A J
Y ri Daily yi
n
uesaa
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
March 20, 1983
Vol. 2, No. 129
m U Li
J
By Terry Hyland
The Nebraska Legislature breathed new
life into a dead bill last week as state
senators voted to revive a measure that
would ease conditions for building a
proposed regional veterinary college at
UNL.
The education committee had killed
LB533 by a 5-3 vote March 16. Sen. Tom
Vickers of Farnam, chairman of the
committee, agreed to delay reporting the
committee decision after the vote and
tried to reach a compromise on the issue
with concerned livestock producers. When
the issue was not resolved, Vickers
reported the bill's demise to the full
Legislature.
On March 24, supporters of the bill,
led by Sen. Rex Haberman of Imperial,
were given a chance to bring the bill back
from the committee and into the general
file through a floor debate and vote.
During the debate, supporters of the
veterinary college stressed the importance
of the bill in keeping the project alive and
said the state must act now to accept
federal funds and show its commitment to
the project. Opponents argued that more
attention should be directed toward
existing agricultural and academic
programs at the university. They also said
spending a large amount of money during
a period of economic recession was im
practical and unnecessary.
When the senators voted after the
debate, supporters of the bill won a 33-8
victory and the bill was advanced to
general file. Thirty votes were required to
revive the bill.
LB533 was introduced in the
Legislature this year to amend a 1981
measure setting guidelines for construction
of the proposed regional veterinary college.
The bill, sponsored by the Legislature's
agriculture committee, would allow the
planning and construction of the college
to proceed with the federal government's
intent to fund the project in the future.
Congress already has appropriated
SS27,000 for planning and pre-eonstruct-ion
costs, and Gov. Bob Kerrey has
budgeted $50,000 to match the federal
funds.
The bill also would eliminate the Jan.
31, 1983, deadline for acceptance of the
federal funds by the state.
A lengthy debate and possible amend
ments to the bill are possible when the
bill comes to the floor for its general file
vote, Vickers said.
Vickers, one of the leading opponents
of the vet school issue, said he did not
think the bill's revival meant the measure
has gained support .
He said amendments to the bill to make
it acceptable should include a new deadline
for acceptance of federal funding -
possibly another year - and a more solid
financial commitment from Congress. He
said the federal government's intent to
fund the project in the future is not a
guarantee for the funds.
Haberman, who presented the bill to
the education committee, has supported
the bill and the vet school project with
excerpts from the Congressional Record
that he says confirm federal financial
backing for the vet college.
Haberman and other supporters of the
vet college have urged the Legislature to
act now on the vet school issue and accept
federal funding while it is available.
Sen. William Nichol of Scott sbluff,
speaker of the Legislature, said Monday
that supporters of the bill have not
requested that the bill be scheduled for
further debate yet. He said the bill is a
priority bill and will be moved ahead of
other bills when that request is made.
Children's Day
offers otioBUS
opcinr
for child care
By Deb Ko!c
If you see some "shorter" students
roaming around campus Thursday and
think they look a little young to be
college students, you're right.
Lincoln Public Schools will be
closed Thursday and the Chancellor's
Commission on the Status of Women
is sponsoring a UNL Children's Day.
Thirty children in the first through
sixth grades will be "entertained" by
UNL staff members all day, said Sandy
Wolfe, a member of the Commission's
Care Task Force.
"Everyone was very cooperative
and helpful. We didn't have problems
finding things for the children to do,"
said Sylvia Wiegand, associate professor
of mathematics and statistics and co
chairman of the task force.
The children will be divided into two
groups, first through third graders
and fourth through sixth graders, Wolfe
said. The entertainment is divided into
one-hour blocks ranging from math
talks on the Rubiks cube to singing
and dancing with the drama
department. Although some of the
activities for the two groups differ,
both will tour Morrill Hall and Sheldon
Art Gallery, she said.
"We wanted this to be a way for
children to find out about the university
and also a way to solve the parents'
child care problem for that day,"
Wiegand said.
"The Child Care Task Force's overall
mission has been to decide what needs
and problems there are for child pre
and to try to find options to solve
those problems," Wolfe said. "When
schools are closed, child care can be
a real problem."
The UNL Children's Day is set up
to help demonstrate the need for child
care and also as a way of exploring
possible options, Wiegand said.
There is a S5.50 charge per child
for the day. Wolfe said this covers the
cost of milk, an afternoon snack and the
full-time supervision. The children
will bring a sack lunch and the rest is
free. The staff members providing
entertainment are volunteers.
"We (the task force) do have a list
of day care centers in Lincoln and a
list of questions to ask when looking
for a sitter for your child," Wolfe said.
"We would be happy to send anyone
these lists if requested."
T
. -,.r
a 2 j j
p 'if n i
F- ' i J' I
XX 1
I
' ' (& i - I
, U'vvJ
ylA I?4
Resource topics
u
toisjyifelhit AmI
ecOTe semes
By Carol Harrah
The Visiting Scholars Lecture Series, sponsored by the
UNL Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife, will
be April 5 through April 21 .
Professors from Rutgers University, the University of
Wisconsin and Cornell University will participate in the
nine-day event on the UNL campus.
Three professors will give lectures and lead discussion
on the topic "Natural Resources Management, Challenges
and Promises for the Future." The speakers are: David
Ehrenfeld, professor of biology at Cook College, Rutgers
University; David Pimentel, professor of insect ecology
and agricultural sciences at Cornell University; and Arthur
Hasler, professor emeritus at the Laboratory of
Limnology, at the University of Wisconsin.
Ron Case, professor in the Department of Forestry,
Fisheries and Wildlife, said this is the first year for the
lecture series.
"We received a grant from the Layman Fund," he
said. "It was set up specifically for this and the theme
was chosen as well. We wanted to show that there is some
hope for the future, instead of looking at only the bad
side of ecology."
. Ehrenfeld will start off the series with a lecture on
sources of hope in the environmental crisis at 7:30 pjn.
in the auditorium at the Nebraska Center for Continuing
Education. The lecture will be presented April 5. On
April 6, he will present a seminar on ecology in the
East Union at noon. Ehrenfeld then will lead a discussion
on the biology of human sex differences in the East
Union at 10 a.m. April 7.
Ehrenfeld is an active conservationist on the national
and international levels. He was the principal scientific
organizer of the World Conference on Sea Turtle
Conservation, a founding member of the American
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and vice
president of the E.F. Schumacher Society, a group that
takes a philosophical look at natural resources.
The next lecture will be given by David Pimentel,
April 12 at 10 a.m. in the East Union. He will speak on
the topic of "Biomass Energy : Benefits and Risks."
Pimentel also will conduct seminars April 12 and 13.
The first will be at 7 30 p m. on the topic of natural
resources versus food production, and on April 13 at
noon, the seminar topic will be genetic diversity and
parasite-host stability.
Arthur Hasler will be the final speaker in the series.
He will lecture of "Eutrophication of Lakes: Causes
and Correctives," April 19 at 7 30 p m. in the Nebraska
Center for Continuing Education auditorium. He also
will conduct two seminars April 20 at noon, and April
21 at 10 a.m., both in the East Union.
