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monday, September 29, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 105, no. 26
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Conf erence passes resolution condemning regents
By Jim Faddis
A resolution condemning the NU Board of Regents for
harassment of UNL student Hubert Brown was passed un
animously last week by the Big Eight Conference of Black
Student Organizations.
The resolution says the regents have been harassing
Brown, a former member of the conference's council, be
cause of his involvement in the James Coc letter incident.
Coe donated $1,300 South African Krugerrands to the
NU Foundation. His donation was objected to by some
who said it represented racism in South Africa.
A letter from Coe to former Daily Nebraskan Editor-in-chief
Rocky Strunk was received by current editor Randy
Essex after Strunk had been fired for an unrelated act of
plagiarism.
Essex gave the letter to Brown, a UNL Publications
Board member, who then gave it to State Sen. Ernie
Chambers of Omaha, who released it to the media.
The UNL Publications Board, which oversees the Daily
Nebraskan, found that Essex and Brown used poor judg
ment in passing on the letter. The regents at their Sept. 12
meeting, passed a resolution saying that Essex's and
Brown's actions "exceeded poor judgment" and asked the
Publications Board to take further action in the matter.
The Publications Board later reaffirmed its original
findings.
Resolution supports actions
The Big Eight Conference of Black Student Organiza
tions resolution supports the actions taken by Brown and
Chambers in the Coe matter. Along with the regents, the
resolution condemns the Publications Board for chastising
Brown.
The resolution will be sent to the Publications Board,
the regents and UNL Interim Chancellor Robert Rutford,
said Doreen Charles, president of the UNL African
Peoples Union. The resolution was passed at the confer
ence's meeting Sept. 20 at Columbia, Mo.
The conference consists of representatives of black stu
dent governments at Big Eight schools.
Charles said Coe made some derogatory statements
about blacks in his letter. The letter also reveals some
things about Coe that weren't getting publicized, Charles
said.
She said the regents and those who had been defending
Coe were embarrassed when the letter was disclosed. She
said this revealed Coe not to be the kind of person they
had defended him as being.
The regents have been harassing Brown because of this
embarrassment, Charles said.
"The letter showed that by the regents supporting Coe,
they must not have a very good view of blacks," Charles
said.
ij
Daily Nebraskan photo
Although a single, bare branch is not the only refuge for area birds, the approaching month of October signals that
cooler weather is on its way. These two feathered friends will soon seek warmer climates south of here.
Party's money problems not a first
By Bill Graf
Reports last week by the Associated Press suggesting
the financially -troubled Nebraska Democratic Party might
have to close its headquarters is "stretching it a bit," the
state Democratic Party chairman said.
The report suggested that $10,000 is needed in two
weeks for the state party to keep its headquarters open.
"We're not talking about an insurmountable problem,"
DiAnna Schimek said. "It's not the first time (the state
party has run short of money), but hopefully, it's the
last."
Schimek said the state party may be forced to reduce
its budget and, if necessary, borrow more money to stay
in operation. However, she said she doesn't think the
party will have to borrow more money.
The State Democratic Party's debt currently is
$18,500, the balance of a $40,000 loan that was secured
in 1978 to help Democratic candidates in that year's elec
tion. To help the party pay the debt, party officials have
asked the leaders in each legislative district to raise $100
each, Schimek said.
Each of the 49 legislative districts in Nebraska has a
chairman and a chairwoman. If each meets the $100 goal,
the contributions will equal $9,800.
To help with operating costs, a $500-a-plate money
raising dinner, featuring Nebraska Sen. J. James Exon is
scheduled for Oct. 28 at a private resident in Lincoln.
Schimek said she doesn't know how much money the
dinner will raise, but estimated the dinner should raise
between $5 ,000 and $ 1 5 ,000 .
The state central committee also is considering spon
soring bingo games to raise money.
Bingo has been used by other state democratic commit
tees to raise money, Schimek said. The Colorado state
committee sponsored bingo games beginning last year, she
said.
The party chairman said one congressional district in
Michigan raised $50,000 with bingo games.
Schimek said the Nebraska Democratic Party previous
ly relied on the annual "Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner"
for most of its support. However, because of the increas
ing costs of running the campaigns, she said, the party
now is looking at other means of raising money.
' Also, by the regents supporting Coe, it shows that
"what black students think, doesn't matter to them "she
said.
Missing the real issue
Charles said the regents are missing the real issue in the
Coc letter disclosure. The real issue, she said, is the kind
of man the letter shows Coe to be, not the letter opening
policy at the Daily Nebraskan.
The regents' resolution also says that if the Publica
tions Board doesn't take further action in die matter, the
regents may decide to change the by-laws concerning the
membership, responsibilities and duties of the board.
This threatened action by the regents is making it hard
for the APU to express its views through the Daily Ne
braskan because of fear of upsetting the regents, Charles
said.
"It kind of silences us," Charles said. "Everyone else
can make a statement, but when we try to say something,
it gets edited more closely for fear of upsetting the
regents."
Charles said the regents will probably ignore the resolu
tion from the Big Eight Conference of Black Student Or
ganizations, "but it will let them know that others out
side of Nebraska support what Brown and Chambers did,"
she added.
Professor says war
could trouble U.S.
By Kathy Sjulin
Although the United States imports no oil from ran
or Iraq, the war erupting between those two middle east
countries will have a definite effect on the United States,
a UNL political science professor said.
David Rapkin, who teaches international politics and
international political economy, said western Europe and
Japan will be hit hardest by the oil crunch resulting from
the war.
The United States, which imports much of its oil from
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, also will feel the pinch because
the oil supply from the Middle East will tighten because
of the war, Rapkin said.
This decreased supply will drive gas prices up and force
countries that previously have relied on Iranian and Iraqi
oil to seek oil from those nations that normally supply the
United States.
The war's effect on the United States will depend on
the length of the war and the degree of destruction to the
oil fields and drilling equipment in the two countries, the
professor said.
"If the war widens, we (the United States) could be in
a lot of trouble," he said.
However, Rapkin said hp doesn't believe the war will
expand.
"I don't believe the entire area will spread to war," he
said. "The Saudis will try to stay out, but it's hard to say
about the Libyans.
"If the war continues much longer, the consumers of
Iraqi and Iranian oil will turn to our suppliers and drive
up the price of oil," he said.,
Rapkin said the war between Iraq and Iran was predict
ible because of the history of skirmishes between the two
countries.
"Underlying the war is a traditional dispute over the
waterway that links Iraq with the gulf," he said.
"The full-scale war broke out because the Ayatollah
actively advocated the overthrow of the Iraq govern
ment," he said. "The Ayatollah, via the clergy and radio
broadcasts, has been advocating that the people of Iraq
overthrow the regime in power in Iraq.
"The dispute has been simmering for many, many
years," he said, adding that it is no surprise that it finally
"boiled over."
The question of who started the war is meaningless,
according to Rapkin, because the outbreak of war can't be
isolated from the interactions of the last year.
Although Iraq's military objectives may be unclear,
Rapkin said it is no surprise that Iraq picked now to
escalate the war, since, "Iran is more weak militarily now
than it ever was under the Shah."
Rapkin said there is no way to know how long the war
will go on. He added that he doesn't think the war will
spread because it is unique to Iran and Iraq.
The United States and the Soviet Union both will
maintain a policy of "laying low in a quiet behind-the-scene
fashion," according to Rapkin.
The United States won't apply too much pressure but
will try to keep the gulf oil flow open, he said.
Rapkin said he believes U.S. involvement on Iran's be-
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