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by
Smith
Photo by Mika Gibson
Smoke pours out of a Smith Hall
window Saturday while firemen
extinguish the blaze. As a result of
the fire, four students were displaced
to different rooms in the residence
hall.
By Detsie Ammons and Les Rushall
Four Smith Hall residents have been
displaced because of a Saturday morning
fire which gutted one room and caused
smoke and water damage in the hall, UNL
Housing Director Richard Armstrong said.
Hie fire broke out and was confined to
room 1016 on the top floor of Smith,
Armstrong said. Smoke damaged the ninth
and tenth floors and water damaged rooms
directly below 1016 and on every floor.
No one was in the room at the time of
the blaze and no one was injured in the
evacuation, he said. . .
Lori Hansen and Karen Graulich, who
live in 1014 Smith, said they were sitting
in their room talking when smoke started
to come into their room through cracks
in the window.
They said they went into the hall where
they met Cindy White, 1021 Smith, who
said she smelled smoke.
Die three got student assistant Denisa
Muff who opened the door to 1016 with
her pass key. Smoke billowed out of the
room and they pulled the Are alarm, they
said.
Kim Lee and Judy Dalwanz, who lived
in 1016 could not be reached for com
ment. Lee and Balwanz have been perman
ently reassigned to another room in Smith.
The women living in room 101 S have
been temporarily placed in other rooms as
a safety measure , Armstrong said .
' Soot still covers the walls of the tenth
floor and tho carpet will have to be
replaced, he said. Custodians estimated
that it will take two weeks to repair.
Armstrong said insurance probably
would cover any losses the students may
have suffered.
District Fire Chief Wendell Malcolm said
firemen had "plenty of problems" fight
ing the blaze because of the amount of
smoke. The fire was reported at 10 a.m.
and brought under control about 11 i.m.,
he said.
The fire's cause and the amount of
damage to Smith Hall will be determined
after the state fire marshall inspects the
building Armstrong said, but he said he
has no idea when that will be.
Qilu (n)Qbff28!k2ln)
monday, february 21, 1977 vol. 100 no. 79 Jincoln, nebraska
Drinking
age bill draws protest
By Paula Dittrick
An overflow crowd packed the hear
ing room and many waited in a statehouse
hall Friday when about 100 people, many
of them UNL students, came to protest a
bill which would boost the legal drinking
age in Nebraska from 19 to 21 .
"It's difficult for me to understand how
such a simple bill can get so much atten
tion," said the bill's introducer, Grand
Island Sen. Ralph Kelly.
He suggested adding a grandfather
clause, which would amend LB369 so
those now 19 and 20 years old would not
be affected should the -bill pass .-
Quoting . statistics, Kelly cited a 460
per cent increase in the number of alcohol-related
arrests of young poeple from
1972 to 1975. The Nebraska Legislature
lowered the drinking age in 1972 in what
Kelly termed "a disasterous experiment."
He called "18-year-olds the champion
violators of the liquor laws in Nebraska,"
and said his bill would curb alcohol abuse
by junior high and high school students.
Entertainer favors bill
He said the 19-year-old associates with
high school students, and underaged drink
ers would be less likely to obtain liquor
from the 21-yearolds.
Hall County Atty. Sam Grimminger,
associated with the Central Nebraska
Council of Alcoholism, and the senator's
wife, Pat Kelly, testified in favor of the
bill.
Opponents of the bill said a lowered
drinking age would drive 19-year-olds into
cars and country pastures to drink. It was
suggested that teenagers would be encour
aged to drive to other states where they
could drink legally.
UNL student Dave Collins, 20, said,
"We're being punished for the actions of
high school students."
'Lack of trust, faith'
Claiming the bill reflects "a lack of trust
-and'faithia people 19 and 20," Collins
said this age group is capable of assuming
adulthood responsibilities. He said he did
not think this group had abused the drink
ing privilege.
Collins suggested a crack-down of law
enforcement on minors and those supply
ing alcohol to them.
Another UNL student, William Watters,
predicted an increase of the already "great
amount of Nebraskans crossing the river to
Iowa," if the bill passes.
Iowa has a legal drinking age of 18.
"LB369 wouldn't discourage 19-year-olds
and 20-year-olds from drinking, but
from doing it elsewhere," Watters said.
Greg Johnson, co-chairman of the
ASUN Government liaison committee,
said he was representing himself in. his
testimony against the bill:
He warned that this bill, with good
intention, could actually cause a lot of
evil." Johnson said the number of minors
arrested for drinking would increase if
LB369 passes.
