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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1994)
Finn said with the existing sys tem, it was hard for the university to do what it wanted. “We want to be able to coordi nate existing coverage... with the student-athletes,” he said. “It lim its the university.” People who are involved in help ing injured student-athletes can feel more comfortable with the new system, Finn said. “The people who are (helping athletes) now will have more free dom to coordinate expenses with existing coverage," he said. By Angie Brunkow Senior Reporter Although gun control hasn’t been a big problem at UNL, offi cials said they still were worried about students owning them. UNL Police Chief Ken Cauble said he estimated that several Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln stu dents owned handguns. “It’s not a healthy situation,” he said. “We have far too many in stances when we come across peo ple with weapons.” Recently, two UNL students were arrested in incidents involv ing handguns. UNL football player Tyrone Williams was arrested last month on two weapons charges. -44 There’s not much to hunt with a handgun. — Cauble UNL police chief -ft - Early Monday morning, police alleged, UNL junior engineering major Seth Davis threatened his ex-girlfriend with a9mm handgun. Cauble said the UNL Police Department didn’t keep figures on the number of encounters officers had with students and guns. “If it’s once or twice a year, that’s too many in my book,” he said. Doug Zatechka, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs at UNL, said gun use and possession was a nationwide concern. Many guns are illegally pos sessed, are used to commit crimes and cause accidents, he said. “Guns are a big concern every where,” he said. Although he couldn't explain the recent rash of gun-related inci dents at UNL, Zatechka said the trend of increasing gun use and violence wasn’t isolated to UNL. “It certainly mirrors what is go ing on in the rest of the country,” he said. “More and more people solve more of their problems with vio lence.” Jason Orth, a UNL senior and assistant manager of the gun store Shooters at 3031 O St., said hand guns shouldn’t necessarily be asso ciated with violence. “Its primary use has been a de fensive tool,” he said. “But most people will never fire a handgun in a malicious manner.” Orth said he enjoyed collecting guns and sometimes used them for sport and hunting. “A lot of them are nice pieces of engineering,” he said. “It’s kind of like owning a Rolex watch.” Cauble said he didn’t mind stu dents who had firearms for hunt ing, but those with handguns caused the police department to worry. “There’s not much to hunt with a handgun,” Cauble said. In Nebraska, university codes and state and federal laws regulate student access to and possession of handguns. The university Student Code of Conduct prohibits students from “possessing or selling firearms, ammunition, or other dangerous weapons (except as expressly au thorized by the university) on uni versity-owned or controlled prop erty.” Deb Mullen, Abel-Sandoz resi dence hall complex director, said if students living in the residence halls wanted to store guns on campus, they could check them in at the Photo Illustration by Jeff Haller/DN Handguns on campus are becoming more prevalent, and officials are beginning to worry. hall’s front desk. About 10 weapons are being stored now at the Abel-Sandoz com plex, she said, but they are sporting and hunting rifles. “I’ve never seen a handgun in there,” she said. Zatechkasaid the university reg ulated the presence of handguns on campus because of the danger as sociated with them. “Firearms are a very deadly we ” he said. not only are potentially dangerous to others on campus, he said, but also could harm tne gun owner by accidental discharge. Last week, UNL student Ryan Tomaschtik accidentally was shot in his apartment while roommate Ryan Crumly, also a UNL student, was cleaning his gun. Sen. Eric Will of Omaha said students younger than 18 shouldn’t have guns. State law prohibits it, and a proposed state law Will is co sponsoring could increase the age to 21, he said. Federal law prohibits anyone younger than 21 from buying a handgun, Orth said. Will said laws aimed at restrict ing college-age people from get ting or having guns were fair. “I don’t think there’s any need (for a college student) to have a handgun,” he said. But Orth said if students were responsible with the gun, they should have the right to have it. “If they’re not hurting anybody, I don’t see the problem." Bryant Continued from Page 1 ‘Oh, you make me so proud of my country,’” Bryant said. After a pause, he added: “I wonder if she ’ s stil 1 alive.” There are others about which Bryant wonders. He mentions four Yugoslavian youth he met at the games. They were enamored with the American, Bryant. “One of them would holler ‘John Wayne’ and we’d go for our guns and pretend to have a shootout,” Bryant explained. But the image of the boys holding out their hands and pointing their fingers in the shape of guns is no longer a lighthearted memory for Bryant, who knows the boys probably are holding real guns now. “Are they shooting at each other? Are they on the same side? Different sides?” Bryant wonders out loud. “It’s j ust a tragedy. Ten years haven ’ t dulled the memory... you don ’ t forge t a th i ng 1 like that. “The thing that makes it so unbe lievable is that you didn’t have a sense of division in the country” Bryant said. “It seems inconceivable to ever think this could happen.” Despite the wondering and worry ing about people and the places Bryant left behind, he said he wouldn’t trade the memories. “It was a great experience,” he said. But he wishes there were more than pictures left by which to remem ber the country. “I always wanted to go back and take my wife,” he said. Bryant’s other memories from his Olympic experiences have been a lit tle lighter. Before his time in Sarajevo, Bryant worked with the figure skaters and hockey teams at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. I hear