EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
Our
View
Survival
of the fittest
UNL must commit
to retaining professors
In an era of fierce competition among
institutions of higher education, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln seems des
tined to fall behind its peers.
UNL Chancellor James Moeser last week
announced a budget shortfall that will force
colleges and departments across campus to
cut their budgets by either 2.6 or 3.2 percent.
These cuts are a response to the state gov
ernment’s refusal to grant the University of
Nebraska system its full request for a 6.8 per
cent budget increase for the 1999-2000
school year.
While it’s important to run an efficient and
affordable university, it’s equally important to
ensure the quality of academic programs and
research - unfortunately state legislators and
Gov. Mike Johanns seem unable to balance
these two ideals.
Because of the state’s expected decision to
cut the university’s $24.5 million budget
request, NU officials will have to concoct
some extravagant plans to stretch the $19.8
million NU is expected to receive.
Moeser said stretching the money would
be a “great task,” though he offered the
across-the-board budget cuts as a solution.
He identified staff salaries as the No. 1 pri
ority in next year’s budget, which is com
mendable.
To keep the best people at UNL - a land
locked school with a national reputation that
is less than stellar in most areas - a competi
tive salary is mandatory.
At a university that is already strained for
funding, Moeser said partnerships with pri
vate businesses were also a priority.
An increasing number of public universi
ties rely on private partners and donors to
fund programs or construction.
While private donations are a definite
benefit to a university, it can be dangerous to
rely too much on them, as the whims of pri
vate donors and corporations must be heeded
even at a public institution.
- All programs need support - not just ones
that are attractive to big business or big
money alumni.
If UNLs programs continue to be under
funded, its national reputation will decline -
something the university, constantly striving
to attract the “best and brightest,” cannot
afford.
Some programs could be cut for the bene
fit of others, but this option would weaken
UNEs stance as a comprehensive university.
To maintain its credentials as a member of
the prestigious American Association of
Universities and as a Carnegie Research I uni
versity - two marks of distinction of the
nation’s top schools - UNL will have to com
mit to paying its professors well and to fund
ing its programs past the level of simple sur
vival and on to excellence.
But until the University of Nebraska is no
longer just struggling to survive, it will never
achieve true excellence.
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 semes as publisher
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 their 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, mayor 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.
Branches
VIEW
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LETTERS
A flawed argument
I am downright outraged at the bla
tant overtones of prejudice and flat-out
disrespect in Jessica Flanagain’s opin
ion column, “Failing Families” (DN,
4/1). True, statistics do attribute soaring
crime rates to broken families, but what
appalls me is that Ms. Flanagain some
how manages to point the finger of
blame at the Lincoln Pride Rally (and
essentially at the gay community every
where) for the demise of the family. Ms.
Flanagain begins and ends with the
Pride Rally, which seems to serve as a
convenient anecdote, yet is never fully
(and courageously) treated in her cen
tral argument.
Come on! Broken families result
from failed relationships, not homosex
uality. What Ms. Flanagain inherently
expresses is that gay men and lesbians
are incapable of even wanting the same
love and self-validity existing between a
man and a woman - indeed the same
unconditional love given them by their
parents. Isn’t that what keeps a family
together? Has the author even had a
conversation with a gay person,
only to discover that - sur
prise! - he/she too can
dream about and have a
family?
Ms. Flanagain’s claim of “children...
facing the consequences.” Let’s consid
er the growing numbers of children put
up for adoption each year. Although
many homosexual couples decide to
have their own children, many also
choose to adopt these “unwanted” chil
dren, providing a life their (probably)
single mothers could not give. What
these couples do can hardly classify as
the “egocentrism” to which Ms.
Flanagain refers.
And what role models, one may
think, can these homosexual couples
have for raising a family? Their own
parents - a heterosexual union, at that!
What a concept
What Ms. Flanagain herself “miss
es” is to thoughtfully examine the
premise upon which all families are
built: love, dignity and respect. Two per
sons who are committed to those foun
dations have every damn irrefutable
right to raise children. Children who,
hopefully, will continue to fight the
tradition of hate.
Karen A. Valdez
graduate student
biological sciences
Can the comedy
To Jay Gish (“Play Nice,” 4/2): In
absence of any relevant opinion or
analysis in regards to die Kosovo crisis,
please do us, the rest of the concerned
domestic and international public, a
favor, and spare us your moronic philos
ophizing. Your discourse is nothing but
a completely irrelevant and nonsensical
rubbish of an infantile adolescent. The
insubstantial propositions that you
make to solving the very complex
Kosovo conflict are absolutely ludi
crous, inconceivable, and a waste of a
perfectly good column in the Daily
Nebraskan.
If this is also your best shot at come
dy, please (as an American saying sug
gests), don’t quit your day job. Bombs
are showering upon Yugoslavia; more
than 500,000 Kosovars are now
refugees; families of the captured
American servicemen are grieving
daily on CNN (or do you get the cartoon
networks only?); and in your column,
you dare to publicly poke fun at the
problem. Nice going, Jay.
As a probable future member
of the American media (after
all, you are a broadcasting
major), your conduct
is hugely appalling
and offensive to
any affected
and con
cerned party,
be it Serbians,
Albanians or die
I agree with
NATO generals.
Your absurd mus
ing should have been
prevented from being
published by a respon
sible Daily Nebraskan
editor. You see, Jay, in
some instances, censorship
is good.
Still, you can redeem
yourself by getting edu
cated on the subject,
and going for a sec
ond chance by con
structing this time
an illuminated take
(as one would
expect from a uni
versity senior).
Petar Malesev
graduate
student
journalism
Matt Haney/DN
