<■
WEATHER
Tuesday, rain likely, a few thundershowers, high
in the low-40s, gusty east wind 20-30 miles per
hour. Tuesday night, low in the upper-30s, 80
percent chance of rain. Wednesday, blustery, 60
percent chance of precipitation, high in the low- to
mid-40s.
INDEX
News.2
Editoria' .4
Spo* ts.5
Arts & Entertainment.6
Classifieds.7
March 6, 1990_University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No.j££ («/
■ m11 m.-.wmmgm
Joe He^nzte Dally Nebraskan
A Pottery play . ..
Senior Lisa Davis, 23, works on a project for an intermediate/advanced ceramics class
Monday in the Nelie Cochrane Woods Art Building.
600 students sign petition
Environmental topics course proposed
§y Julia Mikolajcik
Staff Reporter
-
Recent interest in ecology and
preserving the environment by
UNL students has prompted
the proposal of a course in environ
j, menial topics, according to a Univer
- lily of Nebraska-Lincoln professor.
The proposed course, Issues in
Environmental Biology, would be
offered through the School of Bio
ical Sciences.
Royce Ballinger, director of the
I, said the school has wanted to
introduce an environmental course
for a few years.
-4 4
It’s been something
that has been an
obvious need for a
long time.
Ballinger
director of School of Biologi
cal Sciences
-9 9
“It’s been something that has been
an obvious need for a long time,”
Ballinger said, and ... it mis a need
in terms of the interest students have
in environmental problems.”
Ecology Now member Dave Re
gan said the organization has gath
ered more than 600 student signa
tures in support of a three-credit-hour
course in environmental education.
He also said the organization sup
ports any added environmental edu
cation courses.
The petition and proposal were
submitted to the Association of Stu
See BIOLOGY on 3
I
Candidates exchange
campaign criticism
By Jerry Guenther
Staff Reporter
Two candidates for president of
the Association of Students of
the University of Nebraska are
exchanging criticism, but deny they
are using negative campaign tactics.
A pamphlet circulated last week
by the VISION party alleges that
Government Liaison Committee
Chairman Deb Fiddelke is neglecting
her GLC duties because of time spent
campaigning as TODAY’S candidate
for president of ASUN.
Monday, the TODAY party coun
tered with a pamphlet of its own,
addressing what the party says VI
SION supporters would like students
to believe about TODAY.
VISION’S pamphlet, which com
pares the party platforms, states “...
GLC’s lobbying efforts have been
anything but strong. GLC’s member
ship has suffered greatly this year,
and GLC Chairman Deb Fiddelke has
been spending more time campaign
ing foF ASUN president than lobby
ing for student interests.”
Fiddelke said she has seen the
pamphlet, but defended her record.
“I think this has been one of GLC’s
most successful years,” Fiddelke said.
4 4 Anyone who would say otherwise is
just trying to put out propaganda for a
campaign.”
Phil Gosch, VISION presidential
candidate, said he read the pamphle
before it was circulated and he esti
mated that fewer than 100 copies wer
distributed to students.
Gosch, a GLC member, said it wa•
not his intention to “slam” Fiddelke
or start a mudslinging campaign by
circulating the pamphlet
“I’ve been to almost every GLC
meeting this year, and there’s nevei
been more than 15 or so people ai
each meeting,” Gosch said. “Whethei
or not that’s because she has beer
campaigning for ASUN president 1
don’t know.”
Student attendance and participa
tion in GLC has not been widespread
this year, Gosch said.
But Fiddelke said she has worked
hard for GLC, especially in attempt
ing to get a student-regent vote. She
said she organized a meeting of all
the student regents and trustees from
Nebraska four-year colleges in order
to discuss LR239CA — which pro
poses restructuring of governance of
higher education in the state.
At a legislative Education Com
mittee hearing on LR239CA, Fid
delke said, she represented all seven
four-year colleges in the state and
testified in favor of the student vote.
Fiddelke said she also has met
with each member of the committee,
and other senators, urging them to
support student voles.
“I think the record of GLC, and
the hard work that anyone who is at
all familiar with GLC knows I’ve put
into it speaks for itself,” she said.
Aside from the pamphlet, Fiddelke
said, she doesn’t plan any counterat
tacks against VISION.
“I’m not going run the kind of
campaign that gets involved in throw
ing mud at the other party,” she said.
Gosch stated that the main point
he was trying to get across with VI
SION ’ S pamphlet was that hav ing the
GLC chairman appointed by the ASUN
L president hinders democratic elections.
