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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1988)
Nebraskan Weather: Wednesday, mostly sunny and warmer, high in the mid 50s with winds from the SW at 5-15 mph. Wednesday night, fair, low 30-35, Thursday, mostly sunny, high in the low to mid 60s, A&E: If I could speak in seven languages ... — Page 12. Sports: Baseball glove thief forces athlete to change sports —Page 8. Ex-employee pleads innocent to charges Allegedly attempted to use UNL’s account By Victoria Ayotte S;aff Reporter A former University of Nebraska Lincoln employee pleaded innocent Tuesday to charges of theft by decep tion in Lancaster County Court. The former employee, JohnCran dell, was charged with two Class IV felony charges of theft of more than $300 and less than $1,000. Crandcll was arrested by UNL police Monday aflei..oon, said Cpl. Douglas Petersen of the UNL Police Department. Crandcll allegedly used a UNL account number to purchase lumber after he was no longer employed by the university, Petersen said. Petersen said Crandcll was ar rested while trying to make a pur chase of $ 185 from Sutherlands, 800 Pioneers Blvd. Crandcll also allegedly purchased lumber with the UNL account num ber four other times, Petersen said. Crandcll was employed by UNL in January 1976 as a service-station attendant in the auto pool, said Bruce Currin, director of personnel. He was transferred in December 1979 to the grounds department as an auto mechanic II. Crandcll resigned in May 1984, Currin said. Crandell’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 25, said Laurie Campbell, deputy county attorney. raculty Senate discusses new early retirement plan »y uavia rionoway Staff Reporter Improvements in the University of Nebraska’s proposed retirement plan have appeared to quell complaints made by faculty members earlier this year, faculty officials said. The revised plan would allow fac ulty members to sell their tenure rights back to the university as a form of early retirement. Robert Diffcndal, University of Nebraska-L.incoln Faculty Senate secretary, said the first plan was re jected by many members of the fac ulty mainly because it was unclear. Diffendal said faculty members did not understand who and how many could participate in the pro gram and what would happen if they did not want to be a part of it. Jim Lewis, UNL Faculty Senate President, said all problems found by faculty members in the earlier plan have been corrected in the second plan. “I think that it is much better than before,” Lewis said. ‘‘The administra tion is listening to the faculty’s com plaints and I encourage people to ask questions.” Jim MeShane, Faculty Senate vice president, said the new plan is in the interests of the faculty and the univer sity. The new plan gives earlier retire ment to professors who may not be interested in slaying anymore, but cannot afford to retire, MeShane said. The university is providing an optional early retirement plan that would allow professors from the ages of 62 to69 to retire with a 100 percent settlement for their tenure over a period of three years if they enroll in the program when it is implemented, MeShane said. Professors who delay in joiningthe plan decrease the amount of money they will be paid for their tenure, he said, Professors who join the program at age 69 will recicvc a 12.5 percent settlement. “So far I have been unaware of any complaints made by the faculty,” MeShane said.“I feel this would be in the best interests of those eligible to use this plan.” MeShane said the average age of the UNL staff member is 45 to 50 which would inevitably mean large numbers of retiring professors in 10 to 15 years. This is the case with col leges across the country, he said. “Places like Stanford are now hir ing professors they don’t need,” MeShane said. “Competition for qualified faculty will be lough.” Nebraska state law prohibits the paying of early retirement programs for work the people did not do, but MeShane said, tenure is a property right, and if people wish to retire at 62 they can sell the tenure back to the university. Ward Williams/Dally Nebraskan Steven Showatter of the VOICE Party speaks at the ASUN debate Tuesday afternoon in the Nebraska Union Crib. UNL Mortar Board sponsored the debate. ASUN campaign concludes with heated verbal barrage By Victoria Ayotte Staff Reporter Amid cheers and whistles, VOICE and ACTION candidates attacked each other’s records at a debate Tttesdav afternoon, bm agreed the campaigning had been negative. The debate, sponsored by Mor tar Board, caps nearly a week of debates as voting for the Associa tion of Students of the University of Nebraska begins this morning. Jeff Petersen, ACTION presi dential candidate, said the cam paign has been one of vicious at tacks. “VOICE’S campaign has con sisted of constantly and unceas ingly criticizing the ACTION party,” he said. Following the debate, Christo pher Stream, VOICE presidential candidate, said he also thought the campaign has been a scries of at lacks among parlies and the debates have been