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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2000)
Quotes of the WEEK “The state’s interest here is to draw a bright line between abortion and infanticide.’’ Attorney General Don Stenberg, on Nebraska’s case against Dr. LeRoy Carhart for performing partial-birth abortions. “This is a very, very well-contrived plan to try to elim inate abortion as an option for American women.” Dr. LeRoy Carhart, from Bellevue, on the abortion case. The arguments were presented to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. “I haven’t been gone so long to not have a sense of the planning going on, the initiatives in place and the restraints that the university currently faces.” UNL Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman, former dean of the NU College ofLaw. v “I’ve had better Easters.” Bob Hampton, co-owner of Savannah Pines Retirement Community, still under construction, which caught fire on Sunday morning. “(Squaw) is pretty well regarded as a derogatory word. You wouldn’t have a Cunt Mountain or a Bitch Butte.” UNL English professor Fran Kaye, on Gov. Johanns ’rec ommendation that the word ",squaw ” be taken out of the name ofstate parks and bodies of water. “Three things I fight every year are the weather, the government and machinery breakdowns.” Gary Slater, Nebraska farmer. “The theme is simple - it’s one of love and supporting the people you love through doing good.” Erin Keaney, one ofthe stars of “Rent,” on the meaning of the musical. “No Diet Pepsi. No Healthy Choice meals of Lasagna Roma with only 14 percent of the your daily fat allowance. No Egg Beaters. No fat-free mini-muffins.” Future DN columnist Petaluma Watson, on how to get fat. “It seemed as if the administration went into a back peddle. But right now, it looks like this plan is an all-go.” ASUN President Joel Schafer in response to the possibil ity of next year’s student health care plan s including domes tic partners. “I remember telling my wife before the interview, ‘I don’t know why I’m doing this.’” Chancellor James Moeser on his prospects of getting the chancellor job at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 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, 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. I 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 The seeping apathy Exposure to real life invalidates countless classroom hours I used to be such a good student. I remember my early years as if they were yesterday; I attended classes diligently; I was always attentive; I studied hard for every class. I got on the professor’s good side early and did my best to stay there. I would ask questions and talk to the professor outside of class. For those few precious years, I was a shining jewel of scholarly perfec tion. Those years have propelled me this far. Standing at the end of my fourth year, I find strangely that I no longer care as much as I did then. There was a time when I would proudly check “number of absences: 0-1” on end-of-the-semester evalua tions; but this semester, I honestly will have to check “number of absences: more than six.” The num ber of late or missed assignments is at an all-time high; my transcript is now marred by Ws. ' What happened? Last summer, I had the great experience of playing with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Robert Austin Boudreau. The expe rience was hell, actually. Imagine being stuck in 90 degree-plus weather in a part of New York that doesn’t believe in air conditioning, with rehearsals and performances played outdoors (per formances in frill tuxedoes). Imagine junebugs and mosquitoes and all manners of flies vying for your sweat and blood. Imagine the musician’s night mare: Never having a place or a time to practice. Participating in the semiprofes sional group was a challenge to say the least. Schedules shifted like tec tonic plates - slowly most of the time, marked by sudden explosions of change. Maintaining reeds and instruments and technical proficien cy while running from nursing home to elementary school to waterfront park was enough to drive anyone crazy - and many of us did go crazy. I suppose that returning to school after nine weeks of this crazy schedule - and don’t get me wrong, I loved it and would do it again, pro vided the opportunity - was slightly anti-climactic. The regular schedules, the semester-long syllabuses, the organ ized assignments and frozen due dates, these all seemed much easier to me. Indeed, I might even say they were so easy I was bored. While I love my classes and the new knowl edge gained in them as I love the professors who teach diem, I could n’t help but be bored. One day, while sitting through a class where I got to listen to a fellow classmate discuss the uniquely French characteristics of a suite by Couperin, I let my mind wander off and through her voice. Decorated in the smoke-wisps of her voice, I remembered last summer and the hectic lack of free time, the satisfac tion of playing a concert well, the excitement of beating a deadline. Somehow Baroque history just did n’t seem important. The same ennui follows me to every class like a high-school friend looking at prospective colleges. A reed seems more important than class. Practicing while on a roll seems more important than J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion. I know I should go to class - but why go and be bored witless? The simple fact of it is that, no matter how good your professor, the classroom fails to expose us to the same sort of challenges that real life will eventually present us. And now that I have had a taste of those chal lenges, it seems that those chal lenges are much more interesting than the purely academic pursuits that one follows in classes. The old adage “your degree is useless, you learn everything you need on the job” holds true, but it is even more apparent for a musician seeking a professional career. I I know I should go to class - but why go and be bored witless? know a little of what to expect, should I get out into the world and make it as an oboist. And having been in school for four years, I find myself increasingly drawn from the classroom and drawn to my own individual efforts and discoveries. ( Granted, classes provide a disci pline and structure without which it would be impossible to teach, learn or prepare for a professional career. But at some point professors must realize that a student’s needs and demands may counter a MWF schedule - whether it be a gig in Omaha, an interview or a simple chance to take a break. Every one of my professors this semester takes into account class participation in the final grade - which is basically an upperclass ver sion of an attendance policy. So, this semester, I’m expecting to be hurt by my liberal interpretation of the class schedule. This is fine; it was in the syllabus. I implicitly agreed to it, and my grade must reflect this. I’m not as worried about maintaining a high GPA as I used to be - I’m more interested in preparing myself for a career. What I regret, however, is the perception on my professors’ part that my lack of apparent drive in classes is a motion of disrespect to them - because it is not. They misinterpret my behavior because the understanding doesn’t exist between us that a student may choose to skip class for good rea sons. But in the end, life itself is not on a fixed schedule. It doesn’t have fixed topics or lectures. The reason why is because that’s boring. Life is much more flexible out side of the university. Professors should encourage students to explore that flexibility within the context of classes by thinking flexi bly. Then maybe I would care again. Jacob Glazeski is a senior math and music major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.