February 18, 1993
University ol Nebraska-Lincoln
Today. Increasing
cloudiness throughout
the day but warmer.
Friday, a bit warmer.
Vol. 92 No. 106
tv x i Dstily
Nebraskan
mSBKXSM
Judy Janssen, left, Michele McClatchey and Lanelle Kant are all victims of sexual exploitation by a person of trust.
The women testified at a legislative hearing Wednesday and favored a bill that would make sexual exploitation by
psychotherapists illegal.
Confidants exploit women’s trust
Years of anguish
may be vindicated
by proposed bill
By Jeff Zeleny
jantar Hu
ixteen roses, given to Michele
McClatchey on her 16th birthday,
were the beginning of eight years
of.
; roses, sent b
seen at the time asa
pam
Then
>y her psychologist, were
friendly gesture from her
trusted therapist.
Five years later, in 1990, McClatchey
realized the roses were the beginning of a
iong.com using anair uiai
almost ended in a legal
battle.
McClatchey was sexu
ally exploited by her psy
CIIUIU&IM.
What began as a
therapy session to help
beat a bout of depression, turned into a
traumatic sexual affair that lasted an entire
summer.
McClatchey first saw her psychologist at
ape IS for a depression problem. The thera
pist was extremely popular in the com mu*
nity and among medical colleagues, and he
soon became a trusted family friend. *
When she graduated from high school in
a small south central Nebraska community,
she came to the University of Nebraska
Lincoln. After her junior year of college,
McClatchey again began toexperienceprob
lems with depression, and went to see her
former therapist for help.
This time the therapist began to turn
therapy sessions into sexually-connotative
discussions, she said. One day, he be
gan his attack with a kiss.
“How did you feel about that,” he aslted
her. \J
McClatchey knew the actions weren't
quite proper, but dismissed the action as his
genuine concern for her.
“I thought, ‘is this part of therapy?”’ she
said.
The kiss slowly developed into more,
McClatchey said, and eventually led to her
having intercourse with him.
“1 lost my virginity to him,” she said
solemnly. “He was three times my age.”
'Hte therapist convinced McClatchey if
die told her parents about the affair, they
would disown her, which would make her
problems worse.
“My parents were paying for therapy,”
she said, “all it was was emotional and
sexual."
McClaichey realized the had been abused
after reluming to UNL and seeing a therapist
at the University Health Center. Her life
turned into an emotional roller coaster, she
said.
“I was a volcano walking around,” she
said. “I was so confused.”
The university therapist encouraged
McClatchey to tell her parents about the
abuse. She also talked McClatchey into
filing a complaint against the therapist to the
Department of Health’s Bureau of Examin- '
ing Boards.
During the health department investiga
tion, the therapist was contacted. He denied
the charges, until McClatchey produced let
ters, cards and gifts he sent her.
One week before the complaints were to
be aired at a hearing, the therapist admitted
to the charges. His practicing license in
Nebraska was revoked, but no charges were
filed. What the therapist did was not against
current Nebraska law.
A new bill would make it illegal.
The Judiciary Committee heard debate
Wednesday on a bill that would make sexual
exploitation by psychotherapists a felony.
LB493, introduced by Lincoln Sens. Don
Wesley and DiAnna Schimek, will be dis
cussed today in executive session.
See EXPLOIT on 3
Condom bill
makes waves
at Wesleyan
By Jeffrey Robb
Staff Reporter
or the second time in almost a year, the
Nebraska Wesleyan University Student
Senate has overwhelm ingly passed a bill
requesting that condom machines be placed in
the university’s residence halls.
And for the second tithe in almost a year,
NWU President John White expects to veto the
proposal.
Last April, the original bill passed unani
mously, with one abstention. Monday, a similar
proposal passed unanimously, with one absten
tion. White said he didn’t anticipate that he
would respond differently to the new bill. If he
finds the bill essentially the same, he said it
could elicit the same reaction.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln residence
halls have had condoms in their vending ma
chines since the 1991 fall semester. The pro
gram began after UNL’s Residence Hall Asso
ciation advanced a bill requesting the condoms
to the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs.
