The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 05, 1997, Page 4, Image 4

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    Mehs ling’s
VIEW
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sui'ies....
EDITOR
Doug Kouma
OPINION
EDITOR
Anthony Nguyen
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Anne Hjersman
Paula Lavigne
Joshua (Min
Jessica Kennedy
Jeff Randall
_Our
VIEW
25 or 6 to 4
University needs
long-term chancellors
When students start staying at a uni
versity longer than the administrators,
there's a problem. It’s almost as if the ad
ministrators are using
their time at UNL as !•-;
resume filler—much
like the students who
pay to oe nere.
While the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lin
coln has been going
through administra
tors faster than it takes
to get a degree, the
University of Ne
braska at Omaha has
had more stability.
When UNO
Chancellor Del Weber
announced his retire
ment Jaa 16, he ended
20 years of service to
the University of Ne
braska. In that time,
\\fcb|r became a
highly regarded mem
ber of the entire NU
system.
Weber did not use his esteem to work
his way up the administrative ladder. He
used it to turn “West Dodge High” into a
strong university fueled by technology, and
attractive for business investment. He also
brought in quality faculty members, booked.
the college’s aftentiwi^o Jiw.ai^perfoBn-;:
ing arts and oversaw improvements to the
appearance of the campus itself.
The “University of No Opportunity”
became a nationally-known institution with
Weber as its leader. Weber, a Nebraska na
tive, could not have made this transforma
tion without getting to know the institution,
the city, the structure and the students as he
cfofcv _ •.
And it took him more than just four
years.
Weber’s success with UNO should be a
signal toNU President Dennis Smith, mem
bers of the UNO-chancellor search commit
tee, UNL Chancellor James Moeser and any
other university administrator.
During the recent search for a UNL
chancellor, one of the most important ques
tions was, “How long is he or she going to
stay?”
No one wanted to hire someone who
would use the job merely as a steppingstone
to somewhere else.
A university needs someone who has a
vision for the institution and plans on stick
ing around long enough to see it through.
Moeser isn’t facing the moniker of
“West O High,” but UNL’s publicized na
tional clout ends at the 50-yard line. So if
Moeser wants to make “Football U.” rank
like Harvard U., he’d better put in his 20
year lease for the Memorial Stadium skybox
before it’s too late.
UNL has
been going
through
adminis
trators
faster than
it takes to
get a
degree
' ■'■■■■■ * ■■ -v
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorial are the opinions of the
Fall 19% Daily Nebraskan. They do not nec
essarily reflect the views of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its stu
dent 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, es
tablished by die regents, supervises the pro
duction 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
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 submitted. Submit
ted material becomes the property of the
Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned.
Anonymous submissions will not be
published. Those who submit letters
must identify themselves by name, year
in school, major and/or v group affilia
tion, if any. Submit material to: Daily Ne
braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 RSt
Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448. E-mail:
letters @unlinfo.unl.edu.
DN
LETTERS
Five-alarm Raise
Go to any grade school gnd you’ll
. find rnaijy children hoping to one
da$r grow up to be a firefighter.'
However, to do so they will have to
experience a cut in pay from their
previous part-time job at the local
fast-food chain.
It sounds ludicrous, but as stated
in the article “Firefighters may get
higher pay,” (DN, Thursday), it is
true. Currently, Lincoln firefighters
have a minimum hourly wage of
$6.12. This starting wage is “less
than those of an employee at
Amigos.”
This extremely low starting wage
is a slap in the face to the individu
als who on a daily basis brave the
elements to serve the community.
Often times these individuals risk
their own lives in order to help save
the lives of others.
How does Lincoln show its
gratitude to these men and women?
By fighting the proposed wage
increase for almost two years.
I believe it is time for Lincoln to
show its respect for this difficult
position and for a job well done. The
best way to do this is to raise the
minimum wage of firefighters so
that it is competitive with those
cities comparable to Lincoln.
Aaron Ludwig
junior
biology
Balanced Scales
I would like to commend the staff
of the Daily Nebraskan for their
view on the outcome of the Riley
Washington case.
It seems that all too often,
especially in the case of well-known
people, the only thing decided by a
trial is whether or not prison
sentences will be served. Whether or
not the person is guilty seems to be
decided by the public before, during
and after the trial.
One of the basic values of
America is that every person living
here is entitled to a fair, unbiased
trial in a court of law — and they
are innocent until proven otherwise.
Riley Washington was acquitted
of the charges brought against him,
therefore he is innocent.
Mike Kimmel
freshman
biological systems engineering
Beer Run
On Jan. 27, the Daily Nebraskan
printed an article “Bill would allow
vendors to sell liquor until 2 a.m.” I
found this article very interesting
and a good idea. Since the Iowa
casinos have opened, Nebraskans
are crossing the state line and taking
their money with them. This is not ^
good fa* our state and the businesses
in Omaha. We need to keep our
money in Nebraska and help our
local.businesses stay open.
Although LB242 is a good idea,
it should only take effect in Omaha.
As Sen. Hilger said, he is not
catering to college students who
want to party. The whole idea of
selling liquor one hour later is to
help the bars in Omaha bring in
more business, not for the college
students who want to party for one
more hour.
Nic Douglas
freshmaa
pre-mortuary
wmi t r t t ■■■■l .
Matt Haney/DN