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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1981)
monday, december 7, 1981 lincoln, nebraska vol. 107 no. 69 Copyright Daily Nebraskan 1981 University of Nebrka-Lincoln xiCaJuL u Wesely urges greater student effort at assembly By trie Peterson State Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln set the tone of the first legislative assembly of the Nebraska State Student Association on Saturday by calling for greater efforts from student lobbyists. Wesely announced his topic as "Higher Education: An Investment in Nebraska's Future," and said the concept of quality education will lose ground in the state unless stu dents continue to make their views known. Wesely said the formation of the student association is a valuable step. The student association is a recently formed statewide student lobbying group with UNL and Peru State College as members. UNO students recently voted to join the student association in fall 1982. Students at Chadron State College have voted not to join the student association, but Nctte Nelson, Govern ment Liaison Committee chairperson and SSA board member, said she expects the issue to come before the students there again. Students at Kearney and Wayne state colleges, and at the NU Medical Center are expected to vote on joining the student association next semester. The lobbying organization is financed by a uniform fee of 50 cents per student per semester on member campuses. The day long session of the association's legislative assembly also included issues workshops, adoption of lobbying agenda and a business meeting. Wesely said the educational situation was better at UNL when he was a student. "This is a time of lids, of limited spending, of limitat ions for the university," he said. State senators who oppose spending for higher education often say that be cause the universities are the largest components in the state budget, the largest wastes arc also there, Wesely said. "They think you can cut without any pain," he said. Wesely said UNL is still a good university, but he is worried about a long term trend toward lower standards at UNL. "In some cases we're losing top-notch faculty, and not attracting top-notch new faculty," he said. "Students are going to have to take a role in the advancement of education in the state." he said. "Your pp '4 Js j I MM.i jmtMi"; Photo by Dave Ber The Cornhuskers' season might be over, but a football game can still draw a crowd. Members of Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity spend part of their Sunday playing a friendly game of football in front of the Dental College be fore buckling down to study for finals. Foes say wheel tax is inequitable, hire lawyer position is up to you." Wesely said students should continue talking about the quality of education, and promote wise use of the univer sity budget, including pointing out waste and inefficiency. "If students don't try to promote efficient use of uni versity resources, then the budget cuts that are made will be indiscriminate and damaging," he said. Wesely cited the Masters in Business Administration program at Kearney State as an example of waste. "They have the program at Kearney State at an ex tremely high cost, sending UNL faculty to keep it going," Wesely said. "The graduate program costs two or three times what a similar program would cost in Lincoln." The recent special session of the Legislature called by Gov. Charles Thone was especially damaging to higher education in Nebraska, Wesely said. "An across the board cut of 1 percent would have covered the deficit," he said. "Instead, the governor pro posed a 3 percent cut for higher education and for the regular state agencies and no cut for local governments. Higher education and the state agencies didn't have many friends and the local governments did." Wesely said some senators have talked about eliminat ing some Nebraska campuses instead of consolidating pro grams. "That's an extreme step, but with the present situat ion, there will continue to be talk about it," Wesely said. The deteriorating economy has played a part in chang ing attitudes toward education, Wesely said. "We don't have too much growth in the economy," he said. "There's also an attitude that the university can handle big cuts. They don't hear that many complaints from university students. It's the squeaky wheel concept, and the wheel hasn't been squeaking too loudly from UNL lately." Wesely said the new student association will be positive, and suggested it should work with UNL alumni. "together you (alumni and students) make a very strong group," he said. "You know what's happening better than anyone else." Wesely said capital construction is the easiest budget item to cut when the times get tough. "There's the feeling you aren't hurting faculty jobs, but just buildings," Wesely said. "You can't do that for ever. After awhile, the bones are going to be gone in Morrill Hall." Wesely has proposed a bill to put an air control system in Morrill Hall to preserve the fossil collections. Wesely said he probably would favor Lincoln Sen. Steve Fowler's proposal to increase the cigarette tax to finance higher education capital