y n Daily i
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February 12, 1987
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 86 No. 101
Jackson challenges generation
for end to bloodless violence
By Kari Hulac
Staff Reporter
The challenge of our generation is to make
economic and environmental violence illegal,
just as the last generation worked to make
racial violence illegal, Rev. Jesse Jackson
said in a keynote address at the opening of
the 20th Annual Nebraska Model United
Nations.
"Closing plants on workers without notice
is not illegal," Jackson said. "Driving farmers
from their land with no place to go is not
illegal. Making good minds leave the univer
sities because they can't pay tuition is not
illegal.
"Keeping people out of hospitals with
empty beds waiting for the rich to get sick is
not illegal."
Jackson said the site of the fight is not at a
pizza parlor in New York, referring to the
confrontation in Howard Beach in New York
City, in the death of one young black man, but
at the doors of closed plants and foreclosed
family farms.
He said Reaganomics is the source of eco
nomic and environmental problems.
"It is not black vs. white," Jackson said.
"It is farmers and workers vs. merger maniacs."
He said those who threaten college careers
and national health care programs have ink
rather than blood on their hands.
Jackson blasted Reagan's lack of domestic
civil rights involvement, economic policies
and lack of action in South Africa.
"Ten percent of society holds 70 percent of
the wealth," Jackson said.
He said 41 million Americans live in pov
erty. Most of the poor are young, white
females who are not on welfare, he said.
Jackson said the poor work hard perform
ing simple "nasty" jobs such as cleaning
hotel rooms or toilets.
Jackson called on the Model United Nations
Conference and the "new generation" to res
ist "immoral, senseless, inhumane priorities
that cause so much pain" and take a new
direction.
He said the present government has a
vision that it too limited. The United States
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Paul VonderlageDaily Nebraskan
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Jackson
Jackson: economic violence laws needed
By Jen Deselms
Senior Reporter
Laws must be changed to stop the eco
nomic violence that has caused the loss of
jobs and farms throughout the nation, the
Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a press conference
Wednesday.
In the last seven years U.S. citizens have
lost 500,000 manufacturing jobs and 1 million
jobs that paid $28,000 a year, and 600,000
people have been driven from their farms,
Jackson said.
While racial violence still occurs, Jackson
said, it is illegal and economic violence is
not.
Farmers are not "asking for a handout,
they're asking for a helping hand," Jackson
said. "If we can bail out Chrysler and Contin
ental Bank, if we can restructure the debt of
Europe or Japan and Israel, surely we can do
that for the American family farmer and there
. is sound basis for it morally and economically."
These reasons will make international
economic justice an important issue along
with human rights and the war on drugs in
the 1988 presidential election, he said.
Jackson said he is still considering run
ning for president in 1988, but it is a big
decision to make.
"It is an awesome challenge," Jackson
said. "It is a long, long arduous mission, a
dangerous mission, a significant mission, and
so we need some time to identify friends and
finances."
Jackson said he will authorize a formal
committee to study these factors. On the
committee's recommendations he will decide
whether to run in the spring.
If he runs in 1988, Jackson said, he will
start campaigning earlier and broaden the
base of the National Rainbow Coaltion.
Stncient vote
on NU board
JheaFdl again
By Michael Hooper
Senior Reporter
Once again, the student regent vote has been
introduced to the Nebraska Legislature, and
again several officials have reservations about it,
particularly the NU Board of Regents themselves.
But UNL students, a professor and some citi
zens are prepared to lobby in favor of LR-23,
sponsored by Omaha Sen. Tim Hall, said ASUN
second vice president Dan Hofmeister.
LR-23, which is scheduled for a committee
hearing Tuesday in the State Capitol, proposes a
constitutional amendment to the Nebraska Con
stitution, giving the three student regents from
UNL, UNO and UNMC one vote on a rotating
basis. Under the resolution the student regent
vote would rotate from campus to campus yearly.
Hall said a student regent vote would increase
participation between students and regents.
This year's amendment has been reworded to
avoid the legal problems last year's proposed
amendment to the constitution faced, said Don
Pastillo, Sen. Hall's legislative aide.
