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Because of a 51 million budget cut mandated
this spring by the Legislature, services UNL stu
dents and their parents have come to expect
have disappeared. Less counseling, less access to
administrators and other personnel and longer
lines will add to students' unanswered questions
and reinforce any doubts new students may have
about being able to cope with an institution of
this size.
The budget cut was not meant to reduce ser
vices to students. The Legislature's intention in
imposing the reduction was to force the univer
sity's central administration to take stock of it
self to determine any waste or duplication in the
ranks.
Not surprisingly, the powers that be in the
systems office were loath to wield the budgetary
carving knife anywhere near their downstream
and absorbed by individual campuses.
At UNL, the budget had already been pared to
the minimum. So additional budget cuts meant
elimination of programs. In his four years here,
Ken Bader, soon-to-be-past vice chancellor for
student affairs, had voluntarily trimmed some
$750,000 from his base budget in an effort to get
an efficient, fat-free budget. Added to these,
Bader said, he interpreted the latest cut as a pen
alty for doing a good job.
It's doubtful the systems office wanted student
services cut any more than the. Legislature did,
but it's easier to cut custodians, counselors and a
telephone line that it is to eliminate your own or
your colleague's job.
But the cut was not a random slicing just to
flex the fingers which pull the purse strings.
NU received $23 million more in state money
for this schoolyear than it got for 1975-76, and
the Legislature put up almost $1 million this year
to help stem the tide of deteriorating undergra
duate education at UNL. Nebraska taxpayers have
been generous in providing for the university. But
there is a limit to their means. When the Legisla
ture imposed the cut, it was trying to do what
most state legislatures and universities are doing
today trying to provide a quality education and
at the same time cope with the spiraling costs the
job entails.
When dollars are limited (and when aren't
they?) it doesn't make sense to finance adminis
trative growth at the expense of the students'
education.
Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh, sponsor of the
amendment which trimmed $500,000 each from
the administrative and physical plant budgets,
went to the regents twice this summer to ask
them to exercise their authority to take the bud
get cut out of the central administration, where it
was intended to be taken.
Cavanaugh said that many of the duties of
most of the 29 administrators and various other
professional, managerial and clerical positions in
the systems office are duplications of jobs being
performed in the campus chancellors offices.
Cavanaugh suggested a strong campus adminis
tration with limited central control-a move he
said would save the university some $400,000 in
personnel costs.
Whether the board was ready for such a move
or not, Cavanaugh pleaded for scrutiny of the
central administration.
His concern was met with cool politeness
sometimes. Pettiness got in the way of what could
have been a constructive discussion. (One board
member suggested the Legislature wasn't the most
efficient organization and, by the way, if he
didn't try to tell them how to run the university,
they wouldn't try to tell him how to run the Uni
cameral.) Lincoln Regent Ed Schwartzkopf reminded
Cavanaugh that this (administrative structure)
isn't something we pulled out of a hat? No it
isn't. Shortly after the Omaha campus became
part of the university in 1968 the regents employ
ed a managerial consulting firm to suggest the
best administrative structure for the university.
Strong campus, strong central or a combination
of the two were the choices outlined by the firm. -The
regents chose the last and recommended
alternative. The hall built especially to house their
choice points out how strongly they feel it was
the right one.
Now as to whether the administrative system
we have now is less efficient than the other two
alternatives-it's not easy to say since we haven't
had the other two. And it would be impractical
to try the other administrative approaches out for
awhile. But there are flaws in the present struc
ture. The regents should at least examine the
structure they implemented seven years ago to
see if it has evolved as efficiently as it could have.
Before cutting student services the regents
should at least have examined the system to see if
Cavanaugh was right. ,
They owe at least this much to the students if .
they are going to justify cutting student services. -'
What would it hurt just to study the structure to .
make sure we aren't wasting salaries. But the re
gents would rather approve the budget cuts than
to appear to be taking direction from the Legis
lature. It's all part of the petty power struggle
which put the question of who runs the university
where it is today. The bewildering thing is that
both groups have the best interests of the univer
sity at heart. The board should be willing to
weigh any reasonable consieration whether it
comes from a student, a Springview farmer or a
like most of its readers, the Dairy Nebraskan
has changed a little since last semester.
