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Wednesday, april 25, 1973
lincoln, nebraska vol. 96, no. 104
Candidates debate
revenue sharings,
police, NE radial
By H.J. Cummins
Questions on city police policies and federal
revenue sharing were added to the usual inquiries
about district council elections and the Lincoln
Noitheast radial highway at a candidates forum
Monday night at the United Ministries in Higher
Education (UHME).
Four city council and two Lincoln Board of
Education candidates fielded questions from an
almost exclusively student audience of about 50.
Council candidate Sue Bailey, a housewife, said
the council's only control of the Lincoln Police
Department (LPD) is "budgetary".
The City Council now finances a college pay
incentive plan whereby police are rewarded with
higher wages for college credits earned. Bailey said
she supports its continuation.
Council candidate William R. Thierstein, a Lincoln
attorney, said he believes "the citizen must be
educated, too."
Council candidate John Robinson Jr. said he has
some budgetary disagreements with LPD.
Asked about the right of off duty policement to
carry law-enforcement authority, Tierstein said
police can work beyond their 40 hour week; it's when
harrassment occurs that something must be done.
Bailey said she doesn't believe off-duty policemen
should carry the authority of their office with them.
As for their performance in law enforcement, she
said, "We do not pay policemen enough to indicate
we want them to be first rate."
Robinson said all states are endowed with police
power and that the LPD policy is for policemen to
see their job as continuing 24 hours a day.
On federal levenue sharing, council candidate
Nancy Childs said she believes the council will have to
pick a few projects to finance with the $1.7 million
coming to Lincoln, rather than offering minimal aid
to many.
Bailey said revenue sharing should be spent more
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City Council candidates
forum.
fielded questions from about 50 students at a Monday night
for social programs than capital construction projects.
Theirstein said that he would like to see lists of
priorities submitted to council members from each of
the fund-seeking groups.
The four reiterated their stands on election of
Lincoln City Council members by district. Bailey,
Childs and Robinson favor it, Thierstein said he will
let the voters choose.
They were asked their opinions on City Charter
Amendment Two, which would require unanimous
council approval of any street construction costing
more than $15 million which is fully locally financed.
That would include the proposed Northeast radial
highway.
Thierstein said he fears the amendment because
"it's placing too much power in one person's (a
council member's) hands."
Robinson said everyone had to remember that the
writers of the city charter amendment originally
wanted a simple public vote on the radial but,
"because of a lack of responsiveness on the pait of
the government, the charter amendment was a last
ditch effort."
Childs said she's against the highway, but she is
also against the amendment because of its possible
effect on future projects.
Bailey said she dislikes the amendment because it
has de-emphasized the real issue, that of insuring
careful consideration in all street planning, and has
become an issue in itself. However, she said she favors
it and is against construction of the radial.
Lincoln Board of Education candidate Wallace
Continued on p. 2.
Mackey: Indian tuition 'treaty' may be broken
by Mary Voboril
Just another broken treaty - that's what Robert
Mackey, state Indian commissioner, said the Indian
tuition waiver issue may become. And if anticipated
funds do not arrive, reports indicate Indian students
may stage some sort of protest.
In an April 12 keynote address for Indian
Awareness Week Mackey had said he, Gov. J. James
Exon, NU President D.B. Vainer and State Sen.
Richard Marvel had "hammered out an agreement
about tuition." He indicated all UNL Indian students
would receive tuition waivers, apparently beginning
next semester ,
But at the April 14 Board of Regents meeting,
Varner said the University had not adopted a "tuition
free" policy for Nebraska Indians. Instead, Varner
said, the University position was that if the
Legislature appropriated the requested $150,000 for
UNO and $100,000 for UNL, "it would be possible
to provide tuition waivers for all Indian students who
qualify for admission next year."
However, last week Mackey 's office released a
statement saying Mackey has "received a verbal
commitment, as of April 3, 1973, from Varner and
Exon that the Indians of Nebraska will receive
financial assistance, or financial assistance will be
available," next fall.
In his Indian Awareness Week speech, Mackey had
said he would not "let anyone back down" on the
agreement.
"The commitment made by Marvel and Varner
sard (tuition waivers) would not require extra
legislation," Mackey said. "We will hold them to that.
We have not shared in the financial assistance that has
been afforded other minorities. (The University) has
treated us badly over the years."
He said Indians have "all kinds of ways" to hold
the University to its commitment, as he stated it. But
he would not elaborate on any specific ways.
A financial assistance bill containing
appropriations to UNO and UNL for tuition waivers
to Indian students was killed when the Legislature
voted not to consider any fiscal matters other than
the governor's budget.
"They an: not going to get away with this," said
Mackey, a fjanlee ;;,iotix. "It's our land tin; Univeisity
is Mtlmg on. I tie Univeisily of Nebraska is almo'-t t In-
only land grant educational institution in the country
that does not provide Indian students with free
tuition."
However, a check by the UNL Office of Minority
Affairs with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in
Washington indicated that land grant colleges have no
definite policy requiring them to provide free tuition
to Indian students, although most do.
Because the bill including tuition waivers for
Indian students died, Varner said the University will
now "revert to its former position. We will try very
hard to provide free tuition (to Indians), but we
cannot guarantee it. We will do our very best to
provide free tuition from whatever sources we can
find."
Vainer made a distinction between "free tuition"
and tuition waivers.
"No tuition is ever free. Someone somewhere
always has to pay for it," he said.
However, he said the money for tuition waivers for
Indians would have to come from the Office of
Scholarships and Financial Aids,
But Jack Ritchie, director of that office, said that
at this time no money had been given to his office
specifically for Indian students for next semester.
"I personally have not been notified that we will
provide tuition waivers for Indian students," Ritchie
said. "And if we do, I don't know where the money is
going to come from."
If no money is available from Ritchie's office,
Mackey said the University "will just have to find
some."
Karen Buller, UNL counselor for Indian students,
said she was first elated and then distressed at the
progress of the Indian tuition issue. She said equal
opportunity grants, a major source of financial
assistance for Indians, had been cut by $2.5 miilion.
Mackey had reported that BIA assistance to Indians,
another major source of aid, had been cut by $22
million across the country. Buller said most
Indians now numbering 23 at UNL-could not
affoid to attend the University without substantial
financial aid.
"Indian students will be very upset if the promised
money doesn't come through, especially in light of
the federal cutbacks," Buller said. "It will bring great
shame to the University if the Indian students get so
upset they have to take some action.
She said the Indian students have been talking
about some from of protest should the money from
the University not come through, but she was "not at
liberty to say" what form the action might take.
However, she said Indian students "are willing to
make a personal sacrifice."
Neihardt to read
selected works
Nebraska Poet Laureate John G. Neihardt is
scheduled to read from his wuiks at '.j:30 p.m.
Thursday in the Nebraska Union.
The 92 year old poet is currently working on
the second volume of his autobiography, All Is But
A Bryinnifiy.
