dailu nebraskan
Wednesday, September 20, 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 14
Bottle bill supporters base hopes on Oregon success
By L. Kent Wolgamott
Using the experience of Oregon as an
example, both supporters and opponents
of Nebraska's bottle bill say they expect
victory in November.
Pat Jerrison of Nebraskans for Return
able Containers, a coalition of 20 groups
favoring Proposition 301, said the Oregon
bottle bill "proved a tremendous success.
Here in Nebraska, we know it will work."
However, Ted McConnell of Nebraskans
for Freedom of Choice said the Oregon
program has not been very successful in re
ducing litter, especially when compared
with a program used in the state of
Washington.
McConnell said the Oregon Program
reduced litter by 10.6 percent while the
Washington's comprehensive litter program
reduced litter 66 percent.
Proposition 301 was placed on the
ballot through an initiative drive by Nebra
skans for Returnable Containers which
gathered about 40,000 signatures in favor
of the proposal to place a 5 cent deposit on
all cans and bottles.
Both said they were operating camp
aigns on a local level.
"We're not going to run a buy it (the
election) through the media' campaign,"
McConnell said. "We are going to run a
people-to-people precinct campaign."
We're not the corporate big wheels we
are painted to be," he said.
"We're a grass-roots organization doing
the best we can," Jerrison said.
Her group does not represent a single
special interest but is something the major
ity of the people want, Jerrison said.
Recent polls have shown the bill to be
favored by about 65 percent of these inter-
vidwed, Jerrison said, a figure similar to
that given by McConnell.
"I really believe those people (the bottle
bill opponents) are worried," Jerrison said.
McConnell said the polls were taken be
fore the anti-bottle bill effort had begun in
earnest and the figures supporting the bill
are high.
He said his group plans to attack the
bottle bill because it will not eliminate
litter, will increase costs, and will cause un
employment through the elimination of
skilled jobs in the bottle and can industry.
He said the proposition would create
unskilled jobs to sort the cans and bottles
but it would amount to "firing the father
to hire the son."
Jerrison said the passage of the initiative
would not cause any change, but would
mean new jobs for people involved in re
claiming bottles and cans.
He said her group would attempt to
overcome misconceptions during the
campaign, countering statements by the
opponents.
Common misconceptions about the
affect of the bill are that the price would
go up and the amount of area necessary to
store the containers would double, Jerrison
said.
But, she said, Oregon's experience
shows no price increase and no need for
increased storage.
She said her group did not have funds to
hire a professional public relations firm to v
run the campaign but State Sen. Donald
Jworak of Columbus has offered to coor
dinate the campaign.
McConnell said his group plans a media
campaign to demonstrate that the support
ers have identified the right problem, but
this is the wrong solution."
Religious organizations finding
students are questioning beliefs
More students are searching, questioning
their basic religious beliefs and investiga
ting their relationships with God, accord
ing to campus ministers, faculty members
and advisers of religious organizations.
This assumption is supported by a grow
ing amount of student involvement in re
ligion and by the number of campus reli
gious organizations.
Of the 229 organizations listed by
student activities, IS are based on religious
foundations, a large number when the
variety of the other organizations is con
sidered, and these groups report up to a 30
percent increase in membership over the
past year.
This search for a religion that will serve
as an active part of daily college life is
told by Teresa Vos, a junior theater major
from Lincoln, who has recently accepted
Jesus as her savior. .
Vos was born into a Catholic home and
practiced that religion until she was "about
14 or until my mother could no longer
drag me out of bed."
Catholicism wasn't really fulfilling, she
said, and many events in her life clashed
with the church.
Friends took Vos to the Indian Hills
Community Church last summer and she
found the sermons and theories of the
church could be applied to her life, she
said.
"I feel like IVe been born again," Vos
said, but finds the evanglistic style of Billy
Graham a turn-off.
Becoming Christian was a personal
decision for Vos, one she said was not easy
to make.
"Things just seem to go better in my
daily life now that God is involved," she
said.
There has been no dramatic change in
Vos's life, and, she said; the daily events
which she attributes to God's help could
be called coincidental but she does not
believe they are.
"I like having God in my life. He
doesn't take up much space or eat much
food. Sometimes when I don't take care of
myself very well, he steps in and does a
good job."
These students, through Bible studies
fellowship groups and traditional churches
are expanding the search for God.
See related stories page 6 and 7.
