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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1979)
Page 4 Summer Nebraskan, Tuesday, June 12, 1979 tadiiim adlclitidDe I mow the time? Is Nebraska football more important than the energy crisis and skyrocketing inflation? Not surprisingly, but by listening to some people at UNL you'd think the answer is yes. NU Regent Robert Prokop says now Is a good time to build a $3.4 million addition to UNIa Memorial Stadium. Now, when $1 a gallon gasoline prices are a reali ty, if there is any gas at all, the value of the dollar has fallen to a record low with not much hope for it to climbing back up he says now is a good time. According to Prokop the energy shortage pro bably will not affect Cornhusker football fans. "They're going to come to the games anyway," he said. But, is now a good time when the University budget is already bitterly strained? Students at UNL pay the second highest tuition in the Big Eight; Faculty salaries are the second lowest. 2000 students last year were refused admittance into the College of Business Administration because there weren't enough funds, to hire professors. And now is a good lime? Prokop said if there isn't an addition, what do you tell people who want tickets?" Energy crisis: everyone points at everyone eke It is finger pointing time in Washington. Everyone is blaming someone else for the country's energy problems. President Carter points his fingers at the Congress which has rejected or substantially altered almost every energy proposal he has sent to the Hill. Carter also yells at the large oil companies for taking excess profits in a time of crisis. The Congress points its many fingers in untold number of directions but they seem to center on the president and the oil companies. They say Carter has failed to, pro vide adequate leadership in the crisis and his plans are un workable. - ' Some Congressmen also blaime big oil but they go even further than Carter and chastise the companies for withholding gas from the marketplace to raise the price and for conspiring to exploit the American people. The oil companies, of course, blame the government for the energy crisis and in particular criticize government controls and regulation on energy. , I. kent wolgamott If the addition is built, what will students be told? Will they be told that a $6.4 million addition to their stadium is necessary? Or, in the interest of be ing economical, a $8.7 million new stadium -away from campus would be better? And then there's a question of who will actually pay for this illustratious addition. Administrators assure students the burden will not be placed on them. But students never wanted a new stadium or addition anyway. And although administrators claim students will not have to pay. they have still failed to secure a bond rating for the facility and it is quite possible that an extra $300,000 will be tacked on the bill when the bonds mature. And what else is quite possible is that the stadium won't make enough money to pay the bill, and students will be forced to reach in their pockets anyway. This vicious circle between the regents and the students is not new. Board members, in the past, have continually ignored student requests on alcohol, visitation and funding of speakers pro grams. The regents claim they are to represent tax payers and not just students. Frank Lauerman's ad encourged Nebraska citizens to write their regent requesting a new stadium. He stated: "Let your voice be heard. It's your University and your football prgraml" Agreed, taxpayers are a vital part of the Universi ty. But the university is not for the taxpayers. Their requests and wishes should not supersede the welfare of students who attend the university to ob tain an education. Especially if their requests are for better recreation facilities when it is the quality of education at UNL that needs the help. The decision is now in the hands of the executive board of the legislature. So far only Sen. Donald Dworak, who is not on the committee, has made any attempt to thwart action on the addition. He realizes the energy crunch is very real and knows it does not exempt Cornhusker football fans. And possibly, he is the only person involved who is speaking for is constituents. Sound football facilities are the foundation upon Which great universities rest. They did however, win a victory when Carter began phased decontrol of domestically produced oil on June 1. But the oil companies claim they heed even more money and higher prices to produce the energy the country will need into the eighties and.beyond. The public is left in a state of confusion as to what is go ing on and blames all three; Carter, Congress and the oil companies. Upon closer examination all three claims have some merit but each participant in the debate must also be held responsible for action they take in dealing, or failing to deal with the crisis. In 1977, Jimmy Carter sent to the Congress a com prehensive national energy proposal. It contained, among other