they're digging graves to bury people near the Zetra (Ice skating rink and soccer stadium). — Bryant Nil associate athletic director -tf - Having been chief U.S. press offic er for the World Cup games in Montreal and a member of the media committee for the NCAA Final Four in previous years, Bryant was recruit ed for the press job. He set up press conferences for Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner after Gardner’s tragic warm-up injury that Insuring athletes to be easier By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter The Nebraska Legislature voted to make it easier for the University of Nebraska to insure student-ath letes by unanimously passing a bill Monday. LB381, introduced by Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha during last spring’s legislative session, empow ers the NU Board of Regents to coordinate policies for student-ath letes by the university and the NCAA. Carl Finn, NU assistant vice president of business and finance and director of risk management, said the current program ran on a two-level system. The NCAA has a catastrophic insurance policy that covers stu dent-athletes’ medical bills of more than $25,000, Finn said. The uni versity insures the student-athlete for the first $25,000, where most of the costs occur. Under the national system, Finn t f said, all universities are required to buy insurance for athletes, have the athletes insure themselves or coor dinate between the two. In Nebraska, the university and students can't coordinate policies. Finn said the university covered all of the $2S,000 for UNL athletes. Finn said last year, LB381 would eliminate duplication in the case of a student who already owned insur ance. “The bill would allow the uni versity to coordinate coverage with the NCAA policy and other cover ages which may be in effect, and thus eliminate the need to buy du plicate coverage,” he said last March. Finn said Monday the universi ty was looking into other insurance options, including the possibility of having students pay for some of their own insurance. “We’re looking into self-insur ing some of (the $25,000),” Finn said. He said the same coverage would be provided no matter what. Finn said with the existing sys tem, it was hard for the university to do what it wanted. “We want to be able to coordi nate existing coverage... with the student-athletes,” he said. “It lim its the university.” People who are involved in help ing injured student-athletes can feel more comfortable with the new system, Finn said. “The people who are (helping athletes) now will have more free dom to coordinate expenses with existing coverage,” he said. When the state law was written, Finn said, no one considered coor dinating policies. “The statute shouldn’ t have been so restricting when it was written," he said. Finn said the law did nothing to hurt students. “It’s not taking anything away from... the students,” he said. “It’s giving more freedom to those in volved.” fen the two unable to competfeAnd Ite was there to witness the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union and go on to win the gold medal. “The great hockey win over the Soviet Union was the best thrill I’ve ever had,” Bryant said. Bryant also worked with the bob sled and luge teams—and did a little skiing on the side — in Calgary, Alberta, in 1988. His stint with the Olympic Com mittee may not be over. “But who knows, that’s two years from now,” Bryant said. Bryant said he was not sad to be missing directing the media this year at the Olympics, in light of the contro versy surrounding figure skater Tonya Harding. “I feel for the figure skaters and the officials. I know the agony they’re going through,” Bryant said. “It’s re ally too bad.” jyjoore1 ,v/ <tM* ‘ ‘ Continued from Page 1 duck, but if I’m a duck I intend to be a fighting duck.” No other candidates have yet filed for the offce as of Monday, but Moore said a race of this stature would prob ably attract additional candidates. The filing deadl ine for incumbents is Feb. 24, and March 11 is the dead line for nonincumbents. State Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lin coln, a Democrat, expressed interest in the position early last week, but Friday she announced she would not be a candidate. Beermann said it was unethical for him to endorse any candidate. But, he said, Moore has a grasp of state gov ernment and is well-prepared and well qualified for the office. “Let me tell you it’s easy to win,” Beermann joked. “Ail you nave to do is have one more vote than the other person.” Parts of UNL lose electricity From Staff Reports The Nebraska State Capitol and parts of the University of Nebraska Lincoln were in the dark for about an hour Monday afternoon after an acci dent at a university substation. Gary Thalken, utility manager for UNL facilities management, said in dependent contractors installing new air conditioning equipment at the uni versify substation at 14th Street and Avery Avenue cut through an under ground high-voltage cable, causing the electrical system to 13 campus buildings to shut down at about 4:30 p.m. Thalken said the problem was tem porarily settled by rerouting power around the troubled cable. The system should be back in full working order today, Thalken said. Threat Continued from Page 1 said, when Davis screamed at her: “I’m going to blow your f—ing head off!” Davis then got the gun out of his closet and began loading it. The wom an ran from tne room and met another fraternity member in the hall. The member was able to talk with Davis, and he turned over the gun. UNL police arrested Davis with out incident and recovered the weap on. Davis was arrested and jailed early Monday. A $10,000 bail was set Mon day afternoon. Davis was ordered to appear in court Feb. 28 and to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend. The terroristic threat charge is a Class IV felony and carries a maxi mum penal ty of f ive years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both. Davis had not posted bail as of late Monday night, a spokesman said, and remained in the Lancaster County Jail.