THURSDAY
WEATHER:
Today - Partly sunny &
very warm. Southwest
wind 20 to30 mph.
Tonight -A 40 percent
COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 95 NO. 141 chance of thunderstorms.
. .. April 11,1996
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Travis Heying/DN
(Above) Olympic gold-medalist
Greg Louganis speaks in front of
a packed house Wednesday night
in the Nebraska Union. The world
famous diver spoke about
overcoming hardships and living
with AIDS. (Left) Aaron Benesh,
a senior finance major, listens as
Louganis speaks about how he
has dealt with some of the
complications of AIDS.
*
Golden discovery
Louganis opens up to NU crowd
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
As Greg Louganis dove into the
national spotlight by winning two
gold medals at the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympic Games, he made sure to
keep his private life behind closed doors.
For years, he hid the fact that he was
homosexual. When he discovered he was
infected with the HIV virus, he hid that,
too.
And the road to self-discovery was not
easy.
“The coming out process, the best way I
can describe it is letting go of secrets,”
Louganis told about 1,000 people in the
Nebraska Union ballroom at the University
ofNcbraska-Lincoln Wednesday night.
“When I was growing up, I thought I
was different. I didn’t feel like I fit in, and
I didn’t know anything about sexual
orientation until I went away to college.”
Eventually, Louganis came to grips,
making his homosexuality public a year
7 don’t know why people
think that ‘gay’ and ‘sports’
don’t go together, but they do. ”
GREG LOUGANIS
Olympic Gold Medalist
and a half ago when he walked in a parade
opening the Gay Games of 1994.
A week later, speaking at a U.S.
Olympic Committee breakfast, he told the
audience he was glad they would give an
award to an “openly gay athlete.”
As he was introduced, the audience
gave him a standing ovation. When he left
the podium, everyone sat stunned.
Then, on national television, he told
Barbara Walters and the rest of America
that he had HIV, which causes AIDS.
But before revealing his secrets,
Louganis tried to hide every aspect of his
personal life from the public.
“They (U.S. Diving officials) encour
aged me to go back in the closet,”
Louganis said. “It was not to come out in
the media.”
Louganis, 33, said he wanted people—
athletes and non-athletes — to know they
should not be afraid to reveal the true facts
about themselves.
“I don’t know why people think that
‘gay’ and ‘sports’ don’t go together, but
they do,” Louganis said. “That’s one thing
I never really hid when I was amongst my
friends.”
No one but Louganis knew what was
going on outside the public eye.
His fellow teammates at the 1985 U.S.
Olympic Festival in Baton Rouge, La., put
signs in the mirrors of the men’s bathroom
that said “fagbusters.” *
It was one of the toughest times of his
career, he said. When the diving team
traveled internationally he had to face the
See LOUGANIS on 7
Governor’s
budget cuts
stillupinair
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
Gov. Ben Nelson took a moment Wednes
day to introduce a friend—the red pen he plans
V-1
to use U) veto a portion ot the
state budget the Nebraska
Legislature passed Tuesday.
“The budget is overspent,”
he said during a press con
ference at the State Capitol.
“The Legislature is in the
position of understanding
that, but unable to change
it.”
Lawmakers passed the
main budget bill, LB 1189,
44-1 Tuesday. Omaha Sen.
Ernie Chambers east the lone “no” vote, disap
proving of the appropriations for prison con
struction.
Nelson said it wasn’t fair that the Legislature
got to play the role of Santa Claus while he had
to play the Grinch.
“My job would be a lot better if everyone
sought to balance the budget, not just the gover
nor,” he said.
One part of the 1996-97 budget that could
feel the red pen is a $5 million funding increase
for University of Nebraska salaries.
While Nelson didn’t say specifically that
those funds would be cut, he did say it was one
of the appropriations on the table.
Joe Rowson, director of public affairs for
NU, said he hoped Nelson would bypass those
funds.
“Wc hope that we have made the point clearly
enough,” he said, “that we are obligated to the
faculty and staff for certain salary levels.”
A minimum $ 16million, Nelson said, would
need to be cut from the $3.7 billion general
budget to maintain the slate’s required 3 percent
minimum reserve.
That $16 million figure includes current ap
propriation bills not yet finished in the Legisla
ture.
Nelson told reporters that he could not dis
close which parts of the budget he would veto
but said everything was on the table — every
thing, that is, except prison spending.
“Prison spending can’t wait,” he said.
A portion of the budget includes appropria
tions of $3.5 million for two 100-bed modular
housing units at the Nebraska State Peniten
tiary.
Nelson did say, however, it was possible he
could veto the $3 50,000 appropriation for prison
planning.
The governor has until midnight Monday to
line-item veto any of the budget.
ASUN elects Ruwe
as senate speaker
By Kasey Kerber
Staff Reporter "
After numerous discussions and a run-off
vote, Curt Ruwe was declared the new speaker
ASUN
ot the senate at Wednesday
night’s ASUN meeting.
Ruwe, a sophomore rep
resenting the Teachers Col
lege, was chosen over Anna
Harms, a College of Jour
nalismand Mass Communi
cations senator, and Ormaun
Lewis, representing the Col
lege of Business Adminis
tration.
Alter an initial vote,
Harms and Ruwe faced olTin a run-off election,
which Ruwe won with an undisclosed number
of votes.
See ASUN on 6