Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1998)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Joshua Gillin EDITORIAL BOARD Brad Davis Erin Gibson Shannon Heifelfinger Chad Lorenz Jeff Randall Quotes OF THE WEEK “Our leadership in the world is unri valecLThe state of oar union is strong.” President Bill Clinton, in his State of the Union address “(Clinton) went oat of his way to reduce elements of partisanship, and that’s unusual for this president” U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., about the State of the Union address. “What Roe (vs. Wade) said was that women can be their own moral decision makers. It was a theological issue about life.” Chris Funk, director for Planned Parenthood of Lincoln “We hate to point out a negative inci dent as having positive consequences, but I think this one has.” Chancellor James Moeser, one year after the Sigma Chi cross burning “I don’t want to have to choose between a regents meeting and a hockey game.” Kim Todd, former director of campus planning, explaining that she would now prefer not to have to work long weekends “In kind of a strange way - John Elway, I’ve always enjoyed him.l jnst wish he hadn’t done it against me.” Green Bay Packers Coach Mike Holmgren, after Elway and the Denver Broncos beat the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII “The future of the state truly lies in our young people, and this is an invest ment in our young people and their opportunities.” Gov. Ben Nelson, introducing LB 1176, the “brain gain ” bill “I just want to work my hardest, and I don’t want to have a bad attitude.” NU I-back DeAngelo Evans, about his rehabilitation from a pelvis injury “The University of Nebraska is the place you want to go if you’re not already there. It’s a big-name university - everybody’s heard of the University of Nebraska.” Shad Williams, director of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity's expansion “In no case shall the mother of the unborn child be prosecuted for any act contributing to the death of the unborn child.” Provision stated in LB981 and LB987, bills defining “viable" unborn children in the uterus and actions to be taken when an unborn child is killed employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as pubfisher 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, responsibly 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 tropubfication. 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.urd.edu. Haney^s VIEW t **.• " "fe 'lo Uc? ~ DN LETTERS The truth hurts As a former DN columnist, I know cynicism is required of a col lege writer. Because of that experi ence, I will not refuse all the obvious satire in the Jan. 29 DN editorial (“Shopping the drain”) bemoaning the supposed lack of quality life in Nebraska. Instead, I will paraphrase the famous line from Stripes, “Lighten up, Francis,” and apply it here: “Lighten up, DN.” If Nebraska has “Nothing that would make a young person stay here,” as you put it, why are you still here? I guess no one on the editorial board could get into KU. My “brain gain” proposal isn’t a panacea for all the state’s ills, but I do believe it’s a cost-effective way to keep our best and brightest young people here. Think about it: If more of them stay, maybe the editorials in the DN will be worth reading. My bill will also encourage companies to grow here, pay taxes here and invest money here. Is this why the DN is called the “Rag?” Sen. Jon Bruning District! Omaha Preach on! In response to Joe Fraas’ Jan. 29 letter (“In defense of the father...”), I believe you are missing the point of the editorial entirely. The article is not disagreeing with the teachings of the Bible, it is simply saying the Christian church has always twisted and distorted whatever message the Bible may have to its own uses. I agree with the Jan. 28 editorial wholeheartedly. The church that is supposedly founded on a poor man’s teachings is now the church that sur rounds itself with riches and luxu ries. Sounds kind of odd, huh? Eric Rost freshman mechanical engineering Testify! Several responses by readers to Mr.Colman’s article point out that you cannot judge the worth of Christianity by the behavior of some of its adherents. Many Christians have judged the worth of Judaism by die behavior of some of its adherents. They base this judgment on Jesus’ words in Matthew 23. Should we not judge a tree by the fruit it bears? Steven Carr Bradford, England Beware the keeper of the house... A lot of little red flags shot up in my head when I read Anthony Colman’s article, “A cross to bear.” The one that bothers me most is how he claimed that Christians proclaim Christianity is die cure for all social His. Christianity does not claim this. In fact, God says life will not always be a bowl of cherries. “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” Yes, if we were all Christians and followed Christ’s example die world would be better. But we don’t. Christians call themselves Christians, but are human too and make mistakes. Just because we say we are Christians does not mean we claim to be perfect That’s why Christ is needed: because we aren't perfect We try our best, and the rest is taken care of by him. I’m sorry to disap point you, Mr. Colman, but society's ills will never be cured. What’s most important in life actually has nothing to do with this life but what comes after it “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eter nal (2 Corinthians 4:18).” Go ahead and believe the path of Christianity leads to suffering and exclusion. I won't be the one you'll be answering to. Rebecca Pohlman . sophomore speech pathology ... for ye know not when he comes You may be as surprised to dis cover you have readers in San Francisco as 1 was, who read Anthony Colman’s Jan. 28 column on Christianity in America (A cross to bear). As a gay person of faith (Unitari an universalist), I was disappointed at his rather negative portrayal of faith and its role in our society. It is certainly true many evil things are done in the name of God. It is also true many congregations of diverse faiths are today engaged in fighting racism, homophobia and other social maladies, and trying to live up to what Jesus of Nazareth taught as the greatest commandment: to love God, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. I am an active participant in die life of my congregation: I am a teacher in our religious education program. Our denomination was one of the first to perform ceremonies of union fen same-sex couples and has been vocal in support of equal rights for all people. In short, my faith has been my anchor in a world that does n't always accept me for who I am. I do not believe Mr. Colman is incorrect to question thojole of faith in our society. And die separation of church and state is and must remain fundamental to the law of our land. But to turn a blind eye to the many ways in which faith can bring heal ing and understanding to a diverse society is to forget the core teaching of Jesus: to love God and to love one another. Charles E. Galvin Jr. San Francisco vl- ... vi-'- - • 3SS s