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April 13, 1990 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. 13 'J
SWAT team kills Lincoln man
Police investigate Amigos parking lot shootout
By Ryan Steeves
Senior Editor
Police are investigating the shooting of
an armed Lincoln man Thursday morn
ing by Lincoln SWAT team members
in the parking lot of Amigos, 2825 Comhusker
Hwy.
As required by law, a grand jury will be
called to decide if criminal charges should be
filed.
Mike Hcavican, Lancaster county attorney,
said the Nebraska Slate
Patrol and the Lincoln
Police Department will
investigate the shooting
that killed Randall J.
Erickson, 25, of 2135
Griffith St.
Hcavican said LPD’s
internal affairs division
will determine if the
shooting was justified
according to police pol- Erickson
icy.
An autopsy showed Erickson was shot once
in the chest by a S W AT officer. The bullet went
into the right side of his chest, through his ribs
and lungs and out his back, Hcavican said.
Erickson died of shock and blood loss, the
autopsy showed.
Lincoln Police Chief Allen Curtis said
Erickson’s weapon was not loaded. But Erickson
had told officers at the scene that the rifle was
loaded and that he had 17 rounds of ammuni
tion, Curtis said.
Curtis said two or three SWAT team mem
bers involved in the shooting have been re
lieved from duty until he decides if they can
return to work.
The members have been relieved because
police often experience trauma after shootings
and require counseling before returning to duty,
Curtis said.
Erickson, who attended UNL for a semester
in the spring of 1986, had been pulled over
Thursday morning at about 1 a.m. for suspicion
See SHOOTING on 6
Al Schaben/Dally Nabraskan
Lincoln firefighters attempt to revive Randall J. Erickson, but fail. Erickson was shot Thursday morning by a SWAT
team member during an hour-long standoff in ttoe Amigos parking lot at 2825 Cornhusker Hwy.
Low default rates at UNL
make system unnecessary
By Jennifer O'Ciika
Staff Reporter
A computer system that is
helping Midwestern col
leges reduce student loan
default rates probably is not needed
at the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln because of the low default
rate, a university official said.
The Unilink system, provided
by the Unipac Service Corpora
tion, gives colleges a list of delin
quent students at no cost. The col
-4 4
Obviously, a de
fault rate qf zero
would be great.
But for a univer
sity this size,
that's (3.3 percent)
incredible.
Beacon
director of Office of
Scholarships and Finan
cial Aid
—-f)
lege then matches that list with its
students and contacts them.
John Beacon, director of the UNL
Office of Scholarships and Finan
cial Aid, said he is not familiar
with the Unilink system. But the
default rate at UNL in 1980 was
only 3.3 percent, he said, on fed
era! Stafford Loans and SLS (Sup
plemental IwOans for Students).
“Obviously, a default rate of
zero would be great,” he said. “But
for a university this size, that’s (3.3
percent) incredible.”
Under the 1986 federal Higher
Education Reorganization Act,
colleges and universities are re
quired to institute a loan default
management program when default
rates reach 20 percent
That makes Unilink “unques
tioningly useful” to Metropolitan
Community College in Omaha,
according to Financial Aid Direc
tor Dennis Martin. The default rate
there was 31.5 percent in 1987.
Martin said the system allows
the college to work effectively with
delinquent students before they
default on their loans.
Students are delinquent on loans
if they haven’t made payments
within 30 days. If no payments are
made within 180 days, they de
fault.
Martin said that since the Unil
ink system had all the ‘-‘bugs”
worked out in January, the college
has saved thousands of dollars.
And the program has cost the
college only $38 in long-distance
phone calls to the Lincoln com
puter hookup, he said, so eventu
ally it will save taxpayers millions
in defaults.
Martin said he and a Unipac of
ficial will present the service to the
National Association of Financial
Aid Administrators in Boston later
this year.
The system is the first of its kind
■ pgj^Aua on 3
Fun money’ reaches $6 billion
Study: Students have buying power
By Thomas Clouse
Staff Reporter
Student spending habits tradi
tionally are underestimated,
but one 1989 study indicates
many students have significant buy
ing power.
According to CollcgeTrack, a New
York-based research company, the
5.6 million undergraduate students
nationwide have a buying power of
about $32 billion. That covers such
things as personal income, gifts, schol
arships and financial aid.
According to a study done for the
Daily Nebraskan by Research Asso
ciates, a Lincoln-based research
company, University of Ncbraska
Lincoln students spent $78,802,725,
not including tuition, in the 1988-89
academic year.
Stewart Himmelfarb, president of
CollcgeTrack, said CollcgeTrack
conducts its study six times a year.
Students’ discretionary income, or
‘‘fun money,” was more than $6 bil
lion last year.
Thomas I wand, UNI. professor of
economics and finance, said, “The
student population, as a whole, is
wealthy in discretionary income.’’
Iwand said discretionary income
is personal income minus income tax
and payments for such things as
mortgage, rent, car and debts.
Jon Daehnke, Daily Nebraskan
advertising manager, said most Daily
Nebraskan advertising is based on
three main fields: alcohol, clothing
and records.
‘‘Between those three, they make
up most of our top 10 advertisers,”
Daehnke said.
John McCallum, owner of Twist
ers Music & Gifts, said students buy
everything from compact discs and
cassettes to T-shirts and jewelry.
And those sales are increasing, he
said.
“Compared to last year, the busi
ness has almost doubled,” McCal
lum said.
John Tavlin, owner of Nebraska
Diamond, said his company docs a lot
of business with students and faculty
members who buy engagement rings,
wedding bands, earrings and pendants,
promise rings and pearl rings.
According to Tavlin, the number
of student customers is high.
“It’s awfully hard to gauge, but in
the last couple of years, it (business)
has most definitely increased,” he
See BUYING on 3
Ban on shirts reversed
Group allowed to sell T-shirts
By Emily Rosenbaum
Senior Reporter
A decision by the University of
Nebraska’s general counsel
will allow Students for Choice
to sell T-shirts that were banned ear
lier this week by UNL’s Affirmative
Action officer.
Richard Wood, NU vice president
and general counsel, determined
Wednesday that the printed material
on the pro-choice T-shirts was “pro
tected la guage under the First Amend
ment.”
Brad Munn, UNL’s Affirmative
Action officer. Monday banned the
sale of the shirts in the Nebraska
Union because of their religious con
notations.
The shirts read, “The Incredible
Shrinking Woman’s Right to Choose”
and “Rated PG, papal guidance sug
gested.”
Munn stated in a press release that
“displaying the shirt and vending it
on the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln property can be seen as de
grading and humiliating to many
Roman Catholics and others.”
Munn said Thursday that he banned
the shirts because union booths used
by student groups arc owned and
operated by the university. He said he
thought the university could control
anything sold or distributed at the
booths.
He said his concern is not with the
particular shirt Students for Choice
is selling, but with the possible rami
fications of a policy that might allow
any shirt to be sold.
“I’m concerned when the shir*,
says ‘kill all Jews,’” Munn said.
He said the university’s proposed
fighting words policy would prohibit
See SHIRTS on 6
