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Monday, August 30, 1982
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 82 No. 7
lid sign
By Deb Kollars
Socialist Workers Party members Joe
Swanson and Cheryl Porch said they are
outraged but not surprised that election
officials have declared them ineligible to
run on the November election ballot.
Swanson said they were informed of the
decision Friday by Secretary of State Allen
J. Beermann. Beermann is expected to
make the official announcement today.
Although the two candidates for gover
nor and lieutenant governor turned in
3,715 signatures on their nominating peti
tions, Swanson said he was told that elec
tion officials found only about 1 ,800 to be
valid. State law requires a minimum of
2,000 valid signatures for gubernatorial
petition candidates to get on the ballot.
In a statement released Friday, Swanson
atures disq
and Porch charged that they are victims of
discrimination by the Democratic and Re
publican parties. Through their appointed
election officials, the parties "are doing
everything they can to keep our names off
the ballot," Swanson said.
"The reason they are doing this," the
statement said, "is because we offer a
program for the working people and
farmers of this state and because we
favor independent political action by the
workers and farmers against the Democrats
and Republicans and their two-party
monopoly."
Swanson said he and Porch plan to or
ganize a write-in campaign and are consi
dering filing a lawsuit against the state
challenging the decision.
Normally, about 10 percent of the sig-
'Socialist petitions
natures on a petition are found invalid.
The rate of disqualification for the Social
ist Workers Party petition signatures ran
between 50 percent to 60 percent, the
highest ever, Beermann said.
Douglas County had the highest rate
of disqualification. Of the 1 ,036 signatures
gathered, Election Commissioner Lee Terry
found only 355, or 39 percent, to be
valid.
In Lancaster County, 1,278 of 2,385
signatures, or 53 percent, were valid,
Election Commissioner Elain Usher said.
Swanson said he and Porch collected the
signatures in 29 counties.
Swanson contends that the election
commissioners "just didn't want us on the
ballot. So they did all they could to dis
count the signatures."
He said signatures were gathered in the
same areas that other petition candidates
have covered in the past - areas that usu
ally have only about 10 percent of the sig
natures disqualified.
He said many signatures were discounts
because addresses didn't correspond with
voter registration lists. Swanson said that
in those cases, the voters probably were
unemployed, had been forced to move and
hadn't had a chance to report an address
change.
Beermann said most of the signatures
were invalidated because the signers
weren't registered to vote.
"The law is wrong," Swanson said.
"And we will continue to try to get on the
ballot. With 3,700 signatures of people
who support us, we feel we should be on
the ballot."
Problem of trains blocking crossings unchange
By Vicki Ruhga v
The Missouri Pacific Railroad is ignoring the problem
of trains blocking intersections for long periods of time,
according to Coffey, UNL business manager.
'They are stone-walling this issue, and the situation
is exactly what it was a year ago," he said.
Coffey explained that the trains often block the
intersections by the Harper-Schramm-Smith residence
halls for 20 to 50 minutes. This conflicts with a Lincoln
city ordinance allowing trains to block an intersection
for only 20 minutes, according to a spokesman from
the Lincoln Police Service Office.
'This creates a real hazard for students walking to
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Staff Photo by Davt Bnti
llucer football player Paul Miles studies economics Sunday afternoon near the Nebraska Union.
class, as well as automobile traffic," Coffey said.
"Eventually people end up crawling on or under a train
which isn't moving."
Last year the Missouri Pacific took a hard line in
dealing with UNL, according to Coffey .
The railroad stated that each day it must "make
up" a train by putting box cars together at an inter
section. Before a train can be moved off the intersec
tion, a minimum amount of air pressure must be built
up for the brakes, according to a Federal Trade Com
mission law, Coffey said.
The railroad claimed the right to prosecute anyone
crossing under or on trains last year, but no student
was ever arrested for that reason, said Capt. Ken Markle
of the UNL Police.
"The UNL Police won't arrest any student for this,"
Coffey said. "The problem is caused by the railroad,
not the students."
"I have tried several times to contact the railroad,
and so far my success rate is zero," he said. "The only
people who are able to exercise leverage on the railroad
seems to be the Nebraska Public Service Commission,
which organized last year's meeting."
Coffey said administrators will meet tomorrow to
determine what course of action to take this year.
Tom Mockler, Residence Hall Association president,
also believes the Missouri Pacific has the upper hand
in the problem.
Mockler said one possible solution to the problem
would be to stop blocking the intersections for more
than 10 minutes, but the railroad dismissed this as not
economically feasible because they must make up the
trains.
"Just a few days ago, a train blocked the intersection
for 36 minutes," Mockler said. "If the train is not moving,
many people choose to crawl through the middle, rather
than stand around and wait."
The RHA is getting organized for another assault on
this problem, Mockler said.
Kent DeJong, Harper-Schramm-Smith complex presi
dent, said broad-based student support is needed to
solve the problem.
'This year we are trying to get the entire complex
involved, rather than just a few people," DeJong said.
"We will also try to get help from various organizations
on campus."
ASUN vice president refuses salary in protes'
By Erick Peterson
Bob Fitzgerald, ASUN second vice
president, is refusing his salary because
ASUN President Dan Wedekind is not
being paid one.
''It's out of principle," Fitzgerald said.
"Dan's position is a lot like a job, and
it just isn't fair that he isnt getting paid
for it."
Since taking office last March, Fitz
gerald has returned $200 in paychecks
to ASUN official. During the summer,
when both Wedekind and Fitzgerald
worked in the ASUN office, Fitzgerald
split his pay with Wedekind.
The student president does not receive
a salary because of a decision by the NU
Board of Regents two years ago that a
student regent is constitutionally pro
hibited from taking pay. However, the
ASUN first and second vice president
can be paid.
"People are afraid it's going to cause
waves on the administration or regental
level," Fitzgerald said. "That's, not my
point. I'm pointing out the plight of the
individual involved, and also of the of
fice."
Regent James Moylan of Omaha said,
"I commend him (Fitzgerald), 1 guess."
Fitzgerald said a student, especially
a married student like Wedekind, needs
some kinti of compensation for the time
spent cn the job. Also, the last time UNL
students voted on ASUN executive salaries,
they voted in favor of paying the presi
dent, he said.
Wedekind has to work at his father's
business each weekend in addition to his
ASUN duties.
"He's more than taxed. If Dan shouldn't
be getting paid, then I shouldn't," Fitz
gerald said.
The situation has a real effect on how
people are able to do the job, he said.
"If the university administrators, re
gents and students want responsible people
in the office, this (lack of a salary) could
hurt that." he said.
Unfortunately, most people aren't even
aware of the situation, he said.
"Everyone's totally surprised that Dan
isn't paid. Most people don't understand
why I'm doing it. Whatever Ihe reason
is, right now there's an injustice, he said.
Wedekind said the official reason
given for the regents action two years
ago wa that board members -believed
the student regent and the student presi
dent were the same position because the
same person did both jobs.
Since the state constitution prohibits
regents from being paid, thejr removed
the salary.
"However, the regents own lawyer did
not confirm that this interpretation was
correct," Wedekind said.
The regent's decision was unfortunate,
Wedekind said. .
'The people who are losing out are
the students. I may not be devoting the
time that I should devote to it" Wede
kind said.
An expense account had been one
suggestion for reimbursing the president,
he said, adding this method probably
would not work because of the potential
for misuse.
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