daily nebraskan
lincoln, nebraska vol. 106, no. 18
n
Violent acts cause fear among UNL Iranians
By Val Swinton
As the former hostages recount abuses
at the hands of their Iranian captors, there
are reports that some Iranian students in
Lincoln have suffered at the hands of
Americans.
Peter S. Levitov, UNL director of inter
national educational services, said some
Iranian students at the university have been
threatened or even beaten, and the inci
dents have cast a pall of fear over most of
UNL's 180 Iranian students.
"I indicated that numerous incidents
were reported to our office," Levitov said.
"And when it was suggested the students
report them to campus or city police, they
refused for fear of retaliation and for fear
of bringing Iranian students into public
light."
Two months ago, an Iranian student was
driving home when he noticed that he was
being followed, Levitov said. The driver of
the other car pulled up beside him and the
occupants shouted insults at the student.
Rather than lead the occupants of the
other car to his home and family, the stu
dent drove into a well-lit parking lot, where
he was pulled from his car and beaten.
The student required hospitalization, he
said.
Another foreign student, not Iranian
but possibly mistaken for one, was kicked
vhile standing in front of a downtown
store. Levitov said the student told him
that when he attempted to solicit witnesses
for his report to police, bystanders turn
ed away and refused to talk to him.
"It's inhumane, it's cowardly, it's un
American," Levitov said of the incident.
Levitov is quick to add, though, that he
doesn't believe that most Americans or
Lincolnites are guilty of such violent anti
Iranian sentiment.
But the action of a few have affected
most of the Iranian students in Lincoln.
"There have been some incidents affect
ing more of the students which have been
undeserved," he said. "They probably have
had a ripple effect on the others."
Levitov has not been immune from the
abuse that has plagued the foreign
students.
"I have been personally threatened as a
result of my continuing work in support of
international students at the university,"
he said, refusing to elaborate.
"It's affected my emotional state," he
added.
Iranian students have suffered other
problems, Levitov said. Because of the
friction between the two countries, stu
dents have found it difficult to exchange
letters with their families in Iran.
"Please don't go from New York to
Tehran," he said.
Because the mail must first go through a
third country, some students have also
found themselves short of money from
home due to postal delays. And some
families who found themselves out of favor
with the new Iranian regime have no
money at all to send to relatives in
America, Levitov said.
Suit questions fairness9 of VOTE party name
By Mary Louise Knapp
A suit requesting an opinion on whether the name of
a party running for the ASUN election can be used with
out impairing a fair election was filed in Student Court
Tuesday, the same day the party announced its intention
to run.
ASUN President Renee Wessels said that the Electoral
Commission, which filed the suit, is concerned that the
party's acronym. VOTE, might be confused with instruc
tions to vote in campaign literature. VOTH stands for
Viable Opportunities for Total Efficiency.
Kim Weiland, a member of the Electoral Commission,
said that the "instructive use" of the word "vote" on
campaign posters might be construed as an endorsement
for the VOTE party.
She said t hat members of the party had not been in
formed on Tuesday that the suit had been filed.
Steve McMahon, the party's candidate for ASUN pres
ident, said during his campaign announcement that he
had heard some complaints about the use of the acronym
VOTE, but that neither he nor other ASUN members had
been directly approached about the matter.
McMahon, 20, a political science, English and
philosophy major from Omaha, said expanded service
and better leadership in student government are the
party's major goals.
"ASUN is running around without direction and with
out leadership," McMahon said.
McMahon said ASUN should expand its student service
programs and serve as a liaison between students, faculty
and administrators.
Expansion of ASUN Legal Services to allow the legal
service attorney to represent students in court and requir
ing more senators to help with the ASUN Book Exchange
are two examples of improved service the VOTE party
will try to implement if elected, he said.
Wendy Wiscmann, 21, a journalism major from Omaha,
is the party's first vice-presidential candidate. Mike Krat
ville, 19, from Omaha, is the candidate for second vice
president. He is majoring in economics, English and philosophy.
Daily Nebraskan Photo
The VOTE (Viable Opportunities for Total Efficiency) party announced its candidates for ASUN offices Tuesday
in Andrews Hall. From left to right they are Wendy Wisemann, candidate for 1st vice president; Steve McMahon,
presidential candidate; and Mike Kratville, candidate for 2nd vice president.
She said that ASUN has the responsibility to open
channels of communication between students and UNL
staff, and to make students aware of the services it pro
vides. "ASUN has two problems," Kratville said, "lack of
respect and lack of credibility." The VOTE party will
try to restore students' confidence in ASUN, he said.
McMahon said that the 18 percent increase in the UNL
budget requested by the NU Board of Regents is "un
realistic," and that more efficient use of funds allocated
to UNL is one of the VOTE party's goals.
"I won't say that we will not support the 18 percent
budget increase, but we should use the 12.5 percent
increase (recommended by Gov. Charles Thone) more
efficiently," he said.
McMahon said that the party has not yet determined
whether or not it will support the formation of a State
Student Association.
"I have apprehensions about it," he said. "I have not
yet taken a stand on the issue."
McMahon said the VOTE party will draw up a full
statement of its platform sometime this week.
Epley case focuses attention on off-duty policy
By Kim Hachiya
When UNL strength coach Boyd Epley was disciplined
last month by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure
Commission for violations involving misuse of state
property for personal financial gain, his was the first case
the commission has investigated involving a university
employee.
Thomas Burke, executive director of the so-called Sun
shine Commission, said that although his office usually is
associated with political campaign fund disclosures, invest
igation into alleged misuse of state property is also a pri
mary function.
Burke said Epley's problems began when a competing
distributor of weight-training products complained to the
commission about Epley's activities.
The complaint against Epley alleged that he received
a royalty commission for the sale of AMF products, sold a
vitamin supplement and used UNL Athletic Department
facilities to promote a book while employed by the uni
versity. Epley later waived a hearing on the matter and con
sented to a commission order to stop the illegal activities.
According to the Lincoln Jtmnul. Epley repaid UNL for
royalties received from the sale of AMF equipment to the
university.
Burke speculated that incidents such as the one involv
ing Epley could be "the rule rather than the exception" at
UNL. Although he said he did not know of any other
specific violations or violators, he said he hoped the in
vestigation would prompt the university to review its off
duty employment policy.
"It's common knowledge that some university
employees-be they professors, members of the athletic
department or various research people-engage in activities
on campus which might be categorized as off-duty
employment," Burke said.
"The NU Board of Regents and the Chancellor have
historically recognized that many instances of off-duty
employment benefit the university and the state of Ne
braska. If the board finds a legitimate public purpose to
be served by permitting state owned property to be used,
the off-duty jobs will continue.
"I'm sure the regents appreciate the potential for
abuse. That is why specific guidelines and channels have
been proscribed."
NU General Counsel Richard Wood said regents bylaws
3.4.5 outlines the procedures by which an NU employee
may engage in outside employment.
Wood said the university encourages professors to en
gage in outside employment and consulting as a means of
"broadening experience and keeping abreast of profession
al activities."
For most outside activities, on'y approval by the
college dean and the campus chancellor is necessary,
Wood said. However, some activities require approval by
the regents.
Continued on Page 3
Wednesday
Cheap students: Students will have to learn to economize
in order to attend college in the future, according to a
state education official Page 6
Urban Cowboy: Mickey Gilley's nightclub may have start
ed the year's most outrageous trend, but you won't
find him complaining about his new found popular
ity Page 8
Shootout in Soo norland. The Husker basketball team in
vades Norman, Okla. tonight for a battle with Okla
homa Page 10