Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Matthew Waite EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin r~ Our VIEW Thank you Veterans deserve our honor Someone died so you could read this. In fact, thousands died. Others gave up their comfortable lives here in the United States to travel thousands of miles to fight wars and serve their country. Friends suffered, sons sacrificed, daugh ters served, and families were divided for the good of the country. rui yuu. Your freedom. Everything you do, every freedom you have, everything you take for granted, a vet eran fought and won for you. And you should be thankful. On this 11th day of the 11th month, the nation is asked to say thank you to those who fought for America’s freedom. We are asked to bow our heads at the 11th hour to pay our respects to those who fought, and fell, in the service of our country. Chances are, you know a veteran. World War II. Korea. Vietnam. The Gulf. A grandfather. An aunt. A father. A friend. Someone in your class. Find them today. Shake their hands. Say thank you. Probably never done that before, have you? You should have. You should have a long time ago. And not on Veterans Day. Taking one day of the year to honor those men and women who served in our armed sforcesisa very ne^ssary tribute. And thly rleserVe so much rhofe. Few of us know the horrors of war, or the deep honor a veteran feels for his or her ser vice to the nation. We hope few of us ever will know the hor rors of war. Diu ii our nation cans, an or us are auty bound to answer. Simple sentence, complex thought. What if the United States were to enter a protracted ground war with a nation hellbent on world domination? Seems unthinkable, but it begs an obvious moral quandary: Would you answer the call? Would you, as an American, volunteer to serve in the armed forces? Would you, some one who benefits from the freedoms others fought for, continue that tradition of service that others have so gallantly set? Would you, out of honor, die for your country? Today we are called upon by our nation to say thank you to those who defended the republic and served to preserve its greatness. It is our duty. Remember those who fought and died to preserve your right to free speech and press and freedom to get an education. At 11 a.m., take a moment to bow your head, and silently thank those who gave up their lives, so yours could be spent in freedom. And if you know a veteran, thank him or her. 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 opinioi 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. 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 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 nane, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daify Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R a Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. — Haney’s VIEW H '.X $tWbV.\ A W6B (iWtf Ki ■&*<* Uft Vjsiwee*'" ft T w' w ■r- SI DN LETTERS What stand? This is in response to Yolanda Rolle’s letter that appeared in the DN on Friday. You are right to say that we should take a stand. But you need to think about the stand you are taking. Why does the Academic Senate’s choice not to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday insult you? They have not disparaged King or the work that he did. They simply decided that the academic cost of can celing classes to recognize that holi day was greater than the benefits that would be received. I am glad that the senate voted for my education. i pay 10 go to scnooi nere so mat l can learn. I do not want to lose a week’s worth of class material as esti mated by the senate (DN, Thursday) for a dubious benefit. A day off from classes would be nice, yes. Some people might even use it to think about what King fought for. But not many would. Most would use the long weekend to go home or catch up on homework or just goof off. We already get a week off from classes each semester - Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and spring breaks. That is enough time if you make good use of it. Tyler Woods junior computer engineering The least we can do To me, it almost seems absurd for there to be any debate on the subject of the observation of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. When we speak about Martin Luther King Jr., we reflect on a man who put his life on the line for the bet terment of all humanity, not just African-Americans. King was able to accomplish this without bloodshed. I His use of nonviolent means to achieve racial equality was not only successful insofar as gaining new free doms for African-Americans, but has taught all of us that there is no place for violence regardless of the severity of a particular situation. While it is important that we don’t forget the accomplishments of other civil rights leaders like Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X, it is especially vital that we acknowledge the achievements of King, who was essentially the first civil rights leader to focus on advanc ing the interests of African-Americans without alienating or excluding those of whites. ao when the Academic senate decides that it is not feasible to allocate one day to remember a man who gave so much to so many, it causes me to become both confused and angry. Devoting one day to one of the most influential men in the history of our country seems like the least we can do to show our admiration. This does not mean that we should use this day to catch up on sleep or spend an afternoon at the mall. Instead, we should take the advice of King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and use it as a day of service. We should use this allotted time to remember who King was and what he stood for. A slight inconvenience in class schedul ing seems quite paltry compared to the trials and tribulations that King went through to get his message across. Tom Gemelke sophomore broadcasting Why so mad? I find it interesting that several members of our university are so out raged that the DN would print an “advertisement for the revisionist view of history.” After all, I have not heard Chancellor Moeser or anyone * else condemn the DN for running ads tj for groups studying the most fraudu- | lent revisionist history of all time - the Christian Bible. After all, the Bible has ] inspired far worse atrocities than any “Holocaust deniers.” I do not believe the DN advertising * department has any obligation to make judgment calls about these sorts of advertisements. If we are to “seek the truth for its own sake,” as Chancellor Moeser says, then we must be open to considering all viewpoints, regardless of how repugnant they may seem. Any reasonable person knows that the Holocaust happened; so why must we censor those who don’t understand that? I Nick Wiltgen senior meteorology j ' < More than winning They say a picture is worth a thou- > I sand words. The photo of Scott Frost and j? Missouri’s quarterback Corby Jones 1 by Ryan Soderlin on the front page of » Monday’s paper speaks volumes about ti the kind of athletes and students we have here at Nebraska. Nebraska is consistently success ful in sports and academia, both of which speak highly of the university. , The photo shows one of our top stu- j dent athletes winning, which is done ] often in all sports at Nebraska. But it’s not just that they win, it’s that they win graciously. The photo shows the true spirit of Saturday’s game and that of the true , character of all of athletes and students at this university. Renae Drewel senior English PS. Write Back i .... . I 2 if I ■■ ' ' . '-■■■■■■ - - .. r~' ' . ■'. ' - ' - - '' ’