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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 3, 1998)
SPORTS It’s Miller time Willie Miller is making big strides at fullback early in the season for the Nebraska football team. PAGE 10 fl&E Barreling pork Hedrick’s pigs fly through another day at the Nebraska State Fair. The Kansas pig-trainer con ducts races up to three times daily. PAGE 14 THURSDAY September 3, 1998 Bacon in the Sun Sunny, high92. Fair tonight, low 63. Student smuggles Bibles to Beijing, exports faith By Brian Carlson Staff writer As Melissa Trembly approached customs services in Beijing this past May, she was concealing a stash of contraband: 100 Chinese-language Bibles. Although not prohibited in China, Bibles are rare and cannot be imported legally. Trembly, a junior secondary English education major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was participating in a program to smuggle Bibles to underground religious lead ers defying the Chinese government's restrictions on the freedom to worship. Customs officials waved Trembly’s group through its checkpoint without i searching the luggage and carry-on • bags that had been stuffed with Bibles. But it was a tense moment, she said. “We prayed really hard.” she said. Trembly’s trip to China was spon sored by China Harvest, a ministry based in Virginia Beach, Va. She heard about the program at a religious con ference in Urbana. 111. In addition to smuggling Bibles into the country. Trembly and about 10 other participants met with religious leaders and learned about their strug gle to worship freely in a society that has ffequentlv persecuted Christians. L Government’s grip To legally practice Christianity in China, worshippers must attend a church registered with the government. The government appoints a minister for each church, prohibits people under age 18 from worshipping and unposes other restrictions on worship. But many Chinese Christians, refusing to compromise for official recognition of their faith, worship in “underground” house churches out of authorities' sight. Dawn Dietrich/DN MELISSA TREMBLY, a junior secondary English education major, spent two weeks in China to bring Bibles into the country. After arriving in Beijing via South Korea, Trembly’s group traveled by train through northeast China to Shenyang. Along the way, group members met with several house church leaders, often in inconspicuous locations to avert sus picion. Those leaders then distributed the Bibles throughout the country. Please see BIBLES on 3 Work-release prisoner flees By Josh Funk Senior staff writer A prisoner escaped from a commu nity corrections work crew in south Lincoln on Tuesday afternoon. Michael Corliss did not check in with the corrections officer supervising his work crew at 12:30 p.m. after the crew’s lunch break, and a search was then launched. But at 2 p.m., when corrections officers could not find Corliss in the area around the State Department of Roads materials yard, Highway 77 and South 14th Street, the state patrol was notified of the escape, said Rex Richard, superintendent of Nebraska’s community corrections program. Alter Lornss railed to check in, cor rections officers found a 12-inch machete and a work shirt missing, Richard said. State patrol officers gave all their units a description of Corliss, said Jeff Hansen, a spokesman for the state patrol, and warned that he may be dan gerous, though corrections officials said work crew prisoners are generally not dangerous. Corliss, 24, is white, 5 feet 11 inch es tall, weighs 168 pounds and has blond hair, blue eyes and several tat toos. Since being sentenced to communi ty corrections for theft by unlawful tak ing, Corliss had been living in a com munity center and working on work crews for various state agencies such as the roads department, parks and natural resources departments, Richard said. “These are (low-risk) inmates,” Richard said. “They live in a communi ty center, and they can have passes into the community with a sponsor.” Through their work, the prisoners use many different tools, depending on the job at hand, Richard said. “The machete is just a tool used for a task,” Richard said. Corliss would have been eligible for parole in February 1999, and he would have completed his sentence in April 1999. Richard said the last time a prisoner escaped from community corrections was in May of 1997. That prisoner did not return after a pass into the commu nity. ASUN opposes union proposal ByIevaAugstums Staff writer After what was supposed to be a simple piece of legislation Wednesday, a two-hour discussion over discrimina tion led ASUN members to oppose UNL Union Board s proposed policy to exclude non-students from the Nebraska Union. “The proposal by Union Board is blatantly discriminatory,” Senator Kara Slaughter said. “There can be no sys tematic way of enforcing how Community Service Officers will check student IDs.” The Union Board proposal, stated by Nebraska Unions Director Daryl Swanson, would restrict the use of the Crib, the unfinished northwest study lounge, the unfinished basement bil liard room and television lounge to University of Nebraska-Lincoln stu dents, faculty and staff. Community Servjce Officers would have the discretion to check stu dent IDs and ask those who failed to produce a valid identification to leave. The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska President Sara Russell acknowledged the Union Board s concern for student and build ing safety, but said if the policy passes, the university is discriminating against a public institution and public property. “Public means everyone,” Russell said. “We are not a private institution.” Senator Jeff Woodford disagreed. “Not everyone has the right to use public property,” Woodford said. “If we did, I could sleep in the governor’s man sion tonight.” Paul Schreier, committee for fees allocation chairman, said people need to realize UNL already discriminates between students and non-students. “Every time you use your student ID you are using a student service - the Health Center and Recreation Center,” Schreier said. “Student services, includ ing the student union, are for UNL stu dents only.” Senator Jed Christensen said the union is a building commonly used for other activities including conferences and alumni activities. “You can't let those people in if you're not going to let transients in - they're all non-UNL students,” Christensen said. Second Vice President Eddie Brown said it was embarrassing to him as a student and member of ASUN that Please see ASUN on 7 - Fund honors Cockson By IevaAugstums Staff writer A memonal scholarship promoting alcohol education and awareness is being created to remember a UNL stu dent who died in an April car crash. Laura Cockson, a junior pre-occu pational therapy major and member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, was killed when a drunk driver sped through a red light and hit her. “When I first heard about the memorial, I cried - I’m crying right now,” Eva Cockson, Laura’s mother, said. “It’s sad to think that your child would have to have a memonal scholar ship.” Cockson said having a scholarship in her daughter’s name would help oth ers remember Laura as “a truly great person, student and leader.” Laura Lessley, Gamma Phi Beta president, agreed. “Laura was committed to scholar ship and academics,” Lessley said. “She would have liked it this way.” One goal of ASUN this year is to work together with students to promote alcohol awareness and education cam puswide. ASUN President Sara Russell pro posed the Cockson Memorial to the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska on Wednesday. Senate members passed the proposal by acclamation. The scholarship will be given annu ally to a student who actively promotes alcohol education and awareness. “The scholarship is good way to encourage the continuation of alcohol education on campus,” Russell said. “It will reinforce the efforts of people who do an effective communication of alco hol awareness.” Russell said ASUN will donate $300 to the Cockson scholarship fund. Lessley said she could not comment on whether Gamma Phi Beta will donate money to the memorial. Russell said she wants campuswide support and would like to see other groups actively work to raise money for the scholarship fund. “Cockson was a greek member. But this tragedy affects everyone,” Russell said. ASUN is in contact with other stu dent organizations considering to donate money to the scholarship fund. “If this is one way the world can help be reminded of this tragedy, I’m all for it,” Eva Cockson said. “It will help save the life of another - one life that can be lived.” Organizations interested in donat ing money to the Laura Cockson Memorial Scholarship should contact the ASUN office, 115 Nebraska Union, (402)436-2581. Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http: / /www.unl.edu/DailyNeb
