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COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 95 NO. 121
THURSDAY
WEATHER:
Today - Cold, and partly
sunny. Northwest wind 10
to 20 mph.
Tonight - Very cold, low
around 0.
March 7,1996
$27.0% ■ Marfentzor/Bynum 704% ■ Marshall 714% ■ Firestone/lsom 27.0% ■ Gregorius 27.0% ■ Ma
ACTION takes OFFICE
stone/lsom 27.0% ■ Gregorius 27.0% ■ Marlntzer/Bynum 704% ■ Marshall 71.4% ■ Firestone/lsom 27.
President-elect
attributes win
to diverse slate
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter . \
Eric Marintzer expected ACTION’S
nearly complete sweep of Wednesday’s
ASUN elections.
But the margin of victory was a surprise
to the newly elected Association of Students
of the University of Nebraska president.
“I expected to win,” Marintzer yelled
hoarsely to a crowd of more than 175 people
gathered at Billy Frogg’s Grill & Bar. “But
70 percent?” he asked.
The boisterous crowd met the announce
ment with joyous whoops and hollers.
“You the man,” one supporter shouted.
Marintzer defeated OFFICE party presi
dential candidate Justin Firestone 70.4 per
cent to 27.4 percent.
Marintzer will replace current president
Shawntell Hurtgen March 27.
“We put in so much work for so long that
it seemed like it would never pay off”
Marintzer said. “And now that it has, it’s like,
wow!” /:
Second vice president-elect Kara*
Marshall, who stood outside passing out fly
ers off-and-on for eight hours Wednesday,
called the campaign “rigorous” and said the
work had paid off.
“It’s been tough,” she said. “Everything
is kind of winding down, and it’s the ending
— well it’s not the ending, but it’s the begin
ning.”
Marshall said working with student orga
nizations would be a top priority.
“I plan to work hard to develop a good
rapport with the organizations on campus,”
she said, “so we can get off to a really good
start.”
Marintzer, a junior business major, said it
wouldn’t take long for students to feel the
effects of voting ACTION candidates into
office.
“First and foremost, I’m going to get
caught up,” he said. “Get up to date with
everything that is happening with all the is
See ACTION on 6
Scott Bruhn/DN
Eric Marintzer shakes hands with supporters at the ACTION party’s victory celebration at Billy Frogg’s Grill & Bar
Wednesday night. Marintzer won the ASUN presidency with 70 percent of the vote.
ACTION wins senate with low turnout
By Kasey Kerber
Staff Reporter
ACTION dominated in ASUN senate
elections Wednesday, capturing 28 of 35
seats, compared to only one for the OFFICE
party. ,
But the impact of the victory was soft
ened as voter turnout hit at least an 18-year
low, with only 8.4 percent of eligible stu
dents casting ballots in the Association of
Students of the University of Nebraska elec
tion.
OFFICE’S only winner was Andrew
Delancey, who was unopposed in his bid for
the seat from the College of Fine and Per
forming Arts.
Independent candidate Steve Thompson,
the only other victorious candidate not from
the ACTION party, won a Graduate College
seat.
Five seats remain open, because no de
clared candidates were (in the ballot.
Voter turnout was the lowest in recent
See ROUT on 6
75-mph speed limit still alive
By Ted Taylor
Senior Reporter
Nebraska motorists who want the
speed limit raised to 75 mph dodged a
bul let Wednesday after an amendment
from Sen. Pat Engel failed by a five
vote margin.
Engel’s amendment to the Trans
p o r t a t i o n
Committee’s
amendments to
LB901 would
have raised the
speed limit on
Nebraska rural
interstate high
ways to 70, not
75, mph.
“It’s a balance
of convenience
and a balance of
safety,” the South Sioux City senator
said. “And in my view, safety should
prevail.”
Engel said he introduced the
amendment with not only safety but
fiscal concerns in mind as well.
He said the change in the limit
would cost $3.7 million to update 15
of the state’s interchange lanes to ad
equately handle vehicles merging onto
the interstate at the higher speeds.
The introducer of the bill, Sen.
Ernie Chambers of Omaha, said he
would rather have no change in the
speed limit than “piddle and paddle”
with Engel’s amendment.
“Seventy-five is not excessive,” he
said. “These roads were engineered for
the types of speeds we’re talking
about.”
Chambers also called it “foolish
ness” to slow down motorists who al
ready were traveling above the posted
speed. 1
“What this bill does,” he said, “is
legalize what most people drive at
now.”
Sen. Doug Kristensen of Minden,
the Transportation Committee chair
man, said that by raising the speed limit
to 70 mph, a practical cushion still
would be honored.
“If you lower it to 70, you will in
crease the fudge factor,” he said.
“People will drive in the 76-77 range.”
Several senators said they would
not support LB901 if the Engel amend
ment were not adopted.
Sen. Cap Dierks of Ewing said the
small amount of time people would
save by driving 75 mph would do more
harm than good.
“The time saved is not worth the
cost of life and the cost of fuel,” he
said. “Safety-wise, 70 is very ad
equate.”
Sen. Kate Witek of Omaha, whose
husband is a semi-truck driver, said
she did not want to see him in an “even
more unsafe work environment.”
“I jusbcan’t raise the speed limit to
See SPEED on 8
UNK student says halls
violate moral ideals
By Chad Lorenz
Senior Reporter
Testimony will continue today in
a federal case involving a UNK stu
dent who says the environment in
residence halls isn't up to his high
moral standards.
Douglas Rader, a University of
Nebraska at Kearney freshman
from Trumbull, is seeking to stop
UNK from enforcing a policy that
requires freshmen under 19 years
old to live in university housing,
with their parents, with legal guard
ians or with a spouse.
Rader filed a civil suit against the
University of Nebraska Board of
Regents.
Rader has said in an affidavit that
the policy violates his right to freely
exercise his religion. He said behav
ior in UNK residence halls went
against his high moral standards,
according to court documents.
“Allowance of overnight visita
tion and premarital sexual relations
in dorms is also activity that offends
my convictions,” Rader said in the
affidavit.
“The University placement of
condoms in the vending machines
in the dorms sends a message to stu
dents that sexual relations in the
dormitories is acceptable,” the court
document said.
Jefferson Downing, Rader’s at
torney, said the university had
waived the policy for students in the
past for many other exceptions, par
ticularly for medical reasons.
The U.S. Supreme Court has
ruled that a government agency
See RADER on 6