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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1983)
r-:. j 1 u ( 111 w April 1, 1S83 Vcl.82, No. 13 University of Nebraska-Lincoln II i 1 m4eMl mm pDafe J - ' ' V o ate meLDDiis Staff photo by Joel bar tore Omaha lawyer Don Fiedler performs as Clarence Darrow in a two-act play presented Wednesday at the Nebraska College of Law . to atomniev's By Tish Mockler By Kevin Hanken Don Fiedler is a practicing attorney who has balanced his career to become an award -winning actor as well. And Wednesday night, at UNL's College of Law, he mixed his favorite crafts on stage during his performance in a two-act presentation of "Darrow." The show was Fiedler's third opportunity to perform portions of the David Rintel script in front of a live audience. For him, he said, it is pure pleasure to portray a man he has identified with and has been fascinated by for a quarter of a century. "Darrow" is a portrayal of Clarence Darrow, the lawyer whose work as defense counsel in many dramatic criminal trials earned him a place in American history, not to mention in Fiedler's heart as well. Throughout his controversial career, Darrow defended the underdogs : anarch ists, war protesters, crippled coal miners, railroad strikers and, most notably, monkeys, in the celebrated trial of John T. Scopes and the Tennessee state law banning the teaching of Darwin's evolut ion. The Darrow role, originally played by Henry Fonda, has been aired by Public Broadcasting Service a few times this month. Wednesday was Fiedler's second chance to act the part in front of an audience at the College of Law, repeating his performance from last March. He has performed a portion of the work for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union . Fiedler was first captivated by Darrow and his words in a high school speech class at Omaha's Central High School. Fiedler's awe of the man is reflected in the tone of his voice when he speaks about the historical lawyer. Fiedler said Darrow was one of the greatest lawyers of our time, but not a very meticulous one. He said Darrow went to the heart of the situation instead of getting hung up on technicalities. "He was a man of contrast," Fiedler said. "For instance, he had a strong sense of religion, while at the same time he professed not to believe in God. He was an atheist, but he could quote the Bible inside and out." On stage, Fiedler adapts smoothly to Darrow's methods of persuasion and his casual appearance, which in the courtroom liad been the cause of considerable controversy. The Darrow character meanders about the stage spieling anecdotes about his career, occasionally turning away from the audience and taking them back in time by simulated conversations with his wife, Jessie, his former acquaintances, or a jury. Continued on Page 6 Select ion and priority of stories covered in the Daily Nebraskan was a major concern expressed by several students at the Daily Nebraskan Publications Board meeting during Open Forum, Thursday afternoon. Eugene Tolston, in the Teachers Col lege, said he was concerned about the disparity of coverage between the Miss Nebraska and Miss Black UNL pageants and the Homecoming Election. He also questioned the lack of commitment of the Daily Nebraskan concerning the coverage of Black History Month. He said that if the Daily Nebraskan decides to cover a story to fully cover it and follow up on it. Kathy Adkins, Panhellenic President said she would like to see the Daily Nebraskan devote itself to issues "more germane to the University community." She said some students do not read the Daily Nebraskan because much of it is not pertinent to them as students. She said she would like the Daily Nebraskan to be more of a promotional paper instead of simply informing students about campus activities. Students would take their news worthy items to the Daily Nebraskan more often if they were more confident they would be covered, she said. Jim Rogers, senior philosophy major, said that the Daily Nebraskan has an affirmative obligation to represent the entire University community in its editor ials because the paper is responsible to the Publications Board, a "governmental body," and because 7 percent of the paper's budget is derived from a "tax" - student fees - imposed on all UNL students. Rogers said that in broadcasting, edit orials must be signed if they are non commercial and likewise the Daily Nebraskan has the same philosophical obligation to sign its editorials. He also said that the Canon of Ethics states that the Daily Nebraskan was created for free expression of ideas and if it does not publish all letters it receives it is not giving complete access to students. He said that the Daily Nebraskan's Canon of Ethics should be published so that its readers are aware of its responsibilities, and that the Editor should make a monthly report stating how it is enhancing the interests of its readers. Dan Wedekind, former ASUN Pres ident, said that people on East Campus do not feel like they have a paper. He sug gested agricultural speakers be covered instead of the paper concentrating primarily on "politics, economics, psychology and the likes." He commended coverage of the Daily Nebraskan over the ASUN election run-off but said that there could have been more coverage of ASUN during his presidential