The “Oral Roberts Memorial Funeral Fund” has been established this month at NIU by members of The John Lennon Society, a student activist organization.

The fund is based on the idea that if the T.V. evangelist dies on March 31, as he has claimed God told him he will unless he raises about eight million dollars, any money raised from the JLS fund will go to his widow to help defray funeral costs.

Provided that Roberts does not expire on the anticipated date, the JLS will use the fund’s proceeds to work toward ending student apathy at NIU.

“The fund idea started when someone at a meeting made a joke (about Roberts’ prediction) in passing, but when we thought about it, we realized that it was no joking matter,” said JLS member Karen Seymour.

Ending the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruitment at NIU is one of the foremost concerns of the JLS this semester, and we would use the money towards that goal, said member Marna Coldwater. “The way recruitment is done here is very discreet. Often it’s done by placing ads in the paper for ‘government jobs available.’ No one really talks about it, and we want to make students more aware that it’s going on,” she said.

Stopping the NIU Foundation from its current practice of investing in corporations in apartheid-ruled South Africa is another goal of the JLS that the fund money will be used for if Roberts survives March 31.

“Although the foundation is not considered a part of NIU, the offices are in Lowden Hall, and many of its members also are employed at NIU,” Seymour said. “Very few people are for apartheid. So as long as NIU has some interest there, even if it is indirect, we will be opposed to it,” she said.

Dick Ubl, Director of Alumni Affairs and a member of the NIU Foundation, stated that “the Foundation invests its money in a common fund which is then invested in a mutual fund. Some of the money inevitably goes to some South African corporations. At our level, we really can’t control where everything goes. We are concerned about the government there, but we have a lot of other concerns too.”

Also on the agenda for the JLS is a concert held for member Andy Shankman, who was suspended from DeKalb High School this week for insubordination. Shankman was posting fliers protesting nuclear testing on the walls of the school.

The concert, entitled ‘Amnesty For Andy,’ will be held this Saturday at Diversions located in the Holmes Student Center with the theme “Free Rock & Roll For Free Speech,” Coldwater said.

The two-year-old JLS is part of The Progressive Student Network, a nationwide organization devoted to making students aware of the problems in this and other countries, Seymour said. “We are a group of approximately 25-30 members with a much larger group on our mailing list, and we are constantly growing,” she said, adding, “Many people see a rise of young conservatism in this country. We see instead a growing number of students concerned about the world.”

“Many people see a rise of young conservatism in this country. We see instead a growing number of students concerned about the world.”

Karen Seymour, JLS member