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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1994)
Bjorklund Continued from Page 1 ter, Rhonda, undress in her room, Vada Bjorklund said. Arthur Bjorklund also would sleep naked and walk naked from his room to get a glass of water, she said. “I assumed he walked around so the kids could see him,” she said. More visible than the sexual abuse was the physical and emo tional abuse her husband inflicted on Roger Bjorklund and his sister. “He never showed love to either of them,” Vada Bjorklund said. Arthur Bjorklund instead fa vored his first and natural child, Donald. Knoncia anu Koger djuimuhu didn’t share that favored status. “That’s all he ever did — yell and scream at the kids,” she said. Less frequently, she said, her husband would twist Rhonda and Roger Bjorklund’s cars and arms, hit them on the head or squeeze the back of their necks. Bjorklund’s sister, now Rhonda Larsen of Hutchinson, Kan., testi fied she experienced a similar un happy childhood. The experience caused Roger Bjorklund and Larsen to move away from home in their teens. Both teens dropped out of school and shared an apartment in Kearney. Larsen said Roger Bjorklund al ways was kind to her, but he began todrink heavily when he was living Roger Bjorklund told Larsen ot the Harms murder. “He told me about it,” she said. “They didn’t intend for (the death) to take place. One thing led to another; it ended up happening.” Larsen said her brother was kind of quiet about the crime and w ished it never would have happened. Al though Roger Bjorklund didn’t tell her why he committed the murder, she said she thought it was because he got scared. Chief Deputy Public Defender Scott Hclvie objected to Larsen’s testimony about the phone conver sation with her brother. “It’s improper impeachment,” Helvie said. “Rhonda’s impression the Harms murder. “He told me about it,” she said. “They didn’t intend for (the death) to take place. One thing led to another; it ended up happening.” Larsen said her brother was kind of quiet about the crime and wished it never would have happened. Al though Roger Bjorklund didn’t tell her why he committed the murder, she said she thought it was because he got scared. Chief Deputy Public Defender Scott Helvie objected to Larsen’s testimony about the phone conver sation with her brother. “It’s improper impeachment,” Helvie said.“Rhonda's impression was he got scared. He didn ’t say he got scared.” The objections were overruled by District Judge Donald Endacott. Roger Bjorklund’s grandmoth er, Carmen Davis of Springvicw, also testified Monday. Davis, 84, was asked by defense attorneys what type of grandson Roger Bjorklund was. “A good one, I thought,” she answered. i NU engineering college recommendations In October 1993, the NU Board ol Regents authorized the establishment of a review team charged with completing a comprehensive review of engineering and related programs at the University of Nebraska. _ _ . . Four consultants visited both the Lincoln and Omaha campuses of the NU system at least once. Following is a summary of of the team s conclusions and recommendations: The state of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska system should initiate a deliberate and carefully planned process leading to the establishment of an independent college of engineering at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The recommended process should included the following elements: 1. The first action should be a clear and unequivocal commitment by the Nebraska state government and the University of Nebraska system to establish and support and independent college of engineering at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Without such a commitment, the enormous effort required to plan in detail and to implement the establishment of such a college is unlikely to be truly fruitful. This does qq! necessarily mean the immediate formal establishment of the college, developmental process. 2. A clear and compelling vision and at least the outlines of a real strategic plan for the new college must be developed immediately. This will be necessary in the development of support for the commitment to create the new college. However, that commitment should not be held hostage to a requirement for a plan that would spell out every imaginable detail of the development of the college into the indefinite future. 3. It should be understood from the outset that additional financial resources will be required. Some of the proponents of the establish ment of an independent UNO college purport to believe that the administrative division of the Omaha and Lincoln college which could become what is needed In Omaha with only very modest additional expenditures. The team disagrees. We believe mat what would be left from such an administrative division would leave UNO more nearly in the position of having to create an engineering school from scratch. The team believes that Nebraska and its university system can bom continue the development of a strong traditional engineering school in Lincoln and build a new kind of engineering school In Omaha, one carefully adapted to the special needs of the Omaha area’s citizens and Its business community. It should be possible, we believe, to bring that new school to a state of full service to Its community and to fu* accreditation before the end of this decade. If Nebraska succeeds In mis, it will have made a major contribution toward ensuring Its own economic competitiveness in the 21st century. The alternative is continuation of the present situations. The team believes alternative is unacceptable. We hope our Nebraska friends agree. _ Engineering Continued from Page 1 The consultants, however, did not give the University of Nebraska at Omaha much praise. “The physical facilities at the(UNL Engineering) College at UNO are grossly inadequate,” the report states. Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln said she disagreed that UNO was in need of restructuring. “UNO sort of grows like an awk ward child,” she said. “And it hasn’i matured yet. “It takes time,” Crosby said. “It’s been there about 25 years and there are a lot of 25-year-olds who aren’l mature yet.” Crosby said UNO had much tc offer, and that action now could be toe hasty. The focus should be more or ' enhancing what already is there, she said, as Omaha businessmen have told her graduate programs were most ly needed. The consultants found Nebraska’s present investment in engineering ed ucation to be relatively small. The report said the state could improve the situation if it could muster the politi cal will. That will, Crosby said, comes from the voters, who have said they wanted a higher quality university, but weren’ l going to pay higher taxes to support it, NU President Dennis Smith, speak ing via telephone from a hotel in Rawlins, Wyo., told reporters he was not prepared to commit to the plar Monday. But Smith said he would have i preliminary recommendation at the regents’ next meeting March 26. “A major problem will be the fi nancial considerations,” he said. “ have not decided as of this momen whether I am going to the Legislature to ask for money.” Smith said he was not unhappy with the report, but suggested a sec ond committee be formed to pick up where the first committee left off, though one originally had not been planned. ASUN President-elect Andrew Loudon said university students had been lost in the debate. “I think we really need to look at who is going to be hurt,” he said. Loudon said he had yet to talk to a UNL engineering student in favor ol a separate college. John Ballard, associate dean for the UNL college of engineering and technology, said great care needed to be taken when separating the colleges without damaging them. Ballard also said he doubted the Legislature would increase NU’sbud [ get, which would mean cuts in other : areas such as scholarship funds. mm a ^ ^ a a a mm •• ^ ^ a M M a mb mb mb mb mb Mi bm mm mm mm m mb «■ m ^b m m mm « I $10 Gift Check CASH Pi ON STOREWDE SPRMQ BREAK SAVINGS! Presented at the time of purchase, this gift check is redeemable as a $10 reduction on the purchase of regular price merchandise totalling $30 or more. This gift check may not be exchanged for cash or cash credit on a Harold's charge account, nor may it be used in con junction with any other discount or promotional offer. Please limit one gift check per customer per visit. Void After Sunday, Ona Pacific Place March 20th, 1994 Omaha IL_----- -------------- - MB -------- Official: women must take charge of their own life By Bob Ray Start Report*_ Women could accelerate welfare reform by refusing to subscribe to traditional gender roles, the Nebraska director of social services said Mon day. Mary Dean Harvey, the director of the Nebraska Department of Social Services, gave a speech in the Nebras ka Union entitled “Women and Pov erty— Welfare Reform in the ’90s.” The speech was held in conjunction with Women’s Week ’94, which fo cuses on women’s issues. Often, women learn their roles at an early age, Harvey said. They arc conveyed through toys and treatment by elders. Women olten arc raised witn me idea they must look pretty, find the perfect husband and have children, she said. With many women accept ing such a conventional role, they often settle for minimal education and low-wage jobs, Harvey said. “Not having those skills will land us in poverty—period,” Harvey said. “We need to erase that board, get rid of it, abolish it.” Harvey said women needed to take control of their own lives and make their own decisions on what roles in society they should take. “We need to start revamping what we currently do,” she said. Women need to understand that their roles are up to them, Harvey said, and both men and women need to real ize that soc iety ’ s v iews of wom cn have changed. “You have an obligation to start to take charge of your own life and own destiny, and if both parties will do that, then we will find fewer women and children living in poverty,” she said. Harvey also said one out of every five children in Nebraska lived in poverty. “If this is the case in Nebraska, what must it be like in Texas, New York, Louisiana andCalifomia, where the economy is not as good as Nebras ka?” Harvey asked. Most of the single-parent house holds in the United States are headed by women, Harvey said, and there are a number of independent women not receiving child support. BUY IT. SELL IT. FIND IT. CLASSIFIED