Opinion
An honest
debate
Legislators acted correctly by
removing LB1405from session
Fetal ’tissue Routid One is finally over.
Today, after three hours of floor debate, the Legislature
ended its discussion of LB 1405, the fetal tissue research
bill.
But the fight over whether the university should use fetal
tissue from elective abortions in its research will continue.
In this debate, there were threats from Sen. Ernie
Chambers to “own” the Legislature during debate. There
was a bastion of Catholic ladies in the gallery. Media filled
the sides of the chamber. And debate on the bill finally
ensued.
Practically all the senators put on their lights to talk.
Each had his or her own two cents to throw in. Some sena
Kegaraiess
of your
position on
the issue, this
bill was not
what
Nebraska
needs.
iuis ueienueu uieir positions.
Others added new facts. Still oth
ers told personal stories, support
ing their stance on the bill. But in
the end, Sen. John Hilgert, the man
who introduced the bill, was tear
fully forced to pull LB 1405 from
consideration.
And for good reason. On the
floor Tuesday, several senators
argued that the bill was unconstitu
tional.
This was not a good bill.
Rptrarrllpoo nf \;mir nncifinn An
—©--* j-r
the issue, this bill was not what Nebraska needs.
There are many other pressing issues our legislators must
deal with in the next nine days, such as finalizing the budg
et and a possible ethanol mandate.
Now the Legislature can take a break from this fight and
step into the ring on the many other pressing issues left this
year.
The end of LB 1405 also gives the University of
Nebraska Medical Center some valuable time. In the midst
of criticism for its use of aborted fetal tissue in research, the
Medical Center pledged to find alternative tissue sources.
UNMC administrators should not see this as a victory.
This is a mandate from the Legislature to pursue those
options. And the Medical Center does not have a choice.
In the interim period, this bill will be rewritten. And next
year, it will be reintroduced.
So UNMC needs to use its time wisely and head this
future debate off at Jhe pass. Because if the researchers can
find a way to get tissue from sources besides elective abor
tions, the Legislature will have nothing to worry about. If
not, we’ll be forced to endure this fight again next session.
Editorial Board
Josh Funk (editor) • JJ. Harder • Cliff Hicks • Samuel
McKewon • Dane Stickney • Kimberly Sweet • Lindsay
Young
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 sub
missions. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily
Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous material 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:
letters@unl.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 Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student
body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A col
umn 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, supervises the publication
of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsi
bility 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 coverage; any corrections or
clarifications will be printed on page three.
Obermeyer’s
VIEW
/ PEfipftSflS Op\
i Acflperoc ff&poM- ]
\ m 0£W 1
pa
/veawse. m\
(PBBL YOUR work \
IA/AS UNETHICAL
41 MjhpMdt
-M. ResPecT our h
/VOW SfmB\
/ HAVE UJoRkED\
, 1 ON ABORTED
r\ Fetal Tissue j
^\WS1EAI>. A~~~
Letters to the
EDITOR
Private persuasion
As the heated arguments continue
about honors programs and residence
halls, I feel the events unfolding before
us neither hurt nor help our campus’s
well-being.
The addition and expansion of hon
ors programs is making the value of
my degrees a little more valuable.
However, don’t let the screams of
“private funding” persuade you into
believing these additions are coming to
us for free. As we all know, building
residence halls requires land, and the
land that is being used was formerly
student and staff parking lots. The lack
of parking lots creates a parking prob
lem.
To return the campus to the same
number of parking lots, the remaining
lots are building up and tightening into
tiny spaces rather than spreading out.
So, for all you “regular” students out
there like myself, parking rates increase
to build parking garages. Why? Honors
residence halls.
Stephen Kroening
senior
meteorology and
communication studies
DN kissing
It takes a big person to kick a guy
when he’s clown. Or at least the DN
must think so.
The DN has decided in its infinite
wisdom that the student body wants to
relive the entire ASUN campaign from
start to finish. Except this time, they get
to write how it “really” happened.
I noticed a pattern while I read the
articles. The Empower article was
about Heath Mello. The Impact article
was about Heath. The Fishpond article
was about Heath.
Just about everything written in this
series somehow ties back to Heath. It is
not flattering, to say the least.
Somehow, the Daily Nebraskan’s
Editorial Board doesn’t think it was
enough for him to lose. It felt the need
not only to rub his face in it, but to
make him out to be some sort of evil
person, which I assure you he is not.
The message this sends to all stu
dents is clear. Kiss up to the DN. Agree
with everything it says, and sure as
heck agree if you want to run for an
Association of Students of the
University ofNebraska office. Because
if you don’t, they’ll slither back to the
DN office and use your student fees to
come up with some subtle but effective
way to make you into a public mockery.
JakeWobig
junior
political science
and international affairs
We’ve come a long way
I write in response to Sharity
Czologos’ (DN, Tuesday) letter about
gays in the military. Czologos shows
some of the military’s aspects I didn’t
know.
Czologos asserts that gay soldiers
threaten military cohesiveness and
teamwork, and that threat undermines
the possibility of successful mission
completion. TTris breakdown is caused
by the “stress, tension and hatred”
resulting from “straight” soldiers’
intolerance of homosexuality,
Czologos argues.
Czologos concludes, “The military
would break down if homosexuals had
the right to serve.” (As if that would be
a bad thing.) “For now, we must stick
with the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.”
What did I learn about the military?
Except for its homophobia, the military
has brought tolerance and solidarity
between soldiers of different sexes, eth
nic groups, class backgrounds and
gender expressions.
Wow, as long as someone is hetero
sexual, the military must be a paradise
of accord and teamwork, a paradise
where “straight” soldiers live together
harmoniously accomplishing their var
ious missions. My, our glorious mili
tary industrial complex has come a
long way.
Robert Aguirre
graduate student
English
‘Share the burden’
There is great depth in the editorial
about allowing gays and lesbians to
serve openly in the military.
Let them defend this land equally
like the others and share the burden of
defense against our enemies, foreign
and domestic. Do not discriminate or
harbor these bitter hatreds because
they tear at the fiber of our communi
ties.
Mario A. Benfield
8th district vice commander
past post 448 commander
San Francisco
Voice your
jg_j__ opinion here.
The Daily Nebraskan is now accepting The Daily Nebraskan
applications for the fall semester. Any major field eaitor’ ?ss,s®nt weD edttor- wji| up hirinn rnli imntetQ
and class standing will be eligible as long as you mana°'n° edrtor- ■*■“» news ™JmiIlStS
are taking at least six credit hours and have a 2.0 editors assignment edrtor, copy and Cartoonists for the
gpa or higher. ^chw. cow editors, spoite fall semester very soon.
Pick up an application and job description and edd0.r’".fE ed'tor’0p n'01?edltor’ Fine tunp vnur x/ipw<? hv
sign up for an interview at the Daily Nebraskan, "WJ edrtorsi;des'9n chl* - ® ? °V
20 Nebraska Union. Applications are due March designers, art director, photo arguing With your
30. Interviews will be held during the first week friends and then Submit
of April. Positions will be announce In .arly April. XSglSSumSS an application. Be Sure
mmm The Daily Nebraskan is an equal opportunity creative ad designer and tO include Samples,
employer and adheres to all applicable hiring guidelines, classified Staff.
PS. Write Br
, or e-mail letters@unl.eau.
signed and include a phone number for verification.
