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February 8, 1996
COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901
VOL. 95 NO. 101
Students
game seats
may change
By Kasey Kerber
Staff Reporter
Student seating at football games won’t get
better next year, and it may get worse, accord
ing to two officials from the NU Athletic De
partment.
At Wednesday night’s ASUN meeting, Cindy
Bell, manager of the ticket office, and Heidi
Cuca, marketing director,
fielded questions from sena
tors about student seating at
University of Nebraska
football eames.
The issue arose more
than two weeks ago, when
the Athletic Department re
leased a proposal to replace
student seating section 15
with an equal-sized block
I — I Ot seats behind sections 12
and 13, in the southeast cor
ner of the stadium.
Changes were proposed because of increased
complaints from fans sitting behind the student
section. Non-student fans said the view was
obstructed when student fans stood on the seats.
Fearing fist fights between angry non-stu
dents and students, the Athletic Department
proposed the seating change.as a safety precau
tion.
“To say that you’re going to get all the bad
seats and gain no good ones is not something the
student body will be happy with,” said Jon
Scheve, chairman of the academic committee.
Senators asked whether a compromise could
be reached by reorganizing other sections of the
stadium.
“That is not a possibility,” Bell said. “Every
other section has seats that have been sold on a
permanent basis and can’t be shifted around.”
Bell said one of two things would happen:
either section 15 would be eliminated with an
equitable block of seats opening-farther back as
initially proposed, or everything would stay as
is.
“It’s going to be either one or the other,
nothing else,” he said, but a final decision has
not yet been made.
Athletic Director Bill Byrne will ultimately
decide if the Athletic Department will recom
mend the change.
“If it were decided to make the seating
changes, the issue would have to be taken to the
chancellor and approved by him,” Bell said.
Questions also surfaced about the Athletic
Department’s devotion to the student body as
compared to their possible devotion to money.
“I think that over the past few years, when
you raised costs for tickets and took away a
section, you lost part of our trust,” said ASUN
President Shawntell Hurtgen.
“Yes, that comment has been made before,”
Bell said. “It’s not new.”
Tanna Kinnaman/DN
Eric Marintzer announces the ACTION party’s candidacy for ASUN elections next month. Marintzer said he wanted
to make university officials aware of student issues.
ACTION launches ASUN bid
By Erin Schulte
Staff Reporter
The time has come for university official s
to be made aware of student issues too long
ignored, one candidate for ASUN president
said Wednesday.
Eric Marintzer, the
ACTION party’s presi
dential candidate in this
year’s Association of
Students of the Univer
ASUN
Campaign
sity ofNebraska election,
outlined his plans to
about 60 students
Wednesday in the Ne
braska Union.
UNL administrators
sometimes torget tneir
purpose is to serve students, Marintzer said.
He said issues such as the snow day policy,
athletic ticket prices and tuition and student
fee increases needed to be addressed.
Students also are left out of the decision
making process for the union expansion, he
said.
Only a limited number of students have
seen expansion ideas at ASUN meetings, h.e
said, and the pianning committees should
keep students up-to-date with any new de
velopments.
More University Program Council events
and better equipment in the Activities Build
ing are needed on East Campus, Marintzer
said, and he would address those issues if
elected.
He said he would take action by getting
East Campus students to tell administrators
about these problems.
The ACTION party is talking to student
organizations to find out what changes they
want to see on campus, Marintzer said.
Marintzer cited his experience as Gov
ernment Liaison Committee chairman and
ASUN senator and said he would perform
well as ASUN president and student regent.
Jason Bynum, Uie ACTION candidate for
first vice president, said he wanted to let new
students know they would not be “just a
number” at the university.
Bynum, who was a New Student Enroll
ment leader last summer, said that issue
“They won’t feel like a
number because they have a
friend in AS UN. ”
JASON BYNUM
1st vice president candidate
especially concerned freshmen.
“They won’t feel like a number because
they have a friend in ASUNhe said.
Kara Marshall, ACTION’S candidate for
second vice president, said protecting stu
dents from bureaucracy was another impor
tant issue.
Marintzer called for a clean campaign
leading up to the March 6 election.
“There has been some mudslinging in
past years,” Marintzer said. “We will be
dealing with issues, and there’s no need for
personal insults.
“I call for the same courtesy from our
opponents.”
Senator wants state-brewed beer in stores
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
Although quality micro-breweries
exist in Nebraska, you won’t find any
of their products
liquor store
Legislature
’96 ✓ A &
on
shelves.
At the
same
ume, uiose siores
carry beer from
more than 50 mi
cro-breweries
across the nation.
But a proposed
bill by Sen. Dave
Landis of Lincoln
could change that
and put some Nebraska-brewed beer
on tne racks and in the bars, next to
brands like Great Divide, Black Dog
and Boulevard.
LB 1088 would allow Nebraska
brewpub owners to not only manufac
ture and package their beer, but to sell
it through wholesalers to various re
tail outlets across the state.
“There are no major breweries in
Nebraska any longer,” Landis said.
“We import all our beer. These
brewpubs and micro-breweries are
home-grown industries employing
Nebraskans and making money for
Nebraskans.”
Landis said Wednesday that since
Monday’s General Affairs Commit
tee hearing, he had taken out the word
“distribute” in the bill to avoid a fight
between the pubs and distributors.
“Now the bill focuses on increased,
expanded business opportunities,”he
said.
The bill also would increase the
production limit for the breweries from
5,000 barrels to 15,000 barrels per
year.
Linda Vescio, owner of Lincoln’s
Crane River Brewpub, which produces
more than 1,000 barrels a year, said
her beer was in great demand — a
demand that goes unheeded.
“Lots of our customers would like
to get our beer at other places,” she
said. “We would like to be able to put
our excess product in other retail out
lets.”
But beer distributors and whole
salers want to keep things the way they
are within the industry’s three-tiered
system — manufacturer, wholesaler
and retailer.
Vescio said the bill could create
more brewpub or micro-brewery busi
ness in the state.
“If you make the business a little
more profitable, you will attract more
people,” she said.
Dean Dobmeier, the brewmaster
for The Jones Street Brewery in
Omaha, said Nebraska was a state
where small businesses such as
brewpubs could thrive.
“If this law is passed, it will result
in new entities coming here.”
Meanwhile, today the Colorado
House Business Affairs and Labor
committee will look at taking away
brewpub and micro-brewery distribu
tion privileges.
Brewpubs and micro-breweries in
that state have been able to distribute
beer freely since 1989.
Scott Smith, president of
Coopersmith’s Pub and Brewing Com
pany in Fort Collins, said the House
was targeting three specific Colorado
brewers: Breckenridge, Broadway and
the Rocky Brewing Co.
Smith said the three started out
small, just as his establishment, but
had gone nationwide.
“These big guys are distributing
products all across the country, but
still trying to say they are a small
brewpub by throwing a restaurant in
the comer ”