\t 1 Dail j
INebraskan
Weather: Friday, partly sunny
breezy and mild, high in the mid to
upper 40s. Friday night, consider
able cloudiness with a low in the mid
20s. Saturday, mostly cloudy and
cooler with highs in the low 40s.
A&E: 'Raw' observations
and Hyde and go seek —
Page 10.
Sports: Nebraska pre*
pares to face Missouri
Saturday at the Bob Dcva
ney Sjjorts Center. —
Page 9.
Landis urges increase of faculty salaries
By Shawn Hubbell
StaffReporter
Slate Sen. David Landis Thursday
urged members of SlarVcnture, Lin
coln’s strategic planning group, and
“Friends of the University’’ to support
Gov. Kay Orr’s $10 million proposal
for increased salaries in higher educa
tion.
Orr’s bill includes increasing fac
ulty salaries at all state colleges, the
University of Nebraska-LincoTn, Uni
versity of Nebraska at Omaha and the
University of Nebraska Medical Cen
ter.
Originally members of StarVen
ture were concerned only with raising
faculty salaries at UNL. But Ann
Campbell, chairwoman of the Star
Venture’s education task force, said
faculty salaries should be raised at
other institutions as well as UNL.
“Where we go with education in
the 21 st century depends on what we
do in education now,” Campbell said.
“Students are our future and (we)
cannot afford not to invest in them.”
Landis presented the groups with a
report that indicated UNL faculty
i
salaries ranked in the bottom 10 per
cent of 168 other universities with
Ph.D. programs. The report showed
the average UNL salary for a full
professor ranked 153 out of the 168
institutions. It also indicated that if
Orr’s bill is passed intact, it could
meet more than 75 percent of the funds
requested by the N U Board of Regents
and the State College Board.
Landis said the odds Orr’s bill will
pass are improving. He said new
momentum for the proposal has drawn
the support of people and institutions
which, in the past, focused on other
issues.
“It is a winnablc fight,” Landis
said. “We already have a pot of money
to spend from.”
Although the money is there to
spend, Landis said, getting Orr’s bill
passed will not be easy. He said the
pressure and tension will probably
start about the third week in February
when the bill is introduced onto the
floor of the Legislature.
Landis said other legislators have
proposals of their own they want
passed. He added that Orr’s bill may
not get support, if the legislators’ bills
aren’t supported.
It is important that thccampuses do
not get into a fight over the distribn
tion of the money, Landis said. Orr’s
proposal docs not specify where the
money should be distributed, only that
it should be spent on faculty salaries.
Landis said legislative action is
needed that meets the vision of the
governor. He said a fair way to distrib
ute the money could be dealt with
later.
“We want and support a bold init
iative for faculty salary increases,”
Landis said. “Every ally is welcome.”
Hall residents
evacuated after
bomb threat
By William Lauer
StaffRcporter
Rcsidcnlsof ihc Harpcr-Schramm
Smith residence complex on the Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln City
Campus were evacuated early Thurs
day morning because of a bomb
threat.
Sgt. John Lustrea, shift supervisor
at the UNL Police Department, said a
call was placed with the 911 emer
gency service at 5:54 a.m. Thursday.
The caller said an explosive device
had been placed in the residence
complex and would detonate at 6:30
a.m.
Lustrea said residence hall super
visors were notified about 6 a.m. and
began to evacuate the buildings im
mediately.
Lustrea said fire alarms were
pulled in the buildings to speed up the
evacuation.
The buildings were evacuated by
6:30 a.m. Residents were taken to the
food service building while university
police and the Lincoln Fire Depart
ment searched the buildings.
No bombs were found, and police
allowed residents to return to the
buildings around 7 a.m.
Lustrea said all similar threats arc
taken seriously.
“You always have to assume the
worst case scenario,” Lustrea said.
“To do less would be foolish.”
David Pringle, a freshman broad
casting major who lives on the sixth
floor of Schramm Hall, said he was
awakened by fire alarms about 6:15
See BOMB on 5
Blasting away relaxes students
By Victoria Ayotte
Staff Reporter
The quarter clinks. Armed with
laser fire and directional control,
destiny is in William Benner’s
hands.
Many University of Nebraska
Lincoln students, like Benner, use
video games as a way to relax.
