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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1984)
of! Thursday, January 19, 1C34 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Volumo 3, No. 81 r cwees. mew maini cfcie MeMidl kedMi ecu? EyJcIiNyjrcn Gov. Bob Kerrey announced Wcdnesd sy morning a statewide mental health-care plan and called for the state to take the lead in shaping Nebraska's iKAliX litMVfcl &J)wVUel Abo speaking at Kerrey's weekly press conference v.T.3 Ronald Jensen, director cf Nebraska Depart ment cf Public Institutions, who said the plan focuses cn treating the chronically mentally ill The plan recommends that the state's three regional centers serv e only the chronically ill while the private sector would serve short-term patients. Jensen srli the plan probably will net greatly increase the regional centers' current number of patients, which b COO. Kerrey said that for the first time the state has established a mental health program defining the goals for care in both private and public sectors. "We are saying throughout the plan that we have an obligation to attempt to provide care for the most difficult folks ... which is essentially the chronic care facilities" he said. Jensen said the private sector does a good job treating mental patients, but lacks the money to treat long-term patients who cannot make it in the community. The Department of Public Institutes conducted a three-year study on Nebraska's mental health sys tem. The department's report showed that more than 1 50,000 residents need mental health services. Many of these people are under the care of family doctors or other health care professionals, but more than 32,000 are expected to need state services.- State mental health services currently serve about 23,000 people. Kerrey also discussed the state's budget. On his recent tour of Nebraska, Kerrey said, he proposed expenditures cf about $348 million. Of that amount he said, 525 million would be used for educational improvements. . Kerrey said many cf the people he tallied to on the tour recognized the need to upgrade teachers' salar ies and administration systems at Nebraska's schools. But people want to avoid substantial tax increases to accomplish the goal, he said. . . In an attempt to find ether means to improve the state's schools, Kerrey said he will ask people to put ' pressure on local school boards because they are responsible for hiring and firing the principal or superintendent; the state is net. "They must keep the pressure on at that point to ensure that those increased salaries are paid to teachers," Kerrey said. Kerrey also announced a farm bill that may have an impact on people who lease farm land The legis lative bill which wa3 introduced Tu sday by ll co sponsors, would give tax credit to lease holders based on their land's value, Kerrey said. Kerrey also discussed LB56, which proposes to change the legal drinking age from 20 to 21. If the bill advances to the governor's desk,Kerrey said, he will sign it. Nebraskans expect the bill to have miraculous effects, Kerrey said, but people need to realize that teen-age drinking and alcohol-related deaths will not change until "grown-ups show and teach them (children)" to use alcohol responsibly. f i. f 1 1 ! f i t . 43 1 1 wwmw w muttf I avail Gov. Dab Kerrey 260 computers available for student use Control Data donates coMDuter terminal E j Jcr.dl;sa Tcyicir Eight to 16 computer terminals may be placed in the Nebraska Union by the end of the semester. The topic was discussed at the Nebraska Union Board's first meeting of the spring semester on Tuesday. The computers, part of the special donation to UNL from Control Data Corporation, would be placed in what is now the women's lounge on the first floor. Don Nelson, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, explained to the board that UNL will receive 2C0 computer terminals from CDC. One hundred terminals will be placed at general usage locations throughout the campus, such as the unions and dormitories. Another 100 will be set aside for faculty and graduate student use and 60 PLATO terminals, designed to specialize in computer aided instruction, have yet to be assigned. Nelson said all 260 terminals will be connected to a main computer in the basement of the Nebraska Engineering Complex. - Daryl Swanson, union director, said the terminals would undergo an experimental period at first, in which they would be accessible only during the union building hours. The terminals would later be used 24 hours a day, if students show enough inter , est, Swanson said. Swanson said the lounge is the only place the terminals could be located in the union and still have 24-hour accessibility "without major modification," he said. v The plan would remove the popular lounge, which Swanson said could cause some problems. The board will hear any suggestions or objections to the plan at its next meeting on Jan. 31. The board also announced that the eligibility of five members had concluded. Sid Pinney, president, Pat Meister, vice president, Connie Kay Ebersp acher, secretary, Susan Hansen, planning commit tee chairperson, and Tracy Quevedo, food service committee chairperson, will be replaced by new members Feb. 4. ASUN started interviewing board applicants Wednesday. The board will present its budget to the Commit tee on Fees Allocation on.. Feb., 2.. With Gov. Bob Kerrey's suggested 8 percent raise for state employees, the board's annual student fee request would be $20.62 per semester, an increase of $2.00. Insieb Students are not'using all the scholar ships end financial aids. available at UNL. . . 5 The UNL Athletic Department institutes a new plan to help football players graduate before they start professional careers Pa-36 Hot tubs are fast becoming a hot topic in Lincoln Pa;3 9 Inde Arts and Entertainment 3 Classified 10 Crossword 1s Editorial 4 Off Tha Wire 2 Sports G ASUN opposes hike in drinking age Ey Olli Kir.3 The ASUN Senate passed a bill, Wednesday night edvicing the Government Liaison Committee to oppose LB56, which would raise the drinking age to 21. The senate voted 16-7, with six abstentions. The Legislature will consider a number of issues this session that are of general concern to the stu dent body, according to Ruth Doham, GLC chairper-. son. . - Andy Carothers, Arts and Sciences senator, who. submitted the bill, told senators he believes there is a problem with drunk drivers, but raising the drink ing age to 21 isnt the answer. Minors will drive to surrounding states where the legal drinking age is lower, he said; Carothers said that tougher drunken driving penalties are needed to solve the problem. President Matt Wallace also voice concerns he had about raising the drinking age. . A significant portion of 19 and 2Q year-olds can. purchase alcohol hi neighboring states, he said. "If drunken driving is the major issue, this isn't solving the problem," Wallace said. . Wallace and Bohara agreed that the bill would not result in reduced alcohol consumption, nor would it "decrease drunken driving. . Wallace and Doham said they believed the drink ing age has fluctuated greatly in the last fifteen years and statistics have supported neither raising or lowering the drinking age. Both said that until the surrounding states have a comparable age, it will not be feasible to make a -change and will probably not affect the drinking habits of 19 or 20 year-old citizens. The bill sparked some opposition by Dolores Kirkland-Simpson, assistant to the dean ofstudents. Raising the drinking age will create some prob lems, but drinking-related problems in residence halls, including fighting and vandalism, create an uncomfortable atmosphere, Simpson said. "Drinking is a problem on this campus," she said. Simpson said that people's lives have been snuffed out due to alcohol "We must look past this bill at the major issue," she said. . Reg Kuhn, Law College senator, said the senate must look at ways to help solve the alcohol problem and not simply vote cn the bill