- . . . J.J. 1 r.
HARDER ' ' ?
4 'x *
*oise
America’s youth corrupted by the antics of band
Kill your parents.
Yeah, that’s right.
Kill your parents is the wonderful
phrase gracing the back of a Marilyn
Manson T-shirt. Sounds like a nice,
family-oriented rock group, right?
On the contrary.
Marilyn Manson is a relatively
new industrial group with painted
faces and devilish themes that gives
new meaning to the parental
advisory label. They are currently on
a nationwide tour, causing family
associations and politicians alike to
try and cancel concerts and hide their
children.
Their on-stage antics have
involved such lovely attractions as
multiple types of sexual immorality
—not to mention inviting the lead
singer’s 11-year-old brother to come
up naked.
They are not just a new band that
is a cross between Nine Inch Nails
and Kiss, but are a persona of the
demoralization of America. They
may have some things in common
IU-:
They are not just a new hand that is a cross between Nine Inch
Nails and Kiss, but are a persona of the demoralization of
America.”
I
with regular bands, but have mole
overriding major differences.
Many bands have peculiar names
for themselves, albums and songs,
but Manson has taken the witty art to
a new level. If it is not bad enough'
that they are named after a ndtbnous
serial killer, then their album
“AntichristSuperstar” might be a
little hint that they are not exactly
trying to fit into the Cleaver family.
And although “Scabs, Guns, and
Peanut Butter” may be a very
appropriate title for an Army survival
video, I can’t envision seeing those
words on the Billboard Top 50 any
time soon.
Music has obviously evolved into
an outlet that is more than organized
noise. Musicians and listeners regard
it as a poetic artform with politically,
socially and morally charged themes.
The majority of artists do not care
if audiences agree with/their views,
and Manson (the lead singer of the
band of the same name) is no
different. ~L...
v ^ * , \4. . ’ v
~ He said in a recent issue of -
Rolling Stone that “(his music) has
been designed to speak to the people
that understand it and to scare the
people that don’t.”
I will admit that I come frighten*
ingly close to soiling myself every
time I catch a glimpse of one of their
videos, but I do understand what
Manson believes in.
He wants people to be their own
gods and to forget about political
correctness.
I strongly disagree with his first
claim. I do not think that the self
oriented views affiliated with the
Church of Satan can in any way help
our society to prosper. We need to
act as one body and try to achieve
appropriate moralistic goals on a
societal level, not in an individualis
tic, anarchic scramble.
As for Manson’s stance against
political correctness, it is the one and
only issue on which 1 halfway agree
with the singer. We all should be our
own persons, while living collec
tively as a nation,
I wish people did not identify
themselves as “African-American,”
“Asian-American,” “Mexican
American” and “Sri Lankan
American,” but just American.
However, I have a feeling that
Manson’s “Kill Your Parents” line of
thinking is a tad bit different than my
one-culture philosophy.
So what, if anything, should be
done about these anti-religious freak
shows that are sweeping across the
nation faster than theTickle-Me
Elmo craze?
If you think that they are just a
bunch of weird metal rockers that
went a little too crazy with the
makeup and insects on MTV — then
do nothing.
But if it seems to you that they are
adding tremendously to the corrup
tion of our world — take action.
Hundreds of thousands of lost,
little junior high kids are succumbing
to Manson’^rebellion philosophy
and need help. Adolescents are
especially looking for acceptance and
easily find it in their own little, scary
group of friends.
Just because Manson was severely -
disturbed as a child does not mean
that he should help to pollute the
already tainted young minds of
America.
The impressionable young people
of this country need to be encouraged
by positive role models and learn
from good examples -— and that is
exactly what we can do.
Regardless of the group’s musical
talent, its demoralizing nature is
unacceptable. On one hand, I feel like
an old man, whittling a piece of wood
on my front porch yelling, “Dam
punks and their rock ‘n’ roll music!”
as the hoodlums drive past while
butchering “Sweet Dreams ” but I
have a feeling that really is not how it
is.
“Antichrist superstars” like
Marilyn Manson have every right to
play their music freely, but the
families of America have the duty to
cling to the last bit of decency they
have left and put these demonic
idiots out of business.
Harder is a sophomore broad
casting major and a Daily Nebras
kan columnist.
