Nebraskan
Weather: Friday, unseasonably warm
with highs in the mid to upper 80s, winds
from the S at 15-25 mph. Friday night,
partly cloudy, low in the mid 50s. Satur
day, breezy and cooler with a 30 percent
chance of thundershowers, high in the mid
60s.
A&E: Tales of two
Oscars —Page 6.
Sports: Shady ready for
nationals —Page 8.
Bill to pay football players defeated by one vote
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Reporter
A bill that would give University of Ne
braska-Lincoln football players a stipend failed
to pass final reading in the Nebraska Legisla
ture Th ursday by one vote, but the bill’s sponsor
says the fight is not over.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he
plans to have the bill reconsidered today, the
last day of the legislative session.
“It’s not over,” Chambers said. “I’m going
to find a senator.”
The bill failed in a 24-22 vote. The bill
needed 25 votes to pass.
Sen. Chris Abboud of Omaha moved that the
bill be relumed for an amendment, but later
withdrew the motion.
Abboud said he wanted to make some points
about the bill that had not been brought out in
previous discussions.
“The National Collegiate Athletic Associa
tion, NCAA, has made it clear that if the state
of Nebraska docs adopt this law, any payment
... would disqualify Nebraska from competi
tion,” Abboud said.
Abboud also questioned the constitutional
ity of the bill and whether the Legislature
should be telling the university to pay its foot
ball players.
“I don’t believe the Legislature should re
quest the university to do something that would
prohibit its athletes from qualifying in the
NCAA,” he said.
Chambers disagreed with Abboud about the
constitutionality of the bill.
“There is nothing in the constitution of this
state that keeps this legislation from being
enacted,” Chambers said.
Chambers said UNL Chancellor Martin
Masscngale, coach Tom Osborne, and athletic
director Bob Devaney all support the bill.
Abboud said UNL officials have no other
choice.
“They’re dealing with members of the
Legislature and the Legislature sets their
budget,” Abboud said.
Regents consider raising tuition and salaries
By Amy Edwards
and Lee Rood
Senior Reporters
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students may have to fork out $48.50
per credit hour in tuition next semes
ter if the University of Nebraska
Board of Regents approves a proposal
for faculty pay raises.
Student tuition rates will be dis
cussed Saturday at the regents’ meet
ing at 8 a.m. in Varner Hall.
Joe Rowson, N U director of public
I .— 1 .. '
affairs, said the regents also will be
asked to approve guidelines for salary
increases at NU.
Guidelines include allocating
money for salaries, adjusting tuition
rates and awarding salary increases
on the basis of performance.
The proposed salary allocations
include an increase in tuition for each
campus of 4 percent of the salary base
for both faculty and non-faculty, and
distribution of the balance. Rowson
said distribution of salary increases
will be discussed at the regents’ June
meeting.
The total proposal calls for an 8.5
percent tuition increase.
Earlier, regents had proposed a 6.5
percent tuition increase to help fi
nance faculty salary increases. The
Nebraska Legislature’s Appropria
tions Committee suggested raising
that by 2 percent.
The proposed tuition increase for
undergraduate and graduate students
at UNL is 8.4 percent.
Jeff Petersen, president of the
Association of Students of the Uni
versity of Nebraska, said the $3.75
hike from last year will help pay UNL
faculty and staff members better.
Petersen, also a non-voting student
regent, said if the proposal is passed,
students will pay 16percentofa$10.7
million total increase in UNL staff
salary enhancement dollars.
‘‘I don’t think students were un
fairly burdened in comparison to the
state,” Petersen said.
Students at the University of Ne
braska at Omaha and the NU Medical
Center will also see an increase next
year if the proposal is passed.
According to the plan, UNO un
dergraduates will pay 5.6 percent
more next semester for tuition, in
exchange for $2,715,190 in pay in
creases.
UNMC undergraduates will havea
tuition increase similar to UNL, but
professional students in the dentistry,
medicine and pharmacy colleges will
see the highest tuition increase.
Eugene Merchant, associate chan
See REGENTS on 5
Higgins successful
Senator wants ‘to make a point’ on bill
By Anne Mohri
Senior Reporter
Sen. Marge Higgins of Omaha
said she won’t know until next year
whether her more than five-hour
filibuster Thursday accomplished
what she wanted.