The GLC chairman has won the
; next year 's ASUN presidency three
years in a row.
“7his constant turnover from GLC
chair to president has discouraged
other students from running for presi
dent,” Gosch said.
‘‘The resources of that office and
having the support of the current ASUN
administration each year make it vir
tually impossible to beat them (the
party of the GLC chairman).”
Temporary restraining order
for Cooper development denied
From Staff Reports
Lancaster County District Court
Judge Paul Merritt Jr. on Mon
day denied the petition to place
a temporary restraining order on fur
ther development at Cooper Park, Sixth
and D streets.
Merritt said he did not believe the
Salt Creek Community Organization’s
“application was successful.”
He said his decision did not ad
dress the issue of the park’s owner
ship, which was brought up at Fri
day’s hearing in county district court.
At the hearing. Miles Johnston Jr.,
See COOPER on 3
Approximate figures sought
Census Bureau tallies regional homeless
By Jerry Guenther
USpff Reporter
Ha ocal census workers arc gearing up for
| . “S-Night”-when pockctsof homeless
pjB • people on the streets and in shelters na
tionwide will be counted more extensively
thin ever before, said one census official.
SCarol Walker, U.S. Census Bureau district
^|5cc manager, said about 20 census workers
w§l go out March 20 to several southeast
fibraska areas where people are known to live
temporarily.
Some of those places include city missions,
Ac Salvation Army and spouse-abuse centers.
■ The census takers will start at 6 p.m. that
night and work until 6 a.m. the next day,
Vplker said, with one break.
IfThe southeast Nebraska census region in
cludes 16 counties, Walker said, and the work
| will be divided into three groups.
Because Lincoln has the largest homeless
ulation in the area, two groups will be
igned to it. Walker said.
A cumulative homeless total will not be
_l, she said, because it would be difficult
;et an accurate figure. Instead, census takers
will count certain segments of the homeless,
such as those who live in shelters, tents and on
the streets.
“Never do we want people to total those
figures and say, ‘This is the number of home
less people in the United States,”’ Walker
said.
The U.S. government does not want a
homeless total because of the difficulty in
coming up with accurate figures, she said.
Some people may only be “homeless” fora
couple of weeks, while others may be hiding
from census takers, Walker said.
Nevertheless, census takers will be working
harder than ever to try to come up with a more
accurate count, both Walker and two regional
census workers said.
Jerry O’Donnell, coordinator with the Den
ver Regional Census Center, said census takers
across the nation will be counting people in
emergency shelters, on the street and those in
vacant buildings.
During the 1980 census, O’Donnell said,
census lakers counted people in missions and
shelters, but only took a casual street count
Census takers also have increased efforts
this year to work with groups who serve the
homeless to get a better count, U Donnell said.
Ron Ritschard, media specialist with the
Denver Regional Census Center, also said that
past efforts to count the homeless never went as
far as this year’s “S-Night” will go.
“The homeless are becoming more and
more of a national issue,” Ritschard said. “1
guess there’s a real need just to get an idea of
the size of the problem.”
“The estimates vary so widely, depending
on who you talk to,” Ritschard said, “any
where from 250,000 homeless to 3 million
homeless.”
According to Ritschard, it is important to
get accurate homeless counts for government
planning and to help local officials provide
services.
Steve Janovec, executive director of the
Peoples City Mission in Lincoln, said the number
of reported homeless people affects some types
of federal aid to local government.
"I don’t know any of the particular sources
because most of our support is local and pri
vate,” he said.
Janovec said he doesn’t expect any prob
lems counting homeless people at the mission.
Former university
student sentenced
for attempted assault
From Staff Reports
C former University of Nebraska
Lincoln student was sentenced
Friday in Lancaster County Dis
trict L'ourt to 60 days in jail for attempted
second-degree sexual assault
Steven Ernst 21, a former University
of Nebraska-Lincoln student, also was
sentenced to four years probation, 500
hours of unpaid community service and
restitution to the victim, according to
court records.
The amount of restitution has not been
determined. Ernst’s jail sentence was
deferred until 3 p.m. April 9, court rec
ords showed.
According to police reports, Ernst of
Columbus originally was charged with
fust-degree sexual assault for allegedly
assaulting a 17-year-oW girl Feb. 12,
1989, at Phi Gamma Delta fraternity,
1425 R St. The charge was reduced to
attempted second-degree sexual assault
after a plea bargain.
... — -.- ■
