Opinion
Page 4 Daily Nebraskan Wednesday, March 7,2001
i
DailyHebraskan
Since 1901
Editor Sarah Baker
Opinion Page Ecitor Jake Glazeski
Managing Edrtor Bradley Davis
Proven loyalty
Interim Chancellor Perlman's
dedication is UNL's best bet
I
The two chancellor candidates have said their
piece, and it won't be long before NU President
Dennis Smith will reveal who he intends to tap as
die University of Nebraska-Lincoln's next leader.
The university played host to the two candi
dates this week, which included UNL Interim
Chancellor Harvey Perlman and University of
Minnesota Regent Bill Hogan.
Both candidates have shining qualifications.
Hogan seems to have a brilliant business
mind - one that could propel the university's
efforts to bring in the outside money needed to
make UNLs programs the best He promised to
bring in $250 million in his first three years at the
university.
He also seems committed to diversity- a pri
ority that many administrators, faculty; staff and
students on campus feel strongly about
While Hogan has taken a reprieve from aca
demia to nm his own company, his commit
ment to education seems to run deep. During
his visit he trumpeted the importance of a liber
al arts education, saying it was die basis for the
innovative research that can bring cash into
UNUs coffers.
Taking Hogan up on his promises is a tempt
ing proposition. Former Chancellor James
Moeser identified the need to bring in outside
money. And, the recent Omaha World-Herald
series “UNL: Confronting Mediocrity” brought
the need to light even more.
Although bending to the dollar signs in our
eyes is tempting, we feel Interim Chancellor
Harvey Perlman’s proven leadership, Nebraska
ties, willingness to challenge the status quo and
sincerity make him more qualified for the job.
During his eight months as interim chancel
lor, Perlman has done things in line with the
thinking of students, staff and faculty.
He got rid ofMoeser’s infamous alma mater,
for example.
He nasn t Deen airaia to speak out
He publicly condemned Initiative 416, which
prohibits same-sex marriages in Nebraska.
He's gone forward with initiatives necessary
to move the University of Nebraska forward in
the next 20 years. He’s led the process of academ
ic prioritization and he’s made the goals of the
20/20vision report his own.
One of Perlman’s most attractive qualities is
that he’s a Nebraskan - and he intends to stay
one for his professional career.
Many in the state expressed frustration when
Moeser announced he was leaving for a better
institution, wondering when UNL would begin
to attract talented administrators that wouldn’t
use the university simply as a stepping stone to
bigger and better things.
Perlman is a Nebraskan, and he knows the
values of the university and die state.
At die same time, he doesn’t seem to be held
hostage to those values when it is in the best
interest of the university to be progressive and
challenge the status quo.
1 At the beginning of the year, we said we didn’t
want to give Perlman our stamp of approval too
soon. We said he needed to prove his metde as a
leaden
He has. He has weathered controversy,
pleased many of his university constituents and
shown that the university won’t stand still with
him at die helm.
We’re pleased with Perlman’s performance
and hope Smith is, too.
We would like to be able to call him
Chancellor Harvey Perlman, without the
"Interim” in front
rrWinwnl Diii-twi
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Sarah Baker, Jeff Bloom, Bradley Davis, Jake Glazeski,
Matthew Hansen, Samuel McKewon, Kimberly Sweet
The Only Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the edtor and guest cofcxnns, but does not guarart
Ise took pubtoalon. The Paly ftobwksmatoins toe right to ed» or reject any material aubmtoed.
SitomMedmateriri becomes property of toe Daly Nebraafcan and cannot be fehenedAnonpnous
aubnMone aHI not be puMtfwd. Those atoo submft tetters must identify themeekw by name,
year in school, major endfar group effUton, if any
8ubm* material to: Daly Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St Lincoln, NE 68688-0448
tare tie opinions of toe Spring 2001 Defy Nebraskan. They do not necessariy
reflect toe views of Vie Unkrereity of Nabraaka-Uncoln, its employees, it# student body or the
Uniwaraty of Nebraska Book! of Regents. A column is solely toe option of to author, a cartoon is
solely toe opinion of to arttet The Board of negertoacto as pubfafwr of toe Daiy Nebraskan: pol
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People
NeilObemwyer/DN
Sex Appeal
Oral sex is not an appropriate topic of discus
sion for a newspaper column regardless of sexual
orientation.
If I wrote a lengthy column about giving my girl
friend oral sex, there is no chance that it would ever
be considered for publication in any reasonable
newspaper.
Jake Glazeski’s column (“A world hanging in
balance,” March 1) was revolting, lewd and seemed
to serve no purpose. This column belongs in Jake’s
journal, not in die Daily Nebraskan.
It seems as if the Daily Nebraskan’s Opinion
Page has turned into a gay pride parade on paper. I
would be willing to bet die majority of UNL stu
dents also are tired of turning to the opinion page
and reading only about the personal lives of the
writers on staff.
