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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1994)
■Lincoln ■4A&E Movie Review Spielberg scores another hit with "Schindler's List." Page6 Wednesday ' 22/10 Today, a chance of freezing rain with snow in the afternoon. Vol. 93 No. 90 Taped confessions open Bjorklund hearing By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter Taped confessions of jury tam pering and more details in the death of Candice Harms were admitted Tuesday during the first round of suppression hearings for the sentencing of Roger Bjorklund. Bjorklund, convicted in Novem ber of the first-degree murder of Harms, appeared before Judge Donald Endacott in Lancaster County Dis trict Court. Detective Sgt. Greg Sorensen of the Lincoln Police Department testi fied that Bjorklund requested a meet ing with him after his conviction. He said Bjorklund’s message sounded urgent. Bjorklund asked Sorensen about the investigation into the jury tamper ing during his trial, Sorensen said. A tape of the conversation was made. From a transcript of the tapes, Bjorklund said he wanted to help clear Pastor Sherman McCormick’s name. McCormick, from the Piedmont Park Seventh Day Adventist Church, helped Bjorklund deliver threatening letters to jurors after visiting him in jail. Five jurors, all women, received threatening letters at their hotel dur ing the trial’s third week. The letters urged the jurors to find Bjorklund guilty. McCormick wanted Bjorklund to send a note to Lancaster County At torney Gary Lacey claiming respon sibility for the letters. Bjorklund said he followed the advice of a fellow inmate, who Bjorklund said wrote the letters. Bjorklund said he did not even know what the letters contained, but knew they were sent. Sorensen said he asked Bjorklund why the letters were sent, which could have caused a mistrial, when Bjorklund had said he wanted his trial to be over. “Well, ‘cause I guess I was stu pid,” Bjorklund said in the transcripts. “I took someone’s advice and I shouldn’t of, and I felt bad about it...” Also admitted into evidence were tapes holding what Sorensen called a more detailed account of the death of Harms. Sorensen said Bjorklund asked if tapes could be used in the sentencing hearing. Sorensen said Bjorklund was never given the idea the tapes would not be used against him in court. Bjorklund’s attorney, Chief Depu ty Public Defender Scott Helvie, asked Sorensen why he questioned Bjorklund about the murder after he had been found guilty. He also ques See BJORKLUND on 3 Bending over backwards Travis Heying/DN John Ertl, a sophomore fine arts major, and Keaton Mercer, a senior theater major, practice their ballet techniques during their Principles of Ballet class Tuesday afternoon in the Johnny Carson Theatre. NU engineering debate called ‘turf war’ By Kara G. Morrison Senior Reporter The debate over establishing a separate engineering college at UNO has started a “turf war that is hurting the entire NU system, one regent said Tuesday. “It’s getting out of hand," Regent Robert Allen of Hastings said. Allen cited as an example a Dec. 9 engineer ing consultant’s meeting at UNO, where one professor was physically barred from the room by University of Nebraska at Omaha faculty members because he had not signed a petition sup porting the separate college. Allen said the engineer ing debate had culminated into a competition between campuses that was detri mental to the NU system and theuniversity’soverall image. Omaha Regent Rosemary Skrupa disagreed that such competition was hurting the University of Ne braska. DEBATE “Perhaps I’ve been too long in a free enter prise system, but I believe competition is stu dent effective and cost effective," she said. “There is nothing wrong with it. “That’s the whole nature of the university, to foster constructive dissent, and once a decision has been made, let’s play ball. The opposite would be a police state.” Such competition, however, is not consis tent with the one-university concept NU Board of Regents Chairman Charles Wilson of Lin coln has advocated throughout the debate. “The essence of (the one-university con cept) is that the University of Nebraska and all the programs included in it should be directed to meet the needs of the entire state," he said. “I think the concept is relevant to the engi neering debate,” Wilson said. “Engineering is the most expensive undergraduate program. It’s important to use our resources wisely in order to have the best program in the state of Nebraska, including Omaha." When individual campuses react by pursu ing their own agendas and competing with one another, Wilson said, a unified approach to meeting the state’s needs is jeopardized. Allen said outspokenness by Omaha re gents, business leaders and UNO administra tion advocating