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Students stage sit-in to support COLAGE
By Lisa Twiestmeyer
Staff Reporter
About 20 students staged a sit
in at the ASUN office Wednes
day to protest the denial of
funding for the Committee Offering
Lesbian and Gay Events.
Calling themselves Concerned
Students for COLAGE, the students
entered the student government of
fice at 12:45 p.m. and asked to speak
to AS UN President JeffPetersen, who
was out of the office.
The students sat in the office until
5:30 pin. talking to six ASUN sena
tors, Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs James Griesen and eventu
ally, Petersen.
Group member Nell Eckersley said
she was happy with the outcome of
the sit-in. Eckersley said she was
pleased to hear Griesen s viewpoint
on funding, and support for COL AGE
from Arts and Science’s Sens. Brian
Svoboda and Julie Jorgensen.
Protestors agreed that while they
probably didn't change anybody’s
minds on the issue, they did have an
effect.
“We definitely made an impact,”
said Joe Bowman, a sophomore in
arts and sciences. “We just didn’t
succeed. This has been like arguing
against apartheid in South Africa --
we were doomed. But we’re notgoing
to be put in jail for our views.”
Throughout the afternoon, the stu
dents told senators that financing
COLAGE should not be a decision
based on personal opinions or whether
or not senators think homosexuality
is morally right
Students said COLAGE should be
given money because it represents a
minority group — just as groups rep
resenting blacks, Hispanics and
American Indians do. COLAGE needs
money to educate students about
homosexuality, they said, because
homophobia is a problem at UNL.
Jorgensen explained that the deci
sion to fund COL A GE is now out of
AS UN * s hands. COL AGE can appeal
the decision to Griesen, she said.
Several members of the group
expressed anger at a statement made
by Sen. Steve Thomlison during dis
See COLAGE on 6
Early Warning! group
demonstrates by Union
By Larry Peirce
Seaior Reporter
About 20 people braved a
stiff north wind Wednes
day to attend a noontime
Early Warning! demonstration by
Broyhill fountain.
Robert Hitchcock, visiting as
sistant professor of anthropology,
spoke briefly to the crowd about
different kinds of prejudice. Hitch
cock said he has worked several
years in southern Africa to im
prove situations far minority groups,
women and refugees.
He said prejudice awareness is
an important issue, especially right
now, because February is Black
History Month and die Model United
Nations is discussing apartheid.
Prejudice occurs not only against
races, he said, but against indige
nous people, women and gays.
"When you add it all up, it*s
most of the world that we’re deal
ing with," Hitchcock said.
Hitchcock said the election of
David Duke, a former Ku Klux
Klan leader, to the Louisiana Leg
islature, shows that prejudice still
exists in the United States.
The issue is not Duke, but what
he represents, Hitchcock said.
* ’What he represents is a strong
feeling of racism, which is one
kind of prejudice,” he said.
Under apartheid, he said, 74
percent of South Africa’s popula
tion owns only 13 percent of the
land and must use inferior schools
and hospitals.
“The issue is greater than that,”
he said. “Because of the color of
their skin, they’re being denied basic
rights.” Before Hitchcock spoke,
Early Warning! played tapes of
Martin Luther King Jr. speeches.
Early Warning! facilitator Joe
Bowman also spoke to the crowd.
“Prejudice is an arrogant atti
tude of intolerance of our fellow
man,” he said.
Bowman said people in Lincoln
are physically attacked because they
are gay or someone thinks they are
gay
‘Prejudice It an
arrogant attitude
of intolerance of
our Mow manj ^
“It’s true that many of our gay
and lesbian brothers and sisters have
suffered brutality at the hands of
our sick homophobic brothers here
at the University of Nebraska,” he
said. And Jeff Petersen doesn’t think
there’s a need for education about
homosexuality here.”
Last week, ASUN president Jeff
Petersen supported ASUN’s denial
of funds for COLAGE.
