Do
ally -pi
IK. jT 1 J N D H B
Monday, April 22, 1985
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 84 No. 145
Veather: Our weather pattern is finally moving
back to normal for this time of year. Mostly cloudy
today and cooler with a high of 77 (25C). Tonight,
70 chance of thunderstorms and a low of 53
(12C). Cooler again on Tuesday, with a high of 70
(21 C). Barb BrandaDaily Nebraskan
leavy metal from
across the sea...Page 10
3
Lack of light is base
ball's plight...Page8
And a one, and a two .
Mark DavisDaily Nebraskan
Todd Fleishner, member of the Cornhusker Marching Band, practices for drum major tryouts
Saturday morning at Memorial Field. Eight people competed for the three spots Sunday. Bill
Ballenger, assistant director of the band said, "They (drum major contestants) not only are
judged on their performance here today, but also on past performances and interaction with
students and staff and their general personality."
Lawn TTrompeirs
Students9 shortciits
Mil caiEpui
grass
Dy Cynthia Hutchinson
Special to the
Daily Nebraskan
Thirty-six miles of sidewalks weave
their way around UNL's City and
East Campuses, but one look at
the landscape proves that for some
people, 36 miles isn't enough.
'When you
wait until the
last minute to
go to class like I
do, paths come
in handy. 9
Footpaths dirt slashes where
grass has been worn by people who
take shortcuts across it are numer
ous on both campuses. A beginning
journalism class at UNL recently counted
171 paths on the two campuses. Com
bined, the paths stretched for 9,956
feet almost two miles. Officials from
UNL's grounds department, which strives
to make and keep the campus clean
and attractive, say they find that 9,956
feet particularly distressful. Wilbur
"Bud" Dasenbrock, director of the
grounds department, said the foot
packed, earthen paths damage the soil.
"It's like trying to grow something
on granite rock," Dasenbrock said.
People routinely tromp on paths,
seemingly unaware of the damage it
causes. At various paths on campus,
students in the journalism class
observed 1,036 people who had the
option of using a sidewalk or a path.
Seven hundred of them, or about 67
percent, chose the path.
"I'm surprised at the number of
people who can justify cutting across
like that," Dasenbrock said.
Said "cutter," Robb Walker of Lin
coln: "When you wait until the last
minute to go to class like I do, paths
come in handy."
Walker, an undeclared freshman,
had atypical justification. When asked
why they cut, most people said they
did so because a path is shorter and
they were in a hurry. Many had no
second thoughts about cutting.
Patrick O'Brien, a freshman in the
College of Arts and Sciences from Bel
levue, said "It doesn't bother me in the
least, but it gives the groundskeeper
something to do. The grass can grow
back."
"Noncutters" do exist. Some
responses from people who use side
walks: Sidewalks have a purpose, the
grass would be damaged and "my shoes
would get muddy."
Some women respondents said they
found it difficult to walk on the paths
in high-heeled shoes. Other noncutters
said they use sidewalks "out of habit."
One said he uses the paths on campus
because he doesn't walk on grass at his
own home.
"I take pretty good care of my own
yard," said John Safford, a 32-year-old
senior business major. "I'm sure they
(the grounds people) don't appreciate
people cutting on the grass."
Safford is right. Dasenbrock said the
grounds people don't enjoy seeing their
work trampled on.
But the problem paths cause appears
to be not only a problem of the lack of
green grass, but also the lack of green
backs.
The grounds department has $200,000
worth of requests for sidewalks to be
constructed, Dasenbrock said.
Responsible for duties, that include
hauling garbage, picking up litter,
removing snow and landscaping, the
grounds department has only had a .56
percent increase a year for 14 years to
operate, he said. Department expenses
include gas, mowers and construction
materials which are needed for build
ing sidewalks, for example.
According to information provided
by the department, the operating
expense has remained at $205,845 the
last four years. In the last six years, the
university has not responded to the
department's budget needs, Dasenbrock
said.
Because of that, the grounds depart
ment has had to cut full-time positions
to keep up. This year the most recent
staff cuts six since January drops
the total number of full-time employees
to about 38, he said.
Since 1971, when the department
had about 55 full-time employees, the
campus has expanded considerably.
Two dozen new buildings, plus recrea
tional fields and new parking lots have
been added, Dasenbrock said.
Continued on Page 7
Official
says
Soviets fought b
By Eric Dodds
Staff Reporter
The last bomb fell. The last shot was
fired on April 25, 1945, as the armies of
the United States and Soviet Union faced
each other across the Elbe River in Ger
many, marking the end of Nazi Germany
and the end of U.S.-Sovict cooperation.
A two-day conference was held at UNL this
ssksnd to conaemcnie the Elbe Elver meeting.
Vsdia Euisstsov cf the Soviet Embassy tsii
in a speech Friday night that the major brunt of
the war against Nazi Germany was fought by the
Soviet Union. Kuznetsov, who called "the great
patriotic war" a national struggle of life and
death, said most Americans are not aware of
Soviet contribution in defeating Germany. He
said the Soviet front had 3lA times more German
losses than all other fronts. Eut, Kuznetsov said,
the Soviet people paid a high price for victory,
losing nine lives a minute for a total of more than
29 million dead, compared to 250,000 for the
United States. United States citizens know that
six million Jews re killed by the Germans but,
Kusaetsov laid, f r,v Americans know tie Gcr-.
mans killed four million Soviet prisoners of war.
Kuznetsov said democracies of western Europe
followed policies to channel Hitler's aggression
to the East. In 1939, the Soviet Union proposed a
collective security pact with England and France.
But when they declined, Kuznetsov said, the
Soviet Union had no choice but to sign the
German-Soviet non-aggression pact.
Kuznetsov said that today the United States
and Soviet Union have a common interest of
survival in the nuclear world. Kuznetsov was
critical of President Reagan's strategic defense
initiative, which, he said, y& be destabilizing.
Bap-teg far ta mi c&s M.t$rt;einent in Geneva,
Kuznetsov said, "we firmly believe it is possible,
moreover imperative, to come to such an agree
ment." The Soviet Union, he said, is prepared to
stop all testing of nuclear weapons if the United
States will do the same.
Peter Schoettle of the U.S. State Department
said the American public needs more accurate
information on the Soviet Union's contribution
in the war. But in his speech Saturday afternoon,
Schoettle quickly turned his attention to present
day superpower relations by saying that the Rea
gan administration has based its Soviet policy on
realism, strength and dialogue.