Women left high, dry
from theiryear Greer
I
By Ann Owens
Women are left high and dry as a' result
of International Women's Year, according
to Germaine Greer, feminist author of the
Female Eunuch.
Greer spoke to a crowd of about 500
Tuesday night in the Nebraska Union Cen
tennial Room on the United Nations spon
sored International Women's Year.
According to Greer, International
Women's Year had problems from the be
ginning. She said that ideas were ratified
slowly, the United Nation 1975 budget ne
glected to include International Women's
Year and that even though they didn't plan
it, women would be blamed for any fail
ures that might take place.
Mexico conference
Greer said that a 10-day conference in
Mexico City beginning on Women's Day
March 8 proved to be disastrous. "Each
speaker had the same aim," Greer said.
"They claimed that women in their coun
try had all the opportunities in the world
and all that was needed for universal jus
tice was the elimination of poverty."
The conference's purpose was to allow
women from all over the world to speak
with one another in first person and to
share and discuss cultural differences,
Greer said.
"But the entire 10 days were spent dis
cussing new world economic order," Greer
said. "We were discussing the possibilities
of forcing the 'have' nations to share their
Gross National Products with the 'have
nots' when we could have been promoting
universal understanding between women."
The International Women's Day confer
ence was an opportunity for women of
more than one culture to get together and
swap notes, Greer said.
Delegates chosen
However, she said, delegates to the con
ference were chosen in due regard to color,
age, style and politics.
'The only point we didn't disagree on
was the fact that we were women," Greer
said. "But if we would have been there
much longer I'm sure we would have been
debating mat as well."
Greer added that the delegates from
East Africa sat with their hands folded and
meekly discussed the dilemma of marriage
versus career.
"The problem is that most of the
women in the world haven't got a kitchen
to get out of," Greer said. "They have to
learn from us that the kitchen can become
a prison."
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Wednesday, november 5, 1975 volume 99, number 41 lincoln, nebraska Old Federal Scflf.
Photo by Kvin Higtoy
Germaine Greer
Consumer advocate to visit City Council OKs lease
The state's Sunshine Initiative offi
cially started Monday, and will attract
national Common Cause founder John
Gardner to Lincoln to speak on its behalf
Thursday.
Gov. JU James Exon started the drive
when he signed petition 00001 of the Neb
raska Political Reform Act of 1976.
If at least 31,590 signatures are ob
tained, the reform act will be put on the
1976 Nebraska ballot.
The act, supported by the Coalition for
Open Government, would require lobby
ists to more fully disclose their legislative
interests and candidates to disclose cam
paign financing contributions and expendi
tures.
It also limits contributions to campaigns
for specific public offices and would make
certain public officials and candidates re
port income and debts greater than $ 1 ,000,
and would establish a Fair "Political
Practices Commission.
Gardner will speak at a press conference
at 11 ajn. at the Hilton Hotel, with a
public luncheon at noon. He will speak at
the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha
Thursday evening.
Reservations for the luncheon may be
made through 11 ajn. today, by calling
the Rev. Larry Doerr at 432-6561.
inside
Third Dimension: Early obituary for
the ASK card p.5
Writing plays: The "natural artistic
form" for women p.2
Also Find:
Editorials p.4
Arts and Entertainment p.9
Sports p. 10
Short Stuff , ... p.2
Crossword . . . . p.12
Weather
Wednesday: Sunny and warm. High
temperatures in the low. to mid-70s. West
to southwest winds ranging from 10-15
m.pji.
Wednesday night: Fair and cooler. Lows
in the mid-40s.
Thursday: Mostly sunny and a little
warmer. Temperatures in the mid- to upper
70s.
By Betsie Ammons
Rent will be $1 a year for some Lincoln
city offices, as a result of the City Council's
unanimous decision Monday to lease the
old Fderal Bldgr t 10th and P Btre&ti.
The city will occupy the first two floors
in cooperation with the Civic Center Cor
poration, a nonprofit organization created
to purchase the building. The Mutual Devel
opment Company, Inc., the building's
current owner, has set the cost at $695,000.
Building plans include development of a
Fine Arts Center, according to Jack
Thompson, chairman of the Civic Center
Corporation, who appeared at the Council's
hearing.
