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Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
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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.
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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.
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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
