Daily -n
Friday, October 15, 1982
University of Nebraska Lincoln
Vol. 82 No. 41
Candidate Donaldson condemns military spending
By Jeff Goodwin and Chuck Jagoda
"I've chosen to run a campaign based on humor
because that way I can get away with telling the truth."
The speaker was Curt Donaldson, Democratic candi
date for the 1st District congressional seat held by Rep.
Doug Bereuter.
Donaldson spoke Thursday afternoon at the Law
College in an appearance sponsored by the Women's
Law Caucus.
Donaldson painted a stark picture of America's fu
ture world position.
"We are a nation in retreat from greatness," Donald
son said. "We've turned to a philosophy of every man
for himself and the devil take the hindmost.
"Everyone accepts the fact that Spain, France, Portu
gal and Great Britain can decline from world power.
No one wants to accept the fact that that might happen
to the United States," he said.
In order to help Nebraska's beleaguered farmers,
Donaldson has proposed a "Farmers' Anonymous."
"Whenever farmers feel like going to the bank and
borrowing more money than they can possibly afford
to pay back, they call me and we go drinking," he said.
Donaldson said the economy suffers from excessive
military spending.
"Without any debate, we have embarked on the
greatest defense spending in our history. We are a gar
rison state," he said.
"There is a hidden hope that military spending will
bring us out of this unemployment. Military expendi
tures are not going to bail us out."
Donaldson opposed federal cuts in Social Security
payments to students, saying he favors the current sys
tem.
Donaldson said he thought the Social Security sys
tem "could be managed in the short term. The long
term prospects are more difficult," he said. "One of
the reasons I'm running for Congress is because of their
attractive retirement program."
Donaldson criticized the apathy displayed by today's
college students.
"The kind of apathy I see on campus today goes
beyond apathy," he said. "It is self-destructive. Stu
dents have taken cuts in loans and aid without putting
up a fight."
In addition to a nuclear freeze, Donaldson proposed
what he called "a mutually verifiable pension freeze.
When real military folks get together, they talk about
their pensions. In the event of nuclear war, their pen
sions will be renegotiated. If nuclear war comes, it will
come by mistakes - a sergeant on dope or vodka will
mess up."
Donaldson opposed the current U.S. policy in Cen
tral America.
"I support a cutoff of all military and economic
aid to the present regimes of El Salvador and Guate
mala and of our efforts to destabilize the government of
Nicaragua," he said. "Those are very sad countries and
we are standing right in the face of social reform."
Donaldson commented on a recent poll in the Omaha
World-Herald which showed him with 13 percent of
the vote.
"There was a similar poll at this stage before the
primary which gave me 7 percent of the vote and I ended
up winning the primary with 49 percent of the vote,"
Donaldson said. . "If we increase that 13 percent by
seven, we'll be in good shape. I'm therefore guardedly
optimistic."
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Staff Phwiw
.arry Husker is not just another pretty face, as UNL freshmen Jay Saskwatch, left, and Dan Duncan could attest.
The two are Kappa Sigma fraternity members and are putting together the house's Homecoming display. Displays
will be judged at 3 pjn. today. Saskwatch is a pre-medicine major and Duncan is a business administration major.
Staff Photo by Craig Androgen
Curt Donaldson
purchase of sign
By Ward Triplett
After a debate that lasted four weeks, the Nebraska
Union Board has approved a motion to purchase an
electronic message board on a temporary basis.
The motion was tabled last week after a discrepancy
arose over the trial period. However, program committee
chairman Steve Hardy, at the board's Wednesday meeting,
said the signs could be removed in 60 days.
The 5-foot long sign is provided by the Electronic
News Network of Dallas, Texas. The sign will flash
national and local news messages, advertisements and
announcements -provided by a university source.
Some board members had objected to the sign because
of the low ratio of Nebraska news and the sign's appear
ance in the building. Hardy said if the sign is accepted,
the union will be expected to pay $6 a month for
electricity, as the company makes money from the adver
tising. The board did not decide on a location for the sign
or which office would be in charge of it.
The board also passed by unanimous vote a program
statement to renovate the South Crib.
In new business, the board discussed a request by
Regina Crapson of the University Program Council's
Video Committee to reserve the small television room on
Wednesdays to show "Rockworld," a program of video
performances by rock artists on the small screen.
Currently, the films are shown in the southwest corner
of the main lounge, where poor lighting has caused
viewing problems.
Continued on Page 14
'Teach-In' features history of Palestine, Zionism
By Michiela Thuman
We cannot be happy without being
free. We cannot be free if not secure in
our property. We cannot be secure in
our property if, without consent, others
take it away."
Those were the words used by Pales
tinian Lily Drury to describe the feelings
of her people - millions of Palestinians,
displaced since the creation of an Israeli
state in the Middle East in 1948. Drury,
a former teacher In the occupied West
Bank, spoke along with three UNL pro
fessors at a Palestinian Teach-In" at
the Nebraska Union main lounge Thursday.
Moira Ferguson, associate professor of
English at UNL spoke on the history of
Palestine to 1973.
The country, prior to 1948, known as
Palestine, was a predominantly Islamic
and Arab country with some Christians
and Jews, she said. In 18S0, one-half
million, or 80 percent of the popula
tion was Moslem, 10 percent Christian
and 5 to 7 percent Jewish.
By 1900, the number of Jews im
migrating to Palestine doubled because
of a wave of economic and racial anti
semitism.she said.
The oppressed Jews quest for a home
land was a response to the rise of perse
cution and the common myth of the
nearing return of the Messiah, Ferguson
said. Palestine - in the Holy Land -seemed
an obvious destination for the
Jews.
By 1937, Jews comprised 38 percent
of the population of Palestine. An aware
ness of this change in demographic com
position spurred Arab rebellions that
were curtailed by the formation of Zionist
coalitions to crush the uprisings, she said.
Zionist leaders then met in New York
to plan for the new Jewish state, (declared
in 1948 after the British Balfour Declara
tion) a Jewish army and unlimited im
migration rights, she said. The United
States was introduced as a new center
for Zionism and played a significant role
in Israeli expansion by suppressing any
revolutionary movement in the Middle
East that would disrupt UJS. economic or
strategic interests there.
In 1964, the Arab League helped to
found the Palestine Liberation Organi
zation, now recognized by most major
governments as the sole legitimate re
presentative of the Palestinian people,
Ferguson said.
The exodus of Jews to Palestine was
not a result of a need to return to a place
where they had ancient roots, said Bruce
Continued on Page 14
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