Ex-professor's harassment suit rejected
SUIT from page 1
She alleged that, in the fall of
1994, male students in one of
her classes made kissing noises
and catcalls. In December 1994,
she alleged, she found a pubic
hair in one of her student’s
papers.
In May of 1995, she said, a
graduate student found two or
three fliers in Oldfather Hall
making derogatory sexual
remarks about Schwebach.
Schwebach said the political
science department ignored her
complaints about those and
other incidents.
“I have never set foot on this
campus after hours, since 1995,
without either my husband or
my very large dogs,” Schwebach
told the Daily Nebraskan in April
1998. “I don’t feel safe on this
campus.”
Schwebach filed her first
charge with the Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission on July 31,1997,
saying the political science
department tolerated sexual
harassment that created hostile
work conditions.
By law, the district court
could consider only sexual
harassment incidents that
allegedly occurred in the 300
days before she made the com
plaint. If Schwebach had shown
incidents of sexual harassment
occurring during that period,
she also could have cited con
nected incidents that happened
before then.
But the court ruled that the
only two incidents Schwebach
alleged to have happened dur
ing that 300-day period - a com
plaint by Schwebach that the
department handled harass
ment complaints filed by men
more quickly than hers and an
overheard conversation in
which two male graduate stu
dents discussed the breasts of a
female student - did not consti
tute unwelcome sexual harass
ment directed toward her.
“She did not show a hostile
work environment due to sexual
harassment within the statutory
time frame, and thus clearly
cannot establish a nexus, let
alone a substantial nexus,
between incidents occurring
within the statutory time frame
and those occurring outside the
time frame," the court wrote.
In a second Equal
Employment Opportunity
Commission charge on Oct. 21,
1997, Schwebach said the
department had retaliated
against her for her first com
plaint.
Schwebach alleged three
instances of retaliation: A pro
fessor commented on her case
during class, the department
excluded her from a department
function, and Forsythe distrib
uted a copy of his response to
her complaint to the Academic
Rights and Responsibilities
Committee, as well as a copy of
her employment commission
complaint, to other members of
the political science depart
ment.
The court ruled that none of
these actions, even if they did
occur, constituted retaliation.
Under the law, examples of
retaliation include termination,
reduced pay or benefits, dam
age to the employee’s career
prospects or undeserved poor
evaluations - none of which
were alleged by Schwebach, the
court noted.
According to the court’s rul
ing, Schwebach received favor
able evaluations throughout her
employment.
Although she had not
received tenure, she was on
track for it and would have
received it after six years on the
job.
“Even combining all the
incidents plaintiff claims are
retaliatory, none of them involve
a tangible change in her working
conditions producing a material
disadvantage,” the court wrote.
Schwebach also claimed she
was the victim of “constructive
discharge,” in which an employ
er makes the employee's work
ing conditions intolerable to
force the employee to resign.
But the court ruled that no
evidence indicated the depart
ment sought to force her resigv
nation.
The court noted that John
Comer, who replaced Forsythe
as department chairman in
March 1998, took action to stop
the posting of derogatory fliers.
Citing precedent, the court
noted that “an employee may
not be unreasonably sensitive to
her working conditions.”
“The difficulty with the
plaintiff’s assertion of construc
tive discharge is that she does
not allege any incidents after
she informed defendant of her
desire to quit that would suggest
defendant intended to make her
environment so intolerable as to
force her to quit,” the court
wrote.
At the time she left UNL,
Schwebach said she would leave
the academic world altogether.
U.S. antimissile unit on alert
■ Pentagon suspects Iraq
attack on Israel, readies Army
Patriot
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
““^
WASHINGTON - The
Pentagon put an Army Patriot
antimissile battery on alert
Thursday for a possible deploy
ment to Israel because of con
cern that Iraq may decide to
strike during the U.S. presiden
tial campaign, The Washington
Post reports.
