UN-Is Allen says jud
unfair
BY PAT MASTERS
Unfair judging in gymnastics has spread
from the Communist countries into the
United States. And it has angered Francis
Allen, coach of the University of Nebraska
Lincoln team.
Allen said his gymnasts may soon boycott
a nationl meet they will show up as if to per
form and then sit along the mats and watch.
The Nebraska team is powerful enough
that people will notice and maybe it will force
the United States Gymnastics Federation to
start using unbiased judges, Allen said.
Nebraska has won the NCAA gymnastics
title the last four years, tying Illinois for con
secutive championships.
Allen said that boycotting a meet is a last
alternative, though.
"I want to present my ideas to top people,
get to top people without making a stink," he
said.
At Princeton University, Allen recently
talked to a top gymnastics judge who agreed
with Allen that unfair judging exists, but Allen
said once his back was turned he doubted the
judge's concern.
At the USA gymnastics championships this
year in Syracuse, N.Y., Peter Vidmar, the
NCAA all-around champion from UCLA
slipped on a dismount from the parallel bars
and was still awarded a 9.65 score. Ilartung
scored a 9.7 and had no noticeable flaws, Allen
said.
The federation is pushing Vidmar as the
number one gymnast in the nation because he
would be the hometown boy during the 1984
Olympics, Allen said. That's fine, he said, as
long as Vidmar isn't pushed in front of an
other American (Ilartung).
If Ilartung doesn't go into the Olympics as
the number one gymnast he has no chance of
winning a medal, Allen said. Gymnasts from
Russia, China and Japan will make it very
tough, he said.
The top six gymnasts of each country per
form beginning with their sixth best. Judges
expect the best to be last and they often
award points on reputation alone, he said.
At the World Cup in Toronto this year
communist judges were pushing for a soviet
gymnast to finish at least second.
"They were just plain giving him scores in
Canada," Allen said.
In one routine the gymnast didn't even
perform a basic requirement a difficult
move into a C position under the parallel bar
and he was awarded a 9.7 score. That was a
"flagrant violation of rules," Allen said.
Two judges from Canada and the United
States argued to no avail with the head Soviet
judge who said the gymnast had fulfilled the
requirement. U.S. judge John Scheer had
scored a 9.4 for the soviet gymnast. He said
he talked with other judges not in the compe-
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Number 6 School of Journalism University of Nebraska July 1,1982
tition who would have scored it a 9.3 or a 9.4.
Scheer, a professor of physical education
and recreation at UN-L, has judged interna
tional meets for six years and national meets
for 12.
He said the soviet gymnast was awarded a
9.7 score in another event that wouldn't have
been above a 8.7 in the United States. The
Soviet head judge was caught cheating once
when he changed scores of the other judges
after the competition.
"Communist judges just don't care. In big
international meets rules are just thrown
out," Scheer said.
Gymnastics judging has also become more
political in the United States. Allen said there
isn't a U.S. coach who doesn't vant fair judg
ing. The United States is the land of the free,
but that hardly applies to gymnastics when
cheating exists, Allen said.
Holiday is brief;
classes on July 5
Students going out of town for Independ
ence Day picnics, reunions and camp-outs will
have to leave their celebrations and return to
classes on Monday, July 5.
Although all classes will be held at regular
times, all university business offices will be
closed. The Student Health Center will not be
open except for emergencies.
In the Student Union, the Harvest Room
Cafeteria will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 : 15 p.m.
Fireworks sales
limited for safety
BY PAT MASTERS
Those early pops, bangs and screeches you
hear days and weeks before this country's In
dependence Day are still illegal. People still
shoot fireworks off early and Lincoln Police
haven't noticed any change in the problems
even though the sale and shooting of fire
works has been limited to Saturday and Sun
day. Officer John Grubb said anyone caught
shooting fireworks illegally can be charged
with a misdemeanor possession of illegal fire
works. The fine is left to a judge's disgression.
Firework sales started Friday and last
until Sunday across the state.
Chief Deputy Sheriff for Lancaster Coun
ty, Merl I lesser, said fireworks are tradition
ally shot illegally. He said he doesn't expect
any new problems just the usual "kids blow
ing up mailboxes."
The story was different for four Unadilla
people about 12 years ago.
Nebraska State Patrol Captain R.J. Syslo
said the four died when their car "literally
blew up" from an explosion of m-80's they
were carrying.
The State Patrol can't make periodic
checks of cars for illegal fireworks unless
they first have probable cause for stopping
the car, Syslo said.
He said anyone caught with possession of
illegal fireworks can be charged with unlaw
ful possession of explosive material a class
three misdemeanor punishable of up to three
months in jail'andor a fine not exceeding $500.
Legal fireworks in Nebraska include spar
klers, spray fountains, vesuvious fountains,
colored fire cones, stars and comet type area
shells, color wheels and ladyfingers not ex
ceeding seven-eighths of an inch.
