Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1985)
Page 8 Daily Nebraskan Friday, September 20, 1985 Tl O iHHLSteiices reoiuaired for aBffliilJiteiiitc If ! J 4 ! By Shelley Stall Student Legal Services Lawyer Question: I have a friend who got married last June. She recently left her husband and believes the marriage is finished. She was told by a relative who claims to know a lot about legal mat ters that she could get the marriage annulled since she has been married less than one year. Is this true? How is annulment different from divorce? Answer: No, your friend cannot get an annulment based on the fact that she has been married less than a year. Divorce vs. Annulment. An action for divorce asks the court to dissolve a valid marriage. The judge grants the divorce if the marriage is irretrievably broken and reasonable efforts at reconciliation have been made. The marriage is officially dis solved six months after the date the Judge signs the divorce decree. An annulment destroys the exist ence of the marriage from the date of the wedding. The grounds for annul ment are limited to specific unusual circumstances that are spelled out in the Revised Statutes of Nebraska. Void Marriages. An annulment can be obtained in Nebraska when a marriage is void or invalid based on the following reasons: 1) either person had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage, 2) either person is insane or mentally incompetent at the time of the marriage, 3) when the people are related as parent and child, grandpar ent and grandchild, brother and sister, first cousins, uncle and niece or aunt and nephew. Voidable Marriages. In some instances, marriage is regarded as "voidable," which means that although unusual circumstances exist, the law will allow the marriage to be valid unless one of the parties takes action to void it. Grounds to annul voidable marriages include: One or both parties is younger than 17 years old, they do not have parental consent and they do not cohabit. r A.l. M' x I our MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIP'S Get an education without going deep into debt. The Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program pays for your tuition, required books and fees, plus more than $600.00 a month for living expenses. For information call collect. MSgt Robert Pond (402) 556-0715 THE AIR FORCE HEALTH CARE TEAM h Attorney O One of the parties is inflicted with a venereal disease or is impotent at the time of marriage. 0 One of the parties agreed to marry under the threat of force or fraud and the parties do not cohabit volun tarily. In these situations, cohabitation after the innocent party becomes aware of the grounds for annulment can destroy the chance of obtaining one. If your friend's marital problems do not fit any of these categories, she will not be able to get an annulment. She should discuss her legal options with loskens an attorney. Question: Until last July, I shared an apartment with someone. We didn't get along, and I moved out after the lease expired. My ex-roommate con tinued to live there alone. Since the utilities were in my name, I called the gas, electric and phone companies a week before I moved and told them to terminate service on my move-out date. I just received a bill for service at the old apartment for July and August. I wasn't even living there then. I called the electric company and they say there is no record that I ever called and terminated service. They said I have to pay the bill. A few days later I received notice that they're going to cut off service at my new apartment. I called my ex roommate and told him to pay the bill. He hung up on me. Do I have to pay this bill? What can I do? Answer: Immediately write your ex-roommate a business-like letter explaining the situation. Attach a copy of the bill and notice and ask that he pay the bill by a specific date. Explain that if the bill is not paid in full by that date, a small claims lawsuit will be filed. The ex-roommate used the elec tricity and he should pay for it. A consumer has the right, before the disconnection date, to request a con ference with the utility company regarding any aispuie over tne pro posed disconnection (see 19-2702 to 19-2715, Nebraska Revised Statutes). The request must be in writing and should include information regarding date you called the company, the date you moved out, your ex roommate's name and address. The electric com pany will have to meet with you before shutting off service. If your roommate doesn't pay the bill and the matter is not resolved at the conference with the electric company, two possible courses of action remain. Pay the bill and sue your ex-roommate in small claims court or talk with an attorney about appealing the confer ence decision and possibly filing a law suit against the company. Your problem is a good example of why it is wise to terminate utility ser vice by a dated letter, keeping a copy for your own file. The letter can be used as proof that you notified the company if this type of problem arises. visits Chinese By Ann Harrell Senior Reporter NU President Ronald Roskens says Chinese universities differ from U.S. campuses, despite efforts to pattern higher education after U.S. models. Roskens returned Sept. 8 from a 17 day tour of China at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Education and several Chinese universities. It was his fourth trip to China. Suppression of academic freedom during the Cultural Revolution caused SH ALL FLA AND NO CASH? We pay top dollar for your plasma at LINCOLN PLASMA 2021 "0" St 474-2335 FREE PARKING! CASH BONUSES AVAILABLE HOURS: MON.9-5, TUES. 9-6, WED. 9-5 THURS. 