Wednesday, april 12, 1978
page 4
daily nebraskan
n opinion i
0Sul
Minus budgeting creates deficit, bittersweet effects
It's a mathematical fact that a negative plus a
negative equals a negative. This mathematical
tidbit applies not only to the classroom, but to
the UNL budget as well.
For the past six years, UNL's minus
budgeting-building a deficit into the budget to
allow for more spending- has accumulated a $1.5
million deficit. That's quite a big minus sign, and
one we hope to never see again.
As Ned Hedges, vice chancellor for academic
affairs, explained, this type of budgeting is
perfectly normal and a common business tech-
More RHA power
could improve clout
The author is Mike Gibson, a junior journalism
political science major from Omaha. He is 1977
78 RHA president.
The Residence Hall Association was created to coor
dinate hall activities so that two halls didn't schedule their
formals on the same night. But halls need not inform
RHA of their activities, so coordination is slight.
RHA also was to be a communications body, passing
good ideas from hall to hall. But again, the halls need not
inform RHA of those ideas, so halls with problems suffer.
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Most importantly, RHA was to be the spokesman for
the halls, flexing the muscle that only 5,100 residence hall
students can exert when acting as one. The RHA Council,
made up of representatives from each hall, would decide
what policies to lobby for, what actions to take on behalf
of residence hall students.
But someone forgot to give RHA the power to enforce
those decisions.
For example, last month we voted to put up signs an
nouncing the ASUN elections, but not one sign was
posted. It was a good decision, but a toothless one. Like
all our decisions, the only way to implement it was to
recommend to an administrator that he adopt it.
In short, RHA can do nothing but recommend,
request, suggest, advise, try to persuade, convince, ca
jole, entreat, beg, and plead -especially plead.
The result? RHA is straight-jacketed, unable to stand
up and fight for student rights; we are paralyzed, unable
to protect residence hall students and their interests.
Why not liberate RHA from its handcuffs and give it
the power it needs to help students-the power of the
purse.
Every semester, $3.50 of every student's room and
board rate goes directly to hall government. Why not com
bine that money with the $5,000 RHA receives annually
from renting refrigerators and make one large pot, from
which the hall representatives would allocate money to
the halls and RHA?
The advantages? For the first time in years, both RHA
and the hall governments would have to justify their
budgets and prove they planned to use student money
wisely.
Also, with a hall's budget at stake, it would send its
best people to defend that budget by serving as RHA
representatives; with better people in it, RHA can do
more for students.
Third, interhall coordination would improve. If five
halls wanted to show a movie, RHA could pay for it with
one check; currently, five people must fill out five
vouchers and write five checks on five accounts-a book
keeper's nightmare.
But those benefits are small compared to the main
one: power. RHA, now the largest single group of stu
dents on campus, would, with a strong government,
become the largest single organized group of students on
campus. Instead of 1 1 sticks unable to bear more weight
than that of hall matters, RHA would be able to unite its
1 1 halls, tie them into one thick club able to wield a
mighty blow.
And the weight of that club would add immeasurably
to the punches RHA has been able to land this year on
parking permit prices, floor lounges and student fees and
speakers.
Of course, this proposal is not a cure-all nor is it per
fect; and I urge you to let your hall governments or
myself know what you think of it.
I should mention that the plan does have one huge
disadvantage: once given power, we might misuse it. We
might make a mistake, which I can honestly say we
haven't made this year.
nique.
By budgeting more than the actual money
allows, UNL colleges and departments are able to
plan for long-range programs and goals that may
be limited by the actual dollars in their coffers. In
other words, they can reach for the stars even
though they may be standing in a trench.
But this fine budgeting technique has gone too
far-to the tune of a necessary $800,000 cut in
planned budget expenditures. This does not mean
that actual expenditures will be axed by
$800,000-only that next year $800,000 cannot
be budgeted. By paring down the budget a little
here and a little there, UNL colleges and depart
ments must cumulatively eliminate $800,000
from next year's budget proposals.
So, although the repercussions of this $1.5
million deficit won't be felt immediately, its
long-range effects might rate a couple readings on
a seismograph. . .but that doesn't necessarily
mean bad vibrations.
Colleges and departments are going to have to
finH thf least harmful wav to cut their budeets
Classes may have to be expanded to allow more
students per section, or sections may have to be
cut. Teachers may be burdened with heavier-than-average
class loads.
Obviously, repercussions of an $800,000 cut
will rock a couple boats.
