Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 1990)
■Kga. nr nS * ■* C4L JLJL V «d WEATHER: INDEX k i H t^J fl News Digest.2 1 nBBk. 1 MB 'ft, .^tsg jm rtTfllTTi HI ^ Thursday, mostly sunny and colder, high of 40- Editorial.4 n#Sk ■ Mf ^vm<m "*6 W& Jr^ ‘JnHib^^Eb 45, northwest wind 20-30 miles per hour Thurs- SDorts 7 i fflLJB ® W S| JB ILrJ H.A^r JB Sf l| daynight diminishing winds low of 10-15. Fri- Arts & EnIer1ainmen,. incUlctjival 11— -.i January 11,1990 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. & 7 ? I " Commission cuts basketball season,spring practice By Victoria Ayotte Senior Reporter Measures enacted by the NCAA this week will have “mini mal impact” on the quality of athletics but will gi ve sludcnt-ath ! letes more lime for education, said the chairman of the NCAA Presidents Commission. Martin Massengale, also llnivcr sity of Nebraska interim president and University of Ncbraska-Lincoln chancellor, said the NCAA’s attempts at reform — based on Presidents_ Commission pro- Ma™nnalp posals-arcastep wass©"^1© to return integrity to college athletics and return student athletes’ focus to academics. The reforms,in part, arc the result of student-athlete input, according to Massengale. Student-athletes have said athletics placed undue demands on their time and they wanted more lime to study and participate in other stu dent activities. At thcconvention in Dallas, spring football practice was reduced from 20 to 15 days. Players can wear pads for only 10 of those days. The Presi dents Commission had supported a proposal to cut spring practice to 10 days with no pads allowed, but the final measure passed was a compro mise. The basketball season was cut from 28 to 25 games, and the number of exemptions — games allowed beyond the limit — were trimmed. Every four years, teams will be allowed to par ticipate in one exempted game, which arc those in the preseason National Invitation Tournament, Alaska, Hawaii or against foreign or club teams. Although many universities had complained that fewer games would decrease revenue, Massengale said the advantages of the change out weigh money concerns. “We have to be, first and fore most, concerned about the students,’ ’ Massengale said. “That has to be our first priority over money.’’ Under the changes, preseason basketball workouts cannot begin until Nov. 1, two weeks later than cur rently is allowed, and the season will not begin until Dee. 1. Another reform enacted to focus athletes’ attention on academics re quires schools to publish the percent age of students who graduate and the percentage of student-athletes who . . ■ " .. .. I .... ' Devaney: NCAA changes wont hurt By Victoria Ayotte Senior Reporter The quality of college foot ball and basketball will not be compromised by reduc ing the time student-athletes may devote to practicing and playing their sports, NU athletic officials said Wednesday. The NCAA voted this week to reduce the college basketball sea son from 28 to 25 games; to cut spring football practice by five days; to publish the graduation rates of student-athletes; to increase the Pell Grant allowance for student-ath letes from S1,400 to SI ,700; and to change Proposition 42 to allow student-athletes to receive finan cial aid even if they don’t qualify for athletic scholarships under Proposition 48. Propositions 42 and 48 set minimum college entrance requirements for athletes. Nebraska Athletic Director Bob Devancy said that although he does not agree with the changes made by the NCAA at its annual conven tion this week, he docs not think they will hurt the football program. Five fewer days of spring foot ball practice will shorten the lime for assessment of younger players, Dcvancy said, but he was glad the NCAA met the coaches’ wishes halfway with a compromise. The NCAA Presidents Commis sion had proposed that only 10> days of non-contact spring football practice be allowed, but a compro mise proposal pul the spring prac tice time at 15 days with 10 days of contact practice. “It’s not what everybody wanted,’’ Dcvancy said, “but it was a compromise.’’ The change in basketball also will not decrease the quality, De vaney said, but will hurt the ath letic department’s coffers. Three fewer games will cut down significantly on income, he said, although he did not know by how much. Some universities had said they could lose as much as $250,000 with the shortened season. Devaney said he is not opposed to the proposal to disclose student athletes’ graduation rates but is concerned that the figures would be misleading because they could be manipulated by some universi ties. — Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne said he doesn’t think the shortened spring practice will make a lot of difference but will make the sessions more compact. ”1 don’t think it will be a real See COACHES on 6 graduate. The student-athlete total will be broken down by sport and the basketball and football graduation rates will be broken down by race. Proposition 42 also was adjusted to allow partial qualifiers under Propo sition 48 to apply for need-based stu dent financial aid. Proposition 48 prohibits student-athletes from receiv ing scholarships their freshman years if they don’t meet academic stan dards. The Pell Grant allowance for stu See MASSENGALE on 6 V Sen. Frank Korshoj of Herman listens to Lincoln Sen. David Landis during debate on the legislative floor Wednesday. / Deficit request tops university legislation I By Victoria Ayotte Senior Reporter r H^ he University of Nebraska’s E emergency deficit request for $12.6 million and the higher education restructuring report will dominate the spotlight for NU at the Nebraska Legislature this session, said Lee Rupp, vice president for univer sity relations. Many other issues arc important, Rupp said, but won’t4 ‘see the light of day.” The backlog of bills and the short legislative session, 60 days this year, will make time “of the essence.” But the budget request and higher education restructuring arc sure to find places on the agenda, said Rupp, the university’s chief lobbyist. No bill has been introduced on higher education restructuring, Rupp said, so the university has not yet formulated a strategy for lobbying. The Legislature s Appropriations Committee will hold a public hearing Jan. 29 on the budget request, which proposes more money for retirement, health insurance, asbestos removal, instructional equipment and a family practice program for the Lincoln Medical Foundation. A public hearing will be held Jan. 30 for the revised request for a tele communications system, according to Rupp. Overall, the university is request ing $5.1 million for 1989-90 and $7.5 million for 1990-91, increases of 2.3 percent and 3 percent over the origi nal 1989-91 biennial budget approved last year. The retirement plan will exceed projected costs by about $ 1.5 million See BUDGET on 3 ^ -u hour abortion-related bills on Legislature’s agenda By C.J. Schepers Staff Reporter At the onset of the 1990 legisla tive session, Nebraska lawmak ers will have to deal with four abortion bills - three that would re strict abortion and one that would expand abortion rights. The U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for the introduction of abor tion bills in state legislatures with its July ruling in Webster vs. Reproduc tive Health Services. LB 1054, a pro-choice bill intro duced by Lincoln Sen. David Landis on Tuesday, would, among other things, allow public employees to be covered by health insurance for abor tions performed in health-threatening cases. Current Nebraska law only allows insurance coverage for an abortion if the woman’s life is threat ened. LB854, sponsored by Omaha Sen. John Lindsay, would require a 24 hour waiting period from the time a woman agrees to have an abortion before it could be performed. It also requires that a woman be informed of ihc “anatomical and physiological characteristics of an unborn child” at the lime the abortion is to be per formed. LB889, introduced last week by Sen. M.L. “Cap” Dierks of Ewing, would prohibit public employees from participating in abortions. It also bans using public funds and facilities for abortions. A third restrictive measure, LB769, would require parental notification before performing an abortion on a minor. The bill, sponsored by Omaha Sen. Bernice Labedz, was earned over from last year’s session alter it stalled during first-round debate. Lindsay, co-sponsor of the other two bills aimed at restricting abor tion, said the intent of the 24-hour waiting period required by LB854 is to remove the woman from a “high pressure situation” when making her decision. “We’re not talking about a deci sion like whether or not I should go to the grocery store, or whether or not I should get my cars pierced,” he said. See ABORTION on 5