Getting sloshed
Students trudge to classes Monday under rainy skies.
Julia Mikolajcjk/DN
Bjorklund
Continued from Page 1
Harms, 18, was missing for almost three
months before Scott Barney, the other man
charged in the case, led police on Dec. 6 to her
shallow grave in a field south of Lincoln.
Metal detectors were in place, and security
was tight Monday for what was expected to be
a week-long jury selection process. The jury is
being chosen in Sidney because of pretrial
publicity in the case.
Endacott split potential jurors into three
groups and outlined plans for attorneys to ques
tion each group on a different day.
From each group, 12 potential jurors will be
chosen. From the 36 potential jurors, 12 final
jurors and four alternates will be chosen Thurs
day, the judge said. ’
Endacott has ruled not to sequester jurors
once the trial begins, but they would face some
restrictions. They will be allowed to travel
home on weekends or have their families visit
them in Lincoln, Endacott said.
Before attorneys began questioning the first
group of 32 potenUaljurors Monday afternoon,
the judge warned the potential jurors to disre
gard any newspaper or television stories about
the case.
Jurors will be housed at the Comhusker
Hotel in Lincoln for the trial, which is sched
uled to begin Monday, Endacott said. The trial
is expected to last at least four weeks.
Bjorklund took notes, rocked in his chair and
scanned the courtroom with little expression as
jury selection began.
Prosecutors have said they would seek the
death penalty against Bjorklund if he were
convicted.
Barney, 24, has agreed to plead guilty to
first-degiee murder and testify against Bjorklund
in exchange for a promise by prosecutors not to
seek the death penalty.
Defense attorneys renewed a request Mon
day to delay the trial. The judge said he would
consider the request but jury selection would
proceed.
Universal health coverage to be discussed at lecture
rrom atari nepons
Universal health coverage will be addressed
at the next speech in the University of Nebras
ka-Lincoln’s ISth annual EJ. Faulkner lecture
series.
The lecture, sponsored by the College of
Business Administration, will be Nov. 5 at
10:30 a.m. in the Nebraska Union Ballroom.
Former Rep. Will is D. G rad i son Jr., presi
dent of the Health Insurance Association of
America, will speak on “Capital Requirements
of U.S. Health Insurers: Implications of Uni
versal Coverage.”
E J. Faulkner, after whom the series is named,
was chief executive officer of Woodmen Acci
dent and Life Co. of Lincoln.
The lecture is free and open to the public.
Former Moscow news correspondent to talk at Lied
From Staff Reports
Nicholas Daniloff, a former Moscow corre
spondent for United Press International and
U.S. News & World Report, will speak Wednes
day at the E.N. Thompson Forum on World
Issues.
DanilofTs lecture, which begins at 3:30p.m.
at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, is free
and open to the public.
Daniloffhas recently returned to the United
States from Moscow, where he was an eyewit
ness to the recent confrontation between Rus
sian President Boris Yeltsin and the hard-liners
in the Russian Parliament.
While a Moscow correspondent for U.S.
News & World Report, DanilofF was arrested
by Soviet authorities and later was found guilty
of espionage. Soviet authorities later agreed to
release Daniloff and drop all charges against
him.
Daniloff is the author a several books, in
cluding‘“Two Lives, One Russia,” an account
of his imprisonment in Russia.
A Cambridge, Mass., resident, Daniloff has
been director of the Northeastern University’s
School of Journalism. He was previously a
visiting professor of journalism at the universi
ty and is a fellow of the Russian Research
Center of Harvard University.
Distinguished alumni to return for Master s Week
From Staff Reports
Five distinguished University of Nebraska
Lincoln alumni will return this week to take
part in Master’s Week.
Karen Underwood, coordinator of special
events and marketing at the Office of Universi
ty Relations, said Master’s Week was designed
to bring back successful alumni to meet with
students, faculty and staff.
The week is sponsored by the Student Alum
ni Association, Innocents Society and Mortar
Board.
Alumni who will be attending the festivities
are:
• Weldon Beverly Jr., principal of Hyde
Park Career Academy in Chicago.
• Gary R. Fries, president and chief execu
tive officer of the Radio Advertising Bureau in
New York.
• Louis L. Munoz, clinical assistant profes
sorofpediatrics and radiology at the University '
of Texas Health Science Center Southwestern
Medical School in Dallas.
• John W. O’Neill, deputy director at the
Johnson Space Center mission operations di
rectorate, NASA in Houston.
• Winston J. Wade, vice president of net
work infrastructure at US WEST Communica
tions in Denver.
Underwood said each of the alumni would
give a presentation to classes in the college
from which they graduated.
Assault
Continued from Page 1
he saw a group of people near the union who he
thought were play fighting. However, when
Ong fell to the ground, the student called police.
Bushing said.
Another witness also told police he saw the
incident through a window from where he was
in the union.
Police say both witnesses told them they saw
about 10 black males near Ong. Two or three of
them were were assaulting Ong. After Ong fell
to the ground, he was kicked in the head several
times, the witnesses said.
The group of men left before police could
arrive.
Griesen said there was no reason to believe
the attack was racially motivated.
“Mr. Ong happened to be in the wrong place
at the wrong time,” he said.
Griesen said police suspected the assailants
might be the same group that was kicked out of
the Rapfest shortly before the attack.
Bushing said police had no leads in the case.
He said anyone with information about the
incident should call the UNL police.
Ong apparently didn't know the identity of
his attackers or why they assaulted him, Bush
ing said.
“I don’t believe he had any idea who the
parties responsible were," Bushing said.
Attempts to reach Ong on Monday were
unsuccessful.
Bushing said a lot of people were on campus
Saturday night for various homecoming and
other activities, but the area was relatively
quiet.
