0 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1971 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA VOL. 95, NO. 55 33 .... Pres. D.B. Varner. . .fielded questions on the student fee issue before some 70 students at a special ASUN meeting. Faculty, students adjust to finals by Cheryl Westcott When final exams were reduced from three to two hours and compressed into five days, instructors as well as students had to adapt to the new system, according to Asst. Dean of Faculties Walter H. B riming. Because first semester ends before Christmas, professors no longer have the leisurely holiday season to prepare their finals, Bruning said. Writing a good exam is an art, he said, and should give the students a chance to demonstrate proficiency. "Final exams are important to me as an opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of certain principles I feel they should leave the course with," Bruning, an associate professor of chemistry, said. The University Examination Turn to Page 3 Varner discusses fees with ASUN by Carol Strasser At a special ASUN open meeting Tuesday, NU Pres. D.B. Varner told students there are a "host of immediate problems" because of the Board of Regents decision to freeze student fee expenditures, and "1 don't have the solution to most of them." In the next few days, Varner said he will determine which programs will be allowed student fee expenditures until a policy on student fees is approved by the Regents. At a meeting Saturday, the Regents cut off all expenditures by student unions and student governments on all campuses until a policy on student fees is established. A committee of students, faculty and administrators was appointed by Varner to write a policy by January. After the Senate meeting, ASUN Pres. Steve Fowler, appointed to the committee, said he does not plan to serve on the fee committee "until the question of student representation for the unions an.1 residence halls is resolved." When asked why no representative from the union board was on the committee, Varner said it was decided that Ely Meyerson, interim executive dean of Student Affairs, could represent union interests. However, Jie agreed to discuss the matter with the chancellors from UNL and UNO. ASUN failed by a 16-2-5 vote to pass a resolution which instructed Fowler to "use all means to persuade Varner to allow the UNL and UNO union boards to have voting members on the committee." If no members were appointed by the first meeting, Fowler was instructed not to participate until such representatives were seated. Also due to a lack of members voting, another resolution was defeated which stated that "under no circumstances would ASUN condone the use of financial restrictions to impede freedom of speech on campus." At least 24 voting ASUN members are needed to take action. Turn to Page 15 Married students face money-related problems Before WW II students were not expected to be married. Indeed, there was a social stigma of sorts to being married and in college. But with the influx of older veterans into colleges after the war, society began to relax its restrictions on married students. However, most people expected that things would return to normal after the post war Veterans graduated. A QUICK look at the figures will show that situations have not returned to the pre-WW II state. In 1964 there were 1,608 married students at NU. This fall the figure for UNL alone is 3,424. Also since 1964 the average age of married students has decreased. In 1964 a University Health Center study showed that 57 per cent of married students were in graduate school. A 1971 study shows that about 64 per cent are now undergraduates. Since 1964 the study shows that the average income of student families has increased by slightly over $500 per year. However, inflation can be cited as one of the major reasons for the increase. FIGURES SHOW the median student income for 1964 was 55,068 as opposed to $5,594 in 1971. Of the students surveyed in 1964 32 per cent had incomes below $3,000 per year and 13 per cent had incomes of over $8,000 per year. In 1971 these figures have changed appreciably, showing only 14 per cent with incomes below $3,000 and 33 per cent with incomes over $8,000. Married students face many problems which are not as acute for their non-married colleagues. Most of them are tied with a lack of money.- Problems of bousing and medical care stem from this basic problem. ONE OF THE reasons for the trend toward simpler and less expensive marriage ceremonies might be traced to this money problem. Larry Doerr, minister at the United Ministries in Higher Education, says he sees the trend as being toward more personal marriage ceremonies. He agreed that money might be part of the reason for different ceremonies, but added that the desire for a meaningful ceremony was probably more of a factor. "Even a traditional ceremony can be meaningful," he said. "The important thing is that it is meaningful to the people being married." DOERR SAID that the ceremony should be such that it is a joyful occasion for everyone present. He said that a wedding is not always the best time for a confrontation with parents and added that there are meaningful ways of expression which will not alienate parents. He continued that everyone present should have a sense of participation. One way of involving more people is to end the traditional ceremony of giving the bride away, he said. This can give all the parents a chance to say something during the ceremony. Another point Doerr says is popular in modern services is informality. "It's hard to be joyful and involved in a structured and formal ceremony," he said. by Bill Smitherman The end This is the last issue of The Da3y Nebraskan this semester. The Daily Nebraskan will begin second semester publication on Jan. 24, 1 972. AFTER THE ceremony another problem that faces students is finding good housing at reasonable prices. University Housing Officer Wayne Blue said that the Lincoln housing shortage is more critical this year than in the past. There is housing available for students, he said, but it is not as plentiful as it has been in the past. Blue said there is a great lack of University-owned married student housing at NU. The University has only 57 units of housing. The married student population is 20 to 25 per cent of the total NU enrollment of about 30,000. BLUE SAID that a one bedroom, furnished apartment of acceptable quality in Lincoln would rent for an average cost of $85-5100 per month. This may or may not include utilities. Some students are housed by the Lincoln Housing Authority but this has drawn a great deal of criticism to the University since J his may take housing from other low income families, he said. Blue added rent prices in apartments of newer construction are usually out of reach of married students. Average rent on these one bedroom apartments is about $145-150 per month, he said. "HIGH RENT is one of the things which makes it tough for married students," he said. "The pattern is that the wife usually works full time while the husband goes to school and works when he can." Married students have to sacrifice and it's hard for them," Blue said. "It's sometimes difficult to find an average quality and price range dwelling." BLUE SAID that the University housing office helps the married students in any way it can. This can include suggesting housing possibilities to the students and finding apartments which meet student needs. The administrator said he has high hopes for the Regents committee now studying the housing problem and its solutions. He said there is a definite need for more University supported housing. Compared to NU's 57 units, Iowa has about 2,000 units, Colorado, about 1 ,500 and Kansas, almost 800. Another area of importance to married students is medical care. This can amount to another significant expense if either partner falls ill or if a child is born. THE UNIVERSITY Health Center provides some services to married students. Perhaps most important, married students are eligible to .rchase Blue Cross-Slue Shield policies at reduced : -tt-s. These can guard against financial hardships from many medical problems. The center also has several servv . s available to the spouses of married students and jtne available to their children. Prescriptions for both spouses and children may be filled at the University pharmacy at reduced prices. Spouses, but not children, may get reduced rate immunizations at the center. CONSULTATION is another service available to married students. The students can obtain information from the center's community health nurse about community health services available to them. The center also provides a directory of community and university health resources for married students. The center cites lack of funding as the reason that regular clinic services cannot be extended to spouses and children of students. Retraction The Daily Nebraskan wishes to clarify an advertisement that appeared in The Daily Nebraskan: The woman whose photograph appeared in the advertisement for Evelyn Woods Reading Dynamics, 1601 P St., in The Daily Nebraskan, Thursday, Dec. 9, 1971, page 12, has no connection with Evelyn Woods Reading Dynamics and does not endorse their service. r ( v f . i- k . s . -. - f t t ': I: i M V 7. r I