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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1993)
Partly sunny today, highs in the 20s. Wednesday, colder with a chance of TUESDAY 25/5 NU women to face February 23, 1993 Vol. 92 No. 109 University of hebraska-Lincoln Amendment to collegiate plate bill considered By'Jeff Zeleny Senior Reporter Collegiate license plates could potentially benefit more than just student athletes, under an amendment proposed to LB474 in a legislative Transportation Committee hearing Monday. plates would be used for an athletic scholarship fund. Co-introducer of the bill. Sen. Kurt Hohenstein of Dakota City, offered an amendment to the bill that would LB474 would create new license plates promoting Nebraska universities and state colleges. The bill originally said profits from the plates Neb Revisions would broaden profit distribution broaden the revenue distribution. The revenue would be split in half, with about 75 percent or one-half of the profits allotted toageneral scholarship fund, and 25 percent to benefit athletes. The other half of the expected revenue would be granted to the highway trust fund. Hohenstein said he has worked closely with the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles to reach an agreement about the plates. “We want to make sure this bill is not a loser for the state of Nebraska,” he said. The bill now says that each institution would be responsible for designing its own license plate, but Hohenstem said the motor vehicle department should have total control, making it more cost-effective. Rodney Krogh, a 198ft University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate testified in support of the bill. Krogh said he lives in South Sioux City and often sees Iowa cars with collegiate plates. Krogh suggested the bill to Hohenstein after going to the Orange Bowl in December and seeing four different Florida collegiate plates. Krogh told the committee of his long-standing Nebraska pride. He was a member of the Corahusker Marching Band, which added to his Husker spirit, he said. This is something Lomhusker graduates and all can take pride in,” he said. Bryan Van Duen, president of the UNL Alumni Association, also testified in favor of the bill. He said the proposed license plates would benefit die university through alumni and other Nebraska fan support. Nebraska fans aren’t limited to Husker football supporters, he said, fine arts supporters would also be interested in the proposed plates. Cynthia Bowsman, legal aid for the department of motor vehicles, testified in a neutral capacity and dispelled myths on the high cost of the Dlates. The plates would be decorated by a silk screen method, which is how the current Nebraska Purple Heart plates , are produced, she said. Each college would have to purchase about 500 plates to justify the production costs. For smaller colleges that couldn’t meet the minimum order, decals could be used to allow everyone the opportunity to haveacollegiate plate, Bowsman said. Thomas O’Neill, president of the Association of Independent Colleges said non state-funded colleges should be added to the bill’s wording. “We’re supportive of any kind of program,” he said, “as long as we’re included.” The bill’s fate will be decided by the committee in executive session today. Paulman/DN ^ i ' '■ ' ■ Michelle Welcome to the jungle Chad Vieth, a senior biology major, works on a crossword puzzle at the atrium in Manter Hall Monday before going to class at Love Library. *Tm over here all the time,” Vietn said. Berry strains to stain market Genetic work in blueberry may make it a state crop By Joel Strauch Staff Reporter Although UNL probably won ’ t be fielding the Blueberry Huskers anytime soon, the blueberry might become a marketable crop from Nebraska as a result of genetic work changing the makeup of the fruit. James D. Hruskoci, die agriculture extension agent in HUH County, began work on this project four years ago for his doctoral degree. “Blueberries need an acidic soil to grow in,” Hruskoci said.“Nebraska’ssoil is too alkaline.” One solution is to acidify the soil with sulfur, as was done by a small-scale farmer near Beatrice, Hruskoci said. However, sulfur is costly, he added. “Altering genetics is all the better,” he said. Paul E. Read, head of the Department of Horticulture in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL, co-authored a paper with Hruskoci about regenerating blueberry shoots in tissue cultures. “We take cells from the stem or leaf tissue and regenerate an intact plant,” Read said. During this process, genetic modifications can be made to alter the yield and insect resistance of the plant as well as high pH (alkaline) tolerance, Hruskoci said. “It remains to be seen what the materials will do in the field,” Hruskoci said. “We’re still in the first stage. A field test would be our next See BLUEBERRY on 2 Mental Health Department, Counseling Center merger positive, psychologist says By Sarah Scalet Staff Haoorw_ Budget cuts last year that consolidated two departments have created one department with a broader mission and an ability to reach even more students, an official said Monday. Dr. Robert Portnoy, clinical psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the consolidation of UNL’ s Counseling Center and Mental Health Department had gone smoothly considering the circumstances of the budget cuts. Portnoy is the head of the new department, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), located at the University Health Center. The Counseling Center, which was disbanded last year because of budget restrictions, focused on group sessions and developmental activities, he said. This included outreach programs such as assertiveness training, stress management and thesis and dissertation groups, Portnoy said. The Mental Health Department had few group sessions because the^were busy with individual counseling, he mm The merger changed tfceWerall scope of the two departments, Portnoy said. “Now with the larger department we have a broader mission, in that we're dealing not only with traditional psychological concerns that people have, but more with preventive work,” he said. However, Portnoy said blending these different traditions had taken adjustments on both sides. The four people who joined the Mental Health DepartmentfromtheCounselingCenter now are doing more individual therapy, he said. At the same lime, Portnoy said, CAPS is trying to continue and expand on outreach programs previously offered by the Counseling Center. But he said the influx of students seeking individual services limited how much time staff members had to plan outreach activities like the ones offered by the Counseling Center. Part of the department merger involved a change in prices as part of Chancellor Graham Spanier’s goal to provide some free service to everyone, Portnoy said. See CAPS on 6 After move to Rec Center, P.E. classes are doing well, will expand, official says By Sarah Scale! Staff Raportar A year after budget cuts forced academic physical education classes into the Campus Recreation Center, officials have adapted to the change and are looking to the future, an official said Thursday. Vicki Highstreet, coordinator of fitness and instructional programming at the Campus Recreation Center, said about 20 different classes were offered at the center this year. The classes were transferred from theSchool of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER), which no longer offers any one-credit hour physical education classes, she said. Highstreet said the center had no trouble accommodating the classes because it considered available resources when it began scheduling. “We had to be realistic in the offerings at this point so that we didn’t run into any problems,” she said. Initially the center was concerned that they could only offer thesbeginning levels of many classes, Highstreet said; Now that the transition is complete, more levels can be added, she said. Along with adding new levels, the center is free to concentrate on trying even more programs, Highstreet said. Officials want to build up class offerings so students will have more options to choose horn, she said. Also, Highstreet said the center was reviving some classes that had not been offered in a while, to see if people had an interest in them again. She said the increased offerings included more lifestyle classes, like backpacking and canoeing. These are activities a student could participate in throughout a lifetime. The number of students in physical educauon classes increased this year, Highstreet said. She said she was not able to say now much of the increase was due to the policy change, because the numbers had increased ever since the center moved into the facility. Highstreet said the Campus Recreation Center continued to coordinate with HPER and the Teacher’s College. Academic guidelines are still followed. SeeP.E. on 2