unproductive. But ihe candidates’ agreement stopped there Petersen >aid Stream had at tended only two meetings of the Government l iaison Committee last semester. Stream said he attended GLC meetings all last semester arid has visited his state senator. He said Petersen has not visited his senator in several months and that GLC membership declined from 150 to 25 people under Petersen’s leader ship. Petersen also questioned the VOICE executives’ beginn ings. He said VOICE executives look over the party after all the work had been done by the party’s original found ers. Stream said the executive candi dates of his party originated all the VOICE’S platforms. ‘To say we didn’t get the party slate is ridiculous and embarrass ing,” he said. Stream led an offensive against ACTION’S proposed residential liaison committee by calling it a joke. “Lines of communication are great, but incorporation is a whole lot better,” he said. Petersen’s response to Stream was “Bitch, bitch, bitch.” He said ACTION candidates contacted for mer Residence Hall Association president Russ Johnson and student assistants looking for students interested in student government. Andrew Wupper. VOICE first vice picsidenual candidate, said his i party will get all students involved j in student government. “Most of this campus is sitting on theoutsideof ASUN,”he said. “I want to sec these people in AS UN.” NatcGeiscrt, ACTION first vice presidential candidate, said every body can’t be involved in student government. “You can’t have a chief without any Indians,” he said. VOICE second vice presidential candidate Steven Showalter said the appointments system of the current government is unfair and the system would be unfair under ACTION’S leadership. Kim Beavers, ACTION second vice presidential candidate and student-at-large member of the appointments board, said the reason VOICE candidates think the ap pointments system is unfair is be cause VOICE executives applied for positions and were not ap pointed by the board. See DEBATE on 6 Curtis bill passed to Legislative floor By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter Nebraska legislators voted 29-14 Tuesday to advance a bill to the floor of the Legislature that would finance the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis. Sens. Owen Elmer and William Barrett offered the motion to move the bill to the lloor regardless of the Appropriations Committee’s 5-4 vote not to advance LB 1042 last week. Under LB 1042, the college would gel $350,000 for the current fiscal year and $1.4 million for 1988-89. The bill also creates an $80,000 scholarship trust fund for Curtis from ■ . ' -• • • slate sales-tax revenue. The bill says that because of the location, curriculum and function of the school, Curtis shall be an independent partof the University of Nebraska and shall have a separate budget. The future of the Curtis school has been threatened repeatedly by budget cuts. Last April, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents proposed eliminating Curtis to help reduce the university’s operating budget. Nebraska legislators then gave the Board of Regents $2.5 million during a two year period to maintain Curtis. Gov. Kay Orr vetoed the bill to appropriate money for Curtis, then proposed in November to finance Cut lis with $350,000 for the 1987-88 fiscal year and $1.4 million for 1988-89. Elmer, of Indianola, said a poll done by SRI Gallup of Lincoln showed 84 percent of 198 agriculture-related businesses in Nebraska think the program at Curtis should be contin ued. An Omaha World-Herald poll of 700 regis tered voters, done by SRI-Gallup in December, showed 64 percent of those polled approved of Orr’s proposal to allocate funds for Curtis, Elmer said. Sen. Chris Abboud of Omaha said only one program at Curtis is not duplicated at other Nebraska schools. He said the veterinary tech nology program at Curtis could be added to the curriculum at another school. One program does not justify spending $1.4 million, he said. If the Board of Regents agrees the $1.4 million is needed for Curtis, Abboud said, he would support the bill. Barrett, of Lexington, said LB 1042 is a good bill because Curtis isa good school. Barrett said Curtis provides the quality education in agri culture Nebraska needs to compete with other states. Barrett said 94 percent of Curtis graduates stay in the stale. The program produces quality graduates, he said. Curtis also gives Nebraska an opportunity to retrain farmers who have had to leave the farm, he said. Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln said although the Curtis program is a good one, it is not a priority on the budget. Wesely said he will not support the bill until there are definite plans for the curriculum. Sen. Jerome Warner of Waverly, chairman oflhc Appropriations Committee, said it is not possible to finance new programs at Curtis with $1.4 million. Warner agreed with Wesely that there should be more information about the programs. Elmer said the programs, labs and equip ment are already in place at Curtis and would require no additional financing.