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Photo by Mark Billingsly
This house near 19th and J streets may have been the work of people searching
for new beliefs or a reaffirmation of their faith in God. The house is now deserted.
UNL professor returns from instability, violence of Italy
By Barb Richardson
"The education system in Italy is very
unstable. There is a feeling among certain
segments of the society that a change must
be made in the system. This group points
to the high unemployment rate of Italy as
proof that the system is not preparing
students for the modern world," according
to Ed Bailey, UNL associate professor of
journalism.
Bailey spent two years, 1976-78,
teaching full-time at the Florence Bible
School, a higher education school in
Florence, Italy.
"Some people believe that in order to
change the education system, in Italy they
must destroy the present one first,"
Bailey said.
The educational process and politics
interrelate in Italy.
"Italy is a very political country.
Professors are many times identified by
party affilitation," he said. "If a professor
is a Christian Democrat, and he supports
his party's views during a class lecture, all
the communist students may walk out of
the dass.
Activits demands
"Some students spend their entire
college careers as political activists. In
order to make sure that the activists will
pass a class at the end of the semester, they
sometimes demand that the whole class be
given an oral examination with a minimum
grade," Bailey said.
"If die professor refuses the demands,
the activists will occupy the building and
refuse all exams to occur.
"Violence is used by the activists.
Faculty members have been hospitalized
and in some cases killed," he said. "Often
the entire school will close because the
activists occupy buildings for an indefinite
period.
At the Florence Bible School, the
architecture school was the most radical.
The students caused physical damage to
the building during occupation, Bailey said.
He added that it took one particular
student, who wasn't an activist, two or
three years extra to get his degree from the
school of architecture because of the
occupation.
Not involved
Bailey said that he personally was not
involved in any political problems.
As a professor and administrative
assistant, he taught biblical studies, speech
communications, christian apologetics, and
other courses.
After a change in personnel at the
school about 2 years ago, Bailey said he
was offered a job by the new administra
tion. He was granted one year of absence
from UNL and later was given an estension
allowing him to stay in Italy two years.
The Florence Bible School has
approximately 40 to 70 students a year.
Depending on the year, there are about 10
to 20 full-time students staying in a dorm
like situation.
The other students are of the working
class and they receive instruction through a
type of traveling school, he said. Professors
from the school commote on a weekly or
biweekly basis to different towns and cities
to teach students over 20.
Church support
"The Florence Bible School is equival
ent to a bible chair, a center for biblical
studies supported by a specific group. The
Florence Bible School is supported bv
Churches of Christ in the United States and
Italy," Bailey said.
The School has students from the
Middle East, Africa, and Canada, but all
the classes are taught in Italian.
"The students do not have a hard time
adjusting to the language, even if they've
never spoken it before. When you live
around the language, you easily pick it
up," Bailey said.
While in Italy, Bailey also taught night
courses at the University of Maryland in
Pisa and the John Cabot International
College in Rome.
The University of Maryland is a United
States military school. The John Cabot
International College, incorporated in
Washington, D.C., offers American degrees
to Italian elites.
"Between all three schools, I was
teaching Italians, Americans, Mid-easterners
and Africans," Bailey said.
Lifestyle changes
On his trip to Italy, Bailey was
accompanied by his wife and two
daughters.
The first few months the girls did not
know Italian so adjusting to the new life
was difficult. But some people, such as
teachers, were helpful to the girls.
Previously Irving ten years in Italy,
Bailey and his wife had no difficulty
adjusting to the Italian lifestyle, he said.
"The daily schedule is longer. Lunch is
between 1 and 1:30 p.m. and dinner is
between 7:30 and 8 p.m.
"The housewife's life is more difficult
Italy. Often times the whole morning is
spent shopping and standing in lines at
neighborhood shops. Conveniences that
American housewifes have are limited in
Italy," he said.
To commute to the different schools,
Bailey said he used a small car that got 40
miles to the gallon.
"Gas for the car was $2.30 a gallon," he
said.
When asked if he'd like to return to
Italy, Bailey said, "Yes, I hope to return
but not for a long period of time. If I
return, itH only be for a short period to do
research."
He said he may return next summer.
ins vvednesday
Methodists, mantras and Moonies:
religious interest picks up on
campus page 6
Burger war beefed up: Three local
burger joints battle for big bucks
.page 16
Three cheers for the home team:
Huskers effort against Hawaii is
praised -P2ge 18