But this budget cut has benefits, too. Forcing
budget planners to compress their proposals into
the lowest cost budget possible may squeeze out
some of the duplication that inevitably exists in
UNL budgets. More careful budget planning
would result, and that is something that we, as
taxpayers and tuition payers, cannot complain
about.
Hedges said that precautions are being taken
now to avoid duplication of exorbitant deficits in
the future.
Although UNL's $ 1 .5 million dollar minus sign
has some good, as well as bad, effects, it is a
bittersweet coincidence we would not like to see
happen again.
Duve's stopo decisions create stir
First John Duve, parking and traffic coordinator, says
he is going to quit. Five weeks later, we find out that he's
changed his mind and is going to stay.
Duve's first announcement was greeted with general
cries of relief from many students. Those happy cries
turned into sobs when Duve "unresigned" last week.
If it weren't for the fact that Duve has been such a
controversial character, his resignationunresignation
probably would have passed with little more than a news
blurb in this paper.
But since Duve's office has drawn more than just the
customary complaints against parking, including allega
tions that he lied about budget figures, we need to look
into the matter a little more closely. (By the way,
members of the Parking Advisory Board successfully
pointed out the "incongruities" in Duve's budget figures
last semester.)
According to Duve, he asked to withdraw his resigna
tion because he feels "the atmosphere is here (at UNL) for
me now to continue with parking and traffic." He cited
the need to make his office and its functions more visible
and to improve the parking and traffic office's public
relations.
We cannot disagree with such imporvements! Duve's
office needs them badly, especially in light of the criticism
his office -and Duve in particular has received from the
general university community.
Despite the apparently innocent circumstances
surrounding Duve's job decisions, students who have
worked with -and against - him suspect that the situation
is not as simple as it seems.
But on the surface, not much has changed. Duve will
continue in the same duties and at the same salary
($18,820).
He and UNL Business Manager Ray Coffey are trying
to turn the "adversary" role they perceive the parking and
traffic director's job as into an "advocate" role.
Rumors of creating a separate parking department have
been refuted by administrators.
So, for the time being, nothing is too shaken up in the
parking and traffic office on Avery Road. But for those
vigilant observers of this office's activities who are shaken
up by Duve's job juggling, we can be sure they'll be watch
ing the office even more closely now.
i . .
to h editor
Our idealistic UPC is considering bringing in Linda
Ronstadt and The Eagles for concerts. They think these
"big name" performers will gladly walk into Lincoln and
perform without their established promoters.
Little do they (UPC) know that no big name artists will
perform in Lincoln without their promoter. Contempor
ary Productions or Schon Productions will not stand for
it. It is known that men like Chris Fritz or Irv Zuckerman
will make a big mess of the matter when the UPC
attempts to promote a touring artist.
It will take a bit of magic to eliminate the promoter for
a Lincoln concert.
Here are some alternatives. First, seriously study the
financial needs of a promoter. They are very, very helpful
when it comes to arrangements for the show. Let's not
alienate them or we in Lincoln could find ourselves
driving to Omaha, or worse yet, Des Moines for any and
all concerts.
Second, we use Memorial Stadium about 24 hours
every year watching Big Red. Think we could fit a 50,000
for an outdoor festival a la California Jam I and II? I think
we could.
A concert like that would draw Aerosmith, Heart,
Foreigner, Nugent, Foghat and probably Kansas. These
are the artists who play outdoor dates.
If the man upstairs doesn't like us scratching his carpet
would UPC consider using the perfect spot of Mabel Lee
Hall's field for the show? And why doesn't Cornstock
take place there? Sure it's East Campus' show, but I'll bet
more people would come if it was at Mabel Lee.
Third, use the Sports Complex too. It would be better
to keep the mellow crowds in there. Jackson Browne,
Linda, James Taylor and The Eagles.
Finally, UPC will have to realize it costs a lot to make a
lot. By removing the promoter and his talents we will be
at a bargaining disadvantage. With rising ticket prices
we've got to book artists who will fill the house.
Someone try to tell me that if UNL booked a big out
door festival with the above artists it wouldn't sell out.
Nuff said!
Danny Darst
Sophomore, pre-law
Fees, revisited
The editorials concerning NUPIRG and YAF sounded
hysterical (and I don't mean funny). It seems that the
Daily Nebraskan editors consider themselves next in line
for fund cutting. In view of these editorials, maybe this
would not be such a bad idea. The Daily Nebraskan still
has not addressed itself to the real issue: should students
be forced to support political organizations they are
opposed to.
Concerning Bill Skoneki's allegations that YAF does
not hold meetings within its organization to determine the
mailing and content of letters it cnds out, I cannot
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