Official says computer system
led to fewer parking tickets
By Thomas Clouse
Staff Reporter
More UNL students have been complying
with parking regulations since the campus
parking department installed a computer sys
tem that processes tickets faster, a university
parking official said.
Sherryl Chamberlain, systems manager for
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Parking
and Traffic Department, said the drop in tickets
issued since the system was installed last spring
indicates that the new Auto-Cite system “may
be helping” parking compliance.
The number of parking tickets dropped from
about 50,000 from July 1, 1988, through Feb.
15, 1989, to 40,000 during the same time
period this year.
“If people weren’t complying with the sys
tem, then there would be more tickets writ
ten,” Chamberlain said.
Officers use Auto-Cite automatic ticket
writers on site. They print tickets, save the
information and then plug into a computer
system at the Parking and Traffic Department
where the information is transferred and filed.
Auto-Cite checks for previous violations on
a certain license plate and will beep to notify
the officer to contact the Parking and Traffic
office, Chamberlain said.
“Processing the tickets through the office
(computer) is faster but the ticket-giving proc
ess is not necessarily faster,’’ Chamberlain
said.
In April 1989, the department bought a
Fujitsu mainframe computer, eight terminals,
11 Auto-Cites and software. Office cash regis
ters were connected to the computer system.
The department paid about $70,000 for the
system.
Before this, Chamberlain said, the depart
ment had no computers and tickets were writ
ten and filed manually.
E-Week activities to increase
visibility of engineering college
From Staff Reports ___
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s
College of Engineering & Technology is
sponsoring its 78th annual E-Wcek at the
Walter Scott Engineering Center this week.
E-Week began Sunday and continues through
Saturday.
Doug Eagleton, managing editor of
Nebraska Blueprint, the student engineer
ing magazine, said the event is designed to
generate high school students’ interest in
the engineering college and to show the
public some of its activities.
“We want to open our college up to the
citizens of Nebraska,’’ Eagleton said, “to
sec what we do, why we do it: and why they
should come specifically to the engineering
college.” . , . , , „
Eagleton said high school and college
students will be able to participate in engi
neering competitions such as the “egg drop."
The egg drop requires the student to build a
box to prevent an egg dropped from 56 feet
from breaking. . „ „ ,,
The “Tower of Power in Half an Hour
will challenge students to build the highest
tower out of newspaper and tape. The tower
must have a one-foot base.
Eagleton said the competitions demon
strate students’ abilities to combine light
ness and strength in their designs.
Engineering projects from the various
departments of the college also will be dis
played.
About 150 students usually take part in
E-Wcek, Eagleton said.
NU Regents approve plan
for UNO fine arts building
despite design concerns
From Staff Reports
The NU Board of Regents approved
plans for an SI 1.5 million fine arts
building for the University of Ne
braska at Omaha on Saturday.
Regents Don Frickc of Lincoln
and Robert Allen of Haslingsopposcd
the building, which will include an
experimental theater with classrooms,
labs, an art gallery' and 250 scats.
“There is no question that UNO
needs a building,” Allen said. “But
I’m wondering if this is a proper use
of the money.”
The outside walls of the building
will be curved and covered with red
brick. Allen questioned the “wiggle
wall’’design.
“It’s very fancy for a student, ’ ’ he
said.
Because there arc only about 200
theater and art students at UNO, Al
len and Fricke wondered whether the
money was being allocated properly.
The cost of $118 per square foot
for the building is loo high, they said.
But UNO administrators and archi
tects said the building will be used by
about 16,000 students.
Neil Morgensen, assistant vice
chancellor and facilities director at
UNO, said the building will add 12,300
square feet to the campus.
Once the dramatic arts department,
art department, university theater and
studio theater can be moved to the
new building, the English department
can be moved out of the College of
Business Administration building and
into the Arts and Sciences Hall.
“The building will help solve spatial
shortages,” Morgensen said.
The building is expected to be
completed June 1, 1992.
fiiTbri^Li-_—»— --—
Rural environmental values topic of seminar
Attitudes of rural residents
toward the preservation of natural
habitats will be the topic of the
Center for Great Plains Studies
seminar Wednesday.
