Diggs explains block plans
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Diggs. . . Chairman of Black
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WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 1, 1971
Student questions fee earmarkin
by H.J. Cummins
Each UNL student pays
$51.50 per semester in student
fees, $14.50 of which he is told
goes to the "Debt Service for
Bond Financed Facilities:
Student Union and Student
Health." .That is, the money
goes to pay off bonds floated
to build the Health Center and
to expand the Nebraska Union.
UNL Comptroller Carl Yost
said "those identifications have
been eliminated even though
we neglected to do it
administratively."
He explained the fees are
"not earmarked" in any way
now, but yearly join an
approximate $1,480,000 from
housing revenue, and $40,000
from Nebraska Center revenue
to collectively pay off a 1966
$15,990,000 bond issue.
THE ISSUE ALSO
incorporated a 1964 bond
issue, since institutions can
legally only have one bond
against them. The two totaled
$28,999,000, Yost said.
The student fee break-down
allots $9.50 per student per
semester (for 30 years or until
the year 2001) specifically to
paying the bond floated to pay
for the 1967 $1,350,000
Nebraska Union addition.
Quick figuring shows the
money generated from the
$9.50 will total more than $10
million dollars.
Yost said that money "is in
no way guaranteed to the
Union."
THE $5 per student per
semester specifically allocated
to paying the bond for the
1955 construction of the
Health Center is still being
collected although the bond
itself ended September 1 of
this year.
Arrangements of the
Congressional Caucus.
1W
J A
15-year bond, begun
September 1, 1956 were
explained in a July 18, 1955
Regents meeting as follows:
"It was moved by Regent
Earle Johnson, seconded by
Regent Greenberg, motion put
to vote and unanimously
carried directing that effective
Sept. 1, 1956, student fees and
tuition shall be increased from
$80 to $90 instate fee per
semester and from $160-$ 180
outstate fee per semester.. .
which additional fee will be
used for the financing and
retirement of bonds for the
construction of a Student
Health Center on the city
campus at an estimated cost of
$500,000 and for the
construction of an addition to
the Student Union Building on
city campus at an estimated
cost of $1,250,000.
"THE INCREASE will be
A SNOWY SCENE. . .greeted returning University students earlier this week. A
blanket over the campus created a white world of glistening trees and slippery
sidewalks. Winter had finally found Nebraska.
by Bill Smitherman
Emerging power groups,
Congressional reform and black
political plans were topics
covered Tuesday by
Representative Charles Diggs of
Michigan.
The Democratic
congressman, who founded the
Black Congressional Caucus
and is now its chairman, said in
the Nebraska Union many
urban representatives have a
difficult time in understanding
why Mid-America sends so
many generally conservative
people to Congress.
Diggs, who has been in
Congress for nine terms, said it
has been his experience that
congressional representatives
generally reflect the consensus
of opinion in their areas.
He called the 18-year-old
vote encouraging and said he
saw the possibility of the vote
leading to liberal cells in
traditionally conservative areas.
This will be helpful in getting
the interchange of ideas
necessary for people to begin
to understand the problems of
the country, Diggs said.
"I see some hope in the
expectation that the new voter
53
njnpn
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
used as follows, $5 for the
retirement of bonds to be
issued for the construction of a
proposed student health
building and $5 for the
construction of a proposed
addition to the Student Union
building."
The Nebraska Union was
expanded in 1955 as well as
1967.
Regents' meeting minutes
from Sept. 17, 1955 detail a
business transaction between
the University and Robert E.
Schweser Co. of Omaha and
Lincoln's National Bank of
Commerce which authorized
the company to sell:
"Some $3,500,000 worth of
revenue bonds as may be
required for the purpose of
constructing a Student Health
Unit, an addition to the
Student Union, dormitories for
both men and women on the
bloc will recognize the effect it
can have," Diggs said. "Some
30 per cent of those who will
vote next year will have never
voted before.
"I am encouraged by the
willingness of many people to
try to utilize the political
system to solve the problems
of the country," Diggs said.
"This is where we will get the
change so many of us have
been seeking."
Diggs is chairman of the
House subcommittee on Africa
and has visited 40 of the 41
African countries in the United
Nations in that capacity. The
Congressman is also serving as a
member of the U.S. delegation
to the U.N.
He talked of the emerging
powers in Africa and noted
that 41 of the 1 3 1 countries in
the U.N. are African.
These countries consider
themselves members of the
third world complex and thus
associate with Asian countries,
Diggs said. With the
introduction of Red China's
powerful leadership into the
world body these countries are
becoming an important force,
he said.
Diggs warned that the U.S.
city campus and the College of
Agriculture, married student
housing and faculty housing."
THE BONDS were issued,
the University agreeing to pay
$4 per $ 1 000 in bonds sold.
Figures completed by Ron
Baker, a fourth-year UNL
Architecture student working
on plans to expand the Health
Center, show the Center's bond
plus interest was paid in 1962.
This leaves SI, 680. 035
accumulated under the 1955
bond alone designated in the
student fee breakdown for the
Health Center bond. But. Dr.
Sanuel I. Fuenning, Health
Center Director, said he has
never seen those funds.
The $5 is still being
collected, although the 15 year
bond has expired.
Yost protested Baker's
figures are not valid since the
bonds "were not separately
will have to deal with this new
power coalition in the years to
come. He warned against what
he called neo-isoiationism as a
reaction to world events.
The Representative called
Congress an unreformed
institution which continues to
frustrate those who seek
change.
Some advances have been
made -though, he said. Diggs
praised the work of House
Speaker Carl Albert but
suggested the speaker might
not have enough power to
become truly effective.
The Detroit congressman
said that recent rule changes
removing unrecorded votes
from House procedure is a
significant step toward forcing
members to put their feelings
on record. But, many of the
House rules still make it
impossible for the will of the
majority to be enacted, he said.
Speaking of black political
plans, Diggs said the Caucus
has organized several national
political programs. A Black
Political Convention is planned
for the spring of 1 972 to plan
political strategy for the 1972
election and beyond, he said.
VOL.95, NO. 47
identified with Student Health
or any of the other issues."
BAKER SAID he objects
to the explicit break down
given students if the money is
not earmarked, and so really
does not go to the places
indicated to students.
"The students should know
where their money goes and
how it works," he said.
Yost said the money
collected each semester is
turned over to the trustee
board at a Lincoln bank, to
pay the money pledged yearly
to the bond holders.
He emphasized bonds are
considered good investments
for individual buyers since the
sale of bonds is so carefully
regulated by the government.
He said the Regents' pledging
of the student fees each
semester better insures the
institution's ability to pay the
bond holders, thus making
them an even more attractive
investment to the buying
public.
THE 1966BONDauthorized
the purchase of 12 acres of
land and the construction of
three dormitories (Harper,
Schramm, Smith), five Greek
houses and a swimming pool
on the land. Yost said.
The money allocated to
facilities never built-the fifth
Greek house and the swimming
pool, for example-plus yearly
revenue from facilities pledged
to paying the bond that
exceeds the amount pledged
for the year are accumulated in
an account which Yost
estimated equals about $4
million now.
The money could
conceivably be spent on
expanding the Health Center,
Turn to page 3.
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