EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
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EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
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Our
VIEW
Street
smarts
Bike lanes would
wreak havoc downtown
Last Friday, a ragtag mob of cyclists
descended on downtown Lincoln at 4:30 p.m.
to demonstrate to motorists why we need bicy
cle lanes.
Not only was the rolling obstacle in poor
judgment, but so was the cause it supported.
Obviously, riding in busy traffic can be
dangerous, but so would the effects of expand
mg downtown streets to include bike lanes.
“Bike lanes and intersections don’t mix,”
remarked Rick Dockhorn, an Effective
Cycling trainer certified by the American
League of Bicyclists.
He offered an example: You’re riding north
on 17th Street, and the bike lane is on the right
hand side. You want to go straight when you
encounter an intersection. The car next to you
wants to go right. A collision is likely.
Or, you want to turn left, which would
require you to veer across lanes of traffic from
the bike lane on the far right side.
This would be in addition to the utter chaos
the installation of bike lanes would wreak
upon downtown streets. The proposal is far
from realistic in a downtown comprised solely
of one-block units.
Bike lanes would push back sidewalks,
confuse on-street parking and pose complica
tions with every intersection - which means
every single block.
The answer Be a better cyclist.
In this case, it means behaving like you
belong on die road.
“If you act like you are in a car, you will
more than likely be treated like it,” testified
Dockhorn, who says he rides through down
town nearly every day.
Dockhorn says courtesy and confidence
go a long way when riding through traffic.
Among other things, he said, don’t ride
through red lights, stay in the appropriate lane
of traffic and don’t ride in between lanes.
Still, most people fear riding alongside
speeding traffic, which is why classes such as
the one Dockhorn teaches exist. He educates
people on simple rules and tips that can make
cycling on busy streets safe and comfortable.
bxactly a year ago today, The Daily
Nebraskan ran an editorial espousing the need
for bicycle lanes as a reaction to a city ordi
nance banning bicycles from certain down
town sidewalks.
Now, we recognize the necessity of cyclists
acting responsibly. Bicycles are vehicles,
which usually require three feet to each side of
its two-foot handlebars for safety.
It is simply unrealistic to have them flying
through crowded downtown sidewalks and
speeds of up to 25 mph.
Mobs of young renegades on bicycles
holding up rush hour traffic make only one
point: It’s us against you.
And that attitude may be the most danger
ous aspect of all when you ride down a busy
citystreet
A column ie solely the opinion of its author.
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Mook’s
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DN
LETTERS
Punt the bums
Your editorial staff seems to think
“the homeless pose no threat. ... ”
Having spent countless hours study
ing and working in the Nebraska
Union since 1991,1 offer evidence to
the contrary, with the observation it
has gotten worse since then.
I have seen the following occur in
the union and surrounding areas:
bums conning or accosting students
for money or favors; a vagrant verbal
ly abusing and intimidating students
by the big-screen television; the same
vagrant suddenly and without provo
cation beating a much smaller inof
fensive transient. Couldn’t it just as
easily have been a student? I person
ally had to stop this attack. I have seen
9 Inw.tifp inciiltinfr 9 Phinoco rrirl oo
she walked by; transients gratuitously
yelling die “N-word” and threatening
to shoot people. When I looked their
way, one postured to beat me, and
then he tried to hit me with a large
rock. He later beat up a Lincoln teen
ager. I have seen a vagrant continu
ously uttering threats in the general
direction of students; riffraff smoking
in non-smoking areas; bums sprawled
out in choke points of the union;
vagrants littering lawns and burglar
izing my house (on university proper
ty); an illegal alien stealing cell
phones from cars in UNL parking lots
(he was apprehended); bums using
loud and vulgar language around stu
dents; a woman loudly and frequently
abusing her caregiver; incredibly
filthy and smelly bums rolling around
on the same furniture students use;
people who drift in and out of sanity
ranting and raving to the point where
students can’t study anymore.
I could continue. Some of these
incidents are logged in with the cam
pus police. I’d also like to note I’ve
heard dozens of students say they
avoid the union because the non-stu
dents there make them feel unsafe.
This is why Daryl Swanson and the
Union Board are trying to make the
“Husker Flophouse” a better place.
What kind of an impression does
the union now make on visitors?
