The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 10, 2000, Page 4, Image 4
. Foolhardy attempts People will buy lottery tickets despite advertising restrictions If certain folks have their way in the Nebraska Legislature, fate won’t be making an appearance in Nebraska lottery advertisements anymore. It’s the supporters of LB1174, who somehow believe that actors have conned foolish Nebraskans into buying more lottery tickets than they normally would have had they not seen a dark-haired man grinning like an emaciated clown back at them. The idea that actors somehow lure people to buy lottery tickets is sublimely ridiculous. In reality, this bill seems more like a veiled attempt to shut down the lottery altogeth er rather than simply to curb the advertising rights. For some of us, this wouldn’t be a problem. Not all of us on the board are for the lottery, and if that were the issue, 7 maybe we d consider it as such. lhe idea that But why take actors’ money > away? What’s the point in that? We UtlOrS might as well spread the wealth SOftiehoW lure rather than pay the folks who have already won to speak for them people to buy selves. la lr And likely, that’s what would lottery tlCKetS happen if this bill passed. The lot is Sublimely tery would use people who actually y won, and they would repeat exactly ridiculous. the same things that actors do now: This could be your lucky day. The bill’s supporters would have us believe that fake actors present some falsity in the lottery. Well, duh. It's an advertisement. Advertisements are not meant to present us with all the facts. Nor are they intended to tell the complete truth. We would not expect the lottery advertisement to chronicle an old couple who spent 20 years of their life buying lottery tickets and never won once and died cursing the very day they learned the joys of a scratch-off. So no matter what, the advertisements are going to try to pump up the lottery, while printing the actual odds of win ning as small as they possibly can. It might be fair to say advertisements should display those odds more prominent ly, so people understand how little a shot they have at strik ing it big. But if the bill’s supporters really want to nix the lottery, then that’s what they should try to do. We sense the state of Nebraska might not be too keen on that. Bit by bit, the lot tery attempts cut away at the state’s options for advertising. We don’t think it will matter. These people will buy lotto if they want to, and that’s the bottom line. Because, in truth, it could be their luck}' day. Editorial Board Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay Young I Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but docs not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any submissiojris.Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous mate rial 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, Neb. 68588-0448 or e-mail to: let ters(ojunl.edu Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the spring 2000 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Ncbraska-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 acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, super vises the publication 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. The Daily Nebraskan strives to print fair and accurate cover age; any corrections or clarifications will be printed on page three. • - . i ■ , '• - ■ 1 ' ft Obermeyer’s VIEW RS-m! THAT’S -the fifth time Hi wo years ! J i i Letters to we EDITOR Questionable judgment As members of the UNL communi ty and professional staff of the Minority Assistance Program, we want to express our objection to the Obermeyer’s View cartoon in the Wednesday, Feb. 9,2000, Daily Nebraskan. This cartoon depicted a picture of Eddie Brown and compared it to two well-known NU mascots, Herbie Husker and Lil’ Red. It is difficult for us to %f. believe that only the day before, your newspaper carried a wonderful feature story on the same ! student as he was recognized for his UJ leadership and contributions to the j ^ UNL campus. We re not sure what J to make of this. j ~ The cartoon is in poor taste LZ because it unjustly demeaned the character of another UNL student. Eddie Brown is not a mascot, nor is he a cartoon character. Eddie Browms a liv ing and thinking human being with feel ings! Moreover, Eddie Brown is not unlike other students on this campus making every effort to graduate. Eddie always has been ready to give of him self to the university and to the commu nity at large. We in the Minority Assistance Program are very proud of what Eddie has accomplished. It upsets and disappoints us that the Daily Nebraskan chose to allow the depiction of one of our students in such a nega- ^ tive and demeaning light. Herbie c Husker and Lil’ Red may be recogniz able and popular mascots here in Nebraska, but here at UNL, we recog nize Eddie Brown as a hard-working and dedicated student leader. Chuck van Rossum Benita Douglas Liz Carranza-Rodriguez Helen Long Soldier Minority Assistance Program staff Bathroom break? I am an avid fan of Nebraska bas ketball, and I have attended every game this year. Please feel free to check my season ticket card for verification. This may sound slightly pathetic, but I am a basketball lover and can’t pass up a deal like $25 season tickets. I read the article, “I went to Devancy and saw a movie,” and a few points came to mind. First of all, Brandon Schulte hit it right on the head in saying there is a whole lot of corporate crap and a lot of unnecessary stuff going on during the game. All things considered, it is still just a basketball game. But because atten dance is dropping faster than Bill Clinton’s pants at an intern party, UNL decided to make Devaney more excit ing. The new scoreboards with to-the minute stats are nice for fans who appre ciate the game. However, as Brandon so kindly pointed out, the never ending commercials mixed in with hurl ing dinos and chanting cheerleaders take some of the integrity away from a good, traditional NCAA basketball game. Which brings me to my point: musi cal chairs. For some reason, you chose to leave this part out of your column. I am assuming you just made a bathroom stop because otherwise you would have mentioned the extravaganza. So, I feel the need to shed light on the greatest intermission in the history of Nebraska basketball. Musical chairs was designed so that every section had a representative for the game. Well, because a few sections had no contes tants, the extravaganza organizers came to the always-dedicated students for replacements. They asked two of my friends and me to participate in the half tune fun. To make a long story short, one of the three of us studcnts-who-werc-only npart ic i pat ing-to- f i 11-vacant-spots actu ally won the contest. It was not what most consider “quality entertainment,” , as the end left two people on the ground with a chair sliding across the “N” at midcourt. But it was a victory for all stu dents at our beloved university. The triumph came at a time when student seating is being diminished to make more room for the under-enthusi astic, non-cheering, cry-baby, whining (you get the point) season ticket holders and their fat wallets. Students, next time you attend a home b-ball game, stand up and make some noise. Never mind that the poor people who paid way too much for season tickets may actually have to stand to support the team. Go Huskers! Kyle Sajevic freshman business administra tion We Want Wilky I remember the “good of' days” on Fridays. I’d eagerly grab the DN and read Steve Willey’s goofy, rpH.nprkpH ramblings. They were rip roaring hilarious, especially his jokes of life in Arkansas. But this semester, p, you’ve really lowered the playing field. Betsy Severin, I am a practicing Catholic, and I remember your letters .... umes past, but your sugary, “God will-take-care-of-all” attitude makes me want to wretch. I’m sure the DN brought you in for balance, but if you want to shout God from the rafters, this ain’t the place to do it, hon. This is a god less institution. Why don’t you try look ing into Grace University? Chris Gustafson and Lucas Stock, your columns arc even worse. Are you trying to be wise, pithy, smart-aleck or what? I’m sure last Friday’s column was meant to be cute, but it wasn’t. Yep, I’m one of those loser language majors. Closed-minded and arrogant, you both are. Get a life. Obermeyer, you are the one bright spot. Your cartoons give me a smile dur ing an otherwise dismal day. Keep at it, DN. I’ll be outta here in three months, so it won’t matter to me what else you crank out. I’ll just close my eyes and think back to ’96, when the paper was actually good. Ann Kontor j senior French and european studies