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OQIIL U UU JSy.y U monday, octcber 21, 1974 j
I Ky lincoln, nebraska vol. 98 no. 33 I
UNL leadership conference
Changes in AS UN proposed
By Lynn Silhasek
ASUN should it be a student government
or a student lobby group?
Two ASUN Senate ad hoc committees will
begin a study of possible changes in ASUN,
according to David Hewlett, ASUN second
vice president. The study results from an
ASUN-sponsored student leadership con
ference, held Oct. 16-19 at UNL, Hewlett
said.
The conference was conducted by ASUN
and Student Leadership Services, a Mil
waukee consulting firm. About 80 persons,
representing UNL and six other schools,
attended the conference.
ASUN Sen. Art Alexander and UNL law
student Dennis Martin who both conducted
conference sessions on government struc
ture, agreed the ASUN goals need to be
redefined.
Reduce ASUN size
According to Alexander, session partici
pants agreed ASUN will have to be reduced
in size if it is to be a policy-making board.
"We would have to make ASUN the
Council on Student Life (CSL)," Alexander
said. CSL makes policy recommendations to
UNL Chancellor James Zumberge that affect
students in matters outside of the classroom.
One government model suggested in the
sessions was a structure with a 10-15-mem-ber
policy-making board, according to
Alexander. Three committees service, liai
son and funding committeeswould operate
under the board's jurisdiction, Alexander,
said.
Representation by living units
Session members also, suggested possible
changes in methods of student government
representation, according to Martin. Repre
sentation by living units was suggested as a
possible alternative to the present system of
representation by colleges, Martin said.
The role of ASUN senator aiso may need
revision, according to Alexander. He said the
senate is ineffective because "a lot of us in
there now are overextended." Future
qualifications for the senate position might
require a student to limit involvement in
other activities, Alexander said.
Howlett said he would Hke to have the
committees submit proposed revisions to
A-SUN's structure by the second week in
December. Hearings would be held on
campus during second semester to determine
students' opinions of the changes, he said.
Wasted time
"We're (the committee members) going to
waste two to three weeks doing things that
could have been done this weekend,"
Alexander said. "But no senators showed up
(at the conference) other than those who
worked to set it up."
At a recent ASUN meeting, senators had
amended a resolution which would have
required them to attend various conference
sessions. About six ASUN senators attended
conference sessions, according to Howlett. :
Educators
object to
volunteer
doctor act
ByRexSeline
Health manpower legislation
presently before Congress could
hurt health profession education in
Nebraska, according to representa
tives from the University of Neb
raska Medical Cen'er and College
of Dentistry and from Creighton
University's Health Sciences
schools.
C. R. Boughn, executive assist
ant to the chancellor of the medical
center, Richard Bradley of the
dental college and Dr. Robert P.
Heaney,. vice president for Health
Sciences at Creighton University,
said they objected to parts of
"Health Manpower Act of 1974."
Passage of the bill was stalled by
the election recess. If it is passed,
the bill would require that 25 per
cent of each school's graduates
volunteer to practice in underser
ved areas such as city slums and
rural regions. It would also force
health science schools to increase
their enrollments by 10 per cent.
Federal funds cut
Schools not meeting the re
quirements would not receive
federal capitation per student)
funds which presently average
more than $1,500 per student in
addition to tuition, according to
Heaney.
Bradley said if the bill passes,
his school would be unable to
participate in the program because
it is filied "slightly over capacity.'
Heaney said, while Creighton
could probably handle the in
crease, it would be "stretching the
limits of the clinical facilities"
since, in combination with the
medical center, the increase would
be 25 stutlents per class in Omaha.
According to Bradley, the dental
school would apply for a waiver in
such a case, but he added that the
school does not depend on federal
funds. He said Oregon and West
Virginia are the only other states in
the nation with similarly indepen
dent dental schools.
Heaney said he knew of only one
health school in the nation that has
turned down federal capitation
funds.
Not feasible
Boughn called the legislation
not feasible because it would be
impossible to guarantee 25 per cent
of any class volunteering for the
special service.
Heaney said he thought medical
schools could do it because of the
stiff competition for admittance.
But he said he was not in favor of
the program which would "hold
the medical schools hostage for
what its graduates did."
Heaney said the big problem In
health care is that it is "fragment
ed, not sytematized.
ow-ineome students aided bv Special Services
t0 , t
By Gina Hills
Special Services, a federally funded branch
of Minority Affairs at UNL, is not just for
minority students, but also for low-income
students, according to Joe R. Renteria,
coordinator for Special Services.
Four years ago, UNL received a three-year,
$74,000 grant from the U.S. Department of
Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to
provide for Special Services. The grant was
renewed last year.
Ken Bader, vice chancellor for student
affairs, said ho does not expect the federal
government to renew the grant again. Special
Services should be state-supported, he
added.
"For four years we have been applying to
the university for money," Renteria said. He
added that as long as the program is federally
funded, he doesn't expect to get university
funding.
Renteria also said that UNL administrators
"listened to our requests, but there isn't too
much action from them."
three minority counselors
Special Services has three minority coun
selors in addition to Renteria, the coordina
tor. Martin Ramirez is the counseior for
Chicano students, Gordon Kitto counsels
American Indians and Annette Hudson is the
counselor for black students.
"We want to make the transition from high
school to college easier for minorities and
low-incomo students," Renteria said. The
counselors try to help these students with any
problems, especially those relating to
housing, academics and finances, he said.
Tutors are provided free of charge and a
book loan service also is available to tho
students who need it, he said.
Few us services
Minority and low-income students who
can't afford books may borrow them for uso
during the semester, he added. The books
are obtained by an arrangement with the
bookstores through Minority Affairs.
But not many low-income students take
advantage of these services, Ramirez added.
"There is a stigma for any student to admit
he's low income," he said. Ramirez also said
the counselors do not want to "single out"
low-income and minority students.
In addition, Hudson said that "low-income
whites may not be ready to affiliate with
Chicanos and blacks."
The counselors said the university doesn't
take time to understand the problems of
minority students. This year there are about
'80 Chicanos, 200 blacks and 33 American
Indians at UNL, they said.
Cultural isolation
"The problem with the minorities trying to
break into the university is the make up of
Nebraska as a state in general. There is
cultural isolation," Hudson said.
' Bader agreed that there was a need for
"appreciation for plural cultures at the
University."
i He also said he hopes to increase
"sensitivities of the faculty" toward ethnic
minority students. He said he is developing
programs that are supportive to the
classroom, which will make the faculty and
students more aware of the different cultures
in Nebraska.
See Student Services, page 1 1 .