EDITOR
Doug Kouma
OPINION
EDITOR
Anne Hjersman
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Doug Peters
Matt Waite
Paula Lavigne
Mitch Sherman
Anthony Nguyen
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of die
Fall 1996 Daily Nebraskan. They do not neo
essarily reflect the views of the University
of Nebnska-Lmcoln, its employees, its stu
dent body or the University of Nebsaska
Bond of Regents. A column is soley the
opinion of its author The Board of Regents
serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan;
policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Edito
rial Bored. Die UNL Publications Board, es
tablished by die regents, supervises the pro
ducdon of die newspaper. According to
poficy set by the regents, responsibility for
5 the editorial content of die newspaper ties
I • ' i soWy in die hands of its student employees.
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Fallen hero
Rader’s greatness
tempered by humanness
Athletes are people too.
The harsh reality of that feet set in when
former Nebraska running back Mike Rozier
was shot three times and nearly killed out
side a bar in his hometown of Camden, N.J.,
on Nov. 6.
At Nebraska, Rozier had a stellar career,
rushing for a school and Big Eight record of
4,780 yards. He rushed for 51 touchdowns.
Twenty-nine of those in one season. Both
school records.
In 1983, he was awarded college
football’s highest individual prize: the
Heisman trophy. Many thought his talent was
the best they had ever seen.
Upon leaving Nebraska, things changed
rapidly for Rozier.
He was given a $3 million signing bo
nus as the No. 1 draft choice in the 1984
United States Football League when he was
drafted by Pittsburgh. Then, the next year,
Houston signed Rozier to a four-year deal
reportedly worth $1.4 million. After being
cut in 1990 by the Oilers, he struggled to fin
ish out his career with the Atlanta Falcons.
The greatest running back in the history
of Nebraska football rushed for only 4,462
yards and 30 touchdowns in seven NFL sea
sons. He scored one more touchdown than
he scored in 1983, his record-setting year,
and 318 yards less than what he rushed for
in three seasons at Nebraska.
But behind his eye-popping statistics and
jeputoriort for- being, an NFL bust,
Rozier’s off-field life was put on.,the back
burner by many people.
He would return to his hometown
Gamden every year, no matter how rough a
town it was. He didn’t become a different
person because he won a trophy only 60
people have won.
Then one night two weeks ago, Rozier
Stood"on astreet comer in his hometown with
a friend: A man walked up to them and pulled
a* gun, as Rozier tells it. The man fired six
shots, three times invading Rozier’s body and
three times hitting his friend, Bart Merrill.
Now Rozier lies in a hospital with black
ened bullet holes in his chest and hand.
“I’m the one who got shot,” Rozier told
The Associated Press. “Now I’m the bad
guy”
That’s an unfamiliar circumstance for
one of the “good guys1’ of the Nebraska foot
ball program.
He was cheered, adored and idolized by
a generation of current Comhusker fans who
would love to just catch a glimpse of Rozier
at any moment To watch him play was po
etry in motion as he fascinated his audience.
Now he has trouble walking down a hall
way just to say “hi” to a wounded friend.
Fans who watch mid play sports need to
realize that their sports heroes are just like
them. People just trying to survive.
Lettish Policy
H* Drily Nebraskan welcomes brief let
ters to the editor and guest columns, but
doe* not guarantee their publication. The
Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit
or reject my 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. Submit matoial to: Daily Ne
braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St
Lincoln, Neb. 68S88-0448. E-mail:
letters@unlinfb.unl.edu.
wtgSXmv \L/
Policy politics
The University’s decision not to
extend employee benefits to the
domestic partners of lesbians and gay
men is in violation of their own equal
opportunity and nondiscrimination
policies. The policy reads “Educa
tional programs, support services and
workplace behavior, including
decisions regarding hiring, promo
tion, discipline, termination AND
ALL OTHER TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT,
should be made without discrimina
tion on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, age,
disability, veteran status, marital
status OR SEXUAL ORIENTA
TION.” (Emphasis mine.)
There shouldn’t need to be a panel
discussion regarding what areas of
benefits would be affected nor any
political ramifications of extending
these benefits to the partners of gay
and lesbian employees. The Benefits
Committee shouldn’t have the power
to override the general Nondiscrimi
nation Policy of the University
simply because the question might
have political ramifications.
While the university maintains
that it does not discriminate against
people on the basis of sexual
orientation through its nondiscrimi
nation policies, the fact of the matter
is that die University of Nebraska has
rarely done anything to enforce that
particular part of its policies.
Just a few other examples where
the university has turned its eyes
away from blatant discrimination
include allowing ROTC to use
university facilities even though the
military actively discriminates on the
basis of sexual orientation and also
the fact that university housing for
married couples is not available to
lesbian or gay couples.
In light of these things, one can
see that the university’s nondiscrimi
nation policy is merely a feel-good
statement aimed at appeasement.
Robert W. Anderson
graduate student
unclassified
Worldly view
I am writing in response to
Tuesday’s article, “Travels open
student’s eyes to other cultures.” My
purpose in agreeing to be inter
viewed for this article was to share
some of the benefits that I have
experienced from traveling and
studying abroad with the students,
faculty and staff of the University of
Nebraska. As I read through the
article, I felt as though there were
more negative connotations than
positive. Therefore, I would like to
review what was said in the inter
view. : * - -' >
At an early age, I was taught by
my father that education through
traveling was beneficial for my life
experience. I began to learn that
living in a different culture and
interacting with the people who
sometimes seem to be so far away
had a tremendous impact on my
thoughts and understanding of the
world around me. I began to under
stand die importance of learning
from people of different ethnic
backgrounds. My experiences as a
young child prepared me for the
future and helped me to step out of
my comfort zone so that I could
become completely immersed in
another culture.
My time spent overseas has taught
me many valuable lessons. It has
taught me that every individual on
this earth has something to contribute
to the world. It has taught me that the
similarities in people far outweigh
the differences. And it has taught me
that the world is becoming smaller
and smaller.
Traveling and studying abroad is
about education. It is a continual
process that will last a lifetime. It
helps you put feelings with the faces
that you see on television every day.
It helps you to grow into a person
who is willing to take more risks—
to become passionate about events or
issues that interest you. It helps you
to better understand your role in the
world.
The statement in the article about
my alleged embarrassment by the
behavior of all American tourists was
very misleading. While some may
exhibit these behaviors, many
American travelers are respectful of
the people and their ways of life.
I wish to make a formal apology
to anyone who was offended by the
tone of this article. It reflects neither
my feelings nor my experiences with
regards to overseas travels, the
United States or other countries. I
had hoped that the article would help
support the efforts of the Interna
tional Affairs office, to raise the
awareness of the importance of
international study as part of the
undergraduate experience.
Jen Thompson
senior
Spanish
