ASUN to help choose
part-time ombudsman
by Carol Strasser
ASUN has a go-ahead from
the UNL administration to
begin selection of candidates
for a part-time ombudsman
next semester.
At it's meeting Wednesday,
ASUN Pres. Steve Fowler asked
for senate volunteers to serve
on the selection committee of
three students, two
administrators and one faculty
member.
Several weeks ago ASUN
adopted a report calling for the
creation of an ombudsman
position at UNL. 1 1
recommended that a selection
committee establish criteria for
the position and that possible
financing of the program be
investigated.
In meetings with ASUN
executives, interim UNL
Chancellor C. Peter Magrath
reaffirmed his commitment to
help find funds for the
program, Fowler said.
Magrath said Wednesday
that after a budget is
presented, he will investigate
possible funds to sustain a
part-time ombudsman second
semester.
Once the budget for a
part-time ombudsman is
presented and funds are found,
he will look into a budget
proposal for a full-time
permanent ombudsman,
Magrath said.
There probably won't be a
problem finding funds on an
interim basis second semester,
he added, but a "more serious
problem" is funds on a
permanent basis.
John Humlicek, author of
the ombudsman proposal, and
Carl R. Yost, University
comptroller, are studying
University accounts to
determine possible financing
and are drawing up a budget,
according to Fly Meyerson,
interim Dean of Student
Affairs.
Any final recommendations
will be placed before the Board
of Regents, for action, Magrath
said.
Fowler told the Senate if
there is enough student
demand, it's almost certain the
University will have a full-time
ombudsman next year.
In other action, the Senate
formed an ad hoc committee
to investigate student penalty
fees.
Administrators Ron Gierhan
and Harry Canon from Student
Affairs told senators that the
administration isn't happy with
the current fee structure and
would like student input to
change the system.
The committee is charged
with establishing a "workable
rationale or policy which
would be a guide to equitable
fee assessment."
The resolution, introduced
by Sens. Patti Kaminski and
Mike Berns, lists book fines,
late registration fees, and
drop-and-add fees as some
areas where student input is
needed to determine policy.
The committee will report
its finding to ASUN next
month.
The Senate passed a
resolution Wednesday which
affirms ASUN endorsement of
students involved in the Nov. 6
anti-war demonstrations
planned for several major
cities.
The Senate also agreed to
schedule one meeting a
semester in Residence Halls,
tentatively set for Nov. 3 at
Schramm Hall and March 1 at
Sandoz Hall.
To be considered next week
is a Senate Bill introduced by
Roy Baldwin which raises some
constitutional questions.
The bill, relating to rules of
procedure, asserts that the
senate can interpret sections of
the ASUN Constitution
relating to quorums and the
abstention rule.
ASUN First Vice Pres.
Michele Coyle held these two
provisions of the bill to be out
of order because they are in
direct violation of the ASUN
Constitution and give the
senate interpretative power
allocated to the Student Court.
The senate voted to appeal
her decision on Baldwin's
assertion that the senate has
the power to pass any
legislation, and it is up the
Court to rule on
constitutionality after
legislation is passed.
Anyone interested in the
vacant Senate seat for Teachers
College and two vacancies on
the Student Court should
contact the ASUN office in the
Nebraska Union.
Meyerson explains
visitation possiblities
The head of Student Affairs
told students attending a
Wednesday night rap session at
Harper Hall that there are three
courses of action students can
take in regard to coed
visitation in the residence halls.
"You can give the Regents a
new plan that is different than
the guest rights proposal they
turned down during the
summer, you can work outside
the system with
demonstrations and mass
sleep-ins, you can give up and
do nothing," Ely Meyerson,
interim executive dean of
Student Affairs, said.
Meyerson declined to
hypothesize as to the Regents'
reasons for turning down the
proposal, but hinted (hat if
another proposal is taken to
them it would have to be a
compromise of the original
measure in order to get lax
payer support.
Meyerson said the
University has to be responsive
lo the public, to a point, even
though the dorms arc
self-sustaining and use no lax
money.
He also said he was
surprised at the result of last
spring's parental quest ionaire
on coed visitation, which
showed that 56 per cent of the
2,200 parents interviewed were
in favor of the idea.
Meyerson told the students
he is aware of the possiblityof
mass demonstrations in the
future over the coed visitation
question. He said this would
only hurt the students' chances
of influencing the Regents.
"This is an inappropriate
time for demons! rat ions." he
said. "If anything was gained
last summer through the guest
rights proposal I think it was
that (he Regents came to
respect the students for being
responsible."
"I think it's naive on the
part of students if I hey think
demonstrations are going to
work." Meyerson said. "I don't
think the Regents will
capitulate lo this type of
action."
"Usually when there's a
deadlock between people,
negotiation is the answer,"
Meyerson added.
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11 I
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1971 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA VOL 95, NO. 27
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"Succulent greens". . .provide an interesting diet for the foragers of the NFU weed
eating class.
If you cant beat 'em, eat em
by Duane Leibhart
Roger Welsch, Nebraska Free University
instructor says the theme of his weed eating
course is "If you can't beat 'em, eat em!"
The NFU weed eating class was
introduced , to such succulent greens as
duckweed, curly dock and swampy smart
weed on its first field trip Tuesday
afternoon. Although much of the vegetation
is now dry and brown Welsch had no
problem finding an abundance of edible
plants in road ditches near rural Emerald.
THE 1 2 CLASS members tasted along the
roadside, as their intructor identified edibles
and dug the potato-like roots of the
arrowroot and Jerusalem artichoke. The
situation seemed faintly reminiscent of the
well-known TV commerical where the man
who tries all the strange foods on the menu
suffers for it.
Welsch said he learned the useful
properties of area plants from botanists,
books, and Indians of the Omaha tribe. He
received an M.A. degree in German at UNL
and did graduate work in folklore at the
University of Colorado.
Now at Nebraska Wesleyan University, he
teaches "pioneer and Indian folklore" and
German. The seven-year veteran of The
Wesleyan faculty has familiarized himself
with the plants that pioneers and Indians
found useful.
ONE STUDENT SAID the course was
made more interesting than a conventional
study of plants. His sentiments seemed to be
that many professionally trained botanists
know the names and characteristics of weeds
but seldom tell any of the interesting uses
they can be put to.
According to Welsch, the Indians used the
oil from sunflower seeds to groom their hair
and the fluff from milkweed pods to line
their babies' leather diapers. The former
UNL student said the Omaha Indians recall
many old recipes and still make use of edible
plants growing wild.
One novice weed eater expressed an
immediate distaste for ground cherries but
found rose hips (rose berries) more to his
liking. Welsch, who once took a
correspondence course in wine making, said
wine can be made out of rose hips.
THE WEED EATERS became a little
more selective in their grazing when the
instructor indicated the presence of the
poisonous hemlock plant. In their
introduction to Nature's bill of fare students
felt they had found everything but "wild
hamburger".
The instructor said this was the last
meeting of the weed eaters this year. He said
the course will be offered again in the spring
when things green up.
Welsch. who believes he can live on the
prairie by eating roots and greens, is
planning a four-day test of his survival
ability in the Nebraska sandhills next week.
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MAMA!
Photo by Bill Genzel
