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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1995)
THURSDAY WEATHER: Today - Partly sunny. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph. Tonight - Mostly sunny. Low in the upper 30's. October 26, 1995 Jury awards Harms family $36 million By Ted Taylor Staff Reporter Stan Harms spoke softly from his home Wednesday afternoon after hearing the verdict of his family’s civil suit against the two men who raped and killed his daughter. After deliberating for an hour and a half earlier in the day, jurors awarded the Harms family nearly $36 million. “We’ll be lucky to see a nickel of that money,” Harms said. “But that was never our purpose. We wanted to be sure that neither one of them could profit off the case using Candi ’s name.” Roger Bjorklund and Scott Barney were convicted of abducting, raping and killing 18 year-old Candice Harms. She was a UNL freshman when she died Sept. 22, 1992. Bjorklund has been on death row since Sept. 21, 1994. Barney is serving a life sen tence. Harms said sitting through the three days of testimony this week was tougher than the long criminal trial. me Harms ramiiy was sequestered as wit nesses during the 1994 trial and was not in the courtroom to hear many details of the murder. “We were still numb to her death then,” her father said, “and we didn’t have to hear a lot of the testimony as it was graphically retold. “It has been three years since her death and the numbness has sort of worn off. All the graphic details recounted in this trial hit us with full force.” Harms was joined in the courtroom Wednes day by his wife, Pat, and daughter, Rebecca. The trial was also difficult for Pat Harms, who wiped away tears as she heard the grizzly details of her daughter’s last night. The nine men and three women on the jury awarded the Harms: $7,400 for funeral ex penses; $750,000 to the next of kin for Candice Harms’ wrongful death; $35 million to the Harms estate for “physical and mental suffer ing she experienced prior to her death”; and $20 in response to a request from the Harms’ lawyer. The jury’s decision followed final argu ments from Andrew Strotman, the Harms’ lawyer. “You have a difficult task in assigning a monetary value to a life,” Strotman said Wednesday morning. “Your job is to put a monetary value on the loss of Candi’s society and companionship.” He made one last request before the jurors began deliberation. “And when you have your monetary amount fixed — add $20,” he said. “That is the money they (Barney and Bjorklund) took from Candi ’s purse and used to buy the gas to drive around the night they murdered her.” Strotman had asked the jury to consider $500,000 in the wrongful death action. “That is a very reasonable amount for the 7 See HARMS on 6 Jon Wallnr/nM Andrew Kanago, a junior English major, reads a book in front of Broyhill Fountain this week. Ideas abound for new plaza By Ted Tayior Staff Reporter Planners will try to meet student needs when redesigning Broyhill Plaza, campus landscape director said, but everyone in volved must stay flex ible. Kim Todd came to the Association of Students of the University of Ne braska meeti ng W ednes day night to answer questions about changes to occur during the up coming Nebraska Union expansion. Todd also had some questions of her own. Senators responded to a questionnaire she had given them earlier, which asked what about the plaza should be kept or replaced. “We are still in phase one of the union expansion project,” Todd said. “The best thing now is to gather as much useful ideas as possible — and useful does not mean boring.” Most senators who spoke at the forum had one big concern: keeping an actual fountain in the new plaza. The possibility of a water sculpture had Fountain a special memorial By John Fulwider Senior Reporter The small, bronze plaque on Broyhill Fountain often goes unnoticed when stu dents gather there to talk, study or cool their feet. But the words “In memory of Lynn Diann Broyhill, Class of 1967” have marked the fountain for more than 20 years. Broyhill, 21, was a senior home econom ics major at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She died in a car accident Sept. 8, 1966, on her way to pick up a gown for the Aksarben ball. been raised when nationally acclaimed art ist May Lin was named as a possible de signer. Lin designed the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. and has expressed inter est in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln project. Kiersten Yanken, an arts and sciences senator, called the plaza a “unifier.” “It’s such a gathering place for all differ The fountain was dedicated in her memory in the fall of 1970. It is scheduled to be removed as early as October 1996 to make way for the Nebraska Union expan sion. Daryl Swanson, director of Nebraska Unions, was assistant director when the fountain was dedicated. Swanson remembers the Saturday dedi cation as a busy day. Not only was there a football game that Saturday, but there was a Republican din ner for Clifford Hardin, a former UNL See FOUNTAIN on 3 ent kinds of students,” she said. “I’d hate to lose such an historic symbol to our univer sity.” ASUN President Shawntell Hurtgen said Broyhill Fountain’s simplicity was its most intriguing feature. “When I think of Broyhill, I think of simplicity,” she said. “Nebraskans pride themselves on enjoying the simple things.” See FORUM on 3 Groups continue formulating plans for first town meeting By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter Six people forged ahead Monday with plans to bring the University of Nebraska-Lincoln its first town meet ing. Although the planning session did not draw as many people as hoped, Larry Doerr, group coordinator, said the group needed concrete plans be fore it could target participants. “Not everybody’s saluting this like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread,” he said, “but I think there’s enough to start.” Doerr, a Campus Ministry repre sentative, targeted about 20 student, stan ana lacuity organizations. Representatives from the Asso ciation of Students of the University of Nebraska, Nebraska Unions, fac ulty, the Residence Hall Association, the Student Involvement office and Cornerstone came to the planning session Wednesday. Shawntell Hurtgen, ASUN presi dent, said a town meeting could make the campus more of a community. She said the group should invite the same representatives who at tended the cultural diversity retreat earlier this month. Doerr said he wanted an informal forum where people gathered in a circle with someone in the middle directing dialogue. The group discussed ground rules for the meeting, which included: • Making the meetings a forum for many views and not a polarized debate. • Encouraging comments on isT sues and not statements aimed at people’s characters. • Maintaining a staple group of invited representatives, but opening proceedings to the public. The group also debated whether to hold the meetings in a public place such as the Nebraska Union lounge or in a private meeting room. Daryl Swanson, Nebraska Unions director, said he remembered an open micropnone rorum caiiea nyae Park” from the 1960s that was held in the union lounge. “There were times when it went off the deep end ” he said, laughing. “I think that was where one of the first draft cards was burnt in Ne braska.” Swanson said the open microphone served as a pressure valve, but Doerr said he was worried that a pressure valve would lead to polarized issues instead of education. Jerry Petr, an economics profes sor, said some issues could lead to people going over the edge and “throwing chairs at one another.” But Swanson said people might noi oe attractea to tne meetings it they didn’t have a provocative issue. The group formed a planning group that will meet Wednesday at 4 p.m. to decide issues and sponsorship. When final plans are made, Doerr said, UNL may have two planned meetings a year with a format to allow short-notice meetings on press ing campus issues. While trying to decide a meeting format, Petr said the decision might be made in the process. “We can leam by doing,” he said. “We can see what happens, make adjustments and try again.”