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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1987)
WEATHER: Friday, sunny with __ I some cooling. High in the 70s. Fri- y ■ L/(Ul ¥ V ■ News Digest.Page 2 day night, mostly clear. Low around B^^ I _ W _ J H _ I Editorial.Page 4 50. Saturday, mostly sunny and ■ I Sports.Page 8 warmer. High in the 80s. I ^Bbl I^Ljp Bf V V _^1B ■ I Entertainment.Page 6 _1 lCUl U^IVui ft l~-'::::::.pageiil September 24, 1987 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 87 No. 22 Parents, schools battle book banning By Kip Fry Staff Reporter While the Lincoln Public Schools are ob serving Banned Books Week this week, one Lincoln parent says the schools are acting defensively. “There is enough concern about the quality of material that the school administration has to defend their actions,” said Beverly Bennett. Bennett and her husband have withdrawn their own two junior-high-age children from public schools to be taught at home. ‘I believe in my heart that our kids have been robbed.’ — Bennett Bennett, a member of Tax Payers for Qual ity Education, a Lincoln organization with 2(X) members, maintains that there is no substance in the public schools’ curriculum. She calls many of the books “junk books.” People for the American Way, a liberal anti censorship group, recently released a report that contended that Nebraska ranked first in the nation in attempts to censor books. “We’re trying to point out to the school system that there needs to be more quality,” Bennett said. Her efforts helped remove “Quartsitc Trip” from the public schools’ li brary, a book that she contends “incites lust and sexual promiscuity.” “Average people could gel cranked up eas ily” reading the book, she added. Bcnnell said she would like lo sec more books by classic writers such as Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. “I believe in my heart that our kids have been robbed,” she said. “No one is challenged.” The main priority of the school system, she said, is to get students through school so they can graduate, without any real emphasis on the quality of education. Banned Books Week is sponsored by na tional groups such as the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Association. Lincoln Public Schools officials placed the event on their calendar because they thought it would be interesting, said Meg Laucrman, assistant to the LPS superintendent for communication services. “We feel that the freedom to read is impor tant,” Laucrman said. “Anything that has to do with reading we support.” It is important to distinguish between cau tion and censorship and to realize that they arc not synonymous, Laucrman said. “As a parent, I hate to have someone else decide what my kids read,” she said. Bennett said she has been frustrated when working with LPS because officials have taken what she terms a “don’t-tcll-mc-what-to-do ’ altitude. While at one point in her life she totally trusted the school system, she said she can no longer do that. “People there pride on being part of a plural See BOOKS on 3 UNL student pleads innocent to charges of sexual assault A University of Ncbraska-Lincoln student pleaded innocent Wednesday on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Ipalibo G. Wokoma, 25, was arrested Mon day night after the victim’s mother, a former girlfriend of Wokoma, reported the assault to the police. Lancaster County Court Thursday set Wokoma’s bond at $10,000 at 10 percent, provided he has no contact with the victim, surrenders his passport to the court and has daily contact with the Lancaster county attorney’s office. A court date was set for 9 a.m. Oct. 5. Wokoma could face one to 50 years in prison. Wokoma, originally from Nigeria, said in court Wednesday that he has been in the coun try for five years and is married loan American, said a spokesperson from Lancaster County Court. Crowd injuries prompt UNL officials and students to confront cup throwing By Dorothy Pritchard Senior Reporter University of Ncbraska-Lincoln officials arc launching an information campaign to end cup-throwing fights at football games in Memorial Stadium. Jack Goebel, vice chancellor for business and finance, said several UNL officials met last week to discuss the cup throwing and decided to handle it in the same manner they handled orange throwing in recent years. They will appeal to students. “The most appropriate answer at this point is to simply encourage the people in the stadium to be considerate of one another,” Goebel said. “We believe the typical Nebraska fan isn’t going to do anything like that (throw cups) if they know they might hurt someone.” 10 people were treated at the Sept. 12 Nc braska-UCLA game for injuries related to cup throwing. Several people got stitches for their cuts. Goebel said UNL officials appealed to stu dents alter oranges thrown during football games caused injuries and “the response has been iremen dous.” ASUN President Andy Pollock, who at tended the meeting, said he will make a personal appeal to the presidents of the Greek houses and the Residence Hall Associa tion. “I hope the students lake it seriously,” Pol lock said. “It’s just money being wasted. It might be fun for a while, but there’s other ways to have fun at football games. “ Bob Bruce, director of university informa tion, said they will also flash scoreboard mes sages to fans during the games and appeal to UNL student organizations through the vice chancellor for student affairs’ office. A letter will be sent to several UNL organizations and associations, Bruce said, as well as fraternities, sororities and the residence halls. “It’s gotten to the point where people arc being injured,” Bruce said. By appealing to spectators, UNL officials hope stadium fans will be more “conscious of their behavior,” Bruce said. Goebel said officials are “weighing other options” in ease the cup throwing continues. Dotti Krist/Daily Nebraskan The Mack Truck bulldog Look, there’s a dog on my hood, and there’s a demon in my toothpaste! By Dan Dwinell Staff Reporter Labels, labels, labels. Consumers usually take product logos for granted. But a closer look can often dust off tidbits of company history. For instance, the bulldog on the hood of a Mack truck symbolizes the product’s du rability. According to Larry Lewis, owner of Lincoln’s Lewis Service Center Inc., which sells and services Mack trucks, the trucks were used in World War I. Many soldiers said the trucks were tougher than English bulldogs, Lewis said. After the war, the Mack company began using the bulldog as a hood ornament. Several companies use a person to sym bolize a company’s name. Betty Crocker was born in the offices of General Foods Inc., in 1921. The company sponsored a Gold Medal Flour contest where consumers asked questions about General Foods products, said Kathryn Newton, a public relations supervisor for the company. In order to appear more credible to the women who used the products, General Foods created Miss Crocker. Betty was a popular name, and Crocker was the last name of the advertising executive who came up with the idea. In 1936 the first portrait of Betty was painted, and the rest is history. “It became a symbol of the quality of our products, so it became a symbol for our company,” Newton said. Not all company labels are made up. The name Sara Lee — found on assorted desserts — came from the daughter of the company’s founder. In 1949, Charlie Lubin developed a new cream cheesecake to sell, but he wanted a special name for it. He and his wife were fond of their little girl’s name — Sara Lee. According to Betty McCarthy of the Consumer Services Departmental Sara Lee, Lubin started the Kitchens of Sara Lee and began to sell other products, including Pe can All Butter Coffee Cake. In 1956 the label was sold ^Consolidated Foods. The company changed its name to Sara Lee Inc. in 1985 and is now a Fortune 500 company. A 14-year-old Bavarian named Oscar F. Mayer came to America in 1873. Mayer spent the next 10 years as a Detroit “butcher’s boy” and later worked in . Chicago’s stockyards. With the help of his brothers Gottfried and Max, Mayer leased a failing meal mar ket in 1883. First-day sales were an impres sive $59. Five years later, the market was so popular the owner refused to renew their lease to cash in on the success. The Mayers opened their own business, and today the company operates a major plant on the site. A man named Boiardc opened a restau rant in 1929 in New York. American Home See MACK on 3