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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2001)
Opinion />»/]Nebraskan Since 1901 Editor Sarah Baker Opinion Page Editor Jake Glazeski Managing Editor Bradley Davis “I feel one T* of the best things about the ASUN elections is that it gets a lot of good ideas out there.” John Matzen, independent ASUN presiden tial candidate, while discussing his involve ment in the ASUN elections “I plan to spread happiness like the venereal disease it was founded upon.” Columnist Karen Brown, on her mission to spread the love of winter “(Eminem) is opening a way to a different form of expression. He is not confined to the traditional way of making music.” Missoi Albert, an actuarial sciences gradu ate student, on Eminem’s merits as a per former “I can say with complete confidence that we could have won the national championship last year. We had the most depth and experi ence of any team, but the wheels sort of fell off as the season went on with everyone getting hurt” Jason Hardabura, All American gymnast, on the missed opportunities of the past “Justice cannot exist in a world of lies or in a world of shadows.” Columnist Jeremy Patrick, on the value of open, public executions “I’ve always been mentally strong. When coach came at me, like any player, I was upset. But I couldn’t take it lying down. I’d be less of a player if I would have done that.” NU forward Steffon Bradford, on his approach to less-than-great news on the team “I don’t know how he thought he wouldn’t be caught for using fraudulent Social Security Numbers. That was so dumb.” Sophomore Todd Ayres, on the behavior of a signature-collector working for NUForce “It’s just hysterical watching everyone else go up there because it’s kind of a sink or swim thing.” Kaitlyn Conner, a senior Spanish major, on the value of karaoke “We always make an effort to be as econom ically efficient as we can.” Pat Logsdon, director of football opera tions, on die recent attempts to make cut costs to balance the budget “The problem is not so much about having a diverse senate as it is about having a diverse campus.” Jaron Luttich, presidential candidate for The One Party, speaking on the problem of bringing diversity to student government “Listening to Eminem will not form the moral in a person’s mind that violence against women and gays is right, nor will not hearing his music convince the person otherwise.’’ Columnist Jake Glazeski, on the absurdity of gay-backed protests against the infamous musician “I don’t like the Dave Matthews Band, and that's OK.” Music commentator Andrew Shaw, on his distaste for the popular band “It’s great to be back in school. I can’t give up. Adam Prenzlow, freshman meteorology major, on his commitment to his goals despite obstacles Editorial Board Sarah Baker, Jeff Bloom, Bradley Davis, Jake Glazeski, Matthew Hansen, Samuel McKewon, Kimberly Sweet Letters Policy The Daly Nebraskan wotcomos brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guaran tee their publication. The Daly Nebraskan retans the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daly Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions wM not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major enl/or group afSation, if any. Submit material to: Daiy Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, NE 68588-0448 E-mal: lettersOdalyneb.com Editorial Policy Unsifted edtorials are the opinions of the Spring 2001 Daly Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect tha views of the University of Nebraska-Uncotn, its employees, its student body or the Univeraty of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author, a cartoon is solely the opinion of Is artist. The Board of Regents acts as pUbisher of the Daly Nebraskan; pol cy is set by the Daly Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervisee the production of the paper. AcconSng to pdcy set by the regents, reaponsi U*y far Vie edtarW content of the newspaper Use solely It the hands of its employees. Megan Cody/DN You keep your wonderland I hate snow. I mean, there’s lots of things that I dislike, but when it comes to snow, I give it the ol’ one-finger salute, and as I raise my pinky high in the winter air, I curse my ancestors for sin nmg and sending white Simon powdery punishment on _u. me, the ultimate fruit of Ringsmutn their labor pains. Remember that day, not so long ago, when the that computer whiz of a(n) (internim) chancellor we affectionately call PerlMan closed the metaphorical hallowed gates of campus? I don’t remember it, either, because I was too hung over. My frat threw an emergency keg party the minute we heard the news, using our stash of booze under the stairway. When we tapped those old wooden barrels, we discovered there was a line to be drawn between good, healthy fermentation and moldy waste water, but we didn’t care until far into the next afternoon. As it turned out, this Friday also was the day my girlfriend was to fly into town from her much-bet ter-than-third-tier school in St. Louis. After sleeping in until the wee hours of the afternoon, I staggered over to the TV and did what any self-respecting guy would do. I ate macaroni and cheese straight from the box, licking a frozen butter popsicle for added fla vor, and watched Starship Troopers until I felt my own brain getting sucked out Right about then, my hardy roommate Evan burst through the door and announced we would use this opportunity to try and work ourselves into the neighbors’ will by shoveling their driveway. I don’t think it worked, but they do let us pet their dog now. After we returned from shoveling, I got a phone call while I was warming my butt on one of those hemorrhoid pads you buy at Walgreens and plug into the walL It was my girlfriend's father asking if I could drive them to the airport since they couldn’t find their white little Toyota amidst all the snow. Praise God for wood-paneled minivans, I shouted, and I hopped out of my skivvies and into my Gap khakis, spreading half a bottle of Old Navy over my scrawny body because there was simply no time to shower. Donning my superhero cape that doubles as a Trident Gum beach towel, I ran to my car and was off to rescue my girlfriend’s parents from the win ter doldrums, whatever those are. It's a good thing I was driving, since not a single square inch of pavement in the entire town was plowed except for the sidewalks on East Campus, and no vehicle on the planet except a minivan or SUV could have survived that much snow. We charged heroically through snow drifts and street signs on thr way the airport with my girlfriend’s mom humming “Battle Hymn of the Republic” on her kazoo, mak ing it just in time to be fashionably late. Fast forward to the following Monday morning. The