Nebraskan
ASUN kills bill to lower student fees
Senate to survey UNL
about smoking policy
By Lee Rood
Senior Reporter
AS UN voted Wednesday to survey students
and faculty members about a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln smoking policy with no
discussion, but debate caught fire after the
introduction of a bill that would lower student
fees.
John Goebel, vice chancellor for business
and finance, is wailing for campus input on the
policy that would prohibit smoking in many
university buildings including classrooms and
laboratories.
-a • * !—»■
Surveys are available this afternoon through
March 9 at the Student Information Center in
the Nebraska Union.
But most discussion at Wednesday night’s
meeting was on a bill that would have lowered
student fees 10 percent.
After about two hours of debate, ASUN
members voted against Sen. Steve Henning’s
bill that would have reduced the budgets of all
Fund A and Fund B fee 10 percent
Fund A fee users are the Daily Nebraskan,
the University Programs Council and ASUN.
Fund B includes the Nebraska unions, the
University Health Center and the Office of
Campus Recreation.
Henning, a law student, said he introduced
the bill because student fees have increased
about 44 percent in the past four years.
Henning said fees should be reduced next
year because tuition is likely to go up to pay for
part of a faculty salary increase. Students also
will face higher book prices and decreased
financial aid.
Dan Wolf, chairman of the Committee for
Fees Allocation, said the decrease would have
been “a sweet way” to end students’ paying
more next year, but it’s not “the best way.”
Wolf said he thinks CFA did its job when it
recommended fees be increased from $111 this
year to $ 115.05 next year because services have
also increased. Fees could still increase if the
Legislature approves a salary hike for univer
sity staff members.
John Bergmeyer, 2nd vice president of
ASUN, said if ASUN voted to decrease fees
.”.MME-;-j—.m m
after just approving an increase, students might
think senators are “running scared and that is a
bunch of crap.”
Bergmeyer told senators to remember why
they made the decision in the first place and
relay that to their constituents.
James Griesen, vice chancellor for student
affairs, said while he did not want to influence
senators’ votes, he thought the decrease would
be a “knee jerk” reaction.
Griesen encouraged senators to “act with
great care, study and reflection.”
Fee recommendations must also be ap
proved by Griesen and UNL Chancellor Martin
Massengale.
Griesen is currently reviewing AS UN’s
previous fee recommendations.
eanaiaates
voice plans
for action
ASUN elections stirs debate
on commitment, qualifications
By Amy Edwards
Senior Reporter
ACTION and VOICE candidates
poked, tested and questioned each
other’s commitment and qualifica
tions Wednesday for the Association
of Students of the University of
Nebraska.
Presidential and first vice presi
dential candidates from both parties
joined in the debate, sponsored by the
University Program Council’s Talks
and Topics Committee.
Jeff Petersen, ACTION presiden
tial candidate, said the executive
candidates for his party are in promi
nent AST IN nmifinne anH ran ncr
their experience to benefit the stu
dent body.
Christopher Stream, VOICE
presidential candidate, said past
experience and “resume-padding”
arc not as important as a willingness
to change ASUN.
Stream said the party is striving
for fair representation of the student
body with students who have the
desire and commitment to serve on
ASUN.
Petersen said the party would
create a liaison program between
ASUN and residential halls and
Butch Ireland Daily Nebraskan
ACTION first vice presidential candidate Nate Geisert speaks while (from left) Jeff Petersen, ACTION presidential
candidate; Chris Stream, VOICE presidential candidate; and Andrew J. Wupper, VOICE first vice presidential candidate
listen during an ASUN debate Wednesday afternoon in the Nebraska Union.
Greek houses to get student input.
First vice presidential candidate
Nate Geisert said every residence
hall floor would select a delegate to
relate concerns to ASUN.
Geisert said the party would give
a “state of the university address”
each semester to hear concerns from
off-campus students.
Petersen said ASUN senators
would be required to meet with stu
dents from their college to discuss
ASUN problems and keep the stu
dents involved with ASUN.
Stream said UNL students would
not be apathetic about student gov
ernment if they were given a chance
to express their views.
The VOICE party has a slate that
is 55 percent Greek and 45 percent
non-Greek, which Stream said shows
they are willing to get fair represen
tation already.
