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Now Nebraska needs
to find women's coach
Sports, page 7
Romantics to bring
riffs to Royal Grove
Arts and Entertainment, page 9
I ' U
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t
April 2, 1986
ebiraskaims
By Ad Hudler
Editorial Page Editor -
The Daily Nebraskan
When it comes to giving aid to the
Contra rebels in Nicaragua, Nebraskans'
opinions appear to vary as much as
Midwestern spring temperatures.
Farmers in the western half of the
state seem to be more concerned with
the agricultural economy and have
littlevopinion on the issue.
At the other end of t he state, Lincoln
residents appear to lean toward the left
and favor rejecting aid, according to
spokespeople in U.S. senators' and rep
resentatives' offices in Nebraska and
Washington.
If they've got $100
million, why don't
we give it to the
farmers. . .out here
. . .who are feeding
the country?'
Edi McGinley
Contras are the U.S.-backed revolu
tionary troops who are trying to over
throw the Marxist-backed Sandinista
government. The argument in Congress
right now is whether the U.S. should
continue to support the Contras. The
issue also has grabbed Nebraskans'
attention.
Dozen letters
Fran White of Sen. J J. Exon's Lincoln
office says she can't remember fielding
this many phone calls about one issue
since "the Alaskan seal thing," which
was legislation aimed at protecting
rare seals from hunters. Exon's Lincoln
office took in about 200 phone calls in
the past two weeks, along with "a
couple of dozen letters" regarding the
Nicaraguan issue, she said.
White says callers to the Lincoln
office oppose Contra aid by a 4-to-l
margin. But that doesn't reflect Neb
raskans' attitude as a whole, she said.
For example, the Lincoln office always
receives more liberal-type calls because
the city has strong chapters of Nebras
kans for Peace and the Central American
Response team, two groups that oppose
the aid, she said. Exon's Omaha office
usually reports more conservative calls
and letters mainly because that city
has a strong, organized conservative
group that frequently contacts its
elected representatives, she said.
It's a different story at Exon's North
Platte office.
Edi McGinley handles a lot of phone
calls for Exon sometimes so many
that she has to put a caller on hold
once or twice in a 10-minute conversa
tion while she answers other lines.
The phone lines ring, but response
to the Nicaraguan situation has been
minimal, she said. People in the farm
WW fft rTYT
intra aid
communities appear to be ro -re worried
about the agricultural ecoi my.
"They just aren't taking the time to
get involved" with international issues
like the Contras, McGinley said. People
in the western part of the state, she
said, question the importance, of sending
the $100 million in aid abroad when it
could be used at home.
"If they've got $100 million, why
don't we give it to the farmers. . .out
here. . .who are feeding the country?"
she asked, reflecting the type of phone
calls she receives. McGinley said she
has fielded about 20 Contra-related
calls in the past week.
Callers oppose
George R. Ferguson of Sen. Ed
Zorinsky's Grand Island office also said
most of his callers oppose Contra aid.
He said several callers told him the
money could be used in the United
States.
"A lot of them feel that the money
isn't gonna do much good," in Nicaragua,
he said.
The $100 million, however, would
come from the Defense Department's
existing budget. No money would be
taken from other federal programs.
Margins narrow
Reaction in Nebraska U.S. represen
tatives' offices differs from that in
Exon's and Zorinsky's offices.
Spokesmen in the offices of Reps.
Hal Daub, Virginia Smith and Doug
Bereuter report narrower margins be
tween the pro- and anti-aid sides.
A spokeswoman in Smith's Washing
ton office said they have received 130
responses in favor of aid and 120
against.
David Heineman of Daub's Washing
ton office says his tally is now 2-to-l in
favor of aid. All three Nebraska repre
sentatives voted for the aid in first
round House debate. Exon and Zorinsky
opposed the aid. J
Whatever their opinions, Nebraskans
have been calling their senators and
representatives en masse.
Politics
Heineman of Bereuter's Washington
office attributes the influx of calls and
letters to the media and Democrats'
efforts to politicize the Nicaraguan
situation.
In addition, spokespeople from sev
eral offices said President Reagan's
pro-Contra speech last week on TV and
the clash with Libya in the Gulf of Sidra
last week also prompted reaction.
But, Heineman added, Nebraskans
still appear to be more bothered by the
problems in their backyard the
depressed agriculture economy and
debates over whether to raise taxes.
