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
