page 16
daily nebraskan
monday, august 25, 1975
orhey finds student legal counseling neces$ary
ByDkkfkffSol
Citing his clientele as "interesting, 1
challenging and very conscious of legal
rights and responsibilities, Rasmussen
began his second year as director and .
attorney of ASUN's Student Legal Services
Center.
Rasmussen, 27 and a 1972 graduate of
the UNL College of Law, said his job as
legal adviser to UNL students has
convinced him that students are as active in
matters requiring legal counseling as is
anyone.
Rasmussen said a student group legal
service was suggested three years ago when
former ombudsman Jim Suter and the
AS UN Legal Rights Committee found what
Rasmussen called a suprising number of
students who had problems with landlords.
After securing opinions from the
Nebraska State Bar Association, consulting
with a local attorney and examining
existing legal assistance offices at ether
universities, the ASUN Senate adopted the
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center for UNL students. It was approved
by the WJ Board of Regents and UNL
chancellor. .
Part-time lawyers
Two local attorneys, Bruce Hamilton
and Doug German, became part-time legal
advisers and counselors in November 1973
while they maintained their private
practices, they provided their own fcgal
malpractice insurance and used their own
law libraires.
Rasmussen said the service needed to be
expanded and he was hired as the first
full-time director and $taff attorney.
Student fees were allocated by ASUN to
provide . Rasmussen's $12,000 annual
salary, $1 ,620 for secretarial help and $250
for office supplies.
Rasmussen said he may not represent
students in court nor be the attorney of
record. Most students legal issues may be
solved without court action, Rasmussen
said, but if necessary, he said he helps
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Student Legal Services Center attorney David Rasmossen.
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make arrangements through the Lawyer
Referral Service of the Lincoln Bar
Association, the Lincoln Legal Aid Society
or the Public Defender's Office.
Problems minor
Rasmussen said that although students
ordinarily don't have legal difficulties,
most rely on family attorneys if a case
requires court action.
tie said he doesn't miss courtroom
action because he likes to define his success
by keeping students out of court.
Rasmussen said two law clerks on
work-study grants will begin conducting
preliminary dient interviews, which will
streamline the operation and allow the1
office to handle more than the average 10
appointments per day. Malpractice
Minority Affairs Office
Academic h
By Joylefta Woodruff
Hie Office of Minority Affairs will try
to help minority and low-income students
improve their grades this year, according to
director Jimmi Smith.
Smith said he is concerned about the
number of minority and low-income
students placed on scholastic probation last
year.
"There are far too many students
flunking out of the university. For our
office to be of meaningful assistance to
students, the students must be in good
academic standing," Smith said.
He outlined a plan to be implemented
with the Special Services Dept. which he
said will aid his office.
Identify Problems
Special Services will talk with students,
professors and department heads to
identify problems and areas of need, Smith
said.
He said much of the counselors' time
has been spent on cultural programming.
This year student organizations and their
advisers will be responsible for cultural
programming, and counselors will have
insurance is now provided, by ASUN, he
said.
Lease disputes
The nature of students' legal needs are
reflected in a breakdown of care types
from Rasmussen's records. Of 1,378 cases
handled last year, one in six concerned
landlord-tenant difficulties. Traffic and
parking ticket disputes and auto accidents
were the next most common.
However, students used the office for
advice on matters ranging from contracts
and bankruptcies to divorces, wills and
residency disputes.
Rasmussen said the office has two
booklets available to students describing
small claims and landlord-tenant rights and
laws.
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more time for academic matters, he said.
Smith said he hopes an assistant
minority affairs director will be hired by
the end of September to organize and
the Educational Development
(EDL) Center and to oversee
develop
Learning
tutors.
Develop Skills
The EDL Center, at 7005 Selleck
Quadrangle, emphasizes reading, writing
and study skills. Smith said the EDL
Center's programs are not remedial, but are
designed to develop students' skills. He also
noted that all minority graduates the last
three years have obtained support from the
EDL Center, which provides calculators,
typewriters, reading machines, films, tape
recorders and records.
Tutors arc available, and although the
tutorial program will primarily serve
minority and low-income students, it is
open to all, Smith said.
He said that while the burden of
responsibility for academic improvement
lies with students, his office will try to help
minority and low-income students learn at
the university. - v
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