EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Joshua Gillin EDITORIAL BOARD Brad Davis Erin Gibson Shannon Heffelfinger Chad Lorenz Jeff Randall I Our VIEW Troubled school Harvard students failed by tutor system Harvard Crimson Harvard University Cambridge, Mass. (U-Wire) - Harvard may soon be nearing a day of reckoning. On Feb. 18, the family of Trang Phuong Ho filed a lawsuit against Harvard University and several members of its advising system. Phuong Ho was murdered in May 1995 by Sinedu Tadesse, her Dunster House roommate. Tadesse hanged herself in their bathroom the day of the murder. Last summer, Melanie Themstrom, a former Adams House nonresident tutor, enlarged her controversial 1995 New Yorker article and published a book about the incident, charging Harvard with allowing troubled students to fall through the cracks. When the book appeared, the university vigorously denied its asser tions. Now Harvard is again on the defen sive. Whether Harvard was legally respon sible for the murder is a difficult question that can only be answered in a court of law. Unfortunately for the university, no legal maneuvering can release Harvard from its moral responsibility for Phuong Ho’s death, if notTadesse’s suicide. The administration has mastered the art of calling on their role of “in loco par entis” at all the wrong times and neglect ing it at all the right ones. Harvard is proud of a 21-meal dining plan that encourages us to eat and libraries that close at 1 a.m. to encourage us to sleep. But when it comes to advising and emotional support, we are suddenly treat ed as independent adults with no need for any kind of help. The week of the murder, Tadesse missed three of her four final exams. Shouldn’t a tutor have noticed? The Dunster murder-suicide is only the most famous example of the universi ty’s neglect of its students. Many of us don’t even know our adviser’s name. These “advisers” don’t make much effort to change the status quo. More importantly, the tutor system requires fundamental reform. The univer sity should hire tutors with applicable interpersonal skills, not just absurdly pro longed graduate school careers. Further, tutors should be given more thorough mental health training than what they cur rently receive. At best, the lack of a responsible advis ing system is slightly annoying. At worst, it could fail to prevent another tragedy. Regardless of how Trang Ho’s lawsuit turns out, without a better advising sys tem, Harvard fails in its responsibility to its students. EulUvnal rullCy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1998 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 opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publsher 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. goirnop letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but (toes not guarantee tneir 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. Isortionoft i? fr-vmyt r>ne iiaw Haney’s VIEW DN LETTERS R-E-S-P-E-C-T For the past few days, hearing about Mr. Hibler brings to mind an important aspect of the university environment... professionalism. Yes, it is Mr. Hibler’s right to say whatever he wants, but is it “right” for a person in his position? Does it respect other people? His e-mail, did it have any cultural value? I don’t think so - pure artistic rhetoric. If Hibler is fired, he can sue all he wants... ignoring the basis for such a decision. It appears his credibility was an issue long before this e-mail came along. If you are a university faculty member, you need to be pro fessional. If you blatantly cry out that you can say anything you want and you don’t care, you don’t have much respect for students and soci ety in general. You don’t belong here. The university is right; take your attitude elsewhere. Professionalism, Mr. Hibler, is something you can’t defend. Stephen Kroening junior meteorology and communications Other papers do it (why can’t we?) This is the month of February, and is also the month in recognition of black history. I was wondering why the very last page of the Daily Nebraskan was reserved for the appreciation of soul artists and their music (Tuesday). Can somebody besides myself see the disrespect in having a feature of black artists on the last page of the paper? The last page of any newspa per is usually reserved for unimpor tant events and often times classified ads. Since UNL is so “worried” about diversity education and maintaining positive race relations, shouldn’t they be more aware of the writings and publications that grace every hall on campus? Come on people, wake up and smell the discrimina Matt Haney/DN tion. UNL has a long way to go before the race relations on campus are in tune, and since the Daily Nebraskan touts itself as an “award winning paper,” they should repre sent for ALL. Mark R. Bauermeister senior advertising Missing the mark (again) With your attempt to be a diversi fied newspaper and cover the trials, tribulations and accomplishments of minorities, I was quite sure I would open the Daily Nebraskan and read about the Women in Science recog nitions on Thursday. Instead, I found a lack of voice supporting the accomplishments of these women. Sixty-four of our top junior and senior women students in scientific fields of study were recognized at a presentation by the Graduate Women in Science. These women were cho sen for their outstanding perfor mances in an area of study typically devoid of women. I am concerned that while this newspaper has taken the initiative to recognize the achievements of several prominent minorities within the university, women, especially those recognized as unique by stepping over the gen der boundary seen in science, have been handed yet another significant setback by the exclusion of their recognition. If this newspaper is working toward a new age in acceptance of minorities and recognition of their contributions, it is imperative that women, and their achievements, not be excluded. Grace Lasker senior agronomy Take this advice It is very frustrating to me that my favorite forum for free expres sion of opinion, the Daily Nebraskan, has turned into some sort of arena where the students of UNL duke it out over stale issues (college related or otherwise). Every time I open the opinion page, the students’ letters simply attack what was in the paper several days ago. This seems like a decent idea to me, but what I cannot approve of is the way these students turn their arguments into personal attacks on others who do not share their exact opinions. Everyone has a separate view, but it seems that we at UNL cannot accept the fact that someone out there might not feel the same way we do. I’m not saying we shouldn’t argue. Quite the opposite. In fact, I think we should argue more! Intelligent debate is the only way we can advance our basis for belief. On the other hand, slamming a person into the ground with childish insults is about as useful as trying to put out a fire with gasoline. If we as students need to express something that we feel strongly about, we have to consider the best possible way in which to say it. Dan Rempe sophomore computer science and German . . . ..1 VV ....% ebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, to (402) 472-1761, or e:mail ?_bw T^Mort . .at ■Tyyr*>:-<7. ’""'V';"'. : ■ ^■■■' ^ i ' "