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Vol. 88 No. 143
LB247 receives second-round approval i
Pna Pedersen
ff Reporter
ftcr a day of “regent-bash
ing/’ the Nebraska Legisla
ture gave second-round ap
29-12 Thursday to LB247, a
that would add Kearney State
to the University of Ne
I Sen. Ron Withcm of Papillion,
Hfeonsor of the bill, warned against
Rebate criticizing the NU Board of
Regents' lack of consistency on
RB247, while giving his approval to
Hn amendment that would ensure the
KSC change will be discussed again
by the Legislature in two years.
If the Legislature can alleviate
some of the concerns pf the board by
adding the amendment, Withem said
he believes they will be more com
fortable with LB247.
Withem said he spoke with uni
versity officials and a regent last
weekend who expressed concern that
if KSC’s addition to the university
system is approved this year, the
study of higher education in the state
provided for under the bill would be
meaningless.
The amendment to reconsider the
issue after the completion of the
study would guarantee that the study
would be meaningful, he said.
But Sen. Don Wesely of Lincoln
said the amendment does nothing.
The issue could be debated again
with or without the amendment, he
said.
Since the addition of KSC to the
university system already has a lot of
support in the Legislature, Wesely
said, it doesn’t matter if it is reconsid
ered because the Legislature’s deci
sion won’t change.
Wesely also said he has doubts
about the regents’ ability to coordi
nate higher education in Nebraska.
“Regent-bashing” may be appro
priate, he said, because the regents
seem to be showing a “lack of will”
on the issue.
Wesely compared the board to a
“windsock.” As the force of “wind”
behind the bill changed, he s$id, the
regents changed direction.
Sen. LaVon Crosby df Lincoln
said she didn’t think the board was
doing anything wrong by not giving
complete support to LB247.
It is not the purpose of the board to
unite behind the Legislature, she
said.
The amendment was approved 30
2.
Earlier, Wesely had tried to re
move the provision on LB247 that
would add KSC to the university
system, but his amendment failed 9
27.
Wesely said he proposed the
amendment because the original in
tent of LB247 was to study all higher
education in the state.
The study should be completed
before the Legislature votes to inte
grate KSC into the university system,
he said.
Speaking on the Wcscly amend- If
ment, Withem said the inclusion of E
the KSC change in LB247 would |g
make sure the study would actually El
be looked at once it’s completed. Jj
Sen. Aricnc Nelson of Milford
said KSC deserves to be a university
because of its size.
According to national figures, she
said, 600 schools that are smaller than
KSC arc called universities while
only four that arc larger are still
called colleges.
Sen. Dave Landis of Lincoln
agreed.
“You can call Kearney whatever
you want,” he said. “But it is ... a
university.”
Ryan Steeves and Eve Nations contrib
uted to this story.
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I$1 million allocated
Official has mixed feelings about funding
By Jerry Guenther
Staff Reporter
A University of Nebraska-Lincoln offi
cial said Thursday he is both grateful
and disappointed by the Nebraska
Legislature’s Appropriations Committee pre
liminary funding recommendation for green
house renovation and expansion at UNLrs East
Campus.
The committee, which discussed capital
construction proposals Tuesday, allocated $1
million for greenhouse renovations.
The NU Board of Regents had requested
$2,985,000 for greenhouse revitalization in its
budget request.
Alan Moeller, assistant vice chancellor for
the Institute of Agriculture & Natural Re
sources, said the funding will cover only about
a third of the costs to make all the greenhouses
on East Campus suitable for icscarch,
“We obviously need funding for the entire
project or we wouldn’t have requested it,”
Moeller said. “But we understand that there
are other priorities.”
The greenhouse renovation and expansion
project was listed 14th in the University of
Nebraska's rank of priorities.
Under the original project, Moeller said,
about $1.7 million would nave been used for
renovation.
Moeller said one problem needing attention
in the greenhouses are water leaks that could be
hazardous because of nearby electrical sys
terns.
‘We obviously need
funding for the entire
project or we wouldn’t
have requested It. ’
]
Another problem is that light transmission
capabilities in the greenhouses are down about
40 percent from what they were when the
greenhouses were built, he said.
Moeller said the satin-type greenhouse
coverings, which protect transparent fiber
glass, have been peeling.
As a result, dirt particles have been getting
caught in the fiberglass, reducing the light
transmission capabilities in the greenhouses.
Moeller said renovation would replace the
material with a better substance, such as glass.
Some greenhouses have holes in their roofs
or lack adequate air ventilation systems, he
said.
As part of the project, Moeller said, three
greenhouses located cast of Plant Science Hall
would be tom down.
The greenhouses, which were built in the
1940s, arc not functional, he said.
“The light is such that you can’t even con
duct minimal research anymore,” Moeller
said.
To replace the area that would have been
lost by tearing those greenhouses down, the
main section of greenhouses located north of
the East Campus Loop would have 30-foot
extensions added to them, Moeller said.
“We still would not end up with any more
square footage,” Moeller said.
Under the committee’s recommendation,
$250,000 would be appropriated to the green
house reconstruction in 1989-90, and $750,000
in 1990-91.
If only $1 million is approved, Moeller said,
UNL would have to try to renovate as many of
the greenhouses as the amount would allow.
The three non-functional greenhouses would
not be tom down, he said.
RHA discusses bill
on COLAGE funding
By Jeff Beals
Staff Reporter
he Residence Hall Association Thurs
day discussed a bill in executive ses
sion to pledge funding for the Commit
tee Offering Lesbian and Gay Events, but RHA
officials refused to confirm the senate’s action
on the bill.
RHA moved into executive session two
times during the meeting to discuss the bill,
forcing all non-RHA members to leave the
room.
But Eric Aspengren, RHA programming
committee chairman, said the senate decided
during the first executive session to postpone
the bill.
J. Matt Wickless, RHA president, said that
during the second executive session the senate
was given notice that the COLAGE funding
bill would be brought up at the next RHA
meeting. He declined to comment on whether
RHA discussed anything else.
Other RHA officials declined to comment
on the bill or RHA’s actions during executive
session.
Under the bill, RHA would pay S375 to fund
various COLAGE programs. A second copy of
the bill passed out during the second executive
See RHA on 3
Committee to hear input on
prices of parking permits
By Larry Peirce
Senior Reporter
□ proposal to increase the price of Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln parking
permits from $40 to $50 will be dis
cussed Monday at a Parking Advisory Com
mittee meeting in the Nebraska Union.
An increase is needed to pay for increasing
personnel and maintenance costs as well as
improvements to other lots, said Ray Coffey,
UNL business manager and secretary of the
committee. Coffey and Parking Administrator
John Burke proposed the increase at the com
mittee's April 3 meeting.
Coffey said committee members want to
allow discussion of the proposal before voting
on whether to recommend the increase to John
Goebel, UNL vice chancellor for business and
finance, for approval.
There has been little protest about the in
crease since the proposal was announced in an
April 17 Daily Nebraskan advertisement, Cof
fey said. Some people have said they think an
increase is acceptable if it means improve
ments for UNL parking, he said.
Ron Fuller, a parking services staff assis
tant, said the UNL Police Parking Services
, Division expected more complaints about the
proposed increase, but hasn’t received them.
Most UNL students and employees under
stand that an increase is needed, Fuller said,
‘ 'but they want to make sure improvements go
into effect.”
Mark McVicker, landscape manager of
East Campus Grounds Department and chair
man of the committee, said UNL paritins
services are "just breaking even right now.
See PAC on 3