f riday, april 25,1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 104, no. 70
Union Board approves five-year plan
By Patti Gallagher
After one year in the planning stage, months in the
writing stage, and three weeks in the discussion stage., the
Nebraska Union Board passed their five-year plan
Wednesday night.
The plan was approved 9-0-1, with new faculty
appointee Robert Stowers, associate professor of archi
tecture, abstaining.
The plan was tabled last week after presentation of an
ASUN resolution which would prohibit board action on
the plan until the ASUN Budget and Fees Committee
had one week to review it.
ASUN passed a resolution Wednesday recommending
the plan be advanced to the Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs Richard Armstrong.
According to Union Board President Maynard Krantz,
the ASUN resolution neither supported nor opposed the
five-year plan, because after consideration, the Budget
and Fees Committee concurred that one week was in
sufficient time to take a stand.
Proposed changes
The five-year, plan, presented to the board by the
Nebraska Union Planning Committee on March 26, is
an' incremental plan for renovations in the union. Major
proposals in the plan include converting the North Crib
into a fast food operation, eliminating the bowling alley,
consolidating the University Bookstore into one unit and
switching ownership of the bookstore from the univer
sity to the union.
According to Union Director Daryl Swanson, the plan
is far from complete. Although approved by the board,
the plan must still go to the vice chancellor for student
affairs, chancellor, and the NU Board of Regents.
The board also discussed room allocations for student
organizations in the union, with three groups vying for
first floor space in room 117.
The board's operation committee had proposed that
the Student-YWCA and the University Program Council
Culture Center occupy the space, and the UPC-City re
main in its present location in room 221 .
After hearing representatives from each group and de
bate by board members, the vote was 6-4 to keep the
room assignments as initially proposed.
Finals week schedule
The board also voted to continue their discounted
drinks program in the unions during finals week. Ten
cent coffee and tea will be available May 5-9 with the
closing times extended from 11:00 pm. to 1:00 a.m. at
the city union, and from 10:30 p.m. to midnight at the
east union.
In the director's report, Swanson said utility costs
from July 1 to March have been down 15 percent from
the projected figures. He said the savings amounted to
approximately $20,000, and was due primarily to mild
winter weather.
Swanson also said tRaFgross sales in the "unions for
March increased more than 20 percent compared to March
of last year. The figure was derived from sales tax reports,
he said.
In other action, the board discussed a proposed Pro
grams and Activities Council by-law change. PAC pre
sently requires the presence of three union board
members, three ASUN representatives and one member
from each UPC group to have a quorum. The by-law
change proposes that attendance of all members not be
mandatory for a quorum vote.
7 , vv'
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Photo by Mark Billingslay
For m the road
Sometime we will all have to make the decision that
will affect the rest of our lives. In doing so, we struggle
to determine which direction to take. See today's
Fathom section for more on decision-making.
Officials criticize plan but callcommmt pmmature
By Patti Gallagher
At last week's Nebraska Union Board
meeting, the board's five-year plan drew
criticism from UNL officials on the pro
posed Nebraska Union ownership of the
University Bookstore.
Wednesday, the officials seemed tight
lipped in restating their concerns because,
according to one, discussion on the issue
is "a little premature."
UNL Business Manager Ray Coffey
said at last Wednesday's board meeting
that he did not agree with the idea of
union ownership of the bookstore.
Coffey also expressed concern that the
profits estimated in the five-year plan for
a consolidated and union-owned store were
too high. i
However, in a Wednesday morning
interview with Coffey r University Book
store Manager Larry Behrends and Director
of UNL Support Services Joseph Pospichal,
Coffey said that criticizing the proposed
bookstore ownership was not appropriate
because the proposal is only in the plan
ning stage,
University ownership required
However, Coffey said, a university
operated book supplier is mandated by
state law. According to Coffey, the law
says the NU Board of Regents will sell
textbooks at a cost not exceeding the
publisher's list price.
He said that the regents possibly could
grant the union ownership of the book
store , but that the price ceiling on textbooks
would still be required.
Pospichal later saw1, "We have to stand
by his (Coffey's) 'no comment' at this
time. Maybe our personal feelings have
to come second fiddle to that."
Pospichal added that "discussion needs
to be done through the vice chancellors."
Wednesday night the board passed the
five-year plan, which will now go to Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs Richard
Armstrong for approval. The plan was
tabled last week after ASUN presented
a resolution prohibiting board action on
the plan until their Budget and Fees Com
mittee had one week to review it.
Resolution passed
Also, ASUN passed a resolution ad
vising moving the plan to Armstrong, Ac
cording to Budget and Fees Committee
Chairman Eric Torrison, the resolution has
a neutral tone.
He said the committee wouldn't decide
either to support or oppose -the plan in
its entirety, because committee members
remained split on some aspects of the
plan.
He said that much of the committee
members questions have centered on the
proposed union bookstore ownership.
Torrison said that he and ASUN Pre
sident Renee Wessels pet Tuesday with
three persons, including Behrends and
Pospichal, who voiced their objection to
the union bookstore ownership. Torrison
said it seemed strange that the officials
would speak freely with Wessels and him,
yet would not make their comments pub- Tuesday night with the five-year plan's
lie. author, John Kreuscher, Torrison said,
The Budget and Fees Committee met and he cleared up many of their questions.
Charges filed against four
in series of Cather burglaries
By Suzanne Sayed
Four Lincoln residents, including one
UNL student face charges of burglary and
receiving stolen goods for a series of bur
glaries in which items valued at more than
$2,000 were stolen from two floors in
Cather Hall, campus police said.
Brett Willingham, 19, of 420 Cather
Hall, was arrested April 15 on burglary
charges when UNL police entered and
searched his room and found several of
the stolen items, along with door screws
from the rooms which he had allegedly
broken into.
Nicholas Huenick, 20 and Dan Ander
son, 19, both of 2753 Candlewood Lane,
were arrested on April 16 on charges of
receiving stolen articles.
After their investigation, police deve
loped suspects and obtained search
warrants, according to UNL police investi
gator, Randy Kleager. The burglaries
apparently occurred during spring break.
The remainder of the stolen articles
were found at 8301 Elizabeth on April
17. Robert Poutre, 19, was also arrested
on charges of receiving stolen goods,
Kleager said. Although no warrant was
obtained for the search of the house,
Poutre cooperated in recovering the stolen
items.
The burglaries were reported April 6
and 7 by residents of 12th and fourth
floors of Cather Hall. Police suspected
the burglaries might be related, accord
ing to Bob Fey, UNL police investigator.
Joseph Junge reported $1,160 worth
of items stolen from his room in 1214
Cather. Included were a stereo system and
speakers.
A digital clock radio, a suede jacket
and several miscellaneous items valued
at $229 were stolen from Michael Bennett,
and Brian DeBrie in 419 Cather Hall.
Kevin Trembly and Ron Henkel also
reported $430 worth of items missing from
their room, 418 Cather. A typewriter,
calculator, tape recorder, popcorn popper
and miscellaneous food items were among
the stolen articles.
Fey said a screwdriver was used to
gain entry into the rooms and that the
burglar had broken the locks to each door
in a similar fashion.
.Willingham, Huenick, and Anderson
were arraigned in County Court April 17
and will appear for a second hearing on
April 28, according to County Attorney
John Colburn. Poutre will appear today
at 2 pjn.