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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Jessica Kennedy EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin Editorial Policy 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. The Board of Regents serve as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Our VIEW Higher Standards Learning experience must match price tag The tougher the better. Admission standards at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln got tougher this year. Incoming freshmen needed more high school English, mathematics, social sciences, natural sciences and foreign language to be accepted into UNL. This past spring, UNL officials said they expected to turn away 200 to 300 freshmen who would not meet the new requirements. The university recommended that those stu dents defer to a community college for a year or two until they could better meet UNL’s stan dards. Thoncrh hiahpr standards have thpir hpnp fits for UNL and its students, the administra tion must not let its vision of academic excel lence turn UNL into a school for the elite. There is no doubt that standards need to be raised; it is time to lose the nickname “University of No Learning.” But those stan dards should not limit the opportunities of Nebraska’s youth. As the state’s largest university and as a land-grant institution, UNL has an obligation to provide a quality education at a reasonable cost. Chancellor James Moeser has a vision for this prairie university. But great things tend to come with great big price tags. And if trends continue, that great big price tag will be passed on to the students. If tuition begins to rise rapidly and admis sion standards tighten too much, students may be forced into less-than-desirable options. The University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney are won derful opportunities and choices for many Nebraska students. But while administrators shoo deficient students to those campuses, they must realize that all things are not equal. For instance, UNL's journalism program is accredited and can offer many opportunities that UNK’s unaccredited journalism program cannot. For students who do choose (or for stu dents who have no other choice) to attend two year programs, UNL needs to establish a method of communication between the schools. Deferred students must know that they can still have a chance to attend the flag ship campus of the University of Nebraska and that their time and money won’t be wasted at a junior or community college. In the end, everyone must realize that for the university, these higher standards mean better students - and a chance at lowering the 25 percent dropout rate of students from their freshman to sophomore years. And of course a university with higher standards gamers more respect from peer institutions. Likewise, stu dents with degrees from UNL will see the value of that degree increase as the university’s prestige increases. But this prestige cannot come at the expense of future generations of Nebraska stu dents who deserve a quality education at an affordable price. To do anything else would cheapen the very foundation our great univer sity was built upon. Letter Pallcy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters 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. Submitted material becomes 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 group affiliation, if arty. - -u ' Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 H St Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Haney’s VIEW f V<w Vfexe CAUGHT M a 2f mu mm w a POUBIS -ZECXZT UNtfAtKTP zone, ?u& iovke pKWINfc k CA£ THAT I* BuJ£ £ H m pome we TICKET COMES ?&'" _i Letters to the EDITOR A Christian response I am writing this letter in response to Daniel Munksgaard’s editorial, “Calling a Modern Messiah,” (DN, Tuesday). I have a number of problems with the sce nario that he set up in his article. He starts out by saying that he used to be a Bible-carrying believer, but now he is not, and that he missed something along the way. The first thing that he must have missed is the fact that he needs to not just carry the Bible, but actually make it a part of his life! By the way, I would be interested in knowing what has replaced that in his life. I agree with him that there is an incon sistency in the so-called Christian have no time for the good, middle and upper-middle class Christians who faithfully attend church every Sunday” (God is there for everyone, not just the lower classes of society). Daniel, I am sorry that you, like so many other people, are missing out on what true Christianity is all about. I, like you, wish that more people would listen to what Christ ACTU ALLY said. Jesus Christ came so that ALL men would come to Him. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. We are all on a path to hell until we realize that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day to pave the way/or us to spend eternal life with Him. Isaiah 53:6 sums up our society best. It says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity I challenge instructors in all fields to teach bisexual, lesbian, gay and transgendered topics in their classrooms, just as many would include multicultural curricula and women’s topics. This includes all fields. For example, political science could include a serious examination of the political strategies of ACT-UP or Queer Nation; history classes could study gay and lesbian histories; English literature classes could focus on the sexualities of their respective authors, such as UNL’s own Willa Cather; art classes could study the art of gay artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe or Keith Haring, and what impact they’ve had on society. This challenge isn’t just to facul ty and staff, however, but also to stu witumum^ iuua^. u 10 mipuooiuit iu separate those who are truly born again Christians from those who sim ply call themselves Christians. That is the cause of the inconsistency. He brought up the issue of homosexuali ty twice in his article. God has given everyone an equal chance to come to Him! God does love everyone! BUT, God hates the sin of homosexuality as He does with any sin. Daniel argues that the Bible does not deal with homosexuality. This again shows that all he did with his Bible was carry it around, rather than actu ally look at what it says. Clearly in both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament God deals with homosexuality. For example read 1 Corinthians 6:9, where God flat-out COVC VtnmAOAVi 10I0 unit ma! dents. Ask queer questions of your instructors; ask them why transgen dered, lesbian, bisexual or gay sub jects are not on their syllabi; ask them about the sexualities of authors being read, artists being studied, politicians being examined, and so on. Lastly, I challenge the adminis tration of our university to address bisexual, gay, transgendered and les nian issues seriously and with equity. For example, the administration needs to take a serious look at partner nenefits for faculty and staff who are nvolved in long-term same-sex part nerships, particularly with the Hawaii decision soon to come. Also, hey need to address the heterosex _ _1 _r_ • i * • r ,« ui us dii iu lau un mm. i^aniei, you, like millions of others, will try and fill your life with something else, whether it be another religion, sex, drugs, homosexuality, etc., but the fact of the matter is that NOTHING else, other than realizing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and wants you to come to Him, will fill your life! Jered Thomas Dworak Junior Teachers College Open your minds, ask questions With the beginning of a new semester and a new academic year, I , would like to challenge the | University of Nebraska-Lincoln to become positively queer, by which I m<»£»n rhonninn thp r\f tViic ^ it the kingdom of God. In other words they WILL go to hell. It is NOT gay bashing to state what God says will happen to them. Yes, God does love them and they have just as much opportunity to go to heaven as I do, but they must repent from their sin, just as I had to repent from my sin! There are other issues which Daniel raises that have no relevance to the one true God, such as turning water into beer to “save a local keg party from sobriety” (God would not promote people getting drunk), being ticked at McDonald’s (God can only produce a righteous anger!), “He’d I-."r--• * - -»■ Dili, anu mciciuic viuiaiiun ui uic londiscrimination policy, of such nstitutions as campus housing for narried students and the homopho )ia of the ROTC programs. With a new academic year and a tew semester, we as a community ;an bring about positive change, -et’s make this campus a safe space "or queer students to pursue their studies. Robert W. Anderson graduate student English --> campus from one of hostility toward ! lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and gay persons to one of acceptance. As a community, particularly one that : pursues the liberation of minds, we need to make homophobia and het erosexism unacceptable on our cam pus. - ,;1i to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, 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