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
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- 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.