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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 1996)
WEDNESDAY » / WEATHER: Today - Mostly sunny. Clouds in the afternoon. Wind 5 to 10 mph. Tonight - Light snow. Low around 0. COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 95 NO. 95 January 31 1996 Matt Miller/DN Senior psychology major Bob Temply wraps up to protect against the cold Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures are not expected to venture far into postive readings through the weekend. Cold spell Temperatures continue to drop as some cities hit record lows By Joshua Gillin Staff Reporter It’s been said that if you don’t like the weather in Nebraska, wait a minute, and it’ll change. Well, not this week. Arctic air pummeled the state Sunday, and it’s not going anywhere soon. Several Nebraska cities have broken record-low tem peratures, and some locations are expected to hit 25 below zero this week. As the increasingly cold weather persists, the National Weather Service and local weather experts are quick to warn citizens about the dangers of prolonged exposure to wind and low temperatures. Laurie Sutter, a health educator with the Lancaster County Health Department, said those who attempted to go out during cold weather were taking a big risk. “When the temperature drops as low as it’s supposed to this week, it doesn’t take much exposure for flesh to freeze,” she said. “A person can get frostbite in a matter of minutes.” Sutter said those who are fatigued, eld erly, sick or under the influence of alcohol or drugs are more susceptible to injuries than younger, healthier or sober people. Frostbite, the most common injury result ing from cold weather, strikes mainly the ears, nose, cheeks, fingers, hands and toes. Signs of frostbite include a numb, tingling or See WEATHER on 6 Shutdown forces students to stay at home overseas By Julie Sobczyk Senior Reporter All Jonathan Kerr wanted to do on Jan. 5 was catch a plane from London back to the United States. Kerr wanted to get back to Lincoln, to classes, to his home away from home. But the after-effects of the Dec. 15 govern ment shutdown left Kerr stranded in London for five days, with little money. Kerr, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln se nior broadcasting major from Edinburgh, Scot land, spent winter break with his family. When he tried to renew his student visa to return to the United States, he couldn’t. The U.S. embassies in Edinburgh and Lon don, where visas are issued, were closed. “I was aware that the nonessential services had been shut down,” Kerr said. “I was surprised to find the embassy was considered nonessen tial.” And Kerr wasn’t the only international stu dent who had problems returning to UNL after break. Peter Levitov, associate dean of international affairs, said two groups of international students were affected by the shutdown. Students like Kerr$whose visas had expired, were greatly affected by the shutdown, he said. The International Affairs office received at least 40 urgent letters, faxes and e-mail mes sages from students asking for the university’s help in getting back to Lincoln, Levitov said. “We got messages that said, ‘I’m stuck. What can I do? Please help,”’ he said. UNL allowed students an extra week to get back to campus, he said. Students were to arrive no later than Jan. 15. Of the 40 students who contacted UNL, 25 did not return for the semester because they were unable to get visas, Levitov said. But there could be more, he said, depending on the number of students who needed visas, but did not contact UNL. “The only people we know of are the ones who wrote,” he said. “There could be more, but people decide not to come back for many rea sons.” The shutdown had a smaller impact on inter national students who would be attending UNL for the first time, Levitov said. Some of those students might not have been able to get their visas either, he said. See VISAS on 6 Will proposes alternative to agent registration bill By Ted Taylor Senior Reporter Lawmakers might be forced to debate two separate athlete agent registration bills this ses sion after the banking committee unanimously advanced a second proposal Tuesday. But Sen. John Hilgert of Omaha hopes two debates aren’t necessary. - “Hopefully it won’t be Legislature debated,” he said. “I hope •gB i*, i J they (Sens. Eric Will and J? ftl® Kermit Brashear of Omaha) get togetner ana nammer out the differences.” Will introduced his ver sion of the Athlete Agent Registration Act, LB1012, Tuesday afternoon, a week . after Brashear’s LB927 was advanced to floor debate by the Judiciary Committee. One of the major differences, according to Will, is the particular state department with which agents will be required to register. Will’s proposal would require agents to reg ister with the secretary of state, while Brashear’s measure requires agents to register with the attorney general. The definition of the word “athlete” also differs in the two bills. Will’s proposal would protect only intercol legiate athletes, while LB927 applies to all amateur athletes. The bill also outlines different criminal pen alties levied to the player and agent. Will’smeasure saysagents who fail to notify the university of a contract or fail to register with the state are subject to a class III felony, while the athlete is subject to a class I misde meanor for the same act. George Achola, a registered athlete agent from Omaha and former NU running back, was on hand to testify for the bill. “Unscrupulous agents will harm the reputa tion of the athletic program and the state,” he said. Achola said he would prefer a combination of the two bill sand said either one would benefit both the agent and the athlete. “It helps me with my business because I want to represent these players,” he said. “And I follow the rules. “It helps the student athlete, and it helps the university,” hesaid. Achola said he would support anything the Legislature could do to make it more difficult to gain access to the athlete. Near the end of the hearing, committee chair man Dave Landis of Lincoln plucked A1 Papik, NU senior associate athletic director, from the audience to testify in a neutral capacity for the bill. “The university is very concerned about the student athlete,” Papik said. Previous EPA violations force UNL to clean ut> By Julie Sobczyk Senior Reporter 1 UNL is continuing to clean up its act by preparing for surprise visits from the Environmental Protection Agency, an administrator said. “We’re in a constant state of readi ness,” said James Main, assistant vice chancellor for business and finance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “The gross violations the EPA had found we have cleaned up. “We ’ ve taken a big step in the right direction.” Two years ago, the EPA fined UNL $600,000 for violating regulations for storing and labeling waste, personnel training, emergency planning and burning waste in an incinerator. But since those violations, UNL has earned a virtually clean report with the EPA, Main said. During inspections last summer, only one violation was cited on City Campus, he said. No violations were reported on East Campus. To maintain the good record, Main said, the university has undergone some changes in the past two years. A special department was created to make sure UNL complied with all EPA regulations, he said. The department, called The Haz ardous Materials Program, helps the university faculty and staff understand the EPA regulations. “The Hazardous Materials Program held us accountable to EPA regula tions,” Main said. One important part of the depart ment is self-evaluation of both cam puses every year, he said. Dan Olsen, senior hazardous mate rials specialist in the department, said chemical training was provided for faculty and staff. Department staffalso check each classroom on campus for potential violations. The checks are important, Olsen said, because the EPA can evaluate the university at any time, without warning. Main said he thought the low num berof violations during the EPA’slast visit was directly related to the im provements enforced by the depart ment. For example, he said, many of the EPA’s violations dealt with improper labeling of materials and storing in compatible chemicals next to each other. Education helped reduce the number of violations. “Before, we didn’t have people to educate and train our campus,” Main said. “Now, we’ve been able to raise the awareness and knowledge of people working in laboratories.” Olsen said the department’s accu rate chemical files also cut down on the number of violations. “There is a lot of record keeping and documentation,” Olsen said. “That is where we were lacking in the past, and EPA didn’t like it.” Passing the last inspection was a step in the right direction for UNL, and for future inspections, Olsen said. “No facility is perfect,” he said. “But EPA found only one violation on City Campus and none on East Cam pus. That is really hard to do.”