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.
