frlday, march 16, 1979
page 4
daily nebraskan
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SOAR's experience, representative slate endorsed
Choosing one candidate from an
electoral grab-bag comprising the
largest number of candidates in years
will be difficult for student voters
this year.
It would be doubly difficult were
it not for the experience of one
candidate setting him apart from the
rest of the field.
SOAR Party presidential candi
date Joe Nigra seems to have the
most experience in and knowledge of
university politics and student gov
ernment. Nigra has pledged to con
tinue many of the programs and
goals of incumbent president Ken
Marienau with whom he has worked
closely as ASUN senator and chair
man of its Community Relations
committee.
Nigro also has served the Abel
Sandoz Residence Hall Association
as its president, a position which has
provided him with valuable exper
ience in dealing with university
administrators and staff members.
It would seem that the SOAR
Party slate best represents a wide
distribution of living areas including
Greek Houses, residence halls and
off-campus housing, but is strongly
dominated by none.
Additionally, Nigro and the SOAR
Party should be commended for
being the only party to slate candi
dates for the important Committee
for Fee Allocation.
Although lacking Nigro's exper
ience, SUN Party candidate Bud
Cuca places a close second on the
list. Cuca has shown knowledge of
university problems and has express-
DeCamp chews crow when he's wrong
By Randy Essex
Sometimes, in the interest of presenting
news as rapidly as possible, all the fun has
to be taken out of the news, making it the
same old dry, dull stuff that most of my
stories are composed of.
So Wednesday, when the Daily Nebra
skan ran a story about what the Legislature
did on the abortion bill Tuesday, there was
not room for some of the best quotes I've
pulled out of legislative debate this year.
So my column affords me the oppor
tunity to share an entertaining - and some
what insightful-exchange between Neligh
Sen. John DeCamp, one of the bill's spon
sors, and Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, who
repeatedly warned the Legislature it was
passing an unconstitutional bill.
Chambers claimed victory Tuesday be
cause he had offered the same amendments
DeCamp had passed Tuesday, a week
before DeCamp offered them. But when
Chambers offered them, the Legislature
voted them down.
Support DeCamp
"I am getting my pound of flesh,"
Chambers said, daring the senators to
reverse their earlier votes and support De
Camp. "Sen. DeCamp isn't making you pass
these amendments, I am making you pass
these amendments," Chambers said.
DeCamp was not to be outdone, how
ever, saying he could not afford the luxury
of saying "I'm right and you're wrong."
DeCamp said he was too busy trying to
serve the state in the best way he knew
how to take time out for luxury.
"Heck, if you want me to say I was
wrong, 111 say 1 was wrong," DeCamp said.
"And if I have to eat some crow, then IH
bite off a leg of crow."
But Chambers bounced right back,
offering another explanation of why De
Camp couldn't take time to say who was
right and wrong.
Chambers said DeCamp was too busy
trying to negotiate differences between
pro-choice and pro-life lobbyists.
Tangled strings
"You try to hold eight yo-yos in two
hands and not get the strings tangled,"
Chambers said. "That is exactly what went
wrong with 316."
Chambers wore a button his shirt Wed
nesday reading simply, "Satan." The
button seems appropriate, but not because
Chambers is evil, but rather because he
plays the antagonist role in many legislative
debates, and may be regarded as the devil
by some of his fellow senators on those
occasions.
"And he lives it," a long time unicamer
al observer commented.
My column, in addition to allowing to
print quotable quotes, les me pat myself
on the back occasionally, jnce no one else
feels the need to do it. (whimper)
Just as the quotes above were edited
from the story, they were originally part
of, my byline was left off a story about the
Colorado legislature in yesterday's paper
because there was no room for it. (whine)
WELL, IT WAS I WHO WROTE THAT
STORY, AND I WORKED HARD TO GET
IT (my Index finger has a blister from'
pushing buttons on the phone), AND I
WANT CREDIT. BY RANDY ESSEX, BY
GOD. (cry)
6 fflnKS 1dG?
I feel that the NU Board of Regents was
hasty in its decision to accept the proposal
to keep the present wage for the university
employed student, and not to increase the
wage to the present federal minimum wage.
There is no question that NU has the legal
right toT defer paying the federal minimum
wage, but what should be questioned is the
unethical practice of this privilege.
According to a letter posted in the area
in which I work (CatherPoundNeihardt
kitchen), the main reason for the exercis
ing of this right is an attempt to keep the
same number of university-employed stu
dents working and yet remain within the
allocated budget. However, simple as this
solution may seem, it complicates and
worsens many other situations involved.
The State Department of Labor has stat
ed that it is customary for such institutions
to. continue keeping pice with the federal
minimum wageMy experience in working
with the federal, state and city govern
ments has confirmed this conviction (not
only was I paid federal minimum wage or
above, but I was also paid the same hourly
rate for working part-time). In the past the
university has also confirmed the policy of
keeping pace with the federal minimum
wage, and I feel that there is no reason for
It to discontinue this policy. ,
In addition, because of the higher cost
of living many students find that their ex
penses are too much of a burden to be re
Leved by the sub -minimum wage they are
being paid; Thus, many students seek off
campus jobs that pay much higher wages;
leading to an increase'iri the number of
vacant jobs on campus that are filled by
non-student workers. The replacement of
students by non-students places t much
heavier burden upon UNL .because of the
higher W2es and benefits that are paid to
non-ctudccU. Because of all of this hassle
there 2s increasing tiflsioa between the
wo&srs nd ths ttffcL ;
fc It wculi hd? if the rtats eta allocate
the amount of the budget for each depart
ment more efficiently. For example, the
$8,000 raise in Tom Osborne's wages
would alone pay for the wages of 28 stu
dents for ten weeks at the present federal
minimum wage providing each student
works 10 hours a week.
