SPORTS
Winds dying down
A year after leading his team
to a stunning upset of ThiircHav
Nebraska, Iowa State coach *
Jim Walden says that victory 58/40
has meant nothing for this Considerable
year's 3-6 Cyclones. cloudiness today.
Chance of rain
Page 9 " tonight. Friday,
thunderstorms likely.
— ^ • ,-—---1
Jurors listen
to recording
of confession
► Prosecutors played an hour-long, taped
confession Roger Bjorklund gave to Lincoln
police on Dec. 6.
► Bjorklund detailed the abduction, rape and
murder of UNL student Candice Harms.
► In the confession, Bjorklund said he and
Scott Barney were equally responsible for the
crime.
DN graphic
By Steve Smith
Senior Reporter
Though Roger Bjorklund didn’t take the
witness stand Wednesday, it was his
voice that provided the most powerful
evidence to date in his first-degree murder
trial.
Prosecutors played an hour-long, taped con
fession Bjorklund gave to Lincoln police of
ficers Greg Sorensen and Sandy Myers on
Dec. 6.
The tape was entered into evidence despite
objections from Chief Deputy Public Defend
er Scott Helvic.
In the tape-recorded statements, Bjorklund
detailed the abduction, rape and murder of
University of Nebraska-Lincoln student
Candice Harms, of Lincoln.
Bjorklund, 31, is on trial for Harms’ death.
Bjorklund rocked in his chair, scribbled in
a notebook and yawned while jurors and more
than 100 onlookers listened to his confession,
which was played on a stereo sound system.
“Something took over us that I don’t, I
can’t, explain. I don’t know what it is. I have
my own religious theories why we were both
See TRIAL on 6
Football player
among suspects
in beating case
By Jeff Zeleny
Senior Editor
NL students Justin Stephens, 18, and
Ralph Lott, 21, will be arraigned on
third-degree assault charges Nov. 17
for the beating of an international student.
The two suspects were charged Tuesday by
the Lancaster County Attorney’s office for the
Oct. 17 assault of Boon-Chung “Marco” Ong.
Another suspect, whose name will not be re
leased because he is a juvenile, was arraigned
Wednesday.
Stephens is a University of Nebraska-Lin
coln freshman and a redshirt Nebraska foot
ball player on full scholarship. The scholar
ship includes tuition, feck, room, meals and
books.
Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said
Wednesday Stephens would be suspended from
traveling to a post-season bowl game. Because
Stephens is a redshirt, he cannot be suspended
from any regular-season games, Osborne said.
Osborne also said Stephens would not lose
his scholarship “right now.”
Lott, a former football player, is not a reg
istered UNL student. He was a student from
See ASSAULT on 6
from scratch _
—• — ———— ——- -—- udjr v^cuuwuM/m
Brian Swerczek, a junior agronomy major, recently won $10,000 in the Nebraska Lottery. Swerczek pur
chased the winning ticket at a Hy-Vee grocery store.
Lucky ticket pays
student’s tuition
By Matthew Waite
Staff Reporter
Buying groceries will never be the
same — at least not for one Univer
sity of Ncbraska-Lincoln student.
While grocery shopping at the Hy-Vee
grocery store at 48th and Leighton streets
Wednesday, Brian Swerczck bought five
$10,000 Money Match
lottery tickets.
STUDENT Swerczek, a junior
_agronomy major, said he
profile just put the tickets in his
^ pocket and went home.
Little did he know.
^ When Swerczek ar
* rived home, he pulled the
tickets out of his pocket
and started scratching.
"My whole body just
kind of went numb,” Swerczek said. “I
started shaking.”
Swerczek had scratched off a winning
$10,000 ticket.
He said he showed his roommate to make
sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“He couldn’t believe it,” Swerczek said.
“I had to see if I was seeing things.”
Swerczek then took the ticket to the
Lincoln Claim Center. After state and fed
eral taxes were withheld, Swerczek walked
out with $6,500 in his pocket.
Swerczek said he usually was not a lucky
person.
“This is probably the luckiest thing that
has ever happened to me,” Swerczek said.
“I just happened to walk in the right aisle at
the grocery store.
“I’m just kind of taking my winnings. I
doubt if I can ever get that lucky again. 1
haven’t bought a ticket since.”
Now that Swerczek is a lottery winner,
he said he had received some attention from
local media. A radio station interviewed
him live Monday.
“(The disc jockeys) were upset I didn’t
bring them doughnuts,” Swerczek said.