things, a erode oil equalization tax, intended to raise the price of domestically produced oil to the world level and at the same time gain money for .the government energy research, but Congress said no. He also wasted to continue price controls on natural gas, but the Congress acted in just the opposite way, raising prices lifting controls on "sew natural gas. , Earlier this year the president sent up an emergency gas rationing plan. After negotiation with Senate leaders that body narrowly passed the plan. However, the House rejected Carter's plan and then rejected a plea by the President to draw trp their own plan. And Carter's dedzioa to decontrol oil is being opposed by test Cosgreassea, however they are not expected to be abla to ester esossa votes to reinstate controls eaoiL The Cosiness rejected the crude cO equalization tax as an cssscssssry bcrdza 1st the cO ecsspasks and to It dsrr-riilad citzral eas to taereass crodaetioa accor ds to cc?rs wilch reported that step. The Esssa tz jectc J the pa rationing plan because it was tlr Li t ta Dilla, favoring one area of the . Asd tla r77ffi!H to tie decontrol decision results toa a to d fU$X prfess to the ecsscsera, especially fa the northeastern states. They say, and they are correct, that Carter does not follow up his proposals with adequate lobbying pressure on the hill They say, and properly so, that the proposals have flaws. But, the Congress has not proposed any alternative solu tions nor have members gone out of their way to work with the President to find an acceptible compromise. And it seems the parochial nature of the Congress and especially the House of Representatives has come to the fore, as Congressmen defeat sound proposals out of fear of voter retaliation. Meanwhile, the oil companies are sitting back and get ting rich. Company profits for the first quarter of this year were up dramatically from the same period a year ago and the price of ofl products continues to go up. But, they say they still do not have enough money to ob tain the hard to get petroleum necessary to increase domestic supply. However, they are not hoarding oil to reap profits but to prepare for the winter heating oil demand and to recoup from last winters depletion of their stock. But, the oil companies offer few solutions to the energy crunch except the simplistic give us more money and well give yon the energy philosophy they have explosed for years. Carter has attempted to deal with these problems in many ways but has generally failed to win approval of his ideas by either the Congress, the ofl companies or the public Beginning his push for the energy package, he called the energy crisis "the moral equivalent of war" and he was cor rect. But his followup has hardly 'been the decisive action ex pected of a president ia wartime. CarterjKcepted the butchered results ef his plan from the Ccssress and labeled it a victory. da Department of Energy fa disorganized and slow even for the federal bureaucracy. He has not convinced the majority of the people or the Congress that strong action la the energy Held is necessary. Bet he las tried. , And what of the public? What have the people done abaci the energy shortage? Until very recently, nothing. With 80 cent gasoline, tourism travel is decreasing and Americans are using less gas, but only because the price is high. (Remember the crude oil equalization tax.) But polls show the country still does not overwhelming ly feel there is an energy crisis or shortage. The problem does exist and will continue to exist. Our political leaders must take action and the people will have to change our pattern of energy use. Postponing decisions as is the current method of doing business, especially in the Congress is merely prolonging the inevitable. The President and the Congress must begin to work together on this problem. Finding acceptable solutions and then selling the solutions to the public. They must hold the oil companies accountable for their actions and profits and take the necessary to keep the government in control of energy policy not the energy com panies. And the people must cooperate in solving the problem by conserving energy wherever possible. It sounds simple, but it has not proved to be, and with the entire House, and one third of the Senate up for elec tion next year, such cooperation will be slow in coming. For the statemanlike decisions which one needed in this area are much harder for politicians to make when they can be thrown out of office for making them. So, the stalemate will go on, and the accusations will be made, but we should realize. Its everyone's problems and everyone's fault letters policy The Summer Nebraskan welcomes reader com ment and will publish letter and guest editorials that are signed and capable of verification; The editor reserves the right to condense letters, retain ing the writer's point Timeliness and clarity of writing wfll be considered. Letters should be received by the Summer Nebraskan Monday prior to the date of desired publication. - , - . .. i