Inside Wednesday
Sports
■ Osborne rearranges NU secondary, Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
■ A cappella quintet sing songs of praise, Page 9
PAGE 2: Former U.S. Treasurer sentenced for tax evasion
September 14, 1994
Guns still lawful for many past offenders
By Brian Sharp
Senior Reporter
Gerald Schlondorf spent almost 17 months
trying to get UNL police to turn over his .45
calibcr Commando Mark III semi-automatic
gun.
Three weeks later, hcwaschargcdwith using
that gun to shoot a University of Nebraska
Lincoln police officer.
Schlondorf. a UNL senior criminal justice
major, was arrested for shooting Officer Robert
Soflin in the hand Monday night. Schlondorf is
accused of firing 11 rounds at a police Blazer at
16th and R streets, said Lincoln Police Chief
Tom Casady.
Police pursued Schlondorf after he al Icgcdly
drove by two officers near 14th and Saunders
streets, pointed the gun out the window of his
truck and shouted, “Bang! Bang!” Casady said
UNL Police Chief Ken Caublc said police
had seized the gun Schlondorf fired, along with
other items, after Schlondorf attempted suicide
on April 27. 1993.
Police responded to a call that day from a
resident of Nci hardt Residence Center and found
See BACKGROUND on 6
Student charged in officer’s assault
rrom oian nepuns
Bail was set Tuesday at $1 million for
UNL senior Gerald Schlondorf. who was
charged in the attempted murder and assault
of UNL police officer Robert Soflin.
1 Shlondorf faces the following charges:
• Two counts of second-degree attempted
murder.
• une count or rirsi-aegree assault on a
peace officer.
• One count of terroristic threats.
Four counts of using a firearm to commit
a felony.
• One count of fleeing from police
officers.
Schlondorf will appear in court again
next Monday
NO HORSE PLAY
Shaun Sartin/DN
Students in Advanced Equitation exercise their horses in class Tuesday. Travis, left, is a
horse used in the class, which teaches students horse-training skills. See story on Page 6.
Husker shooting unresolved
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
No arrests were made as of Tues
day in the shooting of an Nil football
player last weekend. Lincoln Police
Lt. Steve Imessaid.
NU split end Brendan Holbein was
grazed in the waist by a bullet early
Saturday mornini’ lines said a fight
between reserve running back Clinton
Childs and an Omaha man preceded
the shooting.
The fight and shooting occurred
during a party at a Lincoln residence
leased to two Cornhuskers. Leslie
Dennis, a freshman corncrback. and
Justin Stephens, a freshman line
backer.
Holbein was an innocent bystander
at the party, police have said
Imes said he could not release the
name of the Omaha man who was
fighting with Childs
A number of football players were
at the party. Imes said.
“Quite honestly, we didn't take
count of the number of football play
ers there,” he said. “Despite popular
belief, that doesn't mean anything I
really don’t care how many football
players were there
University of Nebraska football
coach Tom Osborne said Tuesday tha.
no football players would be disci
plined for the incident.
“There wasn’t any reason to do
that," he said “If I had any reason to
discipline somebody. I would do that.
Imessaid police would continue to
investigate the ease.
“We're still trying to locale wit
nesses and talk to more people." lie
said.
Suspect ‘nice guy,’
‘wanted to be cop’
By Brian Sharp
Senior Reporter
When Brent Peterson heard on the
news that his friend had been arrested
for shooting a UNL police officer, his
reaction was one of shock.
nc was a nice
guy.” Peterson
said of Gerald
Schlondorf. *'Hc
was a good
friend."
“I just saw it ((lie
reports) on the
news. At first. I
didn't believe it I
I -*1-' never tnougnt nc
Schlondorf was ihc type of
person to go out and do that "
Prosecutors allege Schlondorf fired
II rounds at a UNL police Blazer on
Monday, injuring the officer inside
Peterson, a junior physics major.
has been friends with Schlondorf for
the past three and a half years, he said
They lived on the same floor in Cathcr
Residence Hall. Schlondorf lived
alone.