The action is in response to
concerns that Iraq may decide
to fire surface-to-surface mis
siles at Israel as the presidential
campaign gets into full swjing
after Labor Day, Monday, said
the report published on the Post
Web site Thursday night
The unit on alert is the 69th
Air Defense Artillery Brigade,
based near Frankfurt, Germany,
the report said.
The Pentagon did not imme
diately return a call seeking
comment late Thursday night
;
U.S. military officials in Europe
could not be reached.
The Patriot missile is a guid
ed supersonic surface-to-air
missile designed to intercept
enemy aircraft and missiles, and
was used extensively in the 1991
Persian Gulf War.
During the war, 39 Scud mis
siles were fired at Israel during
the Patriot’s first deployment.
The Patriots were mostly unsuc
cessful in deterring Iraq’s
attacks, which damaged Tel Aviv
neighborhoods.
In December 1998, the
Pentagon sent the missiles to
Israel to head off any possible
attacks while Iraq refused to
cooperate with U.N. weapons
inspectors.
The crisis culminated in a
70-hour air war against
Baghdad. No Iraqi missiles were
fired at Israel during that time.
Defense officials did not say
whether the United States was
acting out of a general concern
or was provoked by hard evi
dence, die Post said, though in
the past Iraq President Saddam
Hussein has provoked con
frontations during sensitive
moments.
U.S. and British warplanes
have had many confrontations
with Iraq, patrolling over north
ern and southern Iraq in “no
fly” zones set up after the war to
protect Kurdish and Shiite
minorities from the Iraqi mili
tary.
Iraq maintains the zones
violate its sovereignty and has
been challenging the patrols
since December 1998.
On Wednesday, an official
Iraqi newspaper said that U.S.
jets bombed a village in south
ern Iraq, injuring a child and
two others.
The paper quoted a state
ment by a military spokesman
that Iraqi air defenses hit one of
the planes.
U.S. officials confirmed
coalition aircraft struck Iraq on
Wednesday, but said they tar
geted an air-defense command
post and anti-aircraft artillery
sites.
The officials said the planes
returned safely.
1
dailyneb.com
's
see you on the other side.
Report challenges
'going postal'notion
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Postal
workers have gotten a “bad rap"
from widespread reports of vio
lence at post offices, says a new
report from an independent
commission that concludes the
agency is actually one of the
safest places to work in this coun
try.
“Going postal is a myth, a bad
rap, nonsense," commission
chairman Joseph Califano said
Thursday.
“Postal workers are no more
likely to physically assault, sexu
ally harass or verbally abuse their
co-workers than employees in
the national workforce."
And, he added, “postal work
ers are only a third as likely as
those in the national workforce to
be victims of homicide” - 0.26 per
100,000 versus 0.77 per 100,000.
Concern about postal vio
lence has risen with a series of 29
incidents dating to 1986 in which
54 people were killed.
“I didn’t want to go to one
more postal facility and explain
why some father or mother was
murdered,” Postmaster General
William Henderson said of his
decision to ask the independent
commission to analyze the prob
lem.
wnue uainanos group aeter
mined that the rate of violence
was actually lower in postal facili
ties than elsewhere, it did note
that the post office has a high rate
of grievances and made recom
mendations for reducing labor
management tension.
“The major findings, we’re in
absolute agreement with, and
will take steps,” said Henderson.
He said some of the sugges
tions, including incentive pay,
will be brought up in negotiations
with the postal service's major
labor unions, and he will take
steps to modernize the service's
grievance process.
While the instances of vio
lence in recent years included
many other businesses, in the
vernacular, a violent attack in the
workplace became known as
“going postal.”
Califano reported that work
ers at private postal services are
twice as likely to be murdered on
the job than federal postal work
ers, and retail clerks are eight
times more likely. The highest
murder rate, he noted, was for
taxi drivers.
Nonetheless, he said, the past
reports about going postal have
caused “unnecessary apprehen
sion and fear among 900,000
postal workers.”
