Nebraskan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mike Reilley, Editor, 472-1766
Jeanne Bourne, Editorial Page Editor
Jann Nyffeler, Associate News Editor
Scott Harrah, Night News Editor
Joan Rezac, Copy Desk Chief
Linda Hartmann, Wire Editor
( harles Lieurance, Asst. A & E Editor
Apathetic higher-ups
must hear students
Dave Regan, a University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
law student, opened a
can of worms last week with his
petition drive aimed at making
improvements in the UNL Of
fice of Scholarships and Finan
cial Aid. Now if only someone
would listen to him.
Long lines, bad communica
tion and constantly busy phones
have troubled students for a
number of semesters. Regan
started the petition because he
and several other students were
fed up with the problems.
His petition uncovered more
than just problems in the finan
j cialaidoffice.lt also showed the
I apathetic attitude that ASUN
and the central administration
have toward student concerns.
But Regan’s pica for help fell
on deaf cars when he presented
the petition at an ASUN Senate
meeting last week. Senators
chose not to discuss the petition,
adjourned and later reconvened.
Before the senate adjourned
the second time, Sen. Pete Cas
tellano complained that recent
j ASUN activities haven't been
effective.
“1 think ASUN has stopped
I being an effective voice for stu
1 dents,” he said.
But the apathy extends from
the ASUN office to the Admini
stration Building. Vice Chan
cellor for Student Affairs James
Griescn told the ASUN senators
that the university was already
1 “painfully aware” of the prob
lems at the financial aid office.
“The last thing we need is an
investigative committee to
come in and take staff time they
desperately need to help stu
dents,” Griescn said.
But the administration needs
to investigate the office. It
should sec the problems first
hand as opposed to reading a
petition.
Also, if the administration al
ready knew about the problems,
then it should already have done
something about them. Students
sent several letters to the Daily
Nebraskan last week that com
plained about problem sin the fi
nancial aid office. The DN en
courages them to send similar
letters to the chancellor’s office.
The lack of action by the ad
ministration has frustrated
workers in the office. Larry
Apcl, assistant director of the
office, said little has been done
financially to help the office.
“I know there is all kinds of
money being spent at the univer
sity, but not on us,” Apcl said.
“We’ve pushed for changes
for years and years and years,”
he said, “and we’ve watched
other people get improvements
while we stay the way we arc.
“I feel like we’re the plague.”
Since the ASUN meeting,
Regan has introduced a new
petition, saying that the original
one lacked preciseness. Apcl
and William McFarland, direc
tor of the office, have unoffi
cially endorsed the new peti
tion.
McFarland also has revised
an evaluation of the office he
wrote last spring. The report
includes a history of the office, a
list of recent improvements and
an assessment of the challenges
the office still faces.
The Residence Hall Associa
tion has called a special session
tonight to decide whether to
support the petition. The DN
urges the group to suppon the
petition, McFarland’s repon,
and letters and complaints by
students.
But most of al 1, let yourselves
be heard. It seems to be the only
way to get any thi ng done around
here.
Black votes increase
along with candidates
II people other than rich,
white men ran lor office,
the United States proba
bly would have a larger voter turn
| out.
A new Census Bureau study
shows that more young blacks
voted in the 1986 elections than
whites in the same age group.
The voter turnout among young
blacks increased along with the
number of blacks seeking public
office.
According to the Statistical
Abstract of the United Suites, the
number of blacks holding elected
positions in the United Suites and
suite legislatures increased from
179 in 1970to410in January 1986.
in the 1984 presidential cam
paign, whites ages 18 to 24
l outvoted blacks 42 percent to 4 I
percent.
In the 1984 presidential cam
paign, considerable attention was
drawn by the black community to
Jesse Jackson’s candidacy.
Black leaders had drives to reg
ister more blacks to vote. These
drives helped return the Senate to
Democratic control — ousting
incumbents in Alabama, Georgia
and North Carolina.
In 19X6, 25 percent of blacks
ages IX to 24 voted, as opposed to
22 percent of whites.
The black vote is becoming a
bigger force in the political arena.
This is also evident in some
southern senators’ decisions not to
nominate Robert H. Bork for Su
preme Court justice. They realize
that the blacks elected them, and
now to truly represent their con
siitucncv they must vote against
Bork.
If more people with different
ethnic backgrounds follow
Jackson’s lead into the presidential
race, then voter apathy among
those groups will decline. In the
meantime, we can only hope they
will continue to overcome their
apathy.
fn T'***’*.
"Tfl \
“I'LL NEVER VOTE FOR 6u£H ... IMAGINE HIM SAVING WE COULD USB
A LITTLE MORE MECHANICAL KNOW-HOW HERD IN DETROIT ! "
Conception misconceptions
Teen pregnancies are offspring of ignorance, warped values
An article in the Sunday Om
aha World-Herald told the
story of a 12-year-old girl
from Omaha who gave birth this fall to
a 2-pound, 6-ounce baby.
