Nebraska

Nebraska senator invokes colleague's name while reading rape scene during debate

Published

9 months ago

March 19, 2024

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Nebraska senator invokes colleague's name while reading rape scene during debate

State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings opens an Agriculture Committee hearing in February 2023.

Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A Nebraska legislative debate about keeping obscenity out of K-12 schools ended abruptly Monday night after a lawmaker, while reading a book passage about an explicit rape scene, invoked a colleague’s name.

State Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings, during debate on Legislative Bill 441, warned state senators and those watching the livestream of legislative proceedings that he would be quoting from the hearing testimony on the bill.

LB 441, the priority bill of State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, seeks to crack down on obscenity and pornography in K-12 schools.

One person testifying at the March 24, 2023, hearing on LB 441 read passages from a book titled “Lucky,” by Alice Sebold, which includes a graphic description of a rape Sebold survived in college.

While reading the testimony, Halloran inserted the name “Senator Cavanaugh” at the end of some sentences about the sexual assault.

He didn’t specify which Cavanaugh. (Both Machaela Cavanaugh and her brother John serve in the Legislature.)

At least two of Halloran’s colleagues publicly called for him to resign.

During about four hours of debate, Halloran and others alluded repeatedly to the hearing transcript. Halloran was the first to read directly from it.

“We talked about, ‘My kids haven’t experienced this in my school,’” Halloran said. “Doesn’t matter. If it’s just one school that experiences this, (it’s) one too many.”

The lawmaker also invoked State Sen. George Dungan’s name after reading the passage.

He called out Dungan, of Lincoln, and Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, both attorneys, for questioning the legality of LB 441 but not proposing solutions.

“Don’t throw it away — fix it,” Halloran said. “It’s a problem.”

Much of Monday’s debate featured supporters saying that LB 441 would fix a loophole that they say prevents prosecution if a school official provides obscenity to minors.

Opponents said that is already illegal under state law, and school officials do not have immunity from prosecution.

After Halloran read from “Lucky,” Sen. John Cavanaugh said the Hastings senator “missed the point.”

“Yes, life is gross and very unpleasant,” he said. “But that is what life is, and people who experience that want to know they’re not alone.”

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh told Halloran that his speech was harassment.

She said that while she and Albrecht disagreed about the bill, Albrecht remained professional during debate. Halloran did not, she said.

“That was so out of line and unnecessary and disgusting to say my name over and over again like that,” Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said.

“You don’t know anything about anyone else’s life, and I can tell you that women in this body have been subjected to sexual violence,” she continued. “I didn’t know you were capable of such cruelty. That was so unbecoming of you and unbecoming of this body, and I hope that some other people who are Republicans will stand up and defend me.”

Albrecht and a handful of other lawmakers had left the floor when Halloran was reading the passage.

Albrecht said afterward she was “mortified” if Cavanaugh’s name was invoked.

“I don’t want to listen to this, but deep down inside, this is what’s happening,” Albrecht said. “… I will be the first to stand up and say I’m sorry — I’m sorry that we even have to read anything like this.”

Halloran, in an email to a Nebraska teacher Monday evening, wrote, “If you would have listened closely, I was addressing her lawyer brother … John!”

In another email shared online and with the Examiner, Halloran described the passage as a “‘how to rape’ lesson given to young people” and said his only regret is that liberals are not upset that “Lucky” is in school libraries.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said on social media that Halloran’s explanation that he was referring to her brother was “dismissive” and ignores that men can also be sexually assaulted.

Colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the officially nonpartisan Legislature condemned Halloran.

State Sens. Megan Hunt of Omaha, a progressive, and Julie Slama of Dunbar, a conservative, both called for him to resign.

“Disgusting,” Slama wrote on X. “No context makes this appropriate.”

Speaker John Arch of La Vista, on a motion from Hunt, agreed to adjourn one hour early Monday evening.

The debate is scheduled to pick up Tuesday afternoon after lawmakers finish second-round debate on the state budget.

“There’s times when we just have to step back from the debate, and I think this is one of those times,” Arch said.

Tags: alice sebold, cavanaugh, Debate, george dungan, Hastings, john arch, john cavanaugh, joni albrecht, Julie Slama, K-12 schools, lawmaker, legislative bill 441, legislative debate, Legislature, lucky, Machaela Cavanaugh, megan hunt, Nebraska, Nebraska Legislature, obscenity, pornography, Rape, schools, sexual assault, Steve Halloran, Thurston

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Nebraska

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Georgia Transfer Defensive Back Justyn Rhett Commits to Nebraska

An SEC defensive back is headed to Lincoln via the transfer portal.

Former Georgia DB Justyn Rhett has committed to Nebraska. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Rhett appeared in four games over two seasons for the powerhouse Bulldogs. He finishes his Georgia career with three tackles.

