Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Matthew Waite EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin Our VIEW Plugging the drain Top faculty needed to keep top students During the last year, Nebraskans have heard a lot of rhetoric about the impor tance of keeping smart, talented Nebraska students and employees in the state. From Varner Hall to the Canfield Administration Building to the governor’s office, the call to arms resounds: “Brain gain, not brain drain” and “Keep Nebraska’s best and brightest in Nebraska.” as a result, tne Legislature placed spe cial importance last spring on keeping Nebraska graduates in the state, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s honors programs have received significant fund ing through internal reallocation process es. Yet a team from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools reported last week that Nebraska was doing little to keep an important group of Nebraska’s best and brightest in the state: the UNL faculty. UNL faculty get lower salaries on average than the faculty at its peer institu tions, the team reported. Faculty salaries were 2 percent above their peer institu tions in 1992-93, but “this advantage has eroded,” the team’s report states. Staiting salaries for young professors remain at or near market levels, the report states, but “there are some problems in retaining highly productive senior facul ty” . v':v; The report notes such faculty are recruited by other universities, which offer them significant salary increases to join their ranks. But, to the embarrass ment of the state, our state government didn’t recognize their value last spring. At mat time, uov. tsen Nelson vetoed a faculty salary increase in the midst of his “Brain Gain” gab, perhaps unaware that a raise in faculty salaries is an investment in Nebraska that repays the state. UNL faculty members directly impact the quality of the students’ education they will take to Nebraska businesses. Faculty research in new agriculture related technology contributes $50 mil lion to the state economy, the report states. That figure doesn’t include contri butions to business made through UNL’s world-class Center for Entrepreneurship or NU’s Distance Education programs, which are the largest and most compre hensive in the state. Therefore, state government officials can no longer overlook faculty salaries at UNL while claiming their dedication to keeping smart Nebraska students in the state during college and after graduation, to developing new technology or to investing in Nebraska’s future. Because, in faculty or in any other Commodity, you get what you pay for. 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. Acolumn is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves 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. lottor 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 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 any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Haney’s VIEW DN LETTERS I challenge Moeser On November 10, 1997, President Clinton will be holding a National Hate Crimes Summit. Because of the recent hate speech that littered our campus sidewalks, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be listed among the statistics presented to President Clinton con cerning gay hate crimes in America. While this incident is not being charged undef the new Nebraska hate crimes law, it is an example of the kind of abuse and harassment many gay people must face in our nation today. Six days after the hate speech was discovered^ on our campus, Chancellor James Moeser finally spoke. In his open letter to students, he said this kind of behavior (hate speech) will not be tolerated at this university. However, in Chancellor Moeser’s untimely response to the incidents, he sent a strong message to the university community that this behavior is acceptable, there will be no punishment, there will be no immediate action taken against you. Chancellor Moeser also chal lenged the university community to increase its efforts to respect and understand each other. I challenge you, Chancellor, to take heed to your own advice. Had you doubled your efforts to respect your GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) students, your reponse would have come in a more timely manner. AChancellor Moeser also called for more education on diverse issues. In an effort to educate the university community, GLBT students chalked the sidewalks to promote the week’s events, to let others know that GLBT students were no longer the invisible minority. Is this not what a university is for - education? Luckily, there are those on this campus that understand the need for immediate action and I offer my grat itude to ASUN for taking such a strong stance. ASUN has set a good I-. ... - - -- Aaron Steckelberg/DN example, one that the administration should take notice of. I challenge the university com munity to challenge Chancellor Moeser and hold him and others in the administration accountable for their words, and then maybe we will see some action. Kristen E. Job senior women’s studies/English Give and Get In the two years and two months that I’ve attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I’ve grown quite disgusted with students here. For a crowd who should be leading other students in open-minded argument, they seem to follow a great deal. In the past two years, I’ve been either explicitly or implicitly called names: theocratic dunderhead, eth nocentrist, half-racist, close-minded, ignorant, etc. For people who say they want respect, minorities go out of their way to destroy any respect I might have for them personally. After all, why should I respect you if you don’t respect me? Actually, how CAN I respect you if you can’t return the favor? Three-year-old children use name-calling to hurt each other. I HOPE you’ve all grown out of that stage. Look, people, if you can’t respect yourself enough that you can’t respect me and my opinions, no amount of pseudo-respect will equal the real respect you COULD earn. I won t give real respect if you whimper and say “Respect me, accept me.” Remember how the uni versity always wants us to-be diverse? Diversity is nothing more than a catchy slogan for cultural trade. It comes from a real respect that must come from honest, person to person interaction, not a political rally intended to inspire a group of people. . These are the reasons I pay little attention to students on most cam puses who promote diversity and respect. They frequently don’t make sense and they frequently resort to childish name-calling tactics. Ladies and gentleman, we live in a cold, cruel world, regardless of race, reli gion, ethnicity or whatever. I chal lenge the administration of this uni versity to lead the student body toward open-mindedness with each other. The half-following trend hasn’t worked. John Flaherty senior meteorology PS. Write Hack . ■.'.. . - I r ■ ■ . ■ ' . . ...; •••• r ; , •;*" . _ I o: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail <Ietters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification