tuesday, november 18, 1980
lincoln, nebraska vol. 105, no. 62
Committee seeks stricter Pub Board membership
By Jim Faddis
The NU Board of Regents' Ad Hoc Guidelines Review
Committee, set up by the regents following the James Coe
letter disclosure, has proposed that strict guidelines be
set as to who can serve on the Publications Boards on the
UNLand UNO campuses.
The regents instructed the committee to develop
amendments to the student press guidelines providing for
the Publications Board to be "clearly separated from all
university elective political officers and bodies."
The UNL Publications Board is a nine-member body
consisting of five students, two faculty members and two
professional journalists that oversees the Daily Nebraskan.
The regents appointed the committee in October after
the regents had expressed dissatisfaction with the way the
Coe letter incident was handled.
A letter from Coe of Phoenix, Arix., to former Daily
Nebraskan Editor in chief Rocky Strunk was received by
present Editor in chief Randy Essex. Essex gave the
letter to Publications Board Member Hubert Brown.
Brown then gave it to State Sen. Ernest Chambers of
Omaha, who then released it to the media.
Coe's donation of 1300 South African gold coins was
critisized by some who said the coins were symbols of
racism. Coe's letter was said to be derogatory to blacks.
The Publications Board found that Essex and Brown
used "poor judgment" and sent a letter of regret to Coe.
Brown was a former AS UN first vice president.
The committee has proposed the following restrictions
be placed on Publications Board membership:
I
... .. r.
1 ) No member of the NU Board of Regents, the Facul
ty Senate, the student senate or any elected or appointed
officer of the university administration, faculty govern
ment or student government can be on the board.
2) No former member or officer of the groups named
in the first restriction can be on the board until one year
has expired since the end of their term in office.
3) No unsuccessful candidate for any position on the
groups named in the first restriction can be on the Pub
lications Board until one year has expired since their
candidacy ended.
4) No campus newspaper staff member may be on the
Publications Board at the same time.
5) No member of the campus body responsible for
allocating student fees to one of the newspapers shall be
on the board. No former member of the body shall be on
it until one year after their term has expired. No unsuc
cessful candidate for the fee allocation body shall be on
the board until one year has expired since their candidacy
ended.
The committee's report said that "such restrictions are
necessary to avoid possible conflicts of interest and pre
serve the independence of the newspapers from political
control."
The committee also has proposed changes in the way
Publications Board members are selected. Presently, five
students are appointed to the board by the student senate
or student president.
The committee has proposed that the student advisory
council of each academic college appoint one member to
serve on a committee to select students to be on the Pub
lications Board.
Faculty members on the Publications Board should be
selected by a committee consisting of one representative
from each academic college executive committee, the re
port says.
All appointments to the Publications Board should be
approved by the campus chancellor, the committee said.
Continued on Page 7
Council shelves radial proposal
By Robin Lynch
The City Council shelved the proposed Northeast
Radial Highway by voting in favor of the no-build option
at the council meeting Monday afternoon.
The Council passed the motion, which was made by
Eric Youngberg, with a 5-2 vote after members were
allowed time to express their views on the issue.
After the voting, Youngberg commented that the
Council should put a notch in one of the chamber's
pillars, indicating the number of times the proposal has
been defeated. He later estimated the Council had decided
against the highway about six times.
Both Council members Leo Scheier and Donna Fro
hardt, voted against the no-build option, saying it would
not meet the public or the university's needs.
Befo
ni i , i . r i r
re vonng, acnerer saia mai n me motion tor no-
build passed, "It would be a sad day for the city's trans
portation needs.
Frohardt said that since the public approved the city
bond issue for mass transit they indicated a desire for
some type of mass transit. She also said that the city need
ed to check the validity of the comprehensive road build
ing plan, but not defeat it.
Youngberg said that no one would be a winner in this
fight and that the city needed to face the reality that thc
'Reorganize human services'
can't build every road planned because there just isn't
enoug 1 money.
Council member Michael Steinman said he had always
opposed the northeast radial, but the public hearing on
Oct. 27 was an eye opener. He also said the city should
preserve the neighborhoods, both business and residential,
which the radial would go through.
Councilman Joseph Hampton said he was tired of the
issue being used for politics and advocated several times to
let the public decide. He added that continued debate on
the radial issue year after year was like "whipping a dead
horse."
Several members of the Council said that the city
didn't have the money to complete existing street pro
jects, and to take on this one would only intensify the
problem. Council member Magrethe Ahlschwede said the
city of Lincoln could be road rich and people poor.
ASUN Speaker Rick Mockler, said that a resolution
ASUN made several weeks ago supporting the no-build
option was influential in the decision made by the Coun
cil. Mockler said that he and Mark Hirschfeld spoke with
several neighborhood groups Saturday, who thanked
ASUN for the resolution. Mockler also said that it is a
very positive step for ASUN because it was ASUN's first
interaction with the groups.
Thone endorses suggestions
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Precariously-balanced workers are silhouetted
against the early morning sky as they raise steel
beams in a construction project on O Street be
tween 13th and 14th streets.
By Steve Miller
Nebraska Gov. Charles Thone Monday gave his en
dorsement to seven of 88 recommendations made by the
Governor's Task Force for Government Improvement.
In a press release from the task force, Thone said he
would make periodic announcements on recommendat
ions of the remaining issues as each issue is clarified,
rather than announce his position on all the recommenda
tions at one time.
The group of businessmen and women who formed the
task force in October handed Thone a report containing
the recommendations designed to improve the efficiency
of state government.
Three of the recommendations Thone endorsed in
volve departments that deal with human services.
Single office
The departments of Public Welfare, Public Institutions.
Labor and Health would have their functions coordinated
under a single administrative office.
Thone also agreed that services should be organized to
meet the needs of the individual.
"It is wrong to deal with individuals and families as if
their problems can be sliced into four distinct and unre
lated areas: Health, institutions, welfare and labor,"
Thone said.
"Quite often an individual's or a family's problem will
run across the whole spectrum of social health and eco
nomic needs.
Reorganize approach
"If we are to get these fellow Nebraskans back on their
feet and back to work, we need to reoganize our approach
to the delivery of human service."
Thone also called for increased efforts to eliminate
duplicative inspections through close cooperation between
inspection agencies.
Thone agreed with the task force that duplicative in
spections are an unnecessary burden for the individual or
business being inspected.
A recommendation calling for maximum effort to
collocate offices also was endorsed by Thone.
One-stop service
"Our goal is to provide, wherever possible, one-stop
service for state government," Thone said. "Nebraskans
should not have to expend energy resources running all
over their towns to find state government."
Thone said he would direct the Department of Admin
istrative Services to perform space audits of state build
ings to bring agencies that are now leasing office space
back to state-owned buildings.
He added that plans are already underway to further
consolidate space in the capitoi and state office building.
Thone also endorsed a recommendation to reduce the
number of state passenger vehicles.
"I am strong in support of this proposal," Thone said.
"The state has too man y passenger-carrying vehicles.
"I will direct those agencies under my control who
own vehicles to work together to establish new policy and
procedures for vehicle purchase and use."
Thone said he would ask agencies to explore the possi
bility of leasing vehicles instead of buying and to consider
reimbursement for personal mileage as option.
Thone also favored a centralized system of controlling
the number of state forms.
"Such a program will help reduce the number of forms
currently pressed upon the private sector by state govern
ment," Thone said.