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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1999)
EDITOR Erin Gibson OPINION EDITOR Cliff Hicks EDITORIAL BOARD Nancy Christensen Brad Davis Sam McKewon Jeff Randall Bret Schulte r ■ ■ Our_ i VIEW English lesson Pronouns to become inclusive if bill passes “We, the people,.. The Preamble of the Nebraska State Constitution begins with this phrase. Notice just how inclusive this language is. It doesn’t take a poet to appreciate the sig nificance of the word “we” at the beginning of a document that is essentially the foun dation of a democratic government. The authors probably spent a great deal of time choosing just the right words to begin this contract with the people. It is too bad that commitment to inclu sion isn’t continued throughout the rest of the document. The Nebraska Constitution is inconsis tent in it’s use of pronouns. Sometimes it is inclusive and sometimes it is not. This cre ates problems. LR11CA would help alleviate them. So, let us not misinterpret its purpose. If LR11CA passes, the Secretary of State will be given the authority to go through the constitution, the next time it is reprinted, and make the pronouns gender neutral. This doesn’t mean the Legislature is being overrun by a plague of “political cor rectness,” nor does it mean that the old con stitution has to be scrapped. The constitu tion is in a constant state of change. Obscure wording is frequently revised. I The problem with the constitution, as it is now, is that in some places a distinction is made between male and female pronouns and in other places only male ones are used. For example, Section 12 of the constitu tion’s Bill of Rights states: “No person shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to give evidence against himself, or be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.” However, in Section 13, a distinction is made. “All courts shall be open, and every person, for any injury done to him or her in his or her lands, goods, person, or reputa tion, shall have a remedy by due course of law...” A literal interpretation of the use of pro nouns in this sense would mean that only males are protected from self-incrimina tion, while both women and men have the right to use the courts to receive damages. Maybe we should be concerned by the ambiguity in the document that spells out our rights.'' Now some may argue that the male pro noun “he” means “he and she.” But, in the context of the entire constitution, it doesn’t. There are distinctions throughout. And, let’s face it, saying “he” means both genders is like saying the male appel lation “dad” means “mom and dad.” Regardless of what our sixth-grade English teachers may have told us, women have every right to be offended by being linguistically erased, and non-inclusive lan guage isn’t very democratic. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Spring 1999 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 publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Tne 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. Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to editor 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. Ludo’s VIEW ...... . .... .....— [II ri r’V" 1 It : ; I DN LETTERS It’s MY business ••• Regarding Cliff Hicks’ column on Feb. 15:1 continue to be amazed when people, including many Congressional members, use the argument that what Clinton did was a personal matter and none of our busi ness. That might have been a valid argument if he had not been the defendant in a sexual harassment suit. But a judge ruled that a sitting presi dent could stand trial, and he deliber ately lied to protect himself in that trial, then went on to complicate mat ters until he had no choice but to admit to the Lewinsky affair. (Well, sort of admit - will we ever forget the line “it depends on what is is”?) A harasser rarely commits the offense in front of witnesses. Therefore, in sexual harassment cases, establishing a pattern of behav ior with corroborating testimony from other “victims” is often the only path a prosecutor can take. That made Clinton’s sexual behavior with other female subordi nates very relevant. Clinton did his best to hide past behavior, and in the process, perjured himself and did much damage to individuals and to this country. This was not a case of having committed a private, per sonal, “immoral” act and wanting to save his family the embarrassment. (He should have \ thought of that before committing the acts.) Tell me, Mr. Hicks, what do we say to the next sexual harassment defendant if we find out he/she lied under oath about past sexual behavior with a subordinate? Oh well, if it’s good enough for the A U.S. President... Pam Murray UNL employee^! V A tubby by any other name... Something stupid has come about. Rumor has it that Teletubby Tinky Winky is gay. My friends talk about it, newspapers have articles about it, and I’ve heard discussions about it on radio morning shows. First of all, how can a Teletubby be gay? I didn’t know that such crea tures created for the fun of toddlers and little kids could have sex, or even think about sex. You can count on the public to take some- ■^^tk thing fun and clean meant for kids and turn it into an^^^^ unnecessary adult controversy. I agree the public should question toys that promote violence or any thing sexual, but look at Teletubby Tinky Winky. It’s a friendly pear shaped toy that was designed to look like a toddler in pajamas. What nega tivity could possibly come of this? People say, “Well, he’s purple and has a triangle on his head.” As far as I know, the color purple and a triangle are not only symbols for homosexual ity. They remain a very popular color and a three-sided shape. My point is, stop being so sensi tive! Damon Wilson sophomore fine arts Prosecute this! I am writing in the hope that I may put an end to the debate regarding Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey’s decision to deny both Thayne Glenn (hair length) and Stacy Williams (potential litigation between employer and Lacey) an opportunity to participate in the Criminal Clinic at the University of Nebraska College of Law. I, as a law clerk with the Lancaster County Public Defender’s Office, am also not allowed to enroll in the Criminal Clinic - for the same reasons cited by the various Lancaster County Attorney law clerks in their Feb. 15 letter, “And STAY out!” Unlike Glenn and Williams, however, I have never com plained about my preclusion from the clinic. Perhaps that is because I know something which all the important players in the dispute have forgotten (or never knew in the first place), and is best represented by the fol lowing ques tion: Who the hell would want to be a prosecu tor anyway? Matt Catlett third-year law student