Despite the revisions, several members of the
NU Board of Regents said they are opposed to a
student regent vote.
Regents Kermit Hansen of Elkhorn, Nancy
Hoch of Nebraska City, Don Blank of McCook and
Margaret Robinson of Norfolk all said they are
opposed to the student regent vote because stu
dents already are represented on the board.
Regent Don Fricke refused to say whether he was
for or against the student regent vote. The other
regular regents could not be reached Thursday.
Student body presidents at the three NU cam
puses were made student regents by a constitu
tional amendment passed in 1974. The amend
ment allowed them to participate in debate and
vote on parliamentary motions, but denied them
a vote on policy questions. Nebraska voters
approved the amendment by 713 votes.
Earlier that year, former Hastings Sen. Richard
Marvel introduced a constitutional amendment
in the Legislature that would have given student
regents one combined vote. Senators killed the
amendment in favor of the one that voters later
approved.
A similar resolution came up last year in the
Legislature, but, because there was not enough
votes to get it passed, former Sen. John DeCamp
of Neligh withdrew the resolution.
Referring to this year's resolution, Blank said
students sometimes have "tunnel vision" and
may not have "a long-range vision" for the uni
versity. Students often are more concerned
about their social and academic lives than with
the whole university, he said.
Dan Hofmeister, ASUN's second vice presi
dent, disagreed with Blank.
Hofmeister said student regents know as
much or more about the schools they represent,
so their voice should be heard and listened to by
a vote.
At UNL, students appear to be in support of a
student regent vote. Most of the candidates for
next year's ASUN president who have announced
their candidacy have said they support the stu
dent regent vote as many candidates have in the
past. And, Chris Scudder, ASUN president, said
she supports a student regent vote.
Shootings, bombings
just part 'of Model United Nations fun
By Stew Magnuson
Senior Reporter
The horrifying act of terrorism took
place in our own union. On a cold Feb
ruary day in 1983, masked gunmen
burst into the ballroom and shot an
Israeli delegate three times. The un
suspecting man then was dragged out
of the hall, shuffled into a waiting ele
vator and taken away, thus being one of
the first terrorist victims to be shot
first, then kidnapped.
But the weapons were dartguns, and
it wasn't really an Israeli. It all took
place at one of the annual Nebraska
Model United Nations meetings.
A former Libyan delegate, Jim Bates,
now a junior political science major at
UNL, told the behind-the-scenes story of
the 1983 attack. It turns out the
'Israeli' was set up.
"An Israeli delegate approached me
and wanted me to assasinate one of her
own delegates who I guess was being a
little obstinate," Bates said.
Bates, who was the head of the
Libyan delegation, confessed the details.
"I made the Israeli delegate buy the
gun. Then we had the pages ready to
secure the doors as soon as we dragged
him out."
This is just one example of the
strange and unusual events that some
times occur at the Model United Nations.
This year's edition begins today and
runs through Saturday.
Other forms of mock violence are not
unusual. Leslie Greathouse, this year's
NMUN head secretary, recalls letter
bombs sent by the pages (volunteers
who carry messages from delegate to
delegate) that simply read, "Boom.
You're dead." Abuse of the page system
is against the rules and delegations
occasionally get kicked out.
"If there's any terrorism now, the
terrorists will get kicked out," Great
house said.
Native garb or adornments are worn
by delegates caught up in their roles.
But army gear and nationalist symbols
like flags also are not allowed. Real
knives and fake guns occasionally have
been worn. But not for long.
"One delegate had a real knife
strapped to his side. The union people
took that away though," Greathouse
said.
One daring delegate carried in a
machete, said Joe Lutes, chairman of
the Political and Security Council.
"He was told to take it off because it
was a weapon. He said, 'This is so blunt
it couldn't hurt a thing.' Then he
whipped it out and cut a coconut in
half," Lutes said.
"There were also two guys who used
to play the sitar and have prayer meet
ings in the hall. But they weren't part of
the Indian delegation," Lutes said.
"They were just weirdos."
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