"They're concerned about the econ
omy and government spending," he
said.
Although 80 percent of the calls in
Sen. Zorinsky's Lincoln office deal with
ag-related issues, the Contra issue has
sparked more attention than other
foreign issues, said Becky Deily of that
office.
Bailv
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7 1
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University of Nebraska-Lincoln
'.7 r-W-r--'-
lilillBBi
iipiiiliiiiiiij
; CM
lEii
reraain fcbout the scr.e 'excrr-t fc-r
million to $1 fcillisn mere for stu
dent aid than last year. ' -
Aithcuglt the federal government
School of Technical Agriculture
By Todd von Kampen
Senior Reporter
The NU School of Technical Agricul
ture at Curtis get an April Fools' Day
gift that wasn't a joke Tuesday when
senators voted to give it extra state
money to avoid teacher layoffs next
year.
The Legislature voted 26-9 to adopt
an amendment to the main budget bill,
LB1251, that earmarks $245,000 in state
support for UNSTA's budget. Farnam
Sen. Tom Vickers, sponsor of the
amendment, had tried twice without
success last week to get extra money
for UNSTA besides $1 million in the
Institute of Agriculture and Natural
Resources budget.
During the morning session, senators
rejected several attempts to reduce or
eliminate a proposed 3 percent salary
increase for NU and other state em
ployees. LB1250, which allows the salary
hike, and an accompanying bill that
provides the money for it advanced to
final reading on separate 26-0 votes.
The extra money for UNSTA would
blunt the impact of permanent budget
..rryi .. . XI ., ... ,.J
Exon
is cuttir: raany stctc &i& iscztzzra
to r.c-.t V..? di ;xir.r.ds cf the Crrmrn-
sdd stul:r.t aid will cjicc; s cuts. :
the future and not an expenditure
E::-;a i.. I.i.
Student loans benefit the coun
try much mere than they cost be
cause students usually pay them
I Kk, he s:::d.
. , "It's also good for government
because it is true that the more we
educate people, the better jobs that
cuts required by the Legislature last
year, said Waverly Sen. Jerome Warner,
appropriations committee chairman.
The NU Board of Regents has been
considering a plan that would cut the
UNSTA budget by $359,000 and force
the school to lay off several faculty
members. The Ad-Hoc Budget Review
Committee has recommended closing
UNSTA entirely.
The regents' plan says that UNSTA
students would be able to pick up any
courses lost at nearby community
colleges in McCook and North Platte.
Because courses still would be available
at those schools, Warner said, cutting
the $245,000 from UNSTA makes more
sense in light of the state's budget
problems.
But Vickers, whose district includes
UNSTA, argued that senators should
remember the impact of budget cuts on
those who depend on the school for
their economy-
"When you live out in my part of the
world, you know there's economic
problems," he said. "But then you have
to ask, 'Are we second-class citizens?' "
tors give Curtis
Vol. 85 No. 130
i
P m I V on? ri a$e U a n y Nf ssrasKa :
- Ur. Jer ie:s!ation Congress is con-
ed to students whose families' in-:
i" .: : c !:-; tlx a Gtu
dents a!so would be required to
have a C average after their second
year to qualify for more loans or Fell
Grunts.
Exon said, that he expects the
student aid legislation to work its
way to the President's desk with few
changes by the end of the summer,
eittrsi ca
The move to eliminate the 3 percent
salary increase for state employees was
led by Bellwood Sen. Loran Schmit,
who told the Legislature the state
simply does not have the money to pay
for it. But senators voted 19-15 against
a Schmit amendment that would eli
minate the salary increase and later
refused, 28-10, to kill the accompanying
appropriations bill. Other attempts to
reduce or delay the salary hike were
rejected.
In other action, the Legislature voted
25-10 to add $100,000 to the NU Medical
Center budget for establishment of a
bachelor's degree nursing program at
West Nebraska General Hospital in
Scottsbluff. Scottsbluff Sen. William
Nichol, speaker of the Legislature,
sponsored the amendment.
Omaha Sen. Ernest Chambers with
drew an amendment that would have
required UNL to phase out the College
of Law within three years.
Beatrice Sen." Patricia Morehead's
amendment to increase Nebraska Tech
nical Assistance Center funding by
$42,000 failed on a 16-9 vote.