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friday January 20, 1978 vol.101 no. 61 lincoln, nebraska vC
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Students still bugged about beefy issue
By Joe Starita
A mid-December incident at the Cather
Pound cafeteria has continued to bug three
UNL students, two environmental health
officials and the assistant director of cam
pus housing.
Jeff Brester, an 18-year-old freshman
from Grand Island, said he and several
friends were eating lunch during finals
week last semester when "we all noticed
a maggot and three small bugs on one of
the food trays."
Brester said the maggot came from a
beef salad sandwich and the three bugs
from a package of crackers dumped into
a soup bowl.
He said he got up and took the tray to
the kitchen to show the cook before re
gistering a complaint with the University
Health Center environmental health direc
tor. Dave Hauss and Eric Hadenfeldt, two
students who were eating with Brester,
said they had more than the soup and sand
wich to beef about.
Hauss, a sophomore history major from
Omaha, said he has been sick "about a
half dozen times" after eating at Cather
Pound, "I've got to say I think the food here is
pretty low quality " he said.
Hadenfeldt, 19 of Grand Island, said he
$ko has become sick because "the food is
too greasy and they keep leftovers too
long.
"I've thrown up four or five times and
Ym positive it's the food," Hadenfeldt
said. "They have this thing called 'The
Big Red Special.' It's a hamburger with a
lot of grease that you can eat on Monday
and then they'll serve it again on Friday.
"I don't think you should get sick just
eating lunch. I have too much studying to
do to be sick from food."
Brester said it wasn't the food that
made ,him sick ("the food is edible-it
ain't great but it ain't bad") but the fact
that environmental health did not return
.his call.
Ed Simpson, director of environmental
health and safety at the University Health
Center, said there had been a "communica
tion gap" and he "would apologize to the
student."
Simpson said the noon-hour call never
reached him and he had no way of getting
back to Brester.
"We encourage students to call or stop
in with their complaints." Simpson said,
"But they should ask for me or Del Weed
(an environmentalist at the health center).
We will get-right on it and call back the re
sults of our. action."
Weed, said action was taken immediate
ly after Brester's call came in.
"The information we got was sketchy,"
Weed said, "but we got in touch with the
food manager there (Cather-Pound) and
the food was taken off right away.
"It was just poor timing, but we pulled
the food and stopped serving all of it. We
have professional people with degrees
Students sa 'charge it! 9
"Charge it!" These two words are
becoming increasingly familiar to the
average American and the average col
lege student.
The growing popularity of credit
cards brings with it implications of
over-charging and under-budgeting.
Charles Decker, marketing manager
at First National Bank of Lincoln, said
college students and credit cards are
good business.
UNL Comptroller J.W. Kniseiy said
his office encourages students to use
credit cards when making payments to
the university.
The credit card boom at UNL is
reflected by the more than $9,000
in campus traffic and parking tickets
that were charged on VISA cards last
year.
UNL Bursar's office reports that
froiff July to Dec. 31, 1977, 5,200
payments were made with credit cards,
a 21 percent increase over 1976 figures.
Decker said that every September
First National solicits college students
to apply for credit cards. Students do
not abuse their credit cards, according
to Decker.
"In fact, after a-year-and-a-half we
discovered that the student deliquency
level was in many cases lower than mom
and dad's," Decker said.
But his is only a recent trend, accord
ing to Decker. In the early 70s, credit
cards and students presented many
problems. Decker said students would
charge large amounts and then, for
reasons such as draft dodging, would
run off without making their payments.
Part of the changing trend is due to
the new Federal Equal Credit Oppor
tunity Act laws, which set standard
rules for applicants. '
Decker said before approving an ap
plication, banks look for the length of
time spent on a job or the number of
years spent in school, as this indicates
"stability."
One out of three card applicants are
rejected, "but has nothing to do with
age, race or gender," Decker said. "It
just means your credit rating or check
ing balance isn't, creditable enough."
working in the food area, and they are very
capable."
Douglas Rix, assistant director of hous
ing responsible for food service, said his
job was complicated "by having to deal
only with secondhand information."
Rix said his staff has been deluged with
rumors that the bugs were in everything-in
soup, salad, sandwiches, jello and desserts.
"The problem here," Rix said, "is that
we have never had any specific names to go
on.
