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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1989)
^UmiSlifi. '•' nirr. r t’,'•««.>. --- lij*. »•.....» CORRECTION: In a story about ASUN (DN Sept 14) Dave Regan was mlsidentified. He is Ecology Now's public information coordinator. The Daily Nebraskan regrets this error. WEATHER: INDEX Friday, sunny with a high from 70 to 80 and southwest winds from 5 to 15 miles per hour. News ojgest .2 Clear Friday night with a low in the 50s. Satur- editorial 4 day, sunny and warm with a high in the low to _ . mid-80s. Warm Sunday througn Tuesday with . . ' " ... little chance of rain, with highs in the 80s and Arts & Entertainment.9 lows in the mid-50s to tower-60s. Classifieds.10 September 15, 1989 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. 14 Griesen feels ‘deja vu;’ student feels power By Victoria Ayotte Senior Editor and Roger Price Staff Reporter UNL freshman Larry Miles walked into Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen’s staff meeting like a man in charge. “I felt like I had some authority,” said Miles, who sported a conserva tive gray suit for the day.4 ‘I liked that feeling.” • And he did have authority. Miles chaired the meeting as Griesen’s substitute while Gnesen spent the day as an average student as part of the Student Foundation’s Trading Places program. “I wish I could do this every day. . You don’t have to study. ” -Miles Later that afternoon, Griesen, wearing his red Student Foundations sweatshirt, pulled up a desk in Miles’ architecture class and began taking notes when Ted Wright, Miles’ pro fessor, began his lecture. Griesen said he experienced4 ‘deja vu” when he walked into the audito rium in Architecture Hall because the room was much like the auditoriums he attended class in at Ohio State University. While in Miles’ shoes, Griesen also completed an orientation to Love Library and stood in line to process forms at the Office of Schol arships and Financial Aid. Griesen said he was surprised at the length of the line at the financial aid office. He said several of the stu dents he waited in line with had ques tions that could be answered by tele phone,. but were unable to gel through. ‘ ‘There has to be some other better way to handle it,” Gricsen said, re ferring to the jammed financial aid phone lines as he dialed their number and received a busy signal. Gricsen suggested possibly imple menting an automated answering system similar to a system used at the University of Illinois. Miles had the chance to teach Griescn’s University Foundations class; meet with Nancy Hoch, chair man of the NU Board of Regents; eat lunch with Jayne Wade Anderson, director of greek affairs, and Lancas ter County Attorney Mike Heavican, Griesen, and greek house advisers; meet with NU Foundation Vice President Charles Schroeder; meet with ASUN President Bryan Hill; meet with Daryl Swanson, director of the Nebraska Unions; and meet with Griesen in Miles’ room at Triangle Fraternity. ‘‘I wish I could do this every day,” Miles said. “You don’t have to study.” But getting up at 6 a.m. to get ready for the 7:30 staff meeting ‘‘doesn’t thrill me,” he said. Miles was selected for the pro gram from a drawing by the Student Foundation which raised about $1,200, according to foundation President Phil Gosch. As well as trad ing places for a day, Miles also re ceived a $100 certificate to the Ne braska Bookstore. Miles said the program opened his eyes. ‘‘I never knew how big a position it is,’ ’ he said. But it wasn’t too big for him, he said. ‘‘I could do this every day,” he said, smiling. Teaching the class also taught him a lot, he said, because he is a fresh man and didn’t know much about the university. Griesen said he was impressed with how well Miles adapted to the responsibilities of a vice chancellor for the day. ‘ ‘It takes a bit of nerve to be able to run my staff meeting and teach my Mei’.ssa McReynoMs/Daily Nebraskan ‘ ‘This isri t so hard.’ ’ Vice Chancellor James Griesen searches “the stacks” while completing a library packet Thursday morning. class,” Griesen said. Griesen also attended Miles’ meeting with Hoch. ‘‘I’m just a student today,” Grie sen said on the phone to Hoch, offer ing her a ride to his office. “I don’t have much to do.” Hoch explained what regents do to run the university at her meeting with Miles. Miles said he was surprised with the politics it takes to run a university. “Nancy knows her stuff,” he said. Miles plans to attend the Oct. 6 meeting of the board to meet with regents and learn more about them. At the end of the day, Miles and Griesen exchanged notes on their days. Griesen told Miles what hap- •. pened in his class and they toured the Triangle house. While Griesen loured the frater nity with Miles, the two compared notes on what it is like to be a pledge. Griesen was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Ohio Stale. Griesen said il! was fun to get out of his office and gel into forums where See TRADING on 5 Results reflect national trend Survey shows UNL drug use decline By C J. Schepers Staff Reporter A smaller percentage of UNL students is using drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens than in the past, according to results from the an nual UNL Student Health Survey. i The drop in drug use shows “a direct relationship to the decline in alcohol (use),” said Greg Barth, information systems manager for the University Health Center. “We took a nose dive . . Barth said. In 1986, when asked if they had tried marijuana, 38.2 percent of the students polled said they had. In 1987, that number rose slightly to 41.6 percent. But in 1988, it dropped to 31 percent and fell again to 26.6 percent in 1989. According to the alcohol study, the percentage of students who drink alcohol dropped from 84.7 percent in 1985 to 77.7 percent in 1989. The statistics also show de creases in the use of cocaine and other illegal drugs. The 1989 survey reports that 4.6 percent of UNL students have tried cocaine. In 1988, that figure was 8.2 percent; in 1987 it was 10.2 percent; and in 1986 it was 9.4 percent. When UNL students were asked, “Have you ever had the opportunity to try cocaine?”, 20.7 percent of all students surveyed said they had a chance to try it. College males were almost twice as likely as females to have had a chance to try the drug. The survey results, which are taken from data obtained through about 300 random interviews, also reflect a national downward trend in drug use, said Wayne Osgood, co-director of the UNL Bureau of Sociological Research, which con ducts the surveys. In fact, during the past four years, the number of Americans who use cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs has dropped by 17 percent, according to an Aug. 1 article in The Washington Post. “It’s very strange that we have a big war on drugs at the moment,” Osgood said. He said one factor for Amer ica’s crackdown on drugs could See DRUQS on 5 /I P*rcent of combined positive responses to the question 50% y fr0m past four surveys ( Have you ever tried r-1B7HI^SSE5P Ar.a marijuana, cocaine, 5(! A . I 40%- hallucinogens? M|j|B 2°% - 1989; j g 10% Source: UNL 0% SMA Health Marijuana Cocaine Hallucinogen Center Trustees refuse to attend KSC transfer meetings By Jennifer O’Cilka Staff Reporter The Nebraska State College Board of Trustees has refused to attend any meeting to plan for Kearney State College’s transfer if it precedes a Nebraska State Su preme Court decision on the legality of the transfer. Joe Rowson, University of Ne braska director of public affairs, said that last week, officials thought both the NU Board of Regents and the State College board would meet sometime to discuss the transfer. But attorneys have advised the trustees not to participate in any dis cussions until the court rules on the merger, Rowson said. Dr. Richard Bringelson, executive officer for the board of trustees, said the board had to take this action to “trigger” the court case. “It’s not out of hostility or that we’re trying to be cute or play games,” he said. After the trustees refused to imple ment the transfer in June, Attorney General Robert Spire filed a brief with the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the merger. “The board would not have taken it to the Supreme Court if there wasn’t a strong feeling it had to go through a court test, Bringelson said. “It’s really not a surprise.” Rowson said Spire’s opinion staled that the Legislature docs not have the authority to intervene in the merger because the state and univer sity college systems both are state entities. Under the stale constitution, that means the systems can't be changed without a "vote from the people,” he said. “The board would not have taken it to the Supreme Court U there wasn’t a strong feeling it had to go through a court test." •• Bringelson "It's a constitutional question and they’re the authorities,” Rowson said.4 4 However, it does take a major ity in the Supreme Court to overturn the merger, so it won ’ t be that easy. ’ * Clerk of the Supreme Court Lanet Asmussen said Spire has filed his brief and the respondent has until Oct. 10 to file a brief with the court. If the second brief is filed by Octo ber, the case possibly will come up in January. The court normally takes eight weeks to reach a decision, Asmussen said.