I
/>///)Nebraskan
Since 1901
Editor. Sarah Baker
Opinion Page Editor Samuel McKewon
Managing Editor Bradley Davis
“I think that such a strong vote should send
a message to administration and the Board of
Regents that this is what students want.
Twenty-five thousand of us want this, and stu
dents won’t ignore domestic partner bene
fits.’’
ASUN Sen. Angela Clements on the pass
ing of a bill that allows ASUN to support
domestic partner benefits
“We don’t want to erect a fence and have an
armed guard out there declaring the value of
the objects. We don’t want this to mean that
people can’t sit on or touch the sculptures.
That’s what we have them for."
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Curator
Dan Siedell on the possibility of stricter secu
rity around the building after a rash of van
dalism on sculptures
’ “Can’t you see? You are all going to hell.”
A visiting preacher outside Andrews Hall
on the certainty of UNL students’ fate in the
afterlife
“We think gay students are safer in Abel
Residence Hall because of the pink triangle
stuck on the hall’s office door. We also believe
the religious zealots outside the union are
really Catholic priests, and Tom Green may
just get asked back for another homecoming
pep rally.”
Daily Nebraskan editorial regarding the
Allies Safe Space bill that passed in Abel
Residence Hall
“After explaining that it was always safe,
they had gone ahead and let her give blood.
We had assumed the same rule applied to
men, but you know what they say about the
word ‘assume.’ ”
DN columnist Jeremy Patrick on the FDA
ban on blood donations from gays
“At Nebraska you don’t have to reinvent the
wheel every year.”
Nebraska Receivers Coach Ron Brown on
staying with the Comhusker staff rather than
taking other offered positions
“It’s smash-mouth, straight to the point,
we’re going to break your back, have you cry
ing, have you wetting your Depends like an
80-year-old man, and you’re going to go cry
ing to your momma talking about how you
don’t want to play football anymore.
“Our defensive playbook looks like a tele
phone book. All our veterans seem like they’re
running at 4.3-speed, and you can’t keep up
with them. The tight ends are too big to block.
They smash me around. The offensive line
men are killing me. But off the field, I know it’s
making me better.”
Nebraska Rush End Benard Thomas on
Nebraska football
“Boys are driven by their testosterone.
Their brains are less organized than females’
brains. Because of this, they need a lot of care
to figure out how to manage their energy.”
Family therapist and author Michael
Gurian on raising healthy boys
“It can’t be expressed any simpler. The rest
of the songs on this album could be vomitous,
and this would still be a 73-star album - they’d
only let me give it four - on the strength of this
one song and what it represents.”
Neal Obermeyer in his review of Super
Furry Animals' and Paul McCartney's
“Liverpool Sound Collage''
Editorial Board
Sarah Baker, Bradley Davis, Josh Funk, Matthew Hansen,
Samuel McKewon, Dane Stickney, Kimberly Sweet
Letters Policy
The Daily Nebraskan welcomes briefs, letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guar
antee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted.
SUxnitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous
submissions 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, NE 68588-0448. E
mail: tetters©unlinfo.unl.edu.
Editorial Policy
- Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Fall 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 column is solely the opinion of its author a cartoon is
solely the opinion of its artist. The Board of Regents acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; poli
cy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the
regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsi
bility for the edrtonal content erf the newspaper lies solely m the hands of its employees.
iw /WV &V£fJ A6£l Room.",
\ / C^T RlD Of-THIS ^§1
w&Mm
Neal Obermeyer/DN
Abel Strikes Back
Residents respond to DN editorial
As the president of Abel Residence Association,
I find it difficult to reply to the Sept. 27 editorial
without using four-letter words. The opinions
expressed by the editors have not been true for as
many years as I have lived here.
This is my third year, and I will gladly tell any
one that I don’t have plans to move anywhere else
as long as I am in college.
ARA has been working for many years now to
remove the labels campus has placed upon it. The
opinions expressed in Wednesday's DN have
thrown many people’s work, including my own,
out the window.
Ever since I have been in Abel government, I
have seen nothing but good things. We have raised
more than $1,000 for local charities, we contribute
to families in need yearly with our Adopt-A-Family
program, and we have had single programs that
have packed a room full of more than 200 people
on several occasions.
How's that for community?
The editorial board thinks we have done a dis
service to the GLBT community. If that is the case,
why did we have speakers from Allies volunteer to
come to our hall to persuade the passing of the bill
on many occasions? It also thinks we have done
the residents a disservice by posting the pink trian
gle.
It’s not like the hundreds of residents, who
debated over the issue and got to know their own
floors a little better and talked about an otherwise
suppressed issue, would have done it on their own
time had we not brought up the subject.
