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. Drop in on
a haven of quiet contemplation.
tylee, silent soup supper
among Orthodox Christians
Monday October 26,6:30 pm
St. John of Kronstadt
Eastern Orthod ox a urcli
2348 Q Street. Lincoln. NE
Naval ROTC
THE FAST TRACK
TO SUCCESS
Wmtm
Upon graduation and completion of
requirements, you'll become an
important part of the Navy adventure
as a Navy or Marine Corps officer.
Contact Lieutenant Osmundsen
at 472-2475
or stop by the M&N Building
FOR JUNIOR NURSING STUDENTS
A NURSING EXPERIENCE AT
MAYO FOUNDATION HOSPITALS -
ROCHESTER, MN
Here is your opportunity to work at Mayo Medical Center for
the summer.
Summer III is a paid, supervised hospital work experience at
Saint Marys Hospital and Rochester Methodist Hospital, both
part of Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota.
You are eligible for Summer III after your junior year of a four
year baccalaureate nursing program. It includes experience
on medical and surgical nursing units or in operating rooms.
Application Deadline: December 1, 1992.
For more information contact:
mayo Mayo Medical Center
I—-i 7 | Nursing Recruitment
l U U ) P.O. Box 6057
y* Rochester, Minnesota 55903
V 1 -800-247-8590
Mayo Foundation is an affirmative action and equal opportunity educator and employer.
A smoke-free institution. >