EDITOR
Paula Lavigne
OPINION
EDITOR
Jessica Kennedy
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Erin Gibson
Joshua Gillin
Jeff Randall
Julie Sobczyk
Ryan Soderlin
Our
VIEW
ASUN
applause
Change could come
with bill protests
OK, ASUN, it’s time to get to work.
Let’s be honest, the Association of
Students of the University of Nebraska
has not exactly maintained a sterling repu
tation with students for quite some time.
And while some of that blame is because
of the students’ own apathy and perceived
elitism of the group, a substantial portion
of the general populace’s disdain for the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s student
government is not unfounded.
In the coming months, that image, that
perception, can oe cnangea.
It’s time for ASUN senators to do
something worthwhile, and the
Government Liaison Committee’s pro
posed bill to protest Lincoln city ordi
nance 27.03.220 could be it.
The number of that ordinance may not
sound familiar, but for many students,
what it says is highly relevant
City ordinance 27.03.220 states that
no more than three unrelated people can
live in the same house. And for many col
lege students, that number is far too low.
A substantial portion of the students at
this university and at all the other bodies
of higher education in Lincoln have been
directly affected by this ordinance or
know someone who has.
Until you’ve been evicted from a
house for violating a city ordinance that
your landlord decided to ignore until it
was tog late, it’$ hard to imagine what an
impact thiln6rdinarice“Can harVe on stu
dents. But try, won’t you?
Imagine finding a college student’s
dream house, complete with a spacious
front porch, three bathrooms, only slightly
substandard woodwork and, above all, rent
that will come to about $150 per person
once divided four or five ways.
Then, imagine moving in only to find
out a few weeks later - in the middle of the
semester - that you can’t live there any
more.
in a ciiy uiai icccivcs a gicai ueai ui
economic support from the university, an
ordinance like this is a slap in the face for
many students, especially an ordinance
that is selectively enforced and that was
developed as a response to residential
parking woes.
Parking inconveniences are nothing
compared to the hassle, drain and expense
of breaking a lease, finding another
dwelling and re-hooking up cable and
phone service for exorbitant fees.
In other words, this is important to the
students of UNL. And that means it should
be important to ASUN.
Put the seating at Memorial Stadium
and the desire to shave a few dollars off
student fees aside for a moment, and
resolve to attempt a significant change not
just for students, but for all of Lincoln.
Make this proposed bill to protest
Lincoln city ordinance 27.03.220 a priori
ty, and you may be surprised by the num
ber of students who will applaud your
actions.
Frankly, it’s about time ASUN earned
some applause.
EiitarialPilicy
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Haney's
VIEW
n
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DN
LETTERS
Clarification
I would like to thank the DN for
providing coverage of the GLBT
Resource Center and the upcoming
events fqt National Coming Out Day.
Howqyer, there was something I
would like to mention. Your article
stated that the resource center pro
vides counseling for GLBT students.
While I wish we could, we are not
qualified to do so. The most we can
do is refer someone to gay-friendly
counselors.
i ^
Alison Knudsen
president
GLBT Resource Center
Love the sinner
Mr. Haney’s “caricature”
Thursday left a funny aftertaste in my
mouth. It portrayed a Catholic bishop
declaring that the parents of gay indi
viduals were now “permitted” to love
and respect their children, but “only
if” they refrained from homosexual
behavior. I presume Mr. Hanev was
referring to “Always Our Children: A
Pastoral Message to Parents of
Homosexual Children and
Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers,”
which was released Sept. 30.
However, Mr. Haney, you have mis
understood both the bishops’ state
ments and the teachings of the
Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church has always
viewed homosexual acts as contrary
to natural and divine law, because
they “close the sexual act to the gift
of life” (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 2357). Hence, homosexual
acts are intrinsically wrong.
But that’s half the story.
The church also states that “the
number of men and women who have
deep-seated homosexual tendencies
is not negligible. ... (for) most of
them it is a trial. They must be treat
ed with respect, compassion, and
sensitivity. Every sign of unjust dis
crimination in their regard should be
avoided” (Catechism, 2358).
