The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 11, 1991, Image 1

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Kiss-in rally opposes ROTC discrimination
Student picked up
for pushing member
of Queer Nation
By Tabitha Hiner
Senior Reporter
A University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu
dent was taken into custody by UNL
police Wednesday for spitting on
and pushing a member of Queer Nation at a
kiss-in rally opposing ROTC discrimination
against homosexuals.
Three police officers pulled the student
away from Scott Shanks, a senior in the
Teachers College, after the student ap
proached Shanks at the rally outside the
Military and Naval Science Building.
Shanks had been taping the rally on a
portable video camera when the student
came out of the Military and Naval Science
Building and approached him.
The student told Shanks that he had friends
who had died in Saudi Arabia. Shanks said
he responded that he also had friends who
had gone to the Persian Gulf. The student
then began kicking and pushing Shanks.
Shanks said Wednesday that he hadn’t
decided if he would file charges against the
student but he might go through university
channels.
UNL investigator Ron Lundy said he
couldn’t release the name of the student
because the student wasn’t arrested. The
name will be given to the Office of Student
Affairs today, he said.
There were about 100 onlookers at the
height of the rally, but no one else ap
proached the group.
The rally, which began about an hour
before Shanks was approached, celebrated
the UNL Academic Senate’s vote against
ROTC discrimination and the national day
of action against ROTC policies regarding
gays, lesbians and bisexuals, Shanks said.
The Academic Senate voted Tuesday to
urge the chancellor to “renegotiate the con
tracts of the three branches of ROTC at
UNL in order to eliminate credit for all
ROTC courses” if ROTC doesn’t lift its ban
on homosexuals by 1993.
The national day of action was created in
November, Shanks said, when about 40
people from colleges and universities na
tionwide met at a conference at the Univer
sity of Minnesota to oppose ROTC dis
criminatory policies.
About 35 people took part in the rally
outside the M & N Building, which included
speeches and a kiss-in.
Speakers opposed the military policy
forbidding homosexuals.
One speaker, speech communications
senior Paul Moore, said he served two years
of active duty in the Army and received an
Army achievement medal and an honorable
discharge.
Then, Moore said, he was told he couldn’t
serve in the Army anymore because he had
come out of the closet.
“They’re telling me that because of one
little thing about me, I can’t serve, and I
think that’s wrong,” he said.
Joe HsInTls/DsJfy Nebraskan
Top: Michele Dean, 20, of
Lincoln, paints a flag with
the help of Nell Eckersley,
a junior Spanish major. The
two were joined by about
35 protestors at Wednes
day’s rally.
Bottom: Kat Hindmand, a
senior pre-law major (left),
and Elizabeth Kimberly, a
junior psychology major,
participate in a kiss-in at a
rally in front of the Military
and Naval Science Build
ing Wednesday. The rally
celebrated the UNL Aca
demic Senate’s vote against
ROTC discrimination and
the national day of action
against ROTC policies re
garding gays, lesbians and
bisexuals.
i
Flag desecration resolution re jected
By Lisa Donovan
Senior Reporter _
Sen. Elroy Hefner of Coleridge
failed Wednesday to convince
lawmakers that his resolution
to prohibit flag desecration should be
debated on the floor of the Nebraska
Legislature.
“It’s a very
sad day for
Nebraskans
when we can’t
prohibit the
desecration of
the U.S. flag,”
Hefner said af
ter senators voted 17-24 not to ad
vance the resolution out of the Judici
ary Committee.
The resolution would be sent as a
petition to Congress to propose an
amendment to the Constitution giv
ing local and federal governments the
right to prohibit the physical desecra
tion of the U.S. flag.
Over the last two years, 23 states
have passed similar resolutions, and
25 states have legislation pending,
Hefner said.
LR10 was not advanced ou! of the
Judiciary Committee earlier this ses
sion, and Hefner appealed the com
mittee’s hold on the resolution.
During his appeal to senators,
Hefner said they should consider all
the freedoms afforded them and how
citizens should respect those free
doms.
“Our flag is a national symbol of
that freedom,” he said.
Slate Sen. Spencer Morrissey of
Tecumseh, who opposed the resolu
tion, said he thought it would curb the
freedoms Hefner was speaking about.
“What you’re doing is just as of
fensive to me as flag burning is to
you,” Morrissey said.
“We can’t restrict the freedoms
our country is founded on, built on.
To do that is truly immoral.”
Hefner can file a motion to the
clerk of the Legislature to have
Wednesday’s vote reconsidered. If
he does, the Legislature again would
debate whether to bring the resolu
tion to the floor.
Hefner said he isn’t sure if he will
pursue that avenue, adding that he
wants to analyze the resolution a little
closer.
Joe Heinzle/Daily Nebraskan
Correction. In Wednesday’s article on the
ROTC, a quotation was wrongly attributed to
James Hejduk, associate professor of music.
Donald Jensen .professor of psychology, said,
••Given an ROTC which isn’t perfect but pres
ent... I would take the imperfect one ” The
Daily NebrasKan regrets the error.
Diversions
takes a swing
at America’s fa
ll j vorite love
|| ,/ affair. Page 7.
Photojour
nalist featured at Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery. Page 3.
~ INDEX I
Wire 2
Opinion 4
Diversions 7
Sports 15
Classifieds1§_
Group to strive
for improvements
in ethnic climate
By Bill Stratbucker
Staff Reporter
□ he formation of a Racial Plu
ralism Action Team will give
a shot in the arm to the effort of
improving the campus climate for
ethnic minorities, the vice chancellor
for student affairs at UNL said.
“I definitely feel it will give it a
boost,” James Griesen said. “We’ve
had very effective programs in the
past but lacked continuity over time.”
The team is hoping to develop
more cohesive programming, he said,
See ETHNIC on 6