I
Nebraskan
4 SPORTS
Battling back
Nebraska freshman
guard Kate McEwen,
who underwent back
surgery in December,
is working on a
comeback.
Page 5
Wednesday
27/5
Today, partly cloudy
with flurries.
February 2, 1994
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 93 No. 95
Bill would outline commission s jurisdiction
By pauia Lavigne
Senior Reporter
The Nebraska Coordinating Commission
for Postsecondary Education has over
stepped its bounds, said those testifying
before the Legislature’s Education Committee
Tuesday.
The committee heard tes
timony on LB 1063 and
LB954, both dealing with
issues concerning the Co
ordinating Commission for
Postsecondary Education.
LB 1063, introduced by
Sen. Jerome Warner of
Waverly, amended previous
legislation by outlining the LEGISLATURE
jurisdiction and duties of
the commission.
NU Board of Regents Chairman Charles
Wilson testified in favor of the bill.
Wilson said changes needed to be made
because the commission was encroaching into
the management of the university.
“The commission’s function as coordinating
body was to some degree undermined by por
tions of the original legislation,” he said.
LB 1063 would provide clarity in drawing
boundaries for the commission and “would
strengthen what is good about the commis
sion,” he said.
John Moore, chairman of the steering com
mittee of the Nebraska Council for Higher
Education, also spoke in favor of the bill.
Moore said the amendments were not meant
to deter the commission, but problems needed to
be solved.
“We are not proposing legislative changes to
circumvent the coordinating commission nor to
hinder its constitutional commission,” he said.
“However, misunderstandings and disagree
ments have developed between the coordinat
ing commission and higher education regard
ing coordination versus government, compre
hensive plan, budget review, capital construc
tion and program review,” he said.
Moore said the commission was influencing
areas of administration that were not related to
coordination.
“We need a sharper focus on constitutional
and legislative intent,” he said.
Dennis Baack, executive director of the Ne
braska Community College Association, said
although he was in favor of the bill, it was in no
way designed to bash the commission.
“Some people say we’re trying to abolish the
commission with what we’re doing here,” he
said. “That’s not our intent.
“I think one thing we have to realize is that
the coordinating commission is an entity that is
slowly evolving. There are going to be problems
that are going to develop,” Baack said.
“We want to know what the law is, and we
want to be very clear,” he said. There was a very
fine line between government and coordination
that needed to be defined, he said.
Eric Seacrest, commission chairman, testi
fied in a neutral capacity for the bill and the past
role of the commission.
“When we began this noble excursion, we
expected criticism to be endless,” he said. “We
plead guilty on going under the surface on some
issues.”
Because the commission is still in its early
stages, Seacrest said, its role is demanding.
“A Greek philosopher once said the oldest
and shortest words, yes and no, were those that
required the most thought,” he said.
See COMMISSION on 3
PECIAL REPORT
■ This week:
Campus consumption
■ Today:
Drinking in residence halls
Students drink despite hall policy
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter ______
Getting alcohol into UNL
residence halls is as easy
as carrying in the laun
dry, one student said.
Sam, who lives in one
of the halls on campus, said it was
easier to drink in the halls than at
off-campus parties.
“I drink in the halls a lot more,”
he said. “I rarely drink outside of
the halls. You don’t have to drive
home or worry about transporta
tion.”
Sam said he has been caught with
alcohol on the floor and sent to a
drug and alcohol abuse course at
the University Health Center. He
was required to pay $30, attend two
classes lasting three hours and take
a test.
The chances of him getting
caught again are slim, Sam said.
“As long as you keep it quiet,
there’s no chance.”
Katie, also a resident of the halls,
said drinking in the residence halls
was easy.
“All you need is a big bag and
someone to buy for you,” she said,
“and that’s not hard to find.”
The Student Assistants on her
floor are pretty lenient when it
comes to alcohol, Katie said.
“She pretty much knows when
we’re drinking because we get a
little loud," she said.
Katie said she wasn’t worried
about getting caught, but has had
some close calls.
“I have been drinking beer in the
lounge and been totally smashed, M
and a security guard would come R
in,” she said. “They just wouldn’t |
see it.”
The security guards Katie met are B
full-time members of the Univer- P
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln police de- p
partment.
Sgt. Bill Manning of the UNL g
police said the one or two guards on t
patrol in the halls were checking on ¥
the safety of the building and on
possible disturbances.
In the past, Manning has said it
was easier to control alcohol in the
residence halls than in the greek
houses. The reasons, he said, were !
because the Student Assistants and
the Residence Directors lived in the
halls.
Assistant Director of Housing
Glen Schumann, who lived in the
residence halls when he was a stu
dent at UNL, said it was unrealistic
for anyone to believe alcohol was
not in the halls.
“It’s there,” he said. “There’s no
See HALLS on 3
■
Rilliislit
Campus Consumption
This week, the Daily
Nebraskan takes an in-depth
look into the issue of alcohol
on campus. Thursday's story
will explore how alcohol-related
problems are addressed within
the university judicial system.
Photo Illustration by Kiley nmpfcrtey/DN
Although part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s dry-campus policy calls for no
alcohol in residence halls, students say they often drink in their rooms.
Charges may be tiled in incidents involving athletes
Search continues
for more evidence
By Kara G. Morrison
Senior Reporter _,
The Lancaster County Attor
ney’s office will decide today
whether to file charges in two
weekend incidents that police said
involved Nebraska football players,
County Attorney Gary Lacey said.
Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady
said Tuesday a shooting incident near
17th and L streets was oeing investi
£ ted as a possible attempted first
gree assault.
Comhusker defensive back Tyrone
Williams has been identified as a sus
pect in the incident, which occurred at
about 2:50 a.m. Sunday.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
student Brooke Bohac reportedly told
police she was stopped at alight while
driving west on L Street, when a car
load of people she recognized pulled
up besiae or behind her.
A man, whom she identified as
Williams, stepped out of that car,
walked up to the passenger’s side of
her car and smashed the window with
a handgun, Casady said.
Casady said Bohac drove off and
heard two or three gunshots. Police
later found two bullet holes in the
right rear panel of her car. Investiga
tors were using metal detectors to
search for further evidence at 17 th and
L streets Tuesday.
At a press conference Monday,
UNL football coach Tom Osborne said
he was told the gunshots were acci
dental.
Osborne said the group of football
players thought they were being fol
lowed by another car when they re
ceived a call on their cellular phone
that they interpreted as a threat.
Osborne said the players stopped
the car and got out, and a gun acc iden
tally discharged.
Casady said a statement from the
victim and corroborating evidence of
the bullet holes found in her car led
him to believe the shooting was not
accidental.
Bohac said she was advised not to
comment.
Williams declined to talk to police
Sunday night, Casady said.
Casady said police also were inves
tigating several leads Tuesday in an
earlier incident that occurred Sunday
at the Residence Inn motel, 200 S.
68th St.
Two officers were dispatched to a
fight at the motel, where several Ne
braska football players and recruits
were congregated.
Nebraska redshirt freshman
Ramone Worthy reportedly was
stabbed in the back and wingback
Abdul Muhammad received lacera
tions to his right hand when unidenti
fied assailants entered the room,
Casady said.
Muhammad and Worthy were
treated and released from St. Eliza
beth Community Health Center.
Osborne said Monday the players
involved intended to file charges.
Casady said no charges had been
filed as of Tuesday afternoon. No ar
rests have been made in either inci
dent.
Casady said police had been talk
ing with Athletic Department offi
cials Tuesday.