Journalists recount war coverage experience
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Staff Reporter
Reporting near the front lines in Saudi Ara
bia didn’t always mean giving the audience at
home a bird ’s-eye view of the war, two journal
ists said Wednesday.
At a forum sponsored by the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Academic Senate, the jour
nalists agreed that freedom of the press to cover
the war was a problem.
MikeMcKnight of WOWT Channel 6 and
Mary Williams of KMTV Channel 3 traveled
to Saudi Arabia in late December to cover the
55th Reconnaissance Wing based out of Offut
Air Force Base in Bellevue.
They said that during their stay in Saudi
r .. — ■■■■ ■ ■ -
Arabia, they were always accompanied by public
affairs officers from the United States and
Saudi Arabia who monitored their stories.
“You are not allowed to travel freely in the
country,” McKnight said. “No one really knows
what is going on in the front lines because the
press is not allowed there.”
Williams said, “You see what they (the
military) want you to see. You get more feature
stories than hard news.”
“I believe journalists understand there are
some things we can’ t report,” she said. “But the
military is holding a lot back.”
McKnight said he thought some in the mili
tary believed the media had hurt military ef
forts in Vietnam.
“They are not going to let this be another
Vietnam in that regard,” he said.
The two journalists showed a brief film of
soldiers talking about their experiences and
sending greetings to their families.
The journalists said the morale of the troops
was good.
“The soldiers are homesick, of course,”
Williams said, “but they were generally up
beat.”
McKnight said there was a lot of camarade
rie among the troops. “They want to get it all
over with and come home,” he said.
“The soldiers were all very scared inside,
but they realize what they signed on for and are
ready to do their jobs,” Williams said.
The two journalists said Saudi Arabia was a
very different country from America.
Williams said she in particular felt the dif
ferences between our two cultures.
“Women are not equals there,” she said.
Williams said she was not allowed to drive,
couldn’t pay the bill in a restaurant and was
forced to wear a long black robe when she was
off base.
“But the women there seem accustomed to
it,” Williams said.
McKnight described the Saudis as “cool and
removed.” He said they didn’t like their coun
try being filmed and weren’t receptive to
Americans.
“You got the idea they were tolerating us,”
McKnight said.
. Doc Homar/Daily Nabraakan
Social Studies
UNL freshman Greg Gray studies his Education Sociol
ogy notes in Henzlik Wednesday morning.
Commission
Continued from Page 1
could include the addition of doctoral
programs at the University of Ne
braska at Omaha and master’s degree
programs at the University of Ne
braska at Kearney, Chadron State Col
lege and Wayne State College, the
bill says.
The commission’s comprehensive
plan would include admissions stan
dards, tuition and fees and financial
aid policies.
The commission also would pri
oritize capital construction requests
to the Nebraska Legislature. NU capital
construction projects currently are
prioritized by the NU Board of Re
gents and go straight to the Legisla
ture.
Scherer said the regents still would
prioritize projects at NU, but would
be supervised and coordinated by the
commission.
He said the bill to create a more
powerful commission would not take
original supporters by surprise be
cause there is a “strong notion by both
the Legislature and the people that
the state needs a stronger commis
sion.”
Wood said he is“generally pleased
with the language in the bill.”
He said some “fine-tuning” might
be needed to ensure that the commis
sion’s powers under the bill agree
with the powers granted to it under
the constitutional amendment.
-POLICE REPORT-1
Beginning midnight l uesaay,
Jan.22
11:30 a.m. — Wallet stolen.
Cook Pavilion, S22.
1:14 p.m. — Three buckets of
soap stolen, Hewit Academic
Center, $180.
1:22 p.m. — Two hubcaps sto
len from car, 19th and S streets,
$40.
1:33 p.m. — Fire alarm cable
accidentally cut, Ruth Staples
Child Development Laboratory.
3:22 p.m. — Fire alarm acci
dentally tripped, Abel Residence
Hall.
4:10 p.m. — Auto accessories
stolen, Harper/Schramm/Smith
complex parking lot, $50.
4:17 p.m. — Coal stolen, Lee
& Helene Sapp Recreation
Facility, $227.
