--- LEGISLATURE
Non-p [fails
uy veronica Daehn ,
Staff writer
The Nebraska Legislature shot
down an Emie-Chambers idea once
again on Thursday.
Senators failed to pass a motion to
reconsider a bill that would make the
state office of attorney general non
partisan.
LB510 passed out of the
Government, Military and Veteran
Affairs Committee on March 3,1999,
and out of floor debate last month.i
Gov. Mike Johanns vetoed the bill
Feb. 25.
Chambers used a last-ditch effort
Thursday morning to override
Johanns’ veto and pass the bill into
law.
A three-fifths vote of the
Legislature was needed to allow
reconsideration of the bill.
Chambers’ effort failed by two
votes, and the actual bill was never
voted on again.
Despite the defeat, several sena
tors spoke in support of reconsidering
the bill and overturning Johanns’ veto.
Sen. Bob Wickersham of Harrison
said he wanted a non-partisan attor
ney general.
“L’m not interested in a lawyer for
the state who has an allegiance to a
party,” Wickersham said. “I want the
attorney general to owe allegiance to
all of us.”
Sen. Curt Bromm of Wahoo
agreed that the attorney general
should represent everyone, not a spe
cific political party.
“I am a lawyer, and I have this
vision of how lawyers should repre
sent clients,” Bromm said. “Our job is
to do the best we can to represent our
constituents. The interests of a party
come a notch below the interests of a
state.”
But Sen. Jon Bruning of Omaha
said he supported the governor’s veto.
“The governor was elected as a
partisan,” Bruning said. “That’s the
way politics work. We influence other
people. I wouldn’t for a second criti
cize the governor.”
Chambers said Johanns had tar
geted individual senators to garner
their votes, and the issue had become
larger than the bill itself.
“What is being voted on is not
really the merits of the bill,”
Chambers said. “It has become more
important than it is.”
Chambers said he wished senators
would not let their votes be influenced
by the governor.
“What I’m asking is that this bill
be viewed for what it is,” he said. “It’s
a policy decision that the Legislature
felt should be made. I’m asking you as
a Legislature to hold for that deci
sion.”
The current system does not work,
he said, and current Attorney General
Don Stenberg is an example of that.
“He makes statements not based
on the law,” Chambers said. “They are
political ideas and attitudes.”
Sen. Jerry Schmitt of Ord said he
supported the bill, too.
tt I want the
attorney general
to owe allegiance
to all of us.”
Bob Wickers ham
Harrison senator
Political parties should not be
involved in the office of attorney gen
eral, he said.
“The chief law enforcement offi
cer should be non-partisan,” Schmitt
said. “I’m asking you to think about
what you’re doing.”
Delectable dining
. i.v ■ KiiiMnii | _|
__ . Sharon Kolbet/DN
ALIZA ABDUL, a member of the University of Nebraska Malaysian Student Association,
serves beef beriani during the International Food Festival on Thursday afternoon at
the Nebraska Union. The event organized by international Affairs gave student groups
a chance to showcase foods from around the world and to generate interest in the
upcoming International Banquet that will he on March 26.
Student to talk at Harvard
WIEGERT from page 1_
downplay the importance of letting students
learn to drink responsibly.
Wiegert said he sees college as a time
where students have the opportunity to experi
ment with alcohol.
It’s better for students to discover their lim
its and know the effects of alcohol before they
enter the real world and take on full responsi
bility.
“It’s better to wake up and be hung over for
class than to wake up hung over and have to
take your kids to school,” he said.
Wiegert is now a member of the student
advisory council for NU Directions - a group
that is working to educate students about high
risk drinking and reduce the effects of the cam
pus drinking environment
He said he used to be an example of the
things NU Directions worked against
Depending on which media chose to cover
the press conference, Wiegert said he could be
famous aha* Tuesday.
“I could be seen as a joke,” Wiegert said
lightly about his status as a former binge
drinker. “But it’s not going to help anybody by
not speaking about it”
The report surveys 14,000college students
from 119 four-year universities, said Tom
Workman, NU Directions communications
coordinator.
The report is done annually by the Harvard
School of Public Health.
Self-proclaimed feminists
call for women to be active
■ The three were brought to cam
pus by the National Organization
for Women.
ByJiUZeman
Staff writer
Three self-proclaimed radical feminists spread
their message of equality, freedom and pro-abor
tion rights for women Thursday.
The panel, which featured Rebecca Hastey of
the National Organization for Women, Kathy
Kingery, president of Nebraska’s Pro-Choice
Coalition and Kandra Hahn, former Lancaster
county clerk and current employee at the
University of Nebraska Press, was sponsored by
Lincoln’s NOW chapter and held in the Nebraska
Union.
