tuesday, february 19, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 104, no. 27
Opinions differ on faculty freedom to give views
By Diane Andersen
Administrators have encouraged UNL faculty members
to express their views to the Legislature this year, accord
ing to Ezekiel Bahar, president of the UNLfaculty.senate.
But not everyone agrees with that view. One official
suggested administrators may "informally discourage'
faculty from voicing their opinions.
Although only registered lobbyists are allowed to
lobby privately, Bahar said NU President Ronald Roskens
asked him to testify in budget hearings, signaling a 'mark
ed difference" from past years.
Roskens did not "in any way make us feel that we
would be at cross-purposes with the university," Bahar
said. He said the faculty has been much more assertive this
year and are ready to face the challenges of shared
responsibility in running UNL.
UNL English Prof. Robert Haller, a registered lobbyist
for the. American Association of University Professors,
said the administration .has discouraged independent
lobbying on university matters in order 44not to present
conflicting points of view."
Contrary views
Some of the views expressed this year in j public
hearings have been contrary to administration policy,
Haller said. For example, he said, former Faculty Senate
President William Campbell testified for LB108, a bill
'Little Saigon' has old, new cultures
Lincoln's growing Vietnamese population has led to
the creation of "Little Saigon," a neighborhood reflecting
old and new cultures.
According to the Rev. Glenn Frazier of the Antelope
Park Church of the Brethren, about 550 to 600 Vietnamese
live in Lincoln-many in the neighborhood from 29th to
34th streets and from S to Vine streets.
Many of the Vietnamese are refugees, who, after bat
tling the communist regime of Vietnam, are facing anew
battle: adapting to life in the United States.
Luong Thi Vu has been learning to adapt for four and
a half years, ever since her family arrived in Lincoln.
Luong lives near 34th and T streets, in the center of
what she calls the "Vietnam Village," with her husband
and six children. Her five-month-old baby reflects the
cultural blend of the transplanted Vietnamese family:
his name is Tony vu Tran. Luong said he was given an
American name to conform with the culture he will grow
up in and carries his father's name to retain his Viet-
Rice, pizza-and chicken
Other aspects of a merged American-Vietnamese life
style are evident by looking around Luong's spotless
house: resting against the wooden bannister leading to
.the second floor of the frame house is a 100-pound bag
of rice. The family depletes that stock in a week or two,
she said, explaining that rice is eaten with every meal.
Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken and beef stew have
become family favorites as well, she added.
The sewing machine in the dining room symbolizes
Luong's trade. She was a seamstress at Ma gee's clothing
store downtown before she had her last child.
She said she sews almost all of the family's clothing
because the American retail shops generally do not carry
sizes small enough for the small-boned Vietnamese.
Although "everything's different" from her homeland,
Luong said she likes living in Lincoln.
"I don't like to go out in the snow, however," she
adds, capsulizing what seems to be a widely held Oriental
view of Nebraska's continental climate. ,
Climate ,
Despite the cultural differences between the two
countries, the climate is the most difficult adjustment,
according to Nga Nguyen.
"The snow looks pretty but A doesn't ft si good,
said the freshman language major at UNL, or e of 45
Vietnamese university students.
Nga, 33, has been in America since Saigon i'e I to the
communists in April, 1975.
Many of the Vietnamese who have resettled in Lincoln
left their country in 1975 .according to Nguyen Tien Trung,
better known as Brother Hilary. He is a member of the
Congregation of the Mother's Co-Remptrice order and has
been in Lincoln since June coordinating resettling efforts.
"Very few refugees (in America) are immigrants,"
Brother Hilary said. He explained that the only Vietnamese
coming to Lincoln now are relatives of those already set
tled in town. Government regulations have limited the
number of refugees allowed annually into the U.S. and
have also tightened the entrance qualifications.
Brother Hilary's work centers on reuniting Vietnamese
still in their homeland with their American-based relatives.
The average time required to establish contact, wade
through the paper work and finally reunite the family
is about six months, he said.
Nga's mother and sister are an example of a prolonged
reunification effort: with papers cleared and approval
given, Nga hopes to see them this spring-the result of
nine months of correspondence and work.
Sponsors
Frazier said that last October the Lincoln Fellowship
of Churches started sponsoring local refugees. ,
Most sponsors are churches subsidized by government
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Daily Nebraskan Photo
Vietnamese woman Luong Thi Vu, who has been
in Lincoln four and a half years, and her baby .
funds on a per-person basis, he said.
