EDITOR
DougKouma
OPINION
EDITOR
Anne Hjersman
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Doug Peters
Matt Waite
Paula Lavigne
Mitch Sherman
Anthony Nguyen
I’: “'-I
Metric move
Measure for measure,
U S. is far behind
From the Sacramento Bee, Sacramento,
Calif.
Looking ahead to the European
Community s year 2000
ban on importing
nonmetric products, the
U.S. government has
gotten metric fever once
again. As several previ
ously unsuccessful ef
forts to move Ameri
cans from miles to kilo
meters have proved,
implementing the
change won’t be an easy
process.
The United States
joined other nations as
early as 1821 in calling
for a coordinated world
wide system of weights
and measures; in 1866,
Congress legalized the
use of metric measures
in all contracts and
court dealings.
That may have
made metrics legal, but
they have never been
popular. In 1975, Con
gress passed die Metric
Conversion Act, a vol
untary law that attracted
few converts. In 1988,
the Omnibus Trade and
Competitiveness Act
again declared the met
— again to little effect.
This time, the fed
u
Eventually,
the tide
seems
0
certain to
sweep
away
America’s
lingering
attachment
to the
hodge
podge
of
idiosyn
cratic
measures
cherish”
•- 7
era! Department of _
Commerce is hoping to use a new promor
tion campaign to sell the country on the
power of 10. Arguing that competitiveness
on the world market makes conversion es
sential, the campaign will be pitched in terms
of economic stimulation and increased jobs.
Many American manufacturers already
recognize the world’s metric standard, espe
cially in export products. The pharmaceuti
cal, computer, automotive and photographic
industries are among America’s metric pio
neers,
Even in America, nobody thinks about
running to the drugstore for a roll of 1.38
inch film; 35 millimeter works just fine. Run
ners are comfortable with 5-K and 10-K runs,
and we watch Olympic hopefuls run 100
meters where once we cheered 100 yards.
Still, we’re a long way from asking
McDonald’s for a 113.4-gram burger or look
ing for a cowboy in a 37.85-liter hat
Eventually, the tide seems certain to
sweep away America’s lingering attachment
to the hodgepodge of idiosyncratic measures
we still cherish. Until then, we can just
hunker down and resist -— along with
Myanmar and Liberia, the only two other
countries that have foiled to convert.
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the
Fall 1996 DaQyNdxadam, They do not nec
essarily reflect die views of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its stu
dent body or the University of Nebraska
Board off Regents. A column is sotey die
opinion of its author. The Board of Regents
serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan;
policy is aet by die Daily Nebraskan Edito
rial Board. The UNL Publications Board, es
tablished by the regents, supervises the pro
dnction of the newspaper. According to
policy set by the 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
ten to the editor and guest columns, but
does not guarantee their publication. The
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Party rights?
It is obvious why there is a
difference between faculty and
students when comparing the
writings of columnist Nick Wiltgen
in the Noy. 26 DN and Dr. David
Moshman in his guest column printed
well on a serious threat to a'cad#^
freedom which can and will affect
both faculty and students at all
institutions of higher learning. V
Wiltgen writes well on a subject
that also may affect us all: legislated
morality. It is his immature choice of
arguments against legislated morality
that I find fault with. I read a number
of university-sponsored newspapers
around die country, and one thread
remains unbroken: the whining about
the threat to the college students’
right to get high or drunk.
i nere was anoiner recent arucie
on this same subject in this newspa
per and Wiltgen’s is the straw that
broke die camel’s back. I wish
today’s student would quit trying to
manufacture protests. The ’60s are
gone. You missed them!
Wiltgen won’t be able to write for
the Times based upon columns like
his. Instead of a real treatise on
legislated morality, he wants to give
he and his buddies the right to
destroy brain cells. I have more faith
in the American'student to believe
that the first and foremost thing on
their mind is whether or not they
have the right to vomit and get
headaches.
Having been there, it’s not all it's
cracked up to be. Ask Farley if it was
worth $6-7 million for his next day’s
headache!
JiaEvau
journalism teacher
Pittsburg, Kan.
Mutant message
I was absolutely horrified to read
Ron Sapp’s opinion of our football
team as “mutant sociopaths ferreted
from inner-city ghettos” in the DN on
I
Jason Gildow/DN
- . • .
Nov. 25, and I’m not even a football
fan. His remarks seem to me nothing
more than thinly-veiled racism levied
at an easy target.
In reading an update on the
university’s Campaign Nebraska, I
noticed A $20,000 scholarship
created by a former UNO athlete
from New Jersey, Jimmy Jones, who
wanted to give others from the East
Coast an opportunity for a unique
Midwestern educational experience.
To those from the inner cities, I
say welcome. To Ron Sapp (who
doesn’t even live here), I say look for
mutants in your own backyard and
spare the rest of us.
Victoria Kovar
Lincoln
Cruddy critique
lam side and tired of the blatant
ilackof knowledge used when
reviewing concerts. The best
example of this would be the review
of the Descendents’ concert that ran
Nov. 26.
First is the issue, of trashing the
Swingin’ Utters. They are one of the
fastest rising punk bands today and
they played an excdlent set. Just
because it’s not on the radio doesn’t
mean they played too long. Of all the
people I have talked to who are part
of the “punk” scene—it’s a lifestyle,
not music—think that the Swingin’
Utters were the best part of the show.
Next, you have the issue of the
Suicide Machines. Some people like
ska-punk, and that’s OK with me.
Wfaiat I have a problem with is the
Tadi the you attributed the injuries
that resulted from the concert to
them. The reason the injuries
occurred was because people in the
mosh pit were trying to prove how
many they were and not trying to
dance. Going to shows at die Ranch
Bowl is like playing football for kids.
Dance aggressively if you like, but if
you intentionally punch me, don’t
expect me not to punch you back.
Dig?
Last, but not least, we arrive at the
review of the Descendents’ set. At
one point in the review, it is said that
“Aukerman, who has obviously been
spending too much time in the
biology lab at the University of
Wisconsin...”. The authors follow
this statement by saying he “treated
the crowd with the favorite, All-O
Gistics.” Sorry, but I don’t see where
playing that song has anything to do
with histime working up north.
Finally, the band was praised for
breaking the laws of common sense.
No one can dance for an hour and a
half without collapsing! Don't
encourage bands to play longer sets,
because the audience will resent
them for it! *
I guess that, overall, I was just
annoyed with die ignorance that the
reviewers use to describe the show. If
you don’t know enough about a
musical genre/culture to make
informed statements, don’t review it!
By the way, I think the guy who
dropped his pants was the gutsiest
guy there, considering the number of
jocks at the show. I saw him being
targeted for fights because of it, but
he still did what Ik wanted to. Now
that's punk.
Matt Ingle
freshman
theatre arts