ASUN
lobbying
decision
withheld
COURT from page 1
Trent Steele, student court
chief justice, said the group
reached a decision on Schafer’s
petition but was unable to
release the information
because court members need
ed to prepare an explanation
and analysis of its ruling.
The decision could affect
ASUN’s role in lobbying for or
against the Defense of
Marriage Amendment, which
would prohibit gay and lesbian
civil unions in Nebraska.
Schafer said he asked for a
clarification because he antici
pated an ASUN member’s
introducing a bill into the sen
ate that would support or
oppose the amendment.
Because the amendment
will be on .the ballot in
November, Schafer said, he
wanted a clarification whether
the initiative could be regarded
as a candidate, thus mating it
unconstitutional for ASUN to
take action.
“While I don’t think an ini
tiative is grouped in as a candi
date, I wanted to be clear on
where we stood before an issue
came before student govern
ment,” he said.
If the court rules to not clar
ify the language of the bylaw,
ASUN will be able to lobby for
ballot initiatives and amend
ments, he said.
But if the court rules
ASUN’s participation in ballot
initiatives is unconstitutional,
the bylaw will need to be
rewritten and student govern
ment will be prohibited from
lobbying for ballot initiatives
and amendments, Schafer said.
The student court compris
es members appointed by last
year's ASUN president, Andy
Schuerman, said Marlene
Beyke, ASUN director of devel
opment.
Beyke said it was rare for the
student court to hear many
cases each year, especially peti
tions from the ASUN president.
Schafer's petition is the
court’s first case this year, she
said.
The court's decision is
expected to be announced by
Thursday, Steele said.
Classifieds
(402) 472-2588 $5.25/15 words
FAX: (402) 472-1761 $3.50/15 words (students)
dn@unl.edu^ $0.15 each additional word
$0.75 billing charge
$0.75/line headline
Deadline: 4 p.m. weekday prior
205 Bicycles For Sale
All 2000 Models On SALE
Trek
Specialized '
Kona
Cycle Works, 27th A Vine, 475-2463
210 Books For Sale
www.Roog.com
Used Textbooks Cheep. Over 100,000 titles. Al
so New, Used, Rare and out of print fiction. Free
shipping on orders over $50.
COOL Mexican Blankets
$12.95 + S&H. Perfect for dorm rooms or
apartments. Visit www.mexiconnection.com or
call 818-831-7914. Go Big Redl
I lost 40tt>a in two months, 100% natural guar
anteed. Call 1-888-593-8289.
PARKING
Parking $50 per school year, two blocks North of
stadium, call Dan at 477-3552.
270 Ticket Exchange
5 Notre Dame vs. Nebraska tickets for sale. On
goal line. $200 minimum offer per ticket Best of
fer accepted. Email rodwillisOhotmail.com.
Four tickets to sell for the Nebraska Notre Dame
game on the thirty yard line. $1000 each. Call
Cosmo at (219)2771 -875.
Need 2 football tickets to Missouri, Baylor or
Kansas. It's worth the call: (202) 237-0622.
Need a piece to stay for ND/NU game?
Notre Dame apartment for rent. Two miles from
stadium, parking pass included. Sleeps 5, full
kitchen and bathroom. Jim (219) 243-0791.
Need one student ticket for Iowa game on Sep
tember 23. Call 994-2393.
Needed: 2 football tickets for game on Septem
ber 23 and September 30. Calf 489-9430 ask for
Kim.
Two great Notre Dame football tickets! Lower
level 15-yard line. Send offer to
GradND970aol.com.
290 Vehicles For Sale
1990 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. 4wd, auto, V6,
4.0L, Red, Power Windows. Good Condition
$4700.477-4853.
1991 Mitsubishi Mirage 98K, auto, AC,
moonroof. Runs great. $3000 obo. 421-7962.
