News Digest
E. Germans flood new route West
SCHIRNDING, West Germany -
Thousands of young East German
refugees rolled into West Germany at
the rate of more than 100 an hour
Sunday, causing a traffic jam that
stretched several miles back into
Czechoslovakia.
“The people will keep fleeing as
long as they can,” said Christian
Schreiber, a 23-year-old East Ger
man who joined countrymen taking
advantage of the new freedom to
escape their Communist homeland
through Czechoslovakia.
Driving their sputtering Trabants
and Wartburgs filled with stereos,
luggage and children, the refugees
needed to travel only 15 miles from
the East German border to reach
Bavaria in West Germany.
At least 15,000 East Germans had
arrived in West Germany via
Czechoslovakia by Sunday, West
German border officials said. They
‘The people will
keep fleeing as long
as they can. ’
—Schreiber
came by special trains from Prague or
drove their own cars to the border
after learning of the new escape
route. Schirnding was the closest
border crossing for those using the
new route.
The refugees ignored pleas by new
Communist Party leader Egon Krenz
to remain in East Germany and
scoffed at his promises of reforms. So
far this year, about 170,000 people
have left seeking freedom in the
West.
“People just don’t trust the gov
ernment,” said Schreiber, a dental
technician from Staaken outside East
Berlin.
On Friday, Communist officials in
East Berlin agreed to allow neighbor
ing Czechoslovakia to open its west
ern frontier for East Germans seeking
to go West. East Germany on
Wednesday lifted its month-old ban
on travel to Czechoslovakia, the only
country East Germans can visit
freely.
Lebanese elect new Christian president
KLEIAT, Lebanon - Lebanese
lawmakers elected a new Christian
president Sunday and approved a
peace plan designed to end 14 years
of civil war, despite threats by a
Christian general to punish them for
“conspiracy.”
The legislators elected Deputy
Rene Mouawad, a 32-year veteran of
Lebanese politics and a 64-year-old
Maronite Christian, to be president.
They first stripped the presidency of
some power, giving more authority to
Moslems who would fill other top
government posts.
Fifty-eight of Parliament’s 73 sur
viving lawmakers attended the spe
cial session in this northern town,
which is under Syrian security. On
the second ballot 52 voted for
Mouawad and six abstained.
Lebanon has had no president
since Sept. 22,1988, when President
Amin Gemayel’s six-year term ex
pired with Parliament unable to de
cide on a successor.
The legislators also re-elected
Parliament Speaker Hussein
Husseini, a Shiite Moslem, for a one
year term. He has held the post since
October 1984.
Christian leader Gen. Michel
Aoun, whom Gemayel appointed to
head an interim Cabinet until a new
president could be named, rejected
Mouawad’s election.
‘‘What happened in Klciat is an
unconstitutional act and is null and
void,” Aoun said in a statement is
sued from his command bunker at the
presidential palace in Beirut’s suburb
of Baabda.
‘‘We are determined to thwart the
conspiracy which is being hatched to
eliminate what is lefl-of Lebanon’s
sovereignty and territorial integ
rity,” he said.
Liz Karnes considering run tor House seat
OMAHA — Liz Kames, wife of
former Sen. David Kames, said she is
seriously considering a run for the
Republican nomination to the 2nd
District House seat.
Some Republican officials have
told her a ticket with Gov. Kay Orr
seeking re-election, former Rep. Hal
Daub as the Senate nominee and her
self as the House nominee would
unify the party, Mrs. Kames said.
“It would bring in all the Republi
can supporters in all camps,” she
said. “1 personally think it would be
a great team.”
Time that would be spent away
from her family might keep her from
running, Mrs. Kames said.
Daub and Kames waged a some
times bitter fight for the 1988 Senate
nomination for the scat Orr appointed
Kames to. Kames won the primary
but Democrat Bob Kerrey defeated
Karnes in the general election.
Mrs. Kames said she has cooled to
the idea of running for slate treasurer,
saying she didn’t want a primary fight
against Republican incumbent Frank
Marsh.
Republican Ally Milder, who
sought the 1988 Republican nomina
tion to the 2nd District House seat
now' held by Democrat Peter Hoag
land, said last week she was 80 per
cent certain she would run again.
Milder is a lawyer and director of
governmental affairs at Union Pa
cific Railroad.
Jerry Schenken, the GOP’s nomi
nee in 1988, said he hasn’t made up
his mind.
“I don’tlike thehighcost, butl’ve
proved I can raise the money,” said
Schenken, a physician who spent
more than $1.1 million in his loss to
Hoag land by about 3,000 votes.
Greek elections cause uncertainty
ATHENS, Greece -* The conser
vative New Democracy Party led in
national elections Sunday but nar
rowly missed a parliamentary major
ity, throwing Greece into its second
period of political uncertainly in five
months.
With 96.2 percent of the votes
counted, New Democracy, led by
Constantine Mitsotakis, had 46.3
percent. It was followed by former
Premier Andreas Papandreou’s
Panhellcnic Socialist Movement
with 40.7 percent and the Coalition of
the Left and Progress, headed by
Communist Harilaos Florakis, with
10.8 percent. The rest went to small
parties. Official returns were broad
cast by state television.
New Democracy needed 151 seats
in the 300-seat single-chamber Par
liament to control the government
after eight years of socialist rule and
a brief coalition administration.
Government projections showed
New Democracy with 148 seats, 128
seats going to the socialists and 21 to
the leftist Coalition. The other three
seats would go to independents, in
cluding one environmentalist.
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E. German official calls for resignations
BERLIN - An East German Cabinet minister on Sunday called for
the resignation of the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo. Another
minister announced that East Germans will be allowed to travel in the
West for 30 days a year under a new law.
The state-run news agency ADN quoted Culture Minister Hans
Joachim Hoffmanri as saying: “We need as quickly as possible a new
government.’* _
He said the entire Politburo should jointly resign “to give the new
genera! secretary a real chance,’’ ADN reported.
The general secretary is Egon Krenz, leader of the Communist Party
who took over Oct. 18 after Erich Honecker was ousted. Krenz said
Friday that five elderly members of the 21 -member Politburo will step
down soon.
Two Poliburo members already have been ousted, in the shake-up
that ended Honecker’s rule. They were closely associated with the
former leader’s strict 18-year rule.
Hoffmann also called for the 42-member Cabinet to be streamlined.
He made his comments during a meeting with citizens in the city of
Leipzig, which has been the site of major pro-democracy demonstra
tions in recent weeks.
Bishops grapple with AIDS, abortion
BALTIMORE - The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops gathered in
this city where the first American bishop was named two centuries ago
to grapple with divisive issues of the modem age: AIDS, abortion and
the conflict in the Middle East
Leaders of the nation’s largest religious denomination also will elect
a new president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops at the
four-day meeting beginning today . Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk
of Cincinnati, conference vice president, is expected to be elevated to
the presidency, while nine other archbishops vie for the vice presi
dency.
Boeing oners Machinists new package
SEATTLE - The Boeing Co. defended its new offer in the month
old Machinists strike as * ‘an excellent package,” but union negotiators
said it actually took away from the aerospace giant's offer made in
October.
Talks broke off abruptly Saturday as the union negotiators turned
down the latest proposal, calling it an insult to workers whose hopes
were up after almost a week of daily, negotiations.
Federal mediator Douglas Hammond said no further talks were
scheduled after the 2 1/2-hour session ended about 4 p.m. Saturday.
Boeing’s chief negotiator, Larry McKean, said the offer should be
presented to the union membership.
‘‘In every regard this offer is a great offer,” McKean said.
But Tom Baker, presidentof Machinists District Lodge 751, accused
Boeing of mischief by putting money in new areas while taking it away
from otter areas.
Quayle unsure of presidential aspirations
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dan Quayle pronounced himself
‘ ‘very pleased’ ’ Sunday with President George Bash’s stated intention
of keeping him on the Republican ticket in 1992, but said it is too early
to speak of his own presidential ambitions.
‘‘There are things that can happen between now and ’92. And 1993
and 1996 are a long, long time away,” said Quayle.
Bush stated his commitment in response to a question during an
interview with The Dallas Morning News, which published the account
this weekend.
Quayle, appearing Sunday on the NBC-TV program ‘‘Meet the
Press,” said Bush had not informed him face-to-face of the decision,
but that “lam very pleased that the president is pleased with the job thai
I am doing.”
Asked whether he had thought about running for president, Quayle
I said, ‘‘What has crossed my mind is just doing a good job right now.”
VISSER from Page 1
variety of topics.
During the May meeting, Gricscn
said, he asked Visser if she was aware
of any alleged irregularities in the
athletic department and she re
sponded, “not at this time.”
