Students join against marriage amendment
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■ Nebraska college group
opposes outlawing civil unions
for gays.
BY VERONICA DAEHN
Because of an amendment
that could make gay and lesbian
civil unions illegal in Nebraska,
more than 150 university and col
lege students across the state
have joined together in protest
Huskers Against the Defense
of Marriage Amendment is the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
subsidiary of United Students
.Against DOMA
The two groups include stu
dents from UNL, die University of
Nebraska at Omaha, the
University of Nebraska at
Kearney, Nebraska Wesleyan
University, the Lincoln public
schools gay/straight alliance and
the Omaha Public Schools
gay/straight alliance.
Angela Clements, student
coordinator of the groups, said
students will be key in defeating
the Defense of Marriage
Amendment when it appears on
the November ballot
“If this is defeated, it will be
defeated by the youth,” Clements
said. “They don’t have the hin
drance of social stereotypes.”
The amendment says: “Only
marriage between a man and
woman shall be valid or recog
nized in Nebraska. The uniting of
two persons of the same sex in a
dvil union, domestic partnership
or other similar same-sex rela
tionship shall not be valid or
Students at UNL were gn
ed domestic partner benefit^
Aug. 14. If the amendment pass
es, many think the benefits will
become illegal.
Faculty and staff at UNL have
been fighting for domestic part
ner benefits for years. Through
organizations such as the
Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska’s Sexual
Orientation Advisory Council
and Allies Against Heterosexism
and Homophobia, students have
joined the fight in recent years.
But Clements said Huskers
Against DOMA was not just
another “gay group.”
“We are gay, we are lesbian,
we are racial minorities,” she
said. “Half of us are straight allies.
If students take a stand against
this amendment, they’re not
going to be perceived as gay.”
Former ASUN president
Andy Schuerman said the pro
posed amendment violates
human rights.
“It's a hateful measure,”
Schuerman said. “Gay marriage
is already illegal This seems like a
blatant attempt by a small group
of people to make second-class
citizens out of gay and lesbian
people.”
The amendment was drafted
this summer by a group of
Lincoln residents. They needed
to gather 105,214 valid signatures
to get the amendment on the bal
lot
Secretary of State Scott
Moore’s office announced Aug. 22
that the group had gathered
19,000 more signatures than
needed.Clements said the stu
dent group’s main pull is to edu
cate other students. Starting this
week, there will be voter registra
tion booths and campus mail
ings. Before November’s election,
the group will hold several rallies
and teach-ins.
Clements said a teach-in
would likely be held near Broyhill
Fountain and would include
speakers from a variety of cam
pus and local groups.
National Coming Out Day is
Oct 11, and Clements said sever
al campuses have planned to
hold rallies that day. t
Another preliminary idea was
to hold a benefit concert,
Schuerman said. Proceeds from
that would go toward publicity
and organizational efforts. But no
definite plans have been made on
that yet he said.
Clements said the amend
ment would not only affect gays
and lesbians but would also
reflect poorly on the university.
Regents candidates speak on issues
BY VERONICA DAEHN
Come November, the
University of Nebraska Board of
Regents may have a different
look.
Four district seats are up for
reelection.
Seven of the eight candidates
spoke with die Daily Nebraskan
last week. Below is a compilation
of their comments:
■ Regent Chuck Hassebrook,
Lyons, 3rd District •
Hassebrook said the regents
needed to do a better job of
addressing the “crisis in rural
Nebraska.”
The university could be uti
lized more to spark the agricul
tural economy, he said.
Hassebrook also said it was
essential the university remain
affordable to Nebraska families.
That will require a moderate
increase in tuition each year and
more need-based scholarships,
he said.
■ Jeff Johnson, Blair, 3rd District
Johnson said he opposes
using fetal tissue obtained from
abortions for research, and he
also opposes granting an abor
tion-provider faculty status.
Johnson also said he was
opposed to domestic partner
benefits for faculty and staff
because of the tax burden he
said the benefits would create.
“I’m disturbed at the lack of
accountability that the board
has shown Nebraska taxpayers,”
Johnson said. "It’s definitely time
for a change on the Board of
Regents. There seems to be crisis
after crisis after crisis.”
■ John Breslow, Lincoln, 4th
District
He said he was encouraged
by the results of the primary.
