The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 13, 1997, Page 4, Image 4
EDITOR Doug Kouma OPINION EDITOR Anthony Nguyen EDITORIAL BOARD Paula Lavigne Joshua Gillin Jessica Kennedy Jeff Randall Erin Gibson Our VIEW A new hope? ASUN’s latest win relies on old faces Here we go again. Despite a minuscule upswing in voter participation, the result of this year’s Asso ciation of Students of the University of Ne braska election is the same as last year’s. And the year before. And the year before that. Once again the honor of leading the Uni versity ofNebraska-Lincoln’s student govern ment goes to the people who were already there in the first place. President-elect Curt Ruwe, 1 st Vice Presi dent-elect Amy Rager and 2nd Vice President elect Malcolm Kass are all ASUN veterans — insiders, if you will. Yet ADVANCE, like every ASUN party before it, claims to be a new party, with fresh goals and objectives. It says it’s not part of what has been called a “political machine,” a group of elitist resume-builders. But only time will tell. ADVANCE’S stance on updating univer sity technology is admirable. Its desire to improve the working and living conditions of the university’s main consumers — the stu dents — is inspirational. Its promise to in crease student representation in university related committees and advisory boards is commendable. But there are too many issues that AD VANCE —which for all intents and purposes is nothing new from this year’s ACTION or last year’s IMPACT — has ignored. In short, ADVANCE has shown that it is part of the problem. If the party is truly turn ing over a new leaf in ASUN, then it’s (ime to start seeing some solutions. Before the new administration takes over, voters, new executives and senators must re member that this is the same ASUN that barely managed to muster quorum for 15 minute meetings while the university took your modem pool away. This is the same ASUN that failed to gar ner student input on the coming beverage al liance (the deal that will award one soft drink company exclusive sales rights on campus). This is the same ASUN that has been in power while your football and basketball stu dent ticket prices continue to increase. It is not unrealistic for students to expect a government the size and scope of ASUN to deal with these kinds of problems. No one is asking it to solve UNL’s parking problem, lower tuition or take a Husker team — any team—to a championship game. ADVANCE may have received support from only 6.6 percent of the student body, but make no mistake about it: It received a mandate — from the 90 percent of students who didn’t even care enough to vote. And if ADVANCE turns out to be proof that ASUN can chum out a contender that isn’t a rehash of every party since its incep tion, then maybe those students will have a reason to vote. 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 NebraskarLincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely 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 die edi torial content of the newspaper lies solely in the bands 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. Sub mitted 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: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Mehsling's VIEW ItJWUfcNlE —-s yre a-v. WOW--— j DN LETTERS Clearing Up Confusion While reading the letter “Blow ing Smoke” written by Joan Brion, I could not help but to shake my head in disappointment. The article was the epitome of the thought pattern of a soul trapped in a sinful condition. I don’t say that to call anyone all bad, or to call myself all good, but to help Joan Brion in this terrible state of confusion. No. 1: Nobody submits a column to the DN to gain glory or any sort of personal benefit. I cannot foresee movie deals or radio-show offers sparking from the mere submitting of a DN column. The benefit is for people like you, Joan, who can’t seem to recognize that drugs have the potential to easily destroy whatever type of brain you have, body you have and life you have. Anybody should be able to recognize that. No. 2: You can’t attack someone for submitting the truth to be told. I’m glad Kasey Kerber’s column was printed in the DN because it was there that you read the column, not in some magazine for moral living—because you probably would have steered clear away from picking it up. Regardless of whether this column appeared in a comic book or Playboy magazine it still stands strong and bold as the truth, and try as you may to attack and discredit this, it’s still the truth. Lastly, when people point out the error of your ways they are not condemning you, they are trying to help you. Telling people they are headed for destruction doesn’t make someone holier than thou. If they Matt Haney/DN were doing the same self-destructive behavior, it would be only right for you to do the same for them. If you don’t, you are probably the type of person that never takes a stand for what’s right and always standing for what’s wrong. For anyone who is offended by this letter, I apologize, IT’S TIGHT BUT IT’S RIGHT. If by chance you are still angry and offended — don’t get mad at me, get mad at the truth. Willie Hibler senior communication studies Belief not THith This letter is in response to the guest view written by Eric Crump entitled “Thith is Hard” (DN, Wednesday). I have two points to address: 1. Thith (as defined by the Webster’s College Dictionary): A verified or indisputable fact. Conformity with fact. According to Mr. Crump, truth is defined as a spouting of opinions with no actual statistics or datu to support them. Normally, when one writes a column that makes accusations, he or she would support these claims with information that has been collected by a reputable agency or a research group. This guest view had absolutely no statistics or qualified information to support any of the statements made by the writer. 2. Every day, most of the citizens of the UNITED States of America work to maintain and improve all that this country stands for. We work hard to make the United States a better place to live, and along with that comes equal treat ment of all people. The UNITED States has people that are willing to die for our safety and to preserve what you and I believe in. In the past, men and women (of ALL races) have died to stand up for our freedom, our rights and during the Civil War, the rights and freedom of specifically blacks. It makes it hard to fight for equality when people disgrace our country, calling it the “Divided States of America” as Mr. Crump has done. That is an expression of utmost disrespect for this country, those who have fought to preserve freedom and all that the United States of America stands for. Ryan Shuck sophomore computer engiueeriug