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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1994)
■ - ' ' ■ ■ ' , '■+* •4 A&E The last chance to sup _____ Comic Casserole features I Wednesday nan Omaha cartoonist who cq/qq has made his place in the Oo/oy comic world. achanceof Witl^ Pag8 9 showers. ASUN to consider more control of UPC By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter A bylaw change designed to hold the Uni versity Program Council more account able has sparked an emotional debate between UPC and ASUN. The bylaw change passed Monday by the ASUN Spc cial Topics Committee would give the Association of Students of the Universi ty of Nebraska the power to select the UPC executive board, including the presi dent, vice president and programming secre i tary. - Now, ASUN appoints students to sit on governing boards of other student fee users, including the Daily Nebraskan, the Nebraska Union Board and the Health Center. But ASUN executives do not specifically appoint directors of the Union Board and Health Center, or the editor of the Daily Nebraskan. Andrew Loudon, president of ASUN, said the point of the change was clear. “They receive $98,900 and are responsible to no one,” he said. “This is simply a bylaw change which brings UPC to some accountabil ity with our office.” Lia Jensen, UPC president, said she had not been notified about the bylaw change until 5:00 p.m. Monday, just two days before ASUN would vote on the issue. “I’m a little concerned they arc rushing this,” she said. “I don’t appreciate this being done during dead week. 1 don’t appreciate this being done 24 hours before this is to be (voted on). “From what 1 can tell, this has been in the works for a while.” ASUN Graduate Senator Charles Hamilton, who was one of the sponsors of the bylaw change, disagreed with Jensen. He said the bill was not a long time in the making. “We’ve been trying toorganizc the idea,” he said. “That’s why it came out so late. It’s not that their notification came any later than any Stacey Nelson, a senior business administration major, will travel to Washington, D.C., on May 3 to speak about health care and meet with Hillary Rodham Clinton. UNL senior to testify before Congress By Kara G. Morrison Senior Reporter UNL senior Stacey Nelson won’t be poring over college exams with the rest of her graduating class this fi nals week. She’ll be in Washington, D.C., discussing health care with Hillary Rodham Cl inton and members of Congress. — Nelson was chosen recently to be the only Nebraskan to testify before Congress at a health care hearing May 4. The opportunity arose after Nelson spoke at a public health care forum at St. Elizabeth Community Health Center this spring. Nelson said the Clinton administration sent camera crews across the country to video tape people talking about health care. “The videotapes went to Washington to be viewed,” Nelson said. “Then a couple of weeks ago, they called and asked if I would be interested in testifying.” For Nelson, health care is an issue she faces every day of her life. “I myself am a quadriplegic, so health care is a big issue with me,” Nelson says. “It’s an even bigger concern as I graduate.” Nelson, who will graduate May 7 with a business administration degree, (lew to At lanta during spring break to interview for a bookkeeping/managerial job with the rock band Jackyl. Though she’s excited about her job pros pect. Nelson says health care concerns arc plaguing her future. Nelson says she is unable to get private health insurance, because her condition is considered high-risk. She says Medicaid pays for the home health care visits and other medical visits she needs in order to survive. As she graduates and possibly starts a career, her situation will become more diffi cult. “if I work, 1 will lose all my medical benefits,” Nelson says. A job, she says, would put her over the income limit to be eligible for Medicaid. Without such help. Nelson said, she will be unable to afford the $240 per day she incurs for health care visits. “1 can’t live without (home health care) obviously," Nelson said. “And I don’t think any job would pay me enough to compensate for my medical expenses.” The alternative she faces. Nelson says, is not working. “I really would like to work Unproduc tive, but in reality, it’s probably belter if 1 don’t.” Another complication is the difference between state Medicaid programs, she says. “In Georgia, Medicaid only allows 75 home health care visits a year, so I wouldn’t even last a month there,” says Nelson, who requires three visits per day by home health aides. The aides help her out of bed in the morning, get her ready for the day and help her into bed at night. Nelson says she doesn’t know what she will tell members of Congress when she testifies, but she is certain about one thing. “I think everyone should be entitled to some form of health care.” And although she says she’s not sure the Clinton administration’s proposed reforms will mean instant improvements in the sys tem, Nelson says at least it’s a beginning to health care reform. “The system’s such a mess now, I don’t know what can be done so everyone will benefit,” Nelson says. “But at least they’re making an effort to try, because it isn’t working at all now.” Nelson says she will leave for Washing ton on May 3 and will return home on the May 5. She says she and the other 49 people testifying will meet Hillary Clinton before the hearing. She also plans to meet with Nebraska senators and representatives. For now, Nelson has another task to complete before her trip: finishing her final exams before she leaves. one elsc’s.” Jensen criticized the bylaw change, calling it a direct attack on UPC. The bill compared UNL to the Universities of Nebraska at Omaha and Kearney, Jensen said. She said those two campuses were com pletely different than UNL, and ASUN should have done more comparative research with programming organizations from universities in the Big Ten. She also said the bill gave ASUN an auto matic majority in the selection of the new UPC executive boards. The bill slates the ASUN president, speaker of the senate and the outgo See UPC on 3 Loudon to ask NU to review ‘hidden’ fees By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter In a move to oppose a hidden and unfair “lax” on students, ASUN President An drew Loudon said Tuesday he would lobby the NU Board of Regents to extend its approval powers to oversee student fee increases. Loudon said in a news conference that he planned to propose a resolution at the April 30 Board of Regents meeting. The resolution would require that all fee increases at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln be presented to the board for its approval. This would include parking, ath letic tickets and laboratory fee increases. The regents will be reviewing the $6 per student per semester student fee increase for the 1994-95 school year at their Saturday meeting, Loudon said. Student fees would increase from $174 to $ 180 per student per semester to support Cam pus Recreation, the University Health Center, the Nebraska Unions, the University Program Council, the Daily Nebraskan and the Associa tion of Students of the University of Nebraska. Loudon said the regents wouldn’t see the actual total student fee increase because ofwhat he called “hidden” student fees. Fees such as parking, athletic tickets, registration and gradu ation fees all were hidden from the regents’ eyes, he said. “Students have been hit hard with these increases,” he said. “Many students are work See FEES on 6 Injunction denied , to four professors From Staff Reports □ U.S. federal courtjudgc Tuesday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by four LTNL engineering profes sors who say they were “professionally hazed.” In a 13-pagc decision. Judge Richard Kopf said he thought Russell Alberts, Gautam Batra, M ichacl Rcsch and N isar Shaikh would not win their lawsuit. The suit claimed that the NU Board of Regents, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chancellor Graham Spanicr and Stan Liberty, dean of the College of Engineering and Tech nology, unfairly denied the four professors ten ure. It claims the four professors were not told the requirements of tenure—an act they called professional hazing. The preliminary injunction filed by the pro fessors asked the court to prevent UNL from hiring professors to fill their jobs and to retain Alberts, Batra and Rcsch at their current jobs until a decision was made on the case. The ruling concluded the four professors had no liberty or property interests infringed upon by the university. “The only thing mentioned about tenure in the appointment letters was that the employee would be ‘considered’ for tenure,” Kopf s deci sion said. Kopf wrote that the decision would cause harm to the professors, but not irreparable harm.