The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 23, 1998, Image 1

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    SPORTS
A good lickin’
With a win over 25th-ranked Texas Tech Wednesday,
the Huskers now have won 5 of their last 6 games -
all against ranked opponents. PAGE 10
A & E
You should be dancin’
This weekend students of UNL Dance Professor
Ann Shea will strut their stuff for an audience in
“Last Chance to Dance.” PAGE 13
THURS. AY
April 23, 1998
The Heat of The Momeht
Sunny and warm, high 76. Fair tonight, low 46.
NO. 146
ACTION victorious in run-off election
ByIevaAugstums
Assignment Reporter
Despite campaigning efforts in UNL's largest
residence hall Wednesday, RHAs run-off election
did not produce enough student support to over
turn original election results.
Upon hearing run-off election results, Ben
Wallace, RHA president-elect and junior French
major, said his reaction was not “Wow, I won.” but
“Finally, it's over.”
"It was a long process and I'm glad it’s finally
over," he said.
Along w ith Wallace on the winnmg ACTION
ticket was vice president-elect Shane Perkins, a
junior international affairs major and secretary
elect Jill Beran, a sophomore music education
major.
ENHANCE candidate Kristen Morrow, a
junior physics and engineering major, received 71
percent of the vote, winning the Residence Hall
Association treasurer position over ACTION
write-m candidate Brain Opplinger, a sophomore
operations management and mathematics major.
Larry Willis, ENHANCE presidential candi
date and nontraditional sophomore accounting
major, said he also was glad the election was over.
“The election was long and drawn out,” Willis
said. “But we accomplished what we intended to
do - we made it a fair election.”
During an April 13 RHA election infraction
hearing, ENHANCE party members asked for a
review of April 8 election procedures. The RHA
election commission heard five infractions from
the ENHANCE party, but voted in favor of its
request for a run-off election only because the
Abel-Sandoz complex ran out of ballots during the
original election.
Kerry Stenger. RHA election commissioner,
said the electoral commission voted for the re-elec
tion because of the uncertain validity of approxi
mately 19 “unofficial” RHA ballots.
“I think redoing the election in Abel and
Sandoz was valid,” Stenger said. “ENHANCE did
have the right to a fair election.”
Stenger said a total of 220 Abel and Sandoz
residence hall students voted in the run-off elec
tion. That was 113 fewer ballots cast than in the
original election, she said. Originally, ENHANCE
received 225 votes and ACTION received 88
votes.
The ENHANCE party captured 80 percent of
the vote in the Abel-Sandoz complex. ACTION
took 20 percent of the vote.
Wallace said he assumed ENHANCE would
win Abel and Sandoz residence halls.
“Knobbe is a great Abel hall president," he
said. “Students voiced their opinion clearly.”
Matt Knobbe, ENHANCE vice presidential
candidate for RHA and junior computer science
major, said he is pleased with the voter turnout in
Please see RHA on 8
Honor thy
Mother
Professors refute
harassment charge
By Brad Davis
Senior Reporter
One day after a report surfaced
detailing sexual harassment allega
tions in the political science
department, some professors say
they were unfairly targeted.
“We have been found guilty in
the proceeding and we did not
know we were on trial,” said Jeff
Spinner, assistant political science
professor.
The report, issued by five fac
ulty members from the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln Rights and
Responsibilities Committee, rec
ommended the department be
placed under a “receivership,” or a
three-year probation-like period.
The report came in response to
We appeal to the
chancellor s sense of
justice and fairness"
Jeff Spinner
assistant political science professor
complaints filed with the universi
ty by Valerie Schwebach, assistant
political science professor.
Schwebach said the department
was negligent in responding to her
sexual harassment complaints.
Schwebach and her lawyer say
they may file a lawsuit against the
Please see REPORT on 9
Education officials call for
special legislative session
By Brian Carlson
Senior Reporter
Supporters of a special legislative
session to restore vetoed educational
funding measures went back to school
Wednesday to present their arguments.
In a crowded room in Lincoln's
McPhee Elementary School, a group
of state senators and education offi
cials urged Gov. Ben Nelson to call a
special session of the Legislature. The
session is needed, they said, to restore
educational funding provisions vetoed
in LB 1175.
State senators led by Sen. Ardyce
Bohlke of Hastings, bill sponsor, said
several portions of the bill were both
essential and noncontroversial and
should be restored in a 1998 special
session rather than waiting until the
1999 session.
Although Nelson supported the
bill’s original intent, he vetoed it
Sunday because of an amendment he
believed would obligate the state to
spend an additional S70 million for
educational funding beginning in
2001.
"(Nelson) needed to see the
urgency of a special session.” Bohlke
said. "It’s apparent that many people
across the state of Nebraska see the
urgency.”
Bohlke has said the original provi
sions of LB 1175 were essential for
schools to plan budgets. They include:
■ An extension of state funding
for special education beyond its Aug.
31, 1999, sunset.
■ Additional funding for very
small school districts.
■ Restoration of funding for some
Please see SESSION on 8
Top: JANE McCAULEY, 21, took advantage of the beautiful spring day by tossing around a Frisbee with friends near
the Earth Day celebration Wednesday.
Above: SHANE ROKAHR, a UNL sophomore, crushes a can during the celebration. The celebration, sponsored by
Ecology Now, continued throughout the day in the greenspace in front of the Nebraska Union.
Earth Day
celebrated
with music,
games, food
By Eric Rineer
Staff Reporter
As students celebrated a perfect
spring day Wednesday, many also
took time to celebrate Mother Earth
during the 28th annual Earth Day.
Ecology Now sponsored the all
day event hoping to promote environ
mental awareness coinciding with the
international day of celebration.
The event took place in the green
space in front of the Nebraska Union.
The bands Nub, Pablo’s Triangle
and Ripple Effect highlighted the
day's events, which featured activi
ties like “Smash the Can,” where par
ticipants smashed aluminum cans
with a mallet.
Other festivities included a num
ber of performances from acoustic
guitar acts Larry Everman, Chris
Sayers, Jumpin' Kate, Shanti and
Please see EARTH on 9
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