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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1996)
| EDITOR Doug Kouma OPINION EDITOR Anne Hjersman EDITORIAL BOARD Doug Peters Matt Waite Paula Lavigne Mitch Sherman, Anthony Nguyen Time out Can’t keep cramming college into 4 years Every time a study or magazine ranking refers to “four-year, public universities,” they’re pulling one over on the American public, making hard-working college stu dents look like slothful foot-draggers. The four-year col- // lege concept is a thing of •• the past. It is as out-of date as pet rocks and FoUT-yCCLT Barry Manilow albums. Take UNL, for ex- institU ample. . ? This university is tlOTlx classified as a four-year t. • . institution, but less than ^ ^ JUSl a quarter of the fresh- nin’t on ” man who entered UNL 1 in 1992 had graduated by May. Many UNL stu dents take five years to graduate. Some take six or more. Four-year institution? It just ain’t so. Recently, administrators in the Univer sity of California system decided that col lege students needed a little nudge to get them out of the ivory tower. The nudge they proposed was more of a slap in the face. A plan currently being re viewed by UC administrators calls for a “sur charge” (also known as “fine”) of $1,000 for each quarter over four years a student re mains in school. That’s $4,000 a year — in addition to the normal costs of attending college. Some schools use methods other than financial penalties to entice students to fly the collegiate coop “on time.” Doane College in Crete, for example, guarantees that students will graduate in four years... if students meet regularly with their advisers, take no fewer than 15 credit hours per semester and attend school at Doane’s Crete campus for eight consecutive semes ters. And, of course, if they have one and only one major all through college. In other words, if they promise not to act like college students. We all could graduate in the magical four years if we picked one major and stuck with it, denying the changes in our goals and in terests during college. We could do it if we didn’t take jobs during college, if we passed up study-abroad opportunities or if we tried really hard not to get involved in campus activities and organizations. But the fact is, such an arrangement is neither feasible nor beneficial. Times have changed. Students who work to pay for their education or change majors to satisfy their intellectual curiosity should not be seen as nuisances or laggards. They represent the majority — the ones who know how outdated the label “four-year university” really is. So maybe the administrators at the Uni versity of California, who seem so eager to herd students out of the hallowed halls of higher education, could use a refresher course. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials arc the opinions of the Fall 1996 Daily Nebraskan. They do not neces sarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A colrnnn is soley the opinion of its. author. The Board of Regents serves as pub lisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by die Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production ofthe news paper According to policy set by the regents, .* responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lira solely in die hands of its stu dent employees. IS-*-' ~1 --*---*--* Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief let ters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submit ted material becomes the property of die Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebras kan. 34 Nebraska Unk>tU4<» R St Lin coln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters9unlinfo.unl.edu; ; (j f W\T 15 \T WTOR? | =—*-— Battling bigotry I would like to express my appreciation to Nick Wiltgen for his Oct. 11 column on homophobia. Although I am not gay, I am still enraged every time I am confronted with homophobia, which is on a daily basis. Homophobia is a sick mentality that much of our population holds. It is no less bigoted or discriminatory than racism, sexism or anything else that represses minorities. Homosexuals are the most repressed minority in our country today, even though they constitute more than 10 percent of the popula tion. I can’t go a day without hearing the word “fag” come out of someone’s mouth in a condemning manner. Sexual orientation is no less an in trinsic characteristic of who someone is than skin color or gender. Nobody chooses to be part of the most perse cuted group of people in our society today — regardless of what the Reli gious Right dr the politicians who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act say. Again, thank you, Mr. Wiltgen for your enlightening column. I can only hope those who read it gained a better understanding of what it’s like to be gay. Kent Downing freshman political science Homophobic hatred I would like to offer my congratu lations and support for Nick Wiltgen for having the courage to write the ' column that appeared in the Friday DN. If the words that he wrote changed the views of even one narrow-minded person, then that was the most valuable column that he has written. As a gay man living in today’s society, I also have to endure the bigotry and hatred that is put forth by many in the world today. My hope is that more people in the media (like Nick) continue to write about tolerance and understanding. Russell Johnson/DN As for the people who continue to hate... I feel very sorry for them, having that much anger and having to hide it under the cover of “Christian ity” and “morality,” when all it really is is hate. Ryan Green Lincoln Censorship applauded Matt LeMieux wrote of the threat to freedom posed by the removal of nudity from a play at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (“Censorship has foot in door at UNK,” Oct. 15). In typical ACLU alarmist fashion, he asked, “Where do you think the next act of censorship will take place? ... Will plays dealing with politically or religiously controversial issues be censored because they may be morally offensive to some in the community?” I would like to point out to Mr. LeMieux that no issues were censored. No ideas were banned. It was behavior, not ideas or issues, that UNK’s chancellor objected to. The play itself, which did not contain nudity until the director at UNK added it, was not banned. The theater department continues to be allowed to address any issues or ideas if wishes to address. The fact that UNK will not be a venue for public nudity does not inhibit the V discussion in any way. There is no question that the chancellor of any state university is responsible for the use of the tax dollars appropriated to the institu tion. The primary purpose for the University of Nebraska at Kearney, like any other institut ion of higher learning, is to educate. Because we value that education, we support UNK with precious tax dollars. I do not see how the taxpayer financed education of the students at UNK is advanced by having them expose themselves in public in any situation, and especially in a play that didn’t require the nudity to begin with. We don’t fund the theater department at Kearney or anywhere else simply to enable a director to make artistic statements that do not further the educational purpose of the institution. By objecting to this behavior, UNK’s chancel lor has shown prudent stewardship of limited resources. I applaud her, and I encourage Mr. LeMieux to find a real threat to freedom to challenge. If this is the only one he could find, I’d be more than happy to suggest a few. Brad Pardee Love Library Willey returns The DN printed the letter I wrote about Steve Willey’s disappointing first column of the semester, and I want to clarify on what I think happened to the poor chap. I ranted about how he must have been castrated because his column lacked any references to masturba tion, the butt, or mayonnaise. Now I know the truth of the matter. Willey is back! I now realize that Willey was not castrated but was in fact replaced by an evil clone. After reading his Oct. 11 column, I am convinced that the true Willey is • back in full effect. His humor was mixed with a bit of seriousness, and I felt he actually had a point. Rah-rah-rah, our savior, Steve Willey, has returned and we must all repent for our sins. Jason Flatowicz sophomore undecided 1> K Xa/ ebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, ' VV i to (402) 472-1761,pre-niaU<letter8@unlinfo.mii:eda..~ .a3oc/ ** an(* “cKw® * pbone number for verification •.