We've altered out looks slightly but we've kept
some of the comfortable standbys. The innocent
bystander, Arthur Hoppe, will continue to poke
fun at Americans and their politicians. Theodore
Bernstein will be around again to challenge
yellowed grammar rules and the New York Times'
crossword puzzle begins again Wednesday.
Some of our old "favorites are gone. Ralph has
been graduated to the real world but today Scott
Stewart introduces Orion, an innocent abroad
from a not-so-real world.
In the words of its author, Pit Stop is a fait
accompli (or was that Fiat accompli?) Anyway,
the column has run its course. But , based on the
premise you read Pit Stop not so. much because
you liked to read about cars but because you
liked to read Jim Williams, he's still around-a
wrench in the works which incidentally, he
named his Wednesday column.
Nicholas Von Hoffman's syndicated column
will run twice weekly and on Fridays L. Kent
Wolgamott will offer one student's view of the
election year subnormalcy. .
Don Vesley will write a localized consumer
column for TTmrsday editions telling students
how to get the best for their time andor money.
The Daily Nebraskan will provide a daily cap
sulked news digest-courtesy of the Associated
Press and the UNL School of Journalism.
On Fridays, the UNL Student Councfl on
Health will provide health tips to get you through
the semester with as few trips to the health cen
ter as possible.
ORION W SitVCVr-
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state senator.
The university enjoys a special relationship
with the state. It's Nebraskans' only university
and they follow its day to day doings as if it
were a favorite child. The regents shouldn't inter
pret this concern as an attempt by anyone to
usurp their authority. On the contrary, they were
asked to exercise it.
It's too late this year. But with taxes and ed
ucation costs both rising the regents and the
Legislature will be looking for the best way to
spend the education dollar. The two groups
should be prepared to cooperate in settling any
differences between their solutions to the task
rather than to allow them to be shuffled down to
the students.
letters
::- ; .' -i. , t
r T THAT ' i
Vlien I landed at the Lincoln airport, I was surprised
that there were no buses or any airport transportation to
downtown. .
In Kenya, people are always walking the streets, hawk
ers sell fruit and cold drinks and everything seems lively.
In downtown Lincoln during the evenings, everything
seems to be dead. Hardly any people can be seen. Every
one must be in their houses watching television. It realty
looks as if the town has been evacuated. I don't see any
buses running either. Believe me or not, from my point of
view and compared to Nairobi, this downtown looks like
a ghost to on Sssdiys. At least I would have expected
some outdoor activities, but maybe 1 just haven't looked
far enough yet.
Let me give you an . idea of your communication sys
tem in Lincoln. Of course, the American communication
system is one of the finest in the world, but I went to
most radio stores in Lincoln looking for a radio which
could tune in the British Broadcasting Corporation in
London. The cheapest one was $240. In Kenya, we can
get Japanese or British Radio which can tune in any part
of the world for less than $30.
I think that is one of the reasons I find the citizens of
Lincoln know so little about Africa. I was ir,Ier the im
pression that since the. American society is the inter
natfenal multi-racial society, its citizens would have an in
terest in the 'outside world. But the people I have come
across in Lincoln have been very friendly and helpful.
1 do not know if I the
strange diseases I have heard of in America. Ve have
disease in my country but not like you have here. The
cause of such disease could be that people here have been
eating foods which have too many chemicals added to
them. These strange diseases you have could be the after
math of their long-term side effect.
I enjoyed watching the Republican convention on tele
vision. It very much showed the American democratic
system. I was really moved by the tears of Mr. and Mrs,
Reagan. I was surprsied Dr. Kissinger was not interviewed,
tie is in the news in my country. I would very much have
liked to listec to his opinion.
'.joying every minute of my stay here and am
thankful to UNL for having me here.
IC&io f'ik
Nairobi, Kenya
