Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2000)
Opinion Quotes of the WEEK “Something we’ve always done is wear down teams. This year, we’re going to have even more depth and potential to wear people down.” NU I-back Dan Alexander on the Huskers ’ chances of showing their stuff in the fall “If resolutions would still stand ... the current sen ate would be spoken for. (The policy) allows the new senate to speak on its own.” ASUN President Joel Schafer, referring to the policy requiring legislation to die at the end of each term “It was calm.” Hebron Sen. George Coordsen on the past year in the Legislature “The effects that the personal attacks have had on my family leave me no ^alternative. The damage to my family is irreparable.” j Republican Senate hopeful George Grogan on his rea sons for dropping out of the race “Next time, they should invite Holocaust survivors and have them talk right before Li’l Red stands on his head.” ■ DN columnist Samuel McKewon commenting on the problems with the School is Cool Jam “Just because we’re at a white institution doesn’t mean we have to act white.” Leon Caldwell, co-organizer of the Black Male Empowerment Summit “It’s going to be difficult to sustain momentum in many areas. It’s too bad he has to face this opportuni ty at this point in time when there is instability on this campus.” James McShane, English professor, on Chancellor James Moeser’s decision to leave while jive other top level positions are open at UNL “He is an excellent recruiter ... but he is also an excellent basketball coach, both on the floor and in the locker room.” NU Basketball Coach Barry Collier on newly appoint ed assistant Dave “Soupy” Campbell “I find it amusing when I get a form from the uni versity, and it asks me to identify myself by my race. That is something that no one asks in my country.” Adelaida Martinez on one of the differences between the United States and Ecuador “He has a way of taking hard stuff and making you understand.” UNL freshman Karl Albrecht on Outstanding Educator Award winner Bill McLaughlin. Editorial Board Josh Funk (editor) • J.J. 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, bit 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.6du \ Editorial Policy Unsigned editorials tire the opinions of the spring 2000 Daily Nebraskan. They do hot 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 polity 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 clarifipations will £>e printed on page three. Obermeyer’s VIEW Letters to the EDITOR The Omega In your April 12 issue you ran an editorial involving the Alpha Clarion and the recent controversy caused by its distribution in public high schools. Although I applaud your defense of the First Amendment, I fear you were too quick to pass judgment on the content of the underground newspaper itself. First, the Alpha Clarion is not about challenging authority or usurping the power of the administration. It is, very simply, a way for talented teenage writ ers to have their work reach the masses. A comedic forum for students, it was established because none existed. We do not attack faculty members or stu dents, nor do we even mention them. True, we use graphic language in some stories, but it always is used in quotes to establish character or used in opinion pieces to reflect on the beliefs of the writer. You would find that the profane words used in our pages are no different than the profane words used in the New Yorker. We are not a paper for Student X to say “_you!” to Mr. so and-so because he failed him in biolo gy Some people assume that since we are teenagers that our writing is sopho moric by nature. They don’t look past the four-letter words so, sadly, a num ber of readers will miss the satire. However, by focusing on our choice of language, I am not doing the paper jus tice. We rely very little on the shock value “cuss words” provide. In most cases we contain considerably less vul garity than the contemporary literature assigned in the high school courses of the same name. Only distribution has been banned from high schools, not possession. So we are doubling our print number and taking the Alpha to the street. We might have a case to aigue for in-school distri bution to continue because we are not a school publication and, therefore, fully protected by the freedom of press.. But we have decided not to challenge authority and agree to a simple request for a halt of in-school paper spreading. Finally, I would like to state that not everyone is against the Alpha Clarion, as it may seem from reading the recent articles. The majority of the teaching staff at Lincoln Southeast has been indifferent or extremely supportive. Some English teachers even have dis cussed the articles with their classes. Student response also has been phe nomenal. To those who we do offend by our fictional stories, I apologize on behalf of the staff; it was never our intention. To the editors of the Daily Nebraskan, I am happy that you are defending our situation, I just thought the Alpha Clarion needed a little defense as well. John M.Thorson Alpha Clarion co-editor Lincoln The best money can buy The first thing I looked at in Thursday’s DN was the illustration that depicted some of the bills passed by this year’s legislative session. I was flabbergasted to find out that a bill, LB1217, was passed that gave w* i-C the University a half a million dollars “for the recruitment of minority and women faculty members.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a crazy redneck with a Confederate flag hanging in my front yard, but this bill concerns me. Because this university insists on running itself as a dollars and-cents business, I, as a student, con sider myself a customer. There is one stipulation though. I am a customer here at UNL, and I don’t have much of a chance, in most circumstances, to ask for a refund if I am disappointed in the “product” that I am paying for. The point is, I am supposed to be paying taxes and tuition in order to receive a top-notch Education, which quite often I find myself questioning? So why pass a bill that asks for more of a certain gender or race? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pass a bill that gives money to find the “best-quali fied” applicants for these faculty posi tions? I have only a few criteria for the people who I am paying to be my lead ers here at UNL. That is, they teach me and do not make me teach myself. They speak to me with no language barriers. They are competent in the subject mat ter. Last but not least, they care about teaching. This is regardless of gender, race or religion. All I am asking for is the best that my money can buy, not a specified seg ment of society. The passing of this bill pretty much guarantees that I am not getting the best my money can buy. David Franzen senior agribusiness f ;235,-\ Melanie Falk/DN