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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1989)
1ST TAr C E ^ "I CJ" Cl E" Associated Press i 11 W JL^f 111 CDl Edited by Victoria Ayotte Ortega suspends cease-fire WASHINGTON - The While House on Wednesday denounced Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s decision to end a truce with the U.S.-backed Contras but brushed off talk about renewing military aid for the rebels, saying ‘ ‘we don’t want to give him any excuse” to cancel next year’s elections. The administration said President George Bush was consulting with leaders in Central America to bring diplomatic pressure on Ortega to reverse course. “It is obvious that he’s afraid of the ballot box,” White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwatcr said, re ferring to presidential elections set for Feb. 25 in Nicaragua. Congressional leaders also re acted angrily to Ortega’s move, but House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, D Wash., said, “I can’t conceive of the House moving now toward providing military assistance. That’s not in the direction of the peace process.” Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for spearheading efforts for a regional peace accord, said in an interview on the Cable News Net work, “It’s, indeed, very sad to go back to the military fight.” Ortega, at a news conference in Managua, suspended the 19-month old cease-fire with the Contras, citing continued rebel attacks, and hinted he might cancel the elections. He ac cused Bush of “supporting terrorism in Nicaragua.” He added, “Now it will depend on the Yankee Congress and the Yankee president that these elections take place on Feb. 25.” Later, Alejandro Bendana, secretary general of the Foreign Ministry, said Nicaragua has no plans to cancel the elections. Responding quickly to Ortega, Fitzwater said his announcement “underscores the Sandinista re gime’s lack of commitment to the peace process and democratization in Nicaragua. His deplorable action ... is an affront to the hemisphere and the democratic traditions we hold so important.” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States wants the Contras, too, to honor the cease-fire and will cut off U.S. humanitarian assistance to rebel forces that engage in offensive opera tions. However, he said Ortega’s Sandinista army “has violated the cease-fire from the day it was im posed. It has conducted regular of fensive sweeps against the resis tance, resulting in over 100 killed in the last five months.” Boucher added, ‘‘In recent days, we’ve seen the Sandinista-sponsored thugs attack peaceful political rallies by the Democratic opposition.” A senior administration official said that while the United States wants the Contras to continue honor ing the truce, “Obviously you cannot tell people not to defend themselves. We are hoping the Sandinistas will reconsider.” The official, insisting on anonym ity, said Ortega might not resume the fighting. House votes for $4.25 minimum wage hike WASHINGTON - The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to raise the hourly minimum wage from $3.35 to $4.25 by April 1991 and create a new, lower wage for teen-agers with less than six months work experience. The 382-37 vote on the compro mise struck between President George Bush and congressional Democrats sends the measure to the Senate, where leaders have promised to pass it before Thanksgiving. • “ Andy Manhart Daily Nebraskan Performance artist shocks BOSTON - Practitioners of shock art have danced barefoot on glass and bitten the heads off live animals, but as one of them faces possible arrest for lighting fire works on his chest the question of how much is too much is being asked more than ever. The limit, however, is “when people arc placed without knowl edge in a position of danger them selves,” he said. Whether that can be classified as art or not, it’s inappropriate.” Joe Coleman may have pro vided the acid test in Boston. Coleman, who appeared before a small audience at the Boston Film and Video Foundation, bit off the head and front legs of a white mouse and hugged one spectator after he poured a bucket of blood over himself. r:m - a ■ SEPT. 15-NOV. 19 STATE FAIR PARK I VISSER from Page 1 letes because they would stop stu dents from making up for bad grades by taking summer classes. Her desire to examine the effects of the new academic standards led to her investigation of student athletes’ records, she said. Visser said she used spare time, probably about two hours a day, to access athletes’ academic records on her computer and made a chart in a red notebook of their grades. She never made a student’s record public to anyone outside the univer sity, she said. “It did not appear to me out of my line of duty at all to do what I was doing,” she said. Visser said she always got good performance evaluations. Her first criticism by a supervisor was in Janu ary 1988 when Gregory wrote a memo saying she was late too often, had too many personal visits and phone calls and held loo many closed door sessions. Visscr responded the next day that she was not late or did not have any more personal business at work than the other advisers. Visscr said she did reduce the amount of personal busi ness conducted at work. On March 30, Gregory sent Visser another memo about her absences, personal conferences and phone calls and closed-door sessions. “I was totally surprised,” Visscr said. ‘‘I felt 1 had corrected that.” Visser