SPOUTS
Poise under pressure
ledshirt freshman quarterback Eric Crouch has
aiffered three losses and a gruesome facemask,
)ut coaches say he keeps his poise. PAGE 9
Ill
Afghan aficionado
A lot of people love music, but most can't explain
why. An Afghan Whigs fan uses his experience to
explain why music means so much to some. PAGE 7
November 18, 1998
The Norm
Mostly cloudy, high 57. Wind " night, low 30.
Tobacco settlement OK’d
■ Attorney General Stenberg
accepts the deal, which sets
limits on tobacco advertising
that may target children.
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
Nebraska Attorney General Don
$ Stenberg formally accepted the largest
monetary settlement in the history of the
state when he accepted a deal with the
tobacco companies Tuesday.
The deal would entitle the state to more
than S1.1 billion over 25 years if enough
states join Nebraska in accepting the newly
^ drafted plan.
> I
After seeking opinions from Gov. Ben
Nelson, Gov.-elect Mike Johanns and other
state leaders. Stenberg notified Washington
state Attorney General Christine Gregoire
of Nebraska's formal acceptance. Gregoire
negotiated the agreement on behalf of 36
state attorneys general.
Stenberg said Nebraska likely would
not receive more money if the state filed its
own lawsuit against the tobacco producers,
nor would it be able to secure additional
measures related to advertising and health.
The settlement also sets restrictions on
tobacco advertising, such as bans on bill
boards and buses and advertisements tar
getmg children.
"If we would take our case to trial and
win ... the court would not have the author
ity to impose any of the public health provi
sions which have been negotiated as part of
this agreement,” Stenberg said.
States have until Friday morning to
decline or accept the proposed settlement,
which would pay more than S206 billion to
states and set up a fund for anti-smoking
publicity and education.
Lincoln Sen. Don Wesely, who is chair
man of the Health and Human Services
Committee until he leaves office in
January, said he was excited about the set
tlement and the impact it will have on
Nebraska health.
“It's not perfect, but it's certainly a won
derful step forward to bring a significant
amount of money back to Nebraska to deal
with the health costs of tobacco use.”
Wesely said.
The money paid to states was intended
Please see TOBACCO on 2
Into the great wide open
Matt Miller/DN
TWO BMX RIDERS from Irving Middle School rest at the top of a turn at the Star City BMX track Tuesday. One of the stu
dents, Jay Jacobus, 14, said about seven students spent four hours at the track after school. “We just wanted to jump
over there at the track. It was a nice day out,” Jacobus said.
iI
Seminar explores
Internet 2’s virtues
as fast research tool
By Sarah Baker
Senior staff writer
It has the possibility to connect scientists from across the country
and further their research by leaps and bounds.
But it also has the capability to create a virtual art gallery, to give
a tour of a Nazi concentration camp or to play music of any genre just
like a compact disc player.
Internet 2, the younger sibling of the original Internet, the system
utilized daily worldwide, was the subject of Tuesday's “Internet 2:
The Future of University Research” conference.
Sponsored by the Nebraska branch of EPSCoR - the
Experimental Program to
Stimulate Competitive
Research - the daylong sem
inar at the Comhusker Hotel
gave insight into both the
technological and the educa
tional sides of this high
speed, developmental
research tool.
Rovce Ballinger, director
of EPSCoR, said his organi
zation sponsors seminars
like this one in a partnership
with state, university and
federal research facilities.
EPSCoR was founded in
1980 by the National
Science Foundation to
increase research in smaller
ciiiu icbb-icbcaiui-udbcu biaicb. 111 aciuiuancc wnn uiib guai,
EPSCoR works to educate and advance knowledge of Internet 2.
which also is known as 12.
“If this group can't answer your questions about 12," Ballinger
said, "then there probably isn't an answer.”
Internet 2 is not a sequel of the original Internet. It is a faster,
research-based tool that can transfer huge amounts of data quickly
and reliably.
Speakers at the conference discussed different ways universities
can use Internet 2. Each of those universities can work with EPSCoR
to develop applications.
Kent Hendrickson. University of Nebraska-Lincoln associate
vice chancellor for information services, said conferences like this
one help to improve technology at UNL.
"This helps to develop dialogue on campus, and researchers will
hopefully extend that and work hard to put this together." he said.
Nebraska became eligible for the EPSCoR benefits in 1992. and
since then, the program has brought S23 million to the state to be
used for research.
Please see INTERNET 2 on 2
«
Universities are
working together not
just for higher
education, but to
raise the bar over all
Internet services
Ted Hanss
technology speaker
Loan plan provides lower rates
Editor 's note: This w eek, the Daily
Nebraskan is taking a three-part look at
the changing face of student loans:
where they come from, trends in how
students use them and how students pay
them back.
By Jessica Fargen
Staff writer
UNL students have a small wmdow
of opportunity to save S50 for every
SI.000 they owe in student loan debt,
thanks to lowered interest rates under
the 1998 Higher Education bill signed
last month.
But they must consolidate their
loans by Jan. 31 to receive the 6.86 per
cent rate for students and 7.46 percent
rate for others with college loan debt.
On Feb. 1, the rate will jump back to
its normal perch near 8 percent.
Although the rate decrease may
seem tiny, students and those with stu
dent loan debt could save about S800
based on the average University of
Nebraska-Lincoln graduate's loan debt
of S 15.711, said Craig Munier, UNL's
director of scholarships and financial
aid.
This is good news for today's col
lege students who are getting less gov -
ernmental assistance, rapidly stacking
up credit card debt and going to school
Read the Daily Nebra.
longer. Munier said.
Federal minimum wage and federal
Pell Grants have not kept up with the
increasing cost of higher education, he
said leaving students to rely on their
parents and student loans to get through
college.
More than $60 billion in federal,
state and institutional aid was given last
year, but most was in the form of loans,
not grants, and most of the increased
borrowing was unsubsidrzed according
to the College Board's 1998 Trends in
Student Aid survey.
'"Basically, the Pell Grant has (more)
reduced buy ing power today than it did
20 years ago." he said. "That means stu
ikan on the World Wide Web at http:/ hv
dents have to rely on other resources
other than Pell Grants, so that has left
increased reliance on parents, working
or borrowing.”
On top of that, most American col
lege students have borrowed more than
S100 billion in the first six years of the
decade, which is more than the 1960s,
1970s and 1980s combined, according
to the Institute for Higher Education
Policy.
Kimberly Janssen, a senior health
and exercise science major, is a student
of the 1990s.
And she is one of about 10.000
Please see LOANS on 6
ww.unl.edu/DailyNeb
Books to bucks
Average family income by -1140000
educational attainment of $115,4©
householder. 1996. .5120.000
.$100,000
. $80,000
. $60,000
$26. ■S4a00°
. $20,000
$0
Source U.S Census Bureau
•Jon Frank ON