Opinion
ZMvNebraskan
Since 1901
Editor Sarah Baker
Opinion Page Editor Samuel McKewon
Managing Editor Bradley Davis
Quotes of the Week
“They are like idols here in the program. A
lot lately he (Cook) has really been going back
to them and using that team as examples. We
watched film on what we do in games com
pared to what they did in 1995.”
Nebraska middle blocker Amber
Holmquist on the 1995 national champion
Nebraska volleyball team
“We are first and foremost an educational
institution. We educate not only in the class
room but in how we enforce our code of con
duct.
“Students sometimes make mistakes, and
we feel it is our duty to help them learn to
function in the community.”
UNL Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
James Griesen on keeping records of punish
ment confidential for students who go
through Judicial Affairs
“Every current and prospective university
student has the right to know the most accu
rate information about the safety of their
campus and any precautions that may need
to be taken.
“The concern for the overall safety of the
campus outweighs the privacy rights of stu
dents already found guilty for violating the
student code of conduct, especially when
their violation is a crime of violence or a sex
offense.”
Daily Nebraskan editorial on why the
records should be released
“Clinton didn’t make a choice between
UNK and UNL. It’s about the archway - that’s
the reason he’s coming.”
ASUN President Joel Schafer on why Bill
Clinton’s first visit to Nebraska in eight years
as president will take place in Kearney, not
Lincoln
“Once President Clinton comes in, we’ll
lose one of our precious resources - our
Clinton-free air, our Clinton-free water and
our Clinton-free land.”
Nebraska Republican Party Chairman
Chuck Sigerson on the dismay that Clinton is
visiting at all
“This is terrible. I had four turnovers (and)
went three out of 10 at the line. That’s some
thing I need to go to the gym and work on. It’s
back to the drawing board on that one.”
Nebraska center Kimani Ffriend on his
performance in a 65-44 win over Winthrop
on Monday. Ffriend still had 19 points, seven
rebounds and seven blocked shots.
“It’s not that I mind so much having to stop
every hour to scrape ice off the inside of the
car windshield as I mind seeing my breath the
whole way home and having to wear a hat,
gloves and a snowsuit.
“The heater was broken when I bought
Floyd and, as always, I was too broke to fix it.
My mantra for the winter's travels soon
became: ‘You’re not alone; no one’s heater
works. You’re not crazy; that was an ele
phant”’
Columnist Karen Brown, on her old
Bronco, Floyd
“Why exactly do I care about a team full of
players that I will never know and never really
care about after they’re gone? But it’s not just
me, it’s an entire state, an entire world on
some level.”
Columnist Dane Stickney on the overem
phasis of football at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln
Editorial Board
Sarah Baker, Bradley Davis, Josh Funk, Matthew Hansen,
Samuel McKewon, Dane Stickney, Kimberly Sweet
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solely the opinion of its artist. The Board of Regents acts as pubfcher of the Daily Nebraskan; poli
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b«y tor the edtoriai content of the newspaper Ses solely in the hands of lts employees.
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Letters to the editor
Whose side?
I am curious as to why the Daily Nebraskan only
prints one side of any story.
Instead we as readers have to read their one
sided propaganda and interpret things for ourselves.
Take for instance in the Nov. 29 edition: On the
front page it says that Bill Clinton is coming to
Nebraska. This is just a trivial thing, but the only
quotes it prints are those of people who are glad he’s
coming.
Quite a few people whom I have spoken with
aren’t in agreement at all He hasn't even looked at us
for the last eight years and now at the end of his term
he just decides: “I haven't been to Nebraska yet, let’s
go see what kind of damage I can cause there."
But the DN prints quotes from people about how
wonderful it is and how educational he’ll be. I would
personally like to see the facts not get mixed in with
some editor's opinions. Just the facts guys.
Christopher Amateis
Lincoln
Editor’s note: The story in question did include two
quotes from Nebraska State Republican Party
Chairman Chuck Sigerson, who was against Clinton’s
visit
Stay away, Ointon
I am saddened to see that Slick Willie is going to
make an appearance in our great state. I don’t want
that criminal bringing Nebraska down to his level. As
far as I’m concerned, the closest he should be coming
to Nebraska is Arkansas, or better yet-Leavenworth.
