n
thursday, September 18, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 105, no. 19
n
Hansen says clarify facts
Two regents say meeting of boards is
needed
By Jim Fad d is
Two members of the NU Board of Regents agreed Wed
nesday that they would like to meet with the UNL Publi
cations Board to discuss the Publications Board's reason
ing concerning the James Coe letter disclosure.
The Publications Board said Tuesday it would like to
meet with the regents to discuss the Publications Board's
actions in relation to the Coe case.
Coe's letter, sent to spring 1980 Daily Nebraskan
Editor in chief Rocky Strunk, was received by present
Editor in chief Randy Essex. Strunk had been fired for an
unrelated act of plagiarism.
Coe's letter concerned his donation of 1 ,300 Kruger
rands to the NU Foundation. Objections were raised to
Coe's donation by some people who said it represented
racism in South Africa.
Essex gave the letter to Publications Board member
Hubert Brown, who then gave it to State Sen. Ernest
Chambers of Omaha, who released it to the media.
The Publications Board investigated the disclosure find
ing that Brown and Essex used "poor judgment" in the
handling of the letter and sent a letter of regret to Coe.
Reaffirm findings
The Publications Board reaffirmed those findings
Tuesday after the regents had asked them to consider
further action in the matter.
Regent Ed Schwartzkopf of Lincoln said Wednesday
he would like to meet with the Publications Board to
know how it decided that Brown and Essex used "poor
judgment," but not take disciplinary action against the
two.
Essex's actions after reading the letter showed bad
judgment, Schwartzkopf said.
"It is difficult for me to see how the Publications
Board can condone Essex's passing of the letter," he said.
Schwartzkopf said Essex "violated a trust" and if it
would have happened in the business world, more disci
plinary action would have been taken.
"The regents and the Publications Board should not be
a mile apart in this. We are all reasonable people, and if
we all have the same facts, we should both come to a
reasonably close decision," Schwartzkopf said.
Find facts
Regent Kermit Hansen of Omaha also said the regents
need to meet with the Publications Board to know "the
facts as they have found them."
Regent Robert Simmons of Scottsbluff, who voted
against the resolution requesting the Publications Board
take more action, said he is disturbed some people are
attempting to bring the question of free speech into the
regents' action.
The regents' resolution said that after reviewing the
Publications Board handling of the case, the regents may
decide to amend the UNL by-laws concerning member
ship, duties and responsibilities of the Publications Board.
Brown and Essex have said this constitutes a threat to
the First Amendment rights of the Daily Nebraskan.
Although he is against the regents' resolution, Simmons
said the regents were just seeing if the Publications Board
had handled its authority correctly and not trying to
restrict free speech.
Simmons said he was satisfied with the Publications
Board action.
"As long as they reviewed the matter and came to a
decision, I am satisfied with their decision," Simmons
said.
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Photo by Jon Natvig
Those afflicted with hay fever, take note. The first freeze is almost here. This
particular ragweed plant enjoys the last rays of an autumn afternoon sun
before fading to black with the first signs of Jack Frost.
Coe's attorney instructed
to sue Pub Board, editor
By Steve Miller
Mrs. James Coe said Wednesday a Lin
coln attorney has been instructed to sue
the UNL Publications Board and Daily Ne
braskan Editor in chief Randy Essex.
James Coe was unavailable for com
ment. Coe had indicated earlier that the would
drop the lawsuits if the Publications Board
fired Essex and dismissed board member
Hubert Brown.
The Publications Board, after investiga
ting the letter disclosure incident, repri
manded Essex and Brown and sent the
Coes a letter of regret.
A letter that Coe sent to spring 1980
Editor in chief Rocky Strunk was received
by Essex after Strunk had been fired for
an unrelated act of plagiarism.
The letter concerning Coe's donation of
1,300 Krugerrands to the NU Foundation
was given by Essex to Brown who gave it
to Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers.
Chambers then released the letter to the
media claiming the letter contained racial
implications.
"They all think it's a laughing matter up
there (UNL)," Mrs. Coe said. "WeVe heard
through the grapevine that Essex and
Brown think it's a big joke. It's not."
Continued on Page 8
Marsh, Fowler regret
women's program cuts
By Mary Kempkes
As UNL administrators know, last year
was just not a good time to ask legislators
for money.
And Senators Shirley Marsh and Steve
Fowler apologized for cuts to UNL and
women's programs Wednesday night at a
candidate forum sponsored by NOVA's
Business and Professional Women's Club.
Sen. Fowler said, "I think we put our
selves one year back by vetoing (the UNL
budget) last year. If we hadn't vetoed 14
percent last year, we wouldn't be looking
at 18 percent this year."
Jerry Sellentin, Fowler's opponent in
the 27th District, said, "I don't think the
University should apologize for asking for
an 18 percent increase."
Candidates present
The forum, attended by about 200 at
the Lincoln Hilton, included State Legisla
ture candidates Fowler, Sellentin, Marsh
and her opponent LaVon Crosby of the
29th District. Also included in a separate
forum were Lancaster County Commis
sioner's Board candidates Jan Gauger, the
incumbent, and Mrs. Carolyn Clark.
Legislative candidates were asked 11
questions about women's issues and later
answered other questions from the audi
ence. Leaders of the sponsoring group asked
about funding for several projects, day care
and sexual assault counseling centers, that
were cut or denied additional funding last
year. Senators Fowler and Marsh consis
tently maintained they had supported
these projects which were later cut by a
veto from Gov. Charles Thone.
All candidates said they supported the
Equal Rights Amendment and a separate
Nebraska amendment guaranteeing
women's rights to equal pay.
Catch up
Mrs. Crosby said, "I think the State
should get caught up. This is 1980. 1 think
a woman should get paid just as much as a
man."
Sen. Fowler referred to a state study
that showed 79 J percent of women and
40 percent of men state employees earned
less than $10,000 a year. Other studies
comparing jobs of equal skill are mislead
ing, he said, since only jobs of the same
title are compared. Jobs given different
names, one for women employees and one
for men, requiring the same skills hide pay
disparities, he said.
Sellentin agreed. Nebraska needs a stan
dard pay scale, he said, by which state
employee pay can be compared to that in
private industries.
Sen. Marsh said, "Last year, the appro
priations committee said we need to adjust
beginning salaries. The Governor vetoed it.
When you adjust beginning salaries, you ad
just all the way up the ladder."
Female crowd
Sellentin, personnel manager for Bryan
Memorial Hospital, drew laughter and boos
from the mostly-female crowd when asked
about differences in state office maternity
leave time.
He said, "At Bryan, pregnancy is treated
just as any other disability."
Sellentin quickly withdrew the state
ment and said he had not meant to imply
pregnancy was a handicap.
Campaign contributions again were a
source of curiosity from the crowd and
each candidate explained their policy on
special interest donations.
Sen. Marsh said her largest campaign
donation was $300, which she said came
from her mother's friend.
Education record
Fowler's largest donation was $2,000
from the Nebraska Education Association
and said they supported him because of his
previous record on education.
"It would be naive to say they give you
money just because they like you."
Sellentin, whose largest cash donation
was $1,000 and a $1,888 in-kind-services
donation from the State Republican Com
mittee, took donations from IS special in
terest groups in the primary including one
from General Motors. He said if he could
do it over, he would not accept their dona
tion. Continued on Page 14
An NBC Pledge: Lincoln's National Bank
of Commerce has donated $125,000 to
the NU Foundation Page 2
Lining up: Three concerts scheduled in
three weeks prompts a scheduling explan
ation Page 10
Splash!: The UNL Women's Crew Team
trains hard and long before they hit the
lake Page 12