said she asked Gregory for a specific instance of his allegations, and he cited the time she left for 30 minutes to pick up her daughter. Vis ser said she left on her coffee break to pick up her sick daughter, who had a high fever and no transportation home. Visser responded to Gregory’s memo by sending a memo to all gen eral studies employees recounting Gregory’s personal activities at work. ‘‘lam very offended by your lan guage and sick jokes . . . and sexist language,” the memo said. Visser said this was not intended to question Gregory’s authority. Visser said she asked Gregory in May 1988 if her work problems had been corrected, and he said they had. She said she found the atmosphere in the general studies office differeni after this memo. As a result, she said she experienced stress overload and took sick leave. University attorney David Buntair asked Visser in cross-examination ii she told a co-worker she was ‘‘goinj to get” Gregory following his criti cism. Visser responded lhal she had made such a comment, but in a whis per. In April, Visser wrote a letter to Brad Munn, affirmative action officer at UNL, about sexist comments made in the office. Munn wrote a response in which he said, “You are a very brave person to battle what appear to be ongoing problems.” Visser testified that she filed a sex ual discrimination suit, which was investigated and then dismissed. She also filed a grievance with Gregory, which also was dismissed. In front of the grievance commit tee, Visser said, she raised the issue of athletic concerns as a reason for her treatment. The attorney investigating her sexual discrimination suit also received a letter from Gregory in which he objected to interviewing people about the athletic irregulari ties. Visser testified that she got a letter in April 1988 from Gregory asking her to meet with him when she re lumed from sick leave. On May 13, she learned that she would be placed on probation starting May 17. On May 16 she met with Griescn, she said, and he asked her to stop her report comparing old and new aca demic standards and to slop accessing athletes’ records unless they were her advisees. She said that after that meeting, she didn’t access any records except those that came to her under normal working conditions. At the May 17 meeting, Visser said, she asked Griesen to outline the reasons for her probation in writing, which is university policy. He did not do this, she said. On June 17, after a lunch meeting between Gregory, NU football coach Tom Osborne, Griesen and other NU sports officials, Gregory reprimanded Visser because of the advice she gave Douglas Steven Zatcchka, Jr., a pre med student. Visser had advised Zatechka to take science and math classes, she said. This was contrary to advice given him by Gregory, who told Zat echka to take science and English courses, she said. Visser said she didn’t understand Gregory’s advice because most pre med students arc advised to take sci ence and math. Gregory was “very angry” when he reprimanded her, Visser said. She filed a complaint with Griesen, but did not get a response until a pre-ter mination letter she received July 27 while she was at home on sick leave. The pre-termination letter criti cized her work performance and said she had been unethical when she advised another student, Bridget Heimes. Heimes, Visser said, was a student who once had high grades but had since been expelled after three semes ters of academic probation. After her expulsion, Heimes told Visser that she w-as attending classes, Visser said. Heimes was getting A’s in the classes and Visser advised her to continue attending class while she appealed her dis missal, Visser said. Heimes’ appeal was granted, Visser said. This is the advice she would give all students in a similar situation, she said. In the pre-termination letter, Vis scr said, she was told her salary would be cut and her office space used unless she came .back to work before her termination. Visser came back to work and wrote Gregory a memo saying she wanted to work to create a positive atmosphere in the general studies office. Gregory never responded, v issu said, and she was called lo Gricscn s office two days later, Aug. 26,1988. She said she was accused of creating office disharmony and sharing other job opportunities with co-workers. She then got a letter from Gricscn notifying her she would be fired ef fective Sept. 2. Visser filed another grievance with Gregory and a dis crimination charge with the Ne braska Equal EmploymcntCommis sion. “I felt my termination was un just.” Her grievance was denied. She received a right-to-suc letter from the Department of Justice Nov. 11, which led lo her lawsuit against the regents, Gregory and Gricscn. Wagner and Griescn arc sched uled to take the stand today. Visser’s attorney, Thom Cope, said the stu dents Visser advised will take the stand in her defense. Nebraskan Editor Amy Edwards Professional Adviser Don Watton 473-7301 The Dally Nebraskan(USPS 144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Ne braska Union 34, 1400 R St., Lincoln, NE, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a m. and 5 p.m. Monday thiough Friday. The public also has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact Pam Hein, 472-2588. Subscription price is $45 for one year. Postmaster. Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lincoln, NE 68588-0448. Second-class postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT _1989 DAILY NEBRASKA_