T.J. Paulsen
senior
mechanical engineering
UNL behind the times
I have a confession that may result in my social
banishment from Nebraska: I am in agreement with
Dane Stickney’s column published Wednesday. I
hold that football, as a center of American entertain
ment and life, undermines the sophistication of
modem humanity. Or, more locally, that Nebraska
football, as it stands today, undermines the intellec
tual focus of our university community.
It seems that, with the mental stimulation of
today's infinite scholarly sources and intrinsically
rewarding activities we wouldn’t need brutal contact
between two warriors to bring us a primitive satisfac
tion of knowing that someone has been undoubted
ly left in pain. Of course, to deny our primitive
instincts is to deny the very nature of our humanity.
Or is it?
There are millions of people in poverty who con
tinuously struggle to put food on the table. There are
countless minorities who fight to have their voice
heard in politics. But these “battles” are not physical,
but mental - intellectual struggles within each per
son to achieve his or her goal.
We past the days when only the physically strong
survive. Football, therefore serves as a form of nostal
gia for the days when natural selection weeded out
die physically weak and anatomically unfit Football
is a time when we can all make the Saturday pilgrim
age to Memorial Stadium to worship our manifested
depiction of primordial instincts.
So, if we wish to remain fixated in barbaric times,
I’m confident together, we, as a cult, can defy the
hands of time. “Go Huskers!”
Based on the (lackof) quality in the reporting that
the DN has done this year, I suspect that most stu
dents are somewhat relieved that access to (whatev
er) student records was denied.
I would just li] ;or catering to the
off-campus students so well. We even get presents
from this fabulous establishment in the form of little
white envelopes, just in time from Christmas... they
happen to contain a note saying pay $25 tp parking
services.
“Huh?” I say to myself as I look at the ticket. “Why
did I get this?” It seems as though the university has
decided to take away a row of green permits and
make them for faculty... Surprise!
Why shouldn't the P&T services gods just make all
commuter students fight for a spot in the perimeter
lot and make the entire “campus” parking for faculty
because faculty parking seems to be a huge problem
at this school. I don’t know how many times I have
walked by red lots and seen several spaces available.
I pay my $ 150-plus for a spot that isn’t even guar
anteed to be there. Yes, I myself have read the back of
my shiny green emblem that dangles from my mirror
saying: “This does not entitle you to a guaranteed
spot.”
OK fine... but at least let me have a chance to get
a coveted green spot. Do not take them away over a
break, and then out of habit, people park there, not
realizing that the faculty has now invaded the stu
dents’ spots behind the stadium.
Beware commuters - it's not the holiday season
in the eyes of Parking Services.
Chris Ramey
sophomore
undecided
Protect the students
Joshua Hesse
senior
electrical engineering
Rebecca Hoffmann
senior
Spanish and political science
Columnist thanks her fans
The Tuesday marquee at
Studio 14 read: Jealousy Gets
You No Where. Jealousy may
not, but spelling does. Studio
14 changed it to “Nowhere”
after almost two hours. Studio
14 signs make us laugh,
despite the "snippiness” of
this recent one.
No one can avoid Studio
14. It is the club with three
signs and a dress code. This is
Emily
Moran
uncoin. i can unaersiana no logos, dui nusKer ararei
I can’t forgive that.
Studio 14 has no class and no customers for that
matter. So I return to the jealous sign.
Who is jealous, Studio 14?
I have four questions I would like answered
before finals. Studio 14 is the first one.
Question 2:
Clique \klik\ n 1: an exclusive group of persons 2:
an exclusive club for crossword enthusiasts 3: an
exclusive row of seats for those sporting the same let
ters 4: an exclusive group of students who use the
restroom in pairs and reject nonmembers.
Why is that, Seat 155?
Question 3:
I have more critics than fans. Chrissy Ptacek
wrote to the editor after 3 columns. She reported: 38
fragmented sentences. And exactly 2 paragraphs. Out
of 15. That didn’t have a grammatical. Error.
I find more critics, than fans, read these columns.
I can write a complete sentence. I. Can. Write. A.
Fragmented. Sentence. Too.
Can you write a column?
Question 4:
ASUN, not APUN, proposed a grade resolution to
heighten academic standards at UNL with a minus
system. Sen. Mueller argued in favor, and I opposed
it. It failed. Despite this, one question remains that
should be answered.
Does UNLs current grading scale inflate GPAs to
the point it hinders graduate, law or medical school
admittance?
