2a1
monday, march 17, 1980
lincoln, nebraskavol. 104, no. 46
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Tl J O O J JO JO T1
Mecttoii suit motives auesnoned
JLL
By Kathy Stokebrand
Two ASUN presidential candidates are questioning the
motives behind another candidate's suits concerning the
election.
Tim Munson, LSD party presidential candidate said
STAR party candidate John Parsons filed suits in Student
Court questioning the validity of the election after he
discovered he had lost the election.
"Why would he want it (the election) nullified unless
he knew he lost," Munson said. Munson charged that it is
common knowledge that the current ASUN president, is
aligned with Parsons, and he was the connection between
the election results and Parsons.
"I did not in anyway release any results," said ASUN
Regents table staff
expansion proposal
By Michelle Carr
A resolution to request $100,000 from the Legislature
to finance a staff assistant for each of the eight voting
members of the NU Board of Regents was tabled Satur
day. Regent Robert Prokop asked members of the board to
adopt the resolution because the NU systems staff is
'overburdened" and cannot anwer the regents'
questions.
Legislators spend money to finance research assistants
and they represent only one-seventh of the regents'
district area, Prokop said.
Regent Kermit Hansen of Omaha moved to table the
measure and Regent Ed Schwartzkopf agreed, saying that
money is needed in other areas.
"As badly as we (the university) need dollars "-he said,
"we shouldn't siphon it off from other areas."
Schwartzkopf suggested that if such a staff were creat
ed, students could be hired and could earn credit for their
research.
4-3 vote'
Regent Robert Simmons of Scottsbluff said the request
would not cause adversity with legislators.
"There is a significant number of legislators who can't
understand how we are operating without this (a research
sufo.- ;
The resolution was tabled by a four to three vote. Sim
mons, Prokop and Regent James Moylan of Omaha voted
against the tabling motion. Regent Robert Raun of
Minden, Regent Robert Koefoot of Grand Island,
Schwartzkopf and Hansen voted to table the resolution.
Regent Kermit Wagner of Schuyler was absent.
The regents also heard complaints about the disunity be
tween the summer school calendars at UNO and UNL.
William Petrowski, a UNO history professor "told the
board that the two schedules should be the same.
Petrowski said only 85 percent of class time spent in
regular semesters is spent during summer school. lie said
summer school allows students to take "cheap classes for
cheap degrees."
Continued on Page 6
President Bud Cuca. He said the student government was
losing credibility due to the "mudslinging and name
calling" surrounding the election.
Renee Wessels, US party presidential candidate said
'Tim has a point. His thinking has been expressed by
others and needs to be looked into."
She said she wonders why Parsons waited until he did
to bring his charges.
Two suits filed
Parsons filed two suits with the court March 13. One
alleges that the Hare System, used in the election for
ASUN executive positions, does not satisfy the NU Board
of Regents' requirements that the student body executive
be elected by majority vote. The second, which charged
Munson with bribery , has been dropped .
Parsons said Munson's allegations were rather
humorous. "I didn't know the results. It is pretty dumb to
make that accusation without proof," he said.
The suit which asks for a re -examination of the Hare
System and requests that a run-off election be held
between the two top vote-getters if a majority was not
indicated, will be amended today, Parsbns said. He de
clined to comment about the amendment but said the
suit would still call for a run-off election.
Parsons alleged that Munson had committed bribery by
declaring in his campaign that he and his executives
would donate 33 percent of their salaries to financial aid
if elected.
Munson said he and Parsons met and agreed that the
suit against Munson was interfering with the democratic
process. They realized the suit would have no significance
toward the results, he said.
Although Munson does not agree with the Hare System
for finding a majority, he said a complaint against it
should have been filed prior to the election.
Results withheld
The results of the election will be withheld until at
least next Thursday due to an injunction issued by
Student Court Chief Justice Scott Cook stemming from
another complaint filed with the court.
In that suit Diane Walkowiak and Paul Grabowski
charge that poll workers opened and examined voter's
ballots before placing them in the ballot box. They asked
that the election be declared void because the concepts of
democratic elections had been violated.
Jim Davidson, an ASUN senator designated by the
electoral commission to help with the ballot tabulations,
said the results, other than those for write-in candidates
and executive positions, were known bout 3:30 ajii.
Thursday. The first results for the executive positions
came through the computers at about 4:30 am. he said.
Continued on Page 1 1
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
It may not have been the coming of spring, but high temperatures combined with the state boys' basketball
tournament caused many crowded scenes this weekend in downtown Lincoln.
Social Security grade IDs violate privacy act
By Debora Hemminger
Posting grades by Social Security numbers is illegal
without students' written consent, according to a federal
Department of Health, Education and Welfare official.
William Riley, head of the HEW staff regulating the
Buckley Amendment to the Privacy Act of 1974, said
Social Security numbers are personally identifiable, and
therefore cannot be released without permission.
The Buckley Amendment to the Privacy Act pro
tects students' academic records. Grades posted with
out permission are in violation of the amendment.
But NU General Counsel Richard Wood said he
thought the practice was legal, because an individual's
Social Security number cannot easily be traced to the
person's identity. He explained that it is a criminal
violation for the Social Security Administration to release
numbers.
Written consent
, James Kula, a service representative of the Social
Security Administration, said an agency may release a
number only if it has written consent.
, ...... .
Though Wood said he did not think the practice of
posting grades illegal, he called it something not advisable
for department heads.
Thirteen on file: Thirteen candidates file for Regents
posts Page 6
For everything there is a season: Ronstadt changes her
image on newest album Page 12
Not Jamaica iS the moonlight: Charles Lawrence, Jamai
can trackster, has adjusted to life in cold
Nebraska Page 14
tfi70nP7 'tacuy are aqvisea to iniorm tneu class 11 tney are
ULL JLcJy planning to post grades by social security number and ask
if anyone objects. If students do object, they would then
wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmim personally contact ,the professor "to receive their grades.
Riley said if no one complained about the practices,
then nothing would be done because of limited staff.
He said, in the last five years, he could think of two
complaints. Both were filed by professors who were
disturbed that their colleagues were not complying with
the Buckley Amendment. '
"Both the students and the professors want to get the
grades out," Riley said.
Ombudsman's office
No complaints were filed throughout 1979 with the
UNL Ombudsman's office concerning the posting of
grades with Social Security numbers, Faye Moulton of the
office said, "It would seem to be a natural concern," she
said.
The assistant dean of,the law school, Ray Hazen, said
he wouldn't think posting grades by Social Security
number would be illegal unless the illegal link was related
to the fact that Social Security numbers are permanent.
He said the law school posts grades by a number, but
the number is changed every year and third parties cannot
find the owner of the number.
The chairman of the department of geography, Brian
Blouet, said posting grades is 'left up to the wisdom and
discretion of the instructors." He said the practice is
probably more common in larger introductory classes be
cause of the numbers of students.
Bowker said HEW has indicated that schools should use
common sense in their interpretation of the Buckley
Amendment.
He said the main question of the Buckley Amendment
is whether the action is going to cause harm to the
students. ' - . . ' '
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