SPORTS
Flippin’ the Berg
Nebraska junior diver Danny Bergman may be
known as a wild and crazy guy, but his dives are
anything but wacky. PAGE 7
A&E
What about Bob?
Bob Hall, a comic book artist who is now work
ing on a Batman story, recently discovered that
life does imitate art. PAGE 9
TUESDAY
January 20, 1998
Snow Business
Snow likely, high 28. Chance of snow tonight, low 20.
VOL. 97 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 83
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Ryan Soderlin/DN
MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER JESSIE MYLES portrays Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lied Center for Performing Arts Monday. Myles performed
his speech “I Stand in a Nation” using the speaking style of King.
Convocation honors King legacy
■ Community members and
students celebrate King’s legacy
at a University Convocation.
By Lindsay Young
Assignment Reporter
The final line of Martin Luther King
Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech resonated
through the Lied Center for Performing
Arts.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God
Almighty, we are free at last!”
King’s speech, sentence by sentence,
was recited by nine local high school stu
dents of different backgrounds and races.
They spoke to a crowd of about 1,100,
which was just as diverse. It included col
lege and high school students, families with
young children and adults who lived
through the civil rights movement of the
1960s.
The speech was given while black-and
white slides of the violence and drama of
the civil rights struggle flashed on a screen
at the University Convocation.
The convocation was sponsored by the
Youth Rally, the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People and the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The presentations featured the Lincoln
High School chorus, Voices of Destiny; a
keynote speech by Lela Shanks; and a moti
vational speech by Jessie Myles, who was
introduced as Martin Luther King Jr.
Shanks, a speaker for the Nebraska
Humanities Council and part of the civil
rights movement since 1950, told the audi
ence the university should observe Martin
Luther King Jr. Day as a legal holiday.
Please see KING on 6
On the back page:
8 Students and
community members
march for King
8 Campus groups gather
to promote
understanding
8 Speaker says King’s goals
need present-day
translation
8 Poignant quotes from
holiday participants
Students use
day to observe
King’s ideas
By Brad Davis
Senior Reporter
Although class was held Monday at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, many students
still took the opportunity to participate in activi
ties commemorating the life and struggles of the
late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“I think (the scheduled activities) are really
neat,” freshman Rebecca Sather said, “but we
should have gotten out of classes.”
She said her professors were flexible in letting
students attend activities scheduled across cam
pus all day.
Freshman Jeremy Engelberg said he attended
only one event because he didn't want to miss any
classes.
“Even though I've had days off m the past, I
never really knew why,” Engelberg said. “I want
ed to be more informed about the things Martin
Luther King has done.
“I don’t think I’ve been well-educated (in the
past).”
Freshman Ted Jedlicka said the events could
have been publicized better, although he liked the
ones he had seen, such as James VanDerZee’s
photo exhibit at the Sheldon Memorial Art
Gallery.
“Fm really impressed with the photographer,”
Jedlicka said. “He really captured a lot of the good
features of the African-American culture.
“I don’t see no pictures of the Black Panther
party, no firefighters spraying their hoses - I see
happy families and Cassius Clay.”
Jedlicka said black culture is often negatively
portrayed.
“Not enough people see the positive side of
it,” he said.
Senior Tagi Adams said speaker Lela Shanks’
speech during the convocation at the Lied Center
for Performing Arts called the university to action.
“I would have liked to have heard (Chancellor
James) Moeser’s comments about Lela Shanks'
recommendations for the university,” Adams said.
Adams said Shanks called for diversity educa
tion and a more ethnically sensitive faculty and
student body.
“As an ethnic student,” Adams said, “I think it
would be great to go to a university that has ethni
cally sensitive students, faculty and administra
tion.”
Gas prices near dollar mark
By Josh Funk
Senior Reporter
Nebraska drivers are getting more gas for
their greenbacks.
Some of the lowest crude-oil prices in
years finally have brought gasoline prices near
the dollar mark again.
In Nebraska, average gasoline prices have
dropped 5lA cents per gallon in the last month,
according to American Automobile
Association Nebraska.
Gas prices have been as low as 96 cents in
some Nebraska cities and have an average
statewide cost of S1.06.
Those who monitor gas prices said a
change in oil supply and other factors have
contributed to the lower prices.
An oversupply of crude oil in the world
market lowered the price of oil, said Rose
White, AAA Nebraska’s public affairs direc
tor.
She said the opening of new oil fields in
the former Soviet Union has created optimism
about the supply and therefore the price of oil.
Nebraska’s mild winter also has helped
keep gas prices low, she said, because the
demand for heating oil and other crude oil
products is down.
Some gas stations may be trying to attract
more business with lower prices, too, said
Chuck Perdew, head of gasoline distribution at
Please see GAS on 3
Pump it up
Average gas prices in
Nebraska have dropped
to just over $1 per gallon,
with some residents
paying only 96 cents. An
oversupply of crude oil
contributed to the lower
prices.
Hi Northwest $1.29
_! Southwest $1.20
Hi Northeast $1.19
■ East $1.16
■ Southeast $1.06
■I Midwest $1.04
| Nebraska’s state average : $1.06
Source: The Pump Price Report Matt Haney/DN
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