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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1990)
_ WEATHER: INDEX Monday, partly cloudy and mild, high 50-55, light New!> DiQ€>st.* northeast winds 5-10 miles per hour. Monday Editorial.4 night, increasing douds, low around 30. Tues- Sports.6 day, considerable clouds and 20 percent chance Arts & Entertainment.9 of showers, high lower- to mid-40s. Ciassifieds.11 January 15,1990_ _ Umversity of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. Jf /<? IN U board renews student regent vote mier u v-.iik.hi tort* ith an emergency vote Sat urday, the NU Board of » Regents renewed for one 1 Jdorc year the recording of student regent opinions. Bryan Hill, University of Nebraska ^ .Lincoln student regent, introduced a ‘proposal on emergency status that ./ would have granted student regents a ' permanent, unofficial vote on the Items arc brought up on emer « . gency status when they are not part of the agenda. Regent Kermit Hansen of Elkhom motioned to amend Hill’s original motion so that reinstatement would • last only one year. Student regents won an unofficial vote on the board last year. The vote, which has no bearing on board deci sions, makes student regents more accountable by making their opin ions part of public record, student regents said. Last year, regents granted the unofficial vote on a one-year trial basis, saying they might strip away the right unless more students voted in student elections. At Saturday’s meeting, Hansen said last year’s elections on University of Nebraska campuses, in which only 10 to 12 percent of students voted, prove that student regents still haven’t gained f support As an alternative to the student regent vote, Hansen suggested that regents reserve a place on the board’s agenda for student comment Regents would receive more di rect student input with a permanent place on the agenda for student com ment, he said. Hill said the board doesn’t want i student regents to talk about every Issue when recording student opin ions accomplishes the same thing. Hill said he supports the idea of stu dent reports at meetings but thinks it’s a separate issue. Regent Margaret Robinson of Norfolk said she resented the impli cation that regents don’t want to hear from the student regents. But Robinson said that even aftei introduction of the unofficial studenl regent vote last year, the number of students voting in student govern ment elections on NU campuses remained low. In response, UNMC Student Re gent Mark Meyer said that last year, more than one-third of students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center voted in the elections. University of Nebraska at Omaha Student Regent Kelli Scars said that continuing to record the student re gent vote would increase election turnout in the future. ‘‘I think part of the problem is that students arc not aware of the issues.” she said. ‘‘Throueh the rccordine of our votes, students will have better information. That’s going to increase interest.” Four or five UNO students attended the meeting in support of the student opinion, Sears said. Hill said he thinks the one-year trial of recording student opinion worked well and he is surprised any one would be against reinstating it permanently. Hill said he has talked to many people who think recording student opinion is beneficial because it makes student regents work harder and lets people know how they voted. Although regents passed the pro posal to record student opinion for another year, newly elected Chair man Don Blank of McCook said he would have been comfortable pass ing the motion for a permanent vote. If the regents ever have a problem with the vote, they could discontinue it, he said. Groups celebrate Martin Luther King Day Several University of Ncbraska Lincoln organizations are planning M commemorative events today in con junction with Martin Luther King Day. Nebraska Assistant Attorney Gen eral Gene Crump will speak from . noon to lp.m. in the Regency Suite of the Nebraska Union. The speech is sponsored by the Office of Multi Cultural Affairs and the Institute of Ethnic Studies. The University Program Council’s African-American Special Events Committee is sponsoring a booth from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the union. The Afrikan People’s Union will honor King at its 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St. Butch Irdartd/OaUy Nttbraskan Accompanist Larry Jones, right, looks on as Larry Sean Buster finishes a song during The Annual Nebraska District Auditions for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Sunday at Kimball Recital Hall. Students to organize against drug plan By Sara Bauder and Jennifer O’Cilka Staff Reporters University of Nebraska-Lincoln student leaders say they will organize opposition to a pro posal