friday, february 27, 1981
lincoln, nebraska vol. 106, no. 35
u
Li
GHUD
ASUN candidates have second-round meeting
By Mary Louise Knapp
ASUN presidential candidates participated- in the
second of three scheduled debates Thursday evening in
Neihardt Hall.
The debate was sponsored by the Residence Hall
Association and Neihardt students.
The eight candidates fielded questions from a panel
of three students on a variety of topics such as the forma
tion of a State Student Association, UNE's Affirmative
Action program, international students and the proposed
veterinary college at UNI..
Panelists were Barb Richardson, Daily Ncbraskan
columnist and research assistant for State Sen. Steve
Eowler, Mark llirschfeld, first vice president of ASUN,
and Prabha Unnithan, president of the Nebraska Associa
tion of Sociology Graduate Students.
When asked his personal views on the formation of a
State Student Association, Tom Vergith, candidate for the
CURE (Coalition for University Revitalization) Party said
he is "not at all supportive" of an SSA at this point. He
said various factors such as cost to the students have to be
taken into account before the CURE party will take a
definite stand on the issue.
Vergith, an ASUN senator, said he voted to place the
SSA issue on a referendum. Since that bill has a pocket
veto from ASUN President Renee Wessels, he said al
though the issue will be on the ballot at the March 4 elec
tion, any decisions students make on it will not be bind
ing. Steve McMahon, candidate for the VOTE (Viable
Opportunities for Total Efficiency) Party, said he would
not vote for an SSA at this point because too many ques
tions about it have been left unanswered.
"We have not been told how SSA would be divorced
from ASUN, or specifically what issues it will or will not
address," he said.
Mike Erost, candidate for the STUPID (Students
Taking Unlimited Part in Democracy) Party, advised
spending the fees for the SSA on a salary for the ASUN
president.
Eric Johnson, candidate for the Eeminist-Socialis!
Party, endorsed the SSA, saying it is one way students in
Nebraska can unite to make their views known. He said
the SSA should join with the United States Student
Association and should work witli community groups.
Candidates were asked their views on the building of
a veterinary college on East Campus.
Doreen Charles, candidate for the ARISE (Alliance of
Rising Individuals Stressing Equality) Party, said UNL
should consider its budget before building a veterinary
college .
"We can't expect to add buildings when there is
supposedly no money available," she said.
Rick Mockler, candidate for the SURE (Students
United for Responsible Education) Party, said the pro
posed veterinary college is separate from the UNL budget
and the university's request for an 18 percent budget in
crease should be taken into account before any additional
funds are allocated.
The candidates were asked how they planned to deal
with the NU Board of Regents.
Tim Higgins, candidate for the PURGE (Party for
Urgent Redefinition of Government Expectations) Party,
said the NU Board of Regents will not listen to a minority
of students, and ASUN, in its present form, is a minority.
"A referendum would carry a great deal of weight,"
he said.
Diane Walkowiak, the independent candidate, said
students must make then feelings known to the regents
by calling them, attending regents' meetings, and writing
letters.
Johnson said dealing directly with the regents would
not have much effect .
"The real power at UNI. belongs to other people in
Regents Hall the Central Administration." he said. "You
can't appeal to them." Johnson suggested tuition and fee
strikes as one way of getting the administration to listen
to student concerns.
The candidates were asked what they would do if the
regents tried to pass a 25 percent tuition increase if they
were elected.
Charles said she would first let students know what was
happening and encourage them to write letters of protest
and speak about the issue at regents' meetings.
"If that has no effect, we will organize demonstrat
ion at Regents Hall," she said. If the demonstration had
no effect, she said she would encourage students to par
ticipate in a "class strike" in which students would not
attend classes until the regents reconsidered.
Mockler said since the regents normally make decisions
concerning tuition increases in the summer, when most
students are out of school, the best way to deal with it is
to write letters to parents and students across the state,
urging them to protest.
Candidates seek more important role for ASUN
Party to add to legal services
ARISE to take Wastic steps'
By Mary Louise Knapp
Editor's note: This is the last in a series of
profiles on the ASUN presidential candi
dates. Two profiles have been published
each day. The profiles appeared in the
order the candidates' names appear on the
ballot.
ASUN is an organization that exists pri
marily to serve the students and it is not
serving students now, said Steve McMahon,
ASUN presidential candidate.
McMahon, a candidate of the VOTE
(Viable Opportunities for Total Efficiency)
Party, said change is necessary to ensure
ASUN begins to pursue the objectives for
which it was created.
By expanding existing student services
and creating new ones, the VOTE Party
hopes to restore credibility and respect to
ASUN, he said.
