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Eric Gregory/Dally Nebraskan
Spring training
Members of the Nebraska track team run around the Ed
Weir Track Monday afternoon during practice.
Fewer parties, equal complaints
By Lee Rood
Senior Reporter
Although five fewer parties arc
campaigning for the Association of
Students at the University of Ne
braska this year, the same number of
complaints have been filed with its
electoral commission, an ASUN
executive said Monday.
Shawn Boldl, ASUN first vice
president, said most of the 30 com
plaints filed by VOICEand ACTION
parties arc for poster violations.
There arc about 25 complaints of
too many party posters being in one
area or students tearing down an
opposing party’s poster, he said.
He said there have also been
complaints of unreported expenses
and wearing party T-shirts in illegal
areas, such as the ASUN office.
If a party has violated election
rules, Boldt said, it’s fined and the
money is deducted from its spending
account.
ACTION party has been fined
$35, and VOICE has been charged
$50.
ACTION was fined $ 10 for poster
violations and $25 for a party mem
ber wearing an ACTION T-shirt at a
Government Liaison Committee
booth in the Nebraska Union.
VOICE was fined $15 for poster
violations and $25 for unreported
advertising expenses in the Daily
Nebraskan.
Boldt said this year’s race for
ASUN has been more vicious than in
the past. Party members have been
“fighting it out in the trenches’’ this
year, he said, especially for resi
dence. hall student votes.
There have been complaints of
door-to-door campaigning in the
residence halls, he said. But the
complaints have been unfounded.
‘Living will’ bill advanced
Legislation would give rights to terminally ill
By Ryan Steeves
Staff Reporter
After adding five amendments,
Nebraska state senators advanced the
Rights of the Terminally Til Bill
Monday by a 25 to 17 vote.
If passed, LB88 would allow
Nebraskans to sign a written declara
tion, known as a “living will,” stating
they do not want life support to be
used in ease they become comatose
and arc determined terminally ill.
The written declaration also would
give Nebraskans the right to transfer
their life support decisions to another
person.
The amendments added Monday:
• prohibit insurance companies from
charging rates that discriminate
against Nebraskans who sign a living
will declaration.
• prohibit physicians from allowing a
person to die from dehydration or
starvation rather than the underly
ing terminal condition.
• require life support to continue for
pregnant women even if a living will
declaration was signed.
• require two co-signers of a living
will declaration and restricting who
can co-sign.
• change some basic language of the
bill.
Sen. James McFarland of Lincoln
introduced the amendment prohibit
ing insurance companies from
changing rates of living will signers.
McFarland said he feared that insur
ance companies would force living
will signers to agree to special rates.
“(Living will signers) should not
be penalized nor should they be
rewarded for making that choice.”
Sens. David Landis and Shirley
Marsh of Lincoln and Pat Morehcad
of Beatrice, co-sponsors of the bill,
all supported the amendment. It
passed on a 26 to 1 vote.
Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha intro
duced the amendment prohibiting
physicians from allowing a termi
nally ill person who has signed a
living will to die from dehydration or
starvation. Instead, the disease which
has caused a person to be terminally
ill should take the life, the amend
ment said.
Sen. Bernice Labedz of Omaha
supported the amendment, saying it
provided important safeguards for
patients.
“This is an important safeguard
because patients are not allowed to
die from (anything) other than the
terminal illness,” Labedz said.
But Marsh opposed the amend
ment. She said it could be used to take
away a physicians’ medical author
ity. The decision of nutrition and
dehydration should be left to physi
cians, she said.
Hall’s amendment passed on a 27
to 9 vote.
Labcdz introduced the amend
ment prohibiting physicians to dis
continue life support for pregnant
women, even if a living will was
signed. It passed on a 26 to 0 vote.
McFarland introduced the amend
ment requiring two co-signers on a
living will statement. The amend
ment stated that co-signers cannot be
relatives, persons that would be fi
nancially responsible for the signer,
beneficiaries of or people with
claims against the signers estate or an
employee of the hospital caring for
the signer.
Two proposed amendments
failed.
One, introduced by Hall, would
have required living will signers to
review their living will declaration
every five years. It failed to meet the
25 votes needed to advance an
amendment. The vote was 22 to 21.
McFarland introduced the other
failed amendment that would have
killed the provision of the bill that
allows Nebraskans to transfer life
support decisions.
