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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1980)
lincoln, nebraska vol. 105, no. 33 thursday, October 9, 1980 Chiming Mueller bells play sour notes for some By Jim Faddis The Mueller Tower bells on the UNL campus are proving to be music to some ears and a disrupting noise to others. And according to Harley Schrader, UNL physical plant director, a committee is being formed to study how the bells can be made pleasing to all. The bells were installed in the Ralph Mueller Carillon Tower during the summer. They play songs for a four minute period between classes, at noon and at 6 p.m. Ivan Volgyes, political science professor, said the bells have been so disrupting to his classes that one class wrote a letter to Interim . Chancellor Robert Rutford complaining about the bells. "I'm usually in the middle of a lecture when the bells start ringing," Volgyes said. "Then the students can't concentrate and it disrupts me." Philip Dyer, vice chairman of the political science department, said 10 political science professors have signed a memo objecting to the bells. He said a number of instructors have complained that they can't speak over the bells. The noon chimes have especially caused a problem be cause it is in the middle of a class period, Dyer said. The bells are too noisy and disrupt classes and research, said Roger VViegand, a math professor who works in Oldfather and Morrill halls. The bells should be removed or just used on week ends, Wiegand said. Schrader said he has received some complaints about the bells, but he has also had an equal number of com pliments about them. "People have told me that the chimes are a refresh ing break during the day and that it gives them a chance to smeU the roses, so to say," he said. Edward Homze, a history professor who teaches in Oldfather Hall, said that he enjoys the bells and that they haven't disturbed his classes. Schrader said the committee being formed wil try to come up with some times when the bells can ring that will be agreeable to everyone. Volgyes said he has been complaining about the bells for three weeks and that he would like to see something done about them. "There is supposed to be so much intelligence at this university, that you would think they should be able to work out a time to ring the bells so they won't disturb anyone," Volgyes said. "All I care about is that my class is not disrupted." Wessels: tuition hike will hurt graduate program By Hollie Wieland ASUN President Renee Wessels said Wednesday in a press conference that the proposed graduate tuition increase will have a negative impact at UNL. Hie NU Board of Regents is scheduled to consider the proposal Oct. 17. In January, 1978, the regents considered implementing differentiated tuition, but decided against it. The current plan proposes a graduate rate 25 percent above the rate charged undergraduates and would be phased in over the next four years, Wessels said. She said the proposal would cause an increase o $2 per credit hour next year, and a $2-increase each of the following three years. The increase would generate an additional $120,000 next year, but starting the program will cost $50,000, Wessels said. She said she is concerned that the increase in revenue wjll not be worth the negative consequences. Wessels listed negative effects that could result from the change. She said the increase could cause the graduate program to lose appeal. Another problem she mentioned is the students' possible inability to pay the higher rate. "The effect of the tuition increase must be weighed against its potential impact on the components of the student body," she said. "To impose a further hardship on classes of individuals who already face barriers of discrimination, economically and psychologically, is a further act of discrimination." ' To adopt this proposal would be a blatant inconsistency in the president and Regents' so-called commitment to affirmative action." Val Pullen, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, commented on the effect the increase would have on teachers who are part-time graduate students. "Any increase in tuition will have the adverse effect of eroding the horizontal increment of the salary schedule, thus decreasing the compensation received by the teachers for professional growth," he said. "Teachers will then be forced to return to the bargaining table to negotiate higher increments on the horizontal steps of the salary schedules." Graduate students Les Carlson and Rumaldo Lovato spoke against the proposal at the conference. "The present proposal disregards the fact that the majority of ethnic minorities, women and the handicap ped are occupationally tied to the lower-paying jobs of society," Lovato said. "With the state of the economy, that is, with increasing inflation, money for these groups is hard to obtain and secure for graduate education," he said. "Thus, receiving a graduate degree will become more difficult, if not im possible, by the time the proposal becomes totally im v. . O Renewable energy sources update worldwide power Photo by Mark Billingsley This late blooming Pitcher Sage, backlit against a late autumn afternoon sun, serves as one of the last outposts for hungry bumblebees which feed upon its sweet nectar. The Pitcher Sage, Indian grass and the bumblebee are all members of the Nine-Mile Prairie family which reside on a 230-acre virgin tall grass prairie a few miles northwest of Lincoln. See Page 9 for more. By Bill Graf The decision has already been made. The world will have to make the switch to renewable energy forms, said the energy extension manager of the Nebraska Solar Energy Office. "Supplies of fossil fuels are limited. We can use them fast, or use it slow," said Pat Idler at a meeting of the Students for Re sponsible Energy Decisions. Idler cited four studies recently done concerning the energy crisis. The first, which he said he doesn't agree with, came to the conclusion that the world should continue the use of nuclear and fossil fuel. At the same time, it would set up a world cooperation system to en sure fair world distribution of energy. The second, which he said took a "nice slant," states that the responsibility is in the hands of the individual. The study follows the premise that the "only thing wrong witH laws is that they're made by lawyers. What does a lawyer know about energy?" he asked. The third study he cited was done by the Academy of Concerned Scientists. The conclusion of the study, he said, is that "solar energy is a lot of crap." Idler also questioned the outcome of this study. Switching his view from solar energy to renewable energy sources as a whole, he said that biomass, wind generators and solar collectors could take over a large portion of UJS. energy needs within a short period of time. The largest of the Hawaiian Islands, Oahu, produces 40 per cent of its electricity by burning the rem nants of sugar cane plants after harvest, he said. The fourth study was done by the Harvard Business College. This study, he ' said, came to the conclusion that solar energy can only be useful to those trying to cut outside dependencies, ecologjsts and the "granola crowd." "This is the attitude of the general public," he said. To emphasize the point, Idler said he was working on "what will eventually be a green house." "My neighbor came over and asked, What's it gonna be when it grows up?' I said, 4a green house.' Then he asked, 'what's all the sand, insulation and bricks for?' I told him, 'for heat storage.' He re plied, Vou're not one of those dopes that believes in all that solar crap, are you?" But, he said the same Harvard study stated that the year 2020 is the U.S. deadline for conversion to other forms of energy or "at least seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." Another incentive to Nebraskans, Idler said is that 67 cents of each energy dollar leaves the state. If that money could be kept in the state financing institutions such as NU this would place a smaller drain on the state coffers, he said. "We've made solar collectors; since 1897. What made them go away? -economics. What is bringing them back?-economics." Farewell Friend: Architecture students say goodbye to a long time friend . . Page 6 For The Love of Dance: Local instructors find recent trends helpful in gaining public awareness of dance .... Page 10 Getting Ready: The Husker frosh foot ball team prepares for a Monday game against the Kansas J.V Page 12