"It's like dealing with a fog. I called
environmental health back after I got the
call, but the note with the name on it had
been destroyed.
"We have double-checked eveiything.
and have found zero to base the complaint
on. With all the talk going around, the staff
has been alerted to look for problems in
all flour products."
Rix said Cather-Pound is responsible for
serving 1 ,200 students daily and occasion
ally bug problems occur.
"If I could have gotten a specific stu
dent who was there to complain to me we
could have checked the crackers, checked
the date of purchase, checked everything.
"But it is very difficult to try and pin
it down when all you have is secondhand
information to work with.
"Like I said, I'm in a fog trying to pin
this whole thing down."
inside
fid&u
Parity not charity : Two UNI pro?..
fessors analyze the current farm
strike , . . .page 6
Tallahassee sorority murders: Are
UNL sororities locked up
tight? .page 7
Hello to Simon's Goodbye Girl:
J. Marc Mushkin goes to the
movies page &
Photo by Ted Kirk
Walk to protest
abortion ruling
Lincoln Right to Life is plan
ning a "Walk for life" to the state
capitol Saturday to protest the Jan.
21, 1973, Supreme Court decision
to legalize abortion.
Tre organization's goal is to
S' amend th$ U.S Constitution, to, pro
hibit abortions, according to Pat
Sumner, co-vice president of Lin
coln Right to Life.
Pro-life individuals and organiza
tions from all over Nebraska will
participate in the walk, she said.
The walk will begin at the old
post office, 10th and P streets, at
10:30 a.m.
UNO's football lives on
By Todd Hegert
The University of Nebraska at Omaha
(UNO) football program stands on solid
ground in spite of a recent proposal to
eliminate football there and replace it with
soccer according to UNO officials.
. The proposal, made by Scottsbluff
Regent Robert Simmons at the NU Board
of Regents meeting in January, was killed
by the regents but not without making
its impression at UNO.
Simmons told the regents that the UNO
football program is not and never will be
a program that the state of Nebraska can
be proud of. 1
But UNO athletic department officials
and players are quick to point out last
year's record breaking attendance figures
and financial success in defense of the foot
ball program.
Don Leahy, UNO athletic director, said
the Simmons' proposal has actually solidi
fied and strengthened support of the UNO
football program.
"( don't think Simmons' proposal has
hurt us with bad publicity," Leahy said.
"We have been receiving calls of support
and the football program is coming out of
it even stronger than before."
There were 10,000 people at the first
two games last season which left 2,000 of
them to stand up to watch the game. Our
attendance has consistently exceeded stad
ium seating capacity (8,200) and I think
this indicates support in ever increasing
numbers," Leahy said.
Sandy Buda, head coach at UNO, said
there was no basis for the Simmons
proposal.
The only reasons for eliminating the
football program would be lack of sup
port or loss of money, Buda said. Bat last
seasons average attendance of 8,300
indicates strong support, and the UNO
football program is making money, he said.
Buda said the UNO athletic program
has progressed, in part because academic
progress has "skyrocketed" in recent years.
'UNO has grown up and is no longer
considered West Dodge High. It is the
image and idea of the administration at
UNO that athletic programs here should
grow and improve along with academic
programs," Buda said.
Buda said the team has just bought new
weightlifting equipment and started a
weight -training program for the 1978
football season.
"The players are enthused about the
weight program and looking forward to
next season," Buda said.
Junior tailback Bobby Bass and junior
guard Bill Auxier both said they did not
think the proposal presented a serious
threat to the football team, but it was
resented.
"Everyone took it as a joke at first,"
Auxier said, "and it didn't bother me much
until I heard him (Simmons) call us a
second-rate football team. Then I thought
'that guy's a jerk'."
Auxier said most of Ids teammates are
more satisfied with the football program
this year than ever before.
"As a freshman I was dissatisfied and I
quit the team that year. But I'm staisfied,
excited and proud to play at UNO now,"
Auxier said. .
Bass and Auxier said last year's atten
dance figures show the UNO student body,
is excited about the team.
"I never did believe they would drop
the football program here. I just thought
it was a bunch of talk from some smart
politician," Bass said.
The players are optimistic about next
season, Bass said, and are working hard
nn the weight program to prepare for it.
