The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 23, 1997, Page 4, Image 4
EDITOR ; ; DougKouma • OPINION EDITOR Anthony Nguyen EDITORIAL BOARD. AnneHjersman Paula Lavigne Joshua GiHfar Jessica Kennedy Jeff Randall ----- ' -- - • - ■ -• - --T Our VIEW 1 - -V 'y'-\ '"p: SPy- - • y Money talks Students should voice full-funding support The University of Nebraska budget fig ures, while perhaps not as exciting as the score of a Husker basketball game or the outcome of a wrestling dual, represent something that affects us all. For fiscal year 1997-98, the university has requested a budget increase of $18.39 million, for a budget of $350 million. In turn, Gov. Ben Nelson recommended the university receive a $9.18 million increase, for a total budget of $341.5 million. Nelson’s recommendation represents a 2.77 percent change over fiscal year 1996 97. But such a minor increase does not ad equately cover the potential effects UNL stu dents might experience. Although the request is for the whole university system, UNL would not be immune to any impacts from a budget shortfall. NU President Dennis smith has said he will still seek full funding from the Legisla ture. We support Smith’s decision to continue pursuit for the requested amount. As we adapt to new sleep cycles, struggle with our class schedules and try to balance a social life with work, we should realize that if we don't voice our opinions, the shortfall in the budget will come from somewhere. Our pockets, probably. University budget problems cannot be solved simply by administrative downsizing or increased efficiency. The $9 million dif ference may be made up with increased tu ition. And although UNL is still an affordable institution of higher learning, it will become increasingly difficult to justify tuition in creases above and beyond the cost of infla tion. But it’s not just a tuition increase that we should be fearful of—rather, it's the poten tial loss of programs and other privileges here at the university we take for granted. Smaller departments such as those in the College of Fine and Performing Arts are, and would be, in danger ofbecoming extinct It wouldn t be fair tor someone who chose a major in that college to get a third of the way through his or her career and then find out that the university had decided to elimi nate the program. The shortfall in funding would affect these departments as larger ones, such as bio logical sciences, have funding not solely based on the current proposed budget It could rely on grants and other means offundmg to stay afloat But that wouldn’t address the concerns of the smaller departments. Spend a few minutes to take the time to talk to a state senator. Tell him or her that, as students, we do care. And make sure our voices are heard when the university testifies before the Legislature’s Appropriations Com mittee March 11. Silence is a vote for indifference. 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 sotey the opinion ofits author The Board of Regents • servesas publisher of tbeDaily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Edito rial Board The UNI, Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the pqwr According topolky set by the regents, responsibility for fee edi torial content of the-newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Mehs ling’s VIEW 111 m(TRoosaiep)aiTOM | ANDTMWlDTRE JA 21m CEMTlfft_ I \ T t ' I V' * *• I DN LETTERS UNL-off-line^ As of Feb. 1, the university will no longer offer e-mail dial-up services to students who live off campus. Sane foolish “reasons” have been offered for this change in policy. The university would have to invest in technology, we’re told—as if we had no business involving ourselves in the information age. But the truth is that the fate of the university as an institution lies in the very technology we’re backing away from now. Remote learning is the future of the American university, no more so than here, in a land-grant institution with a mandate to bring educational opportunities to all Nebraskans. Answer me this, e-boys and girls: \ Will there be more electronic contact between students and faculty, more programs offered in e-format, more reason to dial up the university in the 21st century or will there be less? And it s not some vague, science fiction future that will see more non traditional students, more working students, more students with homes and families of their own —- already among GenXers everywhere the question “are you taking classes this semester?” has replaced “what do you do for a living?” Why must this growing group of students take a back seat to teen agers whose parents are footing the bill for everything? The university system pioneered the Internet. If has been at the forefront of the digital revolution. Is it now to abandon this resource to commercial enterprise? Only a strong virtual presence can guarantee a vital academic future—the same people who want to exclude us know this. Investments in technology will continue at the University of - Nebraska—it is only the off campus students who will suffer. Mark Baldridge senior English Jim Mehsung/DN Three Count Disappointed doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt Monday morning when I opened the DN to the sports page and found a large color picture of Husker wrestler Darin Giese in a compromising position. Kli admit that in the four years that 1 have attended this university and have been associated with Nebraska wrestling, there have been many times when I’ve felt that the DN should have given wrestling more press. ror example, two years ago wnen Tolly Thompson won his national championship in the heavyweight division, or last year when the team placed fifth in the nation, or even this weekend when Nebraska hosted the Cliff Keen NWCA National Dual Team Championships for the fifth year in a row. Certainly, however, this was never the type of press that l had hi mind. The DN would never have shown a touchdown being scored by Arizona State,,would they? This incident is comparable to ; such a picture being printed. I only hope that the 15 visiting teams that competed here this ... . r kS* . .. weexena, or wmcn are presenuy ranked in the top 20 in their respective divisions, were well on their way home before the paper , came out Monday morning. I also hope that when they returned home, the stories of their wins or losses of the weekend were : treated with more respect than the DN had chosen to show our own nationally ranked Nebraska wres ... tling team. Amanda Greenwood senior psychology Co-captain of Nebraska Wrestling Spirit Leaders Dis-ska-pointed ~ When Patrick Miner entered the Goldfinger show on Sunday, he obviously had his mind set on what the show was going to be like. He doesn’t seem to enjoy ska music. So why is he an “expert” on it? The crowds at Ranch Bowl have never heard of die term “skank,” which is the style of dance seen at most ska shows, so I don’t know why he was surprised by the excessive moshing. Another thing, most people at the show were there to see die bands (mainly Goldfinger) not a video about Sublime. The wily person who noticed it was Patrick Miner. But he thought it was so important to the show that he had to waste a whole paragraph that could have been used to cover more important things like Reel Big Fish’s set. Miner also should realize that Goldfinger played more ska tunes than punk. So in actuality, the show was composed of three ska-punk bands riot just two. Goldfinger covered classic ska tunes like “Nite Club” by the Specials and “Smiling” by Operation Ivy, proving in feet that they are a ska/punk band. This isn’t the first article that I have been disappointed with regarding Patrick and his reviews. Filip Landsberg * freshman computer science H