The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 15, 1990, Image 1

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    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
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JL R mf R R decreasing winds, low around 30 Friday becom Classifieds 14
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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