Fire works banned in Omaha
The ladyfinger is illegal in Lincoln and
fireworks are completly banned in Omaha. In
nearby Bellevue there are 45 stands in the
limited nine block area.
People can buy fireworks in Pagle, Hick
man or Raymond, but firework stands can't
be set up.
Stands must be set up in a corporated vil
lage or a municipality according to Pat Egan
who has 16 stands in Lincoln and 19 in smaller
towns outside of Lincoln.
The banning of ladyfingers in Lincoln and
the restriction to only two days of fireworks
sales have cost Egan to lose nearly two-thirds
of his business. The state isn't collecting as
much sales tax on fireworks and jobs are
being lost, especially by teenagers, Egan
added.
But that isn't Egan's main gripe. He is con
cerned about the children who might not ex
perience the Fourth of July.
"Imagine a little boy, 10 years-old, with a
punk in his mouth, sitting on a street curb
with a strip of lady fingers," Egan said.
Tuesday in Raymond, Egan said he saw a
boy fitting that description sitting in front of a
grocery store. That is why the government
should stop regulating fireworks so all chil
dren can enjoy them,he said.
In Lincoln children under 18 must have
adult supervision to buy and shoot fireworks.
The manager of Duffy's Fireworks, Bob
High, said the new law is putting a strain on
his business, but "he will hold up under it."
The new law will make it safer for Lincoln
only if everyone cooperates. High said he
would prefer fireworks be sold for at least
seven days in Lincoln.
Sunday night at Holmes Park, 70th and
Van Dorn streets, fireworks will be displayed
beginning at sundown. Admission will be
charged for this years display at the park.
Fireworks can be set off in designated
areas at Branched Oak Lake, 18 miles north
west of Lincoln and at Wagon Train, 15 miles
southeast of Lincoln by Hickman.
"Pfi Ym ' ' -
Photo by Kris Mullen
Michelle Stark of Lincoln examined the fireworks
being sold by the Waverly Jaycees Tuesday. Lincoln
law prohibits the sale of fireworks until Saturday but
those wishing to purchase fireworks early can find
them in several surrounding communities.
Court rules Nebraskan is disabled
because of inadequate personality9
Fireworks for the 4th
BY JEAN TIMMERMAN
You can expect more'oohs'and'aahs' this
year at the Holmes Park Fourth of July fire
works display.
The display play is scheduled to last nearly
a half an hour this year as compared to last
years sparse 15 minutes.
The public will also be footing part of the
bill for this years light fantastic. Be prepared
to hand over $1 to watch the display from in
side Holmes Park. Although there was no fee
charged last year, city officials seem to think
that the public won't mind paying for the
extra quality of this years display. The dis
play at Holmes Park will begin at 10 p.m.
other Holmes Park 4th of July activities
include-
Noon sailboat races.
1:30 p.m. softball game between KFOR
radio and the event's sponsors.
2 p.m. canoe races.
3 p.m. model airplane flying exhibition
by the Lincoln Sky Knights.
6 p.m. Kawasaki Jet Ski demonstration.
7:30 p.m. Lincoln Municipal Band.
8:30 p.m. parachutists from the Lincoln
Sport Parachute Club.
ST. LOUIS (AP) Overturning a lower
court, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Wednesday ordered disability benefits to a
Nebraska man suffering from an "inadequate
personality."
Wayne L. Tennant filed for the Social Se
curity benefits Jan. 26, 1979, contending that
he suffered from corns and calluses on his
feet, nystagmus of the eye, and a personality
disorder termed inadequate personality.
He backed his claim up with testimony of
a Creighton University psychiatrist. Dr.
David R. Franks.
The psychiatrist termed Tennant "an inad
equate personality with limited intellectual
and physicial resources which renders him
pretty inept at dealing with everyday things
both interpersonally, socially and vocational
ly. This is compounded by a chronic anxiety
which impairs him further."
"I do not see how it can be argued that a
personality disorder such as this is not seri
ously and permanently disabling," Dr. Franks
concluded.
An administrative law judge disagreed,
saying Tennant could hold less demanding
jobs.
That finding was upheld by the Social Se
curity Administration's Office of Hearings
and Appeals and by a federal judge in Ne
braska. But a three-judge panel of the 8th Cir
cuit said there was no evidence that Tennant
could hold any job.
"The most compelling evidence relates to
Tennant's work history," it said. "Tennant has
held 46 jobs in his 12 years of employment.
His longest tenure at any job was six months.
"It appears that he has been fired from
most of these jobs," said the appeals panel.
The panel said Tennant was discharged
from his last job in September 1978, denied
unskilled labor jobs by five firms in the next
three months, and refused assistance by the
state employment agency in Hastings be
cause "you give us a bad reputation," accord
ing to testimony.
"His attempts at self-employment such as
cutting lawns, have been similarly doomed,"
said the panel.
"There is virtually no evidence in the
record to support a finding that Tennant can
engage in substantial gainful employment,"
said the appeals court, ordering the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to pay Ten
nant disability benefits dating back to Aug. 26,
1976.