In his final comments, Bowman
said the sit-in by "concerned citi
zens for COLAGE” at the ASUN
office Wednesday afternoon was
not sponsored by Early Warning!.
Demonstrators trouble Model UN
By Scott Cook
Suff Reporter
Organizers of the Nebraska
Model United Nations are
concerned that Early
Wamingi’s demonstration against
prejudice Wednesday may have
given visitors the wrong impres
sion that the group is affiliated
with NMUN and the University
Program Council.
Michelle Howell, a junior Eng
lish major and secretary general of
Modal UN, said that although Early
Wanting! is a recognized organi
zation, sne wanted to make it clear
that Early Wanting! is not in any
way associated with Model UN or
UPC.
Howell said she was concerned
that high school students attending
Model UN, which began Wednes
day, would get the wrong impres
sion of the University of Nebraska
Lincoln.
Howell said she heard before
Wednesday that Gariy Warning!
was going to engage in radical
activities in protest of apartheid
and racial prejudice.
“We thought there were going
to be die-ins or something like that,,T
she said.
Howell said she discovered that
these rumors were false after she
spoke with Joe Bowman, facilita
” See PROTEST on 6
Woods encourages youth idealism
By Diana Johnson
Senior Editor
In the 10 years since he began
lecturing in the United States
following his escape from
South Africa, Donald Woods said he
has been impressed with young
Americans* idealism and potential for
idealism.
“However, I think there is a vac
uum in leadership,” said Woods,
whose stand against apartheid caused
his banning from South Africa. “I
think they’ve got the potential ideal
ism, but they lack direction and guid
ance for that idealism.”
Woods, whose book “Biko” in
spired the movie “Cry Freedom,”
spoke to a packed crowd in the Cen
tennial Ballroom at the Nebraska Union
Wednesday.
Woods, who as editor of the South
African newspaper Daily Dispatch
exposed the death of anti-apartheid
leader Steven Biko by government
police, said he is pained to see young
people who claim to be conservative.
“Now it’s OK to be conservative,
but for God’s sake, not when you’re
young,” Woods, who now lives in
London, said to a roar of applause.
The United States has been at its
best when the most broad, most gen
crous and most idealistic views arc
adopted, Woods said.
But in order to make changes, older
members of the U.S. Congress should
be replaced by young, fresh minds, he
said. Younc leaders should target their
energy in that direction.
“Never mind all that about choles
terol and caffeine,” he said.
Knowing the U.S. economic triumph
over the Dust Bowl, Woods said he is
convinced U.S. citizens have the
capacity to do almost anything if
leadership points them in the right
direction.
He also was reminded of that strength
when former President John F. Ken
nedy vowed that the United States
would pul a man on the moon. Woods
said.
He said he wished that same direc
tion would help the United States
solve some of its problems. Levels of
poverty exist in America which should
simply be unacceptable, he said.
“You’re the one country that actu
ally can eliminate the entire prob
lem,” Woods said, ‘ ‘yet none of your
candidates for office make it the
number one priority.
“I would hope the young people
here would get into the Congress, get
into the Senate and put their energies
into targeting them at the real ene
mics, he said.
Bui lhal will only happen if a vole
puls the right leadership in office, he
said.
That one vote for one person is
actually what apartheid is all about,
Woods said.
Black South Africans do not want
to be equal to the white Afrikanccrs,
he said.
Most black South Africans don’t
care that of 317 racial laws, five of
them have been removed in recent
years, he said.
“They’re not interested in those
317,’’ Woods said. “They’re inter
ested only in one and lhal is (for) the
right to vote.’’
In South Africa, 27 million blacks
and other non-whiles arc ruled by a
government elected by 5 million
whites.
A black majority rule is their only
demand, he said.
“They figure once they have the
right to vote the right people into
office,” he said, “they’ll lake care of
those 317 laws.’’
While South Africans and the world
continue to have an ignorance of what's
happening in the country, he said,
because of censorship laws.
See WOODS on 3
Wood*
