tuesday, february 3, 1981
lincoln, nebraskavol. 106, no. 17
(5IEQ
Sunday-night fire forces 150 to evacuate Sellec
k
By Val Swinton
and Kirsten Nielsen
Residents of Selleck Quadrangle's 8000 building gave
good marks to the building's alarm system following a
Sunday night fire that forced the evacuation of 150 stu
dents. UNL police spokesman Robert Fey said the fire started
about 10 p.m. Sunday in Room 8315. The room's occu
pants, Scott Laffoon and Cameron Lindsey, were not
home when the fire started. There were no injuries, and
Fey said damage was estimated at $250.
An electrical short circuit in a lamp cord may have
caused the fire, he said.
The fire was confined to one room, but smoke filled
the third floor. Students from all three floors were
temporarily evacuated.
Tom Mathews, a junior business major from Omaha,
said he didn't hear the alarm ringing from his room on the
third floor.
"I heard somebody yell Tire!'," he said. "That was
about it." However, he praised the locations of the build
ing's fire exits.
"I think it's excellent," said Mathews, whose room is
near a fire escape. "No matter where you are, it seems like
you have a place to go."
There are fire escapes at the ends of hallways on each
floor.
Residence Director Eric Buller said the alarm system
was working perfectly.
Loud alarm bells
"It about knocked me off my feet," he said of the bells
that began ringing when smoke detectors were activated.
Buller also praised student assistants for their efforts in
evacuating the building.
"They were really good about getting everybody out,"
he said.
Brian Featherstone, a junior from Omaha majoring in
mathmatics, was in his second-floor room when the alarm
went off. His door was open at the time, and he said he
had no problem hearing the alarm or seeing the flashing
warning lights.
There was no smoke on the first or second floors, al
though Featherstone said he detected a slight odor from
the fire.
Sunday marked the second weekend in a row that
Featherstone was forced to evacuate his room. He said
second-floor residents were ordered out last week after
someone ignited some boxes. The alarms worked well that
time too, he said.
Featherstone said he feels safe with the alarm system.
"As far as the new system they put up this year, sure it
makes a difference," he said.
Fire safety improvements
The smoke alarms, warning bells and other improve
ments are part of a $1 million program to bring residence
halls into compliance with state and federal fire safety
guidelines.
The students' comments were good news to Doug
Zatechka, UNL housing director.
"We try to tell students how to evacuate a building,"
he said. "Yet you don't know if something is going to
work until there is an actual fire."
Besides the smoke alarms, heat sensors were installed in
"high-hazard" areas of Selleck such as laundry rooms and
storage rooms in the basement. Regular doors to the stu
dents' rooms are currently being replaced with fire-retard-ent
doors. The fire exits that Mathews spoke of are also
new.
Flashing strobe lights are set off in Selleck whenever
the alarms are activated and magnetic fire safety doors
have been installed to seal off stairwells.
Zatechka said, however, he was concerned about
Mathews' failure to hear the warning bells. He said the
alarms have been tested and exceed the minimum decibel
requirements in state and federal fire codes.
Mike Leupold, maintenance manager for the Cather-Pound-Neihardt
complex, said improvements have been
made there, too.
"Just this year we've installed magnetic fire locks on
the hall doors, and most of the rooms themselves now
have fire doors," he said.
Trash chutes have been equipped with smoke detectors
and sprinklers, he said.
Charles Zimmerman, an arthitect in the Nebraska State
Fire Marshall's office, said he too is pleased with UNL's
willingness to improve fire safety standards.
"Sure, the university easily could spend a few million
dollars in the dorms," he said. "But we realize they're on
a budget and they are ordering new improvements."
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Photo by D. Eric Kircher
Lincoln firefighters work to confine Sunday night's
Selleck Quadrangle fire to a third-floor room.
'United front' to advocate NU budget increase
By Patti Gallagher
In lobbying support for the NU 18 percent budget in
crease request, the Government Liaison Committee will
seek to present a "united student front," to state senators,
according to ASUN President Renee Wessels.
Wessels, along with the chair and vice chair of GLC,
spoke to students Monday in a press conference at the Ne-
Groundhog Day
forecaster booed
By Tom Prentiss
Sporting a yellow ribbon in honor of the freed
hostages, Punxsutawney Phil exited his hole and saw
his shadow Monday, which folklore says means
another six weeks of winter.
