insida
Ifeatar Res:gns: ASUN First Vice-President-clcct
Paula 1 feeder has decided to go
to Law College and will not take
office p.2
Parity, Quality: Steve Shovers, newly
elected UNO student body president,
wants to upgrade education at NU . . . . p.l 1
wcdnccday, epril 7, 1976 vol. CO no. 1C3 lincoln, ncbrcska
30 KULD
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Photo by S&mr Coariwf
Following the 4Sth Annual IIcsszs Convocation
Tuesday, a junior focuses en a classmate and her
family on the Coliseum steps. See rehted story on
past 2. .
? 1(311 FGcOaDCStBoSQ
By Dkk Pierscl .
Nebraska Gov. J. James Exon Tuesday announced $d.8
million in line item vetoes to the NU operations budget,
and vetoed entirely capital construction funds for the
Health, Physical Education and Recreation BIdg. at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO).
The Nebraska Legislature had appropriated $2 million
for the $6.7 million building to be spent in the coming
year. Exon vetoed the same project last year.
Exon said the university should "call off its lobbyists"
and accept his NU budget figure of $87.6 million in state
tax funds, $3.5 million more than his original recommen
dation. Other NU capital construction projects were re
tained, including the $14 million combined state office
building and continuing education center in downtown
Omaha.-
The governor vetoed $30 million totally from the
Legislature's appropriations, including $15 million in in
creased state aid to schools.
Tax reduction
He said if the Legislature sustains his vetoes today, the
last day of the current session, the state income tax rate
may be reduced from 15 per cent to 13 per cent of federal
income tax liability and the state sales tax rate retained at
2.5 per cent.
Should the Legislature override his vetoes, Exon said, a
state tax rate increase may be required, perhaps including
an immediate increase in the state sales tax rate. The in
creases would be determined by the State Board of Equal
ization within 15 days of the Legislature's adjournment.
The governor's vetoes included $1 million from state
aid to technical community colleges, dropping it to a $12
million appropriation. He had requested $13.4 million for
those schools contingent upon a local one-half mill
property tax ceiling reduction. Since that ceiling was not
reduced, the governor rescinded his plan for more state
aid to the colleges. Exon also vetoed $600,000 from the
state colleges' budget.
Undergraduate instruction cut
Included in the governor's line-item reductions for the
university were:
from the central administration and
MVUUtl
computer budget.
-$29,392 from the State University of Nebraska
(SUN) kaving a $100,000 total appropriation.
-$1.5 million from instruction and research at UNL
for a total appropriation of $22.1 million.
-$550,000 from an appropriation earmarked for the
improvement of undergraduate instruction at UNL for a
total appropriation of $300,000.
-$565,993 from the Institute of Agriculture and
Natural Resources, of which $519,546 was earmarked for
several areas of improvement including a chancellor's dis
cretionary fund for salary improvement, areas of excel
lence, conservation and survey, the Water Resources Re
search Institute and the Animal Health Complex.
The governor left $400,000 to be distributed to those
areas at the NU Board of Regents' discretion and left
$70,184 earmarked for AGNET, the computerized agri
cultural information service. He cut $70,000 from plans
for a $145,000 swine and beef facility at Curtis. The total
remaining appropriation for the institute .was $14.4
million.
State support increases
-$389,684 in state tax support for the UNL sports
complex maintenance for a total of $200,000. Exon said
he was disappointed no plans for using rental and conces
sions proceeds from the sports complex had been forth
coming from the university. That responsibility, he said,
must then fall on the Legislature.
-$699,978 from support at UNO, $200,000 of which
the Legislature specified for audio-visual, physical educa
tion and library improvements. The total UNO appropria
tion stands at $7.6 million.
$3,048,299 from the University of Nebraska Medical
Center for a total appropriation of $19.2 million. The
governor vetoed $500,000 of a $906,688 appropriation to
replace lost federal funds and $25,000 in seed money for
a cardiovascular research, treatment and education unit
which the governor said eventually could cost $15 million
and which was not contained in the regents request.
The governor said with these vetoes, state financial sup
port still would increase 103 per cent at UNL, 10 per
cent at UNO and 25.1 per cent at the medical center.
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By Bryant Brooks
The Organic Act, brought before the ASUN Senate
March 31 which proposes that all powers, functions and
money from ASUN be transferred to the Coalition for
University Reform, has been challenged in the ASUN Stu
dent Court.
A hearing on the challenge was set Tuesday for 1:30
pjn. Sunday in the Nebraska Union, according to Student
Prairt Phipf IijtMV Tlntta Vrunrlr wnirvr low ctiir!cr
from Schuyler. :
The complaint was filed Tuesday by Richard Blunk,
psychology major from Omaha; Avery Loschen, junior
political science major of Upland; ASUN President-elect
William Mueller, junior pre-Liw major from OgsMala; and
Joseph Stavas, junior English major from Columbus. It
states that petitions which brought the Organic Act before
the Senate last week do not comply with. ASUN's Con
stitutional requirements
The complaint also charges that "No verification has
been made of the authenticity or validity of the peti
tioners. . Jio determination has been made that those pe
titioners who are proven to. be authentic and valid
comprise five per cent of the total number of regularly en
rolled full-time students attending the University of
Nebraska. . .(and ihst) fifteen days have not elapsed
since introduction of the petition initiative." which is
required by the ASUN Constitution. -
The complaint continues that "the proposal at issue
is not an Organic Act within the meaning of the ASUN
Constitution..."
