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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1994)
Sports ■ NU volleyball team defeats Illinois, Page 7 Arts & Entertainment S ■ Documentary film shot In Bessey Hall, Page 9 PAGE 2: Clinton begins Middle Eastern trip COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 94 NO. 46 _ _ Spanier to review report By Mitttww Waits Senior Reporter Chancellor Graham Spanier will meet today with the committee he created to review the University Po lice Department’s role in the Oct. 1 death of Francisco Renteria. Spanier said the committee sub mitted a draft report to the chancellor Tuesday. The committee, consisting of Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty and staff, will revise the document after the meeting, Spanier said. He said he then would review the docu ment again and make a final recom mendation late this week or early next week. He declined to comment on the content of the report. Spanier formed the committee af ter University Police Officer Char lotte Veskma mistook Renteria for a man violating a protection order Sept. 30. Renteria died after a struggle with university and Lincoln police. The committee, charged with re viewing University Police procedures, was lea by William Lewis, chairman of the Department of Math, and in cluded: Teresita Aguilar, vice chair man of the Department of Curricu lum and Instruction; Christina Brantner, associate professor of mod ern languages and literature; and Ronald Ross, associate director of the Office of Affirmative Action and Di versity. Lewis said the document was only 90 percent to 95 percent complete. He said he had a loose end to discuss with the chancellor. The process was tiring and intel lectual, Lewis said, adding that he admired the members of the commit tee for their dedication and willing ness. Brantner said the committee mem bers had sacrificed their time to write the document. She said the commit tee met on weekends, nights and mornings—sometimes for more than four or five hours at a time. “Wc thought that it was important enough to put our lives on hold for a bit,” Brantner said. She said the final document would be released to the public. But Brantner said she was unsure when that would happen because the Nebraska State Patrol, the FBI and a grand jury still were investigating the incident. Trick-or-treat Jeff Haltor/DN Eric Martin, right, hands candy to flvo-yoar-old Makanl CMIombo. Surrounding Mm from bottom loft Is Domini quo Kolloy, Koyan Parks and Jared Pay no. CMIdron from tho Malono Community Contor dM some tricfc-ortroatlng training Tuosday night at tho CathooPound Rosldonco Nalls. Dlormo Parks, cMId cars coordinator at Malono Community Contor, said that for tho past throo years, cMIdron from tho Malono Community Contor had corns to tho rosldonco halls to trick-ortroat. Parks said that botwoon IS to SO kids went door to-door Tuesday. Candidates spar over ads, taxes By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter OMAHA — In the mildest of terms, it was a “spirited” debate. That was the word Republican candidate Jan Stoney used Tuesday night following the second and final senatorial debate with ineumbent Sen. Bob Kerrey at the University of Ne braska at Omaha. Ed Howard ofThe Associated Press and and Gary Kerr of WOWT-TV moderated the debate. But both can didates took turns at verbal attacks throughout the debate. At one point, the topic turned to agriculture and Kerrey’s record. Kerrey said that on controversial issues, he frequently voted with former Republican Rep. Virginia Smith, who recently endorsed Stoney. Smith com pleted her term in office in 1992. Stoney said she had heard Smith's name enough for one evening, but Kerrey shot back that Smith set an example to be followed. “And I’ve got to tell you Mrs. Stoney, you’re no Virginia Smith,” he said. “Let me tell you Mr. Kerrey, you ’re no farmer,” Stoney responded. “And let me tell you,” Kerrey said, as the moderators attempted to regain control of the debate, “you ’ re going to have to learn a lot more ... than how to drive a tractor to learn how to fight for agriculture.” The first issue the moderators put before the candidates was the contro versy surrounding a recent Stoney campaign advertisement that attacked Kerrey’s stance on the death penalty. Kerrey said the ad was “mon strous,” because it showed the bodies of two young boys being hauled from a field. The ad misrepresented his past votes on the issue, he said. “It tapped into an anger and fear, and a sentiment that goes much be yond the ad itself,” Kerrey said. Stoney defended the ad, saying Kerrey could have voted three times in the past fours years to limit appeals in capital cases, but didn’t. That showed Kerrey was uncommitted to getting tough on crime, she said. Kerrey said he later supported a bill in 1991 that included limiting the number of appeals in death penalty cases and the time period in which the appeals could be made. See DEBATE on 3 Investigation generates intercultural coalition Group’s members say Renteria case provided impetus my wnmiw wiw__ Senior Reporter An intercultural coalition plans to watch federal, state and city authorities as they inves tigate the death ofFrancisco Renteria, one of its members said Tuesday. Jose Soto said the Inter-Cultural Coalition of Lincoln, formed when Renteria died Oct. 1 after a police scuffle, is a culturally diverse Eor citizens concerned with issues in the In community. Renteria was mistakenly identified by Uni versity Police Officer Charlotte Vcskma as a man violating a protection order Sept. 30. A struggle with Lincoln and university po lice ensued as they tried to arrest Renteria, who did not speak English. Renteria had a seizure and died the next day. The Nebraska State Patrol, the FBI and an independent counsel for Lancaster County all are investigating the incident. Soto, the director of affirmative action at Southeast Community College, said the main impetus for forming the group was the Renteria death. The group sent a letter Oct. 21 to Charles Lontor, the chief FBI agent investigating the Renteria death. The letter expressed coalition concerns about the handling of the investigation, saying there was documented history of racial insensitivity in the Omaha FBI bureau. The letter also asked the FBI to carefully document and tape all interviews during the investigation. Taping interviews, the letter said, would preserve evidence used in the investiga tion and allow it to be used for further review. The coalition asked Lontor to include a native Spanish-speaking agent in the investi Stion. The letter said the agent would enhance s investigative team and provide evidence of fairness and objectivity. Besides watching the investigation, Soto said, the coalition will evaluate and give input to the Lincoln community in other issues. The group will watch city hall, the police depart ment, the public school systems and other areas of public service, he said. Joel Gajardo, director of the Hispanic com munity center, said the coalition was still in its formative stages. He said a steering committee was formed Monday night to create a mission statement and set goals. The coalition’s reach goes beyond the His panic community, Gajardo said. “We are all involved,” he said. ‘‘I hope with the collective wisdom of the coalition ... to gether we can come out with a clear course of action.” Gajardo said the first concern of the coali tion was justice in the Renteria case. But the group also wants to improve the climate be tween the Lincoln law enforcement and minor ity communities. Gajardo said memories of similar incidents brought members of the city’s Native Ameri can, Chicano-Latino, Asian and white com munities into the coalition. Incidents in Nebraska involving the deaths of an African-America and a Native American, and the crippling of another Native American called people to action, Gajardo said. “People are concerned that what happened with the Renteria case was not an isolated See COALITION on 3