Furthermore, since the writers of the article
think the residents of Abel Hall do not care about
the meaning of the pink triangle, instead of taking
their word for it, why don’t you walk around Abel
for a while and try to find a floor that does not have
an Allies card on a door.
If you don’t believe what I am telling you, don’t
ask the editorial board since none of them actually
live in Abel Hall. Instead, why don’t you ask any
one of the active ARA members or one of the more
than 900 people that live here, and I think you will
get a slightly different response to life in Abel Hall
than the DN portrayed it to be.
Andy Krejci
Electrical Engineering
Junior
Abel President
In response to the opinion the editorial board
wrote about the declaration of the Abel Residence
Hall safe space, in one way you are correct. I do not
think the declaration of a “safe space” will change
any of the stereotypes you wish to put on Abel or its
residents.
However, the ignorance that the editorial
board has shown by saying the pink triangle is
nothing but a meaningless symbol at Abel is amaz
ing. How can the DN editorial board not under
stand the relief felt by any person who was afraid to
ask Abel government for money or support simply
because they thought the organization might dis
criminate against them?
The Abel bill was amended simply because the
government realized the “safe space” declaration
could not realistically be enforced in all parts of the
hall.
The most important part of the bill is not
whether members of Abel feel the sign has signifi
cant meaning, and truly most people in Abel prob
ably don’t care one way or the other.
The important part is that a certain group feels
they need an affirmation of their rights as humans,
and Abel’s government has given this affirmation
to them.
Richard Brown
Cather Senator
Chemical Engineering
Senior
I was in awe of how many stereotypes and
exaggerations were used as reasons in the Sept. 27
editorial not to have the pink triangle displayed.
First, the symbol would be placed on the ARA
door, which is not even in Abel Hall anymore. The
office has been moved into new office space that
was created in Sandoz Hall’s old fishbowl.
The intent of placing the pink triangle on the
door is to let people know that, while a small
minority of the residents may hold discriminatory
views, the student government does not.
Second, is it Bash-on-Abel-Hall Day? If so, no
one told me about it! The way the editorial por
trayed Abel residents, you would think there were
swastikas hanging on every other door. I'm not
saying that people don’t hold anti-gay, lesbian and
bisexual views, but let’s get real.
As for Abel being a party dorm, what does that
have to do with anything the editorial is supposed
to be about? Yes, there are a lot of freshmen living
in Abel who go a little wild with their newfound
freedom. There are also a lot of freshmen and
upperclassmen who can handle being away from
their parents, and who don’t have “alcohol
induced vomiting’’ on Saturday mornings.
Deidre Martin
Architecture
Sophomore
It is a very well known stereotype around cam
pus that Abel is a party hall. Abel Residence
Association and its housing staff have worked very
hard to dispel that stereotype, and in my opinion,
have been successful.
There are currently learning communities in
Abel promoting academics in a variety of majors.
Housing has also worked hard to make Abel more
appealing to both freshmen and upperclassmen. It
now offers two floors of upperclassmen, with the
option of a single room on those floors.
I often defend the Daily Nebraskan to those
people who choose to feed into the stereotype that
the Daily Nebraskan isn’t worth the paper it’s writ
ten on; however, you have proven to me that that is
not a stereotype but a fact. It sucks when stereo
types haunt you forever, huh?
Tiffany Quinze
Elementary Education
Senior
As an elected official of Abel Hall, I was struck
by Wednesday's editorial.
When you attack my constituents as drunks
and less-than-conscientious students, I have a
problem. Do not attack my constituents as a bloc
without fact or documentation.
Abel is not perfect, but my constituents are not
evil, discriminative alcoholics whose moral char
acters deserve to be questioned by the DN
Editorial Board.
Journalistic integrity is important. Next time
you attack the entire residency of our hall, please
give current instances of the violation.
Even in this circumstance, you should attack
the individual perpetrator, not all residents of the
hall. Such a blanket attack is unfair, and I would
hope you would have the integrity to withdraw
your unfounded attack.
A well-formed opinion is fine, but a misin
formed opinion declares one’s own bias. I ask you
not to mask ARA’s attempt at tolerance with your
own ill-conceived prejudices.
I would ask you to refrain from attacking my
colleague, ARA treasurer Kate Grafel. I was at the
meeting where the bill was passed. Ms. Grafel’s
quotation was taken completely out of context. If
you had had a reporter present at the meeting, a
reporter who was invited to attend, that person
would have noticed that the same student who
raised the concern about the “gay dorm” offered to
place the triangle on his door.
Attacking the policy is okay, but attacking Ms.
