Finnegan heats up district race1 Democrat works to inform voters of his message By Jeff Zeleny Staff Reporter Although Dolls reveal that Gerry Finnegan is trailing Rep. Doug Bereuter in Nebraska’s 1st District congressional race, Finnegan said one poll indicated that voters simply didn’t know what he could do for them. Finnegan spoke Friday during a □ press conference at his Lincoln cam paign headquarters. He said he wanted to alert voters that he would work hard to rein in govern mental spending. But until now, people haven’t heard his message, he said. Finnegan said a poll conducted during the week of Oct. 12 showed that 62 percent of305 surveyed voters supported Bereuter,a Republican. But after they heard Democraticchallcngcr Finnegan’s message, he said, 21 per cent supported Finnegan, and 31 per cent were undecided. Finnegan said the poll was con ducted for his campaign by Robinson and Muenstcr Associates of Sioux Falls, S.D. The poll indicated that voters were ready for a change, Finnegan said, and he will provide it. “We have a country in serious trouble,” he said after the press con ference. “The largest issue is the defi cit. “We have a congressman that sim ply isn’t addressing the issues,” he said. “He accused me of running against the system — 1 am.” Getting his message out is crucial during the final stages of the election, Finnegan said, but campaign finances are an obstacle. “One thing I need to get out, (is that) it is a very close race,” he said. “If I’m able to get out the issues and abuses that have taken place, I will win this race. “I have the resources to get the message out,” he said. “The question is if I have the resources to get the message out to (the) entire 1st Dis trict.” Heand Bcrcutcr debated last Thurs day. They are not scheduled to appear again together before the Nov. 3 elec tion. Finnegan would like to debate Bereuter again, he said, but Bercuter “doesn’t want any more contact shoul der to shoulder.” During the final week of the cam paign, Finnegan will begin advertis ing on television and radio, he said, but not as much as his opponent. “We’ve got to accomplish more in our 30 seconds,” he said. Finnegan said Bereuter did notown a home in Nebraska and was the fifth most-traveled U.S. representative during the 1989-90 congressional ses sion. He also said Bcreutcr wrote 39 bad checks during his 14 years ia office and spent only 91 days in the district this year. David Shively, Bcreuter’s cam paign manager, said in a press release issued after Finnegan’s press confer ence that all of Bercutcr’s foreign travel related to congressional com mittees. About 48 percent of Bereuter’s foreign travel is paid for by national foundations and universities, Shively said. Shively also said it was common i for congressmen to not own homes in ■ Nebraska. “Representative Bcrculer found the cost of two mortgages and maintain ing two homes was loo much,” Shively said Sunday. “The congressional ses sions typically stretch out over a 10 toll-month period.” Shively said Bcrculer spent about 90 days in the 1st District each year. But that shows Bcrcuter’s commit ment to his constituents — he main tains a 98 percent voting record, Shively said. Finnegan said he wasn’t accusing Bcrculer of any specific wrongdoing. He is bringing up only small issues, he said, but they arc things voters should know about. “It’s another brick in the wall,” he said. “He has built a sizable wall that he will have to scale— I’m not going to let him off the hook on that.” Group confronts interracial issues By Susie Arth Senior Reporter A groupof about 50 African-Ameri can students, faculty and staff gath ered Sunday at the Culture Center to iron out interracial problcmsand blow off steam. A panel comprised of two UNL undergraduate students, a graduate student and a staff member answered questions ranging from the low gradu ation rates of African-American stu dents to the harsh environment facing African-American freshmen upon their arrival in Lincoln. The panel’s message: Come to gether as a race and force positive changes on the University of Ncbraska Lincoln campus. “The reality is that we’re going to be in Nebraska, and it’s only going to get so black,” said Terence Goode, one of the panel members. “Change isn’t going to come unless we change it.” Goode, who works in the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs, said the easi est way to stimulate change was to become involved in campus activities and learn how to interact with stu dents of all races. Involvement, he said, will produce beneficial skills, such as public speak ing, for later in life. Another way to create change, he said, is to take advantage of African American faculty and staff at UNL to help solve the racial problems that exist on campus. Allen McPhaul, a junior at UNL and a panel member, said he was hurt by the disunity African Americans were showing by the recent outbreaks of violence among them. “That hurts me so much,” he said. “When you turn on