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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1988)
Grads who stay in state could get break By Mary Nell Westbrook Senior Reporter Legislators working on loan repayment plan Members of the Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Com mittee said Tuesday in a hearing that a bill to help students repay their loans is still in the skeletal stage. Under LB 1204, students graduat ing from Nebraska colleges and remaining in the stale could have up to half of their student loans repaid by the state. LB 120*1 was introduced by Papil lion Sen. Ron Withem, chairman of the Education Committee. It would establish a fund called the Higher Education Loan Forgiveness Fund. The money would be admini stered through the Nebraska Coordi nating Commission for Postsecon ---- dary Education. The commission would def ine which students would be eligible for the loan repayment. Many questions remain unan swered as to which students should receive the money from the fund, said Withem. As the bill exists now, Withem said, it isn’t ready to be a law. “It’s just a skeleton of an idea,” Withcm said. Certain fields of study that arc vital to the state would have to be targeted by a commission or the Legislature itself, Withem said. Sen. Chris Abboud, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said he thought the bill was a great idea. He had introduced similar legislation in the past in the areas of computer science and engineering. Abboud, of Omaha, also proposed legislation for the University of Nebraska Medical Center which would have paid medical students’ tuition if they remained in the state. The medical center opposed the idea, Abboud said. Withem said the idea for this bill came from debate over LB775, which involved tax incentives for businesses to come to and stay in Nebraska. Withem said he thought the same idea could be directed to students through either tax credits or partial loan repayment. The bill is modeled after the Na tional Education Defense Act, which paid about 10 percent of a military student’s loan each year if the student remained in the state. Withem said Nebraska lags be hind neighboring states in aid to its students. The state needs more ideas on student support, he said. Sen. Sandra Scofield, a member of the Appropriations Committee from Chadron, asked Withem where he would like to see the appropriated money go. 7 don’t want this committee to assume the re sponsibility of parents.’ —Lienemann Withem said he would like educa tion dollars to go to established pro grams at this time because his idea needs a lot of work. “It’s such a nebulous concept, but a valuable one,” he said. Jon Oberg, president of the Asso ciation of Independent Colleges and Universities of Nebraska, favored the bill at the hearing. He presented a graph that showed the percentage of college graduates leaving Nebraska by the size of their monthly student loan repayment. Forty-seven percent of students who pay more than $200 in loan repayment left the state in 1986. Nineteen percent of Nebraska stu dents left the state if their loan repay ment was less than $50 a month. Don Lienemann, a constituent of Withem’s, said he opposed the bill and resented that his senator intro duced it. “I don’t want this committee to assume the responsibility of par ents,” he said. Lienemann said he has always advocated students’ paying theirown way through college or at least pay ing a h igher percentage than the state. Terminally 111 Act advanced Tuesday; Sens. Ashford, Hall add amendments By Dan Dwinell Staff Reporter After several days of floor debate this session senators gave first-round approval Tuesday to the Rights of the Terminally 111 Act. Rights of the Terminally 111 Act, LB88, was kept alive when a motion to postpone the bill indefinitely was defeated by a 25-21 vote. The bill, which would give termi nally ill patients being kept alive by artificial means the right to die, sur vived a motion to bracket the bill until March 1. Anselmo Sen. Howard Lamb’s motion was denied with a 13-13 tie vote. Two amendments were added to the bill Tuesday. The first amend ment, introduced by Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, changed a word ing the bill’s wording. The second amendment, intro duced by Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha, asked to raise the penalty lor violating conditions of the bill. Penalties were raised for situations including doctors failing to follow the request, conceal ing a will or coercing someone to sign a will. Lamb said there were more impor tant things to do on the floor than correct the bill. He said it should be done in private. After Lamb’s motion to bracket the bill failed, debate on the bill con tinued. Sen. Bcmicc l abed/ of Omaha asked for the definition of “terminal condition,” adding that the bill even tually will legalize mercy killing. Labedz said the bill was the worst piece of law produced by the Legisla ture. Sen. Shirley Marsh of Lincoln said the bill had a strong following around the state, but Sen. James McFarland, also of Lincoln, said the bill should have been completed in committee instead on the floor. “(The bill) is very poorly drafted and very poorly worded,” he said. UNL student finds body Girl dies in Gunny’s; apparent suicide By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter _ A 16-year-old girl’s body was found Tuesday in the Gunny’s com plex parking garage, said Mike Heav ican, Lancaster County attorney. Lt. Lyle Roberts of the Lincoln Police Department said the body was identified as Heather Quinn, a Lin coln High School student. Quinn apparently committed sui cide with a .22 caliber gun, Hcavican said. The body was found by Ron Ritenour, a 21 -year-old University of Nebraska-Lincoln student. Ritenour found the body at about 7:55 a.m. Tuesday, Heavican said. The body was found in the stair case of die Gunny’s complex, 245 N. 13th St. The gun was found under Quinn’s body, Roberts said. The autopsy report showed Quinn died of a contact wound to the right temple, Heavican said. The bullet passed through the left temple, he said. Heavican said Quinn’s death is being investigated. “if thatinformation isconsistent, it will be closed as a suicide,” Heavican said. University press regains Neihardt book By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter Hilda Neihardt Petri returned the paperback publishing rights for John G. Ncihardt’s “Black Elk Speaks” to the University of Nebraska Press Tuesday. The rights were acquired from the John G. Neihardt Trust. A cake with the words “Welcome back Flaming Rainbow” represented the homecom ing of Neihardt’s book. Flaming Rainbow was the name Black Elk gave Neihardt. Petri, Neihardt’s daughter, said she was concerned that the book wasn’t reaching m—n—MM——i »ii iiniMif niwT^rMimi enough people. “When you hear from people that you can’t get the book, it’s upsetting,” Petri said. Simon & Schuster Inc., the book’s most recent publisher, was granted the paperback rights to the book in 1972. “Black Elk Speaks” was first published in 1932. The book tells the story of Sioux Indian life and religion in the eyes of Black Elk, an Indian holy man who participated in the ghost dance religion. Petri said Neihardt's books were not well received when he wrote them because “he wasn’t a racist in a time when people were either racist or sentimental.” Petri said her father appreciated Black Elk as a person, not as a curiosity. “Black Elk told Neihardt he would save the Sioux Indians with his books,” she said. Petri quoted Black Elk speaking about her father: “You are a word sender. This world is like a garden, and over it go your words like rain. Where they go, they leave everything a little greener, and when your words have passed, the memory of them will stand long in the west like a flaming rainbow.” University Press republished “Black Elk Speaks” in 1961. At that time, the book had been out of print for 20 years, Petri said. When the paperback rights were given to Simon & Schuster, the company decided it did not want University Press to have any publishing rights. “I had to be the hatchet man and tell Univer sity Press they couldn’t publish it,” Petri said. Several weeks ago, Petri visited Bill Regier, editor in chief and director of University Press, and decided to return paperback rights to them shortly after. Petri said the decision to let Simon & Schuster Inc. continue publishing “Black Elk Speaks” will be up to University Press. Regier said owning the publishing rights to “Black Elk Speaks” is important to University See NEIHARDT on 3