9-6, FRI. 8-4, SAT. 8-2 Bring This Coupon for an Extra $5.00 on Your First Donation. Chinese universities to lag behind those in the United States, Roskens said. Ten years ago, China's universities were used as indoctrination centers for pol itical purposes, and the faculty simply was dismissed. As a result, facilities on Chinese campuses are not as up-to-date as those in the United States. "They're having a difficult time catching up," he said. However, Roskens said, recent con struction and rapid advances in buying new technology mean Chinese univer sities are moving ahead rapidly. "The government has placed a very high priority on education," he said. Roskens described one incident in which two officials of the Inner Mongo lia Agricultural College rode 37 hours by train to meet with him in Shanghai because bad weather prevented him from flying to Inner Mongolia. "I think that suggests some dedica tion and commitment," he said. Roskens said the governor of Inner Mongolia visited Nebraska. "Their climate and geography are very similar to Nebraska's," he said. "They would like very much to have a sister relationship with the state of Nebraska." Contact between students and faculty follows a different pattern in China, Roskens said. Not only do Chinese stu dents and faculty members live on campus, but the ratio of faculty to stu dents is much more favorable. In China, there are six students for every profes sor, he said. At NU, there are about 23 students for every professor. But despite the increased opportunity for student faculty contac, the Chinese process is much more formal. . . Vol i ' W II WW fa u yu m m 1 For help with your homework, see the University Bookstore's complete selection of study guides. Everybody needs help now and then. So if you can't make heads or tails out of zoology (or . any other subject), come see us. We carry the entire set of Schaum's outlines, the complete Problem Solver series, every title of Cliff's Notes, and many foreign language dictionaries and grammar books. Stop by and take a look! Our study guides could become some of your closest friends. iTheBQOKSTQRE UNIVERSITY OF NFRRASKa Books and more! Lower Level, Nebraska Union. 14th & R 472-7301 Monday-Friday 8:OOAM-5:30PM Saturday 9:00AM-5:OOPM Closed Sundays Services Available: Copying, Photoprocessing, Typewriter Rental Wfestern Union. If you have a legal problem or ques tion for this column, send a letter to Ask Your Attorney, co Shelley Stall, Student Legal Services, Nebraska Union 335. Chinese college students are typi cally the same age as U.S. students, Roskens said, but there are more older students on Chinese campuses. Many people who were denied a college edu cation during the Cultural Revolution are returning to school now, he said. Chinese campuses lack an organized social life. They have no sorority and fraternity system, Roskens said. During his visits to major Chinese universities, Roskens spoke about U.S. organization and administration of higher education. He also discussed the possibility of faculty exchanges between NU and China. Although most of these exchanges still are being dis cussed, Roskens said, several NU faculty members already have visited East China Normal University in Shanghai, and several professors from that insti tution have been at NU. During his visit, Roskens was given the title of "Honorary Distinguished Professor" by East China Normal. This distinction is comparable to an honor ary degree in the United States, he said. "I was deeply honored and very moved by the ceremony," he said. "The president (of the university) spoke very enthusiastically and knowledgeably about the University of Nebraska and about our exchange program." A growing U.S. and Japanese influ ence is particularly noticeable in China today, he said. Music, clothing, taxis and private cars are among the signs of Western culture that are increasingly visible. "Obviously they have concluded that the Western orientation is the tilt they're going to take in the years ahead," he said. Roskens said his interest in foreign universities developed from an interest in international education. "I think we must do everything we can to widen the horizons of our people so we come to understand that the globe is a very small place," he said. Roskens said he was interested in China because it is a major country that has been open to the United States for only a short time. "When it's one-fifth of the world's population, it seems imperative to me that we understand their culture like we do (that of) the western world," he said. Saving babies is our goal! Support the 0f) March of D!mss