Would you want your kids going to a
school that has such a collection of
human flotsam /1 wouldnt. I’d send
them to the University of Nebraska at
Omaha, where the union is immacu
late and where there are no bums, just
nice students like the ones at UNL,
who your insulting cartoonist puts in
the same category as the people just
described. By the way, you also owe
those “bloated” (that’s not politically
correct) Husker fans an apology for
your insulting comparison of them to
die UNL bums.
I hope the Association of Students
at the University ofNebraska is ready
to rethink its position on die issue as
well. Otherwise, the student body
should recommend that most resign,
as they are not looking out for the stu
dents’ interests. By the way, “home
less” is a term that properly describes
those who have lost their home in a
catastrophe, and should not be used
for those who are too damn lazy to
perform honest work and contribute
to society.
But if such people wish to use the
union, they might, as long as they
behave properly like the students.
Dr. A1 Koenig
history department
UNLandUNO
Greek chorus
Last week in the DN, fevers flur
nea over me vaiue oi me greeK sys
tem. Some were prepared to condemn
based on what appeared to be false
implications of profiled misde
meanors. The greeks were quick to
supplant these rebellious hostilities
with a more reasonable, holistic
assessment of greek life. However,
neither pro- nor anti-greek colum
nists were able to mount a reasonable
argument for their cause. Fever and
fervor have placed both greek and
non-greek in arch opposition, but nei
ther have a substantial, logical back
ing to be so dogmatic.
Here’s one critique of this greek
“system” that is difficult to refute.
The average greek at UNL is a white,
Christian, middle-upper class, mid
westerner. Within the greek system,
socialization, dating, obtaining
friends, group studying and partying
almost wholly occur with other greek
affiliates. This is common sense.
Most people know this to be true.
The implications elude us. As a
campus with perhaps 100 nationali
ties and thousands of ethnicities with
uncountable different cultural world
views, the greek “system” is an isolat
ed island of closed network American
life. By planning the majority of their
social events with other greeks who
ora far oil infoan+o an/1 mlmacac i/Ian
deal to themselves, they systematical
ly discriminate against die remaining
99.9 percent of the other human types
on campus. This practice further
enforces the rigid group mentality
that is so prevalent and racist on the
American college scene.
As leaders of the community
(which they will no doubt profess to
be) with their powerful backing of the
great American mass, they are ulti
mately responsible for breaking down
die American profile of the foreigner;
the same profiling system that por
trays greeks to be amass of rude lush
es. They can begin breaking these
barriers down by simply planning to
socialize more often with any of the
thousands of human types at.UNL
regularly. Integration removes preju
dices of greeks, non-greeks and all
foreigners; separation produces them.
Until they take this initial baby step
forward, they deserve to be criticized.
David Baker
senior
sociology
Union matters
Well Mr. Eickman, you certainly
got one thing right in your article:
“Eickman needs to quit whining *
Maybe you could at least yell about
something that matters. You say we
have shelled out $20 for a hazard.
Would you rather have the union clos
er to the schedule or asbestos
removed? Hmm, what is the bigger
hazard? Perhaps you can control the
weather also. I know, when I worked
as an electrician I didn’t like to be
standing in or have water running
near me.
Construction sites are hazards,
that is why OSHA mandated those
fences around the union. They are
there to keep people from sneaking
into a place that may contain hazards
that could injure them. We all know
what happens then. They sue. I would
rather pay for that fencing than for the
lawsuit that could follow.
You say you could pay for beer
and pizza with the $20. That really
shows where your priorities are.
When I first started college, I was
attending the University of Missouri
Rolla on a partial academic scholar
ship. Soon after I arrived, a tuition
increase was announced. It was only
60 to 90 percent over the next five
years. It was then cheaper for me to
return to Nebraska on no financial aid
than to pay $ 17,000 (this year’s costs)
a year for school. You see, we have it
good here. Ask people from
California why they are here.
You also don’t want to pay for
your brother’s or sister’s education.
That means vnu are advncatincr a
return to the Dark Ages. Besides, I
assume you own a car. Go look at the
registration. You will notice you pay
property tax. That means you are pay
ing for someone’s education.
If all else fails, go to atech school
and become a licensed construction
worker. They probably are making
more than we will straight out of
school.
Greg McFarland
junior
mechanical engineering .
UNL Faculties Management