The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 17, 1997, Page 4, Image 4
4 EDITOR Doug Kouma OPINION EDITOR Anthony Nguyen EDITORIAL BOARD Anne Hjersman Paula Lavigne Joshua Gillin Jessica Kennedy Jeff Randall Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Univer sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board 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 Board The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the edi torial 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 submined. Sub mined material becomes the property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be re turned. Anonymous submissions will not be published.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 material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail: leners@unlinfo.unl.edu. I ' DN Quotes OF THE WEEK “I've made a deliberate effort not to get involved with computers.” — State Sen. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth on the recent purchase of laptop computers for the Legislature “At times, this almost felt like a non game in terms of intensity and in terms of interest I'm sorry for that.” —NU Coach Tom Osborne on the lack of interest at the Orange Bowl “If you check your gut, something says, ‘Hey, it's time.' I think the campus will benefit from a new infusion of leader ship.” — University of Nebraska at Omaha Chancellor Del Weber on his decision to retire “It's the best for the taxpayers. It's a business decision, not a legal decision.” — Lincoln City Council Chairwoman Cindy Johnson on the Francisco Renteria Civil-suit settlement “With my heart, I always wanted to come back.” — NU rush end Grant Wistrom on his decision to stay for his senior year “We must talk openly about race rela tions in this country and try to leave the angry rhetoric behind.” — Attorney General Janet Reno in a speech observing the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “In the garage-rock cult world, we sound overproduced. We’re low-fi junkie—we get dissed from zines because we don’t sound crappy enough.” — Doug Roberson, lead guitarist, Bent Scepters “If we were in any other city in the league, the fans would’ve been booing us off the ice. It’s kind of nice to not be struggling and come into your own barn with the fans behind you.” —Marc Suderman, starting center Lin coln Stars, on fan support “I’ll miss it like crazy. But everything happens for a reason. I guess God just has another plan for me.” — Stacie Maser, a middle blocker for the Nebraska volleyball team, after her ca reer ended with a chronic knee injury “Right now, chemistry-wise, we’re still working on it. Believe it or not, even though we’re 11-1,1 can’t say we have played our best basketball yet.” — Husker Coach Angela Beck “Hit him! Stab him with your hockey cleat!” — Fan at Stars game “The Tickle Me Elmo people are scram bling to get new versions of their giggling Muppet on the market, because the Cab bage Patch Snack Time Kid debacle took a bite (Ouch! now that’s a bad pun) out of their post-holiday orders.” — Daily Nebraskan columnist Brent Pope Mehs line’s VIEW ABSOLUT TAX BREAK J.J. HARDER Stay between the lines Proceed with caution; don’t let safety take back seat When I was looking at colleges, it did not seem too hard to become a UNL student. I encountered a fairly flat, relatively compact campus, a major city with family values and friendly people all nestled cozily in the heartland of America. Awwwwww. Don’t you just have that squishy feeling inside? Before you get out your lighters and start singing “Kumbayah”— take a lode around. After you finally master the one-way streets and get past the massive construction sites, you are hit with a rash arctic chill that turns the campus into a veritable frozen tundra. Realistically though, these things all take a back seat to one of the biggest problems at the university: Traffic! The constant war that pits automobile against pedestrian. Half ' of the campus might be closed to cars, but the other half has more than its fair share. Every day, students coming from and going to the dorms and parking lots are forced to deftly maneuver through inpatient drivers, semi-truck deliveries and monstrous buses just to receive their daily serving of academia. That’s not to say students are all following the state’s pedes trian regulations to a T, but some thing has to change. In the first half of 1996 alone, there were nine traffic accidents on campus that were recorded with the University Police and the Lincoln Police Department. That doesn’t include the infinite number of close encounters and whatever goes on in the wonderful farming community of East Campus. The statistics from the latter half of the year have yet to be compiled, I-- - it The driving around here is worse than the acting on ‘Saved By the Belir but I am sure some of us might remember two instances during fall semester that brought about a broken windshield and a few thrown bodies. In the absence of abolishing vehicles inside the city limits or the unveiling of an expansive campus walkway system, everyone needs to do his or her own little part to cut down on the existing conditions and future massive head wounds. These simple guidelines might be of some assistance: 1. WHEN THE SIGN READS DON’T WALK — DON’T WALK! I know you are all in a hurry and can see that the cross traffic has a red light, but if you wait a minute, the other cars can turn right and will not get backed up to 1-80. 2. RED MEANS STOP! I am also well-aware that this one is not as easy to follow because the instructions are not actually written out for you, but unless you are colorblind there should not be a problem. (And even then the red one is usually on top.) 3. USE THE CROSSWALKS! People are supposed to walk through the designated crossing areas, hence the name, not just anywhere they feel like. There is no doubt in my mind that some of you do have world renowned cat-like speed and re flexes, but my bet is on the two-ton piece of metal. 4. HAVE COMMON COUR TESY! The nicest people in the world live here, but when a few of them get into their cars, a priest needs to be called to exorcise some demons! And if it is not just plain viciousness that inhabits the local drivers, it is the absence of driving ability. The driving around here is worse than the acting on “Saved By the Bell!” So just try to be nice and let cars and students alike get where they need to go as quickly as they can without dismembering any people or disfiguring any small imports. There are enough things to fear in this world besides getting run over walking to class, so take some Vivarin to keep alert, a little — insert item of choice — to keep your temper down and some good old fashioned Nebraska friendliness with you, and let’s hope everyone can keep his or her windshields, limbs and minds intact. Harder is a sophomore broad casting major and a Daily Nebras kan columnist in, —--■ ■. '-: