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Friday, partly sunny and cooler, high
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mkj-SOs.
Vol. 89 No. 6
Freedoms threatened, art officials say
By CJ. Schepers
I Staff Reporter
Several Lincoln art profession
als say freedom of expression
is being threatened by an
amendment that would prohibit allo
cation of federal money for artworks
found obscene.
‘‘I would hope that the students of
the University of Nebraska would be
concerned,” said George Neubert,
director of the University of Nc
braska-Lincoln’s Sheldon Memorial
Art Gallery.
Neubert said the Helms amend
ment, which would restrict federal
aid to art projects found obscene or
religiously offensive, is the latest
assault on the rights of Americans to
express their ideas freely.
According to Joseph Ruffo, UNL
art department chairman, the amend
ment already has caused a “chilling
effect” in the art field.
He said there is growing concern
in the field that many galleries and art
institutions might feel inhibited by
the threat of funding cuts in retali
ation for art considered offensive.
‘ ‘The artwork cannot hurt you, cut
you ... the worst thing it could do is
make you uncomfortable and the
greatest it could do is make you
think,” Ruffo said.
The obscenity legislation was in
troduced by Republican Sen. Jesse
Helms of North Carolina in reaction
to controversy surrounding two art
exhibits produced by Andres Serrano
and the late Robert Mapplethorpe,
sponsored by the National Endow
ment for Arts.
Serrano’s exhibit included a pho
tograph of a crucifix in a specimen jar
of urine, and the work of Mapple
thorpe contained pictures considered
to be homoscxually erotic.
In July, the U.S. House of Repre
sentatives approved cutting $45,000
from the NEA’s arts budget, and
voted to reallocate $400,000 from the
Visual Arts Program into folk arts
and locals programs.
Later that same month, the U.S.
senators gave their voice-vote ap
proval to the Helms amendment.
Neither measure has become law.
The House and Senate will hold a
joint conference on the bill in Sep
tember before making any final deci
sions.
Neubert said the obscenity legisla
tion is linked with a pattern of “re
trenchment” or “conservatism” in
government today.
“The mood in the U.S. is a re
trenchment of issues for a variety of
reasons,” Neubert said.
Some of those issues, he said, in
clude the restrictions on abortion
rights and a flag-burning demonstra
tion which resulted in President Bush
asking for a constitutional amend
ment to be introduced protecting the
American flag.
Neubert said Americans canthold
their own personal beliefs on such
issues, but they do not have the right
to subject others to those beliefs.
He said the recent voice vote in
Congress approving the Helms
amendment shows the senators’ lack
of courage.
“I have been disappointed in
Nebraska’s representation in this
system,” Neubert said.
Rep. Doug Bcrcutcr, R-Neb., and
Sen. Jim Exon, D-Ncb., arc remain
ing silent about their positions on the
Helms amendment. But written state
ments from both congressmen show
that they supported the action to cut
endowment funds by $45,000.
Both Nebraska congressmen also
wrote that they urged the NEA to
review its artist-funding procedures
so taxpayers’ money is not spent on
artwork considered obscene or offen
sive.
Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Ncb., could
not be reached for comment.
Ruffosaida NEA system review is
unnecessary.
Anne Pagcl, director of Haydon
Art Gallery, 240 N. Seventh St.,
agreed, saying the NEA has a “very
distinguished” record.
‘ ‘ N inety to 95 percent of the artists
we deal with have a masters, teach ..
. or exhibit at national levels,” she
said.
‘‘NEA has been enormously suc
cessful and conscientious in selecting
projects to fund,” Pagel said.
Since its inception, the NEA has
awarded 85,000 grants, and only 20
(or 0.02 of 1 percent) “have caused
genuine controversy,” according to
Graham W.J. Beal’s Aug. 28 edito
rial in the Omaha World-Herald.
Beal is director of Joslyn Art Mu
seum in Omaha.
Neubert said he was perplexed by
the media response to this “censor
ship,” particularly the position
which the Omaha World-Herald has
taken supporting the NEA cuts.
embraces freedom of speech, would
support censorship on the arts group.
The Helms amendment reads as
follows:
“None of the funds authorized to
be appropriated pursuant to this act
may be used to promote, disseminate,
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Rodgers seeks food stand deal
By Jerry Guenther
Senior Reporter
If final details can be ironed out,
Nebraska football fans will
have an opportunity to buy
enchiladas and burritos from a stand
operated by Johnny Rodgers during
home games this fall.
Gary Fourakcr, assistant athletic
director for business affairs, said
Thursday that he is hopeful a decision
can be reached today on whether the
former Hcisman Trophy winner from
Nebraska will be allowed to sell his
concessions at Memorial Stadium on
a one-year trial basis.
