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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 1971)
unl gay action group Gay group asks meeting with Regents An open letter to the Citizens of Nebraska: As members of the University gay community, we deplore the Regents total lack of concern for our dignity as human beings. It was difficult to sit in silence at Saturday's "open meeting" to hear ourselves termed 'deviant" and "aberrant." Although we commend the Regents decision to uphold the University community's rights of free speech and assembly, we strongly disagree with the consensus of the Board that the Time-Out Conference will be unbalanced in its view of human sexuality and academically improper. We believe that anti-gay prejudices have distorted the Board's perspective of the conference as a whole, considering that they left the rest of the program unexamined, concentrating on only three out of sixteen major events. Widespread ignorance and lack of exposure to openly gay people leads to prejudice. Up to now, education about homosexuality has been limited to the confines of medicine and psychiatry, and has always been presented by non-gay people. This kind of second-hand information can only propagate myths, fears, and stereotypes. This year's Time-Out Conference offers an excellent opportunity to expose a side of the issue never before presented in Nebraska-gay people talking about their own sexuality and lifestyle. If the Regents are truly concerned about seeing both sides of an issue, as they have stated, then they owe it to themselves and their constituents to attend the conference and expose themselves to points of view that until now they have ignored. One Regent has termed the Time-Out Conference as "degrading" to the state. In saying this, he hasignored the fact that a large number of voters, taxpayers, and students in this state live a gay life style, although oppression forces most of them to so secretly. The Kinsey Report, the most authoritative study on sexual behavior to date, states that at least 10 per cent of the males studied and 5 per cent of the females prefer same -sex sexual relationships for a substantial portion of their adult lives, and over three times that number engage in such relationships on a less exclusive basis. Regent Moylan's contention that discussion of homosexuality condones criminal behavior is a misrepresentatation of the law. There is no law in the State of Nebraska prohibiting homosexuality per se. The "criminal behavior" Moylan probably speaks of refers to specific sexual acts which are common in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships. It has been estimated that if this law were to be strictly enforced, 90 per cent of all sexually active adults would be in prison for up to twenty years. The fact that only gay people are prosecuted under this law is an example of the legal oppression we face. Another contention of Moylan is that the University administration broke a silent agreement that homosexuality would not be formally discussed on campus following the controversy surrounding the Homophile Studies course last year. This is in direct opposition to former UNL President Soshnik's statement that "The fundamental change in the course is that instead of dealing with homosexuality as a separate course, it wild be studied as part of the broader subject of human sexuality (Lincoln Journal, 21671). Even Moylan's supposition that such an agreement existed is a threat to academic integrity. The Time-Out Conference is sponsored by ASUN and funded by student fee money. The Regents made no attempt to communicate their concern to ASUN or those planning the conference. In fact, they made a special effort to avoid communication with students by holding a special secret meeting last Thursday evening. As objectionable as the secret meeting was, even more objectionable was the "open meeting" on Saturday morning where there was still permitted no exchange with ASUN or those planning the conference. Prokop's resolution to determine how the conference was planned will serve only to intimidate students rather than facilitate communication with the campus. Members of the University of Nebraska Gay Action Group offer to meet with the Regents at their convenience in the near future. We feel that meeting with gay people is the only way that the Regents will come to understand the place of gay people in the University community. hob russell Delbert Duright, Part II When 1 knocked off last week, Delbert Ouright had just found his slot at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. His expectations were not too high, for he had a brother who attended the University for the previous four years. But that wa all right, for Delbert already had much practice in turning the worst to his advantage. Delbert was signed up for five or so classes. Some of these were large herd lecture classes, introductory courses. It took him several weeks to figure out the rationale behind these courses, but then it came to bim: the courses were