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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1975)
w3 doily ifi)bffsfe Wednesday, april 16, 1975 lincoln, nebraska vol. 98 no. 112 Wait ends for parents of Vietnamese orphan By Martha Bohling and Paula Damke After a year of waiting and extensive checking into their home environment, financial situation and personal characters, as well as an FBI investigation complete with fingerprinting, a Hastings couple has finally received their baby girl a seven-month-old South Vietnamese orphan. Mr. and Mrs. Roger Doerr went to Denver Thursday to pick up their daughter, Allison Warren, who had arrived in Denver Wednesday night. The Doerrs first wrote to Friends of All Children, a Boulder, Colo., adoption agency, in April 1974 and started the long procedure for adopting a Vietnamese child. On January 23, 1975, they accepted a three-month-old girl, and the process began to bring the child to the United States. Family check In arranging to bring the children to the United States, the adoption agencies are careful about contacting any of the child's family. According to Mrs. Doerr, there was no problem with Allison since both her parents were known to be dead and there was no other family. Mrs. Doerr emphasized the extensive amount of checking that was done before they were approved as prospective parents, and said the agencies have assured them that they will continue to follow this procedure in placing all incoming orphans. Mrs. Doerr expressed concern "that those people who didn't have any interest in adoption before the vast publicity about the Vietnamese orphans might be reacting out of compassion without considering what is involved in bringing up a child. Guilt feelings She also said that people may be acting out of "guilt feelings" over what happened in Vietnam. "It's on the United States' conscience," she said, adding, "We made a mistake and people see this as one small way to rectify that mistake." "Roger and I were not acting as much out of a sense of guilt as a feeling of concern," she said. She said that when they made their application it was done out of concern for the half-million homeless children in Vietnam, adding that they'd been interested for a long time in foreign adoption and felt that Vietnam was the country with the greatest need. Good will Their family is receiving an outpouring of good will, according to Mrs. Doerr, who said that everyone in the community is getting involved because they see it as one positive thing they can do regarding Vietnam. Allison is totally adaptable and outoging, Mrs. Doerr said, and thus nothing has frightened her. She is just getting over the chicken pox, which she caught when there was an outbreak on the plane which flew the orphans to the United States. Allison flew in on the plane which was met by President Ford. The Doerrs had originally feared that she might have been on the plane that crashed and burned. They were extremely worried, she said, because it was a Friends for All Children plane, and also because of the large number of embassy officials reported to be on the plane, since a friend of theirs, who is an embassy official, had promised to try to bring the child himself. Prejudice They heard about the plane crash at 7:30 Friday morning, and by 8:30 the parents of their friend had gotten a call through to South Vietnam and confirmed that neither he nor the child was on the plane. Mrs. Doerr said the only problems they anticipate , in raising the child are die uuI problems in dealing with prejudice. "Her skin is a little darker, Mrs. uocrr saia, ana her features are a little oriental, although it's amazing how Western she looks." "The only problem we anticipate would be the other children's reaction to her being different." According to Mrs. Doerr, they are planning to teach the child about the culture and history of the country she came from. Vietnam visit "We would like to take her to visit South Vietnam someday, if there still is a South Vietnam and if it is a country we can visit," she said. "We want her to be secure enough that she'll know she's from another country, but she'll also know that she belongs to us and that she's an American." While the Doerrs are now enjoying their child after a year's wait, several Nebraskans are interested in beginning the process to adopt a child. According to the Friends of Children in Vietnam placement office in Denver, a total of about 250 orphans have been brought into the United States for adoption. A spokesman for this agency's placement office said none of the infants were placed in Nebraska. Long waits The spokesman said the families receiving the children have been waiting for over a year and most have already gone through local agencies and interviews. The spokesman said the families were referred to the placement office by local agencies. The Holt Adoption Agency of Eugene, Ore., said 285 orphans had arrived Sunday for processing. She said three Nebraska families had adopted orphans, but none wanted any publicity concerning the adoptions. The spokesman said they were no longer taking applications for the adoption of the orphans. They said those families that were adopting the orphans had made application prior to the Vietnam orphan airlift. DeCamp questioned Friends of All Children adoption agency in Boulder, Colo., has a number of Nebraska families adopting orphans. The Boulder agency estimated it has processed about 1 50 orphans. All three agencies questioned how Sen. John DeCamp adopted two children so easily. Fritz said she is looking at applicants who were willing to adopt any race or creed of. children, including the Vietnam orphans, but not just the Vietnam orphans. She said in some cases the families are being interviewed after they receive the children-a kind of post-audit. Post-audit According to spokesman at the Holt Agency the post-audit is for individuals interested L'l adopting who had not been interviewed for specific adoption of a Vietnam orphan. The Vietnam orphan adoption is not a hurry up, fast process. According to dl three agencies, most of those waiting for adoption of the orphans applied over a year ago and were willing to adopt any age level and any race. UNL student wins journalism award Ivy Harper, a UNL senior majoring in journalism and political science, won the Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi (SPJ, SDX) Mark of Excellence award for best writing not under deadline in Region 7 competition of SPJ,SDX, Awards were made Saturday at a six-state convention in Kansas City, Mo. Harper, a copy editor and former reporter for the Daily Nebraskan, won the award for a feature story about the re-election campaign of South Dakota Sen. George McGovern. The McGovern story was written for a journalism class and was published in the Daily Nebraskan in October 1974. The story won a William Randolph Hearst national newswriting award in December 1974. The convention was attended by about 175 journalists from Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota and Southern Illinois. The UNL chapter of SPJ.SDX was represented by 14 students. Speakers at the convention included William Small, senior vice-president and director of news for CBS, Jules Loh, special correspondent for the Associated Press and James Meagher, assistant managing editor of The National Observer. Bars in city limited to 1 35 Liquorlicense policy retained UNL students and Lincoln citizens won't have more bars to patronize, as the City Council voted five to two Monday to retain the present policy of limiting the number of liquor licenses issued in the city to 135. The council also voted against changing the system last week. Another public hearing was held when council members Sue Bailey and John Robinson called for re-examination of the policy. The resale of liquor licenses in Lincoln is illegal, although usually when an owner sells his establishment, he attaches a token license fee to the price of the bar. Bailey and Robinson contend that raising the number of licenses in Lincoln, either by tying it to population or increasing it by one a year, would control that situation. However, most of those who appeared at the public hearing were in favor of keeping the present system. If the limitation were to be lifted now, the city would be deluged with applications for licenses, according to Mike Aiysio, attorney for tiie Lancaster County Beverage Association, who came before' the council to voice his group's support of the current policy. He said that by restricting the number of licenses issued, the council "is showing an interest in the health, safety, and welfare of lincolnites." Stan Talcott, a lawyer and part owner of the Zoobar, Inc., said he felt that some of what he called the city's law enforcement problems are tied to the number of liquor dispensing outlets in Lincoln. He encouraged the use of two different types of licenses, one for restaurants without lounges that wanted to serve drinks with dinner, and the regular Class C tavern licenses. Others commended the council on their decision of last week and encouraged them to keep Lincoln a "clean city." One woman advocated the lowering of the number issued each year, eventually eliminating all liquor in Lincoln. Lawyer Rollin Bailey was the only person opposed to the present ceiiing. He couldn't be present at the hearing and sent a colleague to recommend that th? y delay action for three to four weeks. Changes reflected in fall admissions Early admissions for the fall semester seem to be reflecting some changes in the makeup of UNL's student body, according to Gerald Bowker, director of academic services. Figures released by Bowker's office last Friday show a slight drop in the number of admissions when compared to this time last year, falling from 3836 in Apitf of 1974 to 3751 this spring. Bowker explained that this drop in the number of full-time students reflects a nation-wide trend and is, at least, partially the result of national and international relations during the last several years. Bowker indicated that perhaps the most significant change in UNL enrollment was caused by the end of the draft and American military action in Vietnam. Because young men now have "other alternatives," the number of full-time male students has decreased, Bowker said. The fairly constant number of full-time female students has resulted in a larger percentage of women on campus. More part-time students The number of part-time students is also on the rise, according to Bowker. , When asked if this drop in admissions will have an effect on the university's budget, Bowker explained that; "budgeting is now based on credit hour production rather than the actual number of students enrolled." This means that the budget will be based on the number of hours students have registered for, rather than how many students are enrolled. Noting the trend of the last several years, Bowker said he expects a similar drop in next year's admissions. He added that factors such as later applications by students, increased enrollment in technical schools and applications from students applying simultaneously to several universities have contributed in lesser ways to the changing enrollment pattern. Profile constant But Bowker pointed that while the numbers might be changing, the profile of a typical UNL freshman has remained fairly constant. He noted that half of the average UNL freshmen class was graduated in the upper quarter of their high school class, while 80 per cent of the average class was graduated in the upper one-half of their class. This compares favorably with other schools, Bowker said, and added that such figures tend to deny reports of lower-than-average students at UNL. r. i, M '