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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1988)
Senators advance pay-raise resolution By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter Nebraska legislators voted 41-1 Monday to advance an amended version of LR7CA, a resolution that proposes to raise their salaries from $4,K00 to $12,000 per year. Sen. William Barrett of Lexing ton introduced the amendment that changed the salary adjustment to $12,000. The proposed constitu tional amendment previously asked for $18,000. Barrett said results of two polls by Research Associates of Lincoln re veal that 71 percent of voters thought $18,000 was too high. Barrett said 62 percent of those polled thought $4,800 was loo low. Barrett said 1,200 Nebraskans were polled. The Nebraskans for Fair Compensation Committee paid for the polls. Sen. Jim McFarland of Lincoln said the $12,000 proposal is fair al though it is less than salaries of sena tors in surrounding stales. McFarland said Iowa, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri pay their sena tors between $14,000 and $18,000. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha opposed Barrett’s amendment be cause, he said, by supporting it, sena tors admit to being bullied by edito rials. Chambers said legislators should establish an appropriate sal ary and push for it. Chambers introduced an amend merit that would give voters the power to set the salary for the senator in their district. After debate, the amendment failed 2-31. Sen. Marge Higgins of Omaha said Chambers’ amendment might lead to an “auction” of people run ning for office. Chambers said senators won’t get the salary increase anyway, but “it’s better not to get $18,000 than to not get $12,000.” Sen. Rod Johnson of Sutton, who introduced LR7CA, said 11 voters don’t like a senator’s position on an issue, they might reduce the salary to nothing. Johnson said it might be difficult for senators to ask their constituents for a salary increase. Chambers said the amendment would allow senators to set up a procedure to ask for salary increases. If LR7CA passes in final reading, it will be put on the ballot in the November elections. ASUN candidates debate residence hall improvements By Lee Rood Senior Reporter ACTION and VOICE candidates debated ways to better represent residence hall students in the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Monday night. A crowd of about 75 students, split almost evenly between parties, gathered in the Neihardl Student Center while ACTION and VOICE candidates agreed that residence hall students need a larger say in student govern ment. Jeff Petersen, presidential candidate for ACTION, said his party proposed the Resi dence Liaison Program to better inform resi dence hall students and Greek house members about ASUN. Petersen said students in residence halls arc often not represented in ASUN because they don’t know about positions available. With ACTION’S program students would be in formed about available positions monthly, he said. Steven Showalter, second vice presidential candidate for VOICE, said residence hall stu dents could be better represented if the current ASUN appropriations lx>ard was restructured. Showalter said upon taking office, VOICE’S president would establish a commission made up of Greek, residence hall, off-campus and minority leaders to study the current appropria tions system and recommend changes. Showalter said VOICE members would also work on financial aid and visitation hours for residence hall students. ACTION vice presidential candidates Nate Gicscrl and Kim Beavers said the reason resi dence hall students arc not currently repre sented in ASUN is because Greek houses better inform members about open positions. Beavers said Greek houses have Monday night meetings and tell members about ASUN. Residence hall students have no such lines of communications, she said. With the Residence Liaison Program all students would have the opportunity to become involved and learn about ASUN, she said. Christopher Stream, VOICE’S presidential candidate, said current ASUN and ACTION party members do not care about residence hall students. “Once they arc in office, you arc never going to sec them again,” he said. ^ r ■' — —. Stream said ACTION’S program for better representation is a farce and a cop-out. VOICE party members have been getting opinions from residence hall students from the beginning of its campaign, he said. When asked if residence hall students should have specific positions set aside in AS UN, S tream said he would consider the idea. Stream said, however, that ASUN members should actively pursue and recruit dorm stu dents. Petersen said he did not support setting aside the positions because everyone should be in volved in student government regardless of where they live. ASUN should be a body that extends open membership to everyone, he said. ■" 1 .. 