The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 03, 1997, Image 1

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    spoiits * o e_ MON Ay
Kansas blasts NU U2 goes *Pop* March 3,1997
No. 1 Kansas rips NU 85-65 Sunday at the Devaney “Pop,” the new release from U2, is a step away
Center. The Huskers’ hopes of making the NCAA from their Americanized past music and another IB LiKE A Lamb
Tournament now are in question. PAGE 9 step toward the future of rock ‘n’ roll. PAGE 12 Partly cloudy, high 50. Flurries
' VOL. 96 ~ COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 112
£ —“— -:-*----— ■ —.
Seal approval _
PEARL THE HARBOR seal reaches for a fish during feeding time at the Folsom Children’s Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 1222 S. 27th St. For story and
photos, please see page 6.
. -—■■■■■ ■ - - -■ , . .. ■ - - . I
UNLs racial environment evaluated
Administrators
discuss ways to
improve cultural
- differences at forum.
By Erin Gibson
Senior Reporter
UNL must work harder to improve
minority representation in the faculty
and student body so the few minorities
present do not feel like “animals in the
zoo,” university members said Friday.
Participants in an open forum held
by the Chancellor’s Commission on the
Status of People of Color said minori
ties face obstacles to feeling comfort
able on the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln campus.
Some minority students and faculty
think they are wanted at the university
only to increase its number of minori
ties, participants said, while others
think white colleagues constantly
watch them like zoo animals because
of their rarity.
They said increasing the number of
minorities on campus and setting goals
to ensure positive changes in the cam
pus climate could help remove such
obstacles.
Chancellor James Moeser said goals
have been set and efforts have been
made to improve recruitment and re
tention of minorities at UNL.
“As a university, we have made
some progress, but it has been very
slow,” Moeser said.
He said the university administra
tion is committed to speeding this
progress.
As a result, post-doctoral fellow
ships could be offered to help retain
minority students and funds could be
used to challengedepartments to hire
people of color, Moeser said.
Venita Kelley, commission chair
woman, said minority students need to
see themselves represented in faculty
and staff to be at ease in the university
setting.
She said a lack of representation can
be intimidating. The group agreed
certain departments, including human
resources, have been successful in im
proving minority representation.
Please see FORUM on 6
911 service mav cost Omahans 86 more
By Erin Schulte
Senior Reporter
The Legislature spent the entire
morning Friday debating a bill that, if
passed, would cost each Omaha phone
customer $6 a year.
And it wasn’t the first day they dis
cussed the bill.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha
vowed to take the bill to cloture —
which means debating the bill for eight
full hours. He’s been on a relentless
one-man mission since taking up de
bate time on the bill.
LB 104 would allow Omah& to
charge residents with telephones an
extra SO cents per month to help pay
for 911 services. Omaha and Douglas
County recently decided to combine
their services, which Creates extra costs
— such as better equipment and a new
building for the 911 operating center.
The surcharge would provide about
$2.8 million a year. Because of a bill
passed in 1994, Omaha is die only city s;
in Nebraska not allowed to tack on an is
extra surcharge for 911 services. y
Chambers’ main opposition to the
bill is that the poor may not be able to ii
pay the extra $6 a year and will lose o
their phones. ' n
He told the senators they would
regret passing the bill. n
I
u
All thii for $6?”
Sen. Doug Kristensen
Minden
“You didn’t help the elderly,” he
lid. “You didn’t help the impover
hed. You gave the infirm the back of
)ur hand.”
He said it would leave people say
ig, “I needed to call 911, and I
mldn’t because you taxed it beyond
iy means.”
Other senators agreed that $6 may
>t seem like much, but people already
pay a 50-cent per month charge for 911
services. Another charge could cause
some to lose phones.
‘To double that would create even
more of a hardship,” Sen. Don Preister
of Omaha said.
But another reason for extended
debate, Chambers said, lies in a more
Please see 911 on 6
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http: / / www.unl.edu /DailyNeb
LPD
Justifies
use of
-i—:
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
The internal investigation into the
early Friday morning shooting of an
armed robbery suspect by a police of
ficer is expected
to end today,
Lincoln Police
Chief Tom
Casady said.
un rnaay,
Casady told re
portersijLisde
partment policy
start an inter
nal investigation
Brelbnan if an officer uses
a gun in the line
of duty.
“I have no reason to believe there
was a violation of policy by the officer,”
Casady said. He said police use of force
is authorized when an officer is in dan
ger, and only reasonable force is al
lowed.
Chester Breitzman, 28, of 209
Garber St., was shot by Lincoln Police
Officer Launa Humiston after leading
her and another officer on a high-speed
chase after allegedly robbing a conve
nience store. The chase ended with
Breitzman’s truck slamming into a tree
near 74th Street and Fox Hollow Road.
When Humiston and Officer Bob
Hurley approached the vehicle, Casady
said Breitzman reached under the seat.
Humiston then fired her 9mm semi
automatic pistol, striking Breitzman in
the abdomen. Officers found a 6-inch
boning knife in his hand.
Breitzman underwent surgery at
Lincoln General Hospital early Friday
morning to have the bullet removed.
He is listed in fair condition.
The chase and shooting stem from
a convenience store robbery minutes
before.
At 1:49 a.m., a clerk at Kwik Shop,
2040 S. 56th St., called police to re
port that a white male with long, messy
hair, wearing blue jeans, an orange shirt
and a wallet on a chain had just robbed
the store at knifepoint. The suspect left
on foot.
Casady said that the streets were
empty Friday morning while Humiston
was driving to the scene of the rob
bery, when she saw a 1977 Chevrolet
pickup on the road three blocks from
the convenience store. The man at the
wheel matched the robbery suspect’s
description.
Minutes later, she noticed the truck
parked in a day care center parking lot
Please see CHASE on 6