that would suspend students convicted of drug-related offenses from public colleges and universities. * Bryan Hill, president of the Asso ciation of Students of the University of Nebraska, said AS UN plans to organize a statewide coalition of stu dents to lobby against Gov. Kay Orr’s proposal if it is introduced in the Nebraska Legislature this week. Deb Fiddelke, Government Liai son Committee chairman, said the proposal must be introduced by Wednesday to become a legislative bill. Both Fiddelke and Hill said politi cians should not use education as a weapon against students. “My concern is that education is something everybody should get re gardless of whether they’ve used drugs in the past,” Hill said. According to Gary Rex, director of Orr’s Policy Research Office, the bill would require students enrolling in any state-supported institution to acknowledge that they are aware of the law. A first conviction on drug-related charges would require the student to enter a rehabilitation program. With a second conviction, the student would be suspended from school until he or See DRUGS on 5 Regents respond to education proposals By Jennifer O’Cilka Staff Reporter The NU Board of Regents on Saturday issued a statement sup porting election, not appoint ment, of higher education boards and asking for more power for the pro posed board of regents. Regents offered their opinions as a reaction to the recommendations made for Nebraska’s postsccondary educa tion system by the consulting firm Widmayer and Associates. Consultants from the firm recom mended replacing the existing gov erning system with a board of trustees for each university and state college and a coordinating Board of Regents of Nebraska Higher Education. The boards of trustees would con sist of seven members appointed by the governor and approved by the Nebraska Legislature to serve six year terms and one elected student representative. The new board of regents would consist of six elected and five appointed members. The regents staled that the govern ing boards of institutions of higher education must be elected by the voters in regular elections. Regent Rosemary Skrupa of Omaha said Nebraskans should have the right to control education in the state through their dollars and their votes. Regent Chairman Don Blank of McCook said that all the regents seemed to agree that voter input is important to higher education. See LB247 on 5 I B1114 would lower legal blood-alcohol level I Drinks are equal Blood Alcohol Content Chart to 102. of 100 proof alcohol or one 12 on. 4Yl.15l.12l .111 .09 5yI .191.161 .131.121 .111 .09_ This chart represents the proposed intoxication nercentaees 1 approximate blood alcohol level figures in percentages. content in one hour It m Source: Sgt. Neil Miles oj the Nebraska takes about one hour to I—• State Patrol Traffic Div. . lower the blood alcohol u. 9 content .01. L. . .. —--Andy Manhart & Michello Paulman/Daily Nebraskan By Jerry Guenther Staff Reporter A bill introduced last week to lower the legal blood-alcohol content for motorists would help reduce the number of traffic acci dents in Nebraska, sponsors say. LB 1114, sponsored by four Ne braska state senators, would lower the legal blood-alcohol level from .10 to .08. State lawmakers backing the pro posal say the lower level is needed because new evidence suggests drink ers become impaired at lower blood alcohol levels than'previously thought. State Sen. Sharon Beck of Omaha, one of the bill’s sponsors, said tech nological advances have made pos sible more sophisticated and accurate tests of blood-alcohol levels. As a result of the advanced tests, Beck said, research indicates that people become impaired from alco hol more quickly than was once thought. “We’re seeing evidence that people are becoming impaired at even .05,” she said. Slate Sen. Roger Wchrbcin of Plattsmouth, another sponsor, said a study by the American Medical Asso ciation shows that drivers already arc impaired when their blood-alcohol content reaches .05. A 185-pound man who drinks three 12-ounce glasses of beer in one hour would register about .05 blood alco hol content, Wchrbcin said. Beck said that compared with leg islation in other states that would lower the level below .08, LB1114 is “a moderate step.” ‘‘The intent is only to be posi tive,” she said. ‘‘We’re not trying to infringe on anyone’s right to drink.” Such a bill is needed in Nebraska, Beck said, because drunk drivers kill, maim or injure many innocent vic tims each year. Wchrbcin said between 42 and 45 percent of all traffic accidents in Nebraska arc alcohol related. Nationally, he said, the percent age of accidents involving motorists who have consumed alcohol is even higher than in Nebraska. Beck said she hopes the bill will help raise people’s consciousness about consuming alcohol and driving.