In other words, Mr. Haney, indi
viduals with a homosexual orienta
tion are to be loved and respected
unconditionally. Don’t get me
wrong, for the love and respect that
we are called to have does NOT
imply or call for consent and agree
ment This is the true position of any
i-:—w—■- £.
bishop of the Catholic Church. In
issuing the pastoral letter, the bish
ops did not change any teaching, but
have merely reaffirmed the church’s
position, and extended help to gay
individuals, their parents and the pas
tors they turn to.
Perhaps many of us will never be
able to comprehend the pain and tor
ment experienced by numerous
Christian individuals who struggle to
live a chaste life despite their homo
sexual orientation Their parents and
pastors who try to help them make it
through every day have chosen to
join them in this battle, and often suf
fer no less. I believe, then, that your
work was an injustice both to these
persons and the bishops.
I appreciate your attempt to color
humor into the picture, Mr. Haney.
Perhaps you didn’t mean to be offen
sive. But surely, you must agree with
me that it is one thing to misunder
stand the religious beliefs of others,
and quite another to misrepresent
AND make fun of such convictions.
Wei Hsien Wan
- sophomore
psychology
Equal time
As a gay atheist and ex-Catholic,
I take issue with Nikki Oligmueller’s
letter printed in Friday’s DN. Nikki,
why do you think that the Catholic
view of homosexuality “does not
deserve to be discussed in an editori
al cartoon?” Is it because you don’t
like to read intelligent critiques of
your religion’s irrational beliefs? Or
do you think that more open-minded
people should just shut up and accept
your dogmatic beliefs without ques
tion?
Mr. Haney basically hit the bull’s
eye with his cartoon. The Catholic
Church preaches “love” of gay peo
ple - yet STILL condemns them for
expressing that love in a physical
manner (i.e., by having sex). I per
sonally do not feel “loved” when
people tell me they think gay sex is
“sinful.”
Nikki’s letter is, unfortunately,
typical of far too many Christians.
She, like countess others, screams
bloody murd^ any time someone
criticizes or exposes her religion’s
indefensible and blatantly ludicrous
views, especially Christianity’s mor
bid obsession with other people’s
bedroom behavior. Maybe she real
izes that if people actually SEE how
silly their religion is and actually
THINK critically about it, they might
actually reject it as many of my fel
low ex-Catholics and ex-Christians
already have.
Nikki, if the views of open-mind
ed people bother you, my suggestion
to YOU would be not to “pray and
pray hard,” but to THINK - and
THINK rationally.
NickWUtgen
senior
meteorology
Love, the underdog?
I would like to say something
very simple: Love does not conquer
all. It does not seem to be a hard con
cept to grasp, so why are so many
people having so much trouble with
it? If you don’t understand the con
cept of love not being the answer to
all of the world’s problems, you are
not alone. Many people don’t realize
that to have a lifelong relationship,
factors beyond love are involved.
This is because we have been taught
by TV, books, movies, literature and
society, in general, that love is
stronger than anything else. To me
this is no more than a scary fairy tale.
In real life, love is put to die test
in hundreds of different ways every
day, and we must face the fact that
not all love is right. Take two famous
movies for instance. In
“Casablanca,” Humphrey Bogart
gives up his love for the good of his
country, her country and his con
science. In “The English Patient,”
Ralph Feinnes ignores his duty to his
country and his duty to himself to be
with his love.
Love is about shared dreams,
lifelong commitment, and doing
what is right. As a practicing
Catholic, I believe that homosexuali
ty is not right. Consequendy, I agree
with Mr. Munson’s story in the
Monday issue of the DN.
Homosexuals are people just like the
rest of us. They have simply invested
more heavily in the empty fairy tale
of perfect love.
Erin Howell
freshman
civil engineering
yspir _ WwkZ
■ 1 .......
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