Tobacco sales fire debate
By Sarah Baker
Staff Reporter
After a police sting operation that
caught a Nebraska Union employee
selling cigarettes to a minor, union
officials are debating whether the
university’s information counters
should sell tobacco products.
But discontinuing' tobacco sales
could cost students at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln more in union
fees.
The sales of tobacco make up al
most 40 percent of the income from
information desks. Tobacco sales to
taled $68,464 in 1995-96 for both the
Nebraska Union and Nebraska East
Union. The $21,224 in profit pays the
information desk workers’ wages.
Union Board Director Daryl
Swanson said if the sales of tobacco
were stopped, the money would prob
aoly come out ot the students pock
ets.
Despite this, Swanson said, the
first objective of the information desks
is to assist students, not sell cigarettes.
“The general function of the desks
is to provide students with help. The
merchandise sales are a second objec
tive,” he said.
In a letter to the board, Chancellor
James Moeser addressed the issue of
higher student fees.
“I do not believe we should raise
student fees as a result of eliminating
tobacco sales. If the board agrees to
eliminate tobacco sales, I shall work
with Vice Chancellor (James) Griesen
and Vice Chancellor (Melvin) Jones
to find a suitable alternative to higher
student fees,” Moeser wrote.
Swanson said he didn’t know what
those alternatives would be.
“We could tighten our belts in other
areas, but it would not be an easy task
to replace that income,” he said.
Union Board member and infor
mation desk employee Saad Alavi said
the university stands to lose more
money than just that generated from
tobacco sales.
“Most students come to the desk
and if they buy cigarettes, they also
buy pop and candy along with them,”
he said.
Board members also talked about
construction efforts on the Nebraska
Union. Members were concerned that
fewer students would use the union
once the north entrance was closed.
“The temporary west entrance is
open far student use. It is important
to keep the union accessible to stu
dents since they are what keeps it go
ing,” Swanson said.
UPC, Lied clash over budgets
By Erin Gibson
Senior Reporter
The historically linked Univer
sity Program Council and the Lied
Colter for Performing Arts sparred
Tuesday over the use of student fees
during the 1997-98 school year.
The two groups, which usually
submit a joint request for a share
of student fees, requested substan
tially different amounts of money
from the Committee for Fees Allo
cation at the committee’s annual
spring fee-user presentations.
Charles H. Bethea, executive di
rector of the Lied, requested a sub
sidy of $128,000 to cover the cost
of discounting student tickets. But
Jessica Curtis, president of the
University Program Council, said
that amount was too high.
Betheas requested an additional
$36,350; or about 40 percent more
than last year’s student fees allo
cation. Curtis said this far exceeds
the program council’s 9.6 percent
budget increase she proposed for
programming outside the Lied
Center.
The Lied’s budget is considered
part of the program council’s bud
get, and the Lied should request a
similar budget increase, she said.
“It’s important for UPC to have
a say in this,” Curtis said. “We
strongly support the Ltfsd subsidy,
and we’re confident we can come
up with a number we both agree
on.
Because Bethea became the
Lied’s new executive director on
Jan. 6, there was not time for him
to run his prospective budget
through UPC before this week,
Curtis said.
But, in spite of program coun
cil recommendations, Bethea sup
ported his total budget request in
front of the CFA.
- “This is a very, very good pro
gram,” Bethea said. “No perform
ing arts centers will ever support
itself on ticket sales alone.”
Bethea said New York’s Broad
way productions were exceptions.
The committee will vote on the
University Program Council-Lied
Center’s final allotment Thursday
at 5:45 p.m. in the Nebraska Union.
In other committee action:
• The Association of Students
of the University of Nebraska re
quested a total $ 180,373 of student
fees for the 1997-98 school year.
Student government currently op
erates with $172,676 of student
fees.
The request included about
$2,500 to make three staff employ
ees official university employees.»