Swerczek said he had been taking a lot
of jokes about his winnings, including peo
ple asking him for interest-free loans.
He said he had also been getting a lot of
suggestions about how to spend his riches.
“I have a lot of people ask me if 1 have
thought about taking a chunk of the money
and buying tickets and seeing if 1 win more
(money),” Swerczek said. “I’m just taking
what 1 have, and I’m happy with it.”
Swerczek said he planned to save the
money. He said the money would help fund
his last three semesters at UNL and pave
the way for after graduation.
Swerczek said the only thing the money
would change about him is his bank ac
count security.
“I doubt it will change much else,”
Swerczek said.
China to take spotlight, speaker says
By Neil Feldman
Staff Reporter
he global “dynamo of the future” is
China, Stanley Kamow said in a speech
Wednesday at the Lied Center for the
Performing Arts.
Karnow’s 30-minutc lecture, “The New Face
of East Asia: Relationships with the United
States,” focused on China’s recent swing to
ward democracy.
Kamow, addressing an audience of about
800 people, was the third of five speakers
participating in this season’s E.N. Thompson
Forum on World Issues. A Pulitzer Prize win
ner for his book, “In Our Image: America’s
Empire in the Philippines,” Kamow is consid
ered an expert on Asian politics and history.
“It’s mind-boggling that China is advanc
ing so quickly,” Karnow said.
By the year 2000, Karnow estimated Chi
na’s imports would grow to $650 billion and
its gross domestic product would peak at $10
trillion.
Many factors, Karnow said, account for the
drastic change.
Following World War II, the United States
pumped billions of dollars into China and Tai
wan, he said.
The money, coupled with a Chinese culture
that revolves around “family ethics and wise
investments,” means China will have few dif
ficulties advancing as a leading economic
stronghold, he said.
Contrary to American culture, Karnow said,
the Chinese do not spend their money in a
nonsensical fashion.
He said economic practicality was para
mount when a country like China was going
through an overnight transition of democratic
reform.
In addition to the Pulitzer, Kamow has won
three Overseas Press Club Awards, received
six Emmys for his PBS documentary series,
“Vietnam: A Television History,” and was
described by Newsweek as the “best journalist
reporting on Asia.”
While China’s democratization was a cen
tral issue in his lecture, Karnow also spoke on
what he called the intra-Asian theater.
See FORUM on 6
Irvine officials heap praise on new JN U President bmith
m ..I ill _ fa n «.« l I • . I • • . . _ J * u/A !_a _ I fYlAn iol OtlH PaII Ria1aO\/ HlirtnO
By Matthew watte
Staff Reporter
The University of Nebraska is
getting an aggressive, inno
vative leader as its new pres
ident, University of California at
Irvine officials said.
Dennis Smith, the executive vice
chancellor at UCI, was chosen as NU
president Sunday by the NU Board
of Regents.
William Parker, UCI’s associate
executive vice chancellor, said that
Smith had made difficult decisions
and provided strong leadership dur
ing his years as an administrator at
Irvine.
“He doesn’t shy away from diffi
cult decisions,” Parker said. “If tough
decisions are to be made, he makes
them.”
Parker said Smith served as acting
chancellor of the university for nine
months. During that time he was
forced to cut the budget by $18 mil
lion.
Smith was able to cut administra
tive costs and prevent the academic
quality at UCI from deteriorating,
he said.
Parker said NU’s decision to hire
Smith was a good one.
“Your gain is our loss,” he said.
UCI’s Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs Horace Mitchell said Smith
was an excellent administrator who
provided excellent financial manage
ment. Smith made academics a top
priority in budget cuts, he said.
“Our primary reason to be here is
academics,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell said Smith protected the
UCI’s academics by cutting the ad
ministrative budget 6 to 7 percent
more than academics. The adminis
tration was cut 8 to 9 percent while
the academic budget was cut 2.5 per
cent.
Hans Bode, a UCI professor of
developmental cell biology, said
Smith provided new ideas that im
proved UCI’s College of Develop
mental and Cell Biology during
Smith’s three-year tenure as dean.
“When he came to take over the
deanship, he provided a new and vig
orous leadership,” Bode said. “He
came on with new ideas, not old bag
gage.”
Smith takes a thorough approach
to all the tasks he undertakes, Bode
said.
“He attacks (problems) like a
steam roller, coupled with no fear to
start something new,” Bode said.
“He’s like a bulldog.”
