York students react to tension
By Brian Carlson
Staff writer
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students from York say they are sur
prised at recent allegedly racist inci
dents in their hometown and want the
public to reserve judgment until more
facts emerge.
Several students contacted over the
weekend said the tensions that resulted
in a mob march on a black man’s house
were unlike anything they could
remember in York, a town of 7,723 that
is 40 miles west of Lincoln.
“I’m embarrassed to say I’m from
there now,” said Katie Braasch, a sopho
more psychology major. “When I tell
people I’m from York, they say, ‘Oh,
you’re from the town with the problems
with racism.’”
Braasch did not hesitate to charac
terize as “ignorant and stupid” the
group of 40 men, mostly in their teens
and 20s, that marched toward the house
of a black man and his white girlfriend,
hoisting Confederate flags and vandal
izing the man’s property.
The mid-September incident was
apparently the culmination of a series of
incidents that led to escalating tensions
between the two groups.
The incidents, which have drawn
extensive state and national media cov
Husker spirit
migrates to
Kansas City
MIGRATE from page 1
the Bud Light man always received a
warm welcome and drew a crowd.
At half time, the aisles filled with
crowds of people suddenly reunited
with friends who had been sitting a few
rows away.
The fluorescent green coats of
Arrowhead Stadium’s ushers seemed a
constant presence in the Nebraska stu
dent section as they fought a losing bat
tle to clear the aisles and get people to
their assigned seats.
Despite security’s continual pres
ence, one usher said, “the crowd was
pretty well-behaved.”
The game’s tight score helped keep
Husker fans focused on making enough
noise to distract the Cowboys.
Through much of the second half,
the Cowboys fans seemed to await cues
from the scoreboard to cheer.
As fans filed out of Arrowhead
Stadium, cries of “Gooo Biiig Reeed,
Go Big Red” echoed through the walk
ways under the stands.
Cowboy fans passed quietly
through the crowd with their orange
pompoms held down at their sides. At
gate C they were outnumbered 10 to
one by Husker fans. Outside at the RVs,
the post-game party already had begun.
One group from Stuart, about 230
miles northwest of Lincoln, was setting
up a satellite dish outside an RV to
watch the ESPN highlights of the game.
At another RV surrounded by a col
lege-aged crowd, a small dance party
had assembled to celebrate the win.
Despite getting lost on the way to
the game, sophomore UNL architec
ture and business marketing major
Carissa Van deWalle said she would go
to the next migration game.
About 20 people danced outside the
RV to the sounds of a home stereo sys
tem someone had rigged inside.
The 3-foot-tall speakers set outside
the RV pumped out “Tootsie Roll,”
“Backstreet’s Back,” and other dance
songs powering the revelers.
“It’s a blast,” Van deWalle yelled
over the music.
While the cars filed out of the lots,
the RVs were content to stay behind and
savor the Husker win into the night,
making use of glowing coals left in the
grills.
And as one group literally circled
up RVs and charter buses, one last cry
of “Go Big Red” could be heard echo
ing into the cool Kansas City night.
erage, are being investigated by the FBI.
Local and state government leaders,
including state Sen. Ernie Chambers of
Omaha, the only black representative in
the Nebraska Legislature, have con
fronted the issue in recent weeks.
Braasch said that although mem
bers of her hometown tend to be close
minded at times, she could not remem
ber past incidents motivated by racism.
Marie Bartek, a junior communica
tions major, also said the incidents were
unexpected
“Yeah, I was pretty surprised,” he
said. “But I guess it can happen any
where - a small town like York isn’t
ruled out.”
But David Barr, a sophomore polit
ical science and English major, said the
public has acted too quickly in charac
terizing the incidents exclusively in
terms of racism.
“Obviously it brings to light possi
ble issues of racism that were not appar
ent before,” he said. “But I think it’s get
ting blown out of proportion.”
Barr said the incident began with
the actions of local troublemakers
before taking a racial turn. The majority
of the population ofYork doesn’t con
done racism, he said
Holly Bristol, a junior interior
design major, agreed that race may have
been a tangential issue.
“I’m sure it is partly racist, but I’m
sure mostly it’s a ‘who’s-better-than
who’ type of thing,” she said.
LisaWieting, a sophomore broadcast
ing major, said that while “it’s highly prob
able that racial issues are still out there,”
she believes the September incidents were
not originally touched offby racism.
Tara Bellows, a sophomore pre
nursing major, said she couldn’t
remember any time when York had
racial problems. But the town has faced
its share of social ills, especially in deal
ing with the growing drug trade in
Nebraska, she said.
Several students agreed that the
recent incidents should alert the com
munity of York to the problems that
could surface because of underlying
racist attitudes or other problems.
Bartek said some good could come
of the situation if it encouraged people
in York to examine their own attitudes
and exhibit racial sensitivity.
“Everyone can learn from some
thing like this if it’s handled right,” he
said.
Bristol said the situation could
encourage the community to take
greater responsibility for its youth.
“People should learn that there are a
lot of hidden things going on they didn’t
know about, and they should get
involved early and get kids interested in
something other than sitting on the
streets and fighting.”
Campus organizations
offer alcohol alternatives
ALCOHOL from page 1
and student involvement activities.
Thirty random students found
wearing the buttons on specific days
received $5. All other students who
were seen wearing the buttons
received a raffle ticket for tonight
“The buttons help increase alcohol
awareness,” Chanda Miller, Project
CARE student adviser, said. “We hope
students will continue to wear the but
tons.”
AS UN members will have eight
collection sites at Do It Sober for the
Laura Cockson Memorial Scholarship
Fund. Cockson was a junior pre-occu
pational therapy major and member of
Gamma Phi Beta Sorority who was
killed in a drunken driving accident
last year.
Other activities this week include a
party at P.O. Pears, 322 S. 9th St, 5-9
p.m. Thursday, featuring local band
Lie Awake.
Major said admission is free and
there will be food discounts, as well as
prizes. No alcohol will be served.
Project CARE, Party SMART,
Innocepts Society and ASUN are
sponsoring booths in the Nebraska
Union this week where tickets for
Thursday’s party are available.
“There is a misconception that
when you get to college you have to
drink,” said Miller, of Project CARE.
“During this week all of us hope to
change that stereotype.”
.*.i*e.eTVVeeV«V.
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