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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1988)
t WEATHER: Thursday, mostly cloudy arnd colder, high in the mid 50s dropping into the mid 40s by afternoon, NW winds at 20-30 mph. Thursday night, partly cloudy and cold, low in trie upper 20s. Friday, mostly sunny, high in the mid 40s. INDEX News.2 Editorial.4 Diversions.7 Sports.15 Classifieds.11 October 27,1988___ University of Nebraska-Lincoln_ Vol. 88 No. 43 Officials say computer storage not a deceit By Jerry Guenther Staff Reporter and David Holloway Senior Reporter University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials said Wednesday they were not attempt ing to deceive the NU Board of Re gents by obtaining a $5 million IBM main frame computer before regent approval. The computer was delivered to UNL Oct. 8, seven days before the regents voted against purchasing it at their Oct. 14 meeting. They rejected tne proposal again after an Oct. 19 teleconference. Wilford Schutz, assistant vice president and director of university-wide computing, said he made the decision around Sept. 30 to have the computer delivered to UNL. Schutz said he needed to have the computer on campus before Oct. 20 to be eligible for an incentive plan offered by International Busi ness Machines. The program would have given the university a $100,000 discount Schutz said he didn’t tell the regents the computer was on campus because “the fact that the computer was there in a crate had no bearing on their decisions.” Schutz said he only wanted to save the university some money. If the regents would have approved the purchase of the computer it * would nave been impossible to get another computer delivered before Oct. 20, he said. Ken Croken, an IBM representative oased in Minneapolis, said the Third Quarter Incentive Plan offered by IBM ended Oct. 20. The plan covers the months of August, September and October. Croken said officials from IBM and UNL had worked out the plan to divert a computer to UNL by Oct. 20. The computer was already in shipment to IBM. He said UNL and IBM agreed to leave the computer in storage until the re gents’ decision had been made. “We try to accommodate our customers,” Croken said. According to the Associated Press, Regent Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City said she had been informed by a UNL faculty member that the computer had been in storage at Nebraska Hall sinae Oct. 8. Hoch said apparently none of the regents had been informed the computer was on campus before their Oct. 14 meeting. Croken and Schutz said UNL had not given any money to IBM for the computer. Both said if the regents had approved the computer pur chase, UNL would have been expected to make a $426,938 down payment. The machine had not been taken out of the crate during its storage at UNL, the men said. Crocken said IBM personnel took back the computer Oct. 22 with no cost to the university. Regent bonald Fricke of Lincoln said he was notified of the incident by Hoch this week. “I think they (UNL officials) thought it would be a rubber stamp approval and they jumped the gun,” Fricke said. ‘‘That kind of a situation has come to an end.” Regent Don Blank of McCook said he was also unaware the computer was on campus until Hoch told him Tuesday night. ‘‘Somebody had made a mistake by assum ing the computer would be approved,” Blank said. Blank and Fricke both agreed that the uni versity is in need of a new computer system. “We need a chance to study the options before purchasing a computer system,” Blank said. “We are definitely going to make the decision as soon as possible.” Joseph Rowson, UNL director of public affairs, said UNL officials made a mistake by not notifying regents of the computer proposal until Oct. 12 for the Oct. 14 board meeting. The current computer system reached full capacity during registration. Rowson said offi cials had hoped the use of the current system would drop off after registration. But when computer usage maintained full capacity, a decision was made at an Oct. 4 administrative meeting to pursue the purchase of a new computer, Rowson said. He said the arrangement with IBM was made and computer personnel approved it, and the proposal was ready to be mailed to regents Ocl 10. See COMPUTER on 3 bra&aand not send sovncone wta> ^^upponhi* poHci e$r Dole, the University of NetkaskaLin coin College of Law. Karnes will be at. important asset in building a Rcpuoucaii majority in the Senate, sard Dole, the minority leader,, y-h. r Karnes said that getting Dole as nuyorityieader in the senate would AS UN to apologize for boos by Kyan Meeves Staff Reporter Che Association of Students of the University of Nebraska will send letters to Gov. Kay Orrand UNL Chancellor Martin Massengale apologizing for student behavior dur ing halftime of the Nebraska-Okla homa State game. ASUN senators passed a bill Wednesday directing the Executive Committee to draft an apology letter on “behalf of ASUN and the entire student body at UNL.” Orr and Massengale participated in the homecoming activities Oct. 15. During their introduction, many fans in the student section booed. Sen. T.K. Olson, who introduced the bill, said Orrand Massengale have j an influence on the appropriation and allocation of UNL funds. Olson, who represents the College of Law, said UNL students should treat such digni taries with more respect. “I guess I think we’re biting the hand that feeds us,” he said. Sen. Libby York of the College of Journalism objected to the bill. York said ASUN has no right to apologize for the enure student body if students don’t wish to apologize. “We are not their mothers,” she said. “ ... And I don’t think we should be brown-nosing to the higher ups” But Sen. Matt Gotschall. ASUN speaker, said ASUN should write the letters to set an example. Gotschall said senators don’t condone other student vices, such as stealing, so they shouldn’t condone the students' halftime behavior. York called the student behavior simple criticism, adding that students should have the right to criticize whomever they want. “They were simply exercising their freedom of speech,” she said. In other action, senators passed a bylaw restricting ASUN appoint ments. Under the bylaw, no student can be appointed loan ASUN position if they are on academic or discipli nary probation or if they have applied for or received the ASUN portion of their Fund A student fee. Senators also passed a bill instruct ing the Government Liaison Commit tee to put the problems of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid at the top of their priorities. Mb 1V to air documentary By Chris Carroll Staff Reporter The concerns facing Nebraskans on whether to remain in the Central Interstate Low-level 4 Radioactive Waste Compactor to “go it alone,” are presented by Nebraska ETV Network in “Not In My Back yard”. “Not In My Backyard” will air on NETV next Thursday at 8 p.m. and at ■ 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Various viewpoints on Initiative 402 — which, if passed, would withdraw Nebraska from the compact—and how to select a site in ; Nebraska will be presented immedi ately after the Thursday showing, j Viewers will be able to call into the “Nebraskans Ask” program with | questions. The program presents pros and i cons of where and how to construct a nuclear waste site in Nebraska. The 30-minute documentary pres ents the emotions felt by two Nebras kans on how to take care of the state’s low-level nuclear waste. Deb Ragge, a dairy farmer, said she actively supports Initiative 402. She said her family fears thdt building a disposal site may threaten her s family’s dairy farm in Knox County. Ragge said dairy farmers around Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant in j the Soviet Union which melted down April 26,1986, will have to spend the next 30 years breeding radioactivity J out of their cows. Sterling Wittwer, of Humboldt, said he petitioned to have the site built near his hometown because it would have provided 40 new jobs in a town experiencing agricultural depression. Richardson County, in which Humboldt is located, did not petition U.S. Ecology for consideration, ac cording to Jim Neal, director of public assistance for U.S. Ecology. Neal, who did not appear in the film, said that at this time, his department is only considering sites that have county support. The film also shows graphics which help explain the issues sur rounding the waste site, such as what determines a low-level and high-level nuclear waste site. The graphics show how a site would be built and what materials would be used. * Improvement in safety at waste storage facilities are outlined by Rich Paton, Vice President of U.S. Ecol ogy, and questioned by Diane D’Arrigio, an executive for a nuclear watchdog organization in Washing- , ton. Producer Hubert Brown said the film was made to present both sides of the issue and not to support any one view. John White, program manager for NETV, said public television is able to do controversial programming more objectively than commercial television because public television does not operate under the influence of advertisers. /p+