The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 27, 1996, Image 1
WEDNESDAY WEATHER: Today - Partly sunny and warmer. Southwest wind 10 to 20 mph. Tonight - Partly cloudy, low around 28. - March 27, 1996 Legislature stops higher minimum wage By Ted Taylor Senior Reporter Nebraska lawmakers made their opinions clear Tuesday as the Legislature shot down a minimum wage increase for the second time this -session. Legislature The Nebraska Legislature • voted 18-24 against an * My amendment that would have * increased the minimum wage 25 cents to $4.50 an hour. The proposal was intro duced by Sen. Don Wescly of Lincoln as an amendment to LB 1368, which would alter the Nebraska Quality Job Act. Wesely had brought forth the issue earlier this session in the form of LB 1042, which would have increased the mini mum wage 90 cents in two, 45 cent increments. That bill was held by the Business and Labor Committee. An increase was needed, Wesely said, be cause as the state’s economic development con tinued to strive forward, its workers’ wages did not. He cited consumer price index statistics that placed Nebraska 47th in average weekly wages. “If 47th in the ebuntry isn’t enough of an argument, then I don’t know what is,” Wesely said. .„,v ,-r- it* Some of the senators who supported the amendment, including Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, said it was foolish to even debate such a small increase. . “It is really unfortunate that we are having to wrangle over a 25 cent increase in the minimum wage,” Chambers said. Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln said the only problem she had with the amendment was the “piddly amount of a raise” it was. “this bill would be immeasurably better if the Wescly amendment is adopted,” Schimek said. “It’s past the time we needed to do this,” she said. “We need to do this today. My only regret is that it’s not enough.” Sen. Kermit Brashcar of Omaha, who intro duced the bill and opposed Wcsely’s amend ment, said raising the minimum wage would be counterproductive. “The establishment of a regulatory mini mum wage is not an effective way to increase people’s income,” he said. Other opponents said there weren’t that many people in the state working for minimum wage and an increase would hurt some on the bottom end of the ladder. See WAGES on 6 Travis Heying/DN Shawnteli Hurtgen steps down as ASUft president tonight, passing the reins to President-elect Eric Marintzer and the ACTION party. ASUN president finishes term Hurtgen says she’s proud of student government’s accomplishments at UNL By Julie Sobczyk Senior Reporter Shawntell Hurtgen has been part of A SUN for the past four years. But today, she steps aside as Eric Marintzer takes over as the next president of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. Hurtgen’s desk is still covered with pa pers and folders, and some half-packed boxes line her office as she prepares to step down. “I’m sure I’ll go through some withdrawal pangs,” she said.. As she looks back on her year of admin istration, Hurtgen said she was pleased with her efforts and successes of the past year. “I feel really good about the year, espe cially looking back on what we did and accomplishments that surpassed our goals,” she said. One of those accompl ishmcnts was estab lishing a solid relationship between ASUN and the Residence Hall Association through weekly meetings with RH A’s president, she said. “We changed the image that ASUN is only for greeks,” Hurtgen said. Another major accomplishment, she said, was creating the president’s roundtable for presidents of student organizations to dis cuss their goals and problems. The group met about once a month, Hurtgen said, and usually about 40 student leaders attended. And establishing a new committee to ad dress student concerns to the Athletic De partment has been successful, she said. ASUN has formed a positive relationship with the Athletic Department as well, she said. “It’s coming along,” she said. “We’ve made a new step in the right direction.” The committee makes contact with the Athletic Department regularly, she said, in- t stead of when problems arise. Hurtgcn said she also had enjoyed her time as student regent on the NU Board of Regents. “The board took me seriously,” she said. “They made themselves available to me, and on occasion came to me. I really admire the work they do on the board and the way they represent the school.” Regents chairman Don Blank of McCook See HURTGEN on 6 New vice chancellor ready to get down to business Travis Heying/DN Melvin Jones, vice chancellor for business and finance, works in his office Tuesday afternoon. By Julie Sobczyk Senior Reporter I Melvin Jones has spent the past month and a half as an observer. “I’m still learning about a lot of areas, and I’m doing a lot of listening with staff and the community about the relationship of the com munity to the university,” he said. Now, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s new vice chancellor for business and finance says he’s ready to take action. To put his business plans into action, Jones will use a philosophy he developed during his brief time at UNL. It’s called EEVACS: efficient, effective, value-added, cost savings, Jones said. He came up with the idea in response to a report from Nebraska businesses that was given to NU President Dennis Smith about how the university could operate efficiently, he said. “I came up with a method, so that everything we do, we will keep in mind EEVACS,” Jones said. He got the idea while thinking of ways for UNL to provide quality education, while keep) ing costs down, Jones said. , “It came about as a result of talking to staff, as well as the business community about how we could provide quality service to students and parents at UNL,” he said. “I sat down and thought ‘How could we do this?’ And so EEVACS was bom.” This method is important for tuning into what parents want for their children’s educa tion, Jones said. “We need to ask ourselves not only what do our students need, but their parents, too,” he said. “We need to tighten our belts and provide for their sons and daughters our best value.” Besides keeping costs down for students and parents, Jones has another important job. He decides when to cal l off school in cases of bad weather. Jones had his first try at the job Sunday, when he had to decide if winter conditions were too bad for students to come to UNL safely after spring break. After staying up late into the night and re viewing several weather reports, Jones said, he See JONES on 6