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
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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
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the hands of its student employees.
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The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief
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The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to
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Obermeyer’s
VIEW
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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
