Venezuelan president survives coup attempt
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -
Loyal soldiers repulsed an attack by
rebel troops and tanks on the presi
dential palace Tuesday, crushing an
attempt to overthrow one of Latin
America’s most stable democracies.
A newspaper reported that 14 people
were killed in the early morning at
tack in Caracas. Government forces
arrested 300 rebel soldiers as the
rebellion against President Carlos
Andres Perez quickly collapsed.
By Tuesday afternoon, Defense
Minister Fernando Ochoa said loyal
troops had “completely suffocated”
the rebels, who had earlier abducted
Netfraskan
Editor Jana Pedersen
472-1766
Managing Editor Kara Wells
Assoc. News Editors Chris Hopfensperger
Kris Karnopp
Opinion Page Editor Alan Phelps
Wire Editor Roger Price
Copy Desk Editor Wendy Navratll
Sports Editor Nick Hytrek
Assistant Sports Editor Tom Clouse
Arts & Entertain
ment Editor Stacey McKenzie
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1992 DAILY NEBRASKAN
one slate governor and staged attacks
in the western cities of Maracay,
Valencia and Maracaibo.
Ochoa told reporters at the gov
ernment palace that four leaders of a
rebel paratroop regiment were among
those arrested, including Lt. Col. Hugo
Chavez, who in a TV address urged
fellow fighters to surrender “before
more blood is shed.”
Sporadic gunfire broke out Tues
day afternoon near the palace, appar
ently from soldiers looking for snip
ers, said an AP photographer at the
scene.
Devaney
Continued from Page 1
Devaney, 76, said he saw no rea
son why the regents would want him
to retire as director, unless it was
because of his age.
“If the athletic department wasn’t
doing well, I would understand,” he
said. “But since it’s doing well, I
don’t see why they need a younger
person.”
Under his direction, Devaney said,
the athletic department has doubled
the size of Memorial Stadium, built
The motives for the coup attempt
were unclear, tyil it followed violent
protests and labor unrest arising from
a growing disparity between rich and
poor in Venezuela.
The government of this oil-rich
nation has admitted that just 57 per
cen t of Venezuelans are able to afford
more than one meal a day.
A border dispute with neighboring
Colombia has created tension between
Perez and the military. Soldiers have
seen their wages shrink dramatically
because of inflation.
Senator David Morales Bello said
in Congress that three of Perez’ body
guards were killed in the palace at
tack. Perez escaped hidden under a
overcoat and managed to get to a
private television station, according
to news accounts.
Perez telephoned Ochoa and told
him: “No negotiations. Give them
bullets. I want to be back in (the
palace) soon,” according to an ac
count in the respected El Nacional
newspaper.
Six hours later, Perez declared from
the palace that the putsch had been
defeated.
The government banned public
demonstrations, broadened police
arrest powers and suspended some
constitutional civil rights guarantees
for at least 10 days.
The United States, Mexico, Bra
zil, Cuba, the Organization of Ameri
can States and the European Commu
nity condemned the coup attempt in
Venezuela, the second longest-stand
ing democracy in South America,
following Colombia.
President Bush called the attempted
overthrow an “outrageous, illegal
military coup.”
the Bob Devaney Sports Center and
made both the men’s and women’s
athletic facilities among the best in
the Big Eight.
“Since I’ve been athletic director
here, all of the athletic facilities here
have been improved,” he said. “I just
can’t understand what they’re dissat
isfied with.”
Devaney said he probably would
accept the position of fund-raiser for
the department, if the board insisted
he do so.
“I’m not going to go back and beg
them,” he said. “They know what I
want.”
In July the regents announced they
had agreed on the contract with Dc
vaney. But two days later Dcvancy
criticized the regents, saying they
should have discussed the situation
with him face to face instead of nego
tiating through John Goebel, UNL’s
interim chancellor at the time.
Regent Robert Allen said some
comments were made to one of the
regents about Dcvaney’s desire to stay
on, but said the board had heard no
formal request from Dcvancy.
“I think the press is making too
much out of it,” Allen said, ‘it’s a
good contract for him, and he’ll be
able to continue as spokesman tor the
athletic department.”
Allen said the search for a new
athletic director would begin in April.
“It’s time to get somebody younger
to come in and take a leadership role,”
he said. “We need somebody younger
to do the day-to-day things that arc
required in running a major univer
sity’s athletic department.”
Allen said UNL was a public insti
tution and the regents had to act in the
best interest of the state and the uni
versity.
“We owe a lot to Bob,” he said.
“He’s done a hell of a job, and I think
he’ll see it’s the right thing to do.”
