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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1988)
Nebraska n MLtiwirfMinwitM^WnaW^ffFInryrMw^BBiTiiBBMWWUOTMnlmi^fahwmUrV' 7" fflfiwiitiruiffwiinfflm UNL officials plan new smoking policy I By Ryan Steeves Staff Reporter University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials plan to implement a smoking policy that would prohibit smoking in most areas of UNL build ings, but they are awaiting campus input on the issue. A memo, released by John Goebel, vice chancellor for business and finance, stated that smoking would be prohibited in halls, class rooms, labs, elevators and emergency shelter areas. The right to smoke in other areas will be granted by individual department chairpersons and will cover only that department’s jurisdic tion. The areas left to chairpersons’ discretion include single-occupant offices, auditoriums, dining rooms and “other indoor assembly ar eas.” UNL is scheduled to implement the policy on July 1, 1988. Goebel said he released the memo to get reaction from UNL students, staff and faculty members. “There was no intent to keep this under wrap,” Goebel said. “What we want is discus sion.” The policy also would: • require smokers who smoke in their office to buy and maintain a smoke filter. • require signs that say “Smoking Allowed” and “No Smoking” in rooms with both areas. • prohibit smoking in areas with no signs. • require deans, directors, department chair persons, managers and other supervisory per sonnel to enforce the policy and punish those who don’t comply. Goebel sent the memo to several adminis trators and groups, including all deans and directors, the Faculty Senate Executive Com mittee and the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Executive Committee. If responses are against the policy, it may be revised, he said. Shawn Boldt, first-vice president of ASUN, said the ASUN Senate will vote tonight on a bill that would allow ASUN to survey students about their opinions on the policy. If passed, surveys would be available at the Student Infor mation Center, Nebraska Union 116. Boldt said ASUN will take a position on the policy after students have been surveyed. Boldt said he agreed with the policy’s concept, but found the policy itself “a little too restrictive.” “I think as soon as students see all the places they can ’ t smoke,” Boldt said,‘‘they ’ 11 real 1 y be upset.” Goebel said administrators and faculty members developed the policy after some UNL faculty members and students asked about UNL’s smoking policy. The new policy would g i ve U NL a reasonable set of gu idel i nes that are consistent with the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act passed by the Legislature in 1935, Goebel said. UNL students go to prison for class By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter The bars slid back at the Ne braska State Penitentiary Tuesday morning to admit 25 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students. The students went to the peniten tiary as a pan of Personality and Social Structure and Sociology of Deviants, a course taught by Suzanne Ortega, assistant professor of sociology. The students were taken on a tour of the penitentiary and had a discus sion with members of The Seventh Step Foundation, a self-help group for inmates. The purpose of the trip was to give students a real-life view of what they are studying, Ortega said. Coming in the penitentiary, stu dents had to show picture identifica tion while security checked their names. Several students forgot their See PRISON on 3 ASUN candidates given pop quiz By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter Association of Students of the University of Nebraska presidential candidates were surprised but re acted differently when given a test Tuesday in place of a scheduled debate. Action Party candidates took the test, sponsored by The Innocents Society, while Voice candidates did not complete the test and protested the exam, calling it “an Innocents’ trivia contest.” Results of the test are scheduled to be released Friday. The Innocents Society has given the test to candidates before. It asked the candidates questions about uni versity officials and AS UN proce dures. Questions ranged from naming the president of the university and the members of the University of Ne braska Board of Regents to the Ne braska Union Food Service Director and the Daily Nebraskan Business Manager. Voice presidential candidate Christopher Stream and Action presidential candidate Jeff Petersen said they had not been told about the test beforehand. “We walked in expecting to have a debate,” Petersen said. “I think there should have been some prior notification.” Jeff Dillow, Innocents Society president, said it was decided at the last minute to give a test instead of having the open-forum debate. “We didn't mean to throw anyone off, but things happened,” he said. The Innocents had scheduling problems and were unable to organ ize the debate in time, said AS UN President Andy Pollock. “It just never came off the ground,” Pollock said. Stream said he was upset about having to