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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1990)
Runoff to decide leaders of ASUN uy victoria Ayotte and Emily Rosenbaum Senior Reporters v and Matt Herek Staff Reporter After learning there will be a runoff election for ASUN executive positions Wednes day, VISION and TODAY candidates said they plan to heighten the cam paign’s intensity. Supporters of the parties were looking forward to the campaign’s end, but said Wednesday night they want to keep up their motivation as they plan for next week’s runoff. VISION presidential and first vice presidential candidates led Wednes day night’s Association of Students of the University of Nebraska elec tions by 34 votes over TODAY’S 1,405 votes. STAND candidates had 646 votes. Candidates need a majority of 10 percent to win. Phil Gosch, VISION presidential candidate, said his 1 percent lead was a victory over the current ASUN es tablishment, which he said supported the TODAY party. Deb Fiddelke, TODAY’S presiden tial candidate, was not so sure of Gosch’s assertions. Fiddelke said she is confident about her party’s chances in a runoff. Butcn ireiand/Daily Nabraskan Deb Fiddeike, TODAY presidential candidate, and sup porter Thomas Meola, senior criminal justice major, examine the results of Wednesday election. A! Schaben/Dally Nebraskan VISIONpresidential candidate Phil Gosch is hugged by # Abbie Arneson, Teachers College senate candidate, after Gosch tbld his supporters to prepare tor another week of campaigning. ii s oeen a really long campaign, she said. “It’s going to take a lot of motivation.” About 50 TODAY supporters, including Fiddelke and second vice presidential candidate Yolanda Scott, gathered at the Villager Motor Inn, 5200 O St., to wail for the results. After waiting for the election re sults at the Gas ‘n Shop at 400 W. Comhusker Highway, Gosch came into the Cherry Hut with a somber look. “As of tonight, our fight to make AS UN what it should be must con tinue for another week,” Gosch told supporters. Gosch held up a trash bag, saying the old student government “will be burned” in it next week. Gosch said something in the elec lions “deserves 10 be changed.” Thai is the “grooming and planned turnover of the ASUN executive positions,” he said. Fiddelke is chairman of the Gov See ELECTION on 3 "R. T ^ Uaily ' WEATHER 1 INDEX I R R m Thursday windy with rain likely, becoming mixed ^Bak 5 *^BfB p^^R R with snow later, then changing to wot snow, high News 2 Rb, 1 M _ R Hf R| Rf R R ^ W R R R m the lower 40s, north wind 20 30 miles an hour Editorial 4 R^.8 R-""*^ R R R RBR Bm R R ®"d 9wSty' 70 P®'06"1 chanco of precipitation Diversions 5 E& R M MU mf R -^^^B R^R R R Thursday night, snow diminishing to flurries with Sports 13 JL R mf R R decreasing winds, low around 30 Friday becom Classifieds 14 ■*“* ¥^00^ ■» mg partly doudy with a high in the mid to low 40s March 15,1990University of Nebraska-Lincoln_ Vol. 89 No. kfc©* Regents encouraged by election turnout I By Jerry Guenther Staff Reporter Two student leaders and two members of the NU Board of Regents on Wednesday night said they were encouraged by a 39.3 percent increase in voters in student government elections. Of 22j065 eligible University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, 3,5%, or 16.3 percent, voted in the Asso ciation of Students of the Univer sity of Nebraska election Wednes day. Last year, 11.7 percent, or2,466 of 21,047 eligible students, voted. Regent Kermit Hansen of Elk hom said he was pleased with the turnout. “1 know that (ASUN president) Bryan (Hill) and others had been working hard to increase interest and participation, so I'm not sur prised,” Hansen said. *Tm happy to see it.*’ The increase could help sway lawmakers' perceptions of student interest in political issues, Hansen said. , , At least six businesses, includ ing two ban, offered discounts or specials for students who voted in the election. «* Hansen said he wasn't aware of the discounts, but he didn't think they had much of an impact on student turnout. Regents Chairman Don Blank said he thinks the increase was sub stantial ‘ ‘Obviously, something created more interest and more turned out,” Blank said. ‘‘I hope it continues.” Blank said he thinks the increase probably had liule to do with the discounts. He said he is unsure what kind of impact the turnout will have on regents’ perceptions of students. Some regents were discour aged by tow voter turnouts in past dec / tions, Blank said. ASUN President Bryan Hill said he wasn ’tsurprised by the increase. “The reason I thought there would be a higher than usual voter turnout was because there were more people running, and it was » lot closer race,” Hill said. “That always brings more students out to the polls.” The broader base of students represented by this year’s candi dates caused most of the increase, he said. Farmer ASUN President Jeff Pe tersen said he is encouraged by the increase because regents and state senators often use voter turnout as a “petty excuse” to ignore stu dents. Petersen, president in 1988-89, said he hopes the increase will show lawmakers that more students are interested in issues affecting them. Hill said that although voter turn out is important, it shouldn’t be used to measure student interest. % National and state elections often have higher voter turnouts than stu dent