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Rest Assured.
Be Insured.
Enrollment deadline la 2/7/98!
NOW is the time to review your current medical insurance
and/or consider a plan to assist you with your health care needs!
Your University Health Center, together with GM Southwest of
Dallas,TX, offers UNL students a comprehensive and affordable
medical insurance plan specifically deigned to suit the needs of
undergraduate and graduate students. The plan offers students:
* An annual premium of only $399!
* The convenient location and services of the University Health
Center (located at 15th & U) for initial treatment!
* Dependent coverage is also available!
(see policy brochure for dependent premiums and
specific details)
Brochures and applications are avadable at the University
Health Center, International Affairs Office or by mail. Have any
questions? Call our 24-hour information line at 472-7437.
Former
NU coach’s
lawsuit
dropped
By Josh Funk
Senior Reporter
Former Husker Linebacker
Coach Kevin Steele’s defamation
lawsuit against Lancaster County
Attorney Gary Lacey was dis
missed by a federal court judge
last week.
U.S. District Court Judge
Richard G. Kopf ruled that Lacey
was acting in an official and there
fore protected capacity when he
referred to Steele in a Sports
Illustrated interview.
Steele filed suit in September
1996, requesting $1 million in
damages for Lacey’s comments in
the article.
The article, which quoted
Lacey extensively, focused on the
troubles of then-Husker players
Lawrence Phillips, Christian
Peter, Riley Washington and
Tyrone Williams.
CfaalaV cilit KinrraH An nAm_
ments made by Lacey about a .22
caliber handgun Williams alleged
ly used in a January 1994 shoot
ing.
The article stated that
Williams gave Steele the gun, and
Steele then held the weapon while
police were still investigating the
crime. No source was cited for
that information.
In the article Lacey said the
handgun should have been given
to authorities immediately, but
Lacey never mentioned Steele’s
name.
Nebraska law exempts public
officials from slander and libel
suit when they are acting in an
official capacity.
Kopf ruled that Lacey’s state
ments about Williams were relat
ed to his involvement in the case.
Despite the dismissal, Steele’s
lawyers maintain that his case had
merit.
“We lost on a technicality,”
Morris Bruckner, Steele’s lawyer,
said.
But in spite of its merits,
Steele, who now coaches for the
Carolina Panthers in the NFL, will
not pursue the case further,
I Bruckner said.
Neither Lacey nor his attor
neys were available for comment
Wednesday afternoon.
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Greek system to try
new finance system
By Amanda Schindler
Staff Reporter
After 10 years of wrestling with
financial insecurity, fraternity members
on the UNL Interfratemity Council
took steps to resolve their problem
Wednesday night
IFC members unanimously passed
a resolution to centralize fraternities’
financial auditing, which will force fra
ternity members to pay their outstand
ing debts to their chapters.
IFC will enact the measure if chap
ter advisers approve it Friday.
Unpaid bills have piled up for many
fraternities, said IFC President Jess
Sweley, and resulted in financial difficul
ties such as those contributing to the clos
ing of the University of Nebraska
Lincoln’s Kappa Sigma chapter this year.
He said die auditing system is nec
essary to hold members accountable for
their bills and to maintain some fiscal
integrity within the greek system.
The new auditing system would
also save chapters money, Sweley said.
Rather than each chapter paying a
different accountant to check its finan
cial records, one accountant would be
hired to audit all fraternities.
Ideally, a university employee
would be hired for the auditing position,
Sweley said.
Chapter treasurers wouldn’t lose
power, but gain a checking system, he
said.
Farmhouse Fraternity President and
IFC member Matt Timm, who present
ed the resolution, said he first noticed
the bill-collection problem after becom
ing treasurer of his fraternity last year.
“I was amazed at the amounts still
owed from four and five years ago,” he
said. “There’s no accountability once
members leave the chapter.”
He said all possible means of seek
ing out unpaid bills, such as using col
lection agencies, cost money. As a
result, fraternity chapters rarely receive
the whole amount owed to them.
“We need to advocate this now to
prevent (more problems),” he said.
IFC first got the idea for centralized
auditing from peer institutions includ
ing Oklahoma State University in
Stillwater, Okla., and Ohio State
University in Columbus, Ohio.
Under the Oklahoma State policy,
the university withholds important
paperwork including grades and diplo
mas from fraternity members who don’t
pay their bills.
If chapter advisers approve the reso
lution at their Friday meeting, die IFC
will look at case studies from peer insti
tutions such as Oklahoma State and will
examine how to install the system.
Members hope the process will be
implemented no later than the fall 1998
semester.
“The sooner the better,” Timm said.
“It will help our house a lot, as well as
the whole greek system.”
Nelson: Energy saving
From Staff Reports
Gov. Ben Nelson said Wednesday
that if government expects the state to
use more energy-efficient resources,
then government needs to lead the way.
At a press conference, Nelson
announced an executive order calling
for all state agencies to use renewable
energies whenever cost-effective and
practical, and to use only renewable
energies by 2025.
“Renewable energy has played a
considerable role in Nebraska’s histo
ry,” Nelson said. “And it’s no secret the
use of fuels made of grains is impor
tant to our economy.”
State agencies like the Department
of Roads and the Department of
Administrative Services have already
begun using ethanol- and soy-based
fuels in some of their vehicles. Under
the Green Light Program, state govern
ment also has begun replacing burned
out light bulbs with bulbs expending
one-fourth as much energy.
While some energy-saving steps
cost more initially, they save money in
the long run by reducing energy use
and avoiding environmental fines for
problems such as excess emissions,
said state Sen. Don Preister of Omaha,
vice chairman of the Nebraska
Legislature’s Natural Resources
Committee.
Nelson said he was not asking state
agencies to use experimental fuel
sources. Rather, he said, they should
examine the costs and benefits of ideas
for saving energy before implementing
them. State government thus could be
a leader in promoting energy efficien
cy, he said.
“The key here is I want to set an
example.”
Man caught with drugs
A man found with metham
phetamine in his pocket Monday
afternoon claimed he was wearing
someone else’s pants.
Police responding to a neigh
bor’s complaint found Michael
I Bell and Edward Stalder moving
I things from a garage. They said
| they were moving because the
lease was up, Lincoln Police Sgt
Terry Sherrill said. But police
found that Bell had two outstand
| ' ing warrants. When police
searched Bell they found the
methamphetamine in his pocket
After being charged for his
outstanding warrants, Bell was
also charged with possession of
methamphetamine, a felony
offense.
High school girl assaulted
A 16-year-old boy has been
charged with assaulting a
Northeast High School classmate
during their lunch hour Tuesday.
The victim, a 16-year-old girl,
was driving on Baldwin Avenue
between 60th and 63rd streets
when she stopped in die street to
let someone into her car. Lincoln
Police Sgt Ann Heermann said.
But when she stopped, the
assailant - someone she recog
nized from school - got into her
back seat and refused to leave.
After pleading with him, the
driver got out of the car and tried
to physically pull him out But the
assailant responded by choking
her, and he burned her face with a
cigarette.
I