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