Fouraker said the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln currently operates
the concession stands at Memorial
Stadium with some businesses con
trading UNL to sell their items.
Rodgers said he decided he
wanted to open a concession stand
because he always has been inter
ested in Nebraska football and thinks
he can provide a service to the fans.
He said that if he is allowed to sell
his products, he will use vendors from
the Boys Club to sell the items in the
stands and in front of the stadium.
Rodgers said he hopes to operate
two concession stands, one on the
east side and one on the west side of
South Stadium.
Fourakcrsaid UNL receives about
two or three requests every year from
businesses to set up concession
stands at Memorial Stadium, and
occasionally the requests are ap
proved.
See RODGERSon 8
Chris O'Gara takes a drink of water during football practice Thursday when temperatures
reeched the 90s. The team consumes more than 100 gallons of liquid during a hot practice,
according to a team trainer.
Foundation initiative ‘ahead of schedule’
By Becky Tideman
Staff Reporter
Che NU Foundation is “ahead
of schedule" on its initiative
to raise $30 million by 1992,
said Terry Fairfield, foundation
president
The foundation’s five-year initia
tive, “An Investment in People"
clearly is successful, said Theresa
Klein, director of public relations for
the foundation. But it is hard to estab
lish the exact progress of the initia
tive because of the “nature of giv
ing," Klein said.
Donations can vary from outright
gifts, which are immediately accred
ited to the foundation, to pledges that
are paid gradually over a three- to
five-year period, Klein said.
She said that when the founda
tion’s fiscal year ends Sept. 29, fig
ures will be available on the initia
tive’s progress.
Of the foundation’s $30 million
goal, $12 million will be allocated to
establish new professorships and
chairs, 33 of which already have been
created since the initiative began in
August 1988.
4 ‘The university is only as good as
its faculty,” Fairfield said. The fac
ulty should always be the university’s
“No. 1 priority/’ he said.
Other areas designated to receive
funds from the initiative include re
search and development, library en
hancement, endowments for gradu
ate students, faculty salaries, innova
tive projects and nontraditional re
search facilities.
While the foundation is not target
ing any particular college or depart
ment, Fairfield said, he expects the
engineering and science colleges to
benefit the most.
Fairfield said that although indi
viduals account for 65 percent of the
contributions, corporations and other
local organizations also play a major
role.
Fairfield said local businesses
donate partly because it is in their
best interests to help the university
produce prepared graduates who
want to stay in Nebraska.
He said the overall mission of the
foundation is to “attract private sup
port to add a margin of excellence"
to NU.
“We are a separate organization,
but exist solely for the benefit of the
university," Fairfield said.
Basic or core support for the uni
versity is provided by tax dollars, stu
dent fees, residence hall fees and
other sources. The foundation pro
vides the “frosting on the cake - the
extras," he said.
Local grant will help children
build their cultural awareness
By Lisa Bolin
SufT Reporter
Starting next semester, the
University of Nebraska
Lincoln will use a $1,500
grant to increase children’s cultural
awareness, said Pauline Zeece, direc
tor of the Child Development Labo
ratory on East Campus.
Zeece said she will use the grant
money given by the UNL Institute for
Agriculture & Natural R^' ources to
develop a set of activities for student
teachers.
UNL students in the human devel
opment and family department will
receive classroom training on how to
teach cultural awareness, Zeece said.
They will apply that training when
working with children in the Child
Development Laboratory, a day-care
center, she said.
The lab is open to children aged 2
to 5 1/2 whose parents are UNL stu
dents, faculty or staff members. Stu
dents under faculty direction take
care of the children.
The gram will help recruit fami
lies of various cultures to supply in
formation about the cultures in their
homeland, she said.
It also will help purchase materi
als and toys from other countries,
Zcece said.
About 20 percent of the children in
the lab are from international fami
lies, she said.
Zecce said the grant will make it
possible to “create an environment
where children learn that all families
are different.”
“This will teach the kids to re
spect the differences between cul
tures and the differences within their
own cultures,” she said.
Teaching about various cultures
follows the anti-bias curriculum pol
icy, of the school, she said.
At an early age, Zeecc said, chil
dren are aware of differences such as
race, sex and language. She said she
hopes teaching children about cul
tural differences early will “broaden
their views of their own cultural iden
tity and the way the world works.”
In a July 15 editorial, the newspa
per said it approved of the House’s
vote to cut NEA’s budget in a
counterattack to the two controver
sial art exhibits.
Neubert said that he is distressed
by the World-Herald’s stand on the
NEA issue. He said he finds it
“ironic” that the news media, which
