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August 23,1990 University of Nebraska-Lin coin Vol. 90 No. 1
Activating reservists
would affect students,
cut civil work force
IBy Ryan Steeves
Staff Reporter
President Bush’s order activat
ing military reserves has dis
pirited some UNL student
reservists and could lead to personnel
problems for Lincoln police and fire
departments if more reserves arc called
► up.
The manpower supply at the city’s
police and fire departments could
deteriorate if they lose officers and
firefighters to the Nebraska National
Guard and the reserves.
Lt. Lee Wagner of the Lincoln
Police Department said LPD had 11
officers in the Guard and five in the
reserves.
“If 16 officers were called up, it
certainly could have an impact on us,
especially thisti me of year,’’Wagner
said.
Lincoln officers arc busy during
the fall because of football season,
* the Nebraska State Fair and the be
ginning of school.
wagncr saw Lru omciais wouia
wail and see whether they needed to
adjust personnel. Although they’ve
noted what officers could be acti
vated, he said, they’re unsure if some
or any of them will be.
By law, Bush can activate only
)t 200,000 reservists. A Pentagon offi
cial said Wednesday that about 40,000
reserves would report to duty by
August. There are about 1.2 million
reserve members in the United Stales.
Dale Boettcher, assistant fire chief,
said that it is too early to teli if Bush's
order would affect the fire depart
ment.
Boettcher said that roughly 12 fire
fighters moonlight as reservists. If all
of them are lost, fire and city admin
istrators probably would have to meet
to resolve ensuing problems, he said.
Remaining firefighters would have
to work overtime, he said, and if the
reserves stayed active for a “long
! duration,’’ more firefighters would
be hired.
“Losing 12 people could present a
problem torus,there’snodoubtaboul
that,” Boettcher said. “But even if
we lose those people, we’ll be able to
function.’’
Reservists say the risk of being
called to duty is something they have
to expect. But reserve and Guard stu
dents at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln say activation is not some
thing they anxiously anticipate, espe
cially since it will take them out of
school.
Tim Allison, a general studies
freshman and Army reservist, said he
wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of being
called to the Middle East to fight.
“That’s not one of the things on
my priority list - getting shot at,’ ’ he
said. “But if I have to go -- that’s
what I signed up for, I suppose.’’
Jan Coons, a junior psychology
and criminal justice major, was a
little more blunt.
“I’m scared as hell,” Coons said.
“I’ll do my part, but anyone put in
that situation — I don’tcarc how gung
ho you arc — you’re going to be
scared.”
Coons admitted it would be hypo
critical to refuse to serve because the
reserve program pays tuition for
members in her unit. When they signed
up, she said, they knew they might
have to fight.
Many Neai, a National uuara
member and an art major, said the
fear of being called up was natural.
“What’s not natural is for anyone
to want war,” he said.
Jeff Anderson, a junior business
management major and Army reserv
ist, said the Army told him the call-up
would not threaten his unit. Soon
after, however, gas masks and suits
were issued to his unit, he said.
“It worries you when they tell you
not to worry and then do that,” he
said.
Coons said the Army this weekend
told personnel in her ammunition unit
that they had a 50 percent chance of
being called to duty. If activated, she
said, they have a 50 percent chance of
going to the Middle East. The Army
ordered unit members to keep silent
about the units’ specific destination,
she said.
Neal said that during training last
weekend, his associates were told they
have a 9 in 10 chance of being
activated, but a 1 in 10 chance of
going overseas.
See RESERVES on 15
David Fahlaaon/Dally Nabraakan
The Nil Coliseum’s gymnasium floor will be replaced as part of a renovation project scheduled
to begin in January. The remodeling is the last phase of a $14.9 million project designed to
upgrade physical education equipment and buildings at UNL. See story on page 11.
UNL fraternity struggling to rebuild
By Jennifer O’Cilka
Senior Reporter
Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity is
getting back on its feet after
problems almost closed it.
