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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1999)
Obermeyer’s VIEW EDITOR Josh Funk OPINION EDITOR Mark Baldridge EDITORIAL BOARD Lindsay Young Jessica Fargen Samuel McKewon Cliff Hicks Kimberly Sweet 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. Accordjng to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Our VIEW Return to sender... 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 Anonymous submissions will not be published.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. f / NAH» IT'S Y NATURAL, i-jobl-\ 4H0WoRR.EdV RE«<W W^N g/uy USED To G£T ALL \ DEAR" SS’ \ BRUISED AT SCHOOL. pRETEWmTO BE A BEEN D0INJ- JCORNHUSKER? 1^, El/E* S/NCf JOM THIS for A GREEN POT on THE UL Red so it and J V HOURS..; / \ MOUNTED R|CK SCHWlie&ER, LITTLE 81 LLy I A/~^ \TUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF flP/NGvjj/ J/ \the neighbors with a bailodn^K -^j-\ONHlS^jEKD^y-7y\sS\ DN LETTERS Editor’s Note: So many long letters were generated by the events of TailgateGate that we cannot here reprint them in their entirety. To view them in all their pristine, uncut glory, visit the DN’s Web page at www.dailyneb.com. An Outrage I am outraged that the members of the UNL Scarlets performance team and others unwillingly became the target of entertainer Tom Green’s objectionable antics. Tom Green violated the University of Nebraska’s Policy on Sexual Harassment. His behavior exploited members of the UNL community by subjecting them to explicitly prohibited physical and verbal harassment of a sexual nature. He created an environment of intimidation both for those who were the target of his actions and those whose gender or sexual orientation were exploited by his act. That such exploitation was perpe trated against some while they were performing in an official university function is reprehensible. In the interest of restoring the dig nity, equality and respect of those exploited by this event, I encourage others to work with me to provide appropriate follow-up, consultation and education. Gail F. Latta Academic Senate president 109 exam I listened for five to 10 minutes while I was waiting for my wife and kids to pick me up. I was literally disgusted and ashamed that the university was allowing this type of show to go on in an arena where the sound can be heard outside of the action. I shudder to think what the next “pep rally” will include. Whoever decided sending e-mail for an apology should also reconsider what they are doing for a living. I know the individuals involved with the original “Tailhook” are regretting their actions. Maybe Rick and Lil’ Red should be doing the same. William W.Wisell senior agribusiness father of three tonight. As fascinating as it may have been, it was more disappointing than anything. Tonight was the homecoming pep rally in the newly remodeled stadium. Instead of honoring the Tom that the field is named for, or the legacy he helped to create, fans seemed to be there to honor a guy by the name of Tom Green, a comedian who obvi ously lacked appreciation of “Husker Spirit” or the respect I thought it demanded. No one who was there can deny what happened: Tom Green’s humor toward our mascots, and especially toward our Scarlets, should not have been accepted by the “fans” as well as it was. If people are so proud of the Huskers, why didn’t they take this opportunity to show it? They booed when students per formed their skits and seemed to not care less when athletes were intro duced. I believe that this was a poor way to pay tribute to the people who work hard year-round to give Nebraskans something to cheer about. An Obscenity Green was obscene. I use that word not in the sense that he used “bad words” or that his humor was explicitly sexual in its content. At its most pernicious “obsceni ty” applies to acts that deny to others their fundamental human dignity and to human sexuality its glory and its shared rewards. Green’s behavior encouraged some of the worst aspects latent in the psyches of his audience. His repeated sexual aggressions against (Rick) Schweiger and other males depended for “humor” on the most brutal aspects of stereotyping homosexuals. He encouraged us at some level to enjoy monstrous sexism, homopho bia and the exploitation of prodigious sexuality in children. From his per spective, sexuality was presented as entirely self-centered and brutally reckless of others. As I understand it, that is obscene. J.A. McShane director University Foundations Program A Disappointment I am not a psychology major. I am not a sociology major. In fact, I am not even a big football fan. However, I observed something fascinating Heather Mannschreck senior biological systems engineering A Defense of Tom Tom Green is a genius! It still amazes me how one guy can make many students sit back and laugh their asses off while he makes a com plete mockery of their school at their homecoming pep rally. And don’t think I’m being sarcastic. It’s great that someone could walk in and make everyone turn against the staff and a good portion of the student body. Everyone booing the skit per formers offstage and cheering while Lil’ Red humped the announcer ... hilarious! I’ll have to admit I was laughing about as hard as anyone there was. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Tom was laughing at us just as hard as we were laughing at him. Tom, I salute you! Jennie Houser sophomore art A Request for Resignation This is a request for the resigna tion of two individuals who took part in the fiasco that should be renamed “Tailhook on the Turf.” The first is for HuskerVision pro duction specialist Rick Schweiger to either step down from his position or for him to publicly apologize for his actions during this event. Imagine sitting with your son or daughter at the next home game and having them ask, “Hey isn’t that the guy who let LiF Red lay on top of him at that thing the other night? “What were they doing then, and will he do it again?” Something I don’t want to have happen. The second “person” should be the removal and immediate search for a new mascot for this university. What type of image does his actions during this event have on the effectiveness of the message that is being sent to our children during the “School is Cool” jam? I, in fact, didn’t attend the event, but after getting out of a Chemistry