i A&E
Concert
reviews
Les Exodus, Bigga and 311
took the stage at a sold out
Nebraska Union show.
Monday
85/58
Today, partly sunny
with a chance of
thunderstorms.
Tuesday, mostly
sunny and dry.
Vol. 93 No. 7
Weekend rallies give Capitol steps a workout
100 gather to recall
march led by King
By Ann Stack
Staff Reporter
On Aug. 28,1963, Martin Luther King
Jr. led a historic civil rights march to
the nation’s Capitol.
On Saturday, almost 100 people came
together at the Nebraska Capitol to show
that his dream was still alive—but had not
yet been realized.
“It's 30 years later, and we’re examining
some of the same problems today, such as
jobs, justice, peace, health care, education
and family,’’ said John Ways Sr., president
of the Lincoln branch of the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Colored
People.
‘it’s not just a civil rights march; it’s
about turning our priorities around,” he said.
Ways said people needed to take an ac
tive interest in civil rights in order to show
politicians the concerns weren’t limited to
one racial group.
“It’s a national issue, not young or old,
black or white,” he said. “We are all part of
one body, and if one part of that body isn’t
functioning, then the whole system is
thrown.”
Lincoln resident Gerald Henderson has
been part of the civil rights body since 1957,
when he joined the NAACP.
Henderson marched to Washington for
civil rights in 1963 and again in 1983. He
said the marches were unified, with every
one on the same quest for equality. “There
was a feeling or camaraderie you can’t
explain; we were all there for the same
reason,” he said.
Henderson said the same sense of unity
could be felt at Saturday’s rally. The local
march was important, he said, because it
brought together people of many ethnic
backgrounds.
“We have been placing too much empha
sis on the differences between people, ’ he
said.
reopie snouia De aDie 10 ieei mey can go
up to anyone and start talking and the friend
ships shouldn’t end here.” Jan is Walker,
president of the YWCA’s board of directors,
agreed the goal of racial and ethnic equality
was one to keep striving for.
“In the 1960s we were energized by a
dream. Now it’s the ’90s and weYre tired of
the work, but we have a vision of peace,
justice and unity for all,” she said.
Linda Morgan, president of the Afrikan
People’s Union at the University of Nebras
ka-Lincoln, said, “One man’s dream made it
possible for people to judge me on the
intellect I speak, not the color I wear.”
Charles McClendon, APU’s first vice pres
ident, gave a passionate rendition of King’s
“I Have a Dream” speech, reminding the ,
crowd of the message they were there to
celebrate.
Not everyone at the march was making a
statement. Some were there to hear a mes- ..
sage. >c
UNL sophomore Jason Reitmeier said he *
See NAACP on 2
< v '■ Travis W#yJng/TJN
Charles McClendon, a junior finance major at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln, recites part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, “I Have a
Dream” Saturday morning at the State Capitol Building.
Travis Heying/DN
I Dan Williams (right) and Henry McWilliams Sr. join hands and sing together
on the steps of the Capitol during the NAACP “I Have a Dream” rally Saturday
morning. .
Motorcyclists rev up
to oppose helmet law
By Jan Calinger
Staff Reporter__ '
About 150 motorcyclists rolled into
Lincoln at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, and
none were wearing state-law-re
quired motorcycle helmets.
The motorcyclists joined about 25 others
at the steps of the State Capitol to protest
Nebraska’s mandatory motorcycle helmet
law.
John F. Aman, attorney for the motorcy
cle rights group ABATE, the American Bik
ers Association for Teaching and Education,
said the motorcyclists started at Waco and
rode to Lincoln.
The motorcyclists obtained a parade per
mit that took effect at the Highway 77
bypass. Once there, cyclists were allowed to
remove their helmets until they reached the
Capitol.
Terry Schulz, head of the Nebraska Mo
torcycle Coalition, said the rally was not
intended to debate the protective value of
helmets but to debate whether or not the
government should be able to force motor
cyclists to wear them. .