ASUN may oppose proficiency bill
By Kara Morrison
Staff Reporter
The Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska will vote
tonight on a bill that
| would direct the
Government Liai
son Committee to
lobby against the
Nebraska Legisla
ture’s English pro
ficiency bill.
LB 1044 would impose new Eng
lish proficiency requirements on for
eign faculty and staff.
Law College Sen. Gene Collins,
who co-sponsorcd the ASUN bill, said
LB 1044 had unclear provisions for
English proficiency. The bill also
would require all faculty with rank
ings of assistant professor or above to
teach a minimum of six credit hours
per week, he said.
LB 1044 “is just a bad bill,” Collins
said.
“I appreciate the fact that the
Legislature is trying to cut fat, but
they can’t do it with such broad,
sweeping mandates.”
ASUN President Andy Massey said
it was important for the university to
be able to control its own policies on
sucn issues.
In other business, ASUN will
address the overselling of student
parking spaces, Massey said.
If passed, he said, a bill would
place a question on the March ASUN
elections ballot asking students if they
support urging the administration to
sell “guaranteed, 100 percent park
ing, not just a hunting permit.”
ASUN also will decide whether to
put a gender neutrality question on
the ballot, Massey said. The ASUN
constitution’s wording could be
changed to include “she” and “her”
with all references of “he” and “him.”
9
UPC's Spring
Recruitment
Pick up your
chair /executive
applications at:
200 Nebraska Union or
300 Nebraska East Union
Applications due Feb. 12.
Informational meeting Feb. 4 at 7:30
in the City Union (room posted)
Health Center fee requests down
By Rainbow Rowell
Staff Reporter
The University Health Center presented its
student fees request for 1992-1993 to the
Committee for Fees Allocation Tuesday night.
UHC Director Kunle Ojikulu presented the
$2,933,141 request, a slight
decrease from its 1991-1992
allocation of $2,933,299.
Ojikulu discussed new UHC
services offered to students
including a wound self-care
_ clinic, an urgcnlcarc clinic and
extended hours on Tuesday evenings.
“We’re constantly looking for ways to
improve the care we give to students,” Ojikulu
said.
The UHC total expenditures for 1991-92
were $3,940,740—$ 123,251 less than its total
income of $4,063,991.
“This surplus is due to prudent management_
of precious resources,” Ojikulu said.
He said S23.251 of this surplus was incorpo
rated into the UHC budget and the remaining
$100,000 was placed in an equipment fund that
is used to replace and repair medical equip
ment.
To increase revenue, the UHC recently has
expanded its pharmacy services to include all
faculty and staff.
CFA will vote on the UHC budget request
Thursday at 6 p.m.
Dean '
Continued from Page 1
ridge, Colo. But she said she had never found
anything interesting enough to contain her
wandering spirit.
Her return to leaching came after the com
pletion of a major project.
Dean recently finished a children’s book
about life on Monhegan Island, a small island
off the coast of Maine. The book, due out in
August, is the first in a series of picture-stories
on different cultures.
Dean came to UNL last fall to teach while
the book was being completed.
But she said she may not get to sec the
finished project for awhile. This fall, she is off
to India to work on another book — this one on
traditional Indian culture.
Dean’s schedule does not allow much time
for personal relationships. While she is in no
rush to get married, she said, she does see it as
a possibility for the future.
“If I ever met someone with the same spirit
as me I’d think about getting married,” she
said. “There arc so many things I want to do
that I haven’t done yet. I want someone to share
those things with who won’t mind my work.”
Until that kindred spirit comes along, Dean
said she will make do with her current signifi
cant other — her dog Fred. She and Fred have
been together for nine years and she said he was
her best friend.
She said there was only one thing missing in
her life—a place to call home. This is a luxury
she said she couldn’t afford yet.
“I look forward to having a home some
where so that no matter where I am, I can go
back to it,” she said.
Lied
Continued from Page 1
coin’s budget reductions and working on choos
ing three new lop administrators, had not had
time to develop a plan to reduce the Licd’s
deficit. He said he hoped a plan could be
formulated by this summer.
Robert Chumbley, director of the Lied Center,
said he was taking several steps to make the
center more profitable. In addition to a just
completed reorganization of the staff, the cen
ter is attempting to reduce its operating costs,
schedule less expensive shows that will pro
ducc greater revenues and increase private
contributions, he said.
The most important step the Lied Center can
lake is selling more tickets, Chumblcy said.
“What we need to work on now is increasing
our revenues to cover our shortfalls,” he said.
Chumbley said that nationally, performing
arts centers like the Lied sold their shows to
about 70 to 75 percent of capacity, and he said
the Lied was approaching that level.
“We’re knocking on that door now,” he
said. “If we can just do a little better job ol
selling tickets, it’s going to make a big differ
ence.”