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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1996)
EDITOR DougKouma OPINION EDITOR Anne Hjersman EDITORIAL BOARD Doug Peters Matt Waite ~ Paula Lavighe Mitch Sherman Anthony Nguyen W ■ 4 Inflammatory Texaco racism case should spark change From The San Diego Union-Tribune. The disclosure that senior Texaco offi cials used racial epithets in closed-door meet ings to characterize black employees is a tt _ highly disturbing re minder that racism still persists in executive What is suites of corporate America. most According to tran- # scripts of the meetings, dismaying which were secretly re- , , . corded by one partici- CLOOUt trllS pant, the Texaco ex ecutives referred to ^pO' black middle-manag- incident is ers with such offensive terms as “nigger” and ft did “black jelly bean.” They were discussing riot involve a racial discrimination suit filed against the lOW-Or giant oil company by . , , , African-American em- 77HCL-tevei The recordings employees, also capmred toe New but rather York-based executives discussing the possible Texaco shredding of docu ments that might re- officials at fleet badly on Texaco. If that was done with the highest ' materials relevant to , ' - the discrimination suit, ranks Of it was a federal crime. .» Accordingly, the U.S. ^ ££? £yS". company.’ criminal investigation. j What is most dis- , maying about this ugly incident is that it did not involve low- or mid-level employees, but rather Texaco officials at the highest ranks of the company. It illustrates, at the very least, that Texaco’s corporate culture tolerates such reprehensible racism, even if it violates the firm’s official policies. In response to the disclosures, reported by The New York Times, Texaco’s chairman, « Peter Bijur, has suspended (with pay) two of the executives involved in the meeting. Given that there appears to be no doubt they in fact did use the racial shirs, they should have been fired on the spot Meanwhile, a group of San Diego cler gymen and business leaders has urged con sumers to boycott Texaco. That sentiment certainly is understandable, because it gives Americans an opportunity to express their justifiable outrage. But we would be even happier if Texaco took the very firm steps necessary to stamp out such intolerable be havior once and fbr all. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorial* are die opinions of the Fall 1996Daily Nebraskan. They do not nec essarily reflect the views of the University of Nebnskn-Liacob, its employees, its stu dent body or die University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is sofey tbe opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher ofthe Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Edito rial Board. The UNL Publications Board, es tablished by the regents, supervises die pto docdon of die newspaper According to policy set by die regents, responsibility fbr the editorial content of die newspaper lies solely hi the hands of its student employees. I Letter Policy The Drily Nebraskan welcomes brief let ten to die editor and guest columns, bat does not guarantee tea publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or rqect any material submitted. Submit ted material becomes the property ctf the DaQy Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters most identify themselves by name, year in school, mqor and/or group affilia tion, if any. Submit material to: DaQy Ne braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters9unlinfb4inLedu. ( > NMUO SAVS TfS IPD am w- ~ ... - —J ' 1 MmmBui Unappetizing news ■- g m — •• - #r Are you planning to carve up a turkey this Thanksgiving? If so, I beg you to reconsider. Popular imagery has the Thanks giving turkey as a proud, brown bird strutting around in a pilgrim’s hat, honored to be at the center of our harvest celebration. Reality is quite different. Today’s commercial turkeys live shot, miserable lives, most in facilities that are more factory than farm. Bred for rapid growth, they grow faster than their bodies can handle, leaving them unable to walk or reproduce naturally. Crammed together in the name of profit, commercial turkeys get about 3 square feet of floor space each. Packed this tightly, turkeys tend to injure one another in frustration, so producers lop off their beaks and toes in an attempt to limit the damage. Turkeys are slaughtered at the age of 6 months. Hung upside down, they move on a conveyor to the sloppy neck cut that may or may not kill Ty*' / 1 Russell Johnson/DN them prior to their plunge into a feather-loosening tank of scalding water. Doesn’t it strike you as inappro priate to give thanks for life, health and liberty, with the carcass of one of these miserable, mistreated birds? I suggest you remove the turkey from the center of your table and fill up instead on the many vegetable and grain-based treats that remain. Even though Thanksgiving has come to be called “turkey day,” meat isn’t what makes the day special. The time shared with family and friends is what you will remember. Lawrence L. Duke Lincoln Football follies I have been a college football fan for many years and truly love the Spirit of the game. However, I am amazed at the lack of integrity shown by the school and its football coaching staff—starting with the head coach. Every year, Nebraska and Colorado as well seem to gravitate to the inner city ghettos to ferret out mutant sociopathic football players to help the school maintain its pigskin tradition.... Truly this is absolutely contrary to what football and college is all about. I couldn’t imagine how many of Nebraska and Colorado former football players are in prison today. I am just confused as hell how the college can allow the recruiting staff to bring criminals to the campus and integrate than into the school. Money and football bowls don’t have anything to do with it, do they? Ron Sapp . Seattle