*88 Toyota Corolla DLX. 4-door, auto, A/C,
cruise. Runs great. $2400 OBO. 467-3142.
‘92 Ford Escort. 4-door hatchback, light
AM/FM with cassette. Good school cat I
or best offer. 438-9407. ^
300s
350 Health and Fitness
Natural Herbal
Breast Enlargement
Safe, effective, and affordable. Please visit
www.figureplus.com, 1-888-603-9800. Distribu
torships also available.
365 Legal Services
Auto Accidents & DWI
Other criminal matters, call Sanford Pollack
476-7474.
370 Misc. Services
15 year experienced elementary teacher has
openings in all day preschool. If interested call
Lana Bolles 438-6062.
For all your insurance needs: auto, home, health,
life and business, call Jim Wallace at American
Family Insurance, 1340 L St., Lincoln, NE 68508
or call 402-474-5077.
378 Pregnancy
Free
Pregnancy Test
Birthright is a confidential helping hand. Please
call for appointment or more information,
483-2609. Check out our website
www.birthright.arg.
400s iMShHI
400 Roommates
3 roommates needed for South Lincoln home.
N/S N/P. Call 327-0705 for more information.
$195
Roommate needed. Half utilities. 2428 South
10th.Cail Steven at 438-2965.
FUN GIRLS
Seeking male/female roommate to share nice 3
bedroom apartment in SW Lincoln. $235 per
month and 1/3 utilities. Call 477-6354.
Hey! Share a newer furnished two bedroom
home. Has washer/dryer and is one mile from ei
ther campus. $265/month call Dave at
438-5062.
Lost roommate. Looking for college student or
young professional guy to share our half of du
plex. Residential area, 2-car garage, laundry, 5
minutes for UNL. $275 + utilities. Call Brian or
Kenton at 474-5267 or our landlord at 474-4674
for appointment.
Male to share 3 bedroom, newer home in SE
Lincoln, includes room, utilities and many
extras. 10 minutes from campus, on bus and
bike trail. Available NOW! Call 421-0977 for de
taits. Leave message.
Seeking roomate, female, non-smoking. $225
per month. Call 477-6991.
420 Rooms For Rent
1 room (lots of privacy) within 3 bedroom house.
$225 + utilities. 22nd & Holdredge area. CA, all
appliances. Only liberal minded, financially re
sponsible person needed (prefer graduate stu
dent). Call 477-3317 leave message.
430 Houses For Rent
2 bedroom house close to both campuses. Re
cently renovated. Off-street parking. Deposit,
$350. rent $525. Available September 1.
488-2088.
836 *Y* St. Nice 2 bedroom 2 blocks from cam
pus. Basement parking. $575. Call 432-0644.
4700 South St Immaculate 2/3 bedrooms, c/a,
finished basement, garage. $850+deposit, refer
ences, no pets. 483-4887.
Large 4+2 bedroom, 3 bath. Central air, dish
washer, porch. 835 S. 12th. $995. 450-1013.
Three and four bedrooms near stadium. Central
air. Washer/dryer included. Lawn mowed.
$630/$785. 489-9294.
440 Duplexes For Rent
$820. 1135 North 32nd, 4 bedroom, 2 bath.
Dishwasher, W/D, new carpet & paint. Pictures
at www.geocities.com/webwinters. No pets
580-1121.
Available this fall. Near new 4BR townhouse. All
appliances including W/D. Double garage, 5
minutes to campus. Call Julie, 440-5958.
Duplexes
NEW! 3439 A, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, W/D, C/A,
D/W, DBL Garage. Call HIP at (402)465-8911.
Newer
Close to campus, nice, 3 bedroom, 3 bath, garage,
W/D, all appliances, $795. HIP, 465-8911.
Nice 2 bedroom duplex, 527 South 47th. Central
air, washer/dryer hookups, kitchen appliances,
dryer, quiet neighborhood, $625/month plus
gas, electric & deposit. 486-4951 leave a mes
sage
Walk to campus. Large, remodeled 2 bedroom.