a separate college also had undermined the university’s decision-making process. “There is a process by which they can seek a change, but their going public with this is really causing animosity, Allen said. Allen said UNO Chancellor Del Weber had never confronted the regents about any protv terns with the UNO engineering program. Allen said the “turf war” extended beyond the engineering debate and charged Weber and Omaha regents with taking del iberate measures to forward their own causes and undermine the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s progress. “Del didn’t start the turf war, but he has made it much more intense for trying to be just like a university that’s only 50 miles away,” Allen said. “This turf war is more serious than most people want to acknowledge.” ne-university concept? ► Regent Robert Allen said debate was getting out of hand, citing a UNO conflict where one professor was physically barred from a meeting. ► Regent Rosemary Skrupa said the debate was part of the university's nature to foster constructive dissent. ► Regents Chairman Charles Wilson said this competition was not consistent with the one-university concept. Thursday, the Daly Nahraafcan will examine the dupHcatlon two engineering programs could Croats In the NU system. Weber declined comment. Regent Nancy O’Brien of Waterloo dis missed Allen’s linkage of the issues to the engineering debate anaanimosity between cam puses. “It doesn’t have anything to do with issues in the past, it has to do with the needs of the state and having those met in a very specific in stance. It’s not related to those issues,”O’Brien said. Skrupa also disagreed that the engineering debate had caused a rift between campuses on other issues. “I hate to see anyone even trying to suggest there are other problems,’’ Skrupa said. Wilson said he expected the engineering consultant’s report to be available to the regents within the next month or two. Clinton touts health care, crime package From Daily Nebraskan and Associated Press Reports WASHINGTON—Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and Rep. Doug Bereuter both gave President Cl inton high marks on his first State of the Union address Tuesday night. Crime and welfare reform were the strong points of the Clinton agenda, the Nebraska congressmen told the Daily Nebraskan. Kerrey, a Democrat, said the president had his priorities straight — crime, children, fam ilies, education and job training. However, Kerrey said, the Clinton health care initiatives need changes. “I disagree with some of the approaches the president is taking on health care,” he said. “With all due respect to the president, that bill won’t pass.” The most successful issues in Clinton’s first year have been those receiving bipartisan sup port, Kerrey said. Without that support, he said, health care would not pass. Bereuter, a Republican, said the problems for Clinton’s agenda may not be the Republi cans’ fault. ‘The problems that will come, will come from the bleeding-heart wing of his own party,” Bereuter said. In the past, Bereuter said, the more liberal Democrats stopped crime and welfare initia tives. Bereuter said Clinton put pressure on the liberals in the Democratic Party with his agen da, because many of his initiatives were mod eled on Republican ideas. Clinton s initiatives are steps in the right direction, Bereuter said. He said he would get bipartisan support on many issues, especially welfare and crime. “I’m going to help him with my vote ” he said. In his speech, Clinton proclaimed progress on his promises to break gridlock and revive the nation's economy and challenged Congress to move promptly on health care and welfare reform. UDr work has just begun, Clinton told a joint session of Congress. “We must do both at the same time.” Upping pressure on Congress to pass the health care reform plan he proposed, Clinton— who has yet to veto a bill — threatened to veto any measure that does not meet his standard of universal coverage. “If the legislation you send me does not guarantee every American private health insur ance that can never be taken away, I will take this pen, veto that legislation, and we’ll come right back here and start over again." Clinton took advantage of—and some of the credit for — the improving economy to call for Congress to “continue our journey of renewal” by enacting the remainder of his domestic program. “We replaced drift and deadlock with renewal and reform," Clinton said. Turning to crime, Clinton voiced strong sup port for legislation that would put 100,000 more police on the beat, send three-time felons to prison for life and ban assault weapons. “Violent crime and the fear it provokes are crippling our society, limiting personal freedom and fraying the ties that bind us,” Clinton said. See ADDRESS on 3
