■a t i Daily « 32/25
I I mmm Today, cloudy with chance of
IjCPIdSKdl^^^
Governor examines
university research,
compliments efforts
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Senior Reporter
Gov. Ben Nelson examined a
laser beam, tried his skill at a
behavior test designed for birds
and discussed how research done at
UNL benefited business during a tour
of the campus Tuesday.
Nelson was on campus to review
University of Ncbraska-Lincoln re
search facilities, and said he was
impressed with the research he saw.
“I was very definitely impressed,”
he said. “It’s what people are really
hoping to gel with tax dollars—when
you are funding research and as a
result of it there arc more people
employed and more commerce cre
ated.”
He started his tour at the Center for
Technology Management and Deci
sion Sciences in the College of Busi
ness Administration, a program funded
by the Nebraska Research Initiative.
Nelson said that as a person “with
some influence over the budget, it is
important for me to know what is
going on (in research.)”
Gary Schwcndiman, dean of the
College of Business Administration,
told Nelson that today, jobs were
created from the application of scicn
tific discovery and not from the dis
covery itself.
He said the center used that phi
losophy to help spur economic devel
opment in Nebraska.
“There arc plenty of people with
ideas out there,” Schwcndiman said.
“What we have to do is help them
know what to do with their ideas.”
Nelson then traveled to Mantcr
Hall, where John Osterman, an asso
ciate professor of biological sciences,
showed him a DNA sequencer.
Osterman said the sequencer al
lowed DNA and genes to be exam
ined. The project is jointly funded by
the research initiative and Li-Cor, a
Lincoln manufacturing company.
The DNA sequencer primarily is
used for genetic engineering research,
Osterman said.
Nelson also examined a project
headed by Alan Kamil, a professor of
biological sciences, that studied how
birds pick, discern and cal their prey.
Don Weeks, director of the center
for biotechnology, said the work could
help prevent the death of birds caused
by their eating seeds coated with in
secticide.
Kamil showed Nelson a computer
test used on birds to determine how
Staci McKee/DN
Gov. Ben Nelson listens to John Osterman, an associate professor of biological sciences,
as Osterman explains how DNA is determined for genetic engineering at the DNA facility in
Manter Hall.
they pick their prey. In the lest, the search was its accessibility to under- were able to use UNL’s facilities for
birds must pick camouflaged moths graduate students. research.
on a computer screen to receive a At the Walter Scott Engineering Phil Catsman, owner of Corrosion
food reward. Center, Nelson heard from business- Proof Products in Arkansas, told Nelson
Kamil told Nelson that one of the men who said they had located their ~ -
advantages of animal behavior re- businesses in Nebraska because they See NELSONon 6
Bill to avert clash with NCAA, officials say
By Wendy Navratil
Senior Editor
The Nebraska Legislature is con
sidering abill today that would
forestall a clash between a
Nebraska law and NCAA financial
aid policy.
But Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha
said Nebraska should risk a confron
tation and stand by
the law.
LB963, pro
posed by Sen. Chris
Beuller of Lincoln,
would postpone for
two years the im
plementation of a
law that requires Nebraska colleges
toaward student-athletes all the need
based financial aid for which they
qualify. The law was proposed by
Chambers and passed by the Legisla
ture last year.
The Nehraska law however runs
Policy on financial aid for athletes considered
counter to established NCAA policy
that limits the amount of financial aid
that colleges can award to student
athletes, and the number of athletes in
each sport who can receive financial
aid.
UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier
said he supported LB963, which will
be considered by the Legislature’s
Judiciary Committee today, because
it would give the NCAA more time to
react to the Nebraska law.
“To me, this seems to be the best
compromise and gives the university
a chance to work on an alternative
plan,” Spanier said in a letter to Cham
bers dated Feb. 7.
Chambers said his law should be
implemented without delay.
“Bculler wants to blink, the gover
nor wants to blink,” Chambers said.
“I sav the Legislature shall not blink.
My law shall prevail.”
Chambers predicted that the Leg
islature would not delay implement
ing the Nebraska law — and that the
NCAA would take no action to pun
ish the University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln.
