their hard work. So she can go home to Finland and her third-world idealism — we’re better off without her. Besides, I think “excessive pride” is downright healthy. Roger R. Johansen senior pre-dentistry More on Playboy This whole protesting Playboy thing seems a little ridiculous. For one, the fact that Playboy advertised in the DN doesn’t mean the univer sity supports what Playboy is doing. There’s just plain and simple business going on here. Second, it seems that there arc a few people on campus who want to make the decision whether or not to interview with Playboy for all the women on campus. The simple fact is that it’s none of your business. I can understand that some people might be offended by Playboy, but maybe the best thing you can do when something or someone offends you deeply is to simply turn away. After all, isn’t that what you’d want someone else to do if you offended them? Jason Cerny junior mechanical engineering Send your brief letters to: tol < VNKnH Daily Nebraskan, 34 TrlQ | Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588, or Fax TV T * 1 t0 (402) 472‘1761. or email XI C l^d <letters @ unlinfo.unl.edu.> X V-' Kyi. iXO JViXXX Letters must be signed and include a phone number for ► ' verification.