The 6-1, 200-pound DB got to Athens from the football factory out of Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman. A four-star prospect out of high school, Rhett was selected to play in Under Armour All-America Game and picked Georgia over Alabama, Michigan, Florida State, LSU, Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame, Oregon, and more.

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Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

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Nebraska

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

Published

11 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

900 Square Feet: Recapping Louisville-Pitt, Penn State-Nebraska

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — One match left: Louisville, which knocked out Pittsburgh, plays Penn State, which ousted Nebraska with a five-set reverse sweep.

ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst Emily Ehman and VolleyballMag editor Lee Feinswog look back on an incredible Thursday night at the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship:

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Nebraska

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

Published

19 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Dana Holgorsen, John Butler talk bowl prep and being “light on your feet”

In today’s college football, coaches must have their head on a swivel.

That’s true during the season of course, but it’s now a way of life once the transfer portal opens in December and rosters start moving and shaking. And things get even more wild if you’re at a program that’s playing in a bowl game, or even the College Football Playoff.

It’s a balancing act that all staffs are going through right now. Nebraska’s included.

“You’ve got to be light on your feet, man,” Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler said during a press conference over Zoom on Thursday. “I mean, you’re maybe in the middle of a game-plan meeting and all of a sudden you got to jump out and you’re having a 30-minute meeting with a prospect that’s in on a visit, or you’re jumping on a Zoom doing it. Or you’re watching 15 minutes of tape to make sure that, hey, this guy just jumped in and he wants to visit us. So I think you got to be a fast thinker and mover and a shaker, quite frankly.”

This whole process has taught Butler, who spent the 2024 season as the defensive backs coach under now-departed DC Tony White, that these traits are as important as ever: Being decisive. Being organized. Following a road map to achieve a goal and not deviating from it when there’s chaos all over.

“You’ve got to have a plan and a vision for what you’re looking for, because everything happens so fast,” Butler said. “You have a guy get in and get out, get in and get signed. And at the same time, you also got to keep an eye on your roster constantly, because there’s people reaching out. There’s people reaching out to your players, whether it’s direct or it’s people reaching out through a third party. And it’s unfortunate in this environment.

“People said, ‘Hey, it’s like NFL free agency.’ No, it’s not. NFL free agency is regulated.”

As Husker fans have come to learn, just because a player says he’s going to enter the transfer portal doesn’t mean he actually will. And sometimes when a player actually enters his name in the portal, there’s always a chance they could withdraw their name and return to their program if each side wants.

Nebraska saw that happen with defensive lineman Keona Davis, who briefly entered the portal before withdrawing and staying at NU for 2025. There was also running back Emmett Johnson — he announced he would enter the portal but never made it there.

Holgorsen played a key role in convincing Johnson to stay at Nebraska.

“We had some long talks after the season, and I got to know him better as a person,” Holgorsen said of his relationship with Johnson. “I did that with a bunch of them, but him in particular was probably about the first one that came in and was excited about what we did, but there was some buts. So we had some long talks. I think he’s a great kid and he’s going to be a special player here. Excited to coach him.”

On Holgorsen’s side of the ball, he’ll have to adjust his game plan now that he’ll be without a handful of players he was able to use during the regular season.

Running back Dante Dowdell transferred to Kentucky on Friday. A tight end Holgorsen really liked, Nate Boerkircher, transferred to Texas A&M. Receiver Isaiah Neyor has chosen to opt out of the Pinstripe Bowl to focus on his NFL aspirations. Offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua, who began the year as the starting right guard but finished the season rotating with Gunnar Gottula at left tackle, won’t play in the bowl because he’s getting surgery to fix a torn labrum he played through during the season.

There will be holes to fill on Holgorsen’s offense in the bowl game and beyond in 2025. But Holgorsen brushes all of this chaos off. He’s a go-with-the-flow guy. He doesn’t pretend to have answers to fix college football. What he does have, though, is a plan.

“There’s been a lot of talk out there about something needs to happen. That’s above my pay grade,” Holgorsen said. “So, the few kids who decided to do that (leave), we wish them well, and you just go replace them. It’s as simple as that.”

Part of that replacement process needs to happen for the bowl game with current members of the roster. Behind Emmett Johnson, expect Rahmir Johnson — he’s native of the Bronx and will have several family members and friends at Yankee Stadium — to play often as it’ll be his final game in a Husker uniform.

But with Dowdell and Gabe Ervin Jr. gone from the team, perhaps this Pinstripe Bowl will feature another big back on Nebraska’s roster who’s seldom been used: redshirt freshman Kwinten Ives, a 6-3, 210-pounder.

“You know, 23 (Dowdell) isn’t playing in the bowl game but 28 (Ives) is gonna go in there and he’s gonna play his tail off because he’s had nine spectacular practices,” Holgorsen said. “I think that’s how you got to look at it. You don’t worry about the ones that aren’t playing. You worry about the ones that are playing, and you coach them and you try to develop them, put them in position to hopefully be successful.”