After discussions, it was decided to provide
educational material in the condom packets and
uic program was liisuuncu.
The condom issue has been much more
difficult for NWU to resolve. John Heckman,
the senator who wrote and proposed both bills,
said his original bill was patterned after UNL’s.
He said White was going along with the first
proposal at one time. Wh^te was opposed to
having condoms in the current vending ma
chines, he said, but White was lookinf'jnto
having separate condom machines installed.
White vetoed the bill, but the move to install
condom machines continued. Sites were sur
veyed, educational material for the condom
packets was chosen, machines were ordered
and standing by. ,
Everything was progressing well, Heckman
said, so the Student Senate didn’t try to override
the veto. Then, Heckman said White had a
change of opinion. The proposal was aban
doned.
By vetoing the condom machine proposals,
Heckman said,White was turning his back on
an obvious student body opinion.
In addition to the all but unanimously passed
bills, Heckman said petitions were signed and
numerous letters were written to the campus
newspaper supporting condom machines in the
residence halls. He said he knew of only a few
students who were against the idea.
White said he was against the idea because
he saw only two ways to prevent sexually
transmitted diseases—personal responsibility
and education. In NWU’s case, he said, the
issue was not condoms. The issue was promot
ing education and personal responsibility.
Further availability of condoms to students
may cause them to have sex on the spur of the
moment, he said.
Clinton’s ‘lofty’ goal can be reached, professor says
Economic proposal
won’t drastically
affect Nebraska
By Matt Woody
Stair Reporter
President Bill Clinton’s eco
nomic proposals should af
fect Nebraska and the Mid
west, but not drastically, a University
of Nebraska-Lincoln professor said
Wednesday night.
Craig MacPhee, chairman of the
cconomics department, said the broad
based energy tax outlined by the presi
dent would be less harsh on Nebraska’s
agricultural sector than some alterna
tive proposals, such as a fuel tax.
Clinton, in his State of the Union
Address, called for the approval of his
energy tax. He said it would help
bring the deficit under control and
would reduce pollution.
The tax, based on British thermal
unit's, a measurement of consump
tion, was “environmentally respon
si Die ana aian t
discriminate
against any one
area in the coun
try, Clinton said.
Americans have
a lower burden on
energy than any
ouier country and can aitord an en
ergy tax increase, he said.
Reducing the deficit will be essen
tial in the strengthening of America’s
economy and the creation of new jobs
and prosperous industries, said an
other UNL professor, echoing a theme
of Clinton’s speech.
John Anderson, an economics pro
fessor, said people must “keep the big
picture in mind’* when thinking about
Clinton’s proposals. Although new
taxes and spending would be criti
cized, the overall proposal would ac
complish much in cutting the federal
budget deficit.
Cutting $150 billion from the esti
mated 1997 fiscal deficit was a lofty
goal, Anderson said, but one that could
be attained. * .
The cut was not quite as drastic as
something Ross Perot might have
called for, he said. A higher cut could
“exacerbate the stagnant economy.”
While cutting the deficit could af
fect everybody, Nebraskans included,
Clinton’s other proposals, such as in
creased taxes on retirees income,
would probably not have a large af
fect on the state, Anderson said.
Clinton asked that wealthy social
security recipients with additional
sources of income pay more taxes on
their benefits.
Clinton outlined four major com
ponents of his economic plan.
They include: shifting from con
sumption to investment, changing
rhetoric into action, reducing the defi
cit and earning the trust of the Ameri
can people with government cuts and
fairness.
The president also proposed rais
ing the income tax rate for families
that make more than $180,000 a year
from 31 percent to 36 percent.
Clinton said big business needed
to help carry the tax burden, said he
would raise the corporate rate to 36
percent for companies with revenue
over $10 million.
Perhaps Clinton’s most applauded
proposals during the one hour speech
called for full funding of the Women,
Infants and Children nutrition pro
gram and the Head Start program for
underprivileged children.
Clinton also discussed one ot his
widely praised campaign ideas in his
address, his National Service Loan
Program. The program would make
college loans available to students in
return for public service.
MacPhee said the program could
have a significant impact on students
atUNL.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said.