Currently, these staff members re
ceive none of the health or retire
ment benefits given to university
employees.
• The committee voted 9-1 in
favor of granting the Daily Nebras
kan $45,268 of student fees for.the -
1997-98 school year. The riewspa-"
per received the same amount in
1996-97.
Union's north doors to close long-term
By Kasey Kerber
Staff Reporter
The north doors of the Nebraska
Union will be closed today—and they
will stay that way fa 18 months.
Gates encircling the entire Broyhill
Plaza were locked this morning, sepa
rating students from the union’s north
entrance until the union’s expansion
■ is complete.
Larry Blake, UNL project man
ager, said workers had to fence off the
uniat plaza for safety and security rea
sons.
Students are now advised to use the
temporary entrance on the west side
of the union building.
Blake said the west entrance was
now complete, following the installa
tion of awning lighting on Monday.
However, because of an excavation
project, only a 6-foot-wide sidewalk
leads from the union’s north side to
the new west entrance.
Within the union, there will be few
changes beyond the locking of the
north doors.
In about a month, interior con
struction will extend to within 4 feet
of the north entrance staircase, Blake
said.
“We’re hoping to keep that stair
case operational so students can get
to the lower level,” Blake said.
In addition to interior and exterior
union extension, Blake said that park
ing inconveniences in the union’s east
parking lot will be relieved in about
two weeks, and the fenced-off cul-de
sac at the intersection of 15th and F
streets might reappear in one week.
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Parking committee
discusses solutions
'
By Sarah Baker
Staff Reporter
A think tank of students and
faculty brainstormed possible solu
tions to the University of Nebraska
Lincoln’s parking problems Tues
day night at the Parking Advisory
Committee meeting.
Although no proposals have
been formally made, the commit
tee developed a number of ideas to:
• Clear up campus parking lots.
• Make shuttle routes more ef
ficient.
• Use a charge card for the new
parking garage.
• E-mail parking appeals.
The group had questions about
one idea that would ban students
from buying a parking permit if
they lived within a mile of campus.
One faculty member asked if the
rule would apply to staff as well as
students.
UNL Parking Manager Tad
McDowell said he didn’t know
what the specifics of the concept
would be or if the university even
would adopt it.
“There may be reasons as to
why some people can’t use alter
nate forms of transportation, like
handicaps or health reasons,”
McDowell said. “None of this has
been taken into consideration with
these ideas as of yet.”
The parking-ban concept was
originally taken from a system used
at the University of North Carolina.
McDowell said before he seriously
considered the idea, the committee
would find out how the system, at
UNC works. ■'
*
“Before seriously considering
any of these prospects the univer
sity will definitely be well in
formed,” McDowell said.
Another parking issue dis
cussed was moving the bus shelter
on the City Campus loop next to
Oldfather Hall to die comer in front
of Morrill Hall.
“When the bus gets in the loop,
often the route gets blocked, which
damages the time schedule of the
pickups. The loop is also rough on
the buses themselves,” McDowell
said.
The committee also talked
about using a card access system
in the parking garage being built
at 1 Oth and T streets. Students and
faculty could buy parking time on
a plastic card, similar to UNL’s
copy cards. ' <
McDowell presented an idea to
make filing parking appeals easier.
Offenders will be able to e-mail
their parking appeals to parking
services and receive a date and time
for an appeal hearing.
Despite all the ideas the com
mittee considered, members agreed
that no matter what the solutions
may be, there will always be some
unhappy students.
McDowell said he would rather
not set limits on students, but it
could be unavoidable.
“Parking is a no-win issue,” <
McDowell said. “Any approach
that we decide to take will leave
some people upset. Any time we put
limits on something, there are go
ing to be unhappy people.”
Academic Senate representative
Linda Swoboda said she wanted the
cqpphitteelb start taking actiorcon
some of its ided». >
“Why should we bring up these
ideas if we are not sure if they are
even going to happen?”
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