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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1994)
SPORTS New recruits A tough recruiting season ends with the Huskers signing 19 new players. Page 7 Thursday 24/7 Today will be mostly sunny. February 3, 1994 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 93 No. 96 Felony charges filed against football player By Jeff Zeleny Senior Editor and Jeremy Fitzpatrick Editor Cornhusker defensive back Tyrone Wil liams is scheduled to be arraigned in Lancaster County Court today for the unlawful discharge of a firearm and the use of a weapon to commit a felony in a weekend shooting. The two felony charges were filed Wednes day afternoon by Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey. Williams The charges stem from a Sunday morning inci dent in which authori ties allege W illiams fired two or three rounds at University of Nebraska Lincoln student Brooke Bohac’s vehicle near the corner of 17th and L streets. The weapons charge is a Class III felony, which carries up to a 20 year jail sentence and a $25,000 fine. The unlawful firearm charge is a Class IV felony, which carries a maximum five-year jail term and a $ 10,000 fine or a minimum one-year sentence. The firearms charge also is known as the drive-by shooting law, created in 1990 by the Nebraska Legislature. The statue doesn’t re quire prosecutors to prove an attempt to hurt an individual. Lacey said prosecutors only must prove a gun was fired at an occupied vehicle. Lacey confirmed the following account ol the incident: Kevin Porter, a passenger in Bohac’s car anc a safety for the New York Jets, called the cellularphone in the car Will iams was riding in Porter told Williams he was an FBI agent anc that Williams was under surveillance. Later ir Special Report This week: Campus consumption Today: University judicial process Crackdown on code violations Photo Illustration by William Lauer/DN The scales of justice are evidence that there often is a precarious balance between having a good time and breaking the rules. By Angie Brunkow Senior Reporter Some students don’t like to follow the ailcs when it comes to alcohol, UNL officials said. “Students don’t pay much attention to the fact that the legal (drinking) age is 21said Jayne Wade Anderson, director of greck affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lin coln. But Nebraska laws regarding alcohol con sumption aren’t the only rules students are breaking. Although the UNL Student Code of Con duct prohibits unauthorized alcohol from being on campus, it still finds its way into Memorial Stadium, greek houses and resi dence hall rooms. The NU Board of Regents does not allow alcohol on University ofNebraska campuses — with some exceptions set by campus chancellors. At UNL, groups can ask for special per mission to serve alcohol on campus. To gain approval, food and nonalcoholic beverages must also be served, and the majority of the guests must be of legal drinking age. Linda Schwartzkopf, director of student judicial affairs at UNL, said she met with 45 students last year for violations of the univer sity’s alcohol policy on campus but not in the greek houses or residence halls. “We’ve had people walking back from the bar with a pitcher of beer,” she said. Lesley Esters, coordinator for residence hall administration at UNL, said there were about 200 instances of alcohol violations in the residence halls last year. The number of violations in greek houses was unavailable. Anderson said most greek organizations caught violating the no-alcohol policy would appear before the Greek Judicial Board, which consists of six students and three faculty members. _ See ALCOHOL on 3 Campus Consumption This week, the Daily Nebraskan takes an in-depth look into the issue of alcohol on campus. Friday's story will explore alcohol in greek houses. the conversation, though, Porter told Williams the call was only a joke. Porter previously knew W illiams, Lacey said, and was in Lincoln visiting friends. After the telephone call was made from an apartment, Bohac and Porter began driving and realized they were being followed. Bohac was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of 17th and L streets when a man she identified as Williams smashed the passenger side window of her car. Bohac sped away, Lacey said, and Williams allegedly fired the shots. SeeHUSKERS on 6 Knoll’s father shows support for hazing bill By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter_ After a night of horror and months of suffering since his son fell from a fra ternity house window, a father is hop ing the Nebraska Legislature can deter a similar incident from happening again. Jim Knoll, father of Jef frey Knoll, the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity pledge who fell out of a third-story win dow in November, spoke with other University of Ncbras ka-Lincoln leaders in sup port of LB 1 129. LEGISLATURE The bill would make haz ing a crime carrying a maxi mum penalty for an individual of six months in jail, a $1,000 fine or both. The organization involved also could be tried and fined up to $10,000 if found guilty. Jim Knoll said the incident on the night of Nov. 2 was devastating to his family. “1 can’t begin to tell you what an incident I ike this will do to your life,” he said. Before November, Jim Knoll’s only expo sure to hazing came from watching the movie “Animal House.” He said the incidents that happened to his son seemed surreal. The father said he never thought he would be before a legislative committee advocating a bill that seemed like common sense. It sort oi makes you wonder what s been going on for the past 100 years,” he said. He told the committee what happened to him on the night of his son’s fall. Jim Knoll first heard about what had hap pened at 6 p.m. from his daughter Jamie, he said. He said she did not know much—just that he should wait for a phone call from the doctors at Lincoln General Hospital. A chaplain from the hospital called 20 min utes later, the father said, which scared him. The chaplain said to wait for the doctors. The doctors called and said Jeff had fallen and sustained “pretty massive head injuries.” Jim Knoll said the doctors told him Jeff was in a coma and on a respirator, and he and his wife should come to Lincoln. “You can’t imagine what that four- or five hour ride from Ogallala to Lincoln was like,” J im Knoll said. He said he thought of everything from funeral arrangements to remodeling their garage to take care of Jeff for the rest of his life. The father said he was never so scared as when he walked 150 yards from his car to the hospital. He said they got upstairs to where Jeff was and saw family members and friends from the fraternity. “Compared to what 1 thought 1 was going to sec ... I was relieved,” Jim Knoll said. He said the last three months had been a scries of ups and downs, learning of the effects of the injuries and seeing Jeffs physical im provements. Two weeks after the incident, the father said, doctors told him Jeff might never be able to return to college because of the long-term learn ing disability he incurred as a result of the fall. “So many tears have flown — it’s hard to tell you what kind of roller-coaster experience it’s been,” Jim Knoll said. Jeff is in a rehabilitation center in Denver and should be released soon, his father said. See HAZING on 6