1-"
Today, a 50 peroent chance of light
snow in the morning with the high of
20 and a north wind 10-15 Cloudy
becoming partly cloudy later.
Mostly clear tonight with the low 0-5
mph. Sunny Saturday with the high
in the upper-20s.
«-■ __
Michelle Paulman/Daily Nebraskan
Anthony Joern, a biological sciences professor, jogs laps in Cook Pavilion Thursday.
4
Warships endangered by enemy missiles
Two Iraqi warplanes shot down
D HAH RAN, Saudi Arabia (AP)
- Iraq’s elusive air force showed
signs of life Thursday, sending
two warplanes over Saudi territory
where they were shot down carrying
missiles capable
of sinking allied
warships.
Iraq mocked
the allies for
failing to launch
a ground offen
sive, but allied
commanders
said they would slick to their game
plan and intensify the around-the
clock air strikes on Iraq and occupied
Kuwait.
The United States and Britain each
lost a warplane during the night
Wednesday. The American pilot was
saved in a dramatic rescue af ter his jet
was disabled by ground fire and he
ejected over the Persian Gulf.
The two crewmen of the British
Tornado GR-1 fighter-bomber are
missing, oriusn sources in Kiyaon
said.
The losses occurred as allied forces
took advantage of clearing skies to
step up their relentless air assault on
Iraq and Kuwait. Many of the attacks
concentrated on Iraq’s elite Republi
can Guards, an Army spokesman said.
“We arc hitting them with all as
sets available to us,” IJ.S. Army Lt.
Col. Greg Pepin said of the elite Iraqi
unit. He estimated that more than
150.000 of the guards arc “well dug
in” in Kuwait and southern Iraq.
The allied tactics call for “soften
ing up” the Iraqi forces from the air
before trying to eject them from Kuwait
by ground.
The number of allied sorties passed
15.000 on Thursday, Pepin said. Al
lied sources in Dhahran said the U.S.
led coalition wants to pick up the
pace, perhaps flying 3,000 missions a
day if the skies remain clear.
Ir addition, Pentagon sources said
i nursaay mat u.s. suomanncs, oper
ating from the depths of the Mediter
ranean and Red seas, are continuing
to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles at
targets inside Iraq.
Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednes
day in Washington that air attacks
would intensify along supply routes
and communications lines around the
Iraqi city of Basra, near the Persian
Gulf and Kuwaiti border, in an at
tempt to strangle the Iraqi army in
Kuwait.
Despite the crushing allied air
assault, Saddam Hussein reportedly
visited his troops on the front lines in
southern Iraq and Kuwait on Wednes
day.
The official Iraqi News Agency
said Saddam’s commanders discussed
the latest developments in the war
with their commander-in-chief, then
mocked the allies, saying they fear a
ground war.
Regents support bill
to up strength, duties
of advisory commission
By Kristie Coda
Staff Reporter
Two University of Nebraska re
gents were cautious, but posi
tive, about a bill to provide
powers and duties for Nebraska’s
higher education coordinating com
mission.
Regent Nancy O’Brien of Omaha
and regents Chairman Don Blank of
McCook expressed concern about the
provisions giving the commission
governance powers.
The commission is “not a body
that can and should be involved in
governance,” Blank said.
LB663, introduced Wednesday in
the Nebraska Legislature, outlines
powers and duties for the Nebraska
Coordinating Commission for
Postsecondary Education, which pres
ently serves only as an advisory body.
Nebraska voters approved strength
ening the commission in November
by adding a constitutional amend
ment.
The bill would give the commis
sion the power to approve or disap
prove programs, to review and sub
mit public higher education institu
tions’ budget requests to the Legisla
ture, to approve changes in role and
mission statements and to create a
comprehensive statewide plan for
higher education.
Blank said he wasn’t overly con
cerned that the bill would diminish
the power of the NU Board of Re
gents.
“The general intent is in a direc
tion we (regents) arc comfortable with,”
he said, though he added that “there
are some areas that’ll have to be looked
at.”
O’Brien agreed.
“For the most part,” she said, “I’m
fairly pleased with the legislation.”
O’Brien said one part of the bill
that will need to be examined is a
provision that the commission priori
tize capital construction projects.
If the bill passes, the Board of
Regents would continue its current
prioritization of capital construction
projects, but the commission would
review the priorities and have the
power to change them.
O’Brien said the provision proba
bly would not pose a problem be
cause the commission should not have
reason to change the priorities.
“If our priorities are set according
to our role and mission and according
to the statewide plans ... we won’t
have any conflict with the coordinat
ing commission,” O’Brien said.
“I’m very confident that we can
work out the small details and prob
lems,” she said.
Ofricials say time needed
for divestment of S. Africa
By Lisa Donovan
Senior Reporter
Complying with a legislative pro
posal to require Nebraska in
stitutions to divest of South
Africa would not be an overnight
process for the University of Nebraska,
one official said.
“We try to make informed, intelli
gent decisions. We would probably
do it (divest) in six months, although
the bill would give us a year and a
half,” said James Van Horn, NU vice
president of administration, director
of finance and administrative sys
tems.
Currently, Van Horn said, the
university follows the state-required
guidelines of the Sullivan Principles,
which provide exemptions allowing
investment in South African compa
nies with non-discriminatory prac
tices.
If LB395, introduced Jan. 17 by
state Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha,
is passed by the Nebraska Legislature
this year, it would give slate institu
tions until Jan. 1, 1993, to withdraw
or halt all investing in South Africa.
The market value of the univer
sity’s investments in the 10 to 12
South African companies that fall under
the bill’s provisions is estimated to be
between S3.5 and $3.8 million.
Realistically, Van Horn said, stocks
and bonds could be liquidated in 24
hours, but that wouldn’t be good money •
management.
“I was happy to sec that there was
some time given,” for the university
to complete total divestment, Van
See DIVEST on 3
n Word from
Washington:
\X The war could
last months and
^ mean casual
V ties and tosses.
^1 Page 2
Arguments for abolishing the
death penalty. Page 4
A draft probably won't be needed,
a Selective Service official says.
Page 6
Environmentalists push for end
to compact disc boxes Page 9
INSIDE
Wire 2
Opinion 4
Sports 7
A&E 9
Classified 11
Officials: Loss
of funds won’t
stop research
By Mindy Wilson
Staff Reporter
If Gov. Ben Nelson docs not con
tinue formcrGov. Kay Orr’scom
mitmeni to the Nebraska Research
Initiative, the resulting $4 million loss
would slow but not halt research
expansion at NU, two officials said.
Darrell Nelson, dean and director
of the University of Nebraska-Lin
coln’s Agricultural Research Divi
sion, said loss of the funds for the
University of Nebraska would affect
the progress of research expansion
plans.
Many projects might not receive
needed funds, he said.
The governor has not said whether
he will push for the research monies,
but has said stale agencies must tighten «•
See RESEARCH on 6
V