friday, September 25, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 107 no. 23
Copyright Daily Nebraskan 1981
ASUN will co-sponsor gay discrimination panel
By Melimla Norris
Recognizing the presence of a lesbian
population at UNL, the ASUN Senate Wed
nesday agreed to co-sponsor a panel presen
tation on gay discrimination and support a
gay rights ordinance to the Lincoln City
Council.
Voting 24-3, with one abstention, the
senate acknowledged the civil rights of gays
and denounced housing and job discrimi
nation on the basis of sexual preference.
Introduced by Sens. Tim Rinne and Jan
Deeds, the bill asked ASUN to join the Wo
men's Resource Center and Affirmative Ac
tion in sponsoring a panel presentation on
gay discrimination Oct. 8. The panel will
include Sen. Shirley Marsh of Lincoln and
UNL professor of psychology James Cole.
The bill further requested the senate to
support letters to the Lincoln City Council,
the Human Rights Commission and Mayor
Helen Boosalis requesting lesbians be pro
tected under the Lincoln Human Rights
Ordinance when the issue is presented at
the City Council meeting'Nov. 17.
"A person should not be discriminated
against just because of who they sleep
with," Deeds said. "Anyone who discrimi
nates on this basis has a "narrow-minded
view," Deeds said.
Sen. Jim Emanuel agreed about gays'
human rights, but requested that groups
who oppose gays also be present at the
panel presentation.
"To make a creditable presentation and
for ASUN to have its name stamped on it,
it should be set up with both sides of the
story," Emanuel said.
Stating his church considers lesbian ac
tivity a sin, Emanuel asked ASUN to invite
opposition groups to the presentation.
Without equal time, Emanuel said, the pre
sentation would be just a "gay rights rap
group."
Sen. Karie Keown, citing herself as one
of the most conservative members on the
senate, said, "gays aren't what we read in
the papers. They're human beings."
Keown said she is in favor of "any type
of human rights issue that conies to the
board."
Union atmosphere provides
sanctuary for few transients
By Tricia Waters
The man moved slowly through the Ne
braska Union, carrying a stick from some
unknown tree. Union workers noticed that
each day the man carried a new twig, from
a different tree or of a different size. They
called him "Twiggy."
Eventually, the man moved on and
workers never saw him again.
Like other transients who loiter in the
union, the man fit right in to the constant
shuffle of people.
But transients who harrass others and re
quire campus police to be called, don't
fit in, two union officials said.
Union director Daryl Swanson said tran
sients have caused a few problems on cam
pus over the years.
"We understand why our building at
tracts them," he said. "We're a shelter. The
hustle and bustle of our daily activities
tends to disguise them. They can be here
and not be hassled."
Frank Kuhn, assistant director of union
operations, agreed.
"A different person probably fits into
the union because of the different kinds of
students," Kuhn said. "They're less threat
ened in an environment like this than they
are in any other public buildings."
Attend summer school
Kuhn said several people idly stayed
around the union this summer. He said
some of them were college students passing
through who were interested in seeing what
the university's union is like.
Union officials run into legal difficulties
trying to remove undesirable people from
the union, Swanson said. People who pan
handle can be threatened with arrest if
they don't leave, but many people aren't
fazed by threats, he said.
Because the union is a public building,
the people must do something illegal or ap
pear dangerous before police can remove
them, Swanson said.
Kuhn said sometimes transients simply
talk to themselves or talk to students, occa
sionally "bumming" cigarettes or dimes, he
said. At other times, the transients threaten
cashiers and other workers. That's when of
ficials call campus police.
"Sometimes you can talk to the person,"
Kuhn said. "Sometimes we think theperson
may be so far gone or potentially dangerous
that we call campus security right away."
No problem lately
Sgt. Richard Gammel of UNL police
said police officers haven't picked up many
transients lately. But he said transients are
a continuous problem .
"We run into a lot of transients during
the summertime," he said.
When police pick up someone who's act
ing strangely, they first run a check to de
termine whether the person is wanted by
police, Gammel said.
Police turn over a dangerous person to
the Lincoln Regional Center, where they
make emergency committals, he said. The
center handles the person from there by
evaluating his mental condition and treat
ing him, Gammel said.
Someone who isn't dangerous, but needs
food or shelter, is referred to city agencies
where they can get help, he said.
Swanson said he is concerned mainly
that students and others are able to use the
union and not be hassled by others.
"People can stay here for a long time if
they behave themselves and don't interfere
with other people's use of the facilities,"
he said.
Kuhn agreed and added that student
and employee safety is the main concern
when officials consider removing transients.
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On a rainy day, Cody the cat found a perch on the dry side of the screen.
Task force to consider uses for radial corridor
By Patty Pryor
A committee appointed to study possible uses of land
bought by the city for the defeated Northeast Radial will
hold its first meeting Wednesday.
The 17-member Radial Reuse Task Force, appointed
by the city council from approximately 50 nominees, will
look for a development plan concerning land west of 27th
Street to the downtown area, said Dallas McGee, neigh
borhood planning and development coordinator.
In addition, the advisory committee will monitor the
implementation of a plan prepared by a previous task
force, which deals with 50 acres of land east of 27th and
Fair streets to 48th and Fremont streets, McGee said.
The plan, adopted in the fall of 1980, calls for private
redevelopment of a linear park system, industrial develop
ment north of the parks, and expansion of residential
areas to the south, he said.
This area east of 27th Street was bought for $1.2 mil
lion, according to McGee.
Neither McGee nor various members of the committee
know if the current task force will look at the same types
of suggestions and possibilities adopted by the first com
mittee. "The task force is just preparing a format now, which
will outline a stp-by-step process, MeGee said.
It will be important to incorporate any adopted plan
into the context of the surrounding neighborhoods, he
added.
Both Leon Satterfield and Gordon Scholz, members of
the current task force, were also members of the previous
committee.
Satterfield, a member of the English Dept. at Nebraska
Wesleyan University, is representing the University Place
Community Organization on the task force.
Satterfield said it was too early to make any compari
sons between the two committees.
"I ceally dont know the feelings of the new commit
tee," he said, "and any kind of format hasnt been deci
ded yet."
Scholz, a member of the Department of Community
and Regional Planning in the UNL School of Architecture,
chaired the previous committee but is acting only as a citi-zen-at-large
on the current committee.
Scholz, too, said it was premature to discuss any speci
fic proposals.
I'm not that familiar with the specific settings of the
land," he said, "but I assume some basic ideas will be con
sidered, such as residential and commercial development."
Scholz did say, however, that the charge to the com
mittee does not include the option of re-opening the radi
al issue.
"It's explicitly stated that we are not to consider a
through road in any proposals," he said.
The committee will consider such transportation
items as bicycle paths, mass transportation routes and
parking solutions, Scholz said.
Jim Kreizinger is another citizen-at-large committee
member.
He agreed that the emphasis of committee work would
be on reviewing options other than another radial propo
sal. I think there's a pretty general consensus that the ra
dial is a dead issue," he said.
Continued on Page S
o
Jazz it Up: A Musical exercise method called Jazzercise
catches on big in Lincoln Page 9
Third Time a Charm: Perm State football fans are confi
dent the third-ranked Nittany Lions will defeat Nebras
ka this weekend in Lincoln Page 10
Sexy Soaps: Columnist Patti Gallagher explores the popu
larity of daytime drama General Hospital. . . . Page 12