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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1997)
ALEXIA SCOTT is a senior biological sciences major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. The streets of Calcutta are darker this week. Dark like the hearts of people around the world who are mourning the memory of a woman who would ask for neither of these. President Jacques Chirac of France explained that with the loss of Mother Theresa, “there is less love in the world, less compassion, less light.” I agree with President Chirac; the world has lost one of its brightest stars. Does this mean those Mother Teresa leaves behind are doomed to live in darkness? Probably not -- her sisters of the Missionaries of Charity will continue her earthly work. But I believe that one of us has a responsi bility to take up her light and contin ue in the spirit of her mission. This task could seem daunting to the most noble of souls. Could you or I become the next Mother Teresa? It’s possible, yes, but in my case it’s unlikely I’ll fill her tiny shoes. Even if we can’t be her, we can still do something. It’s Mother Teresa’s mis sion that we should carry on. Her life was dedicated to the less fortunate, giving shelter to those who have been turned out, spending time serv ing others no one would serve. Although the streets of Calcutta were her home, Mother Teresa’s spirit can be found wherever. There are people in need right here in Lincoln and on Serving spirit [ People need to follow in light, footsteps Mother Teresa left the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the chaotic world swirling around us, it has become less and less popular to give one’s time and talents. This negativity has paved the way for the maturation of an unin volved, unsympathetic, and desensi tized community. Compare this image with that of Mother Teresa; a womjm who gave herself to the poor est and most unwanted members of our global community. You see, each of us has the ener gy to make a positive difference in someone’s daily life. Although we’re all busy, we waste enough time each day to be able to contribute some thing more than we do now. The options and opportunities for involvement are numerous. Every time my roommate and I help to cook and serve a meal at Matt Talbot Kitchen we are reminded that even the tightest months leave us with food on our table, whereas some of our neighbors are not so fortunate. In the 30 minutes that it will take you to copy your notes or read a chapter of a book on tape for a student with a disability, you have saved that person hours of struggle. Serving as a Big Sister or Big Brother will provide you with the opportunity to regress to your own childhood while giving that child a much needed role model and friend. I know that some of you think there isn’t an volunteer opportunity out there that would interest you or that there isn’t an organization that really needs you, but you’re wrong. I challenge you to search out these possibilities. If you are politically active, take a look at your beliefs and find activities that relate to those. Reflect on the activities that you enjoy and find a place to share or teach those to others. Are you will- _ ing to educate school kids about sex education in order to aid in the pre vention of teenage pregnancy? Could you teach English as a second language to people trying to under stand their host country better? Or instruct social assistance recipients on basic budgeting skills in order to help them get on their feet? g The bottom lme is that this life is “ all about sharing our talents, whatev er they may be. It is about doing something positive with the energy and the time that we are given, because in the end it is the difference that we make in our world that will be remembered. The loss of Mother Teresa is so disheartening simply because she represented hope and love in a world that is desperate to find them. To the many lives she touched, hers was the touch of angel and a face of God. To those of us who watched her, she was a source of strength and awe; a humbling reminder of what we are here to accomplish. Taking the time to spark the flame of another will be the most rewarding experience you can imag ine. For surely, if we all work togeth er we can replenish the light of which President Chirac spoke. STEVE CULLEN is an advertising major and a Daily Nebraskan colum nist. It was nice to find out that after 1.6 million years I’m right on track. I doubted it for a while. That’s because every time I was out for a run I was heckled by couch-faring types. And I love thick, juicy steaks. But every time I go to cut in one, people tell me of the dangers of red meat and how they’re sworn vegetar ians. There had to be a reason why I was so in love with these things. Now I have a theory explaining why the couch potatoes are always complaining and why the vegetari ans are missing out. Red meat and running are the root of all good. In fact we wouldn’t be here without them. To understand how this happened and how it affects all of us, we need to look at some choices. A while back, lived the greatest of great-grandparents. They were vegetarians whose physiques were designed with long limbs for climb ing. They usually only came to ground to move from tree cluster to tree cluster. While down from the trees, some started to eat the different flora found in the lower areas. This diverse, nutritious diet allowed them to outlast their tree-only kin. Soon, our ancestors began to spend more time on the ground, traveling farther distances, pursuing their new diet, and therefore adapting to a new lifestyle. As time passed and travelers ranged farther, our ancestors came across leftover carcasses. Already diverse eaters, they enjoyed the new dish and began to search for it more often. In order to get the meat one I Meat, fitness help some celebrate history of hunting, humanness thing had to happen. “Early us” had no way of getting the good meat off the carcasses. So came the day when we first picked up a rock and it became a tool. A butcher’s tool. Generations passed, the tools got better and our fore-parents improved at traveling for, defending and carv ing up red meat. But they were not satisfied. Our ancestors wanted control over their own existence. One day your oldest elder looked up over the Plains and saw the abun dance of life that inhabited it. Across the tall grasses the herds flowed back and forth, grazing and drinking. On that day, with the tools to eat meat, and the unique body to get to it, your fore-parent put history under his or her own two feet and began to hunt in a very unique way. You see, without the technology to make weapons, or the speed to run game down, they needed another way of getting their food. Ever opportunistic and forward-thinking, our ancestors noticed that during the middle of the day it was too hot for the big cats to hunt. That leaves us time to hunt. It’s pretty amazing. We are the only creatures on earth designed and capable of traveling tremendous dis tances at a time (the world record is some six days straight, 600 plus miles running). This is what it means to us today (besides the fact that vegetarians are wrong about humans not being designed to eat meat): We as humans are capable of tremendous feats of the body and posses unrivaled ener gy in the animal kingdom. It also means that our very species is built on the fact that we will not settle for second place - we can take charge of our own destiny. We are humans because we are determined to make it in the world - whatever it may be. We are humans because we want it all and are will ing to go to the ends of the earth to get it. We often take pride in our her itage: Irish, Zulu, Thai. But we rarely look at the common element that makes us all great. We never stop to look at the marvel of our selves, our design, our potential, our achievements. We often forget we are capable of making the choices that shape the future. Those ancestors had no idea that they would set into motion the wheels that would endow us with the gift of fitness - the ability to adapt and grow stronger, faster, more agile. Think of it: You are some body’s ancestor. What will you make them into? What will you leave for them? Let us not be blind to our own marvelous potential. Humanness does not know race, color, income, religion, sexual preference or whether you’ve failed in the past or not. Being human means that you are capable. You are important to the fate of mankind; what you do matters. To be human means having inge nuity. To be human means possess ing the will to survive anything. To be human means to use the body to its maximum potential. To be human means to have the ability make deci sions and an impact. The couch-far ers have forgotten to take pride in themselves; they waste abilities that have taken 1.6 million years to develop. That’s my theory. I believe in the potential of all humans. Hey, how can 100,000 generations of running steak-eaters be wrong! As for those reading: Look across the Plains of life. Set your sights on the biggest, baddest goal you can spot... and chase it into the ground. i 5 FREE ONLINE HOURS litH { THESE NAVDCUNL PLANS.* Low Usage Plan: 15 hours for $6.50 a month. . Medium Usage Plan: 40 hours for $10.00 a month. High Usage Plan: 250 hours for $19.50 a month. And whichever you choose, we’ll give you 5 FREE HOURS of Internet access every month. Additional minutes are $.02. INSTALLATION IS FREE. Call 472-5151 (students) 472-3434 (faculty or staff) or stop by 211 Nebraska Hall. * You must be a UNL student, faculty or staff member to qualify for these plans. 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