Day care funding-like Catch-22
by Dennis Onnen
"It's like Catch-22. If you can't get the money,
you can't serve the students, but if you don't serve
enough students, you can't get the money," said
Mary Jo Ryan, director of the Child and Infant Day
Care Center.
The child center is located at United Ministries in
Higher Education (UMHE), and the infant center at
First Plymouth Church. Both have been partially
funded by ASUN since their beginning.
The dilemma facing the centers was complicated
Wednesday when the ASUN Budget Committee
rejected a request for $702.
'i
One of the reasons the committee gave for refusing
the request was that the program doesn't appeal to
enough students. However, Ryan said she believes the
potential for involving more students is limited only
by a lack of money.
Currently more than 100 students use the center,
but she said that there are more than 5,000 married
students at UNL. The number of these who have
children and could use the centers is very high, she
added.
She said she receives calls every day from parents
wanting to use the Centers. There is a waiting list
since the two centers can handle only 50 children at
once. University classes, such as child psychology,
also use the centers for study purposes, she added.
The committee gave two other reasons for turning
down the request. One was that ASUN had already
provided the centers with $1,000 at the beginning of
the year. The other was that the centers had not
worked hard enough to get revenue from other
sources.
The parents of the children at the centers plan to
attend the Wednesday's ASUN meeting "in mass" to
protest the budget committee's decision, Ryan said.
The parents also are talking to state legislators
concerning reform of the student fees system, giving
students a right to determine the use of their money,
she added.
Ryan siad that the centers now operate on about a
$6,000 deficit. The deficit would be about $10,000
except that the centers stopped providing lunches and
snacks for the children, she added. The children
currently bring sack lunches.
Despite the large deficit, she said, 'The $702
would have helped right now." She explained that
many day care centers operate on $100 a child per
month. At that rate, the UNL centers would need
$8,000 a month to operate since they serve more
than 80 children, she said.
Besides the annual $1,000 from ASUN, the center
ireceived $500 from the UN L Scholarship and
v Financial Aids Office and hope to receive $3,000
from other fund-raising activities, Ryan said.
, However, she added, the prospects of reaching that
figure are not good because many attempts at
fund-raising have been opposed.
This fall, the parents wanted to sell apples at the
football games, but the athletic department objected,
saying that it would interfere with concessions, she
said. About 50 service stations were asked to help
with a car wash, she said, but none would let the
parents use their lot.
The centers are staffed by about 30 work -study
program students, she said.
Ryan said the centers will possibly close this
semester if they don't get more staff members
through work-study. "We'll sell everything before
we'll close down," she said.
Ryan said that the child center was started by
ASUN a few years ago. The center "ran meagerly" on
$500 a year when it started, she said.
Last January the infant center was added, so
ASUN raised the yearly allotment to $1,000. Ryan
said the centers still could use more money since they
serve three or four times as many students than when
they started.
It was hoped that UNL would eventually fund the
centers' expenses, but because of the University's
tight budget, this has not been the case, she said.
The centers are now turning to the community for
assistance, but there are problems because "the
community feels the University should take care of
itself," Ryan said.
The Rev. Larry Doerr, coordinator of UMHE, is
heading an effort to receive financial assistance from
the community. He said that if UNL doesn't support
the centers, they will be "almost impossible" to sell
to Lincoln.
Doerr also questioned ASUN's priorities about the
difference the centers make in whether some students
can go to school or not.
Ryan said that the centers were the only group
that requested funds and were refused. She said she
thinks the request was rejected because she told the
ASUN Budget Committee that the centers could
continue through the semester without additional
money. "I thought it would be better to be honest,"
she said.
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Day Care Center's Sarah . . .may not be able
to create other works of art next semester.
The birds,
animals & flowers
are dying to tell us...
"Give a hoot,
don't pollute!'
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Service at the centers is becoming worse. "We are
running out of supplies, and the equipment is falling
apart," she said.
Children can be admitted to the centers if al least
one of the parents is a student at the University, she
said. The financial aids office also must determine
financial need of the parents. Children are only at the
centers when their parents are in class, She added.
Rowers
may get
$900
for dock
by John Russnogle
A redwood dock which all UNL students
would be able to use will be constructed
with money received from ASUN, according
to UNL crew coach Allan May bee.
ASUN may give final approval this week
to its budget which includes $900 for the
rowing team.
Maybee said the dock, which would be
built at the crew's boathouse and then
transferred to Branched Oak Lake, could be
used by all students for diving, canoeing,
sailboating and other water sports. He said
the rowing team did not want to isolate
itself from students as some other athletic
groups do.
University aquatics
'The dock could be the center or start of
a University-sponsored aquatic program," he
said. It would be an excellent opportunity
for the recreation center to give lessons, he
added.
The rowing team will not be able to
continue if they do not receive the funds,
Maybee said. The existing docks at the lakiPX
are too high to be used to lower the shells
into the lake. Last year the crew used an old
shell which they carried into the lake and
then climbed in. The shells the crew is using
this year would be ruined if used in the same
manner, he said.
i ii ii m u
Spring meets
He said other teams scheduled to
compete at Nebraska this spring would not
compete if the dock is not built.
If built, the dock will consist of three,
16-foot sections bolted together, he said. It
will be constructed with redwood planks and
flooring and will float on styrofoam blocks.
The carrying capacity of the dock will be
approximately 10,000 lbs. which will
eliminate any chance of it swamping or
tipping, he said.
The total cost of the dock will be more
than $1,300, according to Maybee. The
difference between the ASUN funds and the
actual cost will be made up with money
received from projects initiated by the team
last fall, he said.
Monday
10:00-12:00 noon-Campus
Crusade, Prayer & Praise,
Navigators, inter Varsity Christina
Fellowship-Nebraska Union.
10:00 e.m. -Student
Affairs-student development-Nebraska
Union
10:30 a.m. -Student
Development Programs-building use
meeting-Union
11:46 a.m. -American
Federation of Teachers
executives-Union
12:30 p.m. -Arts & Science
Advisory Board-Union
1:00-3:00 p.m. -Campus
Crusade, Prayer & Praise,
Navigators, Inter Varsity Christina
Fellowship-Union
1:00 p.m. -Art Lending
Library-Union
3:30 p. m, -Latter Day Saint
Student Organization-Union
6:00 p.m.-Towne Club-Union
6:00 p.m. -Special
Services tutoring Union
6:30 p.m. -Special
Servlces-'BAD" Rehearsal Union
8:00 p.m. -Afro American
Collegiate Society-Union
9:00 p.m. -Kappa Psl-Unlon
9:00 p.m. -Kappa Alpha
Psl-Unlon
BIG BY '
FAMILY
RESTAURANT
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doily rtcbrcskon
New. Editor; Tch..! "o.j" T.Zn Ed,tr: Ch"V W.stcott
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spring wmesters except holldayi e7v.catlon. 0hUt fa" and
Copyright 1973, The Daily Nehr.dn ,
without permission if attributed tc ttl bSll wi"' b reprlntd
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StreetsLincoln, Neb,
page 2
daily nebraskan
monday, february 5, 1973