The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 10, 1999, Image 1
_SPORTS_ Weighty issues Becky Beachler and Erin Wibbels are doing their best to follow in a line of great Nebraska shot putters and weight throwers. PAGE 7 Art made for two Throughout the month of February, two friends will be exhibiting their individual and coopera tive pieces at Aardvarx Gallery. PAGE 9 WEDN :s IAY February 10, 1999 Blowin’ in the Wind Cloudy, breezy, high 64. Rain likely tonight, low 35. Kickin’ back Matt Miller/DN ABOVE-BRETT SCHROER, a sophomore land scape design major, soaks in the record-high temperatures Monday afternoon after he finished his classes. LEFT-SOPHOMORE ARCHITECTURE MAJOR CHRISTIAN PRASCH stretches I for the Frisbee on Monday outside the Nebraska Un ion. Police look into bones discovery By Lindsay Young Senior editor University Police have launched an investigation to determine why American Indian remains were under a podium in 109 Bessey Hall on Fnday. Last Apnl, the room was supposed to have been cleared of American Indian remains. Sgt. Bill Manning said the room was to be cleared of all human remains on Dec. 21 to prepare the room to once again be used as a classroom. Bone fragments and a tooth were dis covered Friday when anthropology department members, an American Indian activist and University Police were clearing the room in preparation for a blessmg by an American Indian spiritual leader. They also found two original log books that had been missing prior to the clearing. The books detailed American Indian finds at two Nebraska excavation sites. When the room was cleared in December, no remains were found in the places they were found Friday morning. Manning said. From April until Friday, Karl Reinhard an anthropology associate pro fessor, has had one of two keys to the room. The other key was m the hands of Robert Hitchcock, the anthropology department chairman, who said that his key didn't work. Now the Arts and Sciences dean’s office has the two keys. Manning said the police want to find out if the remains were actually in Room u I'm really shocked. I wonder who had them. I wonder what their motivations were. ..." Pemina Yellowbird member of Three Affiliated Tribes 109 in December during the second clearing, whether the remains were plant ed there or if the remains were brought there to study after the December search. The University Police will be staying in contact with the State Patrol through out the investigation, he said. Reinhard, who has been accused by tribal representatives and activists of studying and storing the remains illegally in Room 109, would not comment Tuesday on those accusations. “I can confirm bones were found in the room overlooked in previous clear ances,” Reinhard said. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, remains must be inventoried and returned to affiliated tribes upon request. Some say under NAGPRA, the remains cannot be studied without tribal permission. The Society for American Archaeology has disputed that claim. American Indians who have worked with the university before this discovery' in the preparation for the repatriation of Please see REMAINS on 6 Proposal would lower leeral alcohol level to .08 u ■ Opponents of the bill say it is anti-alcohol and could result in harassment. By Shane Anthony Staff writer No one who spoke at a Transporta tion Committee hearing Tuesday after noon denied the existence of problems with drunken drivers. But in a IVi-hour debate filled with statistics and philosophy, proponents of familiar legislation disagreed about how to solve the problem. LB235, sponsored by Lincoln Sen. LaVon Crosby, would lower the legal blood alcohol concentration for drivers from . 10 to .08. Crosby has co-spon sored or introduced the bill in each of her 11 legislative sessions. Tuesday, detrac tors urged senators to look for another solution. Supporters said that the bill’s time has come. “This year is different,” Crosby said. “The tide is turning in favor of .08.” Crosby said if the legislature passed .08 legislation, the state would be eligi ble for SI.2 million to SI.5 million in federal funds, according to the Nebraska State Department of Roads. Sixteen states have enacted similar measures, she said, and 70 percent of constituents support the legislation. Opposition, she said, comes from the liquor industry and defense attorneys. One of those attorneys, Clarence Mock, who said he has served as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor in dri ving-while-intoxicated cases, said the average blood-alcohol level of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1997 was .15. Cracking down on those drivers and pro viding education would help, he said. “The passing of the law will not help solve the problem,” he said. “Leave the law where it is. Encourage its enforce ment.” But Crosby said she has supported measures to enhance penalties for repeat offenders, require alcohol treatment and establish zero-tolerance law's for minors. Please see ALCOHOL on 6 Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at dailyneb.com