me, that hurts.” Yolanda Yates, a graduate student and another member of the panel, said she thought the violence was a sign of some larger, deeper problem. Yates said she was unsure what the problem was, but she knew the an swer was to force African-American faculty and staff to focus on racial issues. Sandra Smith, a sophomore at UNL and the final panel member, agreed. “We need to come together and put the pressure on the administration to get things done for us,” she said. Goode said he thought African Americans just were beginning to make progress toward unity and change when violence broke out among them. “We take one step forward and then we lake two steps backward,” Goode said. “The people I’m starting to trust the least are my own.” “We need to build character,” he said. “We need to stay focused and create that love.” Parking Continued from Page 1 “The mood on this campus, obvi ously, is that there’s not enough park ing to go around,” Goldfeder said. The parking lot for the new Beadle Center opens to students and faculty today, providing 340 spaces, Goldfeder said. B ut, he said, those spots arc tempo rary. “When the center opens for use, most of those spots will be converted into faculty spaces,” Goldfeder said. “So we’re not going to see any real long-term solution to existing prob lems. “Even though we might gain a few spaces with the Beadle Center, we’re still losing ground.” Goldfcdcr recently completed a survey of 50 students living in resi dence halls, sororities and fraternities on the City and East campuses. The survey—which Goldfcdcr completed on his own during the first two weeks of the semester — included recom mendations from the students who were polled. Two of the most common recom mendations called for the construc tion of a parking garage and limita tions on die number of student and faculty parking permits sold. Goldfcdcr had proposed the $10 million garage, to be constructed north of the Power Plant at 14th and Avery streets and west of the Harpcr Schramm-Smith Complex on univer sity-owned property. The four- or five-story building, which could hold as many as 2,(XX) vehicles, would be paid for by issuing a bond that would be repaid at a rate of $1 million a year, according to 1 Goldfedcr’s proposal. However, because of the board’s outstanding bonds, moslof the money for the garage would have to be gen erated by donations, he said. The earliest UNL could issue a bond for the garage, Goldledcr said, would be Dee. 15,1999—the date the other bonds arc expected to be repaid. Regents Continued from Page 1 could be implemented gradually not only for UNL.butalso for the Univer sity of Nebraska system. Tightening admissions standards must be tackled while students are in high school, Blank said, to better pre pare them for college and eventually improve student retention. “I think it’s a step,” he said. Massey, an insurance agent, said he thought NU admissions standards * should be reviewed. Statistics indi cate that the university is admitting students who may have their needs better met by another college or uni versity, he said. “I don’t think we do as good a job as wecould do here, because there are so many kids (who) still have no degrees,” Massey said. University budget cuts loom this year for regents, but the candidates said they would work hard at making the cuts a little less difficult. “(Budget cuts) are painful,” Payne said. “There is really no way to make sure they run smoothly, because they have to be done.” Blank said budget cuts were diffi cult because they threatened the qual ity of university programs. “If I had it my way we wouldn’t have them,” he said. “We just don’t want mediocrity.” Massey said he thought tipis year’s budget cuts would be a challenge, but he thought they were a perfect oppor tunity to review the university’s pri orities. “It’s about channeling resources into areas of priority,” he said. “We need to identify programs that arc underutilized and inefficient.” The candidates agreed that aware ness was the most important part of improving multiculluralism at UNL. Payne said he thought the univer sity was on the right track. “People need to realize there is a diverse culture in Lincoln,” he said. “It’s a matter of tolerance.” Blank, co-chairman of the com mittee on mulliculluralism at UNL, said mulliculluralism on campus must be improved. “We have to keep trying hard to represent all of the students on cam pus,” he said. “It’s tough to keep minority faculty and students on cam pus because they aren’t always com fortable — but we have to keep try ing.” Massey said he thought it was im portant to provide a balanced educa tional atmosphere for all students. “We need to work harder to give all students the same experiences,” he said. “We need to improve the faculty and provide good, successful pro grams. Improving the admissions and recruiting process will help, too.” Sup In Silence Drop out of our noisy world for 46 minutes. 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