construction. Continued on Page 2 13 f Eric Peterson Opponents of a wheel tax recently passed by the Lin coln City Council are mounting a legal effort to prevent its taking effect, said Roger Bartlett, a Waverly citizen and chairperson of Citizens Against the Wheel Tax Com mittee. "Right now, we have an attorney who is working with the litigation," he said. The attorney will explain the com mittee's case at a committee meeting Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Waverly. Bartlett said $3,000 would be the minimum amount necessary for an adequate effort to take the wheel tax issue through the courts. The committee may hire two lobbyists to take the issue before the state legislature as well, Bartlett said. The new wheel tax ordinance, which will take effect Jan. 1, increases the tax from S8 to $12 a year, and ex tends the tax to non-residents of Lincoln who drive to work in the city. It will be assessed to the car owner when the year's registration is paid. If the owner pays for car registration outside the city, the wheel tax money is to be forwarded to the city of Lincoln. University students who own a car and work in Lincoln may also be liable to the tax, said Nette Nelson, chairper son of the ASUN Senate's Government Liaison Commit tee. City officials told her it was not their intention to tax students who have a car but do not drive to work but the wording of the ordinance is so ambiguous that that inter pretation is open, Nelson said. Nelson said a city lobbyist had revealed the basic motivation of the extension of the wheel tax base was not so much to get new revenue because the costs of enforce ment would be too high, but to make taxing more equita ble. Nelson said students will operate a booth in the Nebra ska Union Tuesday to raise money and signatures for the legal effort, and will take their support to the community meeting in Waverly on Wednesday night. Bartlett said the new ordinance is full of inequities. "Conceivably, someone who does only temporary work in the city would be taxed," Bartlett said. The money from outside the city will be difficult to collect. Continued on Page 6 Fee users required to provide receipts to CFA By Tom Shelton The Committee for Fees Allocation discussed accept ance of fee allocation criteria and a deadline extension for budget submissions of five tee users at a recent meeting in the Nebraska Union. Jim Frohman, committee chairman, announced the ASUN Senate had adopted a new point of order in the allocation of student fees to fee users. The new point in the criteria says fee users must make available to the com mittee upon request receipts for food, travel, lodging and expenses used by each fee user at various student meet ings. The use of fees as shown by the receipts will have a bearing on future allocations. Frohman said Rick Mockler, senate president, had re fused to sign a bill regarding the new criteria, in effect exercising a pocket veto. However, the point was passed by the senate despite Mocklcr's earlier advice to a senate budgetary subcommittee to reject it. Requiring receipts for food, lodging and travel will not affect the Daily Nebraskan, the only one of seven fee users which is exempt. The other six fee users - the Rec reation Department, the senate, the Nebraska State Stu dent Association, the University Program Council, the University Health Center and the Nebraska Union - are to abide by the stipulation of the new criteria. The other major point of order of the two-hour meet ing concerned the deadline extension for five of the fee users in drawing up budget requests to present before the committee. Thus far, only the recreation department and the Nebraska SSA have submitted budgets before Dec. 1 , the deadline set forth by the committee. The other five fee users were granted extensions - until Dec. 14 - to submit their budget requests. Once the budgets are received, the committee will examine them to prepare for individual meetings with each of the seven fee users. The meetings begin Jan. 14 with the Daily Nebraskan and end Feb. 4 with the health center. At each individual meeting with a fee user, the fee user's representatives will discuss with the committee the size of the budget it desires. If, after the meeting, the fee user disagrees with the committee's allocation, it may appeal the decision and meet with the committee on one of three appeal dates, Feb. 9, 1 1 or 16. The committee, a standing senate committee, will sub mit its recommendations for the budgets of each fee user to the senate, asking for approval. After the senate approves the recommendations, the allocation is present ed to the chancellor for approval. In the case of Fund B fee users - the union, the health center and the recreation department final approval of allocations must come from the NU Board of Regents. mm monday Safety for those in Love: A night shuttle service begins to night for exam-cramming students going to Love Library Page 8 No Respect, But Lots of Fans: Comedian Rodney Danger Field filled Omaha's Orpheum Theatre for two shows Page 1 1 A Blue Day for Bluejays: Nebraska's basketball team de feated intra-state rival Creighton 86-46 Saturday night in the Bob Devaney Sports Center Page 8