Opinion
Friday, August 26, 1994 Page 4
Nebraskan
Editorial Board
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
JeffZelenv.Editor. 472-1766
Kara Morrison.... Opinion Page Editor
Angie Brunkow..Managing Editor
Jeffrey Robb.Associate News Editor
Rainbow Rowell .Columnist/Associate News Editor
Kiley Christian.Photography Director
Mike Lewis.Copy Desk Chief
James Mehsling.Cartoonist
No regulation
Commission should understand role
The Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education’s new
executive director has a big job ahead of him.
David Powers, the former head of the Minnesota Higher Education
Coordinating Board, on Wednesday was named to lead Nebraska’s
: controversial commission that often has clashed with the University of
Nebraska system.
In 1990, when the commission was approved by Nebraska voters,
its mission was to oversee and prevent duplication in college and
university programs.
Since then, its mission has strayed.
Bruce Stahl, former executive director of the commission, insisted
the group had regulatory powers.
“Although we are coordinating, we are a regulating body,” he said
in April 1993. ‘That’s hard for most people to understand”
The regulating part of the commission was, in fact, difficult to
understand.
During last spring’s legislative session, Nebraska state senators
passed a bill to clarify the commission’s role. The measure, which was
signed into law by Gov. Ben Nelson, said the board’s role should be
that of an adviser, not a regulator.
Enough bureaucracy already exists in higher education. The NU
system is regulated by the Board of Regents. And state colleges,
community colleges and private institutions have their own respective
controlling boards. There is not room for another regulating board.
Mr. Powers, now is the time for you to understand the commission’s
proper role—coordination.
In an interview. Powers said he would be gathering more informa
tion on education needs in the state, and forming guidelines to follow to
meet those needs.
“My first job is to realize I am a catalyst and a facilitator between
all of the leaders,” he said.
A catalyst we can deal with. A regulator we cannot.
“We try to develop a bond between people and
plants. People may not be aware of it, but everyone
benefits from being around plants.”
— Bud Dasetlbmck director ofUNL Landscape Services.
“This is not designed to just be a snoop for alcohol
at parties.”
— Ken Catthle. UNL police chief, on expanding the UNL commu
nity service officers' patrol to greek houses.
“Nobody wants to die. Everybody is waiting for a
bright morning.”
— UNL graduate studettl A Mas AH on spending a year volunteer
ing in war-tom Bosnia.
“We worked from 9 to 6 everyday, and we’d stay
late a lot of the time. I realized how hard the con
gressional staffers work.”
— ASUN PresidetU Andrew Loudon on his summer internship for
U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter. R-Neh.
StafT editorials represent the official policy of the Fall 1994 Daily Nebraskan. Policy is set by
the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. Editorials do not necessarily reflect the views of the
university, its employees, the students or the NU Board of Regents. Editorial columns represent
the opinion of the author. The regents publish the Daily Nebraskan. They establish the UNL
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Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, Neb 68588-0448.
‘Wake-up call’
As a former ASUN senator for the
1993-94 school year, 1 would like to
take issue with Michelle Paulman on
several of the points she made in her
column in Tuesday’s Daily Nebras
kan (DN, Aug. 24,1994).
1) You state that “no one knows
less than the Association of Students
of the University of Nebraska.’’ Pretty
strong words for someone who
devotes 10 paragraphs of her column
to a can of refried beans. The fact is,
ASUN senators spend a lot of time
researching and meeting with the key
people involved in the issues they
face.
2) You cite the new NRoll system
as an indication that UNL has gone
“to heck in a handbasket.” NRoll Ls
the product of hard work on the part
of your student government and other
groups, and unlike yourself, 1 believe
most students sec it as a great
improvement over the old system of
drop/add.
3) You complain about the poor
condition of Richards Hall ana imply
that ASUN is somehow responsible
for its sad state. ASUN fought to give
repairs to Richards Hall priority over
the cost of tearing out the faculty
parking lot and replacing it with
grass.
4) You compared University
Program Council programming and
fraternity keggers. noting that neither
of them appeals to everyone. There is
one important difference between the
two: UPC programs arc paid for by
student fees. Fraternity keggers, to my
knowledge, are not.
ASUN keeps up the fight so
UNL’s budget won’t receive further
cuts, raising your tuition. Last year,
they also worked to keep the price of
your basketball tickets down and
battled a change in UNL's grading
system that you didn’t want. And it
was the same student government
that you likened to an “ugly and
rotten ... pile of beans’’ that estab
lished the memorial for Candi Harms
and organizes Rape Awareness Week
each year.
Perhaps it is you, Ms. Paulman,
who needs to wake up.
Bill Snyder
senior
political science
Amy Schrrodt/DN
Full house
The situation of our halls being
full is not a “nightmare” nor is it a
“dream come true.” It is a direct
result of being responsive to student
needs. The University of Ncbraska
Lincoln housing, along with the
Residence Hall Association, has made
great strides to make living in the
halls better than living almost
anywhere else.
The residence halls here provide
food and maintenance services that
apartments cannot provide. We
provide security and desk services
that other living arrangements can’t
provide. And the residence halls
provide leadership opportunities and
social and educational programs to
complement classroom learning.
The apparent overcrowding did
not upset first-year students’ living
arrangements. We had more first-year
students than admissions had
projected. All of the first-year
students were placed. Any academic
problems that a first-year student
encounters will be a result of their
lack of focus, discipline or desire to
excel. It will not be housing’s fault,
because we provide computer
facilities, shid^ rooms, student
assistants to talk to, and various time
management and how-lo-study
programs.
It did affect those students who
had moved away from all of the
conveniences of residence hall life
and later found out that the grass
wasn’t greener on the other side. We
did stop taking upperclass applica
tions; there were deadlines, and there
are still people on the waiting list.
This situation is a positive one. It
means we are doing our jobs, meeting
students’ needs and giving them
more. And there is more in store for
this year.
Rock on housing and RHA!
Andrea Casart
Residence Hall Association vice
president
DU woes
Regarding Shane Tucker’s
parking problems, (DN, Aug. 23,
1994), it is obvious to thus reader that
his “opinion” was written only to
elicit some response. Surely no
shident would be so ignorant as to
diminish the administrative parking
policy for 25,000 students to the woes
of 15 Delta Upsilon members.
Tucker’s comments on the green
space (Move he has not looked beyond
the DU front door to acknowledge the
fund allocation procedures for tire
university cm such projects.
Andrew Budcll
senior
political science
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