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
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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
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M EH SUNG'S VIEW
