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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1990)
WEATHER INDEX N° relief in sight. Today, partly doudy and hot, News Digest 2 high in the mid-90s, south wind, 10-15 miles per Editorial 4 hour. Tonight, partly cloudy with a 20 percent Diversions 7 chance of thunderstorms, low in the mid 60s sports 15 Friday, mostly sunny and still hot, high in the low- Classifieds ........ .16 September 6,1990•University of Nebraska-Lincoln____Vol. 90 No. 8 ASUN Senate opposes lid on spending By Jennifer Q’Cilka Senior Reporter After debating almost two hours, student leaders voted Wednesday night to for mally oppose a 2 percent lid on state government budget spending that will come before voters in November. The Association of Students of the Univer sity of Nebraska passed Government Bill No. 1, which also gave the Government Liaison Committee power to inform students about possible effects of the lid. Doug Oxley, an economics and political science major, said the passage of Initiative 405, the 2 percent lid on state government spending, could have bad effects on the univer sity and the state. “I personally would leave the state of Ne braska upon passage of Initiative 405,” Oxley said. Nebraska would become a state in which roads fall apart, children don’t get the educa tion they need and government does not have the control to provide services, he said. This is because inflation is rising at a ‘ ‘natu ral” rate of 5 percent, but the lid only allows for 2 percent budget increases each year, Oxley said. Oxley urged senators to vote for the govern ment bill. “My opinion as a student is a vote against government bill one is a vote for higher tui tion,” he said. “And it would also be a vote to cut services at the university.” ASUN President Phil Gosch said that al though many Nebraskans signed the petition to put the initiative on the ballot, they may not realize the possible effects. “I think as more people find out what the effects of the lid would be to our state, to our university . .. they may become more fright ened,” Gosch said. The bill states that the lid could have a devastating impact on UNL by jeopardizing programs, reducing the number of faculty and staff, expanding classroom sizes and markedly increasing tuition rates. If passed, Gosch said the lid possibly would go into effect in January, causing mid-year Budget cuts at the university. This would re quire a $23 million budget cut immediately, he said. “Academic programs (at NU) would not See ASUN on 6 J«ff Willett/Daily Nebraskan UNL student Jameson Cooper pours fake blood on a mock American flag during a protest against U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Early Warning! and Ecology Now sponsored the demonstration and march Wednesday at Broyhill Plaza. Energy plan needed, groups say Students protest Gulf involvement By Stacey McKenzie Staff Reporter A reddish goo was poured Wednesday over a black-and-white-striped flag that had 50 small gas pumps printed on it, as two campus organizations protested U.S. military involvement in the Middle East. About 16 protesters, some representing the groups Early Warning! and Ecology Now, marched from Broyhill Plaza to the Military and Naval Science Building with the flag. The marchers, some clad in army fa tigues and one sporting a gas mask, chanted and gathered around the flag as a red sticky liquid representing blood was poured over it The flag then was folded - military style — and marched back to the plaza where it was spread on the ground in front of the speakers’ podium. The first flag was replaced with a second flag featuring a skull and crossbones. After the march, about 30 to 40 people listened as some protesters spoke on issues concerning the United States’ military in tervention in the Middle East and the coun try’s energy policies. The United States is acting as the world’s police force, said J Burger, a member of Ecology Now and a sophomore studying natural resources. “I think the actions in the Middle East are coming to a fruition like this because of the lack of a national energy plan,” Burger said. “I think we (the United States) have sold ourselves short.” There are various reasons why the pro testers are opposed to military intervention in the Middle East, said Nell Eckersley, 1 facilitator for Early Warning! and a junior Spanish major. The United States should take preventive action in non-military ways and should let the Arab nations deal with their problems, she said. Jeff Riggert, a member of Ecology Now and a junior studying biology, said he pro tested because a U.S. energy policy does not exist and should. Many things can be done to avoid the need for oil from the Middle East, he said. Conservation and recycling arc two things that everyone could do to help, he said, but President Bush is not promoting those types of energy savers. ‘‘I don’t see much initiative from the president,” he said. Science programs lack minority doctorate students by brenaa uneng Staff Reporter The University of Nebraska-Lin coln, in line with a national pattern, lacks minorities gradu ating with doctorates m science, said Stanley Liberty, dean of the College of Engineering and Technology. There is a lack of minorities in doctoral studies, specifically in sci ence, because they need role models and information about preparing for careers in science, Liberty said. Minority students also usually come from economically disadvantaged situations, he said, so they may lack the funds for college. In a study by the National Re search Council, 7,167 U.S. citizens received doctorates in physics, as tronomy, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and biological sciences in 1988. Included were 18 Native Americans, 324 Asian-Americans, 84 blacks and 163 Hispanic-Americans. Whites earned about 92 percent o! the degrees. In 1989-90,244 students received Ph.D.sfrom UNL. Ol that number, 75 percent were U.S. citizens. Only 14 of the U.S. students — 7.2 percent -- were minorities. The lack of minorities earning science doctorates has become a na tional concern because, in a few years, there will be a shortage of college professors and scientists nationwide, said Anthony Starace, chairman of the physics and astronomy depart ment. Universities hired a lot of profes sors in the 1960s to keep up with the baby boom, he said, and in about five years there will be large-scale retire ment. The number of white males cur rently in physics is not enough to S-event the shortage, Starace said. ut women and minorities now make up a large percentage of the U.S. population, so attracting them might help ease the shortage, he said. “Wc have got to overcome the historical problem of underrepresen tation in students of engineering and science in order to create a valuable pool of human resources for the fu ture industrial competitiveness,*’ Liberty said. Some UNL science departments and colleges and the UNL Office of Graduate Studies are implementing programs to help attract minorities. Graduate studies started programs for minority support and recruitment in 1989 to increase the number of minority students in graduate pro grams, said Merlin Law son, associate dean of graduate studies. The graduate studies minority plan now provides 14 Minority Graduate Fellowships, six Patricia Roberts Harris Scholarships and three assistantships, Lawson said. The graduate studies recruitment program includes sending posters and brochures to about 400 schools na tionally, advertising in the Chronicle of Higher Education and supporting faculty travel and visits to campus by prospective students, he said. Roger Bruning, associate dean for graduate studies, said the department nad tried to “create a supportive See DOCTORATE on 5