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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1976)
Big 8 Conference foes clash: Highlights of Wednesday night's basketball game between UNL and Kansas State Uni versity in pictures and story p. 13 A visit with "Moni": Phi Gamma Delta's . former housemother, Mrs. Lee Minier, retired 14 years ago, but her 25 years of service still are remembered ........ p.3 cai u mi thursday, february 19, 1976 vol. 99 no. 83 lincoln, nebraska inraetlkev emit as By Dick Piersol Chimpanzees, monkeys or other trained anthropoids, including the governor and state senators would be given the opportunity to pull the switch executing capital offen ders according to terms of bill amendments offered in the Nebraska Legislature Wednesday by Omaha Sen. Ernest Chambers. The six alternative amendments actually are part of Chambers' "efforts to abolish the death penalty in Nebraska, in compliance with U.S. Supreme Court rulings saying that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. 'In the 1973 legislative session, senators approved a Chambers' bill to eliminate the death penalty, but later rescinded the law, approving Scotia Sen. : Dennis t s i ! , 1 ' V.j . J : " r 4 . J ,. . Phota by Td Kirit The electric chsir st fee Nebraska Penal Complex has not been used since the execution of Charies Starkweather. It's next victim, if there is oner will be number 13. To die left of the chair is a rack of the suits of clothes given to prisoners upon their release. . , . , Rasmussen's bill to reinstate it.' This session Chambers introduced LB702 to abolish capital punishment, but the Judiciary Committee ap proved, amendments to the bill which will require the death penalty for certain crimes. In response, Chambers offered amendments to the committee amendments. His proposals were published in the legislative journal Wednesday. The Legislature eventu ally must accept or reject the committee amendments and .Chambers' amendments to them. Chambers' amendments may not alter the cruelty of capital punishment, but would make it more unusual. His first proposal is to make the governor the executioner. The second is to provide a "monkey, chimpanzee or other suitable simian" trained solely to pull the switch on capital offenders. The third, and perhaps least facetious al ternative is to provide a panel of switches accommodating "one prosecutor, three judges, twelve jurors, one gover nor, one secretary of state, one attorney general and 49 legislators. They all would have to throw their respective switches simultaneously. Should one flinch or refuse to cooperate, the circuit would lock and the offender's sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment." Chambers' amendments also provide that executions be conducted on a platform in Memorial Stadium during day light hours of a sunny day. Nebraska Educational Tele vision Network would telecast the ceremonies and present video taped replays in all public schools within three school days of the event. Microphones would be strate gically placed around the electric chair to capture the audio highlights. Chambers said he knows the legislature will never ap prove the amendments, but he added that anyone in strumental in causing the death penalty to exist should help execute ft. He said he thinks he can argue the senators out of ac cepting the Judiciary Committee's amendments to LB 7 02, authored by Neligh Sen. John DeCamp. , ' Those amendments would mandate the death penalty for first degree murder, murder with conspiracy, killing a policeman, murder of a material witness to a crime, kidnaping with or without murder and murder in com mission of robbery, sexual assault or burglary. Several students taking actio By Ron Rugcless - Several UNL students are taking action to replace four NU Board of Regents members up for re-election in November, according to Sue Ihne, Residence Hall Associa tion (RH A) president. - "We're planning to send letters to the editors of news papers in the regents districts asking for candidates to run against the incumbent regents," Ihne said. "We want someone concerned with what is going on with the students," she added, "and more sympathetic to student needs." , ' , Omaha Regents Robert Prokop and James-Moylan, Schuyler Regent Kermit Wagner and Grand Island Regent Robert Koefoot are up for re-election in their respective districts this year. Ihne said it is obvious students will never get anything passed with the current board, citing the regents' defeat Saturday of the proposed revision in visitation and alcohol policy in on-campus living units. One regent, Kermit Hansen of Omaha, voted for the measure. The regent-ousting attempt currently has no financial backing, Ihne noted, but the group is going to ask the RHA Special Issues Committee to help back the effort at its 6:30 meeting tonight. - She said the group plans to search for persons "more sympathetic to student needs," urge them to run for the office and then offer student support for their election. Approving the idea, ASUN President and Student Regent Jim Say said, "It will make, sure people in the different districts are aware that a regent position is open. "Six years (the regents' term of office) is long, enough," Say added, "If they haven't had their changes adopted in that time, they shouldn't be in any longer." Say cited Scottsbiuff Regent Robert Simmons, who he said has accomplished a lot in the way of university improvements since his election in 1974. "He has accomplished more in two years than some of the others have in eight or 10," he noted. Say said the ASUN Senate has not been approached to support the action, and that it seems RHA-oriented. According to the secretary of state's office, three persons other' than Prokop have filed for the position in the Omaha district. They are Wiilard Waldo, James Winchell and William Hood. Ihne said these persons are being contacted to see who if anyone, students should support. . " The regent replacement effort was just started this week, Ihne said, adding that she thinks, 4 it's a good direc tion to take. "We need someone new and different on the board of regents," Ihne stated, "and someone that has no precon ceived notion like the ones (regents) do now." Director: High costs and low budget hurts University ChiidCare Center -.-ij By Virginia Broady The University "Child Care Project (UCCP) faces rising costs, a growing need for the program by students and a low priority in the UNL budget, said Mary Jo Ryan, UCCP director. UCCP is in charge of the University Child Care Center at UMIIE Commonplace, 333 N. 14th St., which cares for children between the ages of three and five, and the Infant Day Care Center at First Plymouth Church, 21st and D streets. . . ' . ' 1 ' The project, which serves low-income UNL students, has a waiting list of students wanting to use the program, Ryan said. , in addition, Ryan said, she receives calls from students - daily asking to get into the program. According to John Ritchie, director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Ad is, an increasing number of single parents are attending college. Many can not afford the high costs of day care cent ers, he said. , UCCP is "it the bottom of the list" as far as UNL fiiviacing goes, Ritchie said, adding that it serves more stu dents than seme UNL institutions that receive much more money from the university. He said that 90 to 95 pei cer.t of the students using the UCCP centefs could not stay in school if the centers were discontinued. , "The child care center belongs on the university campus," he said. "As long as students go to school, the university has a responsibility, to meet their needs." Ryan said that although day care centers benefit the campus, they receive little direct financing from the uni versity. " " Of its $91,430 projected budget for the 1976-77 fiscal year, Kyan said site expects to receive about $9,000 in direct aid from the university. This money goes to the director's salary and equipment and supplies for the centers, she said. ; . ), The remaining funds come from parents' fees, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture food programs and the federal Work Study Program, which pays salaries for most of the stu dents working at the cunter, she said. UCCP will receive $58,000 through the work-study program, she said. Commonplace, First Plymouth Church and St. Marks-outhe-csmpus, which sometimes offers after school day care for pads school students, offer space, Richie said. Continued on p. 14 f ) Aatgela BasHme, daughter of David md rf&h BasIIme, attends the ,lMver3 Dcy Caw Ceistsr, Ikt hikzt is a UNL student