The center would include a 2,400-seat
theater and other performing arts facili
ties for use by Lincoln and UNL, Thomp
son said. He said Lincoln architect Larry
Enersen has drawn up tentative sketches
of the center.
UNL would make substantial use of the
building, including use of the stage for re
hearsals and performances, and housing for
Theater Arts Dept. offices, according to
Thompson.
The Woods Charitable Fund, Inc. of
Chicago has offered $595,000 toward the
purchase of the building. The University
of Nebraska Foundation will provide the
remaining money with a contribution from
the Cooper Foundation, designated for use
in the purchase of real estate.
Thompson ;jwif"ff tho Center was not'
under construction at the end of the three
year lease period, the city would have the
option of buying the building at the ori
ginal cost. If the city declines, the Civic
Center Corporation has the right to sell
the property to the highest bidder.
Councilman Bob Sikyta questioned
whether the city would have to pay for
conversion from steam heating to another
heating method in the building, stating
that the Lincoln Electric System plans to
discontinue steam heat service in 1977.
Thompson said the city would have to
pay for the change, but it would "be in
lieu of higher rent." City Property Manager
Dennis Fettinger said conversion would
cost $37,000.
Fettinger also said maintenance costs
for the building would be $67,65 1 a year,
including utilities and janitorial salaries.
Thompson said the next step after the
city's approval will be "more extensive
planning" by Lincoln and UNL. He said
NU President D.B. Varner is "very in
terested" in the project and is a member
of the Civic Center Corporation.
Legislature considers limiting budget cuts
By Theresa Forsman and Dick Piersol
After the Legislature voted Monday to .
reject the Appropriations Committee rec
ommendation to scrap Gov. J. James Exon's
3 per cent budget cut for state agencies
(LB6), Tuesday amendments designed to
exempt certain agencies, including NU,
from the budget cut were introduced.
Exon called the Legislature into special
session last month to deal with a cash flow
problem expected in January. This means
the state would not have enough money in
its treasury to pay state bills as they ccme
due.
Bellwood Sen. Loran Schmit introduced
an amendment that would exempt 18
agencies from the cut, including the De
partments of Agriculture, Revenue, Ad
ministrative Services and Economic De
velopment; Offices of the Lieutenant
Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor and
Treasurer; the State Claims Board and
Board of Agriculture; the State Library and
ETV Commissions; Workmen's Compensa
tion Court, State Patrol, University of Ne
braska central administration and the three
university campuses.
Schmit said these agencies should be ex
cluded from the proposed cut because,
according to their testimony before the
appropriations committee last week, they
indicated th$y could not live with the cut
or that the cut would impair services.
The senators then voted to include
other agencies in Schmit's amendment.
Freeing these agencies from the bud
get cuts would reduce the amount Exon
expected the save from across-the-board
cuts from $10.6 million to $6.8 million.
However, an additional $5.7 million will
be added to the general fund under Utica
Sen. Douglas Bereuter's amendment to
LB6, which the Unicameral adopted
Monday.
The Bereuter amendment would take
$5.7 million in idle funds from the capitol
construction budget.
Legislators are expected to introduce
amendments today exempting several more
agencies from budget cuts.
The Appropriations committee Monday
approved amendments sponsored by Sen.
Robert Clark to Exon's LB 3. It now stip
ulates that the total $105 million dis
persed during the rest of fiscal year 1975
76 be divided into 7 equal payments wrth
exceptions for Omaha and Douglas
County, since these two political subdivi
sions were said to have cash-flow problems
of their own under the revised bill.
Exon's version of the bill left payouts to
political subdivisions on the bottom of a
priority list. The $47 million due to politi
cal subdivisions in January would have cre
ated an $11 million shortage in the state's
general fund.
Tuesday, the Legislature voted to
amend LB4, which was advanced to the
floor in its original form.
As amended, LB4 provides that a 3 per
cent overlevy cushion, instead of Exon's
proposed 5 per cent, must be included in
the state's expenses and the Board of
Equalization must include expsess obliga
tions when determining tax rates. Express
obligations are state financial commit
ments that continue beyond a given fiscal
year.
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Photo by Tad Kirk
State Sen. Richard Marvel
