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friday, September 26, 1975 volume 99 number 19 lincoln, nebraska
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By Rebecca Brite
Protesting Wednesday night's fatal shoot
ing of a 26-year-old Lincoln man, a group
of about 70 persons gathered at 13th and
0 streets Thursday afternoon, carrying
signs and circulating informal petitions.
At sundown the group, joined late in
the afternoon by State Sen. Ernie
Chambers of Omaha and Lincoln City
Councilman John Robinson, moved to a
vacant lot at 22nd and Vine streets. The
demonstrators dispersed at 7:30 p.m.
The crowd of protesters, predominantly
black, included about 15 UNL students. "
Another demonstration at 13 th and 0 was
planned for Friday morning, a student said,
to "keep people's minds on what's hap
pened." Police said no trouble resulted
from Thursday's protest.
The gathering was prompted by the
death of Arvid Sherdell Lewis, who was
shot with a shotgun at about 10 p.m.
Wednesday by Lancaster County deputy
sheriff Rodney Loos.
Loos and 1 1 other law enforcement of
ficers, including lincoln policemen and
state patrolmen, had been attempting to .
serve a search warrarit at Lewis's home,
2284 Potter St.
Pi ess conference
Participants in Thursday's protest said
people from UNL and the Lincoln black
community began collecting at a vacant
lot in the Clinton neighborhood, near
Lewis's home, after attendinga morning ,
press conference with Lancaster County
Atty. Ron Lahners.
The Lincoln Journal reported Lahners
ended the press conference shortly after
noon because the crowd had become "a bit
rowdy." Lahners could not be reached by
the Daily Nebraskan for comment.
According to the Journal, Lahners said a
U.S. Justice Dept. investigation has been
requested. Loos has been placed on "in
active status."
. Fear and anger
Fear and anger were the emotions ex
pressed by most of the protest partici-'
pants, who carried signs reading, "Police
or killers?" "Why was Sherdal Lewis shot?
(sic)" and "A man's home is his castle-for
Lewis, it was his grave."
. "Who's going to be next?" one petition
carrier asked. '"I'm afraid it might be me,
or one of my seven brothers."
"We all knew Sherdell," said a UNL stu
dent whose sign read, "Neutralize the man
(lawmen)-he killed our brother." "
"Good friend"
"The police killed a good friend of ours.
That's why we're here,", called one sign
carrier to passersby. Many persons stopped
to listen; others asked reporters and photo
graphers what was happening.
About 150 signatures had been collect
ed by 4:30, according to a check of peti
tioners, who were, spread out along O
Street from 13th to 12th streets and on
13 th from O to N.
Chambers, who said he came to Lincoln
because "a friend came and got me" said
he hoped to see Nebraska State Patrol re
ports of the shooting. The reports were to
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, Photo by Td Ktrfc
Demonstrators carried signs in downtown Lincoln Thursday afternoon
to protest the shooting death of Sher Jell Lewis.
be given to Nebraska Atty. Gen. Paul
Douglas Friday moming Chambers said.
State agency x
"I want to know why the State Patrol
was there," he said. "It's a state agency,
and I'm interested in what state agencies
do." Chambers said he would also try to
find out what the search warrant the offi
cers were attempting to serve was for.
x "Lincoln is approaching the situation
Omaha has' now, where police shoot just
anyone. But at least here, the mayor
doesn't issue an immediate statement
implying approval of what happened, and
here it is the county attorney, not a dis
gruntled citizen, who requests a federal
investigation."
Chambers indicated pessimism, how
ever, about how fair the Justice Dept.
probe would be, saying federal investiga
tors "generally manage to effect a
coverup.''
Lewis was the second" black man shot in
Lincoln by law enforcement officers this
year. Elijah Childers Jr., 39, was shot at
his home by Lincoln policeman Feb. 1.
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NU collective bargaining v
Court hears testimony
The pain and emofion of a sudden dieter s?a shown on die face of this
man after an explosion at a Lincoln . grain elevator late' Thursday
afternoon. Six men were injured In the explosion in the Far-Mar-Co
Inc. elevator, 24 th and Fair streets. Two severely burned victims were
flown by helicopter to the St. Elizabeth Community Health Center
burn center.' See story and photos on ptge 7. .
By Randy Blauvelt
The Nebraska Court of Industrial Rela
tions Thursday heard eight UNL professors
and two representatives of the NU systems
' office give testimony concerning collective
bargaining for UNL faculty members.
The testimony centered on a bargaining
unit proposed by the American Association
of University Professors (AAUP) and
whether it was appropriate.
Patrick Healey, lawyer for AAUP, called
the eight professors to testify that UNL is
an autonomous part of the University of
Nebraska system and should have a separ
ate bargaining unit. '
Bpce Wright, lawyer for the NU Board
of Regents, contended that if collective
bargaining is established, "UNL should not
be set apart separately."
Election possible
if the court decides the unit is suitable
when it reconvenes Friday, Judge Benjamin
Wall can call for an election to determine
who will be" the bargaining agent. UNL
faculty members could vote to have AAUP
or another union represent them, or vote
not to be represented at all.
Wallace Petersbn, UNL economics pro
fessor and department chairman, said set
ting up collective bargaining with only one
agent for the whole university system
would be "a disaster." ,
"It would be a rhaotlc condition, it
would disrupt long-esisbiished practices,"
he said. 'The diversity (between the cam
puses) should be preserved."
. Academic freedom and tenure
Peterson defined the practices as aca
demic freedom and the granting of tenure.
He also testified that the differences be
tween the campuses in matters cf hiring,
accreditation and .research capaliilit&s
would be "in jeopardy4' if a single bargain
ing agent was elected for UNL, the Uni
versity of Nebraska at Omaha and the Uni
versity of Nebraska Medical Center
(UNMC).
. Don Haack, UNL engineering mechanics
professor, testified that UNL, because of
its size, would dominate ''the bargaining
process if there was only one agent for the
three campuses.
Continued on p.2
inside
Elevator explosion: Stories and
pictures p.7
UVVMMV1I
from the African country
of Burundi. p.3
Also Find: .
Editorials p.4
Arts and Entertainment p. 10
Sports p.13
Crossword. ... . .......... p.15
Short Stuff p.2
Weather '
Friday: Sunny and warmer, tempera
tures In the mid-70s. Southerly winds
ranging from 10 to 20 mph.
Friday nisht: Partly" cloudy, lows in the
mid40s. i
Saturday: Partly cloudy, with tempera
tures ranging from 70 to 75.
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