“UNL is the goose that lays the
golden egg for the NCAA,” Cham
bers said. “They’re not going to mess
with Nebraska in these kinds of situ
ations.”
Chambers said that UNL gener
ated revenue for the NCAA because
of its high-profile athletes and its
consistent participation in bowl games.
For this reason, the NCAA would not
risk damaging its relationship with
the university, he said.
But Al Papik, the Nebraska assis
tant athletic director for administra
tive services and compliance coordi
nator, said he supported the delay bill
because the NCAA, at this point, would
not be “sympathetic” toward the
Nebraska law.
“The university must work with
the Legislature to convince them that
we’re at a critical juncture,” Papik
said. “We really have two choices: to
delay the effective date of the law, or,
in fact, to rescind it.”
Most NCAA colleges support limits
on financial aid, he said, because the
limits arc designed to put all institu
tions, regardless of their financial
resources, on a “level playing field.”
Otherwise, he said, wealthier uni
versities such as Stanford would have
an unfair advantage in attracting top
athletes to their schools with finan
cial awards.
James O’Hanlon, the NCAA rep
resentative at UNL. said that at the
NCAA annual convention in January,
UNL attempted to put a resolution on
the agenda that would call for a study
of the policy limiting financial aid to
athletes. But the university failed to
find the required seven other colleges
to co-sponsor the resolution.
However, a general resolution
adopted at the convention may have
been a step toward addressing the
possible inequities of the NCAA’s
financial aid policy, O’Hanlon said.
The resolution stales that the NCAA
will conduct a study of financial is
sues, including the sources and bases
of financial aid for athletes.
The results of the study will be
presented at next year’s convention,
and any changes in NCAA policy
would be proposed the following year
in the form of NCAA legislation.
“In a way, that resolution accom
plished what we were looking for,’’
See NCAA on 6
Workload bills attacked
at Legislature hearing
By Sean Green
Senior Reporter „
University students and faculty
spoke out Tuesday against two
legislative bills that would
regulate research and instruction al
the University of Nebraska.
The two bills addressed at the
Education Com
mittee hearing
were LB 1043 and
LB 1044, both
sponsored by Sen.
Ron Withem ol
Papillion, the
committee’s chair
man.
Withem said the hearing’s pur
pose was to focus on the role of in
struction in state institutions, and
address the issue of how much time
some faculty spend teaching versus
lime spent in research.
LB 1044 would require faculty who
hold the rank of assistant professor or
above to teach at least six credit hours
a week.
George Tuck, president of the
Academic Senate and a journalism
professor at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln, said he opposed the
bill.
Tuck said the roles of faculty
members were complex, and profes
sors spent different amounts of lime
in the classroom, depending on their
assignment.
He also said learning could take
place in the research aspect of educa
See RESEARCH on 6
Candidates make last ditch
Women’s basketball team to
play Missouri Tigers. Page 8
Trip Shakespeare to perform
in Omaha. Page 10
INDEX
Wire 2
Opinion 4
Sports 8
A&E 10
Classifieds 10
sV v. \ ■
Waste compact director
urges broader education
Out-of-classroom
learning stressed
By Angie Brunkow
Staff Reporter
Students need to expand on the
knowledge they gain in the
classroom by getting involved
in activities and discovering things
for themselves, a state official said
Tuesday.
Students come to college to chal
lenge themselves by going beyond
what they are taught by professors,
said Gene Crump, executive director
and general counselor of the Central
Interstate Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Compact Committee.
“The only place to be educated
isn’t in the classroom,” he said. “Just
learn. Your classroom at the Univer
sity of Ncbraska-Lincoln isn’t just in
Hamilton Hall, it’s everywhere.”
Crump, a 1973 graduate of the
University of Nebraska College of
Law, spoke on his educational and
career experiences to a small group of
students at the Culture Center as part
of Black History Month.
He said students could not rely on
teachers as their only source of knowl
edge because teachers’ personal views
influence the way they teach.
For example, Crump said, teach
ers use their own perspectives when
they teach subjects such as African
American, European and Native
American history.
Just because only five African
See CRUMP on 6
