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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1977)
gssbiors to consider sports complex budget ie By Paula Dittrick Again Nebraska senators will consider the NU Sports Complex, and this time legislators are asked to help fin ance the building they had previously been trying to name. William Erskine, NU executive vice president for ad ministration, has requested that $1.7 million covering in terest on financing the Sports Complex be added to the state's capital construction bill, This money is part of the last payment on the sports complex bonds and Erskine said the first five payments were annually appropriated without NU request. Glenn Smith, assistant vice president for administra tion, agreed that the $2.4 million to pay off the bonds has been appropriated since LB 1433 (the Sports Complex proposal) passed in 1972. He admitted that he "was not clear" how the sum had been included within the capital construction bill. This year's request is $1.7 million because the bond reserve fund already contains $700,000. ' Erskine has warned of a technical default, which is failure to make a payment, if the $1.7 million is not appropriated. Smith, director of business and accounting, said the bond holders "probably wouldn't do anything" if they were assured such a default would be resolved. However, he said a technical default would be a "legal black mark against us (NU)." Claiming he did not know the identity of the bond- UNL student vote means little in city By Mary Jo Pitzl Although UNL's nearly 22,000 eligible student voters constitute about 7.5 per cent of Lincoln's population, student input in the city election is hardly felt or sought. "Our emphasis is on getting people out to vote; we don't concentrate on students," said Lincoln election commission member Charles Huff. y Statistics on student turnout in city elections are unavailable, Huff said, b6t he speculated that the stu dent vote is light. Precinct records in areas of predominant student popu lation indicate sparse voter turnout, Huff said . "Generally city elections don't stir more than 30 to 40 per cent of the voters, and that's including everyone all the way down from the 80-year-old." He estimated that about 1,000 voters have.registered between the April 6 primary and the April 22 filing dead line. Because registration forms do not specify-student-status, Huff said he does not know how many students are included in the additional registered voters. No special emphasis "I can't recall we've ever put out a push for student voters," League of Women Voters member Sharon Ne meth said. She said the league emphasizes general" voter turnout, but does not concentrate on specialized voter segments. "1 know a lot of university students prefer to vote in their home district," Nemeth said. Some students may be reluctant to switch their voting district, Nemeth said, and this may explain the low student involvement in Lincoln elections. Unless students are directly involved in city issues, their interest in local matters wanes, according to Kent Thompson, city affairs chairman for ASUN's Govern ment Liaison Committee (GLC). City issues do not "come to the students enough," Thompson said. He compared this to the active role GLC has taken in issues such as the UNL budget and parking rate increases, which arc more campus-oriented. "I don't think students are even aware of city govern ment," Thompson said, estimating about 300 to 400 stu dents, will vote Tuesday. "Students don't realize what the repercussions on the issues are," he said. . Debates Thompson added that other than the City' Council candidate debates sponsored last week by GLC, his committee is not promoting the student vote in the gen eral election. "We're thinking of shooting every student who doesn't vote so there will be less faculty overload," Thompson said with a laugh. Rose Bingham, a precinct worker at Wesley House, 640 N. 16th St., said the April 6 primary was the lowest voter turnout she remembers in her 30 yean at that location. Wesley House, the voting precinct for all city campus residents, drew 16 voters in the primary, Bingham said. About half of the 1 6 were students, she said. "I don't think a lot of students are connected with the city," Bingham said, and this may explain the lack of stu dents voting. Registered Lincoln voters can call the Election Commis sioner's Office, 473-6311, with questions oa polling places. News: "Uncle Walter Cronkite Saturday defended his industry, newspapers and Barbara Walters p. 6 Entertainment: Pyramid power and UNL's improvisation group are on the spot P.-12 Sports: UNLs baseball team still doesn't know whether or not they made the Big 8 conference playoffs. ... p. 14 holders, Smith referred to them as "people with money to invest on tax exempt bonds." NU has funds at stake in two appropriations bills. Besides LB533 which covers operating costs and which senators will discuss today, the $1.7 million request concerns the yet unwritten capital construction bill. Waverly Sen. Jerome Warner, the Nebraska Legislature Appropriations Committee chairman, called the two bills separate issues. He denied Erskine's charge that the $1.7 million had been left out of the construction bill. "Nothing has been left out because the bill has not been completed yet," Warner said. He predicted the bill will be completed and introduced to the Legislature this week. "I would assume that it has to be met," Warner said of the NU request, adding that he did not know the full t ( details of the request. Calling the request "an additional competitive item for limited funds," Warner estimated the construction re quests total $40 million. He warned that only about $7.5 million of general funds will be allocated. The $1 .7 million request will not affect items contain ed within LB533, but will affect other items which might be included within the construction biU, he said. The construction bill includes state funding for capital construction requests from all state agencies, Warner said. This session's construction bill will be smaller than it has been from past sessions he predicted. Erskine made the request in a letter mailed last week. Both Gov. J. James Exon and State Administrative Ser vices Director Stan Matzke are reported to be considering the request. in monday, may 2, 1977 vol.100 no. 114 lincoln, nebraska 1 fl.U 1 ? ( A .if v jt res . y 0 r "" "I ( - - Photo by Ted Kirk Spring was bustin' out all over at Cornstock 7, Saturday on East Campus. For more see pages 8-9. arking board methods ch 1 i By Scott Wliitcomb The Council on Student Life (CSL) this week will review procedures used in recommending a $10 parking fee increase, said Ken Marienau, ASUN secretary for stu dent regulatory organizations. CSL Chairman Joan Wadlow was out of town and could, not be reached for comment. Procedures used for the April 21 meeting of the Chancellor's Parking Advisory Board have been challen ged by Marienau, Residence Hall Association president Mike Gibson and ASUN Sen. Bill Skoneki. At the meeting, the board recommended next year's parking fee be $35. The CSL Appeals Committee Thursday heard the ap peal which was based on eight procedural counts, Marien au said. He said that after hearing the complaints, the committer recommended that the full CSL hear the complaints sometime this week. Appeals comirittce chairman Hike McGahan said the committee "decif d unanimously that due process had not been followed" for the advisory board's April 21 meeting. McGahan said that the absence of public notice cf the meeting (one of the procedural objections) was enough to rule due prot hid .net bees followed, We felt that the advisory board was making a policy decision that was directly affecting students, McGahan said, "and that point alone was worthy of a public notice. Other procedural complaints file d included : unauthorized membership on the advisory board by John Dave, UNL parking and traffic coordinator. -addition of student board members without ASUN approval. -failure to notify ASUN of student vacancies on the board. -failure to contact possible concerned witnesses. -board discrimination in the treatment of witnesses and proposals. -the making of policy decisions made in closed ses sions. Marienau said he strongly objected to theclosed meet ings, where Duve was allowed to testify because of a 1974 CSL guideline stating that all UNL board meetings where policies are recommended or made should be open to the public. McGahan said the appeals committee will forward their decision to Wadlow "at the earliest possible date. II; said the committee wants the entire Council to hear the cotr.pkints before Young makes his final decision on parking permit prices. UNL Chancellor Roy Young said Sunday he would encourage CSL to meet as quickly as possible so students can know of ths decision before they go horse for sum mer. . Young said he had not heard of the appeal until contacted by ths DzUy Nebraksn. He said he wanted reports from ths advisory board and administrators by cf ths wesk. McGahan said hs hepsd Young would postpone his decision becauss ths CSL might net be abls to meet before Thursday.