Although her mother had told her
about contraceptives, the 12-year-old
still maintained, “The first time you
have sex I didn't think you could get
pregnant.”
This 12-year-old mother had sex
with an apparently demanding 16
ycar-old boy, whom she had never met
before, at her girlfriend’s home.
The girl’s mother gave birth to her
when she was 16. This makes her a
grandmother at 28. That is personally
shocking because 1 have grave doubts
about even marriage by that age.
Many Nebraskans think teen-age
sex is a problem primarily in the inner
cities, but statistics show the problem
is very close to home. In 1986, 313
babies were born in Nebraska to moth
ers 16 years old and younger. Ten
percent of those babies were bom to
mothers 14 years old and younger.
Even more alarming arc the mis
conceptions and distorted views that
| many children have about sex and
■ contraceptives.
Jan Kennedy of Planned Parent
hood of Omaha-Council Bluffs said
some youngsters have tried the fol
lowing as birth-control devices:
• Soda pop as a douche.
• Jumping jacks after intercourse.
• Aluminum foil, plastic wrap,
peanut butter and refrigerated bis
| cuils.
Don't ask me about the last one. I
*__
pondered that one, loo.
Many believe television is to
blame. Kennedy said studies indicate
that there are “an average of more than
two implied acts of sexual intercourse
for every hour of prime-time TV.”
Television shows and movies tend
to equate love and the bedroom. Many
of the plots follow the routine where
two people meet and their immediate
attraction leads to passionate sex.
Then they break up for a while only to
get back together and live happily
ever after.
There really is no other way to
portray sex. The whole setting would
be ruined if J.R. Ewing stopped short
in a successful seduction only to pull
out a Trojan and say, “It’s hard enough
controlling Ewing Oil with Bobby and
Cliff Barnes, let alone bringing any
more Ewings into the world.”
But the problem runs much deeper
than television shows. Broken homes
and one-parent families have trouble
offering children good role models.
Two-career households are not any
belter settings because both parents
ha\c limited time to spend with their
children.
Schools should provide sex educa
tion, but they are not the sole solution.
Sex cannot be taught like math or
history.
Sex education includes much more
than explaining contraceptives. Chil
dren need to understand the emotional
dimension of the physical act. Such
discussions need to be undertaken by I
parents or other support groups that
can help children on an on-going
basis.
Churches also could play a role in
helping children understand that there
are more ways to express love than
having sex. Many church officials
tend to be more concerned with cam
paigning against nuclear war than
focusing on this world problem that
exists right in their own congrega
tions.
Solutions are not easy, but public
discussion of the issue must be in
creased or children will continue to
have children.
My late arrival in life put my father
in some awkward situations in my
youth. There were occasions when
store clerks would tell my father what
a nice grandson he had. He took great
pride in setting the record straight.
However, on the other side of the
age spectrum, the 28-ycar-old grand
mother probably feels much more
awkward explaining to store clerks
why this baby's mother is still in the
sixth grade.
What a generation we live in.
Carlson is a third-year law student.
I
Letter
Financial Aid office
rude, student says
Upon entering the university, 1
assumed that the university would be
willing to give me information and
assist me in all aspects of college life.
1 have found most departments to be
helpful; however, I am extremely
disappointed in the Office of Scholar
ships and Financial Aid. Although 1
realize this is a large institution, the
staff at the financial aid office must
also realize that individuals make up
the large institution. It nccessaiily
follows that individuals' tuition in
el feet pays a portion of their salaries.
Ihc staff is here to serve the
individual’s needs. Students are not
here as a favor to them. Their posi
tions require courtesy and helpful
ness. This I have yet to encounter in
my numerous dealings w ilh the staff.
In fact, 1 would label their attitude as
rude, inconsiderate and impatient.
f or instance, 1 filled out the re
quired Financial Aid Form in January
1987. However, I did not receive
notification that I was to be awarded
any federal funds until the middle of
September. In effect, I did not know if
I would be able to afford school until
after classes had begun. Furthermore,
upon applying for a Guaranteed Stu
dent Loan, I was told it would take
approximately six to eight weeks. I
applied at the beginning of the sum
mer. Each time I checked on the status
of my loan, I was told that it would be
at least three more weeks. This went
on for four months. Each time I called
to check on my loan, I was given
vague or rude answers. They never
would give me a definite date upon
which I would receive a loan or if I
would reepive one.
I realize the financial aid office
deals with many students. College
life is unsettling, and the failure to
notify students adds a needless bur
den that could be easily remedied by
accurate information delivered in a
courteous manner. I have spent a
great deal of money to attend this
university. 1 would appreciate spend
ing my time and effort on studying
and not on the bureaucracy called the
financial aid office.
Jennifer Relzlafl
freshman
business