"The voters sent a clear mes
sage in the primary election," he
said in a press release. "They
want a new, positive voice on the
Board of Regents.”
Breslow called the university
“world class" and said he wanted
to keep tuition affordable and
retain and recruit quality faculty.
■ Regent Drew Miller, Papillion,
4th District
Miller said he wanted to help
the university reduce adminis
trative costs and promote cost
effective education.
Miller also supports fetal tis
sue research at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center.
He said his support of the
research affected the number of
votes he received in May’s pri
Please see REGENTS on 6
Historic farm, bypass threaten each other
FARM from page 1
The plans for the bypass are
not final. There are several steps
that need to be completed first,
said Kaosola, the Lincoln repre
sentative of the Federal Highway
Administration.
A draft and final copy for an
environmental impact study is
being completed, which the
Federal Highway Administration
must approve.
The environmental impact
study, which will evaluate the
social, economic and environ
mental effect of the bypass, will be
available for the public to scruti
nize at a hearing around February.
People can comment on the
bypass at that time. Consultant
engineering firms will then look
over the comments.
"We will evaluate the sub
stance of the comments and see
what we could do to address these
comments,” Kaosola said.
As one of more than 100 mem
bers of the Citizens for
Accountable Route Selection,
Rickertsen said she hoped the
bypass wouldn't run near her fam
ily's farm.
It's not just the bypass that will
affect the rural setting, but all die
things that will come with it,
Rickertsensaid
“\bu put a beltway out here in
the middle of agricultural land,
and soon a 7-Eleven and some
houses pop up,” she said.
These extra businesses and
houses that pop up may be bad for
the city of Lincoln, Nieweg said
“When you build a quarter-of
a-billion-dollar highway that Car
outside the city, you get sprawl
development,” he said. “It’s like
leapfrogging from the city. It saps
the economic vitality from the
central city."
But, Kaosola said, just because
there might be a bypass built,
doesn’t mean it will cause busi
nesses or homes to be built in the
area. Development would hinge
on city zoning and whether land
owners sell their land
“It doesn’t always necessarily
follow that there would be a 7
Eleven or anything else put up,” he
said
There are also three federal
laws that protect the farm, which
is listed on the national historical
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Earn $30 Cash
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teams to ride
horses at a
neighbor^ farm
up the road. Most
ofthe farms sur
rounding the
homestead are
owned by rela
tives and would
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the proposed
bypass.
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Nieweg said. These laws protect DeDuiltnere. ....
the farm from being directly or . 1» he were alive today, the <
indirectly affected bythebypak gP*" "°u|d upset Charles
Rlckertsen said the lawison «etdattthefennsfound«anda
her side, and she thinks that it win Prussian immigrant, Rlckertsen
all work out in favor of the farm in saKL .. , . ,, .
I think it would greatly upset
•We believe that when the « destroyed,- she said,
bets an get out and listed proper- He was very proud of this place,
I Jewish Student I
August 30 I
at 6 p.m.
as cattle and the area. It was very
mportant to him to have the tra
lition of passing it on.”
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i r ^ ~ Vs
“If the state passes this, not remnwits for dorm rooms.
only will the state be in the 30% off
minority, but our campus will be .. n
raTa^pen"^?
she said. “Haul I come out before I (1 block N 20th Corahusker)
came to college, I never would
have come here.” ■ ■ ——
I Internet
'MUfafeMendVOLIm
remained fascinated with the
experience.. .compelling,
probe through Americana rock »d
rod proring that sometimes the
only story worth Idling is that of
the journep* - Roiling Stone
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■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■a
! ATTENTION j
{international:
! STUDENTS! |
| Do you need to complete the student insurance waiver fora?
i
i
■
i
■
Warms can be completed at the *
_ Universtty Health Center,
15th a U Streets. ,
Call 472-7435 for more Info. ■
.
I" UNL requires insurance coverage to comply with immigration regulations. .
International students are to show written proof in English of comparable *
| insurance coverage or they will be billed for the UNL student health |
| insurance plan on their tuition statements. A charge of $138 for the fall I
. semester (8/14/00 - 12/31/00) will be added to tuition bills unless a -
■ waiver is obtained from the Student Insurance Coordinator at the University I
| Health Center.
