EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
r
Our
VIEW
Diversity
legislation
Liquor law change
big step for tolerance
Could this be the next step toward sepa
ration of church and state?
Lincoln Mayor Mike Johanns will ask
the City Council today to introduce a new
ordinance to allow sales of on- and off-sale
alcohol on Sundays.
Four of seven council members, includ
ing Linda Wilson, Jeff Fortenberry, Jerry
Shoecraft and Coleen Sang, told the
Lincoln Journal Star Friday they would
vote for the new ordinance.
Johann’s request for a new ordinance
came on Friday after Lancaster County
District Judge Earl Witthoff ruled
Thursday that the local ordinance allowing
Sunday sales of alcohol in bars and restau
rants but not in package stores was uncon
stitutional.
Mike Hughes, owner of Mike’s O Street
Drive-In, sued the city and claimed the
ordinance unfairly treated on-and off-sales
differently and therefore violated his right
to equal protection under the law.
Witthoff threw out the ordinance and
said 11 gave on-saie retailers an unrair com
petitive advantage.
The City Council now has until Sept. 24
to pass a new city alcohol ordinance or all
sales of alcohol on Sunday will be prohib
ited within city limits. Until then, current
laws governing alcohol sales in Lincoln
will stand.
But, when, or if, Johanns’ new ordi
nance passes, some Christian beliefs will
no longer dictate city government policy.
Selling beer in Lincoln stores on
Sundays has been illegal since 1957.
Lincoln voted to allow only on-sale liquor
sales on Sunday in 1984. Under state law,
no city can sell alcohol on Sundays - the
Christian Sabbath day - unless the city
passes an ordinance allowing liquor sales.
This biased legislation is clearly wrong.
In a city built on the beliefs of many faiths
and religions, laws based on a singular
belief blatantly overlook the values of
many of its citizens.
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath day, was
never mentioned in the state law. Neither
was any other religion’s time to celebrate
its faith.
Lincoln is a diverse city, proud of its
growing stature as a cultural center of
Nebraska. The University of Nebraska
Lincoln strides to increase the diversity of
its campus and its students’ acceptance of
other cultures.
The state liquor law, founded on the
beliefs of one religion, does not appreciate
diversity.
But Lincoln’s laws can.
One liquor law cannot change years of
Christian-centered government programs.
But it can send an important message
that all beliefs and lifestyles are accepted
in Lincoln.
MariH Mfcv
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of
the Fall 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its
employees, its student body or the
University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
A column is solely the opinion of its author.
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Haney’s <
VIEW
A UNL STUDENT faTEMPR TO P&BteEFoK 1H£ FAll ^tfBTER...
It’s in the air
Opinion pages exude energy
JESSICA KENNEDY is a
senior advertising and
broadcasting major and the
fall Daily Nebraskan opinion
editor.
Things are going to happen this
year; walk around campus, talk to
the students. You can feel the energy
that shrouds campus. Sure, every fell
brings renewed student excitement,
but I think this year is special. For
the upper-classmen, we’ve been
through a lot in the last year ...
diversity questions, gender-equity
concerns and the never-ending battle
between academics and athletics.
And this year, the freshman class
seems a little more focused, a little
more controlled, a little more on top
of things than in the past.
I’m feeling energetic and excited
too. My status as a fifth-year senior
hasn’t embittered me. I am still psy
ched about the college experience
and starting classes. In fact, I’m
beginning one of the biggest adven
tures of my college career this fall.
After three semesters as a staff
columnist, I’m gearing up for a tour
as the Daily Nebraskan opinion edi
tor this fall.
This opportunity has got me seri
ously pumped! In my day-to-day life,
I try to be an optimist by maintaining
a positive attitude, seeing both sides
i-. ... - - --
a
I strongly encourage anyone who has a
solid idea, the motivation to write and the
initiative to seek me out, to write a column
of an issue and listening. As editor I
hope to incorporate those three ten
ants into the opinion section; a chal
lenge that I’m looking forward to.
I see the opinion pages as a
forum; a meeting and clashing of
minds, personalities and passions.
To each student, every faculty
member, all the professors and
administrators: care enough to speak
up when something concerns you,
compliment when something pleases
you and respond when something
isn’t played out right.
When you write to the Daily
Nebraskan or stop down at our
offices, I promise to greet you with a
positive attitude and an open mind. I
hope you extend the same courtesy
to me. To borrow an old saying,
“Don’t shoot the messenger.” Each
semester the opinion editor is in the
unique and interesting position of
being at the center of campus opin
ions, attitudes and beliefs. I’m find
ing that my computer is the recepta
cle for every campus issue.
I think you’re going to be
intrigued with the opinions that will
play across these pages every day for
the next four months. In addition to
the 10 daily columnists, I’ve hired
nine other students to voice their
opinions on everything from dating
to religion to campus life. This
semester, more than any other,
should reflect the mood and experi
ences of University Nebraska
Lincoln students.
But for me, this isn’t enough!
Although budgetary constraints pre
vent me from hiring every qualified
writer and columnist, I strongly
encourage anyone who has a solid
idea, the motivation to write and the
initiative to seek me out, to write a
column. I want to hear it all - both
sides of every issue and each per
spective.
Finally, I’m here to listen. No one
can claim to be informed or “in
tune” with their readers unless they
listen. I firmly believe that in our age
of rush-rush, people forget to listen.
So I promise to listen what you have
to say and to what you’re concerned
about. Some days I may have more
time than others, but I’ll always try.
Expect to open the paper every
day and be challenged. You will read
things that will make you happy, sad,
angry and upset. There will be views
represented that go against every
thing - and I mean everything - that
you believe. But it’s good for you.
Getting too comfortable with your
views and opinions will leave you
weak and unprepared to deal with
life’s challenges.
So there’s my soapbox for the
semester.
For without debate, without con
versations on uncomfortable topics,
we are nothing.
P.5. Write Hack
letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln,
NE 68588, or fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail <letters@unlinfo.unl.edu.
Letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification
