Wednesday, October 8 1975
daily nebraskan
page 11
Amended dVorce aws
oo of women 's group
I
fj
j
Photo by Lis Beard
Janet Foley, Nebraska legislative chairperson for the National
Organization for Women
To creafe dissension'
Durham: conspiracy real
Continued from p. 1 -
agents on the reservation was a part of
AIM'S greater conspiracy.
He said that conspiracy was to create
such a strain on EIA and state police that
federal intervention would be the only al
ternative. He said AIM leaders detest local
police far more than FBI agents.
He said federal intervention was the .
means and partial end to a greater conspir
acy carried on at the highest levels of
Washington.
Durham said a conspiracy exists inter
nationally to usurp individual freedoms by
taking away control from loc il police.
"The Rockefeller Foundation, the
Council on Foreign Relations, including
Henry Kissinger and other State Dept.
officials are all in this together," he said.
"It's like a pincers movement, with
the international socialists at the top and
the terrorist groups like AIM at the
bottom. Guns and ammunition worth
$6,200, bought with a federal government
social understanding grant were smuggled
in from Canada and stored in Dennis
Banks' apartment. I saw them."
"Several hundred thousand dollars of
government funds are being used for Indian
survival schools," Durham said. "Some of
these schools teach Indian children the dig
nity of their heritage, others teach them to
Search panel
begins work
The committee to find nominees for the
UNL chancellor's post is preparing to in
vcstlgate applicants. ,
According to search committee chair
man Richard Gilbert, .the 17-person com
mittee is split Into three subcommittees,
each to investigate applicants.
The cutscrjrittee's tasks t "build
up a dossier on each applicant and to,
decide if the candidate can fulfill the
minimum requlrenents, Gilbert said.
The subcommittees do not have the
power to reject a candidate, but simply will
present their findings.
Gilbert said' the committee will place
candidates in three categories: those with
strong possibilities, those who have weak
possibilities and those somewhere in be
tween. To compile information, committee
members will use telephone interviews and
printed materials.
Middle category -
Most candidates probably. will fall into :
the middle category at first, Gilbert said.
Lucille Griess, subcommittee chairman,
said the hopes to interview people who
have known or worked with the candid
ates, and said she expects the subcom
mittees to talk with the candidates' co
workers or supervisors.
"After the interviews, we will have some
groundwork and hope, to move some
mountains," Griess said.
To find possible candidates, Gilbert
said, the committee has contacted uni
versity presidents and heads of faculty.
They advertised in the Oironicle of
Higher Education, tin major publication
for higher education.
Oct. 20 is the .application, deadline.
hate police and white people. Part of the
international conspiracy is to create dis
sension among the races so the big shots
can force more of their bureaucracy on all
of us."
Other terrorist groups are cooperating
with AIM according to Durham. He said
the Weatherman, Fighting .American
Indians, the Palestinian Liberation Organi
zation, the Irish Republican Army and the
government of Cuba have offered support
to AIM in its intentions.
"The Fighting American Indians have
placed 13 sophisticated copper and sul
. furic acid bombs in bulk petroleum storage
plants to be detonated at their leisure," he
said.
He said the Lincoln, police force is
known throughout the country for its
efficiency and progressiveness.
Membership in the John Birch Society is
the best method for Americans to ensure a
safe and sane Bicentennial celebration, ac
cording to Durham. He said the organiza
tion may be the only safeguard between
America and anarchy.
After his speech Tuesday Durham urged
those attending to pledge donations to the
John Birch Society or the Support Your
Local Police Committee. Door prizes were
awarded.
By Liz Crumley ,
Nebraska's current no-fault divorce laws
are "a rip-off' for some women, according
to Ellen Sim Dewey, legislative chairperson
for Omaha's chapter of National Organiza
tion for Women (NOW).
Consequently, Dewey said, she plans to
introduce three bills to the Nebraska Legis
lature to amend the present laws.
Nebraska's no-fault divorce laws were
passed July 6, 1972, according to Janet
Poley, legislative chairperson for Lincoln's
NOW chapter.
However, because of reasons unknown
to Poley, two sections dealing with
property settlement guidelines and child
support were left out of the Nebraska law.
This apparent oversight, she said, leaves
the older non-working woman at a definite
disadvantage in divorce proceedings. Now,
in divorce proceedings, property settle
ments are left to the judge's or occasionally
the attorney's discretion, Poley said.
Representation problem
"I know some women that have had
problems in getting adequately represent
ed," she said. "Some lawyers just don't
want' to get that deeply involved in divorce
cases.".
The contract, Dewey said, is the laws
under which a couple is married.
Under old divorce laws, divorce pro
ceedings could be brought only under a
fault petition, she said. Under the present
unilateral divorce law, a divorce is auto
matic, for whatever reasons.
The law states that the court decides
whether a marriage is irretrievably broken
and then decides accordingly about the
divorce petition.
However, she said, if one person says
the marriage is irretrievably broken, the
judge must issue a divorce decree.
According to Dewey, since Nebraska's
no-fault law went into effect in 1972,
no petitions for divorce have been denied.
The three-bill package Dewey wants to
introduce involves community property,
private marriage contracts, divorce and
child custody legislation.
Under the divorce bill, if both parties
request a divorce, proceedings would be
the same as under present no-fault laws.
Legal separation
If the divorce is contested by one party
and the court finds that conditions for
divorce as set forth in an individual
marriage contract, if it exists, are not met,
or if the party wanting the divorce generat-
BULLETIN BOARD: Positions available
r
i
CHANCELLOR
. iraTOtnr of esjsmicoLN
Nominations and application for tit position of Chancellor of I hi
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN L) ere Invited. UN L, founded
In 1167, it the oldest component Institution of the University of
NebraiU ayWem. It k the state's Und-Orunt University end it
oomprehemlve undergraduate and graduate imtltution with an en
rollment of more than 22.000 students and a faculty of 1.100.