He said the creation of a department of
criminal justice in the College of Arts and
Sciences and a reworking of the present
grade appeal system will result in improved
services for students.
McMahon said that if elected he will try
to make students more aware of benefits
that already exist.
He said the ASUN Credit Union can
only be effective if students are made
aware of its benefits, such as paying a
higher rate of interest on savings.
Expanding Student Legal Services to
allow the legal service attorney to repre
sent students in court in cases such as landlord-tenant
problems and requiring all
ASUN members to assist in the ASUN
Book Exchange would be helpful, he said.
McMahon, a political science, English
and philosophy major from Omaha, said he
decided to nin for the ASUN presidency
because ASUN was wasting time on un
important issues.
"I saw ASUN wasting time on things
like investigating Ronald Roskens. and saw
that a change was necessary."' he said.
McMahon has been active in ASUN
since last October, when he was appointed
to a senate position.
He said that experience in student
government could be detrimental to a new
ASUN administration.
"That experience would be experience
in the administration of an ineffective, in
efficient student government." he said.
McMahon said in spite of his limited
experience with ASUN, he has made many
contributions to it.
"I was the first to express concern
ill
f v v S
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Steve McMahon, ASUN presidential
candidate of the VOTE Party.
about expansion of Student Legal Ser
vices," he said.
McMahon was responsible for the hir
ing of Shelley Stahl. the new Legal Services
attorney.
"I hired her with the stipulation that
she present a proposal to the regents ex
plaining why the attorney should be allow
ed to represent students in court." he said.
McMahon also introduced a bill in the
ASUN Senate giving formal student
support to the building of a new recreation
center on City Campus.
McMahon said the regents' recent
decision to eliminate salaries for the stu
dent president is "absolutely irrelevant to
my campaign."
"I would seriously question the motives
of anyone who is running for the sake of
the salary," he said. "The money should
make no difference in the amount of dedi
cation (a candidate should have)."
Wendy Wiseman, a journalism major
from Omaha, is the party's candidate for
first vice president, and Mike Kratville, an
economics, English, and political science
major from Omaha, is VOTE'S candidate
for second vice president.
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Doreen Charles, ASUN presidential
candidate of the ARISE Party.
By Tom Prentiss
ASUN presidential candidate Doreen
Charles said too many people are involved
in ASUN for the wrong reasons.
Charles, the presidential candidate for
the Alliance for Rising Individuals Stressing
Equality (ARISE) Party said she thinks
many people are in ASUN to fatten up a
resume or just to hear themselves talk.
But Charles, a 20-year-old journalism
major from Chicago, said the position of
ASUN president is too important to take
lightly.
"Students can't afford to have some
body have power without taking action.'
Charles said.
She said she doesn't think abolisliing
any part of ASUN would help students. It
would take too long to rebuild, and polic
ies could be passed that would limit what
rights students had left, she said.
Charles said ASUN has not previously
Iiad anyone who was willing to take the
drastic steps necessary to show the NU
Board of Regents that students are dis
satisfied. "Yet, the regents have taken drastic
steps to keep students subjugated to
them," she said.
By drastic, Charles said, she means using
peaceful, non-compliance protests to take
the issues to the public. Charles said she
"would not bend to someone else's unjust
rules."
She said she will work within the
current structure, but added that when the
"system becomes abusive, you can no long
er work within it. When it no longer repre
sents you as a person, it no longer has pur
pose." Saying that she thinks she is the only
candidate who makes sense, Charles said
the ARISE platform points out several
specific goals.
Among them are:
-Urging a four-payments-per-year plan
for tuition be set up, similar to current
housing payment structure.
Working to obtain voting power for
the ASUN president who serves as student
regent on the Board of Regents.
-Advocating the divestiture of UNL
and the NU Foundation investments from
corporations in Third World countries.
Charles said her platform is based on
students' needs. The platform states stu
dents "must have the freedom to exercise
their rights as adults. The rules on this
campus that are designed to treat students
as children must be abolished."
Charles said she favors the proposed
State Student Association, with reserva
tions. If the SSA is created, Charles said, it
must not become dominated by a select
few, as she said ASUN has been.
Charles has been involved in the Resi
dence Hall Association, is a past ASUN
senator and is a member of the Afrikan
Peoples Union. She also is a member of the
Big Eight Council on Black Students.
She said the best ways to fight rules stu
dents think are wrong is to join forces with
other NU agencies, such as faculty organ
izations, in order to protest.
A combination of groups like faculty
members and taxpayers could show to the
regents students have needs and those
needs must be heard , Charles said.
"All students need is one victory, and
then more and more will start wanting to
get involved." Charles said.
She said she hopes to draw support
from many students. She said the ARISE
platform is the only party platform paying
attention to the needs of international
students on campus.
