daily nebraskan
monday, October 16, 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 29
Westmoreland: UNL may be new leader of unrest
By Scott Nelson
Despite a bomb threat and vocal pro
testers, retired Gen. William Westmore
land, former head of U.S. military forces
in Vietnam, spoke to an estimated 2000
people Friday afternoon in the Nebraska
Union.
Westmoreland was interrupted several
times during his speech by a group of
dissenting Iranian students and other pro
testers chanting "down with fascism" and
"fasist," and some members of the audi
ence attempted to shout down the protesters.
Westmoreland commented that the
chanting voices did not "have an American
accent" and that he would continue his
speech in spite of it.
His lecture, entitled "Vietnam in per
spective," centered around his experience
in Vietnam, and his feelings toward Amer
ica's withdrawal of support from South
Vietnam.
VS. betrayal
"Our honorable country betrayed and
deserted that little country after we en
ticed them to our bosom. It was a shabby
performance by America, a blemish on our
history, and a possible blight on our future,
a shameful national blunder," he said.
Westmoreland said he felt the VS.
)t Pes i
fc .
Photo by Bob Pearson
Retired Gen. William Westmoreland
could have justifiably withdrawn its
support in the two years of political chaos
following the overthrow of president Diem,
but he said President Johnson's increased
aid and involvement during those years
locked the UJS. into supporting South
Vietnam indefinitely.
He said national protest to the war was
viewed by the North Vietnamese as a sign
of political weakness and instability.
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American and Iranian students gathered together in protest of retired Gen.
William Westmoreland's visit to the UNL campus. See story on page 3.
"Civil disobedience by the militant
minority to frustrate the war over the
majority was glorified, and we're paying
the price for that precedent at this time.
"The syndrome of cliches such as 'ille
gal' and 'immoral' war were just examples
of communist propaganda," Westmoreland
said.
Crowd disapproval
When the crowd roared its disapproval,
Westmoreland pointed out that the war
was supported by six presidents and nine
Congresses through the budgetary process.
He said college draft deferments
resulted in the privileged class refusing the
draft and the war being "fought mainly by
the poor man's son."
"In my opinion that was a tragic error."
"As our soldiers were fighting and dying
for liberty and the right to dissent, civil
disobedience by the militant minority
group, burning the American flag, destroy
ing ROTC buildings, burning their draft
cards, lying and cheating in order to dis
qualify themselves from the military ser
vice, fleeing to Sweden and Canada only
prolonged the war and cost thousands of
lives."
News media responsible
Westmoreland held the news media
partially responsible for encouraging
negative opinions about the war.
"It is a sad commentary that our open
society and open system were masterfully
manipulated by Moscow and Hanoi to
serve their purpose."
When questioned about reports of
bombed hospitals and schools, Westmore
land vigorously objected.
"No war was every fought with more
care to protect civilian lives than the Viet
nam War. The way the war was conducted
was humane, as it intended to avoid civil
ian casualties as has never been-derre1$efore
or could have been done. With regard to
that question I can categorically say that
no hospital was ever intentionally
bombed."
Disapproval surprising
Westmoreland expressed some surprise
at the loud disapproval of his presence.
"I've been to over 30 campuses in the
past four years and I must say I've never
run into one quite like this. Maybe you're
leading the vanguard of another era of
campus unrest.
"I don't have any apology for my con
duct, I did my level best to carry out
national policy," he said.
"I'm quite willing to stand here and be
abused and associated with this kind of
immature emotion," he added. "I'm not
defending or condemning the war, and I'm
not really supporting it. I was put in a
position of responsibility to make good a
commitment, and I must say it was a
commitment on which we were not able to
make good."
Westmoreland said, "All I can say is that
under very difficult circumstances my
troops and their leadership did their best
to carry out national policy despite the
fact that there were kids their own age
raising hell and waving the enemy flag at
home. I don't believe anybody could have
done any better."
Roskens gives Regents
NU system's objectives
By Brenda Moskovits
The NU system will review its general
educational requirements and academic
standards in the coming year, NU President
Ronald Roskens told the NU Board of
Regents Friday.
Roskens' annual list of institutional
objectives includes seven areas which he
said "we plan to give attention to, to make
progress on, or accomplish during the up
coming year."
The university should concern itself
with "what, from a university-wide per
spective, should a student know and with
what skills should a student be equipped
when he or she departs from this instit
ution with a degree," Roskens said.
Other objectives
Other objectives are:
-improving the university's research
and graduate studies programs;
considering management alternatives
in light of increasing inflation and a rela
tively stable enrollment;
-guaranteeing that special attention be
given in hiring more women and minorities;
reducing administrative duplication
among parts of administration;
-improving communication with the
regents and taxpayers;
retaining a sense of humor.
"We need to have things in proper per
spective and not take ourselves too serious
ly," Roskens said "We know that none of
us are irreplaceable."
In the business affairs subcommittee,
however, the regents refused to review university-wide
business operations. The
review was suggested by NU Regent Robert
Simmons of Scottsbluff.
Time to review
Simmons said the resignation of UNL
Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance
Miles Tommeraasen makes it a good time
to review having business offices at each
campus at the university level.
A search committee will be formed to
fill the position. Tommeraasen is leaving to
become president of Morningside College
in Sioux City.
The regents did approve Roskens' rec
ommendations for two central administra
tion positions.
James Raglin, columnist and special
writer for the Lincoln Journal was named
Director of Public Affairs, a post which has
been vacant for nearly four years.
Raglin will coordinate university public
affairs with the mass media and state con
stituents. He will assume the post in early
November at a salary of $26,500.
Another appointment
Appointed as NU general counsel was
Richard Wood, a Lincoln lawyer and
former Lincoln assistant city attorney.
The post has been vacant since John
Gourlay was killed in a car accident last
summer.
Wood will serve as the university's staff
attorney starting in November at a salary
of $41 300 a year.
A plaque in memory of Gourlay was
presented by his family at the meeting.
Continued en page 3
inside monday
Go East young man: Washington
D.C. intern likes semester with no
classes page 10
Pretty ballerina: Dancer provides
quiet moment at rock concert. . . .
page 12
Ghosts of gridirons past: 1927-28
Cornhuskers return to reminisce
page 14