take a test and was not prepared. “I think the whole thing was set up unfairly,” Stream said. Stream said the test was biased, but Petersen said he thought the test was a good idea. “Someone seeking the magnitude of office we are seeking needs to have a good understanding of the people you’re going to be working with,” Petersen said. But Petersen thought some ques tions on the test were unfair. Stream thought the test favored the Action party because members of the party have already worked with a lot of the people listed on the test, and would score higher. “All it (running ASUN) takes is a desire to work hard. I donot think tbit it is a qualification,” Stream said. “They’re (The Innocents Society) already excluding me because I don’t know enough of the right people,” Stream said. Dillow said the test is fair and was not intended to be biased against anyone. “The test covered important areas that any person running for office should know,” he said. Curtis bill put on hold By Mary Nell Westbrook Senior Reporter Members of the Nebraska Legislature’s Appropriations Com mittee voted 5-4 Tuesday not to advance a bill to finance the Ne braska College of Technical Agricul ture at Curtis, but the bill’s sponsor expects the measure to advance to day. Sen. Owen Elmer of Indianola, who made LB 1042 his priority, said he spoke to one committee member who voted against it and that member said he would ask for reconsideration of the bill. Elmer would not identify the committee member. Elmer said he was surprised the bill wasn’t advanced to the floor. He said he spoke to committee members earlier in the day and thought they would pass it. After Gov. Kay Orr decided to support the college and others showed additional support, Elmer said he thought the bill was home free. Under LB 1042 the school would get $700,000 for the current fiscal year and 1.4 million for 1988-89. Sen. Chris Abboud of Omaha, who voted against the bill, said he also was surprised the bill didn’t get the five votes it needed to advance. Sens. Scott Moore of Stromsburg, Gary Hannibal of Omaha, Lowell Johnson of North Bend and Jerome Warner of Wavcrly, chairman of the committee, also voted against send ing the bill to the floor for debate. Abboud said he didn’t think the budget could handle the expense of keeping Curtis open. He said if the University of Nebraska Board of Regents had made the bill a higher priority it might have passed. Moore said after giving so much money to the university he thought the state “just couldn’t afford to do it.” When it came to Curtis or soil and water conservation, Moore said he thought the money would be better spent on conservation. Bob Cochrane, Orr’s communica tions director, said the governor was disappointed that the bill didn’t get out of committee, but she will con tinue to work hard on the bill. Orr met with Elmer Tuesday af ternoon and she is confident the committee will reconsider the vote, Cochrane said. And Warner agrees the issue is not dead. “It’s not over until it’s over,” he said. Panel confronts prejudice Speakers say pride in background needed By Dan Dwinell Staff Reporter Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha told University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Tuesday that he tells his children to be proud to be black and fight prejudice. “I told my kids if they ever hear the “N” word I don ’ t gi ve you perm ission to fight, I want you to fight,” Cham bers said. Chambers was part of panel dis cussion entitled “I am. We are” to expose students to different ethnic and cultural views in the Sandoz Hall main lounge. The organizers of the event, San doz Student Assistants Lisa Ramirez and Mary Pat Mallam, said the dis cussion was an extension of Black History month. Chambers said there are several ways to solve the problem of black prejudice. “If you want to talk we’ll talk it out, if you want to walk we’ll walk it out, if you want to fight we ’ll fight it out,” he said. “White people think that they are the standard for everything,” Cham bers said. Vaughn Robertson, counselor for Multi cultural Affairs at the Student Center, said the only two black people his daughter sees are her par ents. “That bothers me,” he said, “it really bothers me.” Kit Boesch, administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services of Lancaster County agreed with Chambers that there are many ways to deal with discrimination. Boesch, former cross country, track and fencing coach at Ohio State said she wasn’t treated equally with the men coaches. “Ranting and raving doesn’t get you anywhere,” she said. “There’s a lot of different ways of doing it. You have to work the system.” After Boesch finished speaking, a member of the audience, Shawn Bordeaux, said he was angry that there wasn’t a Native American on the panel. “I’m a Native American and I’m proud of it,” he said. The panel members invited him to sit with them, but he declined. Marty Ramirez, psychologist at the UNL Counseling Center, said there is a great confusion about Chi canos in the United States. He said the Chicanos’ standard of living has improved, but there is room for improvement.