term. Bob Fitzgerald, former second vice president of ASUN, said that the Daily Nebraskan should make its readers more aware of channels they may appeal to concerning the paper's policy. Chuck Jagoda, an entertainment reporter, asked for an explanation of the criteria used to hire reporters and editors for the paper. He said that he did not feel that having had journalism classes should be a prerequisite to being hired. Editor Margie Honz said that having taken journal ism classes has not been a prerequisite for being hired. Doug Netz, chairman of the Publication Board, suggested that the board write a letter opposing the movement of the Culture Center into the union if it would mean that the space currently allotted to the Daily Nebraskan would be jeopardized. The motion carrie(i.unanimously. Tracy Beavers, Advertising Manager elect, reported a 36 percent increase in pages in the fashion supplement, "Fan fare," and a 7 percent increase in the number of pages in the travel supplement, "On the Road Again." The board approved a move to submit a printing bid for revised publication of First Down. The bid allows for 50,000 copies of First Down to be printed, an increase from 7,000 to 8,000 in past years. In the past it was sold for 10 cents each, but Business Manager Dan Shattil proposed giving it away free in order to cover the needs of the community better. He said that it would allow more news to be covered, and would reach more people. It would be doing students a service by getting more advertising. IZ3 Matff Wallace: Planting seeds for a strong ASUN future Matt Wallace believes in the power of the students. But the students, to help themselves, need to be aware of the political power they have, the new presi dent of ASUN said. For example, he said, UNL students constitue the biggest bloc of votes in the state. A person running or the state Legislature could be elected by getting 6,000 students, registered in Lincoln, to vote for him. But it could be difficult to get students involved, Wallace said, since only about 3,000 students voted in the last election. Lobbying by students and parents also has power, he said, power to make changes in areas such as the university budget. Wallace said he will try to get freshmen involved in ASUN, to plant seeds for a strong future at UNL. "When juniors and seniors get involved, there is really only one year to do things," he said. "There is a myth that we (ASUN) can do anything we want," he said. "We're not a governing body . . . We are an advocacy body, and we should be the tocal point for students to voice concerns on issues they feel are important." Although about 75 percent of the new senate mem bers live in fraternities or sororities, Wallace said he does not believe there will be a problem with student representation because not all of the ASUN executives By Vicki Ruhga live in Greek houses. "In theory, senators should probably be elected by living units," he said, "but it's a practical fact that no, everybody wants to be involved." Wallace, a junior political science major and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilong, said that if the senate were elected by living unites, about half of the senators would be off-campus students. Currently, off -campus students are not involved in ASUN because they do not think the organization does anything, and they are busy with classes and jobs, he said. Wallace plans to keep the lines of communication open to the Residence Hall Associaton to better repre sent residence hall students, he said. He plans to work to eliminate party ties established in the election, he said because ASUN needs to function as one group to be most effective. The problem with party ties is not big, and it involves just a few people, he.said. Wallace said he plans to offer ASUN positions to Action Party members Laura Meyer, former presiden tial candidate, and Greg Krieser and Kay Hinn, first and second vice-presendential candidates. Communication will be one of Wallace's top con cerns. A presidential liaison will speak to living units, clubs and organizations, he said. The executives ad senators will speak to two or three groups per semester. ASUN also will work for weekly column in the Daily Nebraskan, Wallace said. Although the ASUN newsletter probably will con tinue during his administration, Wallace said he would like to see it eliminted in three or four years. "If there is adequate coverage from the Daily Nebraskan, there won't be a need for the newsletter," he said. One of the most crucial areas next year probably will be the university budget. Wallace said he will concentrate on two areas: the Legislature, which gives out the money, and the NU Board of Regents, which divides the money. Because of the groundwork laid by former ASUN President Dan Wedekind and new pregents Nancy Hoch and Margaret Robinson, Wallace said, he believes the board will be more receptive to student input. Wallace said ASUN will not deal with issues that it cannot have an effect on, such as the nuclear freeze. "My view is that ASUN is not a Wednesday night poli sci lab," Wallace said. "We can deal with any matter that we feel is pertinent. The question is: do our constituents want us to deal with it?" Wallace said ASUN talk about issues should not just b meaningless rhetoric;. ASUN needs actions to back up its words.
