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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1970)
aslKoirt ODUIU THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1970 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA VOL. 93, NO. 49 fHS)The PIP Soldiers in war Veterans for Peace by GARY SEACREST Nebraska Staff Writer A former Army sergeant who went Absent Without Official Leave (AWOL) last October is now organizing a Veterans for Peace organization at the University. Mike Wilson, 20, enrolled in the University after receiving an honorable discharge on Dec. 18, 1969. He had served only 23 months of a 36 month enlist ment. WILSON is organizing the Veterans for Peace because he feels "that there are too many people who do not know what is going on in the military and in the Vietnam War and I and others want to let them know the truth." "The main goal of the organization will be to let peo ple know we fought in the Vietnam War and we don't support it, added Wilson. The veteran enlisted in the Army in early 1968. After completing a one year tour of duty in Vietnam and returning to an Army desk job in Nebraska, he decided to go AWOL. In Vietnam he had received an Army commenda tion medal for his services. THE FORMER sergeant said that at first he felt it was his obligation to serve In the Army but "after several months of active duty my eyes were opened to the immorality and the unfair practices of the military." "In the Army I could see around me a complete negation of what I had been taught. Pollution solution may by MARY PAT FOWLER Ntfcratkaa Staff Writer Solving Nebraska's Important pollution problems could Involve stepping on the toes of important people, according to two state officials. In an informal seminar on environmental pollu tion nt the Centennial Education Program, Robert Kuzelka, director of the newly created State Office of Planning and Programming, discussed the serious pollution problems that face Nebraska. "The primary sources of pollution in Nebraska are pesticides, feedlot runoff, and the dumping of packing house wastes into rivers and streams," he said. "As you can see," Kuzelka said, "the farmers , arc not the nasty culprits that they are often ( t There is no freedom of choice. If a man becomes dissatisfied with his, job and asks to be transferred, he is threatened with being sent to an infantry unit." In San Francisco he met with a psychiatrist who determined that he was not without motive for going AWOL and the Army should consider that he was unsuited for military service. WILSON TURNED himself in to Army officials the day before he would have been of ficially declared a deserter. After being questioned of his beliefs and motives he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas for further questioning. There he showed Army officials the let ter from the psychiatrist and a Daily Nebraskan article con cerning his going AWOL. Describing his final ques tioning at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Wilson said, "I really got hassled a lot over such things as my hair and the con dition of my uniform. It was their last chance to get at me and they tried everything to embarrass me. My punishment for going AWOL was being lusted from sergeant to cor poral." About 20 veterans are now ft--"--W v Interested in . joining the Veterans for Peace which is open to all veterans on campus. The organization is sponsoring the Lincoln appearance, on Feb. 18, of Army Gen. Hugh B. Hester, who is opposed to the Vietnam War. THE VETERANS for Peace will be working closely with the Moratorium Committee ac cording to Wilson. He also hopes to set up a program which would permit members of the organization to speak in high schools. The Veterans for Peace are having an organiza tion meeting next Wednesday evening. What's Roy Iiinis Don't smoke Editorials Opera made out to be. Pollution Is everyone's fault, and therefore, everyone's problem." Kuzelka went on to say that to overcome the dangers to the Nebraska environment, Nebraskans will have to resolve urban and rural polarization which is the source of suspicion and mistrust. Another official of the state agency. Natural Resources Coordinator, Jim Barr, added that pollu tion is forcing a choice between modern living with all its conveniences and clean, healthful streams and air. The State Office of Planning and Programming was created during the last session of the legislature. In the opinion of the two officials as expressed at the seminar, the office has "the obligation to inform Nebraskans of the problems of pollution and of the things that are being done to fight pollution." Search committee answers charges by BILL SMITIIERMEN Nebraskan Staff Writer The chancellor search com mittee, in a letter released to the Daily Nebraskan, has replied to several charges con cerning the recent selection of Durward B. Varner as chancellor. According to committee member Victor Blackwell, the letter was necessary to answer charges made by State Senator Terry Carpenter of Scottsbluff and "set the record straight on how the selection was made." Student committee member John Moseman said the letter was written by several members of the committee and approved by all the others. It concerns the alleged in volvement of former Chan cellor Clifford Hardin in the selection, the representation of students a n d the process by which the names were presented to the Regents. There was speculation that former Chancellor Hardin was active in Varner's selection because of his own Michigan background, Moseman said. It was also noted that selection committee member Everett E. Peterson was a co-worker with Hardin in Michigan. The letter claims that Hardin had no influence on Varner's selection. His name was placed on the list of potential can didates by a University student July 8, it adds. "On September 5 Varner's name was placed on the list of top candidates after comments Inside page 2 Page 3 page page 6 blacken Kuzelka and Barr mentioned the fact that the practice of matching state and federal flinds for anti-pollution projects often causes long delays. The stipulations attached to the funds are often unsatisfactory to one party or the other, and ad justments often must be made or projects scrapped entirely. Another problem to which the state office directly addresses itself is the disorganization which accompanies the duplication of services. "It is the office's specific job to coordinate the efforts into a cohesive unit." The state officials also suggested that students study the state statutes for loop-holes in enforcement and the composition of pollution-control committees. Barr and Kuzelka distributed lists of people and offices to contact in local, state, regional, and federal levels from one member of the com mittee from the Lincoln cam pus and one from the UNO campus; neither of these men has been particularly close to Hardin. Subsequently, all, or almost all, committee members collected information about and recommendations of Varner." Three students on the com mittee took an active part in the selection process, the letter emphasizes. It explains that some men on the original committee list who were opposed by student members were dropped from consideration. By the same , token, suggestions of student ' members were given the same consideration as those from other sources. The committee worked in secrecy for several reasons according to the letter. "The process of selecting a chan cellor should not be open to undue political pressure, and it cannot be vulnerable to emo tion rather than reason." "The Committee takes pride in the fact that no names leak ed out during the months of our investigation, and that no potential chancellors were subjected to the embarrass ment of public debate con sisting of hear-say and emo tion." It continues, "Much of the material discussed by a selec tion committee has to do with private assessments of a can didate's personal integrity and cannot be given to public circulation without hurting those whom the committee discusses or hurting the in stitution's potential for recruiting a first-class person." Cecil L. Wittson, president of NU Medical Center at Omaha was pleased with the degree of silence maintained by the committee. He attributed a news story carried by an Omaha radio station four days before the announcement of Varner's acceptance to sources in Detroit, Michigan, where Continued oo Page C toes
