Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1973)
-w Coll) monday, january 29, 1973 lincoln, nebraska vol. 96, no. 62 Gathering marks war's end by Dennis Onnen It seemed more like a press conference than a peace rally. Cameras were set up and lights flashed on the podium as newsmen wandered, making preparations for the event to follow. A band played off to one side. The occasion was a gathering in the Capitol Rotunda Saturday morning to celebrate the end of the Vietnam War. Excluding newsmen and the band, only about 60 people weathered the snowy trip to the Capitol. Newsmen were still in various stages of preparation when Gov. J.J. Exon arrived. He shook hands and chatted with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and American Legion members who composed most of the crowd. After newsmen had finsihed their work and readied their cameras, Exon and the other speakers advanced to their seats behind the podium. "We gather here in peace once again to honor our heroes," Exon began. "We pray that never again will it be necessary for Nebraskans to gather for such a ceremony." He praised the men and women who took part in the war for their "unselfish response to the beckoning of our country." The solemn tone of his tribute continues. "We didicate this day of peace, Jan. 27, 1973, to those Nebraskans and other Americans who contributed so very, very much to our interests and the preservation of freedom on our earth," he said. Steve Fowler, a member of the Unicameral and past-ASUN president, spoke about the "conflicting rush of emotions" he had when he learned of the war's end. He said he felt not only relief, but also "despair, disgust and disillusionment." Disillusionment, Fowler said, over "the unresponsiveness of the government" to the pleas of the people for peace. Continuing, Fowler spoke of people he knew who fought in the war, some who fled to Canada to avoid the draft, some who didn't flee and were jailed and some who campaigned for peace candidates. He respected all of them because "they did what they felt was right," Fowler said. He expressed his hope for peace in the future, and his belief that the United States "should not shape the world to its will." The state commanders of the American Legion and VFW, Ed Chizek and LeRoy Wilson, added expressions of gratitude and hope for the future. While families of prisoners of war and men missing in action listened, Robert Ahlschwede, president of the Nebraska committee for Forgotten Americans, lauded "families who have been cruelly deprived and have gone through the agony of not knowing where their son was." Jack McCuistion, state coordinator for the National League of Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, added his praise of these families. After Exon said some final words, a prayer was offered and the gathering was over, almost as soon as it had started. ' l: v,... W r UHC to refer abortions to city hospitals Although a policy has not yet been developed on abortions, the University Health Center (UHC) will not perform them "because we don't have the facilities," according to UHC Director Dr. Sam Fuenning. In the wake of last week's Supreme Court ruling forbidding the state to interfere with aboritions through the third month of pregnancy, hospitals are gearing up for an increase in abortions. UHC will refer its abortion cases to city hospitals, Fuenning told the UHC medical staff during its annual meeting Thursday night at the Nebraska Center. Fuenning reported that University attorneys were looking over the Supreme Court decision before giving firm advice, but that the statement "does say (abortions may be performed) in accredited hospitals only and by a licensed physician." Although all the doctors at UHC are licensed, the 14-bed hospital is not yet accredited, Fuenning told the group. Fuenning said he thought, however, that the hospital may "eventually" be accredited. In the meantime, pregnant students wanting abortions will be referred to UHC's pregnancy counselors. Pending a policy on abortion at UHC, each UHC doctor and his patient will decide on the matter. Should they decide on on an abortion the student might be referred to a consultant and would be operated on in a Lincoln hospital, Dr. Fuenning said. "Any removal of tissues needs sterile facilities, and, in my opinion, this kind of procedure (abortions) should be done by community hospitals. We shouldn't take on anything for which we're not equipped." Students needing surgery which can't be performed at the UHC hospital are usually covered by medical insurance, Fuenning said in an interview. He said he didn't know if abortions would be covered by medical insurance, but that he "would imagine it would." He also added that "we do plan to re-examine the insurance policies." A central issue discussed Thursday by the medical staff was whether an abortion is major or minor surgery. "If it requires general anesthestic, I don't think anyone on the staff feels it is a minor surgical procedure," Fuenning said. In New York, where abortions have been legal for two years, the operation is considered minor and is done in out-patient clinics. But, doctors on the UHC staff doubted that abortions done in out-patient clinics were as safe as those done in hospitals. As for UHC's birth control pill policy, Fuenning told the staff that the Dill's prescription is "entirely up to the doctor." "With the lowering of legal age to 19, if an individual comes in and they are already sexually active, it is up to the doctor to decide all medical procedures. . .it's up to the doctor," Fuenning said, Preliminary task force report gives center clean bill of health by Sara Schwieder The University Health Center (UHC) received a hearty pat on the br-k last week from Dr. Frank Stone, head of a .ask force which has been investigating UHC for four months. Referring to criticism of UHC by the Board of Regents last year and the subsequent furor which prompted Chancellor James Zumberge to appoint the task force Stone said, "It's a crying shame that there has been this time, money and effort expended to investigate one of the finest student health centers in the nation." "Dr. Samuel Fuenning, director of UHC, is known across the nation as 'Mr. Student Health' and wherever he goes, he gets the red carpet," Stone told the medical staff. "He's done a fine job." Stone presented a progress report from the task force at the annual meeting of the 41 -member Health Center medical staff at the Nebraska Center. Although Stone's report was only preliminary it did indicate the direction that the final report will take when completed in March. The preliminary report concerned four major areas: business affairs and funding, facilities, personnel policies and UHC costs. All received good marks from Stone. Stone gave a similar preliminary report to the Board of Regents several months ago in executive session. The preliminary task force report recommends that UHC business affairs be moved to the comptroller's office until a cost-accounting system can be developed. Cost accounting means finding the most efficient way to spend money allocated to UHC. Stone said Fuenning "had tried doing this a long time ago, but that the University said it couldn't do it." Stone said his committee also had reviewed student free funded operations at UHC and had recommended minor changes in the Environmental Health and Safety Unit. The task force also recommended that courses taught by doctors at the Health Center be financed through tuition instead of the UHC budget. Stone said his committee found the UHC hospital facility "justified" and recommended its continuance. Regents Robert Prokop of Papillion and Robert Koefoot of Grand Island said last spring that the hospital facility should be closed because it was badly run, unnecessary and costly. Stone, however, said the task force considered that the 14-bed hospital is efficient. "Due to the excellent preventive medicine program at the University Health Center the hospital has been able to reduce the number of beds from 32 to 14" Stone said. "It costs $47 or $57 per day to be hospitalized downtown (in a Lincoln hospital), while student health costs about $25 per day." Stone also said that the UHC's personnel policies "have been in conformity with all University personnel policies for as long as I can remember." Prokop had indicated last spring that he thought equal opportunity laws were not being followed at the center. In other action, the medical staff approved a proposal calling for the formation of an advisory health board to "give some direction" to UHC. The proposal will go to the Board of Regents for final approval. The advisory health board, if approved, would consist of -interested doctors, students, administrators and citizens. The staff indicated that the proposed advisory board should be "broad-based with wide representation," and "outside of the medical staff so we won't get too ingrown."