Peterson said he got to know
Schlondorf. eating dinner with him
every night and sometimes playing
darts, watching television or playing
pool afterwards, just to pass the time
Schlondorf. 3 i. was studying crimi
nal justice. Peterson said, and was a
serious student He became a senior
this fall.
“He always wanted to be a cop.
Peterson. 21. said.
Schlondorf applied to be a Lincoln
pol ice officer. Peterson said He passed
the written test, went through the physi
cal examination and got to the inter
view before he was rejected.
Peterson said Schlondorfwas com
See SCHLONDORF on 6
Shooting affects police
By DeDra Janssen
Senior Reporter
The University Police Department
was quiet the day after one of its
officers was shot and wounded in the
line of duty.
University Police Chief Ken Caublc
said Tuesday that although there was
some talk in the office about Monday
night's shooting, officers were stay
ing busy
“You just kinda go on with your
job." he said.
University Police Officer Robert
Soflin was shot Monday in his police
vehicle after a man he was chasing
stopped his vehicle at 16th and R
streets, got out and fired at him.
Gerald Schlondorf, a U niversity of
Nebraska-Lincolnscniorcriminal jus
tice major, was charged Tuesday with
second-degree attempted murder.
Soflin had joined Lincoln police in
the chase when it reached campus
The chase began near State Fair Park
and ended at 27th Street and Nebraska
Highway 2. Soflin was taken to Lin
coln General Hospital with wounds to
his hand, shoulder and neck.
Soflin was in good condition Tues
day. according to a hospital spokes
woman.
Soflin. a six-year University Po
lice veteran, is the only UNL police
officer ever to be shot.
Caublc said the shooting affected
all law enforcement officers in the
city, not just UNL officers
“Law enforcement is kind of like a
family,” he said
Caublc said Monday's incident
See OFFICERS on 6
Lecture focuses on necessity of new medical procedures
By Jeff Randall
Staff Reporter
How much is a human life worth?
That was just one of the questions
Professor Burton A. Weisbrod posed
about health care reform to a group of
about 200 people at Kimball Recital
Hall Tuesday.
Weisbrod. an economics professor
and director of the Center for Urban
Affairs and Policy Research at North
western University, spoke during a
symposium entitled “Health Care Re
form and Technological Change."
The lecture was the first in a series
of four health care symposiums spon
sored by (he Department of Econom
ics and the Center for Insurance and
Risk Management in the College or
Business Administration.
During the lecture. Weisbrod dis
cussed the value, effectiveness and
necessity of several new medical pro
cedures.
Weisbrod said health care costs
had been rising because of lech no
logical advances.
“Over the last 40 years, the per
centage of our GNP going into health
care expenditures has increased sev
eral timesover,” Weisbrod said, “while
the amount of money going into our
educational system has stayed appro.xi
inatciy the same.
“How could this happen? The an
swer is simply technology."
Wcisbrod said 15 percent of
America's gross national product
would go toward health care in 1994,
compared with only 4 percent in 1955.
“We have asked for technology —
and research and development have
Erovidcd us with marvelous results."
c said. “Unfortunately, those results
have also been very expensive."
Weisbrod said Americans rcali/.cd
that some research and development
should not be done unless it could be
made affordable.
“Wc should not encourage the de
velopment of technology that wc are
not willing to provide to everyone.”
he said. “Our society is already di
vided If wc say that you can only have
a heart transplant if you can afford to
pay $100,000. wc will only create
more problems.”
Weisbrod also questioned what
could be classified as necessary health
care.
“There arc people out there who
will die if they don t receive an organ
transplant.” he said. “There arc also
people who won t die without the trans
plant. but will definitely experience
an extremely reduced quality of life.
“The question we have to ask our
selves is this: Is maintaininga person's
quality of life comparable to main
taining someone's life?"
But Weisbrod said the future of
health care reform wasn't bleak.
“We have a lot of tough questions
to answer, but the fact remains that the
future of health care expenditures is
within ourcontrol." he said “Ifwcarc
willing to spend 15 percent or 20
percent or 40 percent of our money on
our health, then we can.
“We just have to decide what is
important to us.”