House impeachment
hearings set to begin today
WASHINGTON (AP) - Prosecutor
Kenneth Starr was given leeway
Wednesday to reach far beyond the
Monica Lewinsky matter in making his
case at presidential impeachment hear
ings.
The hearings begin today as
Republicans moved to summon the
president’s private lawyer and closest
confidant
House Judiciary Committee chair
man Henry Hyde said majority
Republicans probably would vote today
on subpoenas for White House deputy
counsel Bruce Lindsey, the president’s
most trusted adviser, and for attorney
Robert Bennett, who represented
Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit
The committee also plans to ques
tion Daniel Gecker, the lawyer for
Clinton accuser Kathleen Willey, and
Nathan Landow, a Maryland Democrat
who had contacts with Willey. She has
accused the president of a sexual
advance inside the White House.
Hyde asked die Justice Department
for a prosecutor’s memo that provided a
detailed argument for appointing an
independent counsel to take over the
criminal investigation of Democratic
fund-raising abuses, a committee offi
cial told The Associated Press.
Weapons inspectors resume
their work in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - When
United Nations weapons inspectors
I went back to work Wednesday, it was so
normal it seemed as though the last two
weeks of high tension never happened.
The six white vehicles from the
U.N. Special Commission investigating
Iraq’s hidden arms pulled out of
UNSCOM headquarters on Baghdad’s
: eastern edge. Accompanying them
were a half-dozen cars full of Iraqi
escorts, a sign Iraq was cooperating.
The inspectors were expected to
limit their first visits to sites where they
have installed cameras and sensors for
long-tram monitoring.
The surprise checks that in the past
created clashes with Iraq will come
later, authorities have said. These are
visits to sites where it is suspected that
Iraq has hidden material related to
chemical and biological weapons pro
grams or long-range missiles.
GOP unanimously backs
Livingston for House speaker
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Bob.
Livingston collected unanimous
Republican backing Wednesday to
become House speaker and quickly
pledged action in the new Congress to
cut taxes and preserve Social Security.
“There are some who insist the
Republican era is over,” Livingston, R*
La., told fellow GOP lawmakers who
are still reeling hum the loss of seats in
this month’s elections. “But that’s like
saying the American dream is over. It
isn’t true, and they know it”
He pledged cooperation with the
Democrats, then added, “We will do so
to advance Republican principles” of
less government
Livingston, 55, a pragmatic conser
vative and chairman of the
Appropriations Committee with a his
tory of working with Democrats, was
nominated without opposition to suc
ceed Newt Gingrich as speaker.
Gingrich bade farewell to the
Republicans whom he led to power four
years ago, handed a gavel to Livingston
to signal the shift in power, then left
Washington with his wife for a Florida
vacation.
Livingston’s formal ascension
won’t occur until Congress convenes
Local burglaries on the rise
Police say this year’s number of break-ins has exceeded last year’s
By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
Police are investigating a rash of
home burglaries in southwest Lincoln,
and they are telling citizens to look out
Several thieves with similar tech
niques have been operating in the same
area of town, Lincoln Police Sgt Jon
Sundermeier said
Burglars