| 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 It is as out-of
date as pet rocks and FoUT-yCCLT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who know how outdated the label “four-year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
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if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebras
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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..~
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