‘This is not an issue of whether helmets
are good or bad,” she said. “It’s an issue of
whether government has a right to intrude in
your personal life.”
even so, sne said, neimets weren t al
ways as effective as the general public be
lieved them to be. Schulz said a brochure
distributed by ABATE of Nebraska says the
Department of Transportation found no ev
idence that helmets reduced injuries in acci
dents where the motorcyclists were driving
more than 13 mile r hour.
The rally start t 2 p.m. with voter
registration and a petition drive to repeal
state helmet and seat belt laws. Supporters
could also sign a “petition protection” peti
tion that would prohibit the Nebraska Leg
islature from reinstating laws repealed by
other petitions.
Nebraska’s mandatory seat belt law, which
was repealed by petition in 1986, was rein
stated by the Legislature this year.
In a show of support to repeal the helmet
law, some cyclists rode all the way from
Waco without helmets. Tony Tipitilli, 35, of
Waco said he was pulled over by a state
trooper outside of Seward for riding without
a helmet.
“There were others without helmets,” he
said. “They picked me out of a crowd.”
Aman said he would use Tipitilli’s ticket
as a “test case” to determine whether it was
constitutional to stop a rider without a hel
met if the rider was not violating any other
laws.
Nebraska la\y enforcement officials can
not stop an automobile driver for not wear
ing a seat belt, but they can stop a motorcy
clist for not wearing a helmet.
Warren Sheeney of Freedom First of
Nebraska said he thought helmet laws didn’t
fit the image of American freedom.
“The fact that (legislators) pass laws like
See ABATE on 2
Massengale temporarily halts new consulting position
By Steve Smith
Sector Reporter
it “--sidcnt Martin
le put the brakes on
ester’s new consult
ing assignment Friday, amid contro
versy about the former UNK. chancel
lor’s role in the system.
Joe Rowson, a University of Ne
braska spokesman, said Massengale
would present an alternative proposal
regarding Nester at the NU Board of
Regentsrmeeting Sept. 10.
Rowson said Massengale decided
Friday to stick to the proposals of
Regent Don Blank, of McCook. Blank
raised questions last week in a letter to
Massengale about Nester’s agreement
with the NU president.
- The regents wanted a more specif
ic description for Nester’s new posi
tion, including, if necessary, an as
signment-by-assignment synopsis of
Nester’s next six months, Rowson
said.
Nester, who now lives in Cincin
nati, retired from the University of
Nebraska at Kearney’s top post Aug.
15. He began working full time out of
Cincinnati about two weeks ago as
Masscngale’s special assistant.
Nester’s consultant job evoked an
outcry from several regents who won
dered whether his duties already were
being performed by central staff em
ployees.
Blank said last week that
Massengale should reconsider the
agreement and give the regents a more
specific job proposal.
“Blank’s suggestions are clearly
reasonable, and we plan to follow his
approach," Massengale said in a writ
ten statement. “There has never been
any question that board of regent’s
approval would be sought and that I
would make a recommendation re
garding this proposal."
Some members of the Board of
Regents have said they were upset by
aspects of the agreement, including
the amount of Nester’s salary.
In a letter to Massengale Thurs
day, Nester said he expected the NU
president to stick to the original agree
ment, in which Massengale had re
quested Nester act as a NU system
consultant for six months.
Nester would have been paid
$56,900 for the six-month job. The
salary was equivalent to that he re
ceived in hair a year as UNK’s chan
cellor.
Regent Rosemary Skrupa, of Oma
ha, said she hoped the board could
reach a compromise with Nester.
“What kind (of compromise), I
don’t know,” Skrupa said. “But I think
that’s probably going to be in order.”
Skrupa said Nester was “a brilliant
man” who had “dedicated much of his
life to UNK and the NU system.”
She said Nester’s letter to
Massengalc gave strong indications
that the former UNK chancellor still
had a desire to work within the NU
system.
“Judging from what I’ve seen (of
the letter), it sounds like he still has
the good will of NU on his mind,”
Skrupa said. “I think he still wants to
be involved.”
In a press release Friday,
Massengale said he probably didn’t
provide the regents with enough in
formation about Nester’s job duties
the first time around.
Ncster could not be reached for
comment.
