A SUN supports
Indian burial rights bill
By Ryan Steeves
Staff Reporter
Legislation aimed at protecting
human remains and graves received
endorsement from student leaders at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Wednesday night.
The Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska passed a bill
that supports LB340, which is being
considered by the Nebraska Legisla
ture.
The bill requires ASUN to send
copies of ASUN’s bill, Senate Bill
65, to each state senator. It also en
courages UNL students to write their
state senators in support of LB340.
Some senators who supported the
bill said burial remains are sacred
among all people. Sen. Brian Svoboda
of the College of Arts and Sciences
called the protection of remains and
graves a First Amendment issue.
Svoboda, sponsor of the bill, said
those who remove remains infringe
on people’s religious freedom rights.
No one has the right to disturb re
mains, he said, regardless of the de
ceased’s culture or race.
“This is not a minority issue,’’
Svoboda said. “This is an issue that
affects us all.”
LB340, sponsored by State Sen.
Ernie Chambers of Omaha, would
require the Nebraska Stale Historical
Society to return all identifiable skele
tal remains in its collection to the
Pawnee tribe of Oklahoma for re
burial.
The bill also would regulate the use
of all unmarked burial sites in Ne
braska and create a set time for scien
tific study. After this time, the re
mains would have to be reburied.
James Botsford, an attorney who
spoke i f favor of the AS U N b i 11, cal led
LB340 a matter of human dignity and
justice. Botsford, who runs the Indian
Law Office in Walthill, said many
older graves, Indian and pioneer alike,
are often “ransacked in the name of
science.”
“Those old graves that are not
(considered) modem graves are sub
ject to what we’ve been calling a
finders and keepers rationale,” he
said.
Botsford said the historical society
has no right “poking around” in others’
graves. He called James Hanson, di
rector of the historical society, an
“Indian fighter” because of his op
position to LB340.
Hanson has said he opposes certain
parts of the bill because they would
be detrimental to the study of Great
Plains history.
Svoboda said those who oppose
LB340 because they believe the
remains have scientific and educa
tional value have valid arguments.
But those arguments do not supersede
burial rights.
Those who study the remains can
use past studies for their “body of
knowledge,” Svoboda said.
“They have studied burial remains
exhaustively,” he said.
Sen. Chip Drccsen of the College
of Arts and Sciences said science and
education concerns arc not more
important than human rights.
“To me, it’s just loo heavy a price
to nay over individual rights, Dreesen
said.
Other cultural groups would not
want their ancestors exhumed, he said.
Groups such as American Indians
should not be singled out, he said.
“I just thought that’s insane -- that
they’re a group of people that can be
subjected to this and we can't," he
said.
Four senators voted against Senate
Bill 65.
Sen. Nancy Chapek of the College
of Agriculture said she voted no be
cause the burial remains controversy
is not a student issue.
Sen. Bill Munn of the College ot
Journalism, who also voted against
the bill, said senator; should not endorse
LB340 because state senators still
could amend it.
Munn said state Sen. Jerome Warner
of Waverly plans to introduce amend
ments to the bill when it comes to the
floor of the Legislature.
But an amendment to Svoboda’s
bill states that ASUN endorses LB340
in its current form.
Sens. Jill Durbin and Phil Gosch of
the College of Arts and Sciences also
voted against the bill.
LB340 is expected to reach the
floor of the Legislature this week or
next.
Concerned Students for COLAGE listen to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen
Wednesday in the ASUN office.
Involved
Wli
_ _
University
Programs
Council.
Do you desire the chance to be
involved in a student organization?
The University Programs Council
(UPC) is looking for energetic
students who have interest in pro
gramming events on campus.
Gain professional experience by
organizing events and working with
entertainers.
Get your chairperson applica
tions today at the CAP offices.
Turn in by March 6.
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472-2454 Room 200
City Union
PlrotpmiMi Sowaot
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TT^* f
COLAGE fund denial discussed
COLAGE from Page 1
cussion about COLAGE at the Feb.
15 ASUN meeting. Protestor Sheila
Bollish said Thomlison’s statement,
“I assume we’re all Christians here’’
was a “flagrant violation of First
Amendment rights.”
Discussion became heated when
Thomlison, a general studies senator,
entered the office. Thomlison said his
decision to introduce the amendment
to deny COLAGE funding was based
in part on the U.S. Supreme Court’s
ruling that homosexuals do not have
minority status.
Group member Jeff Beaty said the
court had ruled that sodomy is not
protected by law, not that homosexu
als don’t have constitutional rights.
Thomlison said the ruling influ
enced his decision because homo
sexuals practice sodomy, which is
illegal in 24 states.
“I think what the members of the
organization (COLAGE) practice, by
definition of what the organization
stands for, is perhaps wrong from a
moral standpoint,” Thomlison said.
Several students disagreed with
Thomlison’s statement, saying that
sodomy and homosexuality arc not
the same issue.
Bowman said Thomlison’s remark
was prejudiced. The point of CO
LAGE, he said, is to educate people
about homosexuality, which should
be allowed at UNL.
After receiving a phone call from
Jorgensen, Gricscn came to the ol I ice
to speak with the protestors. Griescn
said he has not received the ASUN
allocation bills yet or made a decision
on the issue.
Bowman asked Gricscn if the uni
versity is committed to homosexual
ity education. Griescn said the uni
versity has an obligation to present a
program of speakers which is ideo
logically balanced. In the last three
years, the University Program Coun
cil has sponsored events and programs
aimed at reducing homophobia, he
said.
Griesen said the COLAGE issue
does not center on morality, but rather
on who is responsible for funding
such a group. In 1978, he said, the NU
Board of Regents decided to stop
funding special interest groups, be
cause every group felt it had a right to
student fees.
The regents decided only three
organizations should receive student
fee money - the Daily Nebraskan,
ASUN and UPC. UPC receives a
budget each year, and ASUN approves
funding to specific programs within
UPC.
The legitimate debate, Gricsen said,
is whether or not gay and lesbian
groups should have equal status with
other minority groups that receive
UPC money.
Griescn said if he finds that ASUN
senators blocked the funding based
on their personal preferences instead
of legitimate programming concerns,
he would make his own decision based
on programming concerns.
But Griesen said his usual reflex is
to support student government deci
sions.
“lam loathe to not accept student
government recommendations, be
cause I really believe in student gov
ernment, “ Griesen said.
Petersen arrived around 4:30 p.m.
and spoke with the protestors for about
an hour. They questioned Petersen
about why homosexuals are not rec
ognized as a legitimate minority.
There are many cultures and mi
norities on campus who do not re
ceive money from the university,
Petersen said. For example, he said,
Malaysian students are a minority
and they arc probably discriminated
against more openly than homosexu
als because people can visually tell
they are a minority.
But the protestors said homosexu
als who are open about their sexuality
in public also arc discriminated against.
Petersen said financing COLAGE
would set a precedent for funding
other special interest groups. Bow
man and Eckcrslcy disagreed, saying
that Petersen is continuing homopho
bia by notgiving money to COLAGE.
“Homophobia comes from igno
rance,” Eckcrslcy said, “and you are
promoting the ignorance by not al
lowing funding.”
High school students may he offended
PROTEST from Page 1
tor lor Early Warning!. She said he
told her there would be no such
incidents.
“Some of the less liberal (high)
schools might be put off,’ ’ Howell
said, “and we didn’t want to of
fend anyone.”
Howell said that although she
admired the activities of Early
Warning!, she still was concerned
about falsely being assoc iated with
the group.
“I think it’s great what they’re
doing,’ ’ she said, referring to Early
Warning!’s protest
Howell said being wrongly as
sociated with Early Warning! might
jeopardize financial support for the
Model UN. Since the event is part
of UPC, which is backed by stu
deni fees, Howell said association
with a group, some student’s be
lieve is radical, could damage fund
ing for Model UN.
Early Warning! publicist Nell
Eckersley, said she was upset that
money has to determine so many
factors of campus activities.
“It’s kind of sad that funds guide
student life/' she said.
Implementation of ID system begins in April
ID from Page 3
Griesen said the ID cards will be
issued in April to residence hall stu
dents signing hall contracts for the
1989-90 school year. About 2,000
cards arc expected to be issued by the
end of the semester.,
.During the summer of 1989 the
cards will be issued to about 3,500
incoming students participating in New
Student Enrollment. Another 1,000
cards are expected to be issued during
fall registration, Griesen said.
UNL will start distributing cards
this semester and throughout the
summer to students who have Uni
versity Bookstore charge accounts.
All other students will be issued
their new cards during the fall of
1989.
Griesen said UNL will set up an ID
office and staff in the University
Bookstore.
Sites also will be set up at different
times during the (all semester on both
campuses to make it easier for stu
dents to obtain the cards, he said.
The ID will be a hard card, like
bank cards, with the student’s name,
picture and date of issue. Students
will be able to keep the same card
until they leave UNL, he said.
One concern that has been raised
about the card, Griesen said, was
whether the ID’s would prevent stu
dents from selling their football tick
ets.
“My discussions with the ticket
people to date convinced me that they
are not trying to slop students Irom
selling their ticket to their roommate
whose girlfriend or boyfriend wants
to go to the game,” he said.
“The ticket office does want to
slop the scalping of student tickets so
that the sections for students can truly
be used by students,” Griesen saiu.