"I find that it really does not take that much money
to sponsor a refugee," Frazier said. "Within a couple
of months they're financially self-supporting,", he added.
About $400 is allotted per person to help establish a
home, job, English lessons, medical care and whatever
else is necessary to function in American life. .
"People really give," Frazier said of community
reaction to the refugees. "I know of no church which has
failed to give."
For the resettled refugees, learning a new language
is paramount to adjusting to their new life.
'.'Some students will . quit, some will tolerate the
frustration," said Elizabeth Piatt, English as a Second
Language teacher at Lincoln High. All but three of the
language program's students are Vietnamese. "Some situa
tions force you to learn and some don't," she said, ex
plaining that the more isolated a student is from his na
tive language, the faster he will have to use his survival
tool.
Teachers have to move the students out, she said, and
take away their support system when they're ready.
"It's a counterproductive when you keep them tied to
a support system-they speak Vietnamese among them
selves," she said. "
' M( itocdiutf
Life Savers: Reporter examines plasma-giving experience
in Lincoln Page 7
All Holds Barred: Handicapped people have trouble get
ting a drink Page 8
Gunning for limelight:UNL Rifle Club seeks NCAA re
cognition Page 10
supporting collective ' bargaining for higher education.
Roskens said he is glad faculty members have expressed
their opinions in formal hearings. He said faculty and
student consultation on a wide variety of issues," not
just budget requests, is encouraged.
Roskens said the opinions students and faculty convey
to other Nebraskans in day-to-day conversation are just as
important as the testimony they give in legislative
hearings.
He said he hopes faculty members feel comfortable
expressing any views they have, whether they agree with
NU Central Administration statements or not. Roskens
said this year is no different from last year in that he has
always encouraged the faculty to express their views.
New to 'educate state
However, NU Vice President William Swanson, a
registered lobbyist, said NUs lobbying efforts "are pretty
much centered from this office." He said he was sure
students and faculty would testify during legislative bud
get hearings and that anyone has that right.
Jane Baack, assistant to the dean of students, expressed
some concern that NU doesn't encourage faculty members
to "educate the state" about the university.
"There could be some informal discouragement," she
said.
Baack said that the University of California at Berkeley
pays student lobbyists and gets a much bigger turnout of
student groups to speak for their school.
At UNL, the ' numbers of students testifying at
legislative hearings has been small, Bahar said.
. A budget hearing last week drew only "a couple"of UNL
students, he added. ;
Bahar said he would not have run for his office if he
hadn't received assurances that "no decision will be made
(by administrators) without full consultation with the
faculty." He said this goes farther than just informing the
faculty about issues.
"Airy kind of shared responsibility isn't always a happy
marriage," Bahar said. "My questions to my
administrators have not necessarily been easy, but we
(faculty) will o ffer the utmost cooperation
The faculty, Bahar said, has a "vast wealth of inform
ation in every field," and therefore is capable to help
govern NU. Bahar said he wants to avoid any kind of
"adversary relationship" with administrators.
If university by4aws "function in spirit and to the
letter," Bahar said, there should be no need for such a
relationship. .
Pott: Health Center
fee share too large
By Lucy Bighia
The University Health Center gets too much money
from student fees, said eight of 10 students questioned
Wednesday in the Nebraska Union. Six of those question
ed said the Daily Nebraskan gets too little.
All but one of the students questioned lacked a clear
understanding of the student fees issue. Most of the
students didn't know where their fee money went-or
what student fees are in the first place the difference
between Fund A and Fund B organizations, or what the
respective agencies did on campus.
But, once the breakdown of student fees was explained
to each student, most said that the health center's share
was too large.
If tentative funding allocations proposed by the
Committee on Fees Allocation pass, student fees would
increase 5 percent next semester; from $69 to $72.50 per
student.
The Health Center would receive the largest chunk of
each student's fees, $32.62, while the Daily Nebraskan
would receive the least, 66.7 cents.
Two funds
The remainder of the fees collected would go to either
Fund A or Fund B recipients. Fund A is composed, of
student-run organizations that directly benefit the
majority of students; the Daily Nebraskan, ASUN and the
University Program Council (UPC).
Fund B agencies are the Health Center, the Nebraska
Unions and the Recreation Department. These agencies
serve the students but include more major salary
payments and expenses in their budgets than the Fund A
organizations.
Fund B also pays for the University bonded indebted
ness. This is an automatic $18 allocation from each
student's fees to pay for debts incurred by building the
Nebraska Union.
Continued on Page 7