Stream said too many ASUN
members belong to the same house as
the president or arc in the little-sister
program of that house.
“ASUN has become a country
club with the execs as the gate keep
ers,” Stream said. “We must tear
down the walls of the ASUN country
club.”
Petersen said the VOICE execu
tives are all members of the same
fraternity.
Stream said he and fellow execu
tive candidates Andrew Wuppcr and
Steven Showaltcr were asked to take
over the VOICE party after its origi
nal organizers decided not to run.
The candidates also differed on
what issues ASUN needs to lobby for
at the Nebraska Legislature.
Geiscrt said Petersen worked with
ASUN to help raise faculty salaries.
He said that when the administration
was willing to “let faculty salaries
die,” ASUN continued the fight at the
Legislature with Petersen’s help.
Geisert said ACTION would con
tinue to push for higher faculty sala
ries to keep quality education at
UNL.
Stream said that for the past few
years, ASUN has not been dealing
with the issues that students face.
Stream said the VOICE party would
address more than one issue and work
to give students something back for
what they pay into the system.
Both parties said ASUN needs to
improve its image with students.
Wuppcr, VOICE’silrstvicc presi
dential candidate, said students from
the Afrikan People’s Union ex
pressed concerns that they do not sec
ASUN senators once they arc
elected.
Wuppcr said VOICE would as
sign ASUN senators to attend minor
ity student meetings to keep ASUN
aware of their concerns.
Gcisert said ACTION is propos
ing a New Student Orientation pro
gram designed specifically to ad
dress the problems of foreign stu
dents and make them feel like they
arc part of the student body.
Candidates were asked to com
ment on the process for allocating
student fees.
Stream said that with a new lead
ership the Committee for Fees Allo
cation can be run more efficiently
and with better representation.
Petersen said the current process
does a thorough job of allocating the
“necessary evil” of student fees.
Improvements in communication
between senators and students were
among both parties’ priorities.
Stream said student faith in ASUN
must be restored and relations be
tween East and City campuses im
proved.
Petersen said ACTION priorities
are to direct representation from stu
dents, to make ASUN senators ac
countable to their constituents and to
create an information hot line to clar
ify confusing student services.
I I ' I ' I. i U l 'i ' i i II
Resolution for UNMC health-care project OK’d
By Amy Edwards
and Mary Nell Westbrook
Senior Reporter*
Nebraska legislators argued for about two
hours Wednesday before passing a resolution
by a 30-3 vote that would approve the Univer
sity of Nebraska Medical Center 1988 Health
Care project.
The project is designed to address the needs
of the center’s instruction, ambulatory care, in
patient room renovation and off-street parking.
UNMC wants to enter a cooperative pro
gram with Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital
to share the expensive equipment needed by
both.
The proposal includes $29 million to fi
nance the project.
LR266, introduced by Sen. Bemice Labedz
of Omaha, supports the project and commends
the university and the University of Nebraska
Board of Regents for their efforts to develop
cooperative relations with Bishop Clarkson
Memorial Hospital.
Labedz said the regents do not need the
Legislature’s consent to start the project, but
Chancellor Martin Massengale and UNMC
officials thought it would be right to get ap
proval.
Sen. Marge Higgins of Omaha made a
motion to indefinitely postpone the resolution
because she did not know the proposal included
the $29 million for financing.
Higgins later withdrew her motion and
asked to have her name withdrawn from the
resolution.
Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha urged senators to
adopt LR266 because the proposal gives stu
dents at UNMC the opportunity to practice with
equipment they might use in their careers.
Hall said the $29 million just “gives them a
place to park while they’re learning.”
Another university-related bill that was
advanced would eliminate the university’s
associate degree of nursing program.
LB890, introduced by Sen. Arlene Nelson of
Grand island, passed on a 26-0 vote, but not
before an amendment the Education Commit
tee added was declared unconstitutional.
In the 1977 Supreme Court case, Board of
Regents v. Exon, the board was granted the
“power to operate the board as free from politi
cal influence as possible.”
The proposed amendment would have dele
gated some of the regents’ power to the Ne
braska Coordinating Commission, which
would have violated the court’s ruling.
