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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 1998)
■ V: ' BliilVK Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte i >' ' . . . Our VIEW Time for change Knapp and Hahn would best serve state On Nov. 3, Nebraskans will vote not only for the highly touted offices of the governor and the state and U.S. senates, but also for lesser-known but equally important offices. The Nebraska attorney general and state auditor offices may not be as publicized as those mentioned above, but both offer inter esting choices. In the attorney general race, the incum bent is Republican Don Stenbeig. After eight years of virtually unchallenged service, he will face Democrat Pat Knapp. Knapp is a private Lincoln attorney wno has focused on employment, civil rights and environmental law since she first began prac ticing in 1984. She is attorney for die Boyd County Monitoring Committee, a group that has stood in opposition to a low-level radioactive waste facility. Stenberg was first elected to his office in 1990 and has since earned a notoriety that has been fueled by his seemingly constant sparring with Gov. Ben Nelson. To his credit, Stenberg has won 90 percent of the cases his office has encountered, and he has done so with a low budget. But his political motives seem to have overshadowed his job’s duties. He has been an unrepentant hawk for capital punishment and has been working since he was first sworn in to cut down the appeals process in this state. His legal wish list has often leaned toward diminishing the rights of both the accused and the convicted. hi this race, the Daily Nebraskan endors es Democratic challenger Pat Knapp. We believe it is time for change in the attorney general’s office, and Stenberg has proven himself to be incapable of providing that change. Even in the most emotional criminal cases, we must not forget the rights of the accused. We believe that Knapp’s history as a civil rights attorney will serve the state well. The state auditor office is an open seat after it was vacated by John Breslow during his unsuccessful run for governor. The two candidates are state Sen. Kate Witek of Omaha and Lancaster County Clerk Kandra Hahn. 4-1_r»_i_i:_i_j uiv lvvpuuiivcui uuiuiuai^, uao uij* tinguished herself in the Legislature as an arch-conservative, particularly on social issues. And she apparently intends to serve as a descendant of Breslow, who used his office as a public platform for attacks on spending. hi contrast, Hahn has quietly served as county clerk. She has said she intends to move ter office off of the front page and into the state treasury, where it belongs. In the state auditor race, the Daily Nebraskan endorses Kandra Hahn. We believe she will offer undivided attention to an office that has been diminished by political stumping and an attention-hungry agenda. Both the attorney general and state audi tor offices should be less prominent in die news and more prominent in their fields. We believe Knapp and Hahn will bring those qualities to their respective offices. EMMUMiq Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect tiie 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 senres as pubisher 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 tire 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 their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains (he 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@unrinfo.unl.edu. * _ 1 .. 5*1 • ; § r ?'; Mook’s VIEW I-r—n /- corf nw M-P limtSUKE. / WIH F\ w&kmm. \ I m sdit to ) ~i ( I »DKIT5 A j J DN LETTERS Timing is everything Who is the brain-dead bureaucrat whom we must thank for scheduling the installation of an optional piece of sculpture in the center of campus at die BUSIEST time of a mid-week school day? This inept action caused the closing of three MAJOR UNL intersections, as well as the re-routing of considerable class traffic on a normal weekday morning. Surely a more efficient and benign time could have been found to install this fine gift in the center of campus. But I know - NOT on Saturday; school can be disrupted, but NEVER football! Brenda G. Friedman lecturer Andrews Hall Christian intolerance Is religion partly to blame for the hostile climate that gays and lesbians face? I think that is -- aurnug uic uuviuus. While there are many Christians who do not believe that homosexuality (particularly a long term committed gay relationship) is a sin, it’s the other side that makes all * the noise. Charitable Christians by and y large remain silent (< I am reminded of two buttons I saw on sale at a gay / pride festival. One \ said “I love God, it’s his fan club I can’t stand.” The other, “Jesus, protect me from your follow ___ M ers. — ine raci mai gays, most oi wnom I consider themselves Christian, can find ironic humor in these slogans shows that the gay community feels threatened by those who create a cli mate of hate and intolerance under the guise of religion. As the saying goes, all that is neces sary for the triumph of evil is for good (Christian) people to do nothing. Perhaps the brutal death of Matthew Shepard will cause accepting Christians to at last speak out for jus tice, civility, understanding and dia logue that fosters respect for gay peo ple. Alan L. light Iowa City, Iowa NlTs strengths It won’t be long before high school students are deluged with multicolor brochures from universities across the nation in which they cite their academ ic standing in different magazine polls and advertise the attractive financial packages. Before you make your decision, do your homework thoroughly and choose the university best suited for your needs. Ask yourself the following questions: Of what use is it to me if I attend a name brand school in whichl meet a “real” professor in class only in my senior year? Do the university’s most distinguished professors get .per sonally involved with their undergrad uate students, or are they only accessi ble to Ph.D. students who have passed their comprehensive qualifying exams? In a recent study by the Boyer com mission on “educating undergraduates in the research university” titled “Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research University,” the authors state that “The research universities have too often failed and continue to fail their undeigraduate population.” In a section titled “An Academic Bill of Rights,” the authors state that “by admitting a student, any college or university commits itself to provide maximum opportunities for intellectu al and creative development, including opportunities to learn through inquiry rather than simple transmission of knowledge... careful and comprehen sive preparation for whatever may lie beyond graduation.” Furthermore, the student in a research university has these additional lights: “Expectation of and opportunity for work with talented senior researchers to help and guide the stu dents efforts. Access to first-class facil ities in which to pursue research....” The authors advice to change under graduate education is to “Make Research-Based Learning the Standard” As a land grant institution, the University of Nebraska has kept its doors open to a broad range of high school graduates and can provide the top high school graduates an under graduate education in most academic areas that is second to none. Long before the Boyer Commission’s work was published in April 1998, senior faculty members at NU have involved undergraduate students with their research projects. As the Director of Academic Program Reviews, I had the opportuni ty to get familiar with programs offered by my colleagues across campus. It was very reassuring to learn about the --1 numerous out standing, high quality programs offered by my colleagues in other units of the university. Junior and senior high school students should always come to a univer sity with all their options open to them. Ask your selves: Could time spent work ing in the stores be better spent in taking challeng ing advanced placement classes that better prepare you for university life? Parents should encourage their children to enroll in the most challeng ing university programs and help their children as much as they can with their financial packages in college. They will appreciate it much more than an inheritance later. Carefully examine NU’s outstand ing programs, such as the newly endowed computer center that will be “home” to the best students across the United States and the newly created department of architectural engineering. You may be in for a pleasant surprise! Ezekiel Bahar George Holmes Distinguished Professor ' electrical engineering MattHaney/DN