Higgins said she hopes the fili
buster at the Nebraska Legislature
will influence next year’s legisla-„
tors.
“I want to make a point that will
stick and last until next year,” she
said.
Higgins added 15 amendments
to LB855, a bill that would exempt
insurance companies with annuity
contracts from taxation. All 15
amendments failed and LB855 was
passed 39-2.
Under the bill, the insurance
companies would be required to
pay an assessment fee of $215,000
ayearfor the nextthree years. After
three years, the insurance compa
nies would not pay taxes on premi
ums.
There are three Nebraska-based
annuity insurance companies, Hig
gins said. By passing LB855, Hig
gins said, other insurance compa
nies and industries would threaten
and blackmail the Legislature in
expectation of receiving the same
type of tax break.
By exempting insurance com
panies from taxation, Nebraskans
would be forced to pay their taxes,
she said.
Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln
said he supports the bill. Insurance
companies in Nebraska were pay
ing several million in taxes, while
the state only collected about two
iiundred thousand a year under the
old system, he said.
The bill adjusts the taxing sys
tem so that the companies don’t
have to pay millions, he said.
And, Wesely said, “We (Ne
braska) didn’t really lose anything.
We should come out better” under
the bill.
Wesely said he supports Hig
gins right to Filibuster.
“It took a lot of time and we
don’t have a lot of time,” Wesely
said. “But I never begrudge anyone
the opportunity to express them
selves.”
Sen. Ron Withem of Papillion
also supported the bill, saying it
was the only fair thing to do. The
old system was punishing insur
ance companies for locating in
Nebraska, he said.
Ninety fourth grade students
Butch Ireland/Daily Nebraskan
Omaha Sen. Marge Higgins waves to 90 fourth-graders from Field Club Elementary School
in Omaha during her filibuster Wednesday afternoon.
from Field Club Elementary
School in Omaha visited the Legis
lature Thursday.
Higgins defined filibuster to the
students and explained what
LB855 was and how it would effect
their parents and their futures.
She said the three Nebraska
based insurance companies “live
here in this stale like bloodsuckers
letting the rest of us pay their taxes,
pay to educate their children ..
Team touring city as possible Special Olympics site
By Lee Rood
Senior Reporter
Summer Special Olympics officials will be
touring Lincoln today, visiting sports and
housing facilities to see if the city would be an
appropriate site for its 1991 games.
Members of the International Summer Spe
cial Olympics Games Site Visitation Board of
Directors are considering Lincoln as one of six
possible sites for the games, said Deane Finne
gan, administrative assistant to Mayor Bill
Harris.
She said other cities being considered are
Orlando, Fla.; Nashville, Term.; Providence,
R.I.; Minneapolis; and Chicago.
Harris went to the Lincoln Municipal Air
port Thursday night to welcome the team.
Members of the team will have the opportu
nity to compare some of Lincoln’s hotels, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and its
sports complexes, parks and residence halls for
the event.
In the Summer Special Olympics, menially
retarded persons from around the world com
pete in volleyball, soccer, basketball and other
events. Contestants must be older than 8.
Finnegan said the team wall be checking to
see if Lincoln has adequate accommodations
for the international event.
“They just want to make sure we have the
facilities to handle the over 8,000 coaches and
athletes expected,” she said.
Finnegan said the team also will be looking
at State Fair Park to build an Olympic town for
entertainment during the games.
Most of the housing would be in UNL resi
dence halls, but some of the participants would
stay at Nebraska Wesleyan University and
other places, Finnegan said.
Finnegan said everyone in the mayor’s of
fice is confident Lincoln can accommodate the
event, despite the competition with larger cit
ies.
Lincoln offers a warmth that some of the
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larger cities may lack, Finnegan said.
If the team makes a decision to schedule the
games in Lincoln, it would benefit the city’s
economy and community, she said. The team is
expected to make a decision sometime in late
June.
The Summer Special Olympics last year in
South Bend, Ind., brought more than $35 mil
lion to the city, she said.
Lincoln could use a similar economic boost,
she said But there would be more important
benefits, too.
“It would be a chance for the world to see
that people with mental retardation are doing
great things,” she said.