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7 KSeSO
lincoln, nebraska vol. 103 no. 48
frjday. november 2, 1979
Fired custodian refuses UNL job offer
By Gordon Johnson
and Michelle Carr
Although UNL announced Thursday it would re-hire a
black woman who. was fired -in September from the
custodial department, the woman said she will not go
back to work under terms offered by the university.
A letter from Ron Wright, UNL vice chancellor for
business and finance, said Girlean Woods could have her
job back, but would be on probation for three months.
Wright wrote that the Affirmative Action Liaison
Committee, which investigated Woods' charges of racial
discrimination, found no evidence of overt discrimination.
The committee found, however, that being dismissed
was too harsh in light of the charges made against her.
- "I won't go back to work unless they take away the
probationary period ," Woods said .
Woods said she did not know whether she would take
the job if the probation clause was removed. N
"I really haven't given it much thought," she said.
"All I want is to be treated as a human being. I am not
a robot or a machine. I want them to treat me like every
one else, "she said.
A report by the committee to UNL Chancellor. Roy
Young points out that other university employees were
guilty of the same infraction, but were not fired.
The other workers were guilty of the same rule
violations, but they were rot put on probation Woods
said.
The state ombudsman's office also will be looking into
charges of discrimination beginning at 9 ajn. today.
Woods originally took the charges of racial discrimin
ation to Omaha Sen. Ernest Chambers who turned the
matter, over to the state ombudsman.
According , to Ombudsman Murrel McNeil, the
university would not cooperate in the investigation. The
principals in the case were told by NU attorney Richard
Wood not to answer questions about the case.
McNeil issued subpoenas from the ombudsman's office
requiring seven university employees, to appear at the
capital for a hearing;
NU attorney Wood maintained that the ombudsman's
office did not have the right to investigate the matter,
Thursday morning, Wood contacted the ombudsman's
office and said the UNL -employees would cooperate in
the investigation, McNeil said.
Chambers wrote a letter to NU President Ronald
Roskens Thursday complaining of the committee's
findings.
'This action by the committee is as bad as (if not
. worse than) the original racism by the university.
Additionally, how can it be justice to place Ms, Woods on
probation, when the white offenders have not been placed
on probation?" Chambers wrote.
The report to the chanoellor states that the treatment
of Woods could be the "result of unconscious and covert
discrimination, though we have found no objective, clear
and explicit evidence of intentional and overt racial
discrimination."
Alice Torwirt, a representative for the committee, said
the group found no "conscious" discrimination against
Woods. .
"Within anv society there is some discrimination, It
(discrimination) is difficult to detect and prove because
we can't see into people's minds," Torwirt said.
Chambers said he has no doubt that the university
discriminated against Woods,
Continued on Page 2
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-'1
y
Season dawns
Photo by Jerry McBridc
Pheasant season opens Saturday and this
hunter plans on being prepared, Hunters
across the state will watch the sun rise
as they tramp across the open fields
searching for birds. Other hunting
photos on Page 14.
APU takes stand against
handling of Woods
issue
By Michelle Carr
Members of the African People's Union
(APU) strongly opposed the university's
action to rehire 'a black woman, who was
fired in September, on the grounds that the
issue of discrimination was not adequately
" dealt with, ind because of the provisions of
her re-hiring,
' The Affirmative Action Liaison Com'
mittee, which investigated Woods' charges,
found no evidence of overt discrimination,
but recommended Thursday that she be
rehired because other employees had made
the same infractions and had not been
fired,
Shomari 'Ashebar, APU campus coor
dinator, said that the university was ignor
ing the issue of discrimination in rehiring
Woods,
"She (Woods) was discriminated against
and harassed. The university is not dealing
with the reality of the situation," he said,
The university took a "cowardly
approach" in handling the discrimination
case, Ashebar said, That is why Woods
took her complaint to Sen, Ernest Chanv
bers of Omaha, "to try to obtain justice,"
he said.
Doreen Charles, APU chairperson, said
the g'roup anticipated that Woods would be
rehired on the university's conditions,
A letter from Ron Wright, UNL vice
chancellor for business and finance, said
that Woods could have her job back, but
would be on probation for three months,
Under the probation conditions, the
university did not acknowledge the dis
crimination point Woods was trying to
make, Charles said,
The transcripts of Woods' testimony to
the State Ombudsman's Office revealed
that she was evidently discriminated
against, according to Hodari Sababu, inter'
national and national coordinator,
"A crime has been committed, and she
rWoods would be nleadine euiltv to that
crime (if she agreed to the conditions),"
Asheber said that Woods refused the job
because of the probation conditions,
"Under those reasons, she (Woods) did
not accept the job or (Wright's) letter, nor
do we," he said,
Charles said the group protested the.
firing and rehiring of Woods not on the
simple facts of the case, put because APU
is "pushing for an investigation of the
A .1 ! J! . j
system, wnere opyious oiscruninawon
occurs,"
The group will discuss the recent action
and other possible action to be taken,
"The university is incapable of meting
out justice so we will take a higher level of
action," Asheber said.
Other channels of action have yet to be
decided, Sababu said,
n
0(J
Life at the top; NU systems President
Ronald Roskens discusses education and
life in Nebraska , , , . , , , Page 3
Out with the old, in with the new; Howell
Theater will move to a new location by
summer Page 10
Novelty awards; Deserving teams get the
latest in college football honors , Page 13
ASUN asking regents to reconsider speaker funding
By Betsie Amnions
ASUN president Bud Cuca will ask the NU Board of
Regents at its Nov. 16 meeting to reconsider a policy
prohibiting the use of student fees to finance political and
ideological speakers on campus.
The move is the result of Senate Bill 13, passed at
Wednesday's ASUN Senate meeting, directing the student
regents at UNL and UNO to approach the board on this
issue.
The bill reads that campus organizations are financially
unable to support a speakers program without student
fees and that the University Program Council has made a
concerted effort to present a balanced program since
student fees use was curtailed.
It also calls for the programming boards at UNL and
UNO to worH together to devise a balanced speakers
program.
, An amendment to the bill asks that 'The Senate enlist
the help of the Nebraska Civil Liberties Union in
convincing the administration and the regents. , , to
change the current speaker's policy ,n
Hubert Brown, ASUN first vice president, said the
NCLU will act as consultant on legal aspects of the
Regent's decision to curtail the speaker's program.
He said the constitutionality of the regent's policy is
questionable for at least two reasons.
It is difficult to define exactly what constitutes a po.
litical or ideological speaker, Brown said, adding that
Vou could call anyone from Carroll O'Connor to
Muhammad All a political or ideological speaker" because
of isolated comments they have made.
He said the regents' definition of speakers is "vague,
and intentionally vague."
Also, he said, the policy operates as a prior restraint,
preventing dissemination of an idea before it has been
stated,
Although he called prior restraint a violation of the
First Amendment, to the U.S, Constitution, said that it
will not be a major thrust when they present the senate's
ideas to the regents.
He said the main concern will be convincing the
regents that it would improve the quality of education at
UNL to reinstate a fees-supported speakers program.
Student regent Cuca would not comment on the
possibility of the NCLU helping the senate initiate legal
action against the regents, but said he thinks some ASUN
senators may be thinking of filing suit if the board refuses
to reconsider the policy,
Brown said he thinks the time is right to reopen the
speakers issue.
He said ASUN's main concern this fall has been quality
education, as shown by its protests against higher tuition.
Reinstating the speaker's program would be another way
to improve the quality of education, he said.
Continued on Pc-; 2
