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friday, march 11, 1977
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daily nebraskan
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Carstenson : apathy paramount issue
Eric Carstenson
Eric Carstenson. a senior Enclish major from Grand
Island, said he is running for ASUN president because he
is dissatisfied with student government.
"It is not working for students," he said.
Carstenson was an ASUN senator this year.
"I do not aspire to a higher office" or politics after
graduation, he said. Senators should be elected "for mow
than something to put on their recommdation sheet,"
he added.
He called student apathy "the most paramount issue.
Only after dealing with that can we go on to more impor
tant issues.
"There is a lot of talk that apathy is a sign of the times,
but I don't believe that is true," be said.
Eliminate apathy
Carstenson said he has a "philosophical way to get rid
of apathy." First, identify a goal, such as returning
student fee allocation power to the students, he said.
Second, he said, work toward that goal, involving a
large number of students and student opinion leaders.
This should create a snowball effect, as more students
become more interested, he said.
Carste.nson said the third step is achieving the goal.
Gaining more student involvement begins within the
Senate, . he said. Senate "cannot function without a man
date from the students," but lack of informed senators
was a problem this year, he said.
"I was demoralizing to never sit with a full senate,"
he said. . . .
Educational quality
The quality of education at UNL is another Issue,
he said.
"ASUN should be a strong lobbying force to repre
sent students and all aspects of the university commun
ity," Carstenson said. Students should look at themselves
as consumers of education and should be concerned with
obtaining a quality product, he said.
As student regent, Carstenson said, he would continue
to improve the credibility of students in the eyes of the
NU Board of Regents.
"We have alot to recognize that that board views the
student regent as a student first," and other members of
the board will use restraint in dealing with the student,
he said.
With this in mind, Carstenson said, tha student regent
must subtly persuade and let the regents think they are
controlling and think it is their idea.
In addition, Carstenson said he would introduce
legislation to reorganize the senate, setting up committees
to report monthly to the student regent.
The student regent could go to the Board of Regents
meetings "informed in every area from budget to educa
tional materials. He would be the most informed regent;
and there is power in that," he said.
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Education quality concerns Hemphill
KirkHemphEl
Kirk Hemphill, the High People's Coalition (THC)
Liberated Students for Democracy (LSD) presidential
candidate, is a senior psychology major from Lincoln.
Hemphill said he is running to improve the way student
government is run and to improve the quality of edu
cation at UNL.
"The economy of the state depends on the training
kids, get now," he said. "A lot of money goes into edu
cation, we should be able to get a good education.
"Students should have more voice in where their
money goes. Students should speak out and the senate
should make their voices heard."
Students are not consulted when it comes to univer
sity policy and the way their money is spent, he said. "We
find out about signs or the (Nebraska) Union bakery after .
they are under construction."
- As president and student regent, Hemphill said he
would not accept budget cuts for faculty members, but
would accept cuts in administration." UNL needs good
faculty members, he said, and good academic depart
ments. "ASUN hasn't done anything really ballsy since 1971
because they are aQraid of losing money," he said. "The
faculty are afraid to make noise for fear of losing their
tenure."
This year's senate is appalling, Hemphill said. Its
biggest problem has been lack of quorum and apathy, he
said.
Hemphill said "by and large the problems were caused
by the Greek Slate," which he said he believes is the
biggest issue of this campaign.
"ASUN senate should be a democratic, representative
body." He said it is ''possible to get 35 senators from one
place, but that is not representative." In addition, he said
secrecy is not in line with democracy.
'The Greeks were successful in getting elected," Hemp
hill said, "but not in getting things accomplished."
"GLC (Government Liaison Committee) made noise,
ASUN hasseled Union director Al Bennett but they had a
quorum maybe five times." .
The THC party also has made pencil sharpeners, a
major issue of their campaign, he said. Hemphill pointed
out the serious problems caused by only four pencil'
sharpeners in the College of Business Administration
Bldg., "and they teach math classes in there,"
As ASUN president, Hemphill would like to reinstitute
"Hyde Park" which he said was a weekly meeting before
Senate several years ago. He said it was similar to ASUN's
"open forum" but it was held in the Union Main Lounge.