elections. Hill said, but the pool of eligible voters in those elections is smaller than whet it could be . Not everyone eligible for na tional and state elections is regis tered, inflating turnout percentages, he said. Hill laid the number of voters was impressive because they were casting votes for a “watchdog Sr’ that only can make recum tions. “When you have agomp that is advisoiy in nature,” Hill said, “turn out was very, high” If students had an actual regent vole, Hill said, he thinks more stu dents would vote. Both Hill and Petersen said they think that the discounts had liule effect on increasing student inter cat V™ p Amendment to tuition assistance bill ' * v bans discrimination against athletes By Sara Bauder Staff Reporter An amendment passed Wednes day in the Nebraska Legisla ture would allow college ath letes to receive need-based aid. Two state-financed programs of tuition assistance in the emergency deficit budget bill were amended to add language to prohibit discrimi nation against ath letes. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha offered the amendment, which passed 26-2. The tuition pro grams were added to the bill Tuesday. “My amendment won’t cost the state any money,” Chambers said. “It deals only with intent language.” Chambers said the Legislature created the tuition assistance programs so students with financial need could' attend college, and those funds should not be denied to needy students who participate in athletics. * “To say anyone is eligible for this aid unless they play football or bas ketball is wrong,” Chambers said. Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha said the amendment will show the governing bodies of collegiate athletics how the Legislature feels about discrimina tion. Chambers said groups such as the NCAA have made it difficult for many athletes to attend college, but the amendment would do something to correct that. “If they don’t qualify for the aid, they don’tget it,’’Chambers said. “It they do need it, there shouldn’t beany artificial barriers pul up by an athletic department.” Sen. Jerome Warner o^Waverly said the amendment could cause ath letes to lose their eligibility because of NCAA rules. Under NCAA rules, athletes not on scholarship may not receive finan cial aid. But if the University of Nebraska Lincoln protects eligibility by not allowing athletes to receive aid, the school might not get any funds from the assistance programs. Legislators also approved an amendment, reintroduced after being defeated Tuesday, that would appro priate money to complete renova tions of 22 greenhouses on East Campus. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. George Coordsen of Hebron, would allocate $900,000 to the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources so renovations begun last year can be finished. Coordsen said the amendment is important because the greenhouses are used for agricultural research and as a teaching facility. Coordsen said Nebraska’s money comes from agriculture, and if agri culture is going to stay competitive and keep supporting the state, agri cultural research is needed. “There have been a lot of amend ments passed to the bill that have added consideVablc money to ‘people programs,”’ Coordsen said. “That is very good, but we have to remember where the money is coming from in this slate.” Renovations of the greenhouses are 14th on the NU Board of Regents’ priority list of construction projects. Sen. Ron Withcm of Papillion criti cized Coordscn’s amendment because it went against the regents’ list of priorities. Coordsen said the Legislature should give advice to regents and other decision makers. “If the university is not able to establish their priorities, we should give them guidance,” Coordsen said. The Legislature appropriated SI million to the renovation project last year, which was enough to renovate 11 or 12 of the greenhouses, Coord sen said. He said it would make sense to appropriate enough to finish the project this year. Sen. Scott Moore of Seward said if the university thinks the project is important, it should find the money to finance if The Legislature will continue debate on the bill today. Fees receive student approval Students vote against yearbook By Jennifer O’Cilka Staff Reporter Students overwhelmingly voted against a student yearbook Wednesday night, while sup porting student fees allocations. As part of Association of Students of the University of Nebraska-Lin coln ballot, students were asked whether they thought a student year book would be beneficial. More than 45 percent of voters said “no,” while ) 34.6 percent students voted for the yearbook and 19.6 percent were un decided. More than half -- 58.6 percent - of voters indicated they would not pay $25 for a yearbook. About 27 percent said they would, and 14 percent were undecided. Almost 18 percent of students indicated they would buy a yearbook each year of their college career, while 31.8 percent said they would buy one yearbook and 50.2 percent were un decided. Jon Bruning, AS UN second vice president, said he thinks the yearbook figures are positive. Bruning, who said he will continue to be involved with the yearbook after he leaves office, said other Big Eight schools sell year books to less than 20 percent of the student body. “If 27.1 percent said they’d pay for a yearbook, that is more than See FEES on 3
