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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1999)
EDITOR Josh Funk OPINION EDITOR Mark Baldridge EDITORIAL BOARD Lindsay Young Jessica Fargen Samuel McKewon Cliff Hicks Our VIEW Presumed guilty Policy shows no regard for accused The news didn’t hit like a ton of bricks because we are so jaded by the concept of a Comhusker football player getting in trouble. But it hit the Nebraska football team like a ton of bricks. And maybe it shouldn’t have to. Shevin Wiggins, who would have been NU’s starting wingback, was arrested Friday after allegedly fondling a 14-year-old girl July 25 and 26. He was charged with a Class HI felony along with another man, who was charged with two counts. Now Wiggins will likely never get to play his final season, which he lobbied the NCAA so hard for last year. Mainly, this stems from a policy that says no athlete charged with a felony can represent the school. NU Coach Frank Solich said he simply is following the rules. It’s all very unfortunate that this hap pened. Clearly, the stigma of past crimes committed by Comhusker football players works into this decision when it clearly should not. Spin control is one thing, and it’s understandable that the program would want to separate itself from a potentially bad situa tion. In certain situations, coaches can decide what is best for their team. Maybe Wiggins should not be on the team, but it should be a coach’s decision to make. Only the coaches should ultimately determine Wiggins’ eligi bility before he has his day in court. This campus, and largely the people of this state, deem football players guilty before their trials ever arrive. Certainly, this trails back to the Lawrence Phillips incident, and many others. But it’s worth noting that this is a different team, a different time and different rules are set in place. And unless Wiggins is found guilty, he is innocent, period. What such a policy does is open up the athletic programs for unsubstantiated claims. Anybody can be the target of a lie. That alone can be difficult enough. But to be isolated by your peers and from your livelihood can be even worse. Wiggins can do nothing but wait for an answer to be passed down. Wiggins has at least played his time. What if this had been a freshman? And what if this was the type of trial that lasted three or four years? And what if that person was even tually found not guilty? His career would be over. It would have been used up. And the lawsuits would flow. Of course, things like this don’t usually happen. It’s highly unlikely such a situation would ever arise. But what if it did? How would the university respond? It’d be easy to pander to the angry populace and let one per son twist in the wind. But is that fair? Is that what Shevin Wiggins should have to go through? And should Nebraska football have to take a hit to its image that might be unwarranted? It might be time to look at all those things and put all of the past transgressions where they belong - in the past. Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the' opinions of the Fall 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. 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. 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 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, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Obermeyer’s VIEW [at me KAUFMAN CEbSTER CONSTRUCTION SITE., | /so, on, WHERE ARE (-THE OUTSIDE p3oR5^L-—■—' V &01N6' in be? /Hm-ieVs see..wett-wwscw^ . —_, r-f ktWW...WE FOf&OT 'THAT FART. 1 ft \ / &06SS WHOEVER J-IVE5 RERE WW'rl 1 8E ABLE TO &o OUT Nf> &JJOY A 111 TUE FR&SH AIR. 5A/..WHO /5 ^ , /no KIWId&?Y~ U THAT'S FORTUNATE) Free Wheeling Today’s article concerning park ing woes breaks my heart. Really, it does. I’ve been in a car trying to get to a class, and I know it’s a painfully boring, tedious, angering way to spend half an hour. But throughout all the testimoni als about car-pooling and bussing and (gasp!) walking to school, no one mentioned the numerous parking spaces vacant all over campus: the spaces that are custom-fit for bicy cles. Save the money for your parking permits, get some exercise, put that North Face parka to use and park right at the door. RIDE YOUR BIKE. Don’t have a bike? For about the price of your permit you can pick up some nice piece of crap bicycle, and you’re all set. Though I’ve never actively partic ipated in the cyclist vs. pedestri an debate that rages annually in these pages, I’ve enjoyed the banter from afar. This year, having in the last two days almost run f over someone while t. fi nding and having T| been run over while walking, I thought I’d pre- l|jk empt the battle. PEDESTRI ANS: Walk in ' relatively straight lines, and look where you’re headed Pay atten tion to what goes on around you. When you see a bike heading your way, keep moving. As a cyclist, I know that no biker wants to hit you. When you are startled by a bike, try not to do that running back dance. That just throws both > and the bike off path and will more of a problem. CYCLISTS: Slow down. I know how fun the pedestrian slalom is, I’m quite good at it, but these are not downhill flags or orange cones. These are people. I’ve been to campuses where you can’t ride on the sidewalks, and it’s lame. Give pedestrians a wide berth, and if you do clip someone or have to DN LETTERS ' grind to a halt to prevent an accident, or do anything else that freaks some one out, look them in the eye and apologize, and mean it. They say one bad apple ... Did I mention to slow down? P.S. You cyclists who throw your front wheel over the tops of the racks are wasting your frames and ruining some fairly crucial componentry, not to mention taking up way too much space on the rack. Quit it. Scott Fuglei senior history The Play’s the Thing I hate to disappoint Samuel McKewon, but I am a male who enjoys watching female athletes not because of anything sexual, but because of what they do on the field, the court, etc. If you watch the volleyball team or the women’s basketball # team, just Melanie Falk/DN mention a couple, you see hard work, persistence, courage, team work and a commitment to excel lence. The same was true of the women’s World Cup. I followed the team because they represented our country on an international stage. The memorable moment for me: when the winning goal went into the net, not when the jersey came off. Mr. McKewon may have his own reasons for watching women’s sports, but he doesn’t speak for all of us. Brad Pardee staff Love Library Bugs Me There will be no freshman class next year, according to Chancellor James Moeser. At the New Student Convocation on Sunday, Moeser stated that the class of 2003 is “the last class to be admitted to the university this millen nium.” There is a new Y2K glitch: the beginning of the Y2K (year 2000) is being confused with the beginning of a new millennium. The next millennium begins Jan. 1, 2001. Trust me. If you don’t believe me, just start counting at 1 A.D. 1000 years later (a millennium), you will reach 1001, the begin ning of this millennium. Add &%«»-•# 1000 years to that, and you . I will get 2001. :.W:; A It seems simple; it seems '} 1 insignificant. But after wait ing 999 years, couldn’t we wait one more before cele brating the culmination of all this time? My class and I do not deserve the distinction Chancellor Moeser tried to place on us. There will be a class admitted next year. Maybe I should just give up on this pseudo-crusade. Maybe I should just face up to the fact that it’s just a number, it’s just a calendar, it’s just one year. But I can’t give up. I guess it’s just my own millennium bug. Andrew S. Taylor freshman 4,.. English