weekend was wonderful, and now it was time for me to head off to school once again. Late Sunday night, the plows had finally made it to the major streets like 1-80,0 and Vine, which I take to get to school. I crept out of bed and took a long hot shower to thaw my feet out, since we keep the thermostat at 38 in the winter, which cuts down on heating bills and Jehovah’s Witnesses, so I can’t complain. On the way to school I noticed that the ol’ van wasn’t running like it used to, and I was fairly sure it wasn’t healthy for a car to be shedding parts while idling at a red light. I made it about a block and a half down Vine Street and was on my way up a small hill when my van ceased to move forwards and began rolling slowly backwards with the shifter on D, not R. Of course, my first thought was that Q from Star Trek had once again altered the gravitational con stant of the universe. As I watched cars in my lane swerve out of the way and into oncoming traffic through my Vedder brand rearviewmirror, I figured the problem was not quite so supernatural and most likely occur ring under the hood, as Q was not that demented. After a quick phone call, my mommy came and rescued me, and we stashed my van under some shrubs on the boulevard. She drove me to school, and I called my dad to see what sort of fatherly advice he could offer, and after much grunting, scratching and manly cussing, we deduced it could only be the transmis sion. That's when I wet myself right there on the sec ond floor of Ferguson Hall. For all you English majors, the transmission (or “trannie" as true car guys like myself call it) is the most important, and therefore the most expensive, part of a car. If it breaks, you can count on taking out two extra mortgages just to cover the labor for getting it fixed. Well, mine broke. Later on that day, my dad and I discovered that the problem was a hose which had popped off some important part of the engine (or “chassis"). All my transmission fluid had leaked out onto the pavement Sunday night, killing massive amounts of squirrels and stray vegetarians, not to mention my engine and bank account. So here I am, tooling around town in a stolen snow plow from East Campus until I can rustle up enough cash to salvage my van. And if anyone knows where I can get cheap macaroni and cheese, please let me know. I’m going to need something to eat for the next five months. Redaiming the truth of a woman's life "Johnny makes me feel strangely good about myself... I never met a man I was so crazy about it Kinaa has become an obses- Elizabeth siontome Polles I hate him all the time But I still get up When he knocks me down And he orders me around...” -LizPhair A devastating epidemic has infected this country. Its targets are usually women between the ages of 12 and 20. Most of those with the disease don’t realize it until it’s too late, if ever. Although it has no name and is not recognized by the medical community, it is a mental illness, which can be triggered by a number of factors. Most of these are very hard to pinpoint, although environ ment and culture seem to play a role. It causes young women to neglect their true selves until they wither away to virtually nothing and, in many cases, causes death of the spirit The women affected by the disease come from all races and economic back grounds, but they share certain, distinc tive characteristics. They have low self estefem and have been conditioned to please others, especially men, instead of themselves, in order to be socially accepted. This is the story of one such girl. Anna was always energetic and curi ous as a child. She liked to catch frogs at the pond and was fascinated by science and nature. She happily participated in a variety of activities, including softball, soccer and dance. She excelled in school and was placed in academic enrichment pro grams for advanced students. She had many friends at school, both girls and boys. Her energetic personality naturally drew people to her. Around the time when Anna started junior high, things changed. Her family life was as stable as it had always been, but things at school suddenly seemed strange. The boys with whom she had once played kickball at recess were now excluding her at the lunch table and star ing at her in ways that made her feel very uncomfortable. The popular girls at her new school wore tight shirts that clung to their bodies and full makeup every day. They flipped their clean, shiny hair and giggled when boys talked to them. Suddenly, Anna no longer fit in. She started to compare her physical appear ance to those of the popular girls, and she never measured up. Her nose was too big, and her breasts were too small. Things that had once made her happy weren’t considered to be cool now. Boys ignored her. If she spoke up in class or voiced a different opinion in a group set ting, other gills gave her strange looks or simply pretended that they didn’t hear her. one wcuueu a uuyuicuu tiiiu iu ue accepted by her peers, so she gave up the things she had once enjoyed, tried not to show her intelligence too much and modeled herself after the girl who seemed the most perfect to her. It seemed to her that if she just went with the flow and gave these people what they wanted, they would like her, too. She started to rely on other people to give her a sense of self-worth. Without die confirmation of these people that she was worth something, she felt like she was worth nothing. By the time Anna entered high school, she was a permanent member of the “popular" crowd. She got invited to all the cool parties, wore the trendiest clothes and had a football player boyfriend named Chris. Things were great with Chris for a while. He told her that she was beautiful and that he cared a lot about her. He made her feel special. Soon, Chris started getting jealous and controlling of Anna. He ordered that she never be around other guys without him, demanded that he knew where she was at all times and got angry at her if she ever wanted to do anything without him. Anna wasn’t very happy with his behav ior, but Chris said he would break up with her if she didn’t do these things. Soon, Anna hardly had any friends left because she spent all of her time with Chris. She didn’t know who she was with out him. She thought that if she broke up with him, no one else would want her, and maybe her clique wouldn’t accept her by herself. She had allowed him to define her, and she no longer had an identity of her own. I know so many Annas. I’m sure you know Anna, too. Maybe you are Anna. I am going to take this opportunity to tell Anna to fight back. Remember the girl you once were and the girl you always wanted to be. Think about why you’re not that girl. lYy to become who you really are, not an image of what someone else wants you