Would prevent jobs
Another UNL student, Cindy Gerner,
said the bill would keep 19- and 20
yearolds from holding jobs in bars. She
described her own job in a bar as one of
the best she has had.
Robb Cole, owner of Horsefeathers and
The Waterhole, testified "to the maturity
of these (19- and 20-year-olds) drinking
in my establishments." ,
He said two-thirds of his business caters
to this age group. The bill is going at the
problem 1n the wrong way," Cole said.
He advised senators not to "punish
these people for somebody else's pro
blems.1' Cole said the easiest solution for
bar owners would be to lower the drinking
age to 18.
Bab Yarbrough, manager of Uncle
Sam's, said the law would not deter under
aged drinkers. He said he has yet to see a
fine or jail sentence enforced for a minor
in possession of alcohol charge during his
six months in Lincoln.
Plan being developed to review NU administration
By Theresa Forsrasn
Interim NU President Ronald Roskens told the NU
Board of Regents Saturday his office is developing a plan
for review of the university's administrative structure.
Due to complaints that the administration is too large
and because he believes in periodic assessment, Roskens
said, a blueprint showing how the administration could be
legitimately evaluated is being developed. The outline will
be presented at a later , board meeting for regents'
approval, Roskens said.
- In a presidential report to the board, Roskens reaffirm
ed his belief in the importance of coordination through
the central administration and stressed that the "major
endeavor of the university-education-is conducted on
the campuses."
Roskens acknowledged disagreements among the three
NU campuses and between campuses and the NU systems
office. He pointed out that, in many cases, the procedures
used to air complaints cause greater anxiety and irritation
than the substance of a particular issue and asked his
associates to follow appropriate procedures.
Quality aad scope
The president concluded that "the University of Ne
braska is much stronger in quality and scope than many
people both in and outside the University seem to be
lieve." The board also approved several additions to the 1977
78 state budget request.
-$61,756 to pay for record-keeping for former
students. 'This item was overlooked in preparing the
budget last fall, said William Erskine, NU executive vice
president for administration. v
-585311 in salary settlements for sory extension
employes of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Re
sources. A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that these
employes, all male, were underpaid. The suit was brought
after NU raised some women extension employes' salaries
in an effort to comply with federal antidiscrimination
laws.
-$81 ,476 still needed to repair damages to the UNL Plant
- Industry Bldg., damaged by fire in August, 1975. Total
damage was $706,476. The Legislature appropriated
$500,000 last year for the damages and the insurance
company paid $125,000.
-$2,095,000 for construction of the UNL Plant
Science Bldg. The Legislature authorized construction of
the building in 1975 with costs to be spread over several
years. Hie request is for an acceleration of funds, not an
increase. The money is federal revenue sharing funds, not
part of the state general fund.
Raise celling. '
The regents also approved a request to the Legislature
to rtlse the cash fund and revolving fund ceilings to allow
the university to spend internally generated income such
as tuition and patient fees.
The board received a report showing differences
between its budget request and Governor J. James Exon's
recommendations. The governor has proposed the regents
receive approximately $11 million less in state tax dollars
than they asked for.
Exon's budget bill is "below what we need to maintain
our present level" of operations, Roskens said.
In other action at the meeting the board:
-Accepted a Kellogg Foundation grant of $436,244 to
support an off-campus baccalaureate program in the
College of Nursing. Students in the program would use
outstate colleges and hospitals in earning their NU nurs-
ing degrees.
-Agreed to appoint a special regents subcommittee on
agriculture to act as liaison between the university and
agriculture organizations in the state, '
Residency trends
-Received a report on residency trends of University
of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) graduates. The
report showed that a larger number of UNMC graduates
are choosing to specialize rather than enter family
practice, needed in Nebraska's rural areas. Exon proposed
holding back a $1 million appropriation to UNMC unless
it could reverse the trend of fewer UNMC graduates
practicing in rural areas.
-Approved a $266,000 AstroTurf bid to replace the
seven-year-old synthetic surface on the Memorial Stadium
football field.
-Heard an area of excellence report on the Health,
Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) program at
UNO. HPER director Richard Flynn told the board the
program was
program was growing and cited substandard facilities and
equipment and limited faculty as major problems. A
HPER building, estimated to cost $7389,000, is second
on the regents capital construction priorities for next
year. Exon recommends total project cost not to exceed
$4 million. .
I "t
f nro fill fry 'r?
News: This dental patient can't swish and spit. ..... p. 9
Entertainment: A picture story of a guitar man who
makes his own p. $.7
Sports: UNL's women's basketball team will play UNO
tonight p. 10
