Home for the harvest
Students working on family farms carry
two full loads, but they say it's worth it
By Christine Anderson
Staff Reporter
BURR — University of Nc
braska-Lincoln students
Nathan and Suzanna Watcr
mcicr study agriculture. They live it,
loo.
Like many UNL agriculture stu
dents, the Watcrmeiers travel regu
larly from school to the farm.
Both arc full-time students.
Along with attending classes,
studying and taking exams, the Wa
tcrmeiers harvest crops, operate a
custom fertilizer business on their
family's farm near Burr and work at a
family-owned grocery store.
Nathan, a sophomore in mechani
cal agriculture, said he travels to his
Otoe County home about twice
weekly. Suzanna, a junior majoring
in agribusiness, said she goes home
nearly every day.
During harvest season, Nathan
said he works 30 to 40 hours a week.
Nathan said at times working on
the farm and attending school is
tough. But it hasn’t hurt his grades.
‘It’sagood break," he said. Work
ing outdoors on the farm is a change
of pace from school, he said.
Ted Hartung, dean of the
UNL College of Agricul
ture, said many UNL stu
dents go home from school to work on
the farm.
Hartung estimated that “one-third
of the students arc very active during
the harvest period.”
Most of the students who travel
home frequently to harvest live about
150 to 2(X) miles from campus, he
said.
Doing both farming and studying
doesn't seem to hurt students’ per
formances at school, Hartung said.
These students have to be “tough
time managers” to make sure they
keep up with school while they farm,
he said.
Many agriculture professors say
they expect some students to miss a
few classes during planting and har
vest seasons.
Rick Waldrcn, associate pro
lessor of agronomy, said
some students may miss
classes because of harvest. of a problem.
“I deliberately schedule exams on Animal science professor Ted
Wednesday,” he said, because some Doanc said many students leave
students cither leave early on week- school on Thursdays to spend three or
ends or return late Monday. four days harvesting.
Waldren said he knows students Students are responsible for get
arc needed at home. “Coming from a ting their work done, he said. “They
larm, I can understand that. make their own judgments — they
“As long as the homework gets know- what their limits are.”
done,” Waldren added, it’s not much On one typical Thursday after
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noon, Nathan and Su/anna left cam
pus life behind, traveling to their 600
acrc farm about 35 miles away.
Nathan fixed a door on a gram
bin w here hundreds of bush
els of corn arc stored. He
harvested much of the grain this fall.
Across the field, Su/anna planted
w inter w heat.
“There’s nothing they can’t do,”
said their father, Junior Watermeier.
“Between the two, they could run the
farm, grocery store and the fertilizer
business.”
Junior, an Otoe County commis
sioner, said Nathan planted all 600
acres of crops last spring while at
tending school. And he also operated
the commercial fertilizer business.
This year, he fertilized about 3,000
acres for nearby farmers.
Along with farm work, Suzanna
helps her parents run a family-ow ned
grocery store in Burr.
She orders shoes, garden supplies
and seed for local customers. On her
way home from Lincoln, Suzanna
often picks up canned goods, meats
and other foods to stock the grocery’s
shelves.
MC he does more than 1 realize,”
said her mother, Marlene.
Su/anna not only slocks the
store with supplies, but also docs
much of the paperwork.
Nathan and Su/anna, like many
UNL students, are still devoted to
their family’s farm. But that's only
part of it, Junior said. Working to
gether has also kept the family close,
he said.
“I don’t know w hat I'd do w ithout
them,” he said.
Nathan Watermeier (tar left)
finishes loading a truck with
corn harvested that day.
Suzanna Watermeier (left)
helps unload corn into a stor
age bin.
Justice chosen for his past
and 'intellectual curiosity'
B) Kip Fry
Slaff Reporter
Gov. Kay Orr said Dale
Fahrnbruch’s judicial experience
was not the only factor in her deci
sion to name him to the Nebraska
Supreme Court.
Orr announced Fahrnbruch’s
appointment at a Friday press
conference. A district-court judge
for the past 15 years, Fahrnbruch
was the only applicant with judi
cial experience. He will replace
William Hastings, who was pro
moted to Supreme Court chief
justice by Orr in September.
“1 was impressed with his over
all background and character,”Orr
said. She added that she appreci
ated his “intellectual curiosity”
and that he loves what he does.
Fahrnbruch, 63, who has ap
plied for the Supreme Court twice
before, said a mild heart attack he
suffered earlier this year should
not hinder his performance. He
said he feels better than he has in 20
years.
Fahrnbruch said he has never
smoked marijuana, and Orr did not
ask him that during the interview
* - - -———— —
process. Orr said she has never
smoked marijuana, bul she said
she w asn’t sure if that information
should be exposed.