11 * I Author says road to liberation paved with women’s free action, not laws By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter Women should not focus on pass ing laws, but should concentrate on loving themselves, said Sonia Johnson, author of “Going Out of Our Minds: The Metaphysics of Libera tion.” Johnson spoke to a crowd of more than 20() Monday night in the Ne braska Union as part of Women’s Week ’88. Women should not try to pass laws because men use these laws for their own benefit, Johnson said. Johnson said men have benefitted more than women from child support laws and custody laws women have wojcjted to pass. Johnson said w omen arc now be coming more liberated, but have been oppressed for a long time. “We’ve been the slaves on this planet for 5,000 years. Women arc men’s colonized lands,” she said. “Until now, every woman on the planet was owned.” Women do two-thirds of the world’s work and make one-tenth of the world’s money, and this isn’t fair, | HH ‘We’ve been the slaves on this planet for 5,000 years. Women are men’s colonized lands. Until now, every woman on the planet was owned. ’ — Johnson she said. Johnson said the way for women to become free is for women to start acting free because the means are the ends in women’s liberation. “If we want a world in which woman is not afraid, then we have got to be unafraid right now,” she said. Women will probably not have immediate gratification this way, she said. But she added, “We can predict the future by what we’re doing in the present.” Johnson said men have a miscon ception that the women’s movement is about issues. “The women’s movement is the greatest spiritual revolution in the history of the world,” Johnson said. “Women arc leading the species home.” Johnson said women’s destiny is to transform the planet, but changing men’s attitudes is “like picking burrs out of a dog.” Women need to change attitudes by changing the way they feel about themselves, she said. “The only genuine revolution is when it changes inside,” she said. Some Reunion shops to open in April By William Lauer Staff Reporter Construction of the new student center is 65 percent completed and some businesses should open the first week in April, said an owner of The Reunion. David Hunter said the entire food court and two or three retail stores in The Reunion plan to open shortly after spring break. The center will be at 16th and W streets. Hunter is negotiating with busi ness owners to rent unoccupied space, but said he plans to have the entire center leased by April. Hunter said he wants to include a student club at the center. Club members would receive discounts at the businesses. The club would also include a members-only lounge with computers and a plush study area. Students would have to pur chase the memberships, Hunter said. Another feature of the student center will be a ramp for handi capped students, Hunter said. “Wc’vc put handicapped people on the same level as the non-handi capped,” Hunter said. “Everybody can come in the front door on an equal level.” I ..■■■—■ ™— .- .... Home ec college celebrates excellence Several events are cooking this week to honor excellence in the College of Home Economics. Among the events is a convoca tion presented by Trudy Liebcrman, senior editor for Consumer Reports. It will be today from 10 to 11 a.m. in Home Economics Building 11. A videotape titled “Does Your Resume Wear Blucjcans?” is schcd ulcd from 1 to 3 p.m. in Home Eco nomics Building 104. On Wednesday, a dinner honoring members of the college is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Ne braska Union. Other events scheduled for the week are a textile art exhibit of stu dent works, a sports nutrition confer ence and a career night. Lack of student effort in Big 8 creating apathetic atmospheres APATHY from Page 1 earlier in the year when the issues were being decided upon. Too often, leaders say, students arc too busy or loo interested in them selves to take an interest in student government. Doug Clark, vice president of the University of Missouri’s student mm®mi i I mmmmsmmmmm 'i -/x If students appre ciate education, with that apprecia tion would come involvement — Pollock government, said tropic arc only interested in themselves. Clark blames apathy toward stu dent government on a lack of effort by students. But despite high senator turnover and low attendance at its meetings, Clark said, Missouri’s student gov ernment is effective in providing programs and services to its students. Many students arc unaware of who provides the programs, but they use them just the same, he said. Pollock said student government has proven that it can work because of its recent successes with faculty sala ries and night busing. But student government will not be a true suc cess, he said, until students lake an interest in education. “If students appreciate educa tion,” he said. “With that apprecia tion would come involvement.” Most student leaders said they were “slumped” like Pollock as to how to solve the apathy problem. Some leaders said they have regu lar meetings with students on campus to inform them about student govern ment. Some governments have tried asking rcfcrcndumquestionson elec tion ballots to increase voter turnout. Others have tried to cover contro versial issues for increased interest. Some have tried to avoid the issues and increase programs. Their attempts have been, for the most part, unsuccessful. Most student leaders interviewed, however, said student involvement is possible. Pollock agreed, but said the change won’t occur until students start realizing that “along with rights and liberties come obligations.” Pollock said until students realize they can be an individual and a part of society also, apathy will continue.