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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1993)
I I p _ 1 Damon Lee/DN Brock Williamson ponders the possibility of serving on Lincoln’s City Council at the County-City Building. Williamson, a junior political science major, is the only UNL student running for a city office. Student shoots for council seat Younger citizens need voice in city, UNL junior says By Min* Steyer Staff Reporter' Some UNL students who want to make a difference look at ASUN as tlieir vehicle for change. But one University of Nebraska-Lincoln student is aiming higher. Brock Williamson, a junior political science major at UNL, describes himself as an “average, everyday student,” but average college students don’t run for city council. Williamson said his impression of ASUN was that it had no real power, and because of that, it did nothing. He said he wanted to be involved where he was allowed a voice and offered the opportu nity to accomplish something. Williamson, 21, is the only student of seven candidates vying for the three at large seats open on the Lincoln City Council. He is running against two City Council veterans, Ken Haar and Cindy Johnson. Others running include 19-year-old Michael Barrett; Jerry Shoecraft, 32; Edward Price, 36; and Scott Stuart, 46. Only six candidates will advance from the April 6 primary to the May 4 general election. Williamson said he hoped to be among them, if only to prove to local government that young people need a voice. Young people are citizens, Williamson said, and as such, they deserved to have a part in decision-making. “What good is a City Council without citizen input?” Williamson said he hoped to attract more students to meetings so they could see what decisions affecting them were being made and could voice their opin ions. The City Council chamber is where decisions about the city are made, he said, and Williamson said he was tired of being shut out of decision-making that affected him. “I think if you’re going to have a representative government, young people need to be represented,” he said. “Why do we sit back and wait to get to a magic age to gel involved? “I want to see our generation get involved now, instead of waiting until we’re all over 30 — why not now?” His youthfulness has been somewhat of *' i A 4 . r# a burden, he said, because the community didn't take him seriously. But he said he wouldn't let that deter him. Williamson said he had been attending various meetings, luncheons and forums with local groups, such as the Lincoln Independent Business Association and the League of Women Voters. Williamson described the meetings as opportunities to “rub elbows and meet people.” While he won’t commit yet to liking the meetings, he said he was getting used to them. Although he was not shy before getting involved in the election, he said he never would have introduced himself to a group of strangers — especially ones who did not always take him seriously. Williamson said he didn’t blame people for their skepticism or for wonder ing what experience a 21-year-old college student had. That question is a valid one, he said, “because what experience do I have?” But his lack of political experience doesn’t have to be negative, Williamson said. “Maybe a little young blood can rejuvenate city council. Williamson, who graduated from Lincoln East High School in 1990, said he wasn’t interested in high school politics, See BROCK on 3 CBA faculty to abandon old section during renovations By Corey Russman Staff Reporter Construction of the College of Business Administration building addition is nearly completed. And while plans are being made for the new section, some UNL faculty members are making plans to leave the old section. At least for a year. Nancy Stara, associate dean of the College of Business Administration, said the new addi tion must be completed and ready for classes by June 7, when the five-week summer session begins at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Soon after June 7, Stara said, the old portion of CBA will be vacated to allow for renovation and asbestos removal. The CBA auditorium, however, will be reopened for classes this fall, she said. Dick Chase, assistant manager in the archi tecture and engineering services division of the UNL Facilities Management Department, said the renovation would include a “general over haul of the existing building.” Workers will take out walls that had been added over the years to create more classrooms, Chase said. , , Renovation also will include “bringing CB A up to date in terms of its systems," Chase said. Workers will improve the existing heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems. All renovations are aimed at making the building “more efficient and more usable,” he said. During the renovation, the college had con sidered moving some faculty offices to other locations on City and East campuses. But offi cials decided faculty members should share an office with at least one colleague, Stara said. The faculty decided student accessibility to the offices must come first, Stara said. The behavioral laboratories in the new addi tion will house the graduate students’ offices in order that they may remain accessible to stu dents, she said. Computer rooms will remain in the old Kinko’s building at 1239 R St. until the renova tion is complete, Stara said. The Economic Education Council and Cen ter and other centers also will be moved from CBA during the renovation, Stara said. Chase said the old building’s renovation was expected to be completed by June 1,1994. The total project — including renovation, the new addition and asbestos removal — will cost about $6.7 million. Chase said. Flood victims clean up while officials try to break jam By Jeff zeleny Senior Reporter SHLAND — For 20 years, Roy Hay put time and en ergy into perfecting his home in Beacon View, cast of Ashland. Now he is just trying to clean it up. Hay and his wife Kathy’s home was severely damaged last week in the floodwaters that continue to plague the Platte River area. Wednesday, the Hays inspected what was left of their home. “I can’t believe how much mud is on top of everything,” Hay said. “This is the first lime I’ve ever come out of the house and cleaned my shoes.” Over two inches of mud and silt turned the Hay ’ s carpet into a si ippery mess and scattered furniture through out the house. The water current that filled the house with four feel of dirty river „ water knocked over lamps and moved sofas across the room. Many strange things happened in the house, Hay said, but the most amazing was a bow I of dog food that floated undisturbed from the kitchen to a bedroom on the other side of the house. A few things did remain untouched, he said, including an antique dining room table. “The top of the table is just the way it was," he said. “The white lace is still there.” But Kathy Hay said other antiques didn't fare as well. Oak dressers in the bedroom arc warped and separated at the bottom. The Hays had insurance on their house, but it covered the contents of the house only, which docs not in clude carpeting, cabinets or anything attached to the house. They are ex peeling to receive federal disaster aid r when officials arrive to inspect the damage Friday. Roy Hay said he thought the chances of receiving disaster aid were good. “With a Democratic governor and a Democratic president, we are hope ful,” he said. Although the Hays’ story sounds bad, other residents of the Beacon Vie w development area suffered more damage. One house was swept away entirely by the water, and three others were damaged beyond repair. "It was kind of a pretty place,” Roy Hay said. Friends told the Hays of the poten tial flood the night before it happened. They didn’t think the warning was serious, but they followed the advice See FLOOD on 3 Michelle Paulman/nw Spectators, including Bill Rhoades, left, of LaVista, watch dynamite blasts on the Platte River Wednesday near Rhoades