Fahrnbruch is a graduate of
L.incoln High School and has re
ceived degrees from both the Uni
versity of Nebraska-1.incoln and
Creighton University Law Col
lege. He also has experience as a
reporter and city editor for the
Lincoln Journal.
Orr said she didn't know if it
would have been more popular to
name a woman to the court.
In other business, Orr said she is
not really concerned about the
possible storage of low-level nu
clear waste in Nebraska. While
Nebraskans may sec the dump as a
risk, she said, there is also a risk in
drinking water, crossing the street
and driving down the highway in
Nebrasl a
Neb aska has a responsibility to
help solve the waste problem, she
said.
South Carolina has had similar
dumps for the past 30 years, she
said. The governor of South Caro
lina has told her there have been no
problems, Orr said.
Candidate 'speaks to the future'
Dukakis hopes to imitate JFK
By Dave Weber
Staff Reporter
Democratic presidential candidate
Mike Dukakis vowed to inspire youth
in a speech to 50 colleges nationwide
and 15 University of Nebraska-Lin
coln students Friday afternoon by way
of a closed-circuit broadcast.
The Dukakis campaign has gath
ered momentum in universities across
the country because “he speaks to the
future,” said Aricla Gross, an election
assistant in Boston. Massachusetts
itself has 120 colleges. Two hundred
campuses in 40 stales have active
campaign committees, but only those
with the appropriate satellite equip
ment could receive the broadcast from
Texas A&M University in College
Station, Texas.
“Like JFK inspired my generation,
1 hope I can do the same for yours,”
said Dukakis, governor of Massachu
setts for nine years.
Many, including students who
gathered at the Nebraska Union, got a
chance to ask Dukakis their questions.
Pete Castellano, a state coordinator
of the youth campaign, dialed for
about 15 minutes before he got
through.
In response to Castellano’s ques
tion about Dukakis’ financial aid pol
icy, Dukakis said he would “end the
annual assault to Pell Grants and loans
which we’ve been getting every year
from the current administration and
institute tuition waivers in public col
leges and income withholding.”
Dukakis said income withholding
would be the automatic withholding
of a small percentage of a student's
income after graduation to pay back
the loan. The money then would be put
back into a revolving fund to be used
for new loans and assistance.
Dukakis said the United Stales
should not be committing itself to a
trillion-dollar Star Wars proposal
“when the Treasury doesn't have two
nickels to rub together.”
“We don’t want to nuclcari/c the
heavens at a time when we are finally
h ginning to make some beginning
progress toward a reversal of the nu
clear arms race hereon earth.” he said.
“I want the U.S. to abide by its own
ABM treaty.”
NSSA seeks reunion with UNL's ASUN
NSSA from Page 1
organization and then set the student
fee amounts. The organization has
$25,000 in reserve from “underspend
ing the budget," Me Morrow said. That
money will be put in a trust fund to use
for some of the organization’s over
head expenses, he said.
Me Morrow stressed the impor- i
tancc of having a statewide lobbying
agency solely for higher education
institutions in the state. (
I
“I think it’s very important that i
students work together in a statew ide |
advocacy group,” he said. “The stu i
dent opinion isn't even going to be I
:onsidcred if a siudent group isn't
here to say it.”
Ilg said he thought ASUN’s
.hanees for voting to join NSSA were
jretty good since the major reasons for
caving the organization in the first
Mace tfie Legislative AssemlMx
uul the student-fee amount have
veil changed.
Education, empathy, honesty stressed at AIDS forum
NETV from Page 1
A member of the audience asked what the
single most important tiling each person could
do m their profession to make a signilicanl
difference in the AIDS epidemic by the year
2000.
Wagencr said the church should locus us
concern on compassion for AIDS patients
rather than on morality*
Carvclh agreed that compassion, honesty
and openness are essential.
Several other panelists stressed the impor
tance of education.
Shugrue said calm, reasoned education
would slow the spread of AIDS.
Wright said high-risk groups should be
educated about the dangers ol infection.
Wesely said people should be educated to
slop high-risk behavior through responsibility,
confidential ily and compassion.
Owens-Nauslar said teachers should have
current information to give students straight
forward answers.
Wcscly said AIDS victims will realize their
social responsibility and be honest about the
disease if they are treated with compassion and
shown that people care about them. People who
have been tested positive for the virus should
warn partners of the possibility of contracting
AIDS, he said.
“It's a tough situation,' Wesels said. "1
:ould be w rong, but my gut reaetion is is to test
voluntarily."
\Vesel> said that ilsoluntarx testing doesn 't
w ork, mandators testing mas lias e to be imple
mented. Mosseser. it mandators testing were
used first, he said, fewer people would admit to
lias mg the disease. •
