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Wednesday, november 11, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 107 no. 56
Copyright Daily Nebraskan 1981
Vietnam veterans ask students to observe day
By Ward W. Triplett III
Veterans Day celebrations will be limited around the
UNL campus today, but at least one veteran hopes stu
dents will take the time to think about why there is a
Veterans Day, and what it means.
The importance of the eleventh hour of the eleventh
day of the eleventh month has a significance I don't think
too many students are aware of," said Jerry Lippencott, a
34-year-old geology student who served in Vietnam
between June of 1970 and May of 1971.
"Right now, I think a lot of people think it's a fad to
sneer at the flag,' Lippencott said. "I hope that some peo
ple will stop and think on Veterans Day, and reflect on
the wars we've been in, wars we might be heading into,
and what we had to fight for in these."
Lippencott was drafted into the Army after attending
college through the most turbulent times of the 1960s.
"Back then we had the Sword of Damocles hanging
over our heads," he said. "It was either do well in school,
or get drafted and shipped to Vietnam," Lippencott said.
lippencott was sent to Vietnam, and served in a Navy
division that sailed along Vietnamese rivers. Lippencott
said that although his division was fired upon a few times,
Street closures wanted by regent
By Mary Louise Knapp
Calling 16th and 17th streets, which run through
the UNL campus, a "real hazard," NU Regent
Edward Schwartzkopf of Lincoln said he will
present a resolution to the NU Board of Regents
Friday to request that the Lincoln City Council
close those streets.
The idea of closing the streets was originally
put forth in NU's Comprehensive Plan in 1968,
Schwartzkopf said.
"We want to have it reaffirmed that the
regents still want to continue with the plan," he
said.
Schwartzkopf said he is bringing up the issue
now because the proposed Northeast Radial, which
would have diverted traffic on 16th and 17th
streets, was voted down by Lincolnites last spring.
"We still need some form of relief from the
traffic," he said.
Closing the streets would produce a "loop"
similar to the one on East Campus, in which people
can drive onto campus via service roads, Schwartz
kopf said. Schwartzkopf said that if the streets were
closed, students would still be allowed to park
there.
Lincoln City Council member Louis Shackelford
said he favors the proposed resolution.
"I would definitely be in support of the resolut
ion, and I think the city would be duty-bound to
support the Comprehensive Plan since they (the
city) worked on the plan with the university,"
Shackelford said.
Council member Eric Youngberg said he would
support the resolution only if a definite plan was
made for diversion of the traffic from the closed
streets.
Youngberg said 19th Street had been considered
as a possible diversion area, but no definite plan for
traffic redirection has been discussed since the
Northeast Radial plan was defeated.
he was never in face-to-face combat. Nevertheless, since
returning to the United States, Lippencott has had mixed
emotions about the war and his part in it.
"We were over there with these highfalutin ideas about
saving democracy and all that. But I think it was a waste
- a terrible waste of lives, and money," Lippencott said.
"Another thing about being in a war is that you never
trust your government again, or you begin to look at it
in a different way. When you're in the war, you can see
how much of a waste they can cause, and all the stupid
things the government will have done. I don't mean just
our government, but governments like Russia, and other
nations are just the same."
Dave Bauer, director of the Student Veterans
Organization at UNL, said that while students may be in
different to Veterans Day, they do have a good excuse.
"A lot of people now don't have a lot of reason to
base an opinion on Veterans Day," Bauer said. "I think
the attitude is pretty healthy considering Vietnam ended
for most of us about 13 years ago."
Bauer was in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam
War, but only spent 1 1 months inside the country itself
in 1968 and 1969.
"It was the standard reason for fighting for your
country, for freedom and democracy," Bauer said. "The
reasons for anybody going into a war are usually as honor
able," he said.
Bauer said he was beginning to change his mind about
Vietnam even before he was actually sent to the country.
"It was mostly because of all the protesting that was
going on," he said. "You were to go off to fight for the
country, yet the country wasn't fighting for you."
Bauer said there are about 50 students involved in the
UNL student veteran organization. He added he heard
there were 1 ,100 veterans last year on campus, but that he
doubted that figure.
"1 don't believe that figure, but there are more out
there," he said. The group is open to all students who
have served in the United States military, National Guard,
or ROTC, not just to those who participated in a war.
Continued on Page 3
Politics have big role in nonpartisan Legislature
By D. L. Horton
George W. Norris, former UJS. senator from Nebraska,
dreamt of a nonpartisan unicameral. That dream may
be vanishing, according to some political experts.
The Nebraska Legislature has come under attack
recently for partisan voting blocks and lobbying.
Voting records from last spring and the special session
seem to support this criticism.
"Nonpartisansriip is a good thing but if it's in parti
san clothing, it's bad," said Lincoln Sen. Don Wesely
in a recent interview.
The Daily Nebraskan takes a closer look at politics
Nebraska-style on Page 8 and 9.
He said partisanship wasn't part of the Legislature
when he was elected in 1978. He said partisanship was
most noticeable during the last regular session.
Wesely said the trend toward partisanship is revers
ible. He said political parties have a role to encourage,
advise and provide materials to candidates but added
he would like to see them prohibited from contributing
money to campaigns.
He said that up to 80 percent of some candidates'
funds in the last election came from their political party.
Wesely added that partisanship only affects a few sen
ators so far, but there are a few issues where this party
bias becomes extremely important, he said.
Sen. Elroy Hefner of Coleridge said he didnt believe
the Unicameral was becoming more partisan.
He said he felt the one-house, nonpartisan system is
more responsive to constituents because senators don't
have to follow a party platform.
Lincoln Sen. Shirley Marsh said the Legislature was
becoming more partisan simply because some of the
members want it that way.
"I like it the way it was, with an emphasis on non
partisanship," she said.
"(Gov. Charles) Thone approached the Legislature
in a partisan manner," Lincoln Sen. Steve Fowler said.
"And it is."
Fowler said that although the Legislature is becoming
increasingly partisan, the urbanrural split is still the
most prevalent.
Lincoln Sen. David Landis said that partnership in the
Legislature is on the upswing and impossible to get rid
of.
He said votes are following party lines and when
there are 32 Republicans and 16 Democrats there is a
definite imbalance.
"Levels of control are developing outside the body,"
Landis said. 'The buttons are not being pushed on the
floor any more."
However, most of the senators interviewed said they
were proud if the nonpartisan way in which redistricting
was handled.
Fowler said redistricting was a big issue during the last
session, but the Legislature managed to handle it in a
nonpartisan manner, so partisanship may not be a true
trend.
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Making Ends Meet: A state senator says the special session
of the Nebraska Legislature created an awareness of cut
ting back government. & 7
If Only Ringo Could Singo: Ringo Starr translates a like
able public image into a new alburn. rage iu
A Good Boot is Hard To Find: Nebraska kicking Coach
Cletus Fischer says the kicking game can often decide
the outcome of a football game Page 12
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Photo by Davt Bentz
UNL student John Spencer takes advantage of Tuesday's afternoon sun by lying in the grass near Selleck Quadrangle.