Roy Seneca, a reporter for the PunxMtawney
Spirit, said Phil saw his shadow at 7:27 a.m.,
Eastern Standard Time.
Punxsutawney is located in western Pennsyl
vania, about 85 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Seneca said people really look forward to
Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney because it makes
the town a center of attention - at least for a day.
Seneca said Phil "spoke" to Charles M. Earhard,
president of the Groundhog Club. The club is a civic
organization in Punxsutawney.
"I'd like to tell President Reagan there will be a
new beginning in early spring, but we're going with
the true and tested six more weeks of winter," said
Punxsutawney's most famous citizen.
The crowd of about 400 booed, said Seneca.
He added that Phil's shadow was not very dense
and this may mean a mild winter.
Members of the Groundhog Club dressed up in
tu.cedos and top hats to celebrate the event, Seneca
said.
He said Phil, who is reportedly 95-yearsold, is
helped by a special punch that members of the
Groundhog Club prepares for him throughout the
year.
braska Union. The conference was held to outline GLC
plans for lobbying in the Nebraska Legislature.
Wessels said GLC's main concern is the university
budget. The committee will work for the total budget, she
said, and will not attempt to designate portions of the
budget as more important than others.
"The last thing we want to do is pit student against
student," Wessels said. To attempt to present budget
priorities to legislators would defeat the purpose of "pre
senting a united student front to lobby for an 18 percent
increase," she said.
GLC's vice chairman for budget research, John Vitek,
said that because of the diversity of student interest, GLC
has tried to "take the approach of things that are import
ant to every student."
If a senator were to inquire which portion of the
budget was top priority, Vitek said, he or she would be
referred to a university administrator.
Admitting that "we don't profess to know everything
about the university budget," he said administrators are
better informed on budget priorities.
However, relations with at least three administrators
has been very good, Vitek said. Ned Hedges, vice chancel
lor for academic affairs; Robert Rutford, interim chancel
lor, and Larry Andrews, assistant vice chancellor for
academic affairs, have provided information for their
lobbying efforts, he said.
Four areas emphasized
GLC members have targeted four areas for concentration.
The UNL libraries are facing a "critical funding
problem," Vitek said. They are one year behind in purch
ases and they canceled 788 periodical subscriptions last
year, he said.
During the last 10 years, he said, the price of periodi
cals has increased 192 percent and price of books is up 92
percent. The library's budget has increased only 78 per
cent during the same time, he added.
At the current funding level, the library is barely able
to maintain its present purchases. Any less means falling
further behind in those purchases, Vitek said.
Faculty salaries is another targeted area. Vitek said
salaries on this campus have decreased 1 5 percent in real
value in recent years, and are far below the average for
comparable universities and firms in the private sector.
GLC supports the university's request of a 10.5 per
cent salary increase for faculty, he said.
Vitek said GLC intends to request a special increase for
affirmative action from the legislature. He added that the
committee opposed the university's denial to allocate
$74,000 to affirmative action, as requested last fall.
First priority for GLC will be to obtain funding to re
novate Bessey Hall, Vitek said. Because the governor
vetoed the appropriation last year, he said, the group must
convince him of the renovation's importance. Vitek also
noted Architecture Hall and the Former Law building will
be supported by GLC lobby efforts.
Regent support questioned
Although the NU Board of Regents proposed the 18
percent budget increase, Wessels said they have not dealt
with it publicly since the governor announced his 12.8
percent lid on state budget increases.
She said that although some of the regents support
GLC's efforts, "it does make some of them nervous."
Wessels said, "We will definitely be down there en masse"
regardless of any regental opposition.
Other efforts pursued by the committee this semester
include sponsoring lunches and breakfasts for state
senators, giving campus tours for legislators, and having
committee members establish contacts with senators from
their district.
According to GLC Chair Nette Nelson, senators have
been "very receptive," to the student lobbyists. They have
not been turned down by any senators, although some
have had scheduling problems, she said.
fesfe tussday
Gift to the gifted: An Omaha senator introduces a bill to
increase state aid for gifted children Page 2
A Unified Voice: Singer Holly Near brought her mixture
of politics, music and feminism to the Nebraska Union
Sunday night Page 6
On The Run: Nebraska's Steve Elliott says being in gymn
astics and diving leaves him little free time .... Page 7