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EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
Our
VIEW
World
Debts
History’s moments
must be preserved
Italy.
A beautiful land filled with a glori
ous history; days romantically and master
fully recorded upon walls of sprawling
cathedrals and enshrined in sacrosanct
museums; a foundation of government.
Italy, the land of the Renaissance; the
home of western culture’s rebirth.
This magical and special country suf
fered a cruel loss Friday as a pair of violent
earthquakes ravished the Italian country
side near Assisi. Four people died as the
weakened walls of the Basilica of St.
Francis in Assisi collapsed, bringing down
the vaulted ceiling.
In the rubble are pieces of fresco
from the walls of the Basilica, an especial
ly devastating loss. Frescoes are created by
painting pictures in the wet plaster walls of
building. Sculptures can often be repaired
and paintings Can be restored, but frescoes
depend on the structure on which they’re
painted. With the Basilica’s frescoes in a
heap, the loss exceeds any price tag.
The world watched as Italian workers
scrambled to pick up the pieces this past
weekend.
Saving and repairing these cultural
riches is the world’s responsibility. Each
and every one of us can trace a plethora of
modem conveniences back to Italy’s fer
tile plains.
This is not just Italian history, but
world history.
Monday, the Italian Public Works
* Ministry estimated damages at more than
$435 million. That is an enormous burden
for one government to shoulder by itself.
It shouldn’t have to. Because of the
quake, thousands of Italians are homeless,
and with temperatures dropping below
freezing at night, the Italian government
has plenty on which to focus.
So, as Italy struggles to house and
feed its people, world governments must
come together to aid in saving the master
pieces that so deftly trace western culture’s
progression from the middle ages in the
‘enlightened’ Renaissance and eventually,
the modem era.
This responsibility extends beyond
Italy, to any country with icons of cultural
significance. Many of the world’s poorest
countries house some of the world’s most
significant historical sites, architecture or
art. They may not be able to sacrifice their
citizens’ welfare for cultural preservation.
Remember what history has given us,
and be willing to save those opportunities
for generations to come.
Editorial Policy
Unsigned editorials are the opinions of
t the Pall 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do
not necessarily reflect the views of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its
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A column is solely Ihe opinion of its author.
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r
Haney’s
VIEW
--- -1
dn :
LETTERS '
Strapped in
It was good to see Tuesday’s edito
rial encouraging people to buckle up
when they get in their cars. I used to
be a news photographer for KOLN
TV, and I literally covered hundreds
of traffic accidents. Of the few dozen
that involved fatalities, only one per
son died while wearing a seat belt.
That woman’s car was crushed by a
train.
It amazes me that people still need
to be convinced to save their own
lives, especially after Princess
Diana’s highly publicized accident in
which the sole survivor was the only
person wearing a seat belt. Now I
cringe every time I see a deadly acci
dent that could have been prevented
by the simple click of a buckle.
Please do the smart thing and buck
le up. Front or back seat, whether
you’re driving across town or across
the state, wear your seat belt every
time you get in a car. And don’t rely
solely on an airbag for protection.
They can help reduce injuries, but
you must buckle up first.
Sorry to be so preachy, but nobody
wants to go to your funeral.
Curtis Bnght
1990 UNL alumnus
Represented wrongly
I just want to let you know that last
week’s cartoon (Sept. 24, 1997)
depicting a dark skinned man holding
a little “white” girl’s hand in front of a
police officer has not gone by unno
ticed. Mr. Haney’s “cartoon” totally
distorts the truth about what was real
ly going on in the case of the Iraqi
men and the two young teens. What
Mr. Haney did was to make these men
out to be pedophiles and not men act
ing out their culture on foreign soil.
Yes, it is true that they were sexually
involved with two underage girls and
that these girls had not consented to
either marriage or sex with them. All
of this was a part of the cultural
dynamics that involves arranged mar
riages in Iraq. However, what is not
true, as far as I see it is that these men
are not pedophiles. A pedophile is by
definition, “an adult who is sexually
attracted to a child or children.”
