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thursday, february 27, 1975 lincoln, nebraska vol, 98, no.89
Carter : send a governor
7
to the White House in
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(fi)(Dl
1976
By Ron Wylie
Jimmy Carter came to Lincoln Wednesday
with a simple message: "Send a governor to the
White House!"
Carter, former governor of Georgia, and a
candidate for the 1976 Democratic presidential
nomination, said he believes a governor will be
elected president in 1976.
"Our nation is looking for someone who is
not bogged down in the horrible bureaucratic
mess that exists in Washington right now,"
Carter said, "someone who is not responsible for
its establishment and who hasn't been there 25
or 35 years helping to create it."
The public is looking for competent
management as demonstrated in the running of a
state government, Carter said. "Governors
understand the corporate management
techniques of handling bureaus and agencies,
while senators and congressmen don't."
Campaign swing
In the middle of his first campaign swing
through the Midwest, Carter talked with
Nebraska J. James Exon in the morning,
addressed a session of the Unicameral, and met
with members of the Lancaster County
Democratic Club for lunch.
Carter, a former Navy officer, nuclear
physicist, and peanut planter before entering
Georgia politics, told members of the Unicameral
that he believed the twin issues of integrity and
competence in government will remain the
central areas of public concern from now until
the presidential election.
Americans don't believe government can
work, Carter said. He added that his own
administration in Georgia was an example of
competent and efficient management.
During his four years as governor, Carter said,
Georgia completely overhauled its tax system,
created what he .called the strongest
environmental protection laws in the nation',
provided full majority citizenship for 18-year
olds, started programs to deal with sickle cell
anemia, retardation, and narcotics problems, and
revamped the governmental structure, replacing
some 300 agencies with 22.
Carter said his state's zero-base budgeting
system, which requires annual justification for all
programs, is needed on a national level.
Speaking to local Democrats at the luncheon
gathering at St. George and the Dragon, Carter
declared that he was entering every presidential
primary, even if it meant contesting three or four
primaries a week.
"I'm going to campaign clear across this
country and let everyone see my defects and my
strengths, so that everything can be assessed by
the American people," Carter said, "and if I can't
personify what this nation ought to be, then I
don't deserve to be president."
Continued on pg. 8
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Jimmy Carter, former Georgia governor, now Democratic
presidential candidate
Hearings
on state
colleges
conducted
Editor's note: This is the first of three
articles examining proposals to merge the
technical community college system with
the state colleges andor NU.
By Jim Zalewski
The Education Committee of the
Nebraska Legislature is conducting
hearings on two bills that will affect the
future of the state college and the
technical community college systems.
LB344 would have the two-year
technical schools controlled locally and
financed with property taxes-up to $2
for each $1,000 in assessed
valuation-after the state kicks in $11
million from sales and income tax
revenues. The bill was introduced by Sen.
Maurice Kremer of Aurora.
Sen. Robert Clark of Sidney is sponsor
of the competing bill, LB 128. This bill
would merge the state and technical
college systems. Clark said the property
taxation in LB344 is the main reason he
opposes it.
Local control
Clark said the administrators of the
schools, not the local community, would
have control under LB344.
In Clark's merger bill, he proposes a
board composed of three of the trustees
and three members of the existing
technical community college board to
control the system, instead of the present
Board of State College Trustees.
Trustee Chairman Ward Reesman of
Falls City said that should prove the state
college system isn't trying to build an
empire.
Kremer's bill, as amended, proposes a
12-member technical community college
council composed of representatives of
the six colleges, the university, the state
four-year college system, private colleges,
public and private elementary and
secondary schools and the state
commissioner of education.
The amendments reflected input from
Kremer, Governor J. James Exon and the
technical community college system.
Needs spending lid
The original LB344 did not contain
the spending lid included in an
amendment. Kremer said he couldn't
support his own bill as introduced-it
needs a spending lid provision.
Kremer said the bill must have
"middle of the road" financing and
provide for local control with guidelines
at the state level to prevent duplication of
services.
Faculty spokesmen at the Chadron
and Kearney campuses said they didn't
like Clark's merger plan. They said they
preferred a merger with NU if one is to be
undertaken.
The Kearney State College (KSC)
Faculty Senate has formed an
eight-member committee to study the
possibilities of a merger with NU.
KSC President Brendan McDonald said
the faculty reaction last year was
generally positive when Sen. Terry
Carpenter introduced a bill which would
merge the state college and NU systems.
The study is being revived this year to
provide current information in case the
merger possibility again arises, he said.
The KSC committee will study
reactions from the University of
Omaha-NU merger and will seek reactions
from other state colleges as well as the
trustees and legislators.
Campus pastors discuss use of religion card
uy iny OHUHICI4
The Campus Pastor's Association met Wednesday
morning to review recent developments on the use of
the religious preference card.
Chairman Larry Doerr of the United Ministries of
Higher Education reported the regents support of he
continuation of the preference card process now
used. The present system includes placing cards into
registration packets, using university machines and
personnel to stuff the packets and to sort the cards
when they are returned.
Doerr said the question of the legality of the cards
has been referred to NU legal counsel Alan E.
Peterson. Peterson's opinion is expected within 10
days.
Three questions
Three questions have been raised on the cards' use,
including the legality of the present system, the
legality of an alternative system which would have
the Pastors Association pay for the service and
extension of mailing privileges to all other groups.
Doerr quoted the Student Affairs Office as
reporting a cost of 51,200 to the university for the
processing of the cards. This estimate included the
machinery use and personnel, but did not include the
free mailing privilege, which Doerr said is a saving to
the campus churches and not an extra expense for the
university.
Several alternatives to the present method were
discussed, such as including a box on the
! 1 !
foiiil WiiiCji tl'iS Student
would mark if he or she wanted a religious preference
card. This plan would coincide with registration
officials' hope to streamline the registration process
by eliminating all but the actual registration form.
Mail to new students
A second alternative presented was to obtain a list
of new students from university administrators in
August, and to mail preference cards only to new
students.
A third problem was raised by both Father
Leonard Kalin of the Catholic Student Center and
Rev. Al J. Norden of the University Lutheran Chapel,
who was bothered by "our not standing
together." Father Kalin asked, "We all think so
differently (on the question of the preference cards);
how can we come together?"
Norden reported a conversation he had with a
university administrator who was distressed by the
division of the group. The unnamed administrator
thought the group included ministers who wanted to
keep the card in the registration materials, those who
wanted them removed from the registration process
and those who "didn't care," Norden said.
The pastors agreed that none of them had spoken
of the cards as 'valueless." Doerr pointed out that
even though he had not used the card for six years,
"we still contribute to the costs" of printing the
cards.
Doerr said he thinks the inclusion of the cards in
registration matcriali w& a viuldtion of the beparaiiun
of church and state, "but this is just my own personal
feeling."
Duane Hutchinson of Wesley House said,'"I don't
want to be a member of a special privilege class."
Doerr agreed, saying, "It (asking for special privilege)
doesn't reflect the figure of Christ in the world."
Norden pointed out two flaws he had found in the
ASUN report submitted by Doug Voegler concerning
the use of the preference cards. Voegler quoted the
section of the constitution which prohibits the state
from "promoting any particular religion or sect."
Norden read a section of Voegler's report in which
the university was accused of
"promoting. . .religion." Norden said he found the
omission of the words "any particular" to be
misleading. He said all religions were included on the
card by the addition of a space marked for "other."
'Cany the load'
A second mistake in the Voegler report was the
assumption that only campus ministries used the
cards. Norden said campus churches have been paying
for the cards and thus "carrying the load" for some
smaller, off-campus churches.
The group decided to '"take it easy" until they
heard from the university's lawyer. They agreed that
registration officials were sincere in trying to find
alternatives to the present system and that the
attempt to remove the cards was for "streamlining"
registration only.