I shared an unusual moment with a stranger this
afternoon. I was heading downtown when I stepped
over a dollar bill on the sidewalk. I paused and looked
up.
There was a person nearing me, so I continued
on. I didn’t want to look too desperate for cash.
I passed him. I took two more steps and turned
around. He turned around, too. Crap, he saw me. He
hesitated. So did L He turned to walk on. So did I.
I turned around a third time only to see him sprint
toward the dollar bill. He looked at me. Bent down.
Smiled. And stuffed it in his pocket. He was now $1
richer.
I shelve books as a part-time job. In between
shelving books, I read inside the back covers about
the authors' lives. I check out a book based on the
authors’ descriptions.
If I ever write a book, inside the back cover it will
read: Emily Moran graduated with a bachelor's of
journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
She is employed as a design editor for InStyle
Magazine. She resides in New York City with her hus
band.
Punishing
the rich and
poor, equally
“It is a wise
man who said
that there is no
greater inequali
ty than the equal
treatment of
unequals”
Justice
Felix
Frankfurter,
Dennis vs.
United States
Jeremy
PatricK
Americans have an interesting atti
tude towards wealth and equality. In
many cases, they consider a tax or fine
“equal” if, on its face, it applies to
everyone equally, such as an across
the-board 5-percent sales tax.
Because the costs of basic necessi
ties (such as food, shelter and clothing)
do not increase as one's income
increases, flat taxes like this clearly and
disproportionately burden the poor.
Most Americans simply don’t care.
In other cases, such as our progres
sive income tax, we’ve come to realize
that taxes that are equal on their face
are unequal in application.
Finland has carried this concept of
proportionality to its next logical step.
Last week, Jaakko Rytsola, a Finnish
dot-com millionaire, was fined the
equivalent of $110,000 for going 43
mph in a 25-mph zone. Just a month
ago, he was fined $44,100 for switching
lanes dangerously.
The fines set a new record in
Finland, where traffic fines are
assessed according to the size of the
drivers’ income and how fast they were
going; there’s also no limit on how high
the fines can go.
This idea seems radical at first, but
it’s perfectly consistent with the point
of imposing traffic fines.
If we really believe traffic fines are
necessary to deter dangerous driving,
then we should apply the fines in a
manner that will deter everyone equal
ly
A $200 fine for speeding may deter
a poor college student, but it won't
have any effect on a
billionaire like Bill
Gates. Because
each poses the
same potential
threat, why not
punish each one
equally?
Even more
important than the
inconsistent deter
rence effects is the
fact that flat fines
can literally force
the poor out of
their apartments or
homes; the same
$200 fine that is an
inconvenience for
most of us, is life
threatening to
someone who only
makes $800 a
month working
full-time at a mini
mum-wage job.
It’s not as if pro
portional fines are
unheard of in the
United States.
For serious
criminal offenses,
the Federal _
Sentencing Reform
Act instructs judges to take account of
“the defendant’s income, earning
capacity, and financial resources” in
imposing fines. Judges do the same
thing when determining bail; they
know that imposing the same amount
on every defendant would simply pun
ish the poor and fail miserably in pre
A $200 fine
for
speeding
may deter
a poor
college
student, but
it won’t
have any
effect on a
billionaire
like Bill
Gates.
Because
each poses
the same
potential
threat, why
not punish
each one
equally?
venting a wealthy person from fleeing.
Any practical difficulties with
implementing proportional traffic
fines have apparently already been
solved by the Finns.
In a country like the United States,
the real difficulty is that the people
making the decision have to put them
selves in a worse position than they’re
currently in. Because legislators and
their most powerful constituents are
disproportionately drawn from the
upper-middle and wealthy classes,
they will suffer the burden of increased
fines.
As John Rawls would say, a just
decision could be reached only by
placing ourselves behind q “veil of
ignorance,” where it is equally possible
that we are rich, poor, or somewhere in
the middle.
It remains doubtful whether
abstract notions of fairness and equali
ty are sufficient to overcome sheer self
interest.
For what it's worth, Jaakko Rytsola
took his record-setting fine with
aplomb.
"The drag was nice and wide, and I
felt good. It’s great to drive when there's
no one around,” he said.
Presumably, he means that it’s great
to drive when there’s no one, including
police officers, around.