AdamScheer
sophomore
chemical engineering
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied by die
signatures of50 UNL students in support of it
Miller should be ashamed
As a white, middle-class greek, I must say how
angry I am at Regent Drew Miller’s statements
against diverse recruitment
While it is of extreme importance that we bring
in the state’s best and brightest, not drawing in a
diverse group of individuals means dooming this
institution to third-tier status.
Regent Miller and anyone who worked to get
him elected - especially the liberal minded-should
be ashamed of themselves.
Andrew Fahin
senior
philosophy
"x An Official Response
My purpose in issuing this statement is to clari
fy die position of the University of Nebraska on the
issue of recruitment of minority students.
It is the goal of the university to improve the
diversity of its student body as well as its faculty
and staff on all four of our campuses. It is our firm
resolve to aggressively recruit students of color as
Letters to the editor
well as those of diverse ethnic and cultural back
grounds.
Statements made by a member of the
University of Nebraska Board of Regents during die
March 3 board meeting on the subject of recruit
ment of minority students have understandably
caused concern and anger among students and
members of the faculty and staff of the university.
Many Nebraska citizens have had similar reactions.
It has been the university's experience that
standardized tests are not a strong predictor of aca
demic performance for students in general and are
an even less reliable predictor for students of color.
Academic performance in high school is a much
more accurate indicator of potential for success in
higher education for all students. We are confident
that all students who meet our admissions stan
dards have the potential to succeed at the
University of Nebraska.
At the meeting mentioned above, the
University of Nebraska Board of Regents unani
mously adopted a resolution on student recruit
ment that urges the university to direct its recruit
ing efforts to several key student groups, including
those who would contribute to campus diversity. In
addition, the Strategic Framework document
approved by the Board of Regents sets die following
goal for the university: to develop and implement a
universitywide effort to recruit and retain a diverse
faculty, administration and student population
and create an environment that welcomes,
respects, values and honors diversity. We fully
intend to achieve this goal.
Dennis Smith
president
University of Nebraska
Daring Drew
If our administrators, to say nothing of die DN
editorial board, all agree the Affirmative Action
emperor is wearing die most beautiful set of robes
imaginable, how dare Drew Miller notice he’s
naked?
It’s time Miller realized he’s a regent of a univer
sity and not some intellectual institution dedicated
to the pursuit of truth!
Gerard Harbison
UNL chemistry professor
Logic six feet underground
From a certain point of
view - a very Planet Vulcan
point of view, no doubt -
Regent Drew Miller’s recent
comments may appear logi
cal.
Major Premise: Minority
students, on average stan- —I
dardized tests, score (for Mark
whatever reasons) lower Baldridge
than whitey. hbbhbi
Minor Premise: Lower
overall scores could hurt UNL’s ranking among
other schools.
Conclusion: Don’t recruit minority students -
QED.
Even some of his critics are willing to go along
with his logic, though they’re astonished and
grieved to have that logic supersede the existing
plan to recruit minority students.
Joel Schafer, student body president and stu
dent regent, said, “The fact that test scores and
national rankings are more important (to Miller)
than diversity is something I abhor.”
James Griesen, vice chancellor for student
affairs, agreed.
“For a minority student to hear someone say
it’s more important to rank high than to have us in
that institution - that’s negative,” he said.
And in a world of negatives and positives, one
has to agree.
But both of these reactions imply that the
logic Miller uses is valid.
What’s being bemoaned in both statements is
that Miller would let logic stand in the way of all
important “diversity.”
But is this reaction logical? Or are we sup
posed to throw out logic when race rears its ugly
head?
I would submit that it would be better to put to
rest Miller’s fallacious logic (if one could) than to
suggest we should ignore it, however logical it
maybe.
So, with all due respect, here is the flaw in your
argument, Mr. Miller.
Other universities are recruiting minority stu
dents and at higher rates.
If these universities have higher standardized
exam scores than we do, it is then very likely that
our white students are the ones dragging us
down.
So stick it
Now, having put Regent Miller’s specious logic
to rest, let me do something to help resurrect his
reputation.
This comes in the form of some free advice.
Miller, you bumpkin, with your provincial
backwardness and crotch scratching, wake up!
You’re in deep doo doo and all your amateur
ish flailing about, trying to spin your doctor, is not
doing you any good.
If anything, you’re digging a deeper grave for
your honorable family name.
Let me propose a way to marry your main
interests in student recruitment with a minority
you can get behind and push.
Native Americans are a large minority in
Nebraska, one of the largest, making up about 10
percent of our citizens.
You’ve said (over and over I’m afraid) that until
we’re spending "enough” money on in-state
recruitment, you don’t think we should spend a
cent on recruiting out of state.