Haney’s “cartoon” depicts such an
adult, but that was not the issue of the
case against the men. Also, he goes
out of his way to make the little girl, a
white little girl. And that was done for
a reason, I have no doubt in my mind
about that. Haney’s view went just a
little bit too far.
What happened to these two young
teen-age girls is unthinkable to many
of us here in America. And I do not
condone and would not condone it in
any form or fashion. Moreover, I will
not sit back as Mr. Haney depicts
these men in a manner that is inaccu
rate and makes what happened to be
some kind of perversion, not an issue
of Iraqi culture vs. American law.
I trust that Mr. Haney will see the
error of his ways and try to be more
responsible with his satire. News,
even editorial cartoons, have to
reflect the truth in an objective way.
Haney overstepped the bonds of
objectivity and sought to make a
statement about men of color that will
not be tolerated. Not now, not ever.
John L. Harris,
special assistant
Office of the Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs
Appealing pink
When I read Todd Brauch’s column
this morning, I almost keeled over
laughing. Pink cigarettes with names
like Bunny Tails and Chickies?! It
was a very amusing proposition.
I agree that sadly, the battle against
the tobacco companies will be costly
and at the tax-payers’ expense, but
there is a flaw in Brauch’s logic.
While pink cigarettes with cute and
fuzzy names would almost certainly
turn off the entire male smoking pop
ulation, did it ever occur to him
women smokers would be undaunt
ed? As a collector and enthusiast of
stuffed bunnies and all things inani
mate and cuddly, a pink cig with a
cute name would NQT deter me in
smoking. A lot of Women wouldn’t
care if they were pink. After all,
we’ve been floodec^with pink objects
and stuffed animals since the day we
were bom.
Perhaps if cigarettes were flavored
with something tasting like brussels
sprouts or asparagus, people would
be more inclined to shun smokes,
saving taxpayers money and lives.
Ann Kontor
sophomore
French/international affairs
Eat my letters
I am writing in response to Chad
McGuire’s Fetter, “Greek-less”on
Tuesday. Sorry about the stress and
please pass along the apology on to
the entire horticulture department. I
can i^nderstand how toilet paper in
trees must have sent you through such
personal anguish. Next time we’ll just
cut them down to ensure that it does
n’t happen again. As for the “negative
activities” of the greek system all I
can say is get out of your apartment
and open your eyes. The greek system
has been on this campus for more
than 122 years and is not leaving any
time soon. Sure, negative things hap
pen to everybody, but it is ignorant
people such as yourself who try to ’ i
push many of the campus problems
on to the greek system, when in fact
the greek system often helps more
than it hurts. Most of the fraternities
have a GPA above the all-men’s aver
age, and the sororities are above the *
all-women’s average. The greejc sys
tem also donates countless hours and
dollars to philanthropies. There are
also many greeks who actively partic
ipate in most campus activities from
ASUN to being the leaders of the aca
demic societies, such as Golden Key.
It is also ignorant to crucify the greek
system because the houses throw par
ties and expect that we are the only
part of the student body that does so.
So, Mr. McGuire, sit back, drink a
beer, hug a tree and educate yourself.
I just might be worth it.
Joseph K. Mitchell
junior
architecture and business
Sculpted out'
Wouldn’t you know it! Just when
you turn around, another sculpture
goes up on campus. Who do these
jocks think they are? This school is
just too artsy fartsy. Next thing you
know the greeks will be raising
money for Richards Hall.
Alison Hays
senior
fine arts
■fl
Subtraction lesson
In response to Chad McGuire’s let
ter. I have only one question for you.
How do you see UNL as a more
diversified campus without the greek
system? Sure, all organizations have
drawbacks, but aren’t we being just a
little too critical? The ignorance
shown in your letter makes it obvious
that you don’t belong to1 any oiganiza
tion whatsoever, and all you do is play
D&D in your dorm for fun. I’m a !
believer in the theory of addition by
subtraction. So, do all the students of
UNL a favor and add to the diversity <
of UNL by subtracting yourself from
it
Andrew Smith
w;. senior
secondary education J
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