Feeling the pinch
at the gas pump
Raising prices won’t lead to
another 1970s fuel crisis
Gas prices do rise, but this too shall pass.
In the 1970s, a time period most of us cannot remem
ber, there was a gas crisis. Lines formed and people wait
ed for hours to get fuel, often only to be shut out. Prices
rose so high they broke the ceiling and kept on going.
For a time, very few of the motors in America ran.
Now, as the price of gas in America rises and continues
to rise, panic is afoot once more. Gas prices are currently
around $ 1.60 pe$ gallon and are predicted to get as high as
$2.00 per gallon this summer. Some people already are
hoarding extra gas, just in case the price goes any higher.
People old enough to remember the 1970s are the most
Consider nervous, because they remember
the crisis most current students
this: The did not experience.
. But President Clinton assured
price We Americans the problem is being
i dealt with and, while the prices
nave to pay
may go up, the gas shortage of the
nnw? 7*0 ’70s stay t^iere ~ *n Past
All fears of the problems that
retribution came with the gas shortage - long
lines, high prices and constant
far the “SOLD OUT!” signs - are things
of a day long gone. If it boiled
months where down to it, the government even
. has reserves it could tap into to
ffCIS prices help alleviate the problem.
ran less than Bu‘wedon'ldave“fearthat
everything will go haywire,
Cl dollar a \ because the government is doing a
better job of addressing the prob
gallon. lem. It’ll be taken care of.
Consider this: The price we
nave to pay now is retrioution tor tne montns wnere gas
prices ran less than a dollar a gallon.
We Americans love our cars, clinging to them no mat
ter what problems arise.
But you don’t have to drive. You know we could use the
parking space here on campus.
There are other alternatives to driving, if you don’t like
the high rates. Public transportation is always an option
(StarTran, baby). Also, hybrid electric-gas cars are hitting
the markets now, if you’re in line for a new automobile.
Or, you can always walk.
Editorial Board
Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel
McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay
Young
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three.
Obermeyer’s
VIEW
uppity unl students Fofi animal rights
FIGHT ON BEHALF OF CIRCUS BEASTS, Ttyey
OVERLOOK OTHER 3'RlH&- INJUSTICES...
But THERE Bpe\
ALREAP/2J CLoUJMS \
I NTH ERE! THE
ANIMALS travel /
=> IN SETTER / _
conpivons, / r>
\THAN this/ /
Letters^ to the
EDITOR
Donley-approved
Mr. Donley, your argument that
the NRA is corrupt (DN, Monday)
seems to be backed only by the fact
that they lobby against your views.
What about organizations such as
PETA, labor unions and children’s
rights and environmental groups?
Are these organizations also corrupt
because they use a democratic tool in
their favor?
I guess if it’s not Donley
approved, they are.
You bring up a good point in your
article, though. This country’s inde
pendence from England was won by
privately-owned guns. The “well-reg
ulated militia” at that time was a
bunch of normal guys who were
pulled out of bed by neighbors who
had heard the British were on their
way. These men did not need a piece
of paper or a politician’s bull to assure
their rights. They had all the power
they needed right above their fire
places.
The Second Amendment is the
most important because it guarantees
the rest of them. Switzerland has
been actively giving its people guns
for a while - can you remember the
last war it was in?
Maybe it would be good for you
to remember that most gun crimes are
committed with illegal guns. The gun
that the six-year-old used was illegal
and left out in the open by the child’s
junkie housemate.
I’m sure that gun-control legisla
tion would be able to stop that, don’t
you think?
Joe Fraas
sophomore
English
More than flintlocks
Mike Donley’s logic is somewhat
suspect. He seems to be calling for
“average people” to be unable to pur
chase or own handguns, or anything
more technologically advanced than
black powder flintlocks, yet he says
nothing about what the criminals
should have.
It would be nice to live in a world
where we could depend on the police
to respond to an emergency call with
in a couple of minutes. Unfortunately,
the police are human beings who can
not be everywhere at once.
The Genie of Firearms was let out
of the bottle long ago. Does Mr.
Donley really think that when some
one has his house broken into in the
middle of the night, and the police are
15 minutes away, that all he should
have to protect himself and his family
is good intentions? Oh, I’m sorry, I
forgot about the flintlocks.
Mark Buhrdorf
senior
classics
Excuses, excuses
I completely agree that NU on
Wheels should be provided, and it
was completely absurd that it wasn’t
provided on spring break. But Vickie
Zulkoski (DN, Monday) thinks that
because it wasn’t provided, many stu
dents drove home drunk. Just because
it wasn’t available doesn’t mean it is
responsible for people who actually
drive home drunk.
Do you realize that this program
only has been available for a short
time? What did people do before
that? Hopefully they took a cab or
had a designated driver.
While the service should be pro
vided to students, the lack of it should
not be an excuse for driving home
drunk.
Sarah Hosek
junior
family science
Stay sober
I have two suggestions for the
Zulkoskis and Weavers (DN,
Monday) of the world:
1) Try to drink responsibly. It’s a
bizarre concept, I know, but eventual
ly the world will stop baby-sitting
you, and you’ll have to take responsi
bility for yourselves.
2) If No. 1 proves too difficult,
take a cab or call a friend. NU on
Wheels does not exist (I hope) to
make it easier for you to get drunk.
Should you choose to do this, you
also must accept the consequences
that come with it.
H.L. Knight
junior
English
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