I
EDITOR
Josh Funk
OPINION
EDITOR
Mark Baldridge
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Lindsay Young
Jessica Fargen
Samuel McKewon
Cliff Hicks
Kimberly Sweet
I --
Our
VIEW
School
shortage
Overcrowding signals
bond passage need
Today the city of Lincoln will find out
exactly how dedicated its residents are to
its high schools and children.
■v Residents will vote whether to
approve a $100 million bond, which will
. be used to pay for two new schools.
A group called Yes! On Schools is the
main group supporting the measure. But
no official opposition has been orga
nized.
Despite this, it probably won’t be a
breeze to pass the school bond. Last year,
more than half of school bonds failed in
Nebraska.
The main concern: cost.
The $100 million bond will pay for
two schools. Each school will cost about
$50 million.
To cover the bond, taxpayers will pay
8.33 cents per $100 of their property val
ues. For example, a $100,000 home
would cost owners about $83 in addition
al property taxes at tax time.
To Lincolnites complaining about this
cost: Come on. Even we as college stu
dents could afford that.
If you’re really worried about it, hold
off on buying that new pair of shoes this
’ week.
Good. Now you have the money to
help your children or your neighbors’
children go to better schools. It’s a small
cost for what you’ll get in return.
Smaller classes and schools mean
more one-on-one interaction with teach
ers and more opportunities for students ttf~~
participate in extracurricular activities.
The new schools are needed in
Lincoln. The city limits are bursting at the
seams.
And because of this, Lincoln’s schools
are bursting at their seams. They aren’t
past capacity yet, but they’re close.
And Lincoln’s growth isn’t going to
slow down any time soon.
In-town traffic congestion could be
eased by schools placed away from city
central.
And overcrowding of schools is of pri
mary concern.
Currently Lincoln High and Southeast
High schools hold more than 2,100 stu
dents each. Northeast High holds 2,062,
and East holds 1,544.
Lincoln’s goal is to keep all schools at
1,500 or lower.
The schools have to be built.
Taxpayers can’t escape that. If over
crowding and safety issues aren’t enough
to persuade them, maybe the cost of yet
another campaign and election next year
will.
Today’s special election is costing tax
payers $80,000.
Build the schools now. The sooner the
better.
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.
V
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
/^r^si_Howec°fWIKlG'
1 tvau^a fiNV>c^Zj£R. p
1 THAN A sp££cR '
j^iQOffegcampusptYjr Jto
m£^r,OK^!? y^jm
DN
LETTERS
In Black and White
I wanted to write and say the arti
cle about minority enrollment (DN,
Thursday) is right on target. As a
transfer student here, I can see why
the numbers are so low.
There is definitely a climate here
of discrimination. I can not tell you
how many times I have passed some
one and said hello only to be com
pletely ignored.
People seem to think that all
minorities got here by affirmative
action. This is not always the case. I
took honors classes in high school. In
most cases, I was the only black in the
class.
I am not afraid to go head-to-head
with anyone on an academic level.
I came to this university because I
wanted to be a Husker, but now I am
not so sure. I am already asking if I
want to spend four years here.
Having grown up in the South, I
can tell you that many of the students
here act worse than people in the
South. On the whole, the South is not
that bad.
In the transfer literature I
received, one of the students talked of
how much more friendly Nebraska
was when compared with Iowa.
Having lived and worked three years
in Iowa, I find those statements hard
to believe. I never felt any hint of
racism there.
Then I thought that maybe this
student was referring to the friendli
ness of Nebraska if you were white.
I do not know if I want to invest
$45,000 for the return on the invest
ment. College does not have to be this
way.
Ren Townsend
freshman
exercise science/
pre-athletic training
Scoot on Over
Hey Brian O’Grady, (DN Letters,
Thursday) If you don’t like the way
we bikers are “scooting along at .05
miles an hour” then pull your fat atro
phied body out of your gas-powered
baby carriage and talk to City Hall
about it.
In case you’ve been too wrapped
up in making sure your box of dough
nuts doesn’t fall off the dashboard, let
me remind you that there is a little
area called downtown where it is ille
gal to ride bicycles on the sidewalk.
Two weeks ago, I had a friend
land on his face on the pavement after
being hit by a car that ran a red light.
Do you think most of us are riding on
the street voluntarily when we are
regularly reminded of the conse
quences in this manner?
If bikers are going to be forced to
ride in the street, the least we can do is
designate a bike lane for them.
Carl McCabe
senior
anthropology
Another Angry Bicyclist
This is in response to Brian
O’Grady’s comment on bicyclists
(DN Letters, Thursday).
As a bicyclist, I hate riding in the
street. Do you actually think I enjoy
risking my life every day to get to
class?
No I don’t, but it is against the law
for me to ride on the sidewalks in
downtown Lincoln.
So just get used to it, and don’t
talk about lack of consideration.
You seem to be the only person
who doesn’t have any consideration!
Karey Erickson
senior
business administration
Harlots Dance Team
I was disappointed to notice at
Saturday’s football game that while
the cheerleaders had the sense to put
on more clothes in response to the
cooler temperatures, the Scarlets
dance team seemed to have lost some
of theirs.
As a woman attending this uni
versity, I am offended by the fact that
I am being represented in part by a
group of young women sporting
nothing more than bras with sleeves.
When I attend a sporting event, I
want to enjoy the game itself, not
become disgusted by the further
objectification of women.
The members of the dance team
are obviously talented dancers, and I
encourage their continued support
and school spirit. But they do not
need to strip down and sexualize yet
another aspect of our culture.
Karen M. Benes
senior
secondary education/English
A Load of Crap
New York Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani’s main goal in his campaign
against the Brooklyn Museum of
Art’s exhibition of British art,
“Sensation,” is to wage a war in
which he puts Hillary Clinton in the
position of having to defend art work
she hasn’t seen and probably won’t
ever see.
Don’t believe Giuliani is the least
bit concerned with Catholic sensibili
ties or public morality. If so, he would
not have shown up last year at an
awards banquet in drag as Marilyn
Monroe! (I’m sure he olfended some
one with this activity - but not me.)
The really disturbing thing about
all this is the frightening similarity to
the Mapplethorp dispute of the late
1980s. Artists didn’t get on the
Internet then, and the conservatives
did.
We must speak up for the rights of
all voices to be heard - whether we
like or dislike what they say, do or
make.
We must also speak out against
those politicians who so abuse their
power as to pit one group against
another.
If you wish to voice your thoughts
to Giuliani, he may be contacted via
the Internet at:
giuliani@www.ci.nyc.ny.us
For myself, it is time to go into the
studio and continue working on my
newest sculpture.
It involves a non-virgin male giv
ing birth to the first honest politician
(female) and is made of pig feces, hog
intestines, stale baptismal water from
any church, used condoms, recycled
Daily Nebraskans ...
Mo Neal
assistant professor, department
of art and art history
NEA in 1994 for non-urine
sculpture
(/i/f jfg r
34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln,
1761, or e-mail <letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. Ip
include a phone number for verification j|