Boon Lee Lim, president of the Internation
al Student Organization, said many interna
tional students were concerned for their safety
on campus in light of the incident.
He said UNL Police Chief Ken Cauble
would talk to international students about the
incident at a 2 p.m. meeting Wednesday at the
International Affairs building.
“We hope that this is an act of random
violence," Lim said, and not directed specifi
cally at students from other countries.
Police Report
Beginning midnight Wednesday
9:38 s.m. — Bike stolen, Abel Residence
Hall, $210.
11:07 a.m — Book bag stolen, Sandoz
Residence Had, $135.
1:08 p.m.—Car accident, Harper-Schramm
Smitn parking lot, $300.
1:21 p.m. — Checkbook stolen, Nebraska
Union, $1.
1:50 p.m. — Carpet stolen, Harper Resi
dence Hall, $439.
1:50 p.m.—Television stolen, Cather Res
idence Hall, $350.
2:04 p.m.— Compact discs stolen, 1535 R
St, $1,319.
5:10 p.m. — Suspicious person, Architec
ture Hall.
10:36p.m.—Person ripping up magazines,
Love Library, (80.
11:09 p.m. — Fire, Richards Hall, $15.
Beginning midnight Thursday
10:36 a.m.—Bike stolen, Burnett Hall, $110.
11:55 a.m. — ID stolen, Smith Residence
Hall, $10.
12:34 p.m.—Cash stolen, College of Busi
ness Administration, $148.
1 H>2 p.m. — Person intoxicated, Architec
ture Hall, transported to Detox.
1:08 p.m. — Bike seat stolen, 1601 R St.,
$15 loss, $135 damage.
1:28 p.m.—Book bag stolen, Ferguson Hall,
1:42 p.m. — Stereo and speakers stolen
from car, remote lot, 17th and Holdrege
3:17 p.m.—Windshield broken, 17th and Q
streets, $250.
8:57 p.m. — Bike stolen, Chi Phi Fraternity,
$508
9:06 p.m.—Bike stolen, Brace Labs, $130.
Beginning midnight Friday
8:18 a.m.—Radar detector stolen from car,
Sandoz Residence Hall parking lot, $160
loss, $100 damage.
10:28 a.m. — Fire alarm, Whittier building.
12:49 p.m. — Wallet stolen, City Campus,
$30.
4:59 p.m. — Hit and run accident, $300.
7*9 p.m. — Larceny from auto, Animal
Science building, $75 damage, $120 loss.
Spanier
Continued from Page 1
touch with the university at all hours.
Surrounded by a fax machine and
computer, with UNL’s parking plans
sprawled out on the desk in front of
turn, Spanier said he worked almost
nonstop to achieve the goals he had
set for himself.
In a 1991 press conference after he
was installed as chancellor, Spanier
pledged to address a list of issues:
budget cuts, vacant administrative
posts, gender equity and minority re
cruitment and retention.
Checks can be made by each item
on the list.
The budget cuts are complete. The
last of the administration jobs has
been filled. The affirmative action
office has been restructured. And more
minorit ies and women have been hired.
“All of the things we’ve said we’d
do, we’ve done or are planning on
doing,” Spanier said.
Spanier doesn’t take all of the credit
for his accomplishments. He said all
administrators had helped him achieve
his goals.
“We have an administration team
that works well together," he said.
And that team, he said, will help
lead the university into the future.
“Now that we’ve got some stabil
ity,” he said, “now we can get on with
the long-range planning.”
Goals for the future include im
proving research at UNL. In the years
to come, Spanier said he planned to
seek more research grants to build
UNL’s research capabilities.
He also plans to literally rewire the
whole campus, adding a student in
formation center for registration and
making voice, data and video connec
tions to reach across the world.
Spanier wants to create tougher
admission standards, improve aca
demic advising and revamp scholar
ship programs, he said.
And he plans to stay in touch with
the student body, he said, something
he holds as a high priority now.
One of Spanier’s most important
duties, he said, is keeping the lines of
communication open.
“I want to have the kind of tone
here where people know where the
chancellor stands,” he said. ‘‘1 don’t
like going around doing things in
secret.”
Spanier has published his elec
tronic mail number. He meets with
students and invites them to his house.
Each week Spanier cats in the resi
dence hallsorgreek houses. He speaks
• on a radio show once a month. He
personally answers every letter he
receives.
Because of his efforts, Spanier said
students were less afraid to voice con
cems.
This year, in particular, the issue of
grcenspace has fueled students’ fires
as many have openly criticized the
chancellor’s decision.
Many students may know Spanier
best for his commitment to turning a
parking lot north of Broyhill Piaza
into a park.
“That’s odd if you think that’s
what symbolizes my first two years
here,” he said.
During those years Spanier has
contended with student, parent and
faculty furor over issues such as grad
uation prayer. He also deals with put
downs from the new conservative stu
dent tabloid, “The Ideal.”
“None of the issues that people
have mentioned as being problematic
arc really critical issues," he said.
“You don’t want people to feel bad
about how the university is managed.”
Spanier deals with criticism, he
said, by not taking it personally.
“You’re never going to get people
agreeing with me on every issue,” he
said.
So, Spanier said, he takes things as
they come.
“Some days 1 feel like I’m a chan
cellor. Other days I feel like I'm a
mayor—like it’s a big city here,” he
said.
“I'm making my decisions in terms
of what I believe is in the best interest
of the university.”
Spanier will continue to work on
his goals, he said, which are far from
being accomplished in a matter of
days.
“We’ve got more than two years
worth of work to do. 1 don’t ever
see it slowing down much," he said.
“If anything, the pace will acceler
ate,”
And, two years from now, Spanier
said he could see himself in basically
the same position: “Just plugging
away.”