It also was during that meeting
that Griesen said he informed Visser
that she would have to work harder to
get along with Gregory, her immedi
ate supervisor.
Visser did not accept the criticism,
Griesen said. It was up to Visscr to gel
along with Gregory, Griesen said,
because he did not think Gregory s
demands were unreasonable.
Griesen said he also first discussed
with Visser the policy for termination
at that meeting.
Gricscn said he explained that
working for the university is not auto
matically a “lifetime privilege,’ ’ and
she would not receive a raise on July
1,1988, because her^ob performance
was “unacceptable.’’
Although Gregory did recom
mend a raise for Visser, Gricscn said,
he didn’t think it was appropriate
because of Visscr’s job pcrlormance.
Griesen said he was aware of other
times when the university gave an
undeserving employee a raise to try
to be “good” to the employee, but it
.ended up “coming back to haunt
the university.
With a raise, Gricsen said, the
employee can say he or she was per
forming satisfactory work, and use
the raise for evidence.
Although Griesen said he did not
suggest a raise, he did indicate to
Visser that he would “take the un
usual step’ ’ of giving her a raise in six
months if her job performance im
proved.
University employees normally
have only one opportunity a year to
cam a raise, Gricsen said, and he did
not want Visser to miss that opportu
nity.
But, Griesen said, he also told her
that if she didn’t improve her per
formance, she would be fired.
Griesen said he did not pul Visser
on formal probation at that time be
cause the meeting was designed to
“clear the air,” and he didn’t think it
was appropriate to give her a written
probation.
Gricsen also said he wrote the
Aug. 26, 1988, letter informing Vis
scr she would be tired because she
didn’t display the behavior that was
asked of her.
He cited lack of maintaining a
cooperative and supportive atmos
phere with colleagues, failure to have
a good working relationship with her
supervisor and Visscr’s general alti
tude as reasons for her dismissal.
Because the entire situation had
become “very litigious," Griesen
said, he engaged legal counsel to help
him write the letter.
Under cross-examination by Vis
ser’s attorney Thom Cope, Griesen
said he did not mention any alleged
athletic irregularities in the termina
tion letter.
Sheldon Stick, professor of spe
cial education and communications
disorders, testified that Visscr had
telephoned him of alleged irregulari
ties in the athletic department.
Stick, who has been chairman of
the Faculty Senate Grading Commit
tee for the past two years, said he
thinks Visscr first told him of the
alleged improprieties sometime in
April or May 1988.
Although Slick said he wasn’t sure
when he talked with Visser, Gregory
also talked to him and asked him
whether Visser had ever requested
student documents.
Cope asked Stick if Visser had
ever given him student documents.
‘ ‘ I simply refuse to answer,’ ’ Stick
said.
Gregory testified late Friday that
Visser was not fired for removing
records from the university. She also
was not fired for taping conversa
tions, he said.
Gregory said it is an “oversimpli
ficauon” to say Visser was fired for
reviewing athletes’ records.
The fact that she was churning
through the records in and of itself is
a question for termination. It is a
violation to access records for which
you do not have a need to know. It is
illegal and certainly, in terms of gen
eral studies, unethical.”
But Gregory said he does not
know if Visser slopped accessing
records after she was told not to
Gregory also testified that he did not
see Visser taking personal phone
calls. He did sec her doing personal
copying once, but there was no speci
fied policy against it, he said.
There also was no policy for atten
dance, Gregory said.
When Visser filed a sexual dis
crimination complaint, Gregory said
he got a copy from the affirmative
action ol I ice. He then went to discuss
aHc s,tu*!i°n with uNL Affirmative
Action Officer Brad Munn.
“Things were getting a little
rocky with Ms. Visser and I went up
to the al firmanvc action office to see
what my rights and liabilities were.”
Gregory also said he discussed the
situation with Gricsen. “A general
topic of conversation in the office
disrupt' ^ s conlinuing to be
Cope asked Gregory, “Did you
ever say that the problems you expe
rienced with Ms. Visser could have
been a result of your behavior?”
“No,” Gregory said. Cope then
said, “So basically you blamed what
ever problems existed with Ms. Vis
ser on Ms. Visser.”
“Yes,” Gregory said.
Gregory testified that he had no
personal knowledge of a situation
stated in her notice of termination as
an "inappropriate display of tem
per.”
Netfraskan
Editor Amy Edwards
472- 1766
Professional Adviser Don Walton
473- 7301
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