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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1983)
if - O ' -J ' XJ 1 April 22, 1C:3 Vet. 02, f.'o. 147 University of tlzhrzi'ts-l'mzcln 9 O ... c - c a Vx-L. j i V- Lj rr3 ( i Left: Mime expert Paul Dion relaxes before his show in front of the Nebraska Union Thursday. Dion, a New York native, performs ground the country or "wherever there's work," he said, pleading for help as a "creature" grabs him from a trash can. Staff photos by Joel Sartort .Ax "' : X" " . . ,, : - V;-ijj X" Legcsta'toe passss vei school bell, awaits CCenTey's OCC By Terry Hyland A bill to define conditions for construction of a college of veterinary medicine in Nebraska completed its often rocky journey through the Legislature Thursday as the measure won final approval on a 35-14 vote. The bill now goes to the governor for his approval or veto. LB533 was introduced to help clarify conditions for the construction of a regional veterinary college that would be built on UNL's East Campus. The bill was amended last week to include the following conditions for building the school. - an appropriation of S4 million from the federal gov ernment for the project prior to the start of con struction. - agreements from at least two other states to provide 40 percent of the students and funding for the college. - a Dec. 31, 1986 deadline for meeting pre-construc-tion conditions. Thursday's final approval of LB533 was relatively easy compared to past actions involving the bill. In March, the bill was killed by the Education Committee only to be re vived by a floor vote 15 days later. Last week, the bill's language was amended before it was advanced to final reading. Sen. Howard Lamb of Anselmo, one of the sponsors of the bill, said he was not surprised by the margin of the vote. He said the clarifying amendments added to the bill last week helped the bill pick up additional support. He said he thinks the governor will sign the bill into law. R. Gene White, coordinator fqr the vet school project, said he was "tickled to death" that the bill was approved. He said he was pleased that the Legislature has shown support for the livestock industry in Nebraska. White said the next step toward starting the planning of the project is the passage of LB630, an appropriations bill affecting the state's capitol construction fund. The bill would allow the state to match $827,000 already appropriated by Congress for planning and pre-con-struction costs. OOO By Mona Koppelman Not since the Great Depression have the executive and legislative branches of Nebraska government faced such a grim financial picture, according to Gov. Bob Kerrey. Kerrey spoke Thursday during the morning session of the Legislature to outline new budget proposals and to support his new budget figure of about $739 million. This figure is more than $25 million less than the Legislature's current budget proposal. "It's true we spend a great deal of money, but we must spend with justification," Kerrey said. The proposed figure spares many important programs, he said, adding that it was "truly pruden prudent to be realistic." "The state's broke," Kerrey said. "We're not generating sufficient revenue to pay our bills." In a press briefing Wednesday night, Kerrey said that as the budget stands, Nebraska would "spend $31 million more than would take in." "In such circumstances, we must either reduce expenditures or increase revenue," Kerrey said. "I'm proposing both." Kerrey included among the reductions the select file amendment sponsored by Sen. John DeCamp of Neligh. The measure, passed last week, cut $6 million from the University of Nebraska's funds. In addition to the $6 million cut, Kerrey further eliminated the proposed 1983-84 three and one-half percent salary increase for faculty and administrators. Total reduction in salaries amounted to $13 million. Regarding the university funding, Kerrey said, "I think the $150 million I originally proposed, which was subsequently lowered to $147 million, is reasonable. "A person can only judge what people want to spend," he said. "I don't feel the need to concede to considerable pressure to spend over that." Among capital construction reduction reductions, state colleges lost $50,000 for general improvements and the university lost $150,000. The proposed veterinary college would be funded at $275,000 for the purpose of designing and bidding. The appropriation would be matched dollar for dollar by the federal government. "At the designing and bidding stage ... we found $550,000 would cover our needs rather than the $1 .7 million projected before," Kerrey said. To increase revenue, Kerrey is proposing a temporary nine-month half-cent sales and use tax and a tax on computer software. The half-cent tax is designed to create a cash reserve. Nebraska's current cash reserve has been depleted. Kerrey told the Legislature that the "projections made today could be wrong . . . they could still be on the short side." "Delays and temporary stop-gap measures are certainly not the answer," Kerrey said, "We all work for the same employer, the citizens of Nebraska," Kerrey said. "If we don't act and act now, the deficit will be $10 million to $1 1 million bigger than it is now." n? 0 sgm ace owed by budgetary coirastaiirate Editor's note: This is the final article in a three-part series about handicapped students at UNL. By Ward YV. Triplett III, Kris Mullen and Marcia Warkentin There are no immediate plans for any major building access improvements for the handicapped, but UNL Affirmative Action officer Brad Munn said the university is generally up to where it wants to be in handicapped accesses. "There is hardly a building on campus now that is inaccessible," Munn said. Portions of Selleck Quadrangle, which do not contain any elevators, are inaccessible, as are the housing offices and counseling centers in Seaton Hall, he said. Teachers College is also difficult, if not impossible for a handicapped student to enter. "Considering we had to make improvements on a lot of our buildings for the handicapped, in what was a very 'short time, we have done a very good job," Munn said. One of the buildings that had to have sudden improvement when the Rehabilita tion Act of 1973 passed was the Nebraska union. "When handicapped access came into consideration, we were in some difficulty because this is not a ground level building," said Daryl Swanson, director of Nebraska Union. "We had to devise something quickly, and with the money available, we were able to build the ramp." The ramp, which is located at the west entrance of the building, takes three different turns before a student reaches doors that open electronically. Swanson said he thinks the ramp is inadequate. "It does permit entrance, but only with assistance," he said. "In the winter, when ice builds up on it, there's almost no way a handicapped student can get in the building without assistance." A gradually sloping ramp, with an all weather encasing, is the future goal of the union administration. But that improvement will cost at least $100,000. "That price tag points at how expensive handicapped access becomes to the insti tution," Swanson said. "Most people are sympathetic to the handicapped students, but public funding is difficult to obtain." Once inside the union, students do have access to the elevators. Swanson also is involved in the building plans for the proposed Culture Center in Terrace Hall. The original Terrace Hall plan called for a ramp and first-floor toilet facilties built into the building, which currently is used as a residental facility. The plan passed, but without a proposed amendment by Union Board members that additional money be spent to add an elevator to the handicapped plan. As the proposal stands now, a student in a wheel chair could enter the building but would be limited to events on the first floor only. The proposed plan will cost $10,000, he said. An elevator system would add an additional $62,000 to the total $180,000 renovation costs. Continued on Page 6