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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1980)
n n n monday, January 21. 1980 lincoln. nebraska vol. 104 no. 6 u z o .. era i' , (rQ n WUVJ -JL. 1 U Housi .ng office seeks 9 rate increase By Jim Fad d is The UNL housing office is recommending a 9.1 percent increase in the student housing rate for the' 1980-81 school year, the Residence Hall Association was told last week. UNL Housing Director Doug Zatechka said students living in a double room will be paying $ 1 30 more next year if the NU Board of Regents approves the rate increase. With the increase, the room and board fee for an aca demic year would go from $1,425 to $1,555. The fee for a semester would increase from $712.50 to $777.50. Zatechka said there will be more triple rooms next year He said the Housing Office also has set a special rate for triple rooms, which will be $1,460 for the academic year, which is' $95 lower than the rate for a double room. The rate increase is necessary because of increases in utility and food costs, student salaries and UNL'employee salaries, Zatechka said. ' x Utility costs Higher utility costs will have the biggest impact on housing costs, Zatechka said, with them expected to rise by 15.6 percent; "We're feeling the energy pinch like everybody else," Zatechka said. "We've got to make up for the higher price of energy some way." - - Food costs also are increasing, Zatechka said. He said food expenses are expected to rise 9 percent. The univer sity is .trying to hold down food expenses, he said, but they can reduce expenses only a small amount without lowering the quality of the food served. UNL students working in the residence halls next year will be paid more because of minimum wage laws, Zatechka said. He said the minimum wage allowed rose to $3.10 an hour Jan. 1, 1980, and will rise to $3.30 an hour Jan. 1, 1981. This means an increase of 10.5 percent for student salaries, he said. . Higher UNL employee salaries also are contributing to the higher housing costs, he said. The regents are recom mending a 10 percent . salary increase for university employees, Zatechka said. 1 . . Rate study The proposed 971 percent increase was decided on after a rate study by the housing office, Zatechka said. He said the study estimated that housing expenditures would in-. .. VfeSS ' - j , c , - yy Photo by Tom Gessner Husker Patty Carmichael-Gerard receives consolation from her husband Larry (a former UNL gymnast) after spraining both ankles while vaulting in Nebraska's win over Missouri. UNL maintenance personnel search for ex posed asbestos By Rose Fitzpatrick -v i . UNL maintenance department personnel will be look ing for exposed asbestos lining in Bessey Hall and other older campus buildings, said Jerry Delhay, manager of the, maintenance department. The check is in response to the finding of some loose material which has tentatively been identified as asbestos in the office of William Morgan, professor of theater arts. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that can have a delayed reaction of up to 40 years. The substance found in Bessey Hall was initially analyzed by UNL geologist Robert Nel son and is being sent elsewhere for further analysis. Morgan's office has been closed until the substance is removed. Delhay said UNL is contracting with an insula in buildings tion firm to do the removal, lie declined to name the firm. ' ' Morgan said maintenance personnel, when checking the substance in his office, burned it with a match and said it was not asbestos. It was not until it was sent to the geology department that the probability of its being asbestos was discovered, he said. - Federal Environmental Protection Agency regional coordinator Wolfgang Brandner said in a telephone inter view that asbestos is not a problem if it is sealed in an en casement. But when the cloth covering deterioriates or is cut into, it can become hazardous. Major problems could arise in the removal of asbestos Brandner said, because dry fibers could spread throughout the area. crease by 8.6 percent, and, at the current rate of $1 ,425 a year, the university would lose $632,495. Zatechka said the $130 rate increase was arrived at by dividing the estimated deficit of $632,495 at the current rate, by the estimated occupancy of the residence halls of 5,038. He said the rate increase also includes the 3 percent university overhead requirement. The requirement says that all parts of the university that are not financed by the state, such as the Nebraska unions, housing and the health center, must pay ihe uni versity 3 percent of their gross revenues, he said. Zatechka said the 9.1 percent increase is less than the national inflation rate of 12 percent. Budget surplus Last year the university had a $146,860 surplus in the housing budget, Zatechka said, adding that the weather was responsible for $30,000 of the surplus. "If we have good weather the utility expenses aren't as much," he said. "But that's something you can't depend on. We've got to prepare for the kind of weather we usual ly have." He said the university in the past has averaged a $100,000 surplus from the housing budget. , . "A $100,000 surplus is nothing compared to the total budget," Zatechka said. He said housing expenses last year were $8.66 million, while the income was $8.81 million. The expenses for next year are estimated .at $9.4 million: The housing income last year was composed of $7.2 million from room and board fees during the academic year, $955,052 from room and board fees during the summer, $365,335 from s.iack bar co ncessions, $146,100 from contract cancellation forfeitures and $134,481 from visitors using the residence halls. Zatechka said UNL's rate increase would be the fourth highest among Big Eight schools, and UNL's room and" board fee is the second or third highest in the Big Eight. The regents will discuss next year's housing rate, at their Feb. 16 meeting. V ' RHA members call increase justifiable' Residence Hall Association members say although they hate to see an increase in the cost of university housing, they understand the reasons for a proposed 9.1 percent increase. The proposed increase, announced last week by UNL Housing Director Doug Zatechka,' is "justifiable," accord ing to RHA President Jay Curtiss. "The university is doing all it can to make the rate as low as possible," Curtiss said. "To make it any lower, the university would have to cut back on things students want. We don't like any increase, but the proposed one is the best we can ask for." Rick Mockler, RHA vice-president, also said a 9.1 percent increase is reasonable. "Utility expenses could be reduced, though," Mockler said. "There is some waste. The air conditioning was turned on some last year when it wasn't needed." Lyn Graves, Selleck Hall president, said the rate increase was needed, but he would like to see students have the option of not using some services in order to save money. "If students had more of a choice on what services they were paying for, students that needed to could cut expenses," he said. Jackie Petersen, Fedde Hall president, said she hates to see so much of an increase, "but with the cost of utilities and inflation, the university has no choice but to raise the rate." Zatechka said several students helped the housing office do the rate study, and "made some good suggestions on how we could reduce expenses." I'd walk a mile: Pro-life advocates trek through downtown Lincoln's slushy streets Page 5 All in the family (& friends): Former UNL professor enjoys playing in his combo, but-limits his. number of gjgs : Fage 8 Rocky Mountain performances: Colorado freshman Frank Hibbitts leads Husker gymnasts to victory over CU Page 10