Washer, dryer, central air, off street parking.
$525. 2410 Vine. 432-6476.
Walk to campus. Large, remodeled 1 bedroom.
Washer, dryer, central air, off street parking.
$425. 2410 Vine. 432-6476.
450 Apartments For Rent
***Efficiency
Apartments***
Close to City Campus
Water, Heat, and Gas Paid
Available now. Call 477-4490.
1 bedroom basement apartment, partly fur
nished, own entrance residential neighborhood
$250/mo plus 2 hours a week yard work,
435-0225.
1 Bedroom, 2338 E St., mostly graduate stu
dents, all new paint, appliances, microwave,
ceiling fans. Reserved parking, no smoking pets,
$395. Call 432-3686.
4 bedroom, 1&1/2 bath. 6 blocks east of main
campus on bus route. $650/month plus utilities,
deposit $500. No pets. 525-6771 ^_
** Surf’s up...
Welcome Back** t
640 South 20-2BR $439 up, Pool
2301 A Street-1 BR $439 up
475-7262
700S. 17th ♦FURNISHED
2BR in 14-plex. $410. including utilities, a/c,
cable. 488-6707, 450-8895.
1810 H Street/Secure Bldg.
1BR/5-plex. $410 plus electricity. Includes
utilities/cable. Balcony, laundry, parking.
488-6707,450-8895.
1
450 Apartments For Rent
1938 Garfield
2 bedroom, newer apartment. No pets, no smok
ing. $425. 486-1267.
• * Close to Campus# #
• 2312 South 14th, fireplace, W/D hookup $369
• 2301 A Street -1 Bedrooms *349 up
« 640 South 20 - 2 BR's $429 up 475-6262
2400 R St. 3 bedroom 1 bath, close to campus,
central air, $510. 421-7141.
4820 M St., basement apartmanet, 800 sq. feet,
two bedroom, plus garage, W/D. plus cable, all
utilities paid. N/S, no-pets. Barb. 486-0467.
5043 HUNTINGTON
Studio apartment off street parking, Rent
$325 central air conditioning. Rent $365
One bedroom across the street from Wes
leyan. E.O.H. 475-8776.
AVAILABLE AUGUST 24TH
East Campus large 2 bedroom, fireplace, appli
ances, balcony, parking. 4210 Huntington
$46G/month 423-0902, 580-0902.
AVAILABLE NOW!
1,2 and 3 Bedrooms
402-465-8911
www.HIPrealty.com
AVAILABLE NOW!!!
1630 & 4640 North 56th Street, 2 bedrooms
$460-$475 electric only - off street parking
N/P. E.O.H. 475-8776.
★ EXTRA NICE 1BR#
Spacious layout, appliances, dishwasher,
blinds, 3 closets, paved parking, laundry, cen
tral air, gas heat/water/trash paid, central loca
tion between campuses, outdoor pool, 3 or 6
month lease, $355. 1109 N. 28th Street.
489-4857.,_
3 plus 1 bedroom, central air all utilities
I. Clean 946 South 12. $675 435-2552.
NEW-HUGE
2 Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths to Sub-Lease ASAP.
Fireplace, Cathedral Ceilings, Laundry Room
W/WD, A/C, Walk-In Closet, D/W, Secure Build
ing. Moving, MUST RENT! 435-6903/202-3466.
paidJ
r * o f t *T(ts
One, two, three bedroom apartments available.
438-0946.
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Looking
for a
Work Study Job on
City Campus?
it you are awarded worK btuay - iook
no further than Love Library
•Interesting work
•On campus convenience
•Your choice of day, evening,
_ or weekend hours
•$5.55 - $5.80/hour
For the best positions, apply NOW at
Love Library, Rm. 141 (south entrance across
from the auditorium). For more information,
call Maggie Van Diest at 402-472-3963.