EDITOR Doug Kouma OPINION EDITOR Anthony Nguyen EDITORIAL BOARD Paula Lavigne Joshua Gillin Jessica Kennedy Jeff Randall Erin Gibson DN Quotes OF THE WEEK “The window to Heaven will not open again until another civilization is planted and has reached sufficient maturity (ac cording to the judgment of the next level.)” — Posting on www.heavensgate.com web site “Last year we were riding the wave of winning two national titles. I think we au tomatically thought we were going to be playing for a third and that didn’t happen. When someone takes something from you, you want it back.” —Defensive tackle Jason Peter “I have that wonderful knowledge that I know where he is and I will get to see him again. That’s how 1 can get through this.” — Jan Berringer, mother of former Husker quarterback Brook Berringer “What’s next? I’m like Tommy Boy, ‘No idea.' I don’t really like pro football, but I’d do it.” — NU wrestler Tolly Thompson on his plans after college “It's not because the north side is a bad area. It's just where these guys happened to live.*' —Rick Wallace, the president of the Lin coln branch of the NAACP, on the recent troubles in the Clinton neighborhood “Something inside me said that no child should ever live—be born, live and die— without a family." — AIDS foster mother “I love Nebraska." * — NU Coach Danny Nee, prior to not receiving the head coaching job at Rutgers University “I had a nice conversation with him and he's excited about getting out, of course." — St. Louis Rams Coach Dick Vermeil on the release of former NU running back Lawrence Phillips from jaiF * “People make mistakes. This by no means justifies this. I am not trying to jus tify this." — Former ASUN President Eric Marintzer on facing DWI charges “I hope now that students will find me a good listener, and at meetings with ad ministration, I will think before I speak." —New ASUN President Curt Ruwe “If you're looking for a cheap date, this is a great way to do it." — Dan Ladely, director of the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater, on the 24th Stu dent Academy Awards Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are die opinions of the Spring 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Univer sity ofNebraska-Lincoln, 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 Regenu 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 die production of the paper According to policy set by the regenu, responsibility for die 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 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. Mehs ling’s VIEW i f Love Is Love On March 19, the Nebraska Legislature gave 39-3 approval to a ban cm recognizing same-sex marriages in the state. But no one has a substantive argument against gay marriage. If we think that one of the functions of marriage is to celebrate stable relationships and to prohibit promiscuous sexual relationships, then it seems that gay marriages are a good idea. Families are not what they once were, but it is the heterosexuals who have done the damage to the institution of marriage. We are not in a position to point to homosexuals and say that you are the problem. A ban on gay marriage is a misguided attempt to protect marriage. Marriage and the family began their transformation long before the gay civil rights movement-By 1975, only six years after the Stonewall rebellion that marked the first widespread public emergence of lesbians and gays, half of all marriages ended in divorce. I think if two people are in a permanent relationship, then their commitment should certainly be recognized. Loving and loyal same sex relationships do exist and gay folks should enjoy the same rights as other human beings. They must have equal rights. Homosexuals in same-sex unions should have the same financial, legal and social benefits that married heterosexuals have. Unless someone can show us how gay marriages would harm our commu nity and the society as a whole or how they would undermine the values upon which traditional marriage rests, we must be morally guided by tolerance and equal rights. Mohammad Seifikar Lincoln Hush-hush I was surprised to learn of ASUN r ---—_:. MattHaney/DN President Eric Marintzer’s ticket for DWI. I was appalled to find out it happened over four months ago. When Terrell Farley, Christian Peter and Jon Vedral found themselves in similar positions, their pictures and stories made headlines within a few days of the incidents. As a result of their embarrass ment to the university, they were suspended from their positions of representing UNL. Why was Marintzer given the opportunity to continue to serve in his elected position without letting the student body know of his “mistake?” I wonder what else he has done during his presidency that was illegal, but never detected by the Lincoln Police Department? If he was so willing to accept responsibil ity, why are he and his attorney trying to shift some of the blame to the officer? Is this what we can expect in his Code of Ethics, a document that reduces individual culpability by faulting others? This should not be viewed only as a personal attack on the former ASUN president, everybody does make mistakes, but this is also an attack on a system that would let an injustice like this occur. I support the decisions to suspend the football players, it was the right thing to do, but why was Marintzer given preferential treatment for the exact same offense? My advice to all football players, if you see Eric downtown and you’re both drunk, make sure he drives home — at least he has connections with the univer sity administrators. W * •• '/•/* i '*1 jW Jon Braaten senior criminal justice A tiny mistake? I am writing in response to Thursday’s article on Eric Marintzer’s DWI charge. First of all, I think it was in very poor judgment that the article was written. I wasn’t aware that the Daily Nebraskan, no matter how hard they try, is not a paper of facts and news about the university, but merely a tabloid for high-profile students’ problems. I do not believe that Eric de served a front-page report on one mistake that he is already paying dearly for. Eric is one of the finest persons I have ever met, and I do not believe anyone will find a student, administrator or faculty member that knows Eric who would not agree. I feel that Eric should not be looked down upon for his mistake because he was an elected official, and his job is to represent students. Little did the students know, Eric was representing the population of drinkers on campus, a group that most everyone I know is a member. I was fortunate enough to never have any run-ins with the law, but I have one question: How clean are the writers and editors of the DN? Just because they sit on the publication side of the paper, does that mean they are lily white, while we readers are subject to un objective scrutiny? I would like to hear what some of the DN staff have gotten busted for, and compare that to Eric’s one mistake. It might not be news, but a least it would be fair. Jason Bynum ‘96-’97 ASUN 1st vice president chemistry senior .r--«' I .© C Xa /* ebraskah, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St, Lincoln, • r . r fax to (402) 4724761,. or e-mail.