The seminar, at 3:30 p.m. at St.
Mark’s on the Campus, 13th and R
streets, will include speeches by
Helen Moore, associate professor
of sociology, and Allen Williams,
JrM professor of sociology.
Moore and Williams have sur
veyed Nebraskans about the im
portance of preserving natural wild
life habitats and outdoor recreation
areas compared to the need for
increasing irrigation, draining
wetlands for agricultural expan
sion and using public lands for
grazing.
Public Sector Career Day planned for 1 hursday
Representatives of federal, slate
and local government and non-profit
organizations will answer questions
about careers in the public sector
Thursday at the Nebraska Union.
Public Sector Career Informa
tion Day, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., is
sponsored by the University of
Ncbraska-Lincoln Career Planning
and Placement Center and the crimi
nal justice department.
Careers in non-profit and public
organizations account tor onc-tnira
of all employment. Jobs include
accountants, financial officers,
public-relations specialists, lawyers,
nurses, doctors, engineers and teach
ers.
Parking
Continued from Page 1
Board members advised Oxley to
consider the objections groups will
have with his proposal, but Oxley
said he is confident it could work.
Oxley explained that the goals of
his system arc to make parking more
convenient, accessible and efficient
for everyone.
But Blaha said the system would
not be more efficient for commuters
as a whole, just more equitable for the
individual commuter.
Oxley’s proposal would not solve
congestion problems, Blaha said,
because too many commuters would
compete for close spots.
Blaha said parking should be spread
out. He said he wants commuters to
start filling unused lots.
Instead of parking close, students
or faculty could park in remote lots
and ride shuttles to campus, Blaha
said. This would ease congestion, and
commuters would spend less time
circling lots looking for parking stalls,
he said.
“We can’t confuse needs and
wants,” Blaha said.
Campus Recreation officials
considering forming clubs
to satisfy fans of fad sports
By Shonny Schneider
Staff Reporter
In the 1970s, it was tennis. In the
’80s, it was jogging.
Maybe the fad sport of the ’90s
will be juggling, or maybe even flying.
Linda Bcacom, club sportscoordi
nator for the Office of Campus Rec
reation, said students have approached
her about starting clubs for both sports
at the University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln.
So far, she said, interest in the
sports hasn’t been strong enough lor
them to become official university
clubs, but the requests did catch her
eye.
“I was a little surprised by it,”
Beacorn said. “Especially the flying
club.”
But she said a flying club isn’t
realistic because of the cost of air
planes and the danger involved.
“There’s no way we could help,”
Bcacom said. ‘A private club would
be more equipped to handle it.”
Bcacom said she didn’t know if
juggling competitions would be based
on how long objects stayed in the air
or the danger of flaming objects or
knives.
Club sports arc non-varsity teams
that compete against teams from other
schools, Bcacom said. Try-outs are
not allowed .and all students may
compete, she said.
More traditional sports such as
soccer, bowling, volleyball and crew
arc offered to students as club sports,
she said.
Recently, a taekwondo club was
formed, Bcacom said. Students cur
rently arc forming clubs for racquet
ball and women’s rugby, she said.
At least five members arc needed
to form a club sport, and they must
draft a constitution.
The women’s rugby team already
has 13 members and practices with
the men’s team, she said.
Amigos
Continued from Page 1
“We have a bad loitering problem
at that time of night,” Covault said.
“We have a lot of people that stand
around without purchasing food.”
When customers purchase food,
their $2 charge will be refunded, he
said.
Loiterers are “irritating” the
employees and customers of the res
taurant, Covault said.
About 15 people usually loiter, he
said. The charge is meant as a deter
rent because “we don’t like people
that come in, say, to pick up girls,’ ’ he
said.
An employee stationed at the door
explains the reason for the charge and
collects the money, he said.
The charge is primarily an attempt
to “make it more enjoyable for the
customers,” he said.
Response from customers has been
positive, Covault said.
Aiihough Covault said he’s sure
some people left when charged at the
door, he also thinks loiterers were
deterred.
Covault said he plans to continue
the door charge based on the positive
response last weekend.
The 1407 Q St. store is the only
Amigos in Lincoln with the entry
charge.