Hemphill said he has served on the ASUN education
committee, the GLC, the ASUN Constitution Committee,
a Teachers College Task Force and six years on Model
United Nations.
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Dissatisfaction encouraged candidate
Grrg Jcbsaon
UNL junior Greg Johnson said his dissatisfaction with
this year's ASUN senate and a belief that he could change
its workings prompted him to run for the ASUN presi
dency. "
Johnson, a political science major from Baltic, South
Dakota, is running with the Students for University Need
(SUN) party. t
Johnson said he believes ASUN has the potential to
be effective but "they were wasting their time this year."
He said he thinks the Senate needs to be restructured and
become more specialized.
"Most of the work this year was done either by indivi
duals or the entire Senate," Johnson said. "That system
is ineffective because senators have to be jacks of all
trades."
Instead, Johnson said, ASUN Senate should be broken
into a committee structure similar to that of the Nebraska
Legislature.
Senators would have more time to serve on other
student governing bodies, such as Fees Allocation Board
or the Council on Student Life, if the committee system
were usedrhe said.
' Li addition to restructuring, the senate needs to
aidrsssotsslf more to viable student issues, according to
Johnson.
He said he would like to see work done in the areas of
tuition hikes, quality of education, and faculty salaries.
ASUN this year did not work with these problems, he
said , but were "a petty subservient body.
Johnson said he also would serve students by making
the ASUN Book Exchange more visible and operate more
smoothly. He said "students should be informed that his
is an alternative to getting ripped off by the bookstore."
In addition, ASUN could provide a comprehensive
teacher evaluation form, results Of which would be put in
a booklet students could refer to when registering for
classes, he said.
If elected, he said, he also would develop a commission
to study every UNL student government group. ASUN
would appoint that commission but not control it, he add
ed. Johnson has worked with the ASUN Government
liaison Committee (GLC) for two years and how serves as
its chairman.
"My association with GLC made contacts with people
which would help me carry out my duties as ASUN pre
sident and also student regent," he saM.
Johnson also said he enjoyed government work and
enabled him to "go at it with a vigor and determination
that can't be equalled.'
Musselman favors living unit reps
Randy J.Iusscbnaa
Randy Musselman, independent ASUN presidential
candidate sail he decided to run because he thinks stu
dent government "should be more than a place for prelaw
students to get law school recommendations."
"Tver sisse I've been here the government hasnlt done
anything to change the situation on campus " Mussel
man said. "If no one ebe will do it, I guess it's up to me."
Musselman said he thinks this yenrt Senate was "a
complete disaster." If elected, he said, he would reorgan
ize it with representation based on living units rather than
academic colleges.
He sail he favors reorganization because he thinks
ASUN deals with student life rather than academic
concerns.
Musselman said he would do everything in his power
to form a constitutional convention and rewrite the
ASUN constitution to bring about this reorganization.
"If reorganization meant abolishing the position of
president, I'd gladly step down and let those changes take
place," he said.
Along with constitutional revision, he said he would
like to absorb the Fees Allocation Board into ASUN and
work to abofish the Council oa Student Life, because 1
com see wnere tney are doing anything constructive.
In addition, the entire student community should have
the opportunity to vote on fees allocations, he said.
That would be one way to make student care."
The junior political science major iiii be thinks he
could be an effective ASUN president bwausr he has not
been associated with government before 2nd has "no
built-in bias as to how things should be done."
He added that he would be willing to haw his perfor
mance evaluated by students each semester he was presi
dent. "If they dida't like what I was doing, I would step
down," he said, adding that the evaluation policy should
be applied to all UNL student government bodies.
Musselman said that although parties may have their
benefits, he is running independently because he couldnt
find anyone whose views coincide with his.
"Most people views are more status quo than mine,"
he said.
