Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1996)
WEATHER: Today - Cloudy. A 40% chance of snow. North wind 10 to 20 mph. Tonight - Cloudy. Low near 10._ _January 22, 1996_ Supporters unite, walk for pro-life By Erin Schulte Staff Reporter “...with liberty and justice for all, born and unborn.” So went the Pledge of Allegiance at the __21st annual Walk for , . Lifebeginningatthe ItS time tO Nebraska State fire nur Capitol Saturday. jirc uur More lhan 2j000 COmmatlder- people took part in in rhipf ” the wa,k’ Part of a nationwide protest BARBARA marking the 23rd an niversary of the MCPHILLIPS 1973 Roe v. Wade Chairwoman of *$£*£** Nebraska Right to During speeches at , ,x , ,.x. . the Capitol, speak Life s political ers urgej protestors committee t0 take Part in the political process. . Barbara McPhillips, chairwoman of Ne braska Right to Life’s political committee, told the crowds to unite in support of pro-life presidential candidates, no matter what their stances on other issues might be. McPhillips said voter apathy was one of the main reasons anti -abortion measures were not made law and pro-life candidates were not elected. She said no pro-life legislation had been passed since President Clinton took office. “It’s time to fire our commander-in-chief,” McPhillips said. “I have one question for you right now: Do we want four more years of the Clinton administration?” she asked the crowd. McPhillips said pro-life supporters should become involved in politics by becoming delegates to their county conventions. The 10-degree weather may have hin dered attendance at the walk, which has brought 4,000 to 5,000 protestors in previ ous years. Sen. LaV on Crosby of Lincoln, who spoke at the Capitol, said the cold could be sym bolic of abortion. “Just remember how cold that little baby feels when he is yanked from his mother’s womb,” Crosby said. After walking from the Capitol to the ——HmaaasBBMB—h————1—mm—wm- rw?m»aft«fri Tanna Kinnaman/DN Pro-life supporters gather at the Nebraska State Capitol on Saturday. More than 2,000 people marched from the Capitol to the federal building to protest the Jan. 22,1973, Roe v. Wade decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. federal building, the group congregated at the Nebraska Union to warm up and collect pro-life literature. Several pro-choice demonstrators showed their opposition. Abortion rights supporters will gather tonight at 7 for a rally in the Nebraska Union. Sandy Danek, president of Lincoln Right to Life, said she wasn’t bothered that atten dance at this year’s walk was lower than in previous years. “I used to worry about the numbers,” she said. “I don’t anymore because I know that Nebraska is a pro-life state.” Danek said political support for pro-life measures was important. “Abortion was never decided as a democ racy; it was decided by a liberal Supreme Court.” Proposed bill couldregulate sports agents By Ted Taylor Senior Reporter Sen. Kennit Brashear of Omaha wants Ne braska to “get with it” and protect student ath letes from the illegal activities of agents. _ And Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne is on his side. Osborne testified Friday before the Legislature’s Ju diciary Committee in sup port of LB927. Although he said he did not have the expertise to explain the nuts and bolts of it, Osborne said Brashear’s dih was uiuruugu. “This one’s the best conceptually I’ve seen,” Osborne said. “And I’m here to support the concept. I feel it will benefit the student ath lete.” The Athlete Agent Registration and Account ability Act, introduced by Brashear, would give the state some control over the activities of sports agents. The 16-page bill has three main points: • Requiring all agents and their “runners” to register with the state attorney general’s office — for a fee of $500 — and to disclose back ground information on their businesses. Copies of those records would be put on public record. • Prohibiting certain activities and provid ing criminal and civil actions that would penal ize the agent, not the player. • Allowing the student athlete to cancel the contract within 10 days if it did not meet the requirements of the act. Former Husker lineman Brenden Stai said Saturday from his home in Pittsburgh that the bill was a good idea. He called it “absolutely perfect.” “There are a lot of agents who really aren’t qualified to do the job,” he said. “They’re out there just to make a quick buck.” Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha was the only committee member to question Osborne, and he later spoke in opposition to the bill. “I have a lot of problems with the bill,” he said. Chambers asked Osborne why the rules gov erning agents should be different from those dealing with college recruiters. He said recruit ers were just as bad about hounding the stu dents. “And nobody requires recruiters to give back See AGENTS on 6 Health center cannot treat serious injuries By Michaela Pieler Staff Reporter When faced with life-threatening pain, UNL students should head to a hospital instead of the University Health Center, one official says. “We don’t run a hospital,” said Peg Blake, director of the center. “If you feel your life is endangered, call 911 and get yourself into an emergency room.” Blake was speaking in response to recent complaints about long waits to be treated at the center. She stressed that the center focused on common medical treatment, not serious emer gencies, of college students. “Of course, we have had diabetics with insulin shocks or cases ofasthma,” die said, “but we should never come to see a heart attack.” Emergencies such as complete frac tures or tendon cuts are immediately transferred to a hospital, UHC physi cian Mvy Lutz said. “We don’t have the capacities to treat such severe cases here,” she said. The UHC is not a regular 24-hour clinic, although it offers after-hours care — one nurse and one doctor — from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students with simple stitches, cuts or fractures definitely can be helped after hours, Blake said. “But i f further treatment or an over night stay is required, we have to trans fer the patient to a general hospital,” she said. In less urgent cases, students can make appointments with specialists such as orthopedists, neurologists or optometrists who come to the center on certain days of the week. Usually, after-hours patients are helped on a first-come, first-served basis, Blake said. Before beingtreated, they have to fill out a checklist speci fying the problem and providing per sonal information. But exceptions from that schedule are made if a patient has severe pain, she said. “If someone is bleeding profusely, he will absolutely be treated prior to someone with a sprained ankle,” Blake said. Lutz stressed that every effort was made to help students quickly. “Our nurses always try to put people with severe pain ahead,” she said. Students usually have to wait about 15 minutes before they are seen by a doctor or a nurse, Blake said, which she called “a pretty good rate.” “I don’t think that’s too long,” she said. In some emergency rooms, pa tients are not seen within an hour. During after hours, students often are treated in less than 15 minutes because staff is not as busy. Blake said about five students seek medical help at the center each night. I “That obviously makes the after hours very cost-intensive,” she said. For that reason, health center officials have considered restrictingafter-hours care and closing the center by 8 p.m. Within the next month, two emer “We don’t run a hospital. If you feel your life is endangered, call 911 and get yourself into an emergency room. ” PEG BLAKE Health Center director gency lines will be installed at the front and back entrances of UHC, Lutz said. By pushing a blue button, students will get a direct connection to Lincoln General Hospital’semergency room. Students also can call Ask-A-Nurse if they want to talk to medical staff at the hospital. Thirteen nurses are avail able on that line, said Jeanne Boiler, program coordinator. “We assist patients in makinghealth care decisions,” she said, “and send them to appropriate facilities if neces sary.” - Students use the service frequently, especially after the health center is closed, Boiler said. “We hear about every possible symptom at every day of the year,” she said. Blake said many accidents and dis eases could be avoided by educating students. She said this education — including lessons on birth control, safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases — was part of the Health Center’s mission. “It’s much easier to teach them how not to get ill than to actually treat their illness”