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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1978)
daily nebraskan thursday, march 16, 1978 page 4 May the new ASUN executives keep soaring ....... f TX 1.1 It seems one party soared into the 1978 ASUN elections and landed a sweep of executive and senate seats. At 2:30 a.m., Students Organ ized for Active Representation seemed to be far ahead of the pack in making the final approach to ASUN victory. The ideals of the SOAR party are admirable. We all want more representation afld a strong,.direct voice in what goes on at our uni versity. And, we are sure SOAR will make an excellent attempt at achieving its goals. Admittedly, some of presiden tial candidate Ken Marienau's party ideals are lofty; but we, as students, should hold them dear. Among other things, SOAR campaigned on: -getting a student mandate on the fee referendum. -demanding a study of the nebulous Fund B (95 percent of the student fees). -opposing tuition and parking sticker increases "without in creased student benefit We can only hope that these campaign promises will be carried to fulfillment. Perhaps with strong leadership from Marineau and a fresh senate something can and will get done to benefit the students. For too long we have been without a strong voice urging and pleading that the students be heard. We are not saying past administrations have been silent rather, the pleadings of the past have fallen on deaf ears. Representation is a unique part of democracy. It the powers that be listen and are open to this new administration and try working with and for the new senate, we are sure only positive can come from this new government. That day might never come, then they can say they tried. Un fortunately, that is what many ad ministrations have conceded to saying. We can only wish Marienau and the other winners in this ASUN election the best of luck, and sup port where it can be given. Democratic candidates agree on ag split on other issues The three Democratic candidates for I 1 I 1 f fl ; : t, I 1 ry J- .1.. I. tv.--.l--. I It 11 II fit I II I Congress in the 1st District agree that the most important issue in the upcoming elec tion is agriculture. They also agree that their major differences are matters of per sonality and experience. Hess Dyas, Bruce Hamilton and Allen O'Donnell were interviewed last week by the Daily Nebraskan in the first of a series of interviews with candidates for national and state offices. Dyas, vho ran for this congressional seat in 1974 and the Democratic Senate nomination in 1976, stressed his support and name recognition from the two pre vious races. "Both of them are starting where I started in 74," Dyas said. "When I was State Democratic Chairman, I was dis turbed after we would have a good person lose and fade from sight; two years later we would have to start over again. "That is what I'm preventing," Dyas said. Hamilton, a Lancaster County Commis sioner, emphasizes the fact that he is the only candidate who has held an elected office. i i . vvolgamoW "Bruce Hamilton is the only candidate who has ever won an election, served in public office and who has a public record," he said. "I am in my fourth year as a County Commissioner, which gives me a broad range of experience in making decisions, unpopular sometimes, and setting prior ities," Hamilton said. "Hess and Allen have been active in the party. But that is not a qualification equal to serving in office," he said. O'Donnell, former Nebraska Democratic National Committeeman, stresses his exper ience, which he says makes him more mod erate. "They are far more liberal than I am," O'Donnell said of his party opponents. "I am older than they are, far more traveled and the only candidate with military ser vice. "It is a matter of personality which makes me more moderate, O'Donnell said. The issue on which the three candidates differ the most is abortion. O'Donnell said he would support a con stitutional amendment to prohibit abor tion, as long as the mother could have an abortion if her life was in danger. Dyas personally is opposed to abortion and "not at all satisfied with the status quo." He favors providing better education and counseling programs and opposes a constitutional amendment. "We don't deal well with personal moral problems by passing a law," Dyas said. Hamilton said he believes the U.S. Su preme Court was right in its abortion ruling and that it is best to leave abortion to indi vidual choices. Vfc i Wt J Ml 1 Allen O'Donnell He said he favors sex education, planned parenthood and counseling as alternatives to abortion. "I am also for Medicaid funding for abortion," Hamilton said. "To say abortion is OK if you can afford it and is not if you can t, does not make any sense to me." Decriminalization or legalization of mar ijuana also draws major differences be tween the three candidates. v O'Donnell said he opposes marijuana de criminalization because medical opinion is divided on marijuana's effects on humans. "However, I expect marijuana to be come decriminalized in most places in the near future," O'Donnell said. Dyas said he could not support mari juana legalization, but he was concerned with criminal laws on the drug. "We should reassess the criminal laws on marijuana," he said. "They should be mis demeanors not felonies. Lives are being un necessarily ruined because of overreaction with the law." Hamilton favors marijuana legalization. He said marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. "It won't be many more years before marijuana is legalized, because anything that benefits big government (through tax ation), big business (through sales), and big labor (through jobs) will happen." Although the three candidates agree ag riculture is the major issue in the 1st Dis trict, they differ in their approach to the subject. Hess Dyas "I am offering a pragmatic approach," O'Donnell said. "The farm strike proves dramatically the lack of political strength the family farmer has. "Rather than debating the farm pro gram, we should talk about ways of strengthening the farmer politically," O'Donnell said. He is proposing a National Agricultural Council to be composed of all farm groups in the United States. This coalition would advance and sup port farm programs, O'Donnell said, and would give the farmer an interest group equal to the Chamber of Commerce for business and the AFL-CIO for labor, he said. Hamilton said he wants to be a spokes man in Washington for the farmer. He said that he has been meeting with farmers about their problems and would continue these meetings if elected. "The key is working within the Con gress," Hamilton said. "The mistake we have made in the Midwest is sending people who are not willing or able to work with urban congressmen." "I am concerned about their problems as much as ours and can develop the neces sary interrelationship to be effective," he said. Dyas stresses the need for congressional mandates to the administration to make it act within the current farm program. "If the national administration is not going to do anything, then it is really the Congress that is going to have to take the Photos courtesy of candidates Bruce Hamilton initiative," Dyas said. 'This makes the congressional seat even more important because he is going to have to be doing something to aid the farmer." Dyas said that government supports should be set at least at 80 percent of parity. All three candidates suggested that in creasing agricultural exports would help offset the United States' negative trade bal ance and would aid in shoring up the dollar on international markets. The candidates differ on natural gas de regulation. Dyas said he favors deregulation as a means of stimulating domestic produc tion of natural gas. He also favors a wind fall profits tax on natural gas if it is deregu lated. O'Donnell and Hamilton said they sup port continued government controls on natural gas. The three Democrats view President Carter's first year favorably. They said they believe the President should be getting more credit for his actions in addressing difficult issues confronting the nation. However, Dyas criticized the administra tion for its agricultural policy. "I am very disappointed with what has not been done for agriculture," Dyas said. "Even with a farmer in the White House and a farmer as the Secretary of Agricul ture, they haven't even come through with good public relations. They have looked arrogant and unresponsive." AD three candidates said they favor rati fication of the Panama Canal treaties.