Grafel as uncaring and unconcerned about GLBT
rights is a gross misstatement. If anyone is a cru
sader for GLBT concerns, it is Ms. Grafel. Next time
you choose to attack our hall, or our officials, I ask
you to get the facts straight.
Dashiell A. Rohan
Abel Hall Vice President
History
Sophomore
'Facts' create
confusion
about love
Journal entry -
8:16 p.m. Girl gets
home from aerobics
practice two min
utes later than yes
terday. The
restraining order
tells me I'm not
supposed to see her
anymore, but the
voices in my head
a-ii_i*ir_. i
Mark
^^Zmarzl^
rruz uijjcrenuy.
As I hide in the bushes outside her
apartment in camouflage, I can't help but
think, what’s happened to love in America?
Scholarly research in the areas of psy
chology, communication studies and soci
ology have filled my head to the point
where I don’t know what love is anymore. I
still want to believe that love is simply a
feeling in your heart. Assuming the love is
pure, marriage and procreation will follow.
But how can any of us still hold onto
this when it’s been proven that feelings of
love and lust can actually be traced to
chemicals that your brain produces? Am I
sitting in these bushes with my sack lunch
and night-vision goggles because I’m in
love or because my brain is producing a
chemical that tells me so?
Cosmopolitan, Playboy and FHM have
articles dedicated to pleasing your partner,
keeping your partner or finding a partner.
Has it always been so confusing? Did pre
vious generations put up with this kind of
confusion, or is this a product of our self
help society?
Every time you turn on the TV listen to
the radio or read something, the message
tells you thatyou follow a certain rule to be
successful in a relationship. De Beers tells
u$ that diamonds are forever and even
uses the slogan, “How often will you give
her something she'll cherish for the rest of
her life?”
I guess your soul isn’t good enough.
Durex condoms tells us: “The human body
has more than 45 miles of nerves.” (Guys
are neglecting about 44.99 miles.)
Avia states: “She knows true beauty
comes from inside, but she doesn’t mind
finding it in the mirror.”The ad should say:
“She blows true beauty is staring at her in
the mirror, so she'd better get her fat ass on
the StairMaster.”
Journal entry - 8:45 p.m. Girl is on
phone with a friend. Need to brush up on
lip-reading skills because I’m not sure if
she’s talking to Nathan or Satan.
Let’s go over a few tidbits of informa
tion concerning relationships that I have
been able to gather from sources a little
more reliable than advertisements.
Strength of commitment is a better indi
cator of a couple’s ability to remain together
than strength of love (Mary Lund, 1985).
Someone may choose to remain in an
unsatisfying relationship if no better alter
natives are observed (JuliaWood, 2000).
Everyone has a unique odor signature.
Scientists believe its purpose is to help us
determine if a potential mate has a suffi
ciently different genetic makeup (Playboy,
2000).
Apparently pick-up lines such as “Why
don’t we go back to my place and play G.L
Joe? I’ll lie down, and you can blow the hell
out of me” don’t work. (Common sense
should have told me so, but being the ded
icated columnist that I am, I tested it any
way, and damn does my face still hurt.)
Men and women had better get mov
ing. They have to go out and find someone
who smells genetically good, commit to
that person and then make damn sure
they don’t find anyone else appealing.
Also, don’t use that G.I. Joe line.
Journal entry - 8:56 p.m. Girl Im stalk
ing-Imean loving- moves from the couch
to the floor.
Wasn’t there a time in your life when
you just trusted your heart and something
truly wonderful happened? What hap
pened to that optimistic person?
I’m guessing you started listening to all
of this propaganda and have become
someone who analyzes interactions with a
negative attitude. We lookat every situation
by breaking it down into a set of rules or
relationship secrets. What we need to start
doing is to stop listening to all of this infor
mation and start thinking for ourselves.
Stop trying to find a successful relation
ship at the news stand; it will only leave you
with 25 sex secrets and nobody to use them
on. Stop watching pom for tips; it will only
leave you with the disillusionment that all
women want to be spanked or have sex
with the gardener or be spanked while hav
ing sex with the gardener.
Journal entry - 9:33 p.m. Girl’s brother
comes over and investigates noise in bush
es. Must be very still, so verystilL
It’s really simple, God created man and
woman. He didn’t tell them how to love and
procreate. It happened naturally. For the
evolutionists out there, we basically came
from monkeys right? Well, I’ll bet they
never read an article called “How to Please
Your Little Monkey in Bed.” No matter per
spective, society has given us a world where
love has been replaced by rules.
I am not going to sell out I’m going to
sit here and wait for the woman of my
dreams to walk out of her security
enforced front gate and say; “Take off that
ski mask, and let me get a good look at
you. Then, and only then, will love truly
win.
