WEDNES
t4«C33»»44<C39»M4«e33»M4«C3»»N4<Ce33»N4«C3>»N4«C33»Mtte393
WEATHER:
Today - Mostly cloudy
40% chance of showers.
South wind 15 to 25 mph.
Tonight - Mostly cloudy.
Low in the mid 40s.
COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 95 NO. 32 ..... .
_ October 4, 1995
-— - --——— -'
Not guilty: Jury sets OJ. free
Campus, city
come to halt
forO.J. verdict
By Rainbow Rowell
Senior Editor
Everything stopped Tuesday at noon.
All of the wondering, all of the bickering, all
of the speculation and exploitation, all of the
jokes.
And across campus — across the city, the
nation, the world — people gathered wherever
a television could be found.
More than 600 people hovered in the Ne
braska? Union.
They began forming about an hour before
the verdicts were announced. Food lines, nor
mally packed duringthe lunch hour, were empty.
Homework was set aside to predict how the 16
month-old case would come to an end.
Others came to the Campus Recreation Cen
ter to avoid the union crowds. People began
filling the chairs and couches in the center’s TV
room about 10 minutes before noon.
By 11:55 a.m., no seats were left and people
had begun to clump into groups on the floor. A
man who had been snoring on the couch woke
up and leaned toward the television. Employees
gathered on the stairs leading up to the room.
In an Avery Hall lounge, professors escorted
entire classes to witness the verdict on four
televisions.
A few blocks away, business people and
college students began drifting into Lazzari’s
Pizza, 1434 O St., about 11:45 a.m. Two big
screen color TVs blared pre-verdict coverage
across the dimly lit restaurant.
Patrons chatted and poked fun at the attor
neys debating on Cable News Network. Even as
the verdict was removed from the envelope
offscreen, customers chattered and giggled over
their pizza.
Some of those people had followed O.J.
Simpson’s trial as if he were their best friend...
or worst enemy. Others never cared much be
fore Tuesday.
No matter what their opinions, their hopes or
fears, race or gender, every one crowded in
front of a television at that moment was silently,
tensely asking the same question.
Guilty or innocent?
It took only two words to destroy that com
monality: Not guilty.
As the court clerk read the verdict, watchers
responded with a near infinite number of reac
tions, among them—surprise, joy and disgust.
When the not guilty verdicts were called
from the union’s four televisions, some students
shot their arms into the air while others sank
their heads into their laps.
“I never thought he did it from the very
beginning,” said Michelle McElligott, a sopho
See REACTION on 3
United Press Intemational/via pool
O.J. Simpson, flanked by his attorneys, Johnnie Cochran (right) and F. Lee Bailey, reacts to the not guilty announcement
Tuesday. Simpson was acquitted of charges of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Country reacts to overdue finale
LOS ANGELES (AP) - O.J. Simpson headed
home Tuesday, picking up a life of freedom
instead of starting life in prison. Acquitted of
murdering his ex-wi fe and her friend, he pledged
to track down the real killers who are “out there
somewhere.”
In a courtroom on the verge of exploding
with emotion, a hush fell as Judge Lance Ito’s
clerk, Dierdre Robertson, read the two words:
“Not guilty.”
Simpson mouthed the words, “Thank you,”
at the jury, then clasped his hands together and
was embraced by his lawyers.
Tears of anguish and shouts ofjoy burst from
the three families whose lives werejom apart by
the bloody June 12, 1994, slayings of Nicole
Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
“Oh my God!” exclaimed Simpson’s grown
daughter, Amelle, embracing her brother Jason.
- “We did it!” a family member exulted to lead
defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr.
Outside the courthouse, most of the crowd of
more than 1,000 people pushing police barri
cades cheered wildly as the not guilty verdicts
were transmitted on portable radios.
Some chanted, “Justice means acquittal, ac
quittal means justice” followed by shouts of
“Free O.J.!” as helicopters buzzed overhead.
Further away, it was as if an entire nation was
holding its breath and, in an instant, let it go in
a sigh, a gasp, a whoop and a curse.
There were exceptions, to be sure, but most
blacks seemed relieved and pleased by the ver
dict, while whites seemed far more divided.
Some people argued that the verdict was a
triumph of the justice system; others said it was
a triumph of money and fame.
Almost everyone seemed surprised.
See VERDICT on 2
See more O.J. Simpson
coverage on pages 3,
11 and 12.
- _ i _
Senate considers student code, grade appeal policy
Other affiliations aside,
campus judicial process
applies to all at UNL
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
No matter what other affiliation students
have, they are all judged by the university’s
Student Code of Conduct, speakers at the
Academic Senate meeting said Tuesday.
Representatives from the student affairs
office, the athletic department, the
Comhusker marching band and ROTC ad
dressed student conduct enforcement in their
divisions.
They were told not to bring up specific
cases or names relating to violations of their
codes.
James Griesen, vice chancellor for stu
dent affairs, said students and student orga
nizations fell under the code of conduct for
all on-campus and some off-campus events.v
The code has jurisdiction over academic
dishonesty and addresses behavior that vio
‘ lates city and state laws and the use of univer
$ity property, Griesen said.
TTie code is enforced by the UNL Judicial
Board, and violations can bring sanctions
from a warning to expulsion.
The Residence Hall Association and
See CONDUCT on 7
Prospective graduates
with pending grades ;
could attend ceremony
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
To walk or not to walk.
That was the question Tuesday as the
Aeaddmic Senate tried to decide whether
students should be allowed to attend gradu
ation while waiting for a grade appeal.
Currently, seniors cannot participate in
the ceremony unless they have fulfilled gradu
ation requirements.
Because commencement falls the day af
ter the end of finals week, potential gradu
ates who are waiting for a pending grade are
barred from the ceremony.
The senate threw out a resolution that
would have made the senate president re
sponsible for defining the grade appeals com-,
mittees in each college.
It approved a resolution that would make
the senate’s grading and examination com
mittee accountable for emergency consider
ation of pass/no pass and withdrawals rul
ings.
Some faculty members were not satisfied
that either resolution would address the real
problem._ i ~ .
See APPEAL on 7