Technical pciits
Mueller declined to comment on the reasons for filing
the complaint because, he said, "Many of these points are
technical. They are interpreted differently by both sides.
There are certain questions not answered by just reading
the Constitution, so we are askirg the court to interpret
them."
Mueller said the new elections, required by the referen
dum, would cost about $ 1 ,S0O in student fees.
"I would just as soon not throw that money away " he
Sam B rower, senior law student from FuHerton, is rep
resenting the plaintiffs.
There are certain portions of the (ASUN) Constitu
tion that are clear and the ones I have pointed out in the
complaint are among them ," he said.
Although petitions for the Organic Act were notarized,
Drawer said that docs cot ensure their vslliity.
"The fact the petitions were notarized does not prove
the signers were full-time students," he said.
Refusing comment on the outcome of the case, Brower
said, 1 would hate to prejudice any opinion the Student
Court might render."
Preserve status quo
"We're attempting to maintain and preserve the status
quo until such time as the validity of proposed initiative
can be decided by the Student Court," he said.
" Defendants named in the complaint are current ASUN
executives Jim Say, senior political science major from
Norfolk; Mary Jenkins, pre-med senior from Lincoln; and
Paul Morrison, political science graduate student from St.
Paul. Also named were Electoral Commission members
David Ware, senior English major from Lincoln; Richard
Moderow, junior business major from Oakland; and Ste
phen Korff, sophomore business major from Omaha;
ASUN advisers Bert Evans, UNL economics professor;
Paul Byerly, UNL physics associate professor; Jack
Guthrie, business officer for the Center for Students and
Organizations; and the ASUN Senate.
Fritz StehHk, junior law student from Nebraska City,
will represent the defendants.
Dermis Martin, junior law student from Elgin and mem
ber of the Coalition, said he thought the plaintiffs had
"missed the boat." .. .."
"As of tomorrow (Wednesday) night the executives
change," he said. "Then Bill Mueller, a defendant, be
comes a plaintiff."1
Martin said Brewer's claim that 15 days must elapse
after introduction of the petition initiative before it can
be filed for a referendum is incorrect.
- "ASUN (Senate) has acted on the measure in the
original form and since they've voted 'no twice, there's
no way it can return to the floor," Martin said. There
would be no reason to wait an additional 15 days.
Martin said he doubted that many signatures could be
proven invalid because of a recent ruling requiring seven
hours for classification as a full-time student.
Martin said he also disagrees with Brewer's opinion of
the Organic Act.
"In my opinion.it is an Organic Act because it was
brought as a legislative action as an Organic Act under ar
ticle seven, section one, paragraph D of the ASUN Consti
tution, which defines Organic Act as dealing with acts
concerned with the functions of ASUN," he said.
Kroy's sup'pdirfQrschollQnQ dustin
Supporters of Fred Kray, ASUN Professional College
senator-elect who was ousted Friday from his Senate seat
by the ASUN Electoral Commission, are circulating a pe
tition to show student support for Kray as senator, said
Steve Porr, a junior law student from Omaha.
In addition, junior law students Gerry Arnold of
Streator, EL, and Richard Roberts of Fremont, Tuesday
filed a private suit with ASUN Student Court asking that
the Commission's decision be declared void and that "our
votes be counted like everyone elses."
Porr, director of the Committee to Reinstate Fred
Kray, said Tuesday more than 200 signatures had been
collected and the commission's decision will be challenged.
The Electoral Commission Friday issued a ruling al
lowing the election of Clarke Stevens as Professional Col
lege senator, but decided to have the ASUN Senate
appoint the second senator. Kray, a write-in candidate,
won the second senator spot in the March 17 balloting
with two votes.
The Electoral Commission did not certify Kray, a
junior law student from Tavernier, Fla, as a winner be
cause about two more professional ballots were cast than
the number of eligible voters, according to Paul Byeriy,
ASUN faculty adviser.
Stevens had 24 of 36 possible votes, wMe Kray had
two write-in votes and several other write-in candidates re
ceived one, he said. This prompted the commission to al
low the Senate to appoint a representative to the second
seat. :
Arnold said he and Roberts think they have been
denied rights guaranteed by the 14th amendment to the
ILS. Constitution (due process), that they have been de
prived of their riht to participate in the electoral process
as stated in Article 3 of the ASUN Constitution, and th&t
the commission has exceeded its powers by removing
Kray and by giving the Senate power to appoint another
senator.
"We want the court to void the decision of the cca
mission that removed Kray " Arnold said. "WeH just Isnit
it to that."
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