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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1991)
I E Partly sunny and warm today with the high 65-70 and a northwest wind 5-15 shifting to the southeast. Tonight, clear with the low in the !ow-40s. Mostly sunny Friday with the high in the mid-70s. Old business faces senators of new ASUN By Adeana Leftin Staff Reporter As new ASUN senators were installed Wednesday night, the previous year’s senators passed on more than their congratulations; they passed on the still-unresolved issue of a Racial Affairs committee. Ex-Associa tion of Students taciim of the University w IM of Nebraska President Phil Gosch fulfilled his threat not to sign the bylaw passed by the senate two weeks ago creating a Racial Affairs standing committee. Gosch said the issues of fairness and consistency kept him from sign ing the bylaw. “It’s unfair and probably inher ently discriminatory to have three subcommittees deal with discrimina tion and one standing committee,” he said. Secondly, Gosch said, ASUN needed a consistent command struc ture, and he said the differing levels of committees were inconsistent. Two weeks ago, when the Racial Affairs committee was established, “ ASUN also created a subcommittee for Gays/Lesbians/Bisexuals on an equal plane with the subcommittees for Disabled students and Interna tional students. Two committees created last year by ASUN for Racial Affairs and Gays/ Lesbians/Bisexuals were struck down in February by the Student Court, which ruled that the quota system outlined for the committees was a form of discrimination. Before the senate voted on the committee, Gosch wrote the senators a letter informing them of his stand on the committee and why he would not sign the bylaw if it passed. The letter expressed Gosch’s con cerns that the committee was uncon stitutional, not because it discrimi nated by outlining a quota system for the committee, but because il“asked” the appointments board to discrimi nate. See ASUN on 3 Classic gracefulness Above: Dancers (from left) Suzanne Rouse, Heather Hetrick, Viv ian Knaub and Mark Jarecke practice during intermediate dance class in the Johnny Carson Theater at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Wednesday morning. Right: Vivian Knaub, a junior dance major, checks her form in the mirror during an intermediate dance class in the Johnny Car son Theater Wednesday. Joe Heinzle/Daily Nebraskan Joe Helnzle/Daily Nebraskan Graft of Newton s inspiration comes to UNL By Thomas Clouse Staff Reporter The same inspiration that helped Sir Isaac Newton consider the laws of gravity nearly 300 years ago will be planted on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus today. UNL will become the first university in the United States to plant a tree grafted from the original tree that inspired Newton, a university professor said. “Hopefully this tree will be a symbol of science, and we’re hoping it will convey the idea to the public that science isn’t drudgery. it’s fun," said Joseph Young, UNL professor emeritus of horticulture. Young said he and Dr. Edwin Lyman of Lincoln became interested in the tree after reading a biography of Newton in 1986. Young and Lyman contacted Richard G.W. Keesing, a senior lecturer in the physics depart ment of England’s York University, who helped arrange for scions of Newton’s tree to be sent to Nebraska in 1987. Keesing said there are only four or five grafted trees stemming from Newton’s tree in England: one in Canada, one in New Zealand, at least one in Australia and the rest in the United States. Scions arc twigs from a parent plant that arc grafted onto the root stalks of another plant. The scions then become the top of the new plant, Young said. When the scions of the tree arrived at UNL in 1987 from Newton’s birthplace in Woolst horpe Manor in Lincolnshire, England, horti culture professors Paul Read and William Gustafson supervised the grafting process, in which 10 new trees were produced. The trees were quarantined for three years in accordance with U.S. Department of Agri culture regulations. One tree has been placed in reserve in case the tree planted near Bchlen Physics Lab is damaged, Young said. The planting will take place today at 3 p.m. on the south side of Bchlcn Lab in honor of Newton and his publication, “Philosopliiae Naluralis Principia Mathematic,” or Mathe matical Principles of Natural Philosophy, which was 300 years old in 1987. A reception will follow at 3:20 p.m. in Room 201 of Brace Laboratory. Keesing will discuss the story of die tree at a 3:45 p.m. seminar in Room 211 Brace Laboratory. The event is sponsored by UNL’s Depart ments of Physics and Astronomy, Classics and Horticulture and the Nebraska Statewide Ar boretum. Diversions returns from Spring Break and tells all. Page 5. Huskers split doubleheader with No. 12 Creighton in two extra-inning games. Page 13. Wire INDEX 2 Opinion 4 Diversions 5 Sports 13 Classifieds_14_ Official: Problems in financial aid office over By Michelle Wing Staff Reporter Problems in the Office of Schol arships and Financial Aid at the University of Nebraska Lincoln are history, the office’s di rector said. “It’s very, very different now,” John Beacon said. “(The problems in die ;t) are not even a question.” nks to more efficient opera tion in the office and the fact that there were few federal regulation changes, Beacon said, financial aid award letters could be out to students as early as mid-Mav for next year. The office was plagued with prob lems four years ago, despite the in stallation of a new computer system. In the fall of 1987, UNL students petitioned for the university to ad dress the problems in the office, such as long lines, bad communication and slow service. According to a letter sent to deans, directors and department heads, the anticipated early distribution of award letters for next year is because there were few federal financial aid changes this year in the way the need for aid is determined. Rules and regulations arc changed by Congress every year, Beacon said, and require the office to adjust. The office also encounters delays in processing award letters when the American College Testing service changes the financial aid form that UNL uses, called the Family Finan cial Statement. Beacon said that even when there are minimal regulation changes, award letters are sometimes delayed because of late student applications. “We are sending out (this year’s) award letters now because students applied late,” he said.