For the good of UNL, I suggest that the
regents consider more carefully its most
important resource - the student. The stu
dents are generally good workers and
should be treated as such. The UNL should
expect sub-minimum work for sub-minimum
wages. The students feel slighted
when they do not receive expected wages
for such work.
An important question that is yet to be
answered is whether the regents plan again
to employ this unethical tactic during the
next school year.
Darrell Larson
Freshman Psychology major
Law school
Last week an article appeared in the
Daily Nebraskan written by Vince Powers,
a former UNL law student, which violently
attacked the law school's grading system,
Dean Strong, and several of the school's
organizations.
Although many of the points made in
the article were valid, the general tone was
paranoid and many of the accusations
thrown around lacked any substantiating
facts.
We feel that, because of the unfairness
of many of these accusations, it is our duty
as the representative organization of the
law school's student body, to add a little
reasoned elaboration to the issues raised by
Mr. Powers In his writing.
the grading system seems to particular
ry disturb Mr. Powers. This is understand
able; it disturbs about 90 percent of the
law students in the country. Most law
schools are patterned after the Harvard
system and, for better or worse, follow
methods of instruction and grading that are
employed at that institution. While many
may perceive the system as being inherent
ly unfair, it is patently absurd to accuse
Dean Strong as being the ringleader of a
nefarious grading conspiracy. Before such
accusations can be viewed with any degree
of seriousness, there should be some
evidence brought forth. We would submit
that there was more to the Evidence grades
situation than the whimperings of Law
Review students.
The other problems that Mr. Powers
refers to are valid issues. Few will deny
that. It's strange, if Mr. Powers believes as
strongly about these things as he seem to,
that he didn't raise them to the Dean or
SBA while he was in attendance at the Law
School.
In the last two years, the SBA has never
denied an audience to any student who had
an issue to present us.
In each case SBA made a good faith
attempt to act upon the issue. We haven't
always met with success, but we have dealt
honestly in our proceedings.
What we are saying is that if a student
has a concern that heshe wishes to air or a
plan, to help ease a pressing problem that it
would be much more productive to bring
such a concern or plan to the SBA, Dean
Strong, or any other organization which
might be able to deal with it in a positive
manner, than to write a castigating letter to
the Daily Nebraskan.
Again, we want to emphasize that many
of the issues that were raised in last week's
letter are valid. What we object to is Mr.
Powers modus operandi, which took the
nature of a cheap shot rather than con
structive criticism.
UNL Student Bar Attodation
ed a willingness to tackle them tor
new and reasonable solutions.
The Daily Nebraskan strongly
urges those students who visit the
polls Wednesday to carefully con
sider the qualifications of Nigra and
the SOAR Party's evenly distributed
representation. We believe they are
the ones best equipped to work for
students in the coming year.
Pete Mason
L. Kent Wolgamott
Columnist says
ASUN party
soars above all
The following excerpts are from a
top secret report prepared for the
Harvard of the Plains Board of Regents.
Gentlemen:
During your last secret executive
session, you asked me to evaluate the
various ASUN presidential candidates as
to their ability to represent UNL stu
dents (i.e., their potential threat to this
board). Here it is.
juqQsqD pibsn
The most capable candidate this year
is SOAR's Joe Niero. Nigro is an excel
lent speaker and debater (he was one of
three Outstanding Delegates at UNL's
Model United Nations) and should be an
articulate and effective voice for stu
dents. We could be in big trouble.
Nigro also has something the other
candidates lack: experience. One of the
most vocal ASUN senators, Nigro's
knowledge of university affairs was
shown last week. In a test about UNL
and its political power structure, Nigro
scored 88 percent, 19 points higher than
any other ASUN presidential candidate.
Equally dangerous
And Nigro's party, SOAR, could be
equally dangerous to Regents Hall. With
executive candidates from both the resi
dence halls . and the Greek system,
SOAR also includes many current
ASUN senators which provides exper
ience and continuity.
Finally, Nigro would be an ASUN
president who would act in a responsi
ble manner, but who would not hesitate
to take more radical action if the
regents did not cooperate.
The other presidential candidates
pose less of a threat. Both Bud Cuca of
SUN and Denny Wurtz of OSI have
good heads on their shoulders, but lack
the experience and personal contacts
that Nigro can use to the advantage of
UNL students.
In addition, both SUN and OSI have
weak parties-neither of them include
candidates for the Committee on Fees
Allocation, perhaps the most important
ASUN committee. And while both
. parties argue that their fresh, approach
to student government will outweigh
SOAR's experience, what else could
they possibly argue?
Stay the same
But no matter who Is elected, we
should be able to effectively ignore
them, if past election patterns stay the
same.
You see, UNL students apparently
believe the best way to voice their dis
content with the university's high tuit
ion, low teacher's salaries, and over
protective regents is simply to remain
silent and not vote it ID.
So let the Daly Nebraskan endorse
Joe Nigro as the best candidate. We have
nothing to worry about-unless the stu
dents vote, r "
