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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1996)
EDITOR DougKouma OPINION EDITOR Anne Hjersman EDITORIAL BOARD Doug Peters Matt Waite Paula Lavigne Mitch Sherman Anthony Nguyen \—1 Campaign ’96 ENDORSEMENT Initiatives 411, 412 Vote No Constitutional change would cripple schools Quality education and lower taxes — guaranteed by the state government. Who could argue with that? These promising objectives are the aims of Nebraska ballot initiatives 411 and 412, which are being sold as a package deal to Nebraska voters. But don’t buy it. If the initiatives could produce the things they promise without creating negative ef fects elsewhere, they would certainly be hard to oppose. But 411 and 412 don’t do that. They don’t even come close. And Nebraska vot ers shouldn’t come close to passing them. As they appear on the ballot, the initia tives sound appealing enough. in tneoiy, initiative 411 wouia maxe “quality education” a fundamental constitu tional right of each Nebraskan. It would make it the “paramount duty” of the state to en sure that every person between the ages 5 and 21 be provided with a “thorough and ef ficient education.” Sounds great. But what is a “quality education”? And who decides what makes it “thorough and efficient”? How are such things measured? And what happens if parents decide their children are not getting the full benefits of this pro posed constitutional right? For these reasons, state educators have voiced their opposition to this initiative and initiative 412 — and we join them.., Initiative 412 is supposed to give prop erty owners in the state a break on taxes. It is more likely to break the school systems. Money for education has to come from some where. Other taxes will have to be increased. It’s simple economics. If this initiative package is passed, state schools would be forced to compete for lim ited private funds, and the Legislature would be forced to cover the slack with food, in come and service taxes. In a joint statement released Thursday, educators from the state’s 26 colleges and universities summarized their main concerns, saying “the constitutional requirement for ‘quality education’ in initiative 411 would require courts, rather than local school boards, to make important decisions about Nebraska’s public schools.” This would cripple the state’s schools and the already bogged courts. Educators also expressed concern that “the constitutional lid in initiative 412 would create enormous pressure for tax increases and tax shifts and it could be modified only by a statewide vote.” But that could all be avoided. The Daily Nebraskan urges voters to mark “against” next to ballot initiatives 411 and 412. If we do that, we will, in effect, be voting for educators — and giving them the freedom to provide the quality education our children deserve. I Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of die Fall 1996 Daily Nebraskan. They do not nec essarily reflect die views of the University of Nebraska-Uncoln, its employees, its stu dent body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is soley die opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Edito rial Board. The UNL Publications Board, es tablished by the regents, supervises the pro duction of the newspaper. According to policy set by die regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. 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 the 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 affilia tion, if any. Submif material to: Daily Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. | f ‘ H0-\ SNMT Ufc WW.bOlB.CM. i_ I ^_ I f I Men: Raise voices, not fists Editor’s Note: This guest column was written and submitted by senior psychology major Billy Aplin on behalf of Men Speak Out Against Violence. If you are a male and have spent much time living in America, you have undoubtedly encountered an attitude that may be interpreted as male-bashing—an attitude charac terized by intense resentment for a male-dominated society that has tolerated and perpetuated domestic violence, gender inequality and sexual violence, predominantly against women and children. For a long time, I became defensive when I encountered such attitudes. I remember feeling like it was open season on males and someone had painted a bull’s-eye on my chest. I would think to myself, “Hey, I’m not that kind of guy. I would never do something like that,” but to no avail. It was as though someone packed my luggage full of all this crap that I didn’t want and ran the other direction. Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck with it. ii was omy a iew years ago mat 1 decided to stop resenting the dubious legacy of the past. It was time to sort through all of the crap that had been packed for me and to see if these strident claims against men had any validity. Without hesitation, I must say that the answer was a resounding yes. I didn’t have to look any further than my own experiences to see the grave consequences of a society built on patriarchy and the violence that inevitably accompanies it. As I examine my own life, a distinct pattern of violence commit ted by men emerges in which people Ilove were deeply affected. I was raised by a rageful father who took his anger out, both physically and verbally, an hi$%ife and children, just as his father did before him. By the time I was 7, my father had been murdered by another man. Unfortunately, the pattern of violence continued. Both of my sisters were raped in dating situations as teen-agers, and my little brother is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence for accessory to kidnapping and murder. This is a tragic example of one family’s experience with violence, but one that is h6t‘unique in U I was raised by a rageful father who took his anger out, both physically and verbally, on his wife and children, just as his father did before him.” our country. National statistics reveal that as much as 95 percent of all violent crimes in America are committed by men. This is symptomatic of the socialization practices of males in America. We are spilling the blood of those most dear to us, and that blood is staining the very fabric of our society; starting with the family unit and spilling over into the community and the nation. The most useful lesson to be gleaned from knowing that men are predominantly the problem is that we can be part of the solution. In fact, we must be. For too long we have considered such issues as domestic violence and rape as pertaining only to women. We live in an interconnected world, and people we know and love are being raped, murdered and abused. It is time we start working together to end violence in our communities. Toward this end, I have recently been involved in a newly formed organization of men who want to be part of the solution. The name of this organization is Men Speak Out Against Violence. We are an organi zation committed to developing a climate in our community that does not tolerate violence in any form. Our message to men is intended to address issues of awareness, leader ship and respect. We aim to make men aware by educating them about the different aspects of violence, and how violence may affect us in our daily lives. In addition, we stress the impor tance of leadership in our everyday lives. We assert that in order to counteract violence, we must confront and interrupt the violent and abusive behaviors of our peers. To accomplish this, we must teach nonviolent alternatives of communi cation, and protect those who are most vulnerable. In order for any of this to be effec tive, we also stress the importance of respect. Respect is a key element for our message, because without a healthy respect for self and others, one cannot fully appreciate the damage caused by violence. Men Speak Out Against Violence also has a powerful message for women: You do not have to expose yourselves to violent and abusive behaviors, and there are a great deal of men who will stand beside you. The men of Men Speak Out Against Violence are not experts about violence. We are ordinary men from all walks of life who are no longer willing to stand back and watch violence destroy our commu nity. We do not approach other men as potential perpetrators. On the contrary, we believe that the majority of men have the same convictions as we do, but may not feel comfortable con fronting their friends or may not know how to approach them. However, there is culpability in silence. It is time we confront these issues and establish a dialogue among men to create solutions. Men Speak Out Against Violence is both a challenge and an invitation. I challenge you to examine your role as a brother, a partner, a father and a friend, and to determine where you can make a difference within the context of your own life. I also invite you to join us in our efforts. * v Our inaugural meeting will be tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bryan Medical Plaza Conference Center. Police Chief Tom Casady and County Attorney Gary Lacey will be among the presenters. A list of resources will also be available to those needing assistance. For more information, call 441-7716. Join us this evening and help us take our first step toward an end to * violence in out Community. \ v
