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EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
I—“
Our V > ’
VIEW
Time to
get even
Corrupt landlords
need to be dealt with
After experiencing a few semesters of
quartered living with hundreds of frenzied
freshmen, moving to an apartment in the
Lincoln ghetto of your choice can be a life
saving pilgrimage.
The move makes financial sense, too.
Splitting rent, bills and food with a few room
mates tends to be far less expensive than the
ever-increasing cost of living in the commu
nal “convenience” of a dormitory.
Lithe end, you’re paying quite a bit less for
a lot more freedom - usually.
A college town with campuses located in
the heart of the city, Lincoln is a breeding
ground for poor housing, dirty landlords and
exploited tenants.
Most landlords demand a full month’s rent
as deposit, money many students will never
see again. As many tenants may have suspect
ed, landlords in Nebraska have little or no rea
son to give deposit money back.
Back in 1974, the state Legislature voted
on a landlord-tenant act proposed by the
American Bar Association, a provision of
which rendered punishment for landlords
who wrongfully withheld deposits. This came
in the form of paying the tenant twice his or
her due deposit. The goal was to stem the
exploitation of the underrepresented proper
ty-rennng population.
In Nebraska, the landowners successfully
lobbied to have this provision mitigated - to
the point where there are absolutely no penal
ties if a landlord decides not to give your
money back.
And if you take them to court, all you
receive for your efforts, if you win, is your
money back. The landlord walks away.
Believe it or not, students are lucky. We
reap die benefits of free legal service. Located
in 335 Nebraska Union, the Association of
Students of the University of Nebraska’s
Student Legal Services provides free consul
tations and advice for students, and if
required, they will even represent you in court.
Shelley Stall, director of Student Legal
Services, said landlords who wrongfully
retain deposits account for a large proportion
of their cases.
To accommodate., the office has created an
easy-to-follow workbook, complete with pre
authored legal documents to send to negligent
landlords.
Stall said that by following the booklet,
students enjoy a high success rate of receiving
wrongfully withheld deposit money.
The Daily Nebraskan staff thinks negli
gent landlords are newsworthy, and we are
now collecting the names of landlords with a
history of renter abuse. We need your help.
If you’ve had any experiences with unlaw
ful or exploitative landlords, please submit
their names, your name and your complaint as
a letter to the editor. The letters won’t be run
right away, but a list of the complaints will be
compiled and investigated. Portions may be
published.
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HHirtrt PtUcy
Unsigned edtoriais are the opinions of
the Spring 1996 Drily Nebraskan. They
do not neceeearly reflect the views of die
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its
employees, its student body or the
Itaetky of Nebraska Board of Regents.
A column is solely the opinion of its auSwr.
The Boeid of Regents semes as ptMsher
of die Daly Nebraskan; polcy is set by
the Dafly Nebraskan Edtoriri Board. Tw
UNL Pubfcabons Board, estabished by
the regents, supervises the production
of the paper. According to potfcy set by
the regents, responsfcity for to editorial
content of the newspaper les solely in
the hands of Hs student employees.
lottor Policy
The Daily Nebraskan weioomes brief
letters 4o fhe editor and guest columns,
but does not guarantee their pubfcation.
The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to
edft or reject any material submitted.
Submitted material becomes property of
the Daly Nebraskan and cannot be
returned. Anonymous submissions wil
not be published. Those who submit
letters must identify themselves by name,
year in school, major and/or group
affiliation, I any.
Submit material to: Daly Nebraskan, 34
Nebraska Union, 1400 R SL Lincoln,
NE. 68588-0448. E-mail:
Ietteis9unlnfo.unl.edu.
Mock’s -
'/*■'* ' VIEW
DN
LETTERS
Honorless
Matthew Eickman seems to think
that creating a new honors hall will
cause high caliber students to come
flocking to the UNL Honors Program.
In my experience, being part of the
program means little more than being
allowed to take honors courses and
getting free books. Among 400 hon
ors students in my class, fewer than 20
will even complete the program.
Instead of spending more money on a
place to live for honors students who
can’t hack it, we should invest in cre
ating a truly meaningful honors pro
gram. At present, it seems that the best
students come to UNL not because of
the Honors Program, but because of
the quality education they receive as
regular UNL students. My two best
friends here, who decided against
being part of the Honors Program, are
the two smartest guys I know. If the
program actually meant something,
perhaps they would want to be a part
of it. At present, the only use of honors
housing is as a means for promoting
elitism among students, most of
whom can’t back up their cocky
nature.
Bryan Cooley
senior honors student
computer science and
m,th/w
Honorable 7'
intentions /1 401* J /
Thanks for theII
interesting contrast |I h>|
of opinions on the r 1 I
opinion page of the Monday I I
Daily Nebraskan. I would / I U
like to add a few comments I | [
to the views expressed by j
Mr. Eickman and Mr. I
Forkner.
We are now in the early ^ *
planning stages for the f \ i
Esther L. Kauffman JOi /
Residential Academic A /
Center for the J. D. '
Edwards Program in / Qj
Computer Science and \y
Management. Since the pro- ^
gram was officially estab
lished last June, and^v^^ \
building planning has/ / \ a
only been under way \y ■
since August, many pro
I
Nebraska students to stay in
Nebraska, and will bring many other
talented students to Nebraska - are
correct.
My experiences in the classroom
convince me that having very good
students at the university enhances the
academic experiences for all students.
They will definitely add to the UNL
community through academics and
leadership, just as is the case now with
the UNL’s Honors Program. Excellent
students also help to attract and retain
good instructors, in turn benefiting all
students. Mr. Eickman also is correct
in observing that this gift will create a
beautiful building in the middle of
campus, which will enhance the
appearance of the university.
Mr. Forkner asserts that the new
building specifically for honors stu
dents will have its own dining hall and
that the honors students will never
interact with other students. At this
time, the planning committee is inves
tigating die costs of having a dining
hall in the new building. No decision
on the dining and kitchen facilities
has been made yet. Policies about how
students will use the dining facilities
' would only
follow
along after
- that deci
sion.
In any case, the students in the J.
D. Edwards Program will be taking
about two-thirds of their individual
degree program with other students at
die university. This, together with the
usual range of student activities, will
allow for plenty of interaction with all
the other students. I think die students
in the J. D. Edwards Honors Program
will be like students in the university
Honors Program. The university
Honors Program has changed the aca
demic climate at UNL for the better.
The trend will continue and be
enhanced by the new Honors
Programs and facilities.
Steven R. Dunbar
founding director
J. D. Edwards Honors Program
in Computer Science and
Management
Stop the violence
Every 15 seconds, someone in
America is battered in a partner vio
lence situation. These victims and
their batterers come to work.
Domestic violence costs businesses
more than $5 billion a year in medical
expenses, lost wages, sick leave,
absenteeism and lost productivity.
Sadly, one cause of lost productivity is
premature death - homicide is the
leading cause of on-the-job death for
women, and 20 percent of those who
die are murdered by an intimate part
ner at the workplace.
wi. i is national woik to cuu
Domestic Violence Day, and it marks
the beginning of October as Domestic
Violence Awareness Month.
Employers in your community and
across the country will join together
y on that day to stand against domes
\ tic violence. In the workplace,
* these companies have policies
that ensure employees are safe
/ at work and have access to
JtW needed services. In their com
f J munities, these business part
CT ners, with local domestic vio
/ lence programs, provide much
si needed assistance and sup
rj ,<>port
W y On Oct 1, and through
ly out Domestic Violence
I Awareness Month, let us all be
-r aware that ending partner vio
I lence is everybody’s business.