Steve
WILLEY
mi 1 .I;.:.®, *1
m..
On paper, my relationship with
this University seems normal enough.
, I pay tuition, employ meter-maids
with my reckless disregard for
designated lots and visit the lawyers
at student legal services weekly.
But recently the “powers that be”
at UNL have gotten me, as they, say
in the yabciBB^ldtlepaBsedv inrah”
I’m alluding to the semi-new ,
centralized billing system UNL
implemented in the fall of 1996. It
was supposedly designed to make
students’ lives a little easier.
Unfortunately, it’s anything but.
Any student who receives a loan
check is probably already painfully
familiar with this new system. But for
those of you who are not, here’s
roughly how the system works: "
YOUR loan check, issued by
YOUR bankand which YOU will
have to repay, is sent first and
foremost to ihe University. The
University then proceeds to use
n—--——-—
1 have no problem with the University receiving the money it
deserves. After all, we are in fact purchasing a service from
them. But for them to decide for students when and how to pay
for that service seems almost unconstitutional. ”
YOUR loan check to pay off
everything from tuition to any
parking fines inclined, and probably,
your pro-rated portion of the campus
electric bill. Thai, what’s left of
YOUR money—if any-—is
tunneled to you in the form of a state
treasury check.
bn/i diSicjMa»Wjab«rti^^tiIuOV
deeply offended by this new system.
As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be
more offended if Clinton and
Gingrich called me unethical.
Does the university honestly
believe that students are incapable of
managing money and paying our
bills? Most of us have been success
fully doing this for years, yet the
institution feels as if it's the rally one
who kpows how to spend our money
properly.
And to compound this pompous
attitude from the University, this
“easier” system has proven to be a
much larger pain-in-4he-ass than the
old one. Myself, along with countless
other students, have either received
our checks late or have yet to receive
them at all.
My check this year didn’t arrive
until five days after the semester
began. With numerous tasks assigned
on Monday, I was forced to do what
we po’ students refer to as “float a
check.” Hie skill of floating checks,
however, is dependcaftmjpjn? ap
eventual income ana with tne
university still digesting my loan
check, I had no idea when that
income would arrive.
If it wasn’t for the Nebraska
Bookstore’s desire to work with me
and remedy the situation, I would
probably still be in financial peril.
I have no problem with the
University receiving the money it
deserves. After all, we are purchasing
a service from them. But for them to
decide for students when and how to
pay for that service seems almost
unconstitutional.
Like so many other UN^ students
my loan check is the sole me
preserver in a churning sea of
escalating tuition fees and school
bode prices. It is often our only
refuge and we don’t want it screwed
with.
I wonder what kind of fight our
student government offered when this
new system was proposed. I’d bet it
wasn’t too much. But I can see why
they wouldn’t want to rock the boat
and jeopardize their numerous
benefits, namely free-parking,
unlimited Moon-Pies and some great
letters of recommendation from some
very influential University officials.
Ever since I started college in
1992, the University has made it
distressingly clear that they are
running a business. You need to look
no further than the loss of student
football seats to higher bidders to
realize this fact.
And if it’s true that UNL is indeed
a business, why is it the only one in
America that can be successful while
ignoring its customers’ needs and
desires?
If the administration wants OUR
college to be a business, then it
should act like one.
If customers—students in this
case—don’t pay a bill, the Univer
sity ^hould refuse registration and
send their bills to a collection agency.
Don’t punish all of the customers for
the misdeeds of a few.
But the bottom line is simple:
There is nothing any University
official can say that would convince
me—and all of my glorious fatness
— that MY loan check belongs in
THEIR hands first.
The University will be quick to
point out that students can request (in
writing) that their loan check go only
to tuition and housing, a bend-over
backwards attempt at reaching
middle ground. I don’t buy it. The
real problem, in my humble opinion,
remains unaddressed.
I would like to think that I’m not
alone in my annoyance towards the
University. If I am, however, I’d like
to say that I was just joking about the
whole thing.
But if there’s one dude out there
that feels just a fraction like me, then
this column is worthy of discussion.
More importantly, however, it is
demanding of attention from the
“powers that be.”
Willey is a senior news-editorial
major and a Daily Nebraskan
columnist