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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1989)
NetSraskan I Monday WEATHER Monday, mostly sunny in morning but becoming partly cloudy in afternoon, high in mid 40s, S winds 5 10 mph. in morning. Monday night, partly cloudy, low 30. Tuesday, partly cloudy, high in upper 50s. Wednesday through Friday, little precipitation, highs in 40s to 50s, warming to 60s by Friday. INDEX News Digest.2 Editorial.4 j Sports.6 Arts & Entertainment .. 8 Classifieds.11 April 10, 1989_University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vo!. 88 No. 134 Passed amendment adding Kearney receives criticism By Jerry Guenther Staff Reporter It is still too early to tell what implications an amended bill that would add Kearney State College to the University of Ne braska system might have on the Omaha and Lincoln campuses, uni versity officials said Friday. LB247, which calls for a $250,000 study of post-secondary education in Nebraska, was amended by the Ne braska Legislature Friday to include another bill, LB 160. LB 160 would place Kearney State under the man agement of the NU Board of Regents and add the school to the NU system. The amendment passed 27-12, while LB247 was approved 27-8. JoeRowson, NU director of public affairs, said he did not have any comments on the bill because it still must pass two more rounds of legisla tion and be signed by Gov. Kay Orr. If signed by Orr, Kearney would be come part of the NU system July 1, 1991.' The bill also may be subject to court approval because an attorney general’s opinion states that it is unconstitutional, he said. The opinion, given by Deputy Attorney General A. Eugene Crump and Attorney General Robert Spire, states that a constitutional amend ment would be needed to make Kear ney State part of the NU system. Making Kearney State part of the university system would be a viola tion of legislative history, the opinion states, because the principal mission of state colleges is to train teachers. The opinion also states that the change would be unconstitutional because the State College Board of Trustees is charged with governing the state colleges. Previous court his tory states that none of that responsi bility can be taken away. The opinion was released March 20, after a December request from Sen. Jerome Warner of Waverly, co sponsor of LB 160. Lee Rupp, vice president for uni versity relations, said he thinks sena tors may have been “confused” by the attorney general’s opinion Friday when they passed the bill. Rupp said he wasn’t sure if sena tors passed the bill only to test the strength of the attorney general’s opinion. “I can’t really say,” Rupp said. “That would be speculation on my part.” Rupp also said it is too early to tell what kind of an impact adding Kear See KEARNEY on 3 Resent wants education study By Lisa Twiestmeyer Staff Reporter A bill that would add Kear ney State College to the University of Nebraska system is a “shining example” of “putting the cart before the horse,” according to an NU re gent Regent Don Blank of McCook said at the NU Board of Regents meeting Saturday that adding Kearney State to the university system before further studying the issue is not in the best interests of Nebraska citizens or higher educa tion. Blank introduced a resolution urging the Legislature to adopt a “strategic plan” for post-secon dary education prior to, and as a prerequisite for, any change in that level of education. Blank’s resolution comes after the Legislature gave first-round approval Friday to add Keamey State College to the university system through an amendment to LB247, a bill that would imple ment a $250,000 study of higher education in Nebraska. If the bill passes, Kearney will become the University of Ne braska at Kearney on July 1,1991. Blank’s resolution, which passed 6-2, states that the regents “continues to be concerned about the lack of direction, long-range planning and coordination of post secondary education in Ne braska.’’ It states that Nebraska officials must develop such a plan before any change in governance or structure ot post-secondary education. In February, the regents ap proved 6-2 a resolution urging Gov. Kay Orr to appoint a special task force to study higher educa tion in Nebraska. Blank said several questions must be answered before taking action on the Kearney issue. Those questions include where the uni versity system will be in five years, what the financial impact of add ing Kearney to the system will be and how that addition will affect existing institutions. “I’m very disappointed,’’ Blank said. “There seems to be a driving urge to make Kearney part of the university and then examine the ramifications.” Regents Kermit Hansen of Elk horn and John Payne of Kearney opposed Blankrs resolution. Hansen said a strategic plan for post-secondary education is essen tial, but LJB247 allows two years for developing such a plan before Kearney is admitted to the system. Payne said after the meeting that numerous studies have been done on the issue but they have not accomplished much. Using the word “strategic plan” instead of “study” is just changing the ter minology, he said. Payne said he was satisfied with the Legislature’s action and felt they were “making a correct move.” After the meeting, Blank said the Legislature’s action Friday surprised him because it made LB247 a two-phase program — integrating Kearney into the sys tem and then studying higher edu cation. See REGENTSon~3 Nebraskan Cube gleamer! Rich Flowerday, a UNL arts and sciences graduate, shows his stuff Sunday afternoon at the new skate park behind the Malone Center, 2032 Vine St. The park is open to members cf the Lincoln Explorer Scout Post. Precision Skateboard's Phil Burcher sponsored and coordinated the new park. Police still not ruling out sabotage as cause of weekend gun accident By Lee Rood Senior Editor UNL police and the Nebraska State Pa trol are still investigating a possible sabotage effort at the Star City Gun Show Saturday that resulted in the injury of a 12-year-old Lincoln girl. A shotgun was accidentally fired into a display case, causing debris from the case to hit the girl’s eye, Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance John Goebel said Sunday. UNL officials and Yardlcy Enterprises Inc., the promoters for the event, shut down the Sunday show at the Bob Devaney Sports Cen ter in order to protect the public. Sabotage is “apparently not uncommon at gun shows,” Goebel said. The Sunday Journal-Star reported the in jured girl to be Megan Cherry, daughter of Lancaster County Sheriff’s Deputy Al Cherry. Cherry allegedly was standing near the case when the shot went off. The girl was treated at a Lincoln hospital and released with no serious damage to her eye, Goebel said. Goebel said the man handling the gun was a potential gun buyer. Goebel said university officials had been assured that weapons displayed at the show had been checked by police Friday night and Satur day morning to make sure they weren’t loaded. But Goebel said he was told that two men had been handling the gun earlier, and if it were loaded then, it would have gone off. Officials are still negotiating the financial loss of the show cancellation, Goebel said, and all weapons were re-checked when they were removed from the Sports Center Sunday morn ing. Owen Yardley, spokesperson for Yardley Enterprises, said business Saturday was “spotty,” but that dealers were all fairly happy with the show. Yardley said dealers have been offered a refund for the loss of the Sunday show, but could not say how much that would be. Goebel said he was reluctant to comment on whether future gun shows would be held at the Bob Dcvaney Sports Center until university officials have the opportunity to examine UNL statutes that deal with the way shows are booked. Saturday’s incident follows complaints against the shows’ display of assault rifles by stale Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha and others who have contacted Goebel. Group prepares for protesting By Brandon Loomis Senior Reporter Sixteen people learned how to get ar rested Saturday. Preparing for this week’s “Reclaim the Test Site II” protest in Nevada, Lin colniles, including University of Nebraska Lincoln students, huddled in a local basement and discussed the principles of nonviolent protest. Tyler Divis, a part-time UNL student and the local contact for the American Peace Test, the group sponsoring the protest against nu clear weapons testing, urged those planning to attend the protest to stick to their basic idea: nonviolence. “If violence docs spark, it tends to ignite,” said Divis, who was among the 2,063 protesters arrested for trespassing at “Reclaim the Test Site I” last spring. About 8,000 protesters from across the country set up camp at ‘4 Peace City ” in the desert at that event. Divis explained that passivity in actions and in words is vital if the protesters are to make a strong statement and avoid lengthy jail terms. 4 4 Don ’ t resisi arrest, because you ’ re looking at six months, he said. Swarms of authorities, including the De partment of Energy’s hired mercenaries, arc waiting for protesters to arrive and will be happy to respond to anything that looks like a physical or verbal attack, Divis said. “If you want to stereotype these guys ~ assholes,’’ Divis said of the mercenaries. J Burger, a UNL freshman who has served in the military, said whenever there is the possi bility of violence at a protest, authorities are prepared with strategic deployment of their men and patrolling helicopters. There' s al way s tear gas and there \ al way s M-16s,’’ Burger said. Divis said protesters should avoid speaking directly to authorities. “The best thing to do is sing a song.” The slightest hostile movement, or even touching an authority could be considered as an attack or resisting arrest, he said. Burger said that to avoid violence and to show' that the goal of nonviolence is peace, protesters shouldn’t even show hostility in their eyes. See MARCH on 5