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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Jessica Kennedy EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin I 5 Our VIEW Pepsi party University goals lost in giveaways We eternally young and poor university students seldom scoff at an opportunity for free stuff. Take for instance the rocketing popular ity of Big Red Welcome - a free merchan dise festival. 1^ fact, students embrace free stuff. But that doesn’t make us brainless, does it? Or does it? When Pepsi thanks the campus this week for letting it contribute $24.2 million to UNL, the thanks will come in the form of activities geared toward “alternative,” no brainer activities. Students won’t play Pepsi-sponsored Jeopardy, or compete in a Pepsi-sponsored math or geography contest. There will be no poetry competition with free Pepsi mer chandise as prizes. And the thousands of free root beer floats won’t be handed out to students attending a faculty panel debate of academ ic hot-button topics like creating minus grades on campus or eliminating faculty tenure. But free Pepsi merchandise will no doubt adorn the winners of Pepsi Ball - described as a new high-scoring and fast paced game developed by Pepsi as a com mercial venture to hook “Generation Next” AbdstihepetwH Jje aS alternative band concert, a scavenger hunt and a lime-green Jeep given away, along with tons of free pop and food. Since no one has announced plans to give away books during the week, students should find Pepsi Week a fun escape from that stressful campus academic life. No doubt attendance will be higher for Pepsi Ball and the concert than that for an academic contest. But when Chancellor James Moeser gave his State of the University Address this August, he asked for faculty to support a more rigorous academic environment. He asked that they spawn great philosophical debates through their lectures and that they challenge their students mentally. Where s the intellectual challenge in Pepsi Ball? Or in Thursday’s ice cream social where Moeser will speak? If Pepsi’s goal really is to become a part of the university and its academic endeav ors, the company could have sponsored academic challenges during Pepsi Week where the grand prize was a scholarship instead of a Jeep, or books instead of T shirts. But if the goal is just to win students over to Pepsi, then ditch the senseless give aways. Make Pepsi Points count for credit hours instead. 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 Dally 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 Ties solely in tee hands of its student employees. Letter Policy 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 materia] 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 any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Haneyfs VIEW AlttU , ^viect \jUf6D StA*T(55 5A»4c-noHgt> rW Vefy^ Vehtf'J \ » Wft *x*i-'' ■{.<££*.■ ~ <. ■ DN LETTERS Scum we’re not! This is in response to Barb Churchill’s “Dating Hell” on Monday. WOW! Someone had a rough week, didn’t they?<Listen Barb ..vidon't know whayou’ve been hanging around with but something tells me it’s been the wrong people. All men are not scum... in fact, I’d go as far to say the majority of us are quite normal and easy-going. My real thought is this: Where do you get off giving off this “holier than thou” image of all womankind vs. men? I’m sorry to say but a lot of women aren’t exactly saints. However, I’ll also say that the major ity of women are all right as well. But believe me, I take it very person ally that you put me in the same cate gory as all these so called “men” that you’ve been around. And to say that all we care about is the size of your breasts is ridiculous. I know A LOT of women who put a pretty hefty emphasis on physical appearance in the guys that they date. Most guys that I know appreciate a good talker/listener and like their dates to have a thought in their head. I know I do. Maybe you’ve got a problem in this area. You seem to have MANY thoughts but all of them seem to say “guys, I don’t give a rat’s ass about what the hell you think ... I hate you anyway.” Not the best kind of approach if you’re looking for a nice guy. I still think that, at least for the most part, most of us are basically OK with a few exceptions. Perhaps you should relax a little. There are always going to be bad guys, just as there are bad girls. It’s easy to classi fy someone as “evil”... but a lot harder to look for the real person. Damon Strickland Senior Secondary Education Pepsi-schempsi Wow! A whole 1/16 of a semes ter to “officially celebrate” Pepsi ? Week! But before the high priests raise their chalices filled with Pepsi Product (PP) on the 18th to conse crate UNL’s newest form of dollar worship, and before we get too sugar-buzzed to properly concentrate on the ramifications of said deal, cc®is|ier ihe folifewing; g| is * ■ Since Pepsi has exclusive rights to supply the vending machines around campus, don’t expect a plethora of more whole some and healthful alternative drinks such as fruit juice. Maybe you’ll find a fruit “drink” offering (i.e. added water and sweeteners) or even, if you look far enough near the bottom, a juice; but then again, maybe not since it’ll depend on the kind of machine in your building. ■ Also expect to drink more PP since the new and improved, larger mouthed, 20-ounce bottles allow faster consumption, and they do so at a higher per unit cost - 4.25 per ounce vs. 4.17. ■ Finally, consider who pays for this multi-million dollar deal, and who stands to gain and who stands to lose. That’s right boys and girls! Like a many of the contributions made to your education, this one is being paid for by you. So let me (along with your doc tor, dentist, and other unnamed par ties with a vested interest) be one of the first to congratulate you. You’re about to embark upon a unique edu cational experience, one vyhich ;i includes (if things go according to plan) re-educating you to become consumers of PP for life. Bottoms up! Tim Janda Instructor English department The rest of the story In response to Jamie Peterson’s letter “Demos alive” (Monday, DN), the tone of the letter portrays a drowning Democratic party strug gling for air; one not at all “alive.” I’d like to question a few of the points the author made. To say that the Republican party’s candidates are running solely for the purpose of gaining political power and that the DemocratVonly concern is reaching out to $e people is ludicrous. If this were the case, Jon Christensen (who, by the way, spent six months making his decision; it wasn’t overnight as the author suggests) would not have given up his position as a U.S. Congressman in order to run for governor of the state. The much more powerful position would be to run for Bob Kerrey’s senate seat which will be open in 2000. Christensen is running for governor because he is concerned about the direction of the state and giving our children a quality place to live. Mike Johanns, another Republican guber natorial candidate, has a solid repu tation of reaching out to the people of Lincoln as mayor. So strong, in fact that he was the first mayor of the Capital City to run unopposed since 1955. The author also states that the Republicans have a proven record of dirty, mud-slinging and high financed campaigns in an attempt to buy office. That’s rather ironic. As I recall, it was the AFL-CIO on behalf of the Democrats that spent millions of dollars producing mud-slinging, dirty commercials that completely misrepresented the views of those they targeted (including Rep. Jon Christensen) as recently as the 1996 elections. The author has this one turned around. It is the Republicans t have the best candidates for govewhonor this year. The Democrats haven’t been able to find a single person to run as their candidate. As a result, they are putting great pressure on Bill Hoppner to run. The best candidates for office run because they want to make a difference, because they know they can improve the good of the state - NOT because their party is forcing them to run as a last-ditch effort to be represented. Jason Ponec Freshman Teachers College
