EDITOR DougKouma OPINION EDITOR Anne Hjersman EDITORIAL BOARD Doug Peters Matt Waite Paula La vigne Mitch Sherman Anthony Nguyen OUR VIEW Red ink Deficit decline means diddly to national debt The federal deficit for the current fiscal year is expected to be the smallest annual imbalance in seven years. This is to be die m fourth straight annual decline after the defi cit peaked at a record $290.4 billion in 1992. But don’t start cel ebrating yet The red ink so far this year is 15.9 per cent below the $171.1 billion during the same period of 1995, the Treasury Department reported Monday. Ifyoudothemath, that should bring the deficit for fiscal 1996 to about $144 billion. That’s no pocket change. Should students have any interest in the deficit? '• You’d better be lieve it But each year’s deficit is just a drop in the bucket when you consider the big picture —the big ugly picture otherwise known as the national debt, the sum Your share of the federal debt is $19,651. That’s enough to cover four years at this university and have enough left over for a textbook or two.” of aU coyotxy-s . ... . , borrowings from government trust funds. Though it may be slowing, the $5.2-tril lion monster is still growing, and those of us now getting into the work force are going to be the ones to pay for it. Interest alone on the debt is at $323.3 billion for the fiscal year so far. Just lastmonth $23.1 billion worth of interest accumulated. Got your interest now? How about this: Your share of the fed eral debt is $19,651. That’s enough to cover four years at this university and have enough left over for a textbook or two. And that number isn’t getting any smaller. If no other issue gets your interest this election year, the money you sire paying into this vacuum we call the federal government should. It’s still the economy, stupid. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinioos of the Pall 1996 Daily Nebraskan. They do not neces sarily reflect (he views of die University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is soley the opinion of its author. The Bored of Regents serves aspab lisher of the Daity Nebraskan; policy is set by (he Drily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNLPnblications Board, established by die regents, st^pervises die production of die news paper According to policy set by the i^ents, responsibility for the odfrorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its stn Letter Policy The Daily Nebnnkan welcomes brief let tcrs to the editor and guest columns, but does not guasantceliirir publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit ct reject my nuterial submitted Submit ted material becomes the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be patBsbed, Those wfaosobnahletteiiaaust identify themselves by name, year in school, nugor and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Drily Nebsas kan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400R St Lin coln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters ♦unlinfo.unl.edu. to \m Wfe K cmtz.b? ww». A friend's response I am writing in response to the col umn “Life weighs in heavier than im age,” written by Anne Hjersman in the Daily Nebraskan’s Health and Fitness Special Edition (Sept. 20, 1996). Be cause Anne was not able to contact me before the column was published, I have decided to write and clear up a few points that have bothered me. I am the friend who Anne writes of whose life, she says, “was spiraling into a mad cycle ofbingeing and purg ing.” I feel my experiences as a bulimic should be expressed differ ently than this. My eating disorder was not my entire life. It may have seemed that way at the time, but when I stepped back and put everything into perspective, it was just a small part of my life that I could control. I learned it was OK to ask for help, but that I was in control of my own life, and I could only get real help when I was ready. Anne goes on to write that I thought I was in control of my situa tion. Six years ago, when I began bingeing and purging, I thought I was in control. This is what perpetuated the ritual. However, as time and the illness progressed, I realized I was completely out of control. I believed I was so out of control that there was no help for me. Then I began to be lieve if I was perfect, I would have control. This neurotic thinking pushed me to achieve more and demand more of myself in all areas of my life. How ever, I could never attain my goal and therefore was never in control. I real ized perfection is not what life is about. It’s about stopping to smell the roses, and laughing—whether you are fat, thin, short, tall, black, blue, green, whatever. Just relaxing and putting things into perspective. The part of the column that both ered me die most was the contradic tion between the headline and its con tents. Although the headline, “Life weighs in heavier than image,” sounds great, not once does the column men tion anything about getting past what our society considers an ideal body LETTERS L - AARON STKCKELBEKG'DN image and to what is really important: the personality inside. I was hurt that Anne had drama tized my illness, as I am still in recov ery. My eating disorder is not my life, and I hope an obsession with thinness does not become hers. Kimberly A. Hovseth senior psychology Fair weather fans It is Monday alter die loss, and I am driving back to Lincoln from my 24th Husker game in a row. On the radio I hear negative comments about the Comhuskers coming from the mouths of so-called fans. I found it strange that these fans were so quiet in Tempe, despite the fact that a large portion of Sun Devil Stadium was wearing red. The silence was almost as deafening as the stu dent section was during the opener against Michigan State. It's obvious the fair-weather fens have plenty of voice left to run their mouths off. I’m sickened by the lack of vocal encouragement our fellow stu dent athletes have received from these apathetic fans. My voice is still hoarse from yell ing “DEFENSE,” in a vain effort to disrupt the ASU quarterback. The oily person 1 disrupted was a Nebraska fan in front of me who had the audacity to say I was making too much noise! That comment typified the attitude our team has received for their efforts. Ask yourself this question: If your son was on the team, would you tell him how disgusted you were with his performance, or would you give him words of encouragement? Every Nebraska football player and coach gives his time and effort into making this program the best in the nation. No individual player, fan or game will ever change the integrity of the program that Tom Osborne and his coaching staff have built. I personally challenge every true Husker fan to make this Saturday’s game the loudest ever! I promise the team will respond. GO BIG RED! Rob Hessman junior finance Alas, a loss No more winning streak, no number one, Lost our bragging rights, it ain’t so fun. Lost our {side, lost all of our fame, But most of all, we lost the game. We can’t seem to run, the offense is lost, Who should we blame, Green or Frost? It is just a game, it is not the whole world, But watching them lose almost made me hurl. We won’t get the three-peat, oh my dear, Guess we’ll just win the title again next year. Nichoiam Yager freshman math PS. Write T$ack Send letters to: baity Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska y^n*1400 "R" ^, LiiKolfl, NE 68588,orfaxto<402H?2-176I,or e-maiI