I—
“It’s an attempt to escape from
reality,” said Benner, a junior phi
losophy major.
Although he now plays video
games only occasionally, Benner
said he used to spend at least $5 a
day on video games. He said he
worked to support his video game
habit
Many students said the video
games can be addictive.
“Y ou always want to go that one
last quarter,” said Mike Alberts, a
sophomore computer science ma
jor.
Jeff Porter, a senior construc
tion management major, agreed,
saying it takes control and disci
pline to stop.
Freshman biochemistry major
Robert Stewart’s favorite game is
Time Soldiers. Stewart said he
spends about $15 a week on video
games, but can’t play Time Sol
diers often because it’s always
occupied.
Most students in the Nebraska
Union video arcade said they spend
about $5 a week.
Alex Cordry, an undeclared
freshman, said he plays video
games for about 45 minutes every
day. Cordry said he plays the
games because it’s something to do
and get good at.
Marv Buysman, union recrea
tion manager, said he thinks most
students play the games for release
and enjoyment
“It’s an excellent study break,”
Buysman said.
Mostly students play the games,
but some union employees and
university professors also play.
Robert Brooke, an assistant
professor of English, said he plays
video games at the union a couple
of times a week. Brooke said he
started playing video games when
he was a graduate student.
“It’s a mindless way to get your
mind off things,” Brooke said.
‘You always want
to go that one last
quarter. ’
Alberts
Last year the 15 video games in
the union collected $60,274, Buys
man said.
Buysman said the best year for
the video arcade was in 1981, when
the arcade took in $97,000. In 1984
the arcade went into a slump and hit
See VIDEO on 5
J.P. Caruso/Daily Nebraskan
Brian Hirsch, a sophomore meteorology major, takes a
video break in the Nebraska Union video arcade.
Professors say Soviet reforms exaggerated
By Kip Fry
Senior Hditor
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln
political science professors have
mixed reactions to Time magazine’s
naming Mikhail Gorbachev Man of
the Year.
Randy Newell, associate professor
of political science, said Gorbachev’s
rise to power in the Soviet Union is the
moslexciting development in Russian
politics since Nikita Khrushchev was
in power, making him a good choice
for Man of the Year.
“There is potential for a lot of
change,” Newell said.
However, Ivan Volgyes, professor
of political science, contended that
when one looks at economic indica
tors, the Soviet situation has worsened
under Gorbachev.
“The article (in Time) is vastly
overblow n about Gorbac he v ’ s impact
on Russia,” Volgyes said.
Gorbachev’s impact so far is not
noticeable, and it’s unknown if
changes will be made in the future,
Volgyes said.
Time called Gorbachev “a symbol
of hope for a new kind of Soviet
Union: more open, more concerned
with the welfare of its citizens and less
with the spread of its ideology and
system abroad.”
From Gorbachev’s published
statements, Volgyes said, the Soviet
leader wants to make general mod
ernization, but still hasn’t done much.
Newell said that although Gor
bachev has improved the Soviet situ
ation, there has been a growing mood
of dissension and skepticism there,
which comes after the euphoria of
having a new leader.
“The question is,” Newell said,
“will he survive politically or will he
have to renege reforms to survive
politically?”
Americans will have to wait to sec
if Gorbachev is truly committed to
democratic values, Newell said.
However, the Soviet people will bene
fit, even if the reform is largely eco
nomic.
David Forsythe, professor of po
litical science, said Gorbachev is a
genuine reformer in certain spheres,
such as economics and the military.
“Whether this means a change in
the political structure and human
The question is, will
he survive politi
cally or will he
have to renege re
forms to survive
politically?’
-Newell
rights is yet to be seen,” Forsythe said.
“It’s too soon to say if there are im
provements.”
Forsythe said he is concerned
whether Gorbachev’s policy will
change the life of persecuted Rus
sians.
Gorbachev has already instituted
legal reform by changing the control
of mental hospitals in the Soviet Un
ion, so that they are no longer under
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the
Interior, Forsythe said.
Forsythe said he was not surprised
by Time’s selection because Gor
bachev has made some fundamental
changes which, if they last, will affect
the world.
Although Time is fairly conserva
tive, Forsythe said, it is looking for the
person who has made the most impact
in the world.
-v*
