Senators to elect speaker,
begin learning ropes tonight
By Andrea Kaser
Staff Reporter
The newly elected members of
the ASUNStudentScnatcwillelect
their presiding officer tonight in
what President Keith Bcncs said
would be a typical first meeting.
Benes said it would be typical
because, other than the election of
_ the speaker,
ACIIM nolhins vcry
MwUll exciting would
happen.
No new leg
islation is on the
agenda, he said,
but electing the
speaker is a
good way for senators to get ac
quainted with each other and with
how student government works.
“It’s a chance for them to inter
act with each other... to see how
they work together... a time to get
their feet wet,” Bcncs said.
During the meeting, former
President Andrew Sigcrson and
former committee leaders will leach
members of the Association of Stu
dents of the University of Nebraska
about constitutional bylaws and
committee structure.
Bencs said that in previous years,
new members of ASUN had three
hour orientations,during which they
learned about constitutional by
laws, committees and bill writing,
on a weekend day. But because of
the Easter holiday, they will be
trained during the next three
Wednesday meetings.
Bencs said he was looking for
ward to his first meeting because it
would be the first time he would be
working with students.
His job as student body presi
dent consists of two facets, he said:
the administrative side, or working
from the students up, and the stu
dent side, or working from student
to student.
Up until now, he said, he has
worked only with the administra
tive side of the university, research
ing the proposed budget cuts and
working with the University of
Nebraska Board of Regents to form
a committee to select the new NU
president.
“I’m excited to get the student
side, too,” Benes said.
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Legislature
Continued from Page 1
of the budget-writing process.
Mike Mulnix, executive director
of university relations, said Tuesday
night that despite the tuition increase
recommendation, the reduction of the
proposed cuts was a good sign for
UNL.
“It’s baler than what we expected
in the main-line bill,” he said. “The
Appropriations Committee is just
looking at the existing revenue pic
ture.”
The committee’s priority two rec
ommendation creates hope for an
other reduction in the remaining^
million of cuts, Mulnix said.
“That is the vehicle lhalcouid lower
our cut even more,” he said. “Thank
goodness they introduced that sort of
a vehicle for that to happen.”
The tuition increase can be a rcc
ommendaiion only, Mulnix said, be
cause the N U Board of Regents estab
lishes tuition rates. If adopted by the
regents, a 5 percent increase would
bring UNL tuition to $64.58 a credit
hour.
“I’m not surprised that they men
tioned tuition,” Mulnix said. “It seems
like it would be a fairly natural thing
to touch upon.”
UNL’s portion of a $7 million cut
would bcaboul $3.5 million. The new
amount sounds better, Mulnix said,
but if approved, it still means devas
tation for UNL.
“We’re pulling out our hair to fig
ure out how to come up with last
year’s $1.5 (million cut) from the
special session," he said. “To come up
with any more will definitely result in
program elimination and faculty and
staff reductions.”
UNL Government Liaison Com
mittee Student Lobbyists Chris
Peterson and Robb Douglas agreed,
saying the 2.5 percent reauction
sounded good but inevitably would
have a major effect on UNL students.
“A lot of students don’t realize 2.5
percent isS3.5 million,” Douglas said.
“I think 2.5 percent will become a
vertical cut.”
The budget cuts, proposed by the
committee in February, brought strong
reaction from students, faculty, staff
and administration throughout the NU
system.
Before a March 9 Appropriations
Committee hearing, more than 150
students protested the cuts in a march
to the Stale Capitol. During the hear
ing, legislators heard seven hours of
testimony.
Appropriations Committee mem
ber Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln,
who has opposed university budget
cuts, said she was pleased with die
reduction.
“It’s half the battle,” she said.
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