so designed so as to discourage anyone to go into that particular field. But this worked to everyone's mutual disadvantage. Since everyone had these courses, the students didn't want to go into anything. To turn the worst to bis advantage, Delbert and his roommate worked out a system. They alternated going to the classes they bad in common. Soon they found that if they read Time Magazine once a month and learned the jargon in the book, they could keep up in Poli Sci 10andSocS3. Going to lectures once in a while was a necessity, in order, to figure out the idiosyncracies of the professor. This would help tell the nature of his idiosyncratic multiple guess test. Delbert and his roommate prepared for these tests by thinking of life as one giant multiple test exam that God ; had set up. One couldn't pull an answer about life out of the clear blue sky; it was either A,B, C, or none of the above. A couple of Delbert's classes did require attendance. This demanded special preparation. Delbert tried various pieces of equipment and various methods to appear to be awake while actually sleeping. The final method he came up with required two pieces of equipment, a pair of those mirror shades that are sold in gas stations and several heavy books. One of these books included his textbook, for he felt he ought to use it for something. Delbert wore the sunglasses to conceal his closed eyes and leaned against the books so he wouldn't fall out of his chair while asleep, or bob his head around as so many inexperienced class sleepers did. Once Delbert had his academics on that firm footing, he wanted to get settled. Delbert lived in one of those dorms on the UNL campus that looks like a converted high rise parking garage, big box carved into smaller boxes. Delbert got a charge out of all of the silly things about the dorm. The experience taught him many things about life. The first was that learning or whatever he was doing on the campus was completely separate from his living in the dorm and whatever else he was doing. He could study in the dorm, but nobody ever talked about anything they were "studying. In the dorm Delbert found that he was still incompetent to run his own life. He couldn't drink or have girls in his room. The not having girls in his room really stumped him. He thought about it and decided that if he could have girls in his room there might even be times he wouldn't even touch the girl. The only thing he could figure out was this: whoever decided that girls could not be in men's rooms, or vice versa thought a) all students are sexually depraved, b) sex education should take place in a dingy motel room or the back seat of a 1955 Buick, c) self-restraint was a good quality, or d) none of the above. Delbert could not get over the fact that Nebraska taxpayers had put up millions of dollars to put together this institution of glorified memorization-regurgitation manipulation learning. But Delbert decided to stick it out. His other choices were rather limited. If be quit school, be could have a) joined the Army, b) worked for his father as a stock boy in a warehouse, c) worked at some other mind-numbing job, or d) once again, none of the above. So be stayed. Delbert had many other interesting experiences while in Lincoln. One of the mysteries he discovered was sex. This will be related next Monday in ""Confessions of Delbert Duright, part Three." Editor: Gary Seacrest. Managing Editor: Laura Willers. Maws Editor: Steve Strasser. Advertising Manager: Barry Pilger. Publications Committee Chairman: James Horner. Staff writers: Bill Smitherman, Carol Strasser, Marsha Kahm, Bart Becker, Vicki Pulos, floxann 'Rogers, Steve Kadel, M.J. Cummins. Randv Seam, Lucy .Lien, Ouane Leibhart, Linda (Larson, Steve Arvanette. Sports editor: J im Johnston. Photographers: Bill Ganzel, Cait Folda. Entertainment editor: Larry Kubert. Literary editors: Alan Boye, Lucy Kerchberger. ast campus writer: Terri Bedient. Artist: Al Chan. Copy editors: Tom Lensworth. Jim C lemons, Sera Trask, Jim Gray, Might editor: Leo Schleicher. Ass't. news editor: Carolyn Hull. BUSINESS STAFF Coordinator: Jerri Haussler. Ad staff: Greg Scott. 8eth Malashock, Jane Kidwell, Mick Moriarty, Jeff Aden, Steve Yates, Kay Phillips, O. J. Nelson, Suzi Goebel, Phil Merryweather, Larry Swans on, Laurel Marsh, Kris Collins, Don Neddenreip, Secretary, Kathy Cook, Telephones: editor: 472-2588, fes: 472-2589, advertising: 472-2590. Second class postage rates paid at Lincoln, Nebraska. Subscription rates are $5 per semester or $9 per year. Published Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during the school year except during vacation and exam periods. Member of the Intercollegiate Press, National Educational Advertising Seivice. The Daily Nebraskan is a student publication, editorially 'independent of the University of Nebraska's administration, faculty and student government. Address: The Daily Nebraska. 34 Nebraska Union, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508. MONDAY, OCTOBER, 4, 1971 THE DAILY NE8RASKAN PAGES