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By Alan Phelps and Steve Smith
Senior Reporters
Roger Bjorklund’s pre-trial evidence sup
pression hearings were ordered partial
ly closed Monday in an effort to pre
vent a future jury from being tainted by press
reports of potential evidence.
Members of the media and other onlookers
were ordered out of the courtroom nine times
—
during the hearings when subjects were dis
cussed that the defense, prosecution or
Lancaster County District Judge Donald
Endacott considered sensitive.
Endacott ordered the partial closure after
meeting with lawyers involved in the case and
those representing the media. Chief Lancaster
county Public Defender Scott Helvie, repre
senting Bjorklund, has said several times in
court the hearings should be closed.
The open portions of Monday’s hearings
focused on the events of Dec. 6, when police
said they told Bjorklund that Scott Barney, 24,
had implicated him in the death of University
of Nebraska-Lincoln student Candice Harms.
The court was cleared of spectators when
Lincoln Police Detective Sgt. Greg Sorensen
and other witnesses described their conversa
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Cecil Steward, dean of UNL’s College of Architecture, holds the renovation plans of the former Nebraska Typewriter
Building, 125 N. 11th St. The building will become a home for Steward and his wife.
Home sweet home
Downtown building’s benefits call to architecture dean
By DeDra Janssen
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When Cecil Steward was eating lunch
last fall at The Rotisserie Restau
, rant, at 11th and O streets, he
didn’t know he was looking out the window
at his future home.
Leaves had fallen off of the trees outside
the restaurant’s window and Steward, dean
; of the College of Architecture, had a clear
view of the Nebraska Typewriter Company
Building across the street. The building had
been closed and abandoned for two years.
Steward and his wife had been interested
in living in downtown Lincoln for several
years and had been keeping their eyes open
for properties and opportunities in the area.
The for-salc sign in front of the old building
caught Steward’s eye.
“i started wondering what the configura
tion on the inside was luce,’’ Steward said. So
he called the phone number on the sign and
bought the building in May.
The Stewards hope to move into their
new home by Christmas. Their neighbors
will be the Georgian Place Apartments, the
YMCA and the Lincoln Electric System
building.
Two weeks ago, work began to remodel
the building, to make it a livable home.
Steward drew up the renovation plans him
self.
Even though the Stewards will be moving
from their fully equipped home in the Pied
mont area, they're not reluctant about mov
ing into an abandoned building.
In fact, they’re ecstatic about it.
“Downtown Lincoln is unique,” Steward
said. “There are a variety of activities to
participate in. It’s clean, safe, close to both
Ourjobs,”hesaid. Steward’s wife also works
on the UNL campus.
Steward said he was looking forward to
many other aspects of downtown life. For
example, he won t miss mowing the lawn in
the summer or shovel ing snow in the w inter,
he said.
Aral the expected problems of downtown
living don’t discourage him. He has ample
parking available behind the building. Traf
fic noise probably won’t be a problem, he
said, because he’s used to it.
“Our house now is over one block from
Bryan Hospital and the fire station. There
will probably be less night noise,” he said.
But aside from escaping the little burdens
of suburban life, Steward has more substan
tial reasons formaking the move downtown.
“I, as an architect, believe there should be
mixed uses in central business districts, not
just commercial and retail," he said.
Environmental and social concerns were
a deciding factor for Steward, as well.
“I want to demonstrate what similar prop
erties might become, and 1 want to demon
_ See STEWARD on 3
More students means more degrees
By Melanie Brandert
fi«ony_
Increasing enrollment among
women and international students
has led to an overall rise in de
grees awarded by UNL over the past
10 vears, a university official said.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Chancellor Graham Spanier said in
his State of the University Address
this month that the total number of
degrees awarded by the university
rose by 7 percent during the past
decade.
UNL has experienced an 8 percent
increase in the number of degrees
awarded to undergraduate students, a
19 percent increase in master’s de
grees and a 5 percent increase in
doctoral degrees.
John Benson, director of Institu
tional Research at UNL, said the in
crease in degrees awarded during the
10-year period reflected increases in
enrollment.
The number of women in programs
such as business and engineering in
creased during the 1980s, as did the
number of international students at
tending UNL, he said.
Benson said he was uncertain why
more women were enrolling.
But he said the large numbers of
international students enrolling led to
a higher number of degrees, in part
because international students were
government-supported.
The students are encouraged by
their governments to complete uni
versity programs quickly, he said.
Benson said he attributed the in
crease in graduate degrees awarded to
the increase in enrollment in graduate
studies.
“In a more general sense, we find
we award more master’s degrees since
it reflects that our graduate student
enrollment is increasing," he said.
Most students who enroll in grad
uate studies complete a degree, he
said, rather than just taking a few
See DEGREE on 3
tion with Bjorklund. However, Sorensen relat
ed in open court a phone call he had with John
Vanderslice, Bjorklund’s attorney at the time.
Vanderslice, who was not present for the
statements police said Bjorklund made, called
the police station and asked why his client was
there, Sorensen said.
See BJORKLUND on 3
Policy forces
international
UNL students
to be insured
By Yuk Peng Lee
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Beginning this fall, some international
students at UNL might find an extra bill
on their tuition statements.
Peter Levitov, associate dean of internation
al affairs, said international students must buy
health insurance that meets the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln’s criteria or they would be
billed for the university's student insurance
plan.
K.unle Ojikutu, director of the University
Health Center, said many international stu
dents coming into the United States were un
aware of health-care costs.
If these students find themselves in a situa
tion where they need to use medical services, he
said, they might find they can’t pay the bill.
“We are not forcing foreign students to buy
the insurance, we are acting for their own
benefit,” he said.
But if international students fail to secure
private insurance policies, they will be billed
automatically for student health insurance
through their tuition statement.
Levitov said the university has required all
foreign students to have health insurance since
1953, but UNL decided to begin enforcing the
policy last year.
Tire U.S. Information Agency announced in
March that visiting scholars, exchange students
and exchange professors, who are all J-l visa
holders, must have insurance by September
1994, he said.
The university rule states that all interna
tional students, or F-l and F-2 visa holders,
must have insurance coverage as well.
Ojikutu said insurance would give interna
tional students health-care security.
One international student had $25,000 bills
at a local hospital and no insurance coverage,
Ojikutu said. The student was unable to pay his
medical bill, he said.
“Health insurance provides international
students medical coverage, and this would give
them a rest of mind,” Ojikutu said.
Sheryl Augstums, insurance coordinator at
the health center, said many foreign students
had been stopping in the health center to ask
about the mandatory insurance.
From the number of students asking ques
tions, Augstums said she thought many foreign
students did not have insurance. The actual
number of uninsured students is unknown, she
See INSURANCE on 6