Well, I can sort of see your point, here. After
all, this is a land-grant institution and exists to
serve the state.
Then there's the “brain drain" you’ve spoken
so often of- educated persons moving away from
Nebraska. (Let me tell you, I can see why they
want out)
Native Americans are Nebraska citizens and
minorities. They are underrepresented in institu
tions of higher learning. They’ve been here a
while and might actually stick around if they had
better opportunities (for education as well as the
attendant higher wages), and they need a cham
pion in the Board of Regents.
Some of them may be your own constituents.
Redeem yourself, if not your reputation for
having a logical mind. (Leave that to the profes
sionals, K?)
Do the right think.
Naivete in
the Oval
Office
Two cars in
every garage. TWo
big, meaty chick
ens in every pot.
Last Tuesday, in
his nationally tel
evised address to
Congress,
President Bush
Seth
Basically aeuv- reuon
ered that kind of
speech.
He promised to cut taxes, increase
spending to education and defense,
fcwild a great lag missile shield, find alter
native sources of energy and resurrect
But when you pick his proposed tax
cut apart, itfc horrifyingly biased towards
the wealthy. According to Citizens for Tfex 4
Justice, the America’s poorest 20 percent
will receive an average$15 tax cut the first
year and $37 by2004. Wow: ybu could buy
a toaster with that
More to the point is the break for the
wealthy. The top 1 percent of taxpayers
will receive an average $13,469 cut die
first year, rising to $31,201 by2004.
You could buy anew Lexus. Or, if it
tickles your fancy, about five Hyundais
with that kind of money.
Bush and his posse argue that since
the rich pay more in taxes, they should
receive their fair share of the cuts. More
money in, more money back.
A simple-minded explanation.
Ignored in that argument is that the
workers, die office drones and die mid
dle class are largely responsible for the
money of the wealthy The “new* econo
my and the boom of the last 10 years is
not solely the result of a few billionaires
throwing their cash around. It owes its
existence largely to common workers.
All those in management, in the serv
ice sector, manufacturing and sales,
those of us who held down two jobs to
make ends meet and all of us wh$
Worked for corporations owned by those
in the top earnings bracket contributed
substantially more to the economy and
the wealth of this nation than CEOs who
make $5 million even if they screw up.
Most of us don't have that kind of luxury
Bush’s advisors haughtily dismiss this
kind of talk as class warfare, but I can’t
help it if it’s the truth. Without us, the
economy would collapse in a heartbeat
The man at the top is expendable I don't
understand why someone as secure as a
CEO, making $5 million ayear, deserves
more in tax cuts than most people earn in
annual income
And, while a break in income tax is a
relief to anyone, that’s not really where
the tax burden lies. A break of $15? Who
cares? But my payroll taxes - including
Medicare and Social Security payments
are enormous. What’s worse is that these
taxes are ludicrously regressive.
The Social Security tax, for example,
has a cap of $72,600.1make considerably
less than that, so every cent ofmy income
is taxed for Social Security. But someone
in the top 1 percent bracket who makes
over $918,000, only has the first $72,600
of his income taxed
One hundred percent of my income
is taxed for Social Security, while a guy
who makes $920,000 would see 7.9 per
cent of his income taxed. The guy who
makes $5 million sees 1.4 percent of his
income taxed.
This is simply unjust
The whole mess gets unloaded on
those who deserve it least With more of
the tax burden placed on the middle
class, people look for a scapegoat The
poor are die most convenient targets,
and politicians are all too eager to incite
the polemics against them.
Hence fire clamor for welfare reform,
for the "poor to get to work, do their fair
share, we're not going to pay for them to
be lazy! talk.
Never mind that the poor do jobs no
one else wants - they are die janitors erf
the world.
Largely overlooked as well is corpo
rate welfare - government kickbacks to
ailing corporations. Corporate welfare,
according to the Government
Accounting Office, cost the taxpayers
$53.8 billion in 1994, while welfare to the
poor cost only $8 billion.
When Bush says “tax cut,” he really
means “up yours.” Tax cut means the
wealthy become wealthier, while we
struggle and services get whittled away.
Incidentally; while Bush promised in
his speech TXiesday to make us more
energy independent, he proposes to cut
the Energy Department^ funding for the
fuel efficiency and renewable fuels pro
gram by 22 percent
Also embarrassing to the new admin
istration was the fact that, one day before
the Seattle earthquake, with hundreds of
calls for assistance being made to FEMA,
a federal relief agency, Bush called for
substantial cuts in that same program.
He’s even called for a complete halt on
AIDS research.
These are the hidden costs ofatax cut
- programs, services and research on
potentially life saving discoveries, as well
as funding to agencies that help people
directly are all reduced.
This is why I and a majority of
Americans didn't vote for Bush.