Churches must beware
of burglary police say
From Staff Reports
Lincoln churches increasingly have become
targets for burglaries as expensive stereos and
electronic equipment disappear from choir lofts
and rectories.
Lincoln Police Sgt. Ken Koziol, an investi
gator in the criminal investigations unit, said it
was hard to say if the burglaries were the work
of one person or a group.
Those looking at the cases say all churches
must beware.
“The trust factor is over,” Koziol said.
Nine churches have been broken into in the
last four months. The most recent was at Grace
Lutheran Church, 2200 Washington St.
Between April 17 and 18, someone got into
the church and pried the door to the choir room
i ~——
open. Once inside, an $800 stereo was taken.
In other burglaries, Koziol said, perpetrators
were going after other expensive equipment or
any cash that is available. Structural damage is
limited to the pried open doors, he said.
Koziol said churches should record the se
rial numbers for all their equipment and make
sure doors are locked at night. Churches also
should make sure the grounds around the church
are well lighted, he said.
The police can see no patterns, no similar
denominations or locations in the burglaries, he
said, but they did have a suspect.
Koziol said they interviewed a man who was
spotted at several different churches. The man
said he was examining churches to his child,
but Koziol said, “We have reason to believe oth
erwise.”
- -,
Law & Order ^
Assault
An exotic dancer at BJ’s Hideaway, 5100
N. 48th St., was bending down for a tip Tues
day night when a patron bit her right hip and
wouldn’t let go.
Lincoln Police Sgt. Ann Heermann said
the woman had to hit the man in the head to
get him to release his grip.
The woman was taken to Bryan Memo
rial Hospital to have her bite wounds, which
punctured her skin, treated.
Heermann said because the crime was
reported at Bryan, BJ’s received a tavern vio
lation for not reporting assaults that occur on
the premises.
Lincoln police have a description of the
man who bit the dancer and are now looking
for him.
Assault
A girl was assaulted in her home by three
women looking for a man who wasn’t at her
apartment Tuesday morning.
The 17-year-old girl told police that the
three women had called her earlier that
evening looking for a man. She told them that
the man was not there.
Heermann said a few hours later, between
1 a jn. and 1:30 a.m., the three women burst
into the apartment and started assaulting the
girl. She was kicked, punched in the face and
her head was shoved through an open win
dow, popping out the screen and leaving her
dangling from the waist out the second-story
window.
Some men who were near the scene pulled
the three women off, but not before the vic
tim sustained a hairline fracture in her neck
and scrapes on her back, neck, arms and legs.
Police have suspects, but have not con
tacted them yet, Heermann said.
Radar watch
Lincoln police radar units will be in the
area of Normal Boulevard from 27th to 56th
streets and on A Street from 56th to 84th
streets today.
On Friday, units will be on 14th Street
from Vine to Superior streets and on 16th and
17th streets from K to Holdrege streets.
Looking for something to do this Summer?
Want to meet a visiting scholar?
Want to explore a new point of view?
Want a course that will meet one of the requirements of the
University Comprehensive Education Program?
Explore the courses listed below. They may be just what you are looking for.
Session Call # Course # Course Name Day Time Place
1* 5-Wk 5022 COMM398 Communication & Ethnic Groups M&W 12:45-4:35 B6 M&N
Instructor: Naomi Warren, University of Texas @ Austin
1“ 5-Wk 5001 SOCI398 Contemporary Black Social Movements M-F 11:00-12:35 209 OldH
Instructor: Ronald J. Stephens, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
2nd 5-Wk 4969 ETHN398 Slave Resistance in North America M-F 11:00-12:35 124 HaH
Instructor: Walter Rucker, University of California @ Riverside
2nd 5-Wk 4952 HIST355/855 Post WWII America M-F 12:45-2:20 309 OldH
Instructor: Clarence Taylor, Florida International University, Hollywood, Florida
If you have any questions, feel free to call the department through which the course is offered.
SUMMER SESSIONS ‘97
There’s No Place Like Nebraska in the Summer!
mm# JT
Jhk gJ»8r JL jt~'
Couples aim to dispel
homosexual stereotypes
By Lindsay Young
StaffReporter
Dispelling stereotypes is one of the keys to
the acceptance of same-gender marriages in
Nebraska, a gay-rights advocate said Wednes
day following a panel in favor of such marriages.
Karl Skinner, an Indianola, Iowa, resident,
said the way to do this was through open fo
rums, such as the one presented to the public
Wednesday night in the main lounge of the Ne
braska Union.
Three couples were invited by Someone You
Know, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
organization, to present their views on same
gender marriages. The discussion was part of
Pride ’97 week.
Skinner said presenting couples that looked
like everyone else would show people that non
heterosexual pairs are not as unusual as some
think.
“It’s harder to be hateful when the couple
talking looks like the couple next door,” he said.
“It’s harder to point and say ‘that’s wrong.’”
Skinner and his partner, Larry Pankoke,
along with Bridget Pilloud and Angie Esquivel,
joined David and Rhonda Schoenmaker to talk
about same-gender marriages with a lounge full
of people.
The issue of calling the marriage something
other than a marriage, such as a domestic part
nership, was brought up to the panel, but most
of the panelists said they weren’t concerned
about the name as long as the legal benefits came
with it.
“I’m not sure a domestic partnership would
grant the same rights a marriage would,” David
Schoenmaker said.
Esquivel said she didn’t think that taking a
half step toward state-recognized same-gender
marriages would benefit homosexuals. A half
step could be the granting of some, but not all
rights now reserved for heterosexual couples.
“I don’t think I would accept a half step,”
she said. “It means getting something less. That
is separate, which is not equal.”
I ' — 1 ■
«
Why on this issue is the
Bible being used to club
us over the head?”
Karl Skinner
panelist
However, some panelists said they thought
a half step was a good way to start the trek to
the total acceptance of same-gender marriages
by the state.
Panelists also discussed how state recogni
tion would affect them personally. Skinner
would feel better if he could say he was married
to his partner.
“I hate that awkward moment when some
one asks me if I am single or married. When I
say single, I feel guilt. I feel I have denied Larry
(Pankoke),” Skinner said.
Pilloud said it would help her and others with
taxes, in cases of medical emergency and with
custody of their children.
“Those are big issues in our lives,” Pilloud
said.
Organized religion also was raised as one of
the main issues regarding state recognition of
same-gender marriages.
Panelists said the use of the Bible to ban
same-gender marriages was not consistent with
the separation of church and state.
“They are using a couple passages in the
Bible to ban it. It shouldn’t be used because it is
not the book of faith for all,” PiJJoud said.
“Why on this issue is the Bible being used
to club us over the head?” Skinner said.
[[Retro]
N\ __ (r
• Vintage Clothing
• Footwear
• Furniture
• Sticker)
• Patches
• American Spirit Cigarette)
• Pre-Owned Thread)