Kingery expressed concern that the landmark
case, Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion,
could be overturned soon because of action taken
by conservative politicians.
If the Supreme Court rules to overturn the deci
sion, illegal abortions will take place, just as they
did before abortion was legal, Kingery said.
“Desperate women will resort to desperate
measures,” she said.
Kingery emphasized the importance of abor
tion rights, even though she said she had never had
an abortion.
“Until I’m walking in every woman’s shoes, it’s
not my right to decide whether a woman should
have an abortion,” Kingery said.
Hastey, a NOW representative, said she had
always been a radical woman, even though she felt
radicalism was decreasing.
The university is a relatively safe community,
which is positive, but the safety doesn’t promote
activism, Hastey said.
“I encourage students to get out of the commu
nity into the real world, so they can make an
impact,” she said.
Students may claim their lives are too busy to
be active, but Hastey disagreed.
“I worked two jobs, took 21 credit hours a
semester, got married and graduated college in
three years,” she said. “Tell me you can’t be active.”
Hahn said she had never thought of herself as a
radical woman, even though she is perceived that
way.
Hahn emphasized that activism for women’s
rights can be difficult.
“If you really work on this you won’t get
awards; the women who actually get the awards are
a lot nicer,” she said.
Amanda Schindler, a University of Nebraska
Lincoln French and Spanish major, said she
thought the women spoke about important issues.
“I am in awe of them,” she said.
Schindler was inspired after hearing the
women speak because it gave the women of the
university hope, she said.
After hearing the speakers, Schindler said she
would act for issues important to her.
“I had no idea there were so many outlets to get
involved,” she said.
Dancers brine Irish culture
IRISH from page 1
bleMcWilliams said.
McWilliams requires her stu
dents to have some background in
tap dancing even though they
start with soft-soled shoes, she
said.
After her students master the
movements, McWilliams moves
on to hard-soled shoes, which is
what her dance studio focuses on.
The Lincoln Irish Dancers
practice every Monday and
Wednesday evening; Mondays
are for the intermediate dancers
and performers, and Wednesday
is a collaborative class with the
Lincoln Scottish Country
Dancers.
Jennifer Brand, an assistant
professor of chemical engineer
ing at the University ofNebraska
Lincoln, and her husband, Nick
Webb, run the Lincoln Scottish
Country Dancers. It was started
after founder Charles Ross, a for
mer chemistry professor at UNL,
moved to Memphis, Term., about
five years ago.
Ross started the group, which
once had about 20 members but is
now reduced to eight, around
1993, Brand said. Anyone is wel
come to stop into the practices
and join in, Brand said, or they
can contact Webb at nweb@all
tell.net.
“Mostly we concentrate on
dancing and having a good time,”
Brand said.
The difference between
Scottish and Irish dancing is that
Scottish dancing is more partner
and figure-oriented, Brand said.
Every Wednesday the two
groups get together and practice
both types of dances.
/ About 26-30 dancers are in
the Lincoln Irish Dancers club
and range in age from 10 to 50.
New members are welcome any
time, Anderson said
Betty Bloomquist, a member
of the Lincoln Irish Dancers, said
it took a while to learn the foot
work when she began about a
year and a half ago, but since then
her dancing has taken off.
Lin Gowin-O’Brien, a dancer
for three years, said she was
involved in the Capital City
Cloggers - who don’t perform
Irish dancing - and saw the
Lincoln Irish Dancers as a way to
explore her fascination with
Riverdance.
She also said it was good
exercise, and her favorite dance is
the Kerry Wheel.
The dance features two
women and one man circling
around each other. The club
choreographs the dance as if the
two women were competing for
the man’s affections.
She didn’t know if that was
the intended meaning when the
dance was created, but she said it
was fim to portray those emotions
in performances.
Anyone interested in schedul
ing a performance should contact
a member or one of the four board
members: Laura Nettland, Edie
Skelton, Pam Cultlers and Mari
Long.
The Lincoln Irish Dancers
have performed at venues such as
the State Fair, churches and the
Joyo Theater.
Marianne Woeppel, the
group’s scrapbook keeper, said
the group performs about 25 to 30
times a year. The busiest times are
in September, October and
March.
The group has spawned other
Irish groups, including The Irish
Writers, die band Irish Stew, a
vocal group and a children’s
group, Woeppel said.
Nettland, a dancer since the
start of the Lincoln Irish Dancers,
said the group was a great mix of
people who seem like a family.
“A lot of talents merge in one
group,” Nettland said.