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Wednesday, february 13, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 104 no. 23
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Thone to sign LB221
Brimkimg age moves to 2(0) in; My
A V
Sen, Ralph Kelly
By Gordon Johnson
and Randy Essex
' Managing Editor
If you are 18 years and six months old, or younger,
Grand Island Sen. Ralph Kelly, after three years of trying,
finally "stole your cherry pop. '-
The Nebraska Legislature Tuesday passed by a 31-13
margin, LB221, which raises the state's legal drinking age
to 20. If Gov, Charles Thone signs the measure, which he
is expected to do, it will go into effect sometime in July
specifically 90 days after the 86th legislative session closes
in April.
Citizens of the state who are 19 before the bill's effec
tive date will retain their drinking privileges by virtue of a
grandfather clause in Kelly's bill.
Those who are not 19 before the effective date in July,
will have to wait until their 20th birthdays to legally par
take of alcoholic beverages.
An attorney general's opinion issued last year said the
grandfather clause apparently would be constitutionally
defensible as establishing two separate and valid classes of
people the same age.
Third attempt
Kelly, who introduced LB221 last .year as his third
attempt to raise the age to 21, said Tuesday he was
pleased with the strong finalvote, even though the age
was set at 20. ,
Last year, Kelly said young people "feel like someone
stole their cherry pop," when they heard about the bill.
Tuesday, he said, "Now we are finally ready to attack
the problem of teen-age drinking." Kelly said he will seek
a $270,000 appropriation for teen-age alcoholic treatment
centers across the state, to follow up passage of the bill.
The centers would use existing facilities, but teen-agers
need to be separated from adult alcoholics because teens
take longer than adults to treat.
Kelly also said he plans to wait "at least two years,"
and may try to raise the age to 21 again, depending on his
perception of LB221's effectiveness. ,
Kelly's first two attempts to raise the age to 21 died in
the Legislature's Miscellaneous Subjects Committee with
out being advanced to the unicameral floors.
Public testimony
The same committee heard public testimony on the bill
last year, and again did not advance it to the floor. How
ever, the full Legislature brought the bill from committee.
j Continued on page 3
Other Big Eight
trustees would take gold coins
By Michelle Carr
Given the choice of accepting or refusing a $1 million V
donation of Krugerrand gold coins, five officials of Big
Eight universities said they would accept.
Members of the UNL African Peoples Union asked last
week that the NU Foundation return the donation of
1 ,300 Rrugerrands by James and Jessie Coe of Phoenix,
Also, ASUN passed a tesolution last week advocating the
return of the coins and an end to all economic involve
ment ofthe university with South Africa,
" Administrators from five Big Eight universities were
asked the $1 million question. Officials from the Univer
sity of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University were'
not available for comment.
Dwight Roberts, president of the University of Color
ado Foundation, said, "I'd like to have -the problem
Woody Varner (chairman of the NU Foundation) has,"
Roberts said that the CU Foundation would accept a
donation similar to the one donated to the NU Founda
tion, if the CU Foundation was unaware of protests, as
the NU Foundation had been.
He said that if a future donation of South African
coins were made to CU, the foundation would "look at
what happened at Nebraska" and see how they handled
the situation,
Roberts said that if CU was caught in a situation
similar to UNL, he would suggest that the recipients of
the money, contributed, for example students receiving
scholarships, should decide if they want to accept or re-,
fuse the contribution.
"If they, (beneficiaries of a contribution) didn't want
it, they wouldn't receive it," he said,
All administrators interviewed said that their universi
ties have no specific policies regarding contributions with
political overtones. -
Gold prices
Joe Morton, a plan-giving officer of the ISU Founda
tion, said that the ISU Foundation would "accept any gift
and any gift with gold in it. Especially with the way gold
prices are now,"
Morton said that all contributions made to ISU are dis
cussed with the governing board, but added that the
foundation has no set policy for accepting or refusing
contributions.
According to Arthur Loub, the executive vice president
of the KSU Foundation, the university '"would definitely
accept coins if they are gold." . . ,
Loub said the KSU Foundation has to look at the situ
ation "pragmatically."
"Our purpose is to raise money," he said.
The only restriction on contributions at KSU is that
the gift not violate state statutes and that the donation be
in the interest of the university, Loub said.
Jack Wright, general counsel for the University of
Missouri said the university's Alumni Development Asso
ciation would accept a SI million donation in gold coins.
Wright said the university does not have any specific
policy regarding contributions of a political nature.
An official from the KU Foundation Endowment
Association said that the foundation would accept gifts of
coins, but if the coins would cause protests, the situ
ation would have to be discussed with the KU governing
board.
; ' v Stocks and bonds , ;
While no universities have had similar political prob-.
lems with contributions, according to the administrators
interviewed, some universities have had problems with in
vestments in corporations, which are involved with polit
ically volatile foreign governments.
According to James Martin, vice president of the KU
association, the organization has received requests from
individuals who do not want their contributions invested
in corporations with businesses in South Africa.
University1 investments in corporations involved in
countries such as Iran, has been a "source of debate,"
according to Morton of ISU. However, no policy on the
matter has been formulated. , .
Wright said that MU has received "flurries" about uni
versity investments in South Africa. However, Wright said
none of the investments have been divested,
"That is an investment," Wright said referring to the .
university's South African investments, "not a social problem
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Hioto by Mark Eillinplty
When winter winds whip through the air, there is nothing like a few extra pounds and a thick fur coat to
keep a body warm.
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