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WEATHER: Thursday, doudy, high in
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Thursday night, fair, low in the upper 30s
Friday, partly sunny and warmer, high in the
mid 60s
INDEX
News.2
Editorial.4
Diversions.5
Sports.13
Classifieds.15
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October 20,1988 University of Nebraska-Lincoln _Vol. 88 No. 38
Regents opt not to buy computer system
By Victoria Ayotte
Senior Reporter
□he NU Board of Regents rejected a pro
posal to purchase a $5 million computer
system following heated debate at an
emergency teleconference meeting Wednes
day.
The regents previously rejected the pro
posal at their regularly scheduled meeting
Friday, but decided to reconsider the funding
during a teleconference to give the regents
more time to consider the proposal and get
more input from the Nebraska Legislature.
The proposal was presented by Wilfred
Schulz, assistant vice president and director of
university-wide computing, because the cur
rent IBM mainframe system is approaching
gridlock and is working at near capacity.
The regents opened the hour-long telecon
ference with a motion to approve the system,
but it failed by one vote.
Regent Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City said
she had some “real concerns with spending
money we really don’t have.”
Hoch said she thinks it is “presumptuous” to
assume the Legislature would support such a
project.
“We’ll be out on a limb,” Hoch said. “I’m
concerned that this will affect our First priority
— faculty salaries.”
Regent John Payne of Kearney said the
regents would have only been committed for
about $500,000 until July 1 under the lease/
purchase agreement. If the Legislature rejected
the proposal, the university would have io find
more money in its budget to cover it.
Regent Don Blank of McCook said the
university should look at buying computer time
somewhere else until July 1, when the NU
budget calls for an update of the system.
7 think the idea that we
are somehow losing
$100,000 is ludicrous. I
think my plumber would
give me a better dis
count. '
—Hock
Blank said he also isn’t sure if the new
system is in the best interests of all three
campuses.
Regent Kermit Hansen of Elkhorn said that
the regents already have decided to go to
centralized computers and shouldn’t back out
of that decision.
“This just absolutely blows my mind,’’
Hansen said.
Hansen also was concerned that the univer
sity would lose the $ 100,000 IBM was offering
as an incentive if the contract was signed before
Oct. 20.
Hoch said she doesn’t think the incentive is
important enough to justify approving the
system.
“1 think the idea that we arc somehow losing
$100,000 is ludicrous,” she said. “I think my
plumber would give me a better discount.”
Hoch said she wants other alternatives to be
brought up for consideration.
Schulz said he has examined other alterna
tives, such as buying computer time on another
system such as the state’s system.
“It became clear that moving (to another
system)... would not be a feasible alternative,”
he said.
Blank said he thought NU should look at a
short-term alternative until the Legislature
reconvenes Jan. 4.
“It just staggers my mind we couldn't keep
our computers functioning for 75 (more) days,”
Blank said. “I think we’d be the laughing stock
of the state if we acted in four days for a 2
percent incentive.”
The regents then reconsidered the proposal,
but it was again defeated by one vote.
Schulz said university officials will now
“watch the load grow.” He said NU is “essen
tially” at gridlock now.
“The response time will gel longer and
longer,” as the load grows, he said, which will
delay university activities.
More problems inevitably will occur during
spring registration, which is starting now, he
said,
Schulz said he will see if he can regulate
some university activities and delay them to cut
down on the load. Computing activities are
currently running all night, hie said, so the
computers don’t have any free time.
“We’ll have to use the lime for the abso
lutely essential processes,” Schutz said, such as
accounting and payroll.
Schutz said he doubts a better deal can be
arranged and said he feels “badly for the users
of the systems.”
“Clearly, this will affect their productivity,”
he said.
The proposed package would give NU three
times the capacity over the current system,
Schutz said.
UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale said he
is worried that lower response time will cause
more complications in the Office of Scholar
ships and Financial Aid.
“I think it would be unfortunate for the
university if we continue to have problems with
that system,” he said.
“I do know there is a slowdown in computer
time and I do think we need to improve that,”
he said.
Schutz said he will presentother proposals at
the November regents meeting.
retersen and Hill
angry at ASUN
By Ryan Sleeves
Stiff Reporter r. _
The President of ihe Association
of Students of the University of
Nebraska blasted the ASUN
Senate Wednesday night after the
body voted to limit executive reports
to three minutes.
Jeff Petersen joined Bryan Hill,
chairman of the Government Liaison
Committee, in attacking senators for
their lack of dedication.
Hill and Petersen said senators
limited the times of executive reports
because they wanted to adjourn as
quickly as possible. They said sena
tors should start developing serious
legislation and become more serious
at senate meetings.
“Right now I’m pissed, very pis
sed,” Petersen said during his opening
statements.
Petersen, speaking in a low, sharp
voice, said “pass’at his firslchance to
make a three-minute address, allow
ing 1st and 2nd vice presidents Nate
Gciscrt and Kim Beavers as well as
Hill to speak first.
Hill said the executive reports arc
about the only chance he has to tell
senators about GLC affairs.
A three-minute limit doesn’t per
mit enough lime to tell senators about
all of the GLC projects and meetings,
he said. Hill suggested that senators
lake a more active interest in such
affairs.
“Maybe we ought to go out and
find some legislation for the senate,”
Hill said, raising his voice. “We seem
to be very lax right now.”
Petersen, who spoke after Hill,
said he wanted to use his executive
report time to present his list of 19
possible programs that ASUN could
sponsor.
Petersen complimented those
senators who do want to develop and
present legislation
“But if you’re not one of them, I
think you should resign,” he said.
Senators;voted to withdraw the
time limitation after Petersen and
Hill’s statements.
Petersen listed the 19 suggestions,
ranging from surveying UNL stu
dents about their opinions of dead
week policy to developing a univer
sity-wide event that would attract all
type* of students.
Later,' Petersen apologized to
senators for his earlier outbursts.
|||.'IN!IW limn I .. — —- -7 SutehfrwimrDaltyWWVBki*
Lincoln Mayor gill Harris discusses the Mayor’s Task Force on Illegal Drugs report at a press conference Wednesday. In
•the background m task force members (from loft) Bob Reler, Joel Gajardo, Valerie Shangreux and Mari Hutchinson.
Lincoln report says crack can be controlled .
press cor>ffrt>ty^
Resources already exist within
the city tor comprehensive pro
grams, he stud.
■f ‘T will be calling on every part
of our community to get involved
with the ideas (outlined in the re>
port),” he said
Harris said Lincoln is different
from other cities because it can
stop “crack” use before it becomes
amaioeptObtemUH
-iL.
The 29-page report, which the
task force had been compiling
since July l.includesan analysis of
the current drug situation in Lin
coln and recommendations for
reversing the use of illegal drugs in
certain areas of the city.
The repop focuses on LSD, vo
came and crack, which is aderiva
tive of cocaine. It states ihatiiarcot
ics officers have seen an increase in
foe amount of cocaine VmjghiJiMe
'U.iA,! , , „ -IL; r,*^.
V
the city in 1979.
The Lincoln . Police
Department’s narcotics unit has
reorganized several times since
then to share information with
other law enforcement units and
has added two narcotics officers to
the unit
Lincoln alto received grant
money last year to imptemenia
1 -jin See dSugsqbs
‘ ... *