Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2000)
—REGENTS Parking plans in the works By Mkhelk Starr Staff uniter UNLSs parking problem dominated discussion at die Board of Regents on Saturday. Regent Nancy O’Brien said she had received more response about parking problems than fetal cell research. During the meeting the regents voted to continue to develop plans for a multilevel parking garage at 17th and R streets. The plans also call for two other parking garages. One would be at 14th and Avery streets. The third would be built after com pletion of the Antelope Valley project at 19th and Vine streets. The Antelope Valley project is a multi-million dollar project geared toward downtown reha bilitation and Antelope Creek flood pro tection. Scott Lewis, UNL interim vice chancellor for business and finance, presented the parking garage plan and addressed the board concerning the loss of parking places that will occur as the Antelope Valley project gets underway. The project will strip city campus parking by 40 percent and east campus parking by 21 percent. About 4,000 parking spaces between both campuses will be lost. The university has oversold non reserved parking spaces with the idea Rising Costs Possible new construction could lead to higher parking prices. The chart shows projected costs for parking permits over nine months. Source: Business and Finance Office that everyone who has a permit is not going to need a parking space at the same time as everyone else. “We stopped when it became crimi nal to accept money from people that would never get a spot,” Lewis said. Regents were tom ova: how to fund the project. Each stall would cost from $8,000 to $14,000 to construct. The garage at 17th and R streets would cost about $17.8 million. Lewis presented a chart for the pro jected increase in parking permit costs to pay for the garage. A non-reserved student permit would nearly double from $117 per aca demic year in 1999 to $225 in 2002. Regent Charles Wilson suggested using money from a loan and paying it off within the next 20 years. No conclusion was made concern mg funding. During the meeting, Regent Don Blank of McCook revisited the idea of denying freshmen and sophomores the privilege of having cars on campus to free up parking. He said the regents should explore the idea and see if the university’s peer institutions had a similar program. Andy Schuerman, ASUN presi dent, said his office was flooded with calls concerning parking. Requests for reserved student park ing has doubled since last year, he said. “Students are willing to pay,” Schuerman said. In other business, the regents elect ed Chuck Hassebrook chairman of the board, Wilson the vice chairman and Richard Reinhardt the new dean of the College of Dentistry. Biiimiiamimaj Please recycle your DN Donation earns college new name By Michelle Starr Staffwriter r Fpr the first time in the 131-year history of thie University of Nebraska Lincoln, a college will be named in honor of one of the school’s donors. Christina M. Hixon announced on Saturday an $ 18 million donation to the University of Nebraska Foundation will be used for the College of Fine and Performing Arts. This is just one of the many gifts she and the Lied Foundation Trust have given to the university. In her honor, the college will be named The Hixon-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. During Saturday’s Board of Regents monthly meeting, Chancellor James Moeser accepted die donation and announced the dedication. “This is a great day for the arts, the University of Nebraska and the people of Nebraska,” Moeser said. Half of tiie funds will go to support programs at the college and organiza tions including the Lied Center for Performing Arts, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater, the Lentz Center for Asian Culture and the Nebraska Summer Repertory Theater, Moeser said. The remaining funds will be split equally between faculty members and students for support. Twenty-five percent of the funds will go to faculty chairmanships and professorships to attract national schol ars and help fortify UNDs program. The other 25 percent will go toward student scholarships, assistantships, workshop grants and research grants. Ernst F. Lied, a 1927 University of Nebraska graduate, created the Lied FoundationTrustin 1972 in honor ofhis parents, Ernst M. and Ida K. Lied. Before Lied’s death in 1980, he named Hixon as sole trustee of the foundation. Protests rise at meeting By Michelle Starr Staff writer Protesters against fetal cell research greeted the University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Saturday morning outside Varner Hall. Three members of the community were allowed to address the board for five minutes each on issues concerning them. Each of them spoke on University of Nebraska Medical Colter research.. Regent Charles Wilson began the meeting with a statement saying that while he was sensitive to the issue, fetal cell research does not encourage women to terminate their pregnancies. Bob Blank, executive director of Metro Right to Life, condemned the center for continuing the research. Blank said according to the National Institute of Health’s research donor specifications, a woman has the right to know where the unborn fetus would be used. He said eliminating this procedure eliminates informed consent. “In order to have an abortion, she is forced into signing away her rights,” he said. “You’re not only doing the wrong thing, you’re doing it in the wrong way.” Bob Bartee, executive assistant to the chancellor of UNMC, said the uni versity follows all NIH guidelines including requiring consent forms, and the forms to use fetal cells are sought after a woman has chosen to abort. Any consent form is protected under patient confidentiality, and Blank could not access them despite his requests to do so, Bartee said. Winston Baldwin, pastor of die First Central Congregational Church in Omaha, also spoke. He said he is not opposed to the research, but he was bothered that some within the faith community demonize those who do not oppose the research. Julie Schmit-Albin, Nebraska Right to Life leader, also addressed the regents and was armed with 3,000 Nebraskans’ signatures from Right to Life groups opposed to the research. Though die center is using fetus cells, Bartee said it is looking for alter native sources for fetal brain cells to conduct die research. In its Dec. 11 meeting, the board voted 7-0 for continuing research it said could contribute to cures for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. rSAVIM * tm «hif#ng tor • Huffed 4mm w««J*» «me $85^ *• $»«^#(SW»llW»*M8Tf 15,2000.