Hesolution introduced
Senators urge respect for flag
By Tabitha Hiner
Senior Reporter
Supporters of a resolution intro
duced Wednesday in the Nebraska
Legislature to protest desecration of
the U.S. flag are hoping the war in the
Middle East will further their cause,
one of the resolution’s proponents
said.
Sen. Stan Schellpeper of Stanton
said the timeliness of the resolution
may help it pass the Legislature.
“I think especially since we’re
having this conflict in the Middle
East, that it’s only right that we stand
up for the flag,” Schellpeper said
The resolution may have had a
Dean to provide
‘Food for Thought’
Karen Craig, dean of the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln College of
Home Economics and a professor of
consumer science and education, will
be the speaker for the first spring
semester “Food for Thought” pro
gram Friday.
Craig and other speakers in the
spring brown-bag luncheon will ad
dress the question, “If not by bread
alone,... then what else?” She wili
give her perspectives on what is needed
for a fully human life, once the basic
needs of food, clothing and shelter
are met.
The lunch will begin about 11:30
a.m., and the program will start at
about noon.
ASUN
Continued from Page 1
of our generation and we need to
discuss it.”
But Chris Potter, College of Arts
and Sciences senator, disagreed, say
ing he thought ASUN was overstep
ping its boundaries.
‘‘I don’t think we were elected to
make pronouncements on acts of for
eign policy,” he said.
A resolution supporting student
soldiers in the Persian Gulf was passed,
however.
The resolution expressed concern
for the student soldiers and hope for
their safe return and smooth transi
tion back into their classes.
Two government bills authorizing
the Government Liaison Committee
to lobby in ASUN’s interest also passed.
One stated ASUN’s opposition to
legislation that would subject NU
regents to the possibility of recall.
ASUN also voted to lobby the
Legislature to delay until next year
action on a bill creating higher educa
tion learning centers in Scottsbluff
and Grand Island. Next year a strength
ened Nebraska Coordinating Com -
mission for Postsecondary Education
will be in place, the ASUN bill states,
ensuring that there would be no dupli
cation between the learning centers
and other postsecondary programs.
Senators also passed an amend
ment to require election of students to
the Committee for Fees Allocation.
Currently, CFA members are ap
pointed.
CFA candidates will have to run in
ASUN’s spring elections, but inde
pendent of student election groups.
Legislation recommending park -
ing improvements on East Campus
and scholarships for black South
African students also passed.
tougher time before the crisis, he said.
Sen. Elroy Hefner of Coleridge,
who introduced the resolution, agreed
that the timing may help the resolu
tion.
U.S. patriotism is high, he said,
adding, “we see so many people flying
their flags right now.”
“A flag is a symbol of liberty and
freedom and we need to respect it,”
he said.
Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln,
one of the 14 other senators who
signed the resolution, also said that
the American symbol should be pre
served.
“To take it and stomp on it . . .
shows disrespect,” she said.
Although flag desecration was
permitted by the 1989 Texas vs.
Johnson U.S. Supreme Court deci
sion, the resolution states that “the
flag is not private property subject to
a private prerogative to maim or de
spoil in the passion of individual
protest.”
If the resolution receives legisla
tive and gubernatorial approval, the
Legislature will petition the U.S.
Congress to propose an amendment
to the Constitution.
The amendment would allow
Congress and the states to prohibit
desecration of the U.S. flag.
RqIIv you’re right,” he said.
J Traver said people may have
Continued from Page 1 questions as to why the United
at war.” States is in the gulf, but now is not
Traver said that in limes of the time to ask them,
war, people cannot be divided in “We are at war. Support the
their support. troops now, and after it is over, ask
“Don’t be ashamed of your feel- questions and demand answers if
ings. If you support the troops, necessary ” Vie said. \
fe FreekAilcrocoinpiiter Classes I
5 The Computing Resource Center is offering a JS
B§ free microcomputer seminar to UNL students. The |
■ seminar will feature an introduction to WordPerfect on
f No Reservations Required
The seminar will be held in the Sandoz micro
B computer lab.
I WordPerfect on the IBM I
I Thursday, January 24 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. §
Where specials are the
same all day, every day
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