Cyclists ’ coalition won’t fight helmet law
By Amy Edwards
Senior Reporter
Members of the Nebraska Motor
cyclists Coalition said Monday they
will not attempt to repeal the manda
tory helmet law, but will vote for
senators who support their concerns.
Terry Schulz said the coalition
will actively support those senators
“who have supjxirted freedom of
choice for Nebraska motorcyclists.”
Schulz spoke at a press conference at
Frontier Harlcy-Davidson, 2801 N.
27th St
Schulz, secretary-treasurer of the
coalition, said coalition members
decided that repealing the law would
not get programs the group supports
implemented.
Mandatory helmet laws arc not
the only issues, she said. Safety edu
cation and public awareness pro
grams would help save lives, she
said.
Motorcycle registration fees pay
for rider education in Nebraska.
Schulz said this money should be
used for billboards and television ads
to educate the public as well as the
riders themselves.
Most motorcycle accidents arc
caused by uneducated riders and
drivers who don’t look for motorcy
clists, she said.
‘The helmet law is
a Band-Aid over
the real issue of
motorcycle acci
dents.'
—Schulz
“The helmet law is a Band-Aid
over the real issue of motorcycle
accidents,” Schulz said.
The coalition earlier this year
lobbied unsuccessfully to defeat the
mandatory helmet law, which will go
into effect Jan. 1,1989.
Sen. Jacklyn Smith of Hastings
and Sen. Scott Moore of Stromsburg
introduced an amendment to LB428,
the helmet bill, that would have re
quired only tropic 19 years old and
under to wear a helmet. The amend
ment also would have required mo
torcycle safety education for riders
age 19 and under.
Schulz said the coalition sup
ported the amendment and if the
entire Legislature had been present to
vote in final reading, the amendment
would have passed.
The Nebraska Motorcyclists Coa
lition represents 17 organized motor
cycle groups and nine businesses in
Nebraska.
The organization was formed last
September in response to LB428 and
other issues important to motorcy
clists.
Schulz said members of the coali
tion do not oppose the use of helmets,
but the mandatory regulation of hel
mets.
Student government apathy common at Big 8 schools
By Lee Rood
Senior Reporter
Andy Pollock walks into the Association of
Students of the University of Nebraska’s
weekly meeting. As president of ASUN, Pol
lock glances around the room to see who is in
the audience.
But like other student leaders in the Big
Eight, Pollock rarely secs anyone new at the
student government meetings.
Instead, there are the few dedicated or obli
gated in attendance: James Gricsen, vice chan
cellor of student affairs; a reporter; Jeff Pe
tersen, chairman of the Government Liaison
Committee; and two representatives from other
committees on campus.
Apathy toward student government is not
new to Pollock. Pollock said he notices it at
every ASUN meeting, with every issue the
group tries to confront.
Pollock’s frustration with apathy is not
unique. Student leaders from six of the Big
Eight schools said they also have problems with
apathy.
Student representatives from Oklahoma and
Oklahoma State were unavailable forcommcnt
because of spring vacation.
All student government leaders interviewed
said apathy on university campuses is a definite
problem and has become a national trend.
They say students don’t have time for activi
ties, don’t understand student government or
don’t know how to become involved.
About 15 percent of the student body votes
in government elections at Big Eight schools.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s average
is 15.6 percent.
All but one student leader interviewed said
students complain aboutGreek house members
dominating student government. Most said
students criticize how the governments are set
up.
Most of the leaders said they are tired of
students who complain and give excuses in
stead of getting involved.
Julianne Marlcy, president of the student
body of Iowa State, said there has been a long
standing problem with apathy on her campus.
It wasn’t until Marley got arrested at a sit-in
that students started taking an interest in stu
dent government.
Marlcy was later acquitted for sitting in a
hallway protesting CIA recruitment on her
campus, but several students voiced their opin
ion on what the role of a student leader should
be, she said.
Marley said because she has been politically
outspoken, students tend to lake some interest
in student government.
But there are never enough people to do
things, she said. Most students stay on the
sidelines, Marlcy said, and only speak out if an
issue is especially controversial.
Pollock said students rarely speak out at
UNL even if an issue is controversial.
Pollock said now is the only time he has
heard more than one or two opinions on what
AS UN has done all year.
Only four students asked questions about
tuition increases for faculty salaries, two had
questions about improvements within the Of
fice of Scholarship and Financial Aid, two
were curious about night busing and one had a
complaint about a business course.
Pollock said with AS UN elections Wednes
day he is hearing more complaints than ever,
but said he wants to know where his critics were
See APATHY on 3