Candidates should have achieved academic excellence, nave had
iwimiiv teiit-w espcrfcr-M Ki tSr in " ! wlmlni.
stretion, should be able to represent the University in the national
educational so mm unity, and should have the ability to interpret
and to communicate to the staM community the contributions and
needs of the faculty, students, and staff of the institution. Salary
oamttunturata with experience and abilities,
Send resume1 by October 20 to:
Richard E. Gilbert, Quitman
Chancellor Search Committee
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Nebnuka
Lincoln, Nebraska M5SI
An tquftt opportunityalBrmaUvf ftcticn mployr
PRESIDENT
PR
ANTIOC
Trt Prosldantlal Saarei
accepting nominations ai
of Antloch Coitega. Antta
of higher education com
Yallow Spring, Ohio and
Ruses and units through
ampthlret, Maasachusatt
Ington, D.C., Texas, and
, instructional programs In
aducatlon, labor atudlaa,
natad or applying should
national eollaaa or eomt
tional oxparlanca, contac
and e!at groups, da mom
and fund raising, and a
Innovation, and axeallanct
or sppHcetlona with eurrai
tnan October 31, iy3 to;
Arttioch Co
Search t
I860 Broa
NawYork.1
An Equal Opportunity
RE:
Western New Encland Collect ; Oil Grmn
Advertisement for UNL chancellor In The Chronicle of Higher
Education, Sept. 22, 197S. ' - A ; .
r.iihffrt tniri the committee hones to
submit five to 10 names to NU President
D B. Vamer, who will interview the
finalists. The NU Board of Regents then
will approve or reject Varner's choice,
Gilbert said. ; ...
The search committee consists of 15
voting members and two nonvoting mem
bers, who represent the University of Ne
braska Medical Center and the University
of Nebraska it Omaha.
Members of the three subcommittees
are:
Subcommittee One: Chairwoman
Lucille Griess, Carolyn price, C. Cale
Hudson, Beth Klostcrmah and William
Smith.
Subcommittee Two: Chairwoman, Mrs.
Harold Anderson, Clinton Hoover, Sam
Jensen, Lowell Moser and Susie Reltz.
Subcommittee Three: Chairman William ,
Colwcll, James Macomber, William
Pcderscn. John Robinson and Robert
Rosenlof, ) "
conflict in the marriage, the judge "shall
enter a decree for a legal separation,"
' not a divorce if the marriage, took place
prior tc July 6, 1972. This also would
apply to marriages at least 10 years old
by the effective date of the act (if passed),
or if there were children. If the divorce is
contested by one party, and certain condi
tions are not met, the court will make
inquiry into whether the marriage is
irretrievably broken (same proceedings in
present no-fault cases). However, the court
will consider conditions for a divorce as
stated in a private marriage contract if one
. exists.
Poley said she thinks there should be
some recourse other than the legal separa
tion Dewey advocates, if one party desires
a divorce under conditions stated above.
Needs study
"Before Lincoln's NOW chapter goes on
record supporting it, all the ramifications
need to be studied," she said.
In Dewey's second bill, all marital
assets would be classified as community
property except those acquired by and
filed as gift and inheritance. In case of a
divorce, the court would equally divide
community property. Though division of
real estate guidelines say the woman should
receive between one-third and one-half,
Dewey said, recent surveys indicate the
average woman receives only one-sixth of
the real estate.
The present guidelines also do not
provide lor other assets of the marriage,
Dewey said. These include health and hfe
insurance and retirement benefits, she said,
adding that the wife, whether she is a
housewife or not, contributes to their
payment. Provisions also are not provided
for the social power and status a divorced
woman lose.
Community property
However, Poley said her objection to
this bill is that is allows no provision for
any other classification other than that of
community property. A person either
files it as his or her own property or else
it becomes community property.
The marriage contract bill does provide
the opportunity for classification other
than community property, but Poley said
she didn't think it would pass.
"No state, to my knowledge, has passed
legislation authorizing private marriage
contracts and I doubt seriously whether
Nebraska will.be the first," Poley said;
The bill concerning private marriage
contract basically states two ideas:
marriage is a civil contract (defined by
current laws) and the contract cannot be
abridged by the State of Nebraska.
Same laws apply
This means that if a person is married
under certain laws of marriage and divorce,
those same laws W''' ,Ywev said. eVen if
the state changes them.jww
The body of the bill provides for the
formation, before or during the marriage,
and enforcement of an "interspousal .
contract."
This contract can provide for outside
and inside the home obligations, both
economic and physical, calculation of the
child custodial outi??, establishment of
community property and establishment of
conditions under which divorce could be
obtained.
NOW opposes the legislating of personal
life, she said.
"Suppose a woman signed a marriage
contract at the age of 20 saying whe would
stay In the home doing house work and
then four years later wanted a career. Her
husband could keep her thee," she said.
Child custody
The bill concerning child custody states
that the judge shall not deny custody of
the child to either parent on the basis of
offenses or alleged unfitness unless thoso
actions would interfere with the parent
child relationship. ' 1
This could mean that the judge could
not deny custody to a parent based on
charges of adultery, Dewey said.
Dewey's proposals have met sonic 5
disagreement, though. Sen. Roland
Luedtkc, a Lincoln , said he had been
approached by Dewey many times and he
strongly disagreed with almost all of her
bills, even though he Had not studied the
legal questions they raise.
"Wo make laws for people to live
together under happily-not under the ,
assumption that they are going to break
" up," ho said.
