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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1998)
EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte I Our VIEW Testimony of shame Airing Clinton tapes will hurt the nation When President Clinton’s taped testimo ny before the grand jury is released today, it won’t sit idle. Instead, most major TV networks and national news channels plan to snatch it up as quickly as possible and play it in its four-hour entirety Monday morning, afternoon and night to a nation of prying home viewers. As of Sunday afternoon, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN planned to show the whole length of his testimony, while ABC and NBC planned to air special news seg ments with excerpts of his testimony. Shame on them. With the help of the media, with each minute of our fallen president’s droning, viewers will see the epitome of partisanship and political terror. Ken Starr’s report was explicit enough for readers to know our president lied and for impeachment proceedings to proceed, if need be. The testimony’s release is nothing but a blatant partisan scheme to further embarrass and weaken the president. It’s the gruesome outcome of political vultures ready and will ing to bury grubby beaks in a dead man if it could result in their own political gain. Nevermind their gratuitous action will weaken the presidency in the minds of Americans for decades to come. Nevermind their action will further sour Americans on our highest leaders by exposing their self ishness and partisan abuses. Clinton seemingly dug his grave, having possibly perjured himself before the grand jury. Now Republicans are digging him up again for no reason other than to let voters peek at his dead body. Viewers also will see a dangerous legal precedent, set by allowing supposedly secret grand jury testimony to be released and broadcast nationwide. When mob top dogs testify against other mobsters, they are told their taped testimony before the grand jury will not be released. Often - like Clinton - they are told the tapes will be destroyed. Will they be willing to testify, now they know some grand jury tapes can be broadcast freely? Viewers also will see a failure of journal ists, members of the so-called fourth estate, to fulfill their role as watchdogs of the gov ernment and political process. The release of Clinton’s taped testimony is big news, and the media are responsible for covering the news thoroughly so Americans can form prudent political, eco nomic and social opinions. - But those obligations do not obligate national TV news to broadcast the whole of Clinton’s testimony. The media should call Congress on its par tisanship and refuse to air the taped testimony in its entirety for the sake of the country. If the media don’t help voters check the rantings of politicians, who will? Editorial Pallcy 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 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, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. latter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does 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. Mook’s VIEW JPTnd How we wiu. SttTfJM *f tabs Cl6S£ Y of his 4 pK &5JUbEnd (iresnwaw.^ Change of focus Efforts of campus officers need to be reconsidered RYAN HUNTER is a sopho more news-editorial major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist In an effort to make campus safe for students, this highly motivated and disciplined bunch patrol campus ready and willing to “protect and serve” at a moment’s notice. Of course, I am referring to die highly revered men and women of the University Police. As I shovel die sar casm from my computer screen, I am forced to question die objectives of the campus police. I once looked at these individuals as a nuisance, believing that the only ability that they possessed was the innate aptitude to appear engaged, all the while accomplishing absolutely nothing. I was convinced that these jovial officers were nothing more than improvisational wizards at imperson ating diligent enforcers of die law. I now realize that the community ser vice officer is a hard-working individ ual who simply follows the misguided agenda of the dreaded “man.” For example, last year after a lengthy and exhaustive Saturday night of weighing the pros and cons of a Marxist economy on a society, I strolled to my car to sample die sweet nectar of a Bandit cigar. After a few moments of torching my lungs with its robust fumes, I was accosted by two ofUNUs finest As the two men in blue explained to me that they had had a report of someone smoking a foreign substance in the parking lot, they politely asked to inspect the contents of my last cigar. 1 obliged, suggesting that at least one of them probably had something better to do. And after I explained that I did pot on Fridays and heroin on Saturdays, they scurried off with my name and social security number, never to be heard from again. This is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about I had hoped that this would be the year that set their proverbial priorities straight Yet they stray from the path of common sense, which apparently is out of style, and attempt to curb drink ing on and around campus. Being the sincere and generous individual that 1 am, I have formulated a few sugges tions for this misguided defense sys tem. Forget about slowing alcohol use on and around campus. It is quite a novel idea, but halting drinking in these aforementioned zones is like me trying to tackle Dan Alexander in the open field; it ain’t gonna happen. Despite administrative efforts to purge the campus of alcohol and insti tute academic rigor, UNL will always be, to some extent, an institution of and about football, a grossly oversized greek system, and alcohol, among other things. Lincoln is chock full of highly intelligent individuals who are beg ging for more out of die “college life” than a degree. They’re looking for a good time while spending their last few years outside the walls of the real world. If that means excelling in Intramural Binge Drinking rather than spending many a lonely night study ing for the next exam, then so be it By taking a hard-line position on alcohol use, administrators and CSOs alike are simply exposing themselves to the reality of a let down, even with a grant In attempt to thwart off the inevitable massive parties, our lovable CSOs have joined forces with the Lincoln Police Department Teams of officers will now strike fear into the hearts of all party goers. The tandem also will be implementing the use of “undercover officers” at these parties. Now, this is a blatant insult to my intelligence. Even in a drunken stupor I can pick out the cloaked enforcer with the large glass filled to the brim with a “mixed” drink at a multiple keg party. The stench made by die combination of coffee, doughnuts and Preparation H is wretched enough to send even the most severely impaired individual div ing for the bushes. Take the joker who is poorly play ing the role of a college student, give him a uniform, and throw him into the parking lots. Forget about ticketing, the people in parking do a horribly grand job at that Rather, insure that my vehicle is safe from thieves and the ever present hit-and- run. More importantly, feverishly patrolling these areas would add an aura of security that is lacking. If die little blue safety lights were doing it, women wouldn’t have to fear campus at night and pack their standard issue pepper spray 24-7. They’re not referred to as “rape lots” for no rea son. Cjo ahead and remove your focus from parties and students drinking, and firmly place it on that of drinking and driving. Folks, hoe is a true problem that you can invest your time, energy and grants toward. Not to preach, but the number of drunken drivers on any given weekend is sickening, and when some clown who is well into a bottle of Jack hops behind the wheel, he is facing a very good chance of forcibly placing everyone he passes into harm’s way. If you want to end something, end that To summarize, college kids are going to drink regardless - any attempt to cease alcohol use by stu dents is foolhardy. Since every group in America must have a cause these days, go ahead and latch onto one, but pick it wisely. Use common sense and place a fatally sharp focus on extermi nating genuine problems on and around campus. P.S. Write Back Send letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St, Lincoln, NE 68588, or fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail <letters@unlinfo.unLedu. Letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification.