n an
thursday, aprU 30, 1980
tincoln, nebraska vol. 106, no. 74
wire
t 4
Law college letter opposes Legal Services cuts
By Kim Hachiya
The Student Bar Association at the UNL College of
Law has sent a letter opposing President Ronald Reagan's
cuts in the federal Legal Services Corp. budget to the Ne
braska congressional delegation.
Andy Toft, UNL association president said Reagan's
proposal to cut from $100 million to $200 million from
the $321 million program would leave it "a virtual shell
of a program which won't do that much good for any
body." The entire program would be eliminated by
1982.
"Reagan has a very strong desire to cut this out of the
budget," Toft said. "When he was governor of California,
he tried to do the same thing.
"We felt as law students that Legal Services provides
very important services to the poor people of this
country. Without Legal Services, they will be over a bar
rel." Toft said many disputes which poor people get in
volved in may involve landlords or others who are unable
to afford to hire some legal help.
"We all know that with legal help in court, you're
just out of luck," he said.
Toft said students from other law schools had contact-
Gfficial predicts enrollment to
drop slightly in 10 years
Enrollment at UNL will decline slightly in the next
10 years, said UN L's director of institutional research and
planning. .
Harry Allen said Tuesday he expects high school
graduating classes to continue to decline in size, resulting
in fewer entering freshmen.
"The decline will not be large, about 5 percent,"
Allen said.
The Reagan administration's proposed cuts in student
loans also may affect enrollment, Allen said.
"The cuts might increase enrollment here," he said,,
"because students who might have gone to a more ex
pensive institution might come here instead."
However, loan cuts could also prevent students from
attending UNL, he said.
Allen said he is not sure how many older students will
return to school in the next 1 0 years.
"I don't expect any growth at UNLat all," Allen added.
Currently, 24,128 students are enrolled at UNL.
ed the UNL SBA asking for their support. He said the
letter was sent to the Nebraska senatorial and congress
ional delegations in an effort to give them some indicat
ion of what the sentiments are in Nebraska.
Tony Leffert, junior class president at the UNL College
of Law, said the group is aligning itself with the American
Bar Association which is lobbying to keep the budget
intact.
"Indigent people have the right to legal services.
The total amount of the Legal Services budget is insig
nificant when compared to the increases in defense spend
ing Reagan has planned, Leffert said.
Toft said he did not know why Reagan is so opposed
to the Legal Services concept. Some people in the Reagan
administration have said lawyers oppose the cuts because
Legal Service guarantees them jobs; that if Legal Services
is cut, other lawyers will pick up indigent cases for free
and that Legal Services lawyers litigate against the govern
ment. Continued on Page 9
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Former Husker football teammates Andra Franklin and John Noonan take time from an equipment check
where they were issued new shoes. The two were drafted by the Miami Dolphins. For more on the pro draft,
see Page 14.
Sexual harassment often unrecognized at UNL
By Beth Head rick
Editor's Note: This story was written
as an assignment for a depth reporting
class in the UNL School of Journalism.
In addition to the story, this report con
tains some analyse based on numerous
interviews.
Recognizing what sexual harassment
is, realizing that it isn't necessary to grin
and bear it, and developing ways to fight
it and still protect the victims are problems
at UNL
The fact that few cases are reported to
the UNL Affirmative Action office does
not downplay the problem, but points to
it.
Brad Munn, UNL affirmative action
officer, said that in the five years he has
been at UNL, he has worked on only 10 to
12 cases.
But of 17 sexual harassment victims
interviewed for this article, not one had
sought help from Munn, and only three
had complained at all. Of the three, one
woman went straight to the professor who
had harassed her and the other two talked
to faculty members.
Cases are not reported for a variety of
reasons. Women feel the system puts the
victim too far out on a limb, or that they
will lose more than the harasser. Women
often feel they are to blame for what
happened to them.
One faculty member observed in an
interview that "the types of students who
speak out aren't the types who are harass
able." This points to the major problem of
recognition.
. Sexual harassment can be subtle, and
for many it takes time to recognize it and
time to realize they dont have to take it.
But by then it may be too late to take
action against the harasser.
Amone the women interviewed was this
4, - -
typical case:
A male professor called one UNL stu
dent up to his office, leaned over walking
past her, put his hand on her cheek and
kissed her on the mouth.
The 20-year-old sorority woman said.
"I was surprised and confused. A thousand
things go through your mind, like: 'Did I
lead him on? Why me? Is this harassment!
How should I react? Is it worth telling
someone or is it an innocent little thing?'
I tried to calm myself and I probably did.
too much."
She never filed a complaint.
Sexual harassment and rape have para
llel dynamics. In both cases the victim is
treated as a sexual object and is made to
feel guilty.
"Women are conditioned to ignore
sexual harassment," said Marcee Metzger,
coordinator of the, UNL Women's Resource
Center. "And they allow themselves to be
blamed.
Problem alive and well
When Phyllis Schlafly, leader of the
movement to defeat the Equal Rights
Amendment, testified last week before the
Senate Labor and Human Resources Com
mittee that only women who are not
44virtuous" are sexually harassed, she epit
omized an attitude that keeps sexual har
assment alive and well. The idea that th
woman asks for it, either by dress or
manner, supports a system that oppresses
women and also keeps them from doing
anything about it. ,
Simply stated, most women feel defeat
ed before they begin, and just learn to live
with it.
As another student said, "It didnt seem
worth it. When he (a professor) made
sexual comments to me I felt sick. It
bothered me for a few days, but I can't see
how it affected my work directly. I just
went on with it and tried to forget it."
Later in the interview she added, "I
think there's this mechanism women have
where they deny that it's happening or that
it's important. It's standard procedure to
cope for women; you pretend it's not
happening."
There has been no survey at UNL to see
how prevalent these cases are. But a survey
at the University of California at Berkeley,
in 1974 found that one of five women had
been sexually harassed on campus.
Harassment surveys
That survey also marked the beginning
of an awareness that the problem existed
to a greater extent than most people
there had thought, said Diane Clemens,
affirmative action officer at Berkeley.
Munn said he's waiting for the results of
a survey taken at Arizona State University.
He wants to use a similar survey at UNL
It is a 19-page questionnaire given to
faculty, staff and students. A spokesperson
at Arizona State said the results are now
being analyzed. The findings will be avail
able next fall.
Metzger said she would like the
Women's Resource Center to co-sponsor
a survey. If a survey were taken, she said,
people would become more aware of
the problem. Women come into he center
often, she said, complaining of sexual
harassment.
Metzger said she would like to conduct
workshops on sexual harassment before a
survey is done to educate people on the
issue.
"Most women don't know all the forms
sexual harassment can take," she said.
Procedure criticized
The procedure that is set up to handle
sexual harassment at UNL isn't good,
Metzger said. If the chancellor and others
in power would take an interest in the
issue and give their support to some kind
of investigative committee outside of
affirmative action, women would feel
more comfortable in making complaints,
she said.
Sexual harassment is against the law
under both Title IX and Title VIL
Title IX is the federal statute requiring
schools receiving federal funds to provide
equal education for women. Guidelines
were issued by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission on ' November
10, 1980, under Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits
employment discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, national origin or
sex. The guidelines state that Title VII
prohibits sexual harassment of employees.
Because of the legal ramifications of
sexual harassment, UNL set up its own.
policy against sexual harassment, effective
July 1,1980.
The guideline says: 'The University of
Nebraska-Lincoln affirms that all women
and men-administrators, faculty, staff and
students-are to be treated fairly and
equally, with dignity and respect. Any
form of sexual harassment contradicts the
policies of the University and will be treat
ed as discrimination on the basis of sex.
Continued on Page 10
A Risky Game: UNL Health Center
director says the "(garters" drinking
- game has resulted in some students
swallowing the coins. ......... Page 3
Mondo Radio: Omaha FM station Z-92's
eccentric disc jockeys Otis Twelve and
Diver Dan Doomey ride the Nebraska
airwaves with their . offbeat philos
ophy.. Page 12
First Team Dream: After three years of
waiting, Nebraska quarterback Mark
Mauer hopes to realize his dream of
becoming a Hifekei slailei ...... Tage 14