Craig Ranson, vice president of
the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln
chapter, said politics within the house
last semester left morale low and many
members moved out.
Ranson said the biggest problem
was that about half of the 20 to 30
members lived outside the house last
year.
House members reported taking in
about four members after rush last
January.
“Second semester rush is typi
cally bad,” Ranson said. “Ours was
pitiful.”
Paul Gearhart, a national Sigma
Alpha Mu consultant from the Uni
versity of Virginia, came to help the
UNL chapter for about a week. Other
national representatives will be on
hand to help throughout the year.
“We’re done with the downside
and arc building back up,’’ Gearhart
said.
Gearhart attributed many problems
to past leadership.
“We probably didn’t have the right
people in the right positions to get
things done,” he said. “It was just a
gradual thing building up within the
group and it was time to get some
internal control.”
The national fraternity is “look
ing for some (members) to come in
and grab onto leadership positions,”
he said.
During the past week, Gearhart
has interviewed most chapter mem
bers and men from the Intcrfratemity
Council rush lists.
Members were asked 10 get seri
ous about the organization.
“We worked with each individual
to make the best decision for them,”
he said. “I guess they lost interest.
They made that decision themselves.”
About 10 men decided to stay in
the house. Those who moved on were
given special alumni status. Gearhart
said those members cannot attend
house functions or meetings until they
graduate, but they can wear their let
ters.
Now officials arc interviewing in
hopes of finding members to be the
4 ‘refounding fathers,” Gearhart said.
Anyone who joins will have full
membership privileges, rather than
pledge status. New members will be
initiated in about a month.
See FRATERNITY on 11
-1
‘Remote shuttle’ service installed
$ 10 permit offered for distant lots
By David Burcheli
Staff Reporter
low-cost parking option has
been added to attract com
muter students to park in
distant, underused lots north of City
Campus, UNL’s parking adminis
trator said.
Lt John Burke of the IJNL Police
Department said students could buy
a $10 remote permit to park in the
lots and to ride a ‘ remote shuttle’ ’
to campus.
“We tried to make the price at
tractive enough to gel people to use
it,’’ he said.
Buses will run every day from 7
a.m. to 9 p.m., with a maximum
wait of 15 minutes between rides,
Burke said. The shuttle will slop
first at the New Hampshire Street
and Bob Devaney Sports Center
lots on the north end of campus,
then continue south, making nine
other stops around campus.
Holders of standard $50 com
muter permits also may lake ad
vantage of the new service, and the
buses arc open to anyone else on
campus who wants to ride between
stops, Burke said.
Burke said he expected to keep
the three remote shuttle buses
operating constantly. The vehicles
'< f
We tried to make the
price attractive enouah
to get people to use it.
Burke
parking administrator
--—* 9
were purchased and modified at a
cost of $ 18,000, including red-and
white paint and air conditioners on
each bus. The buses scat 25 to 36
people.
The project was financed through
UNL parking fees and fines, he
said.
Other projects completed this
summer include better lighting in
four lots and a few added parking
spaces due to some redesigned
entrances at 19th and R streets,
Burke said.
All lots were designated the same
as they were last year, he said.
Burke said permits were selling
well this year. About 2,000 com
muter and 1,500 resident permits
have been sold since sales started
Aug. I.
The department plans to sell
about 4,500 commuter and 3,000
resident permits for the year, Burke
said. Reserved parking permits arc
close to selling out in all lots ex
cept the reserve lot by Harper
Schramm-Smith complex, he said.
Students, staff and faculty can
purchase permits from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. weekdays at the sports center
until noon Tuesday, he said. Re
served spots cost $150 a year for
students, while regular permits are
$50.
Burke said enforcement would
start slowly this semester, with
palling employees guiding students
to vacant lots instead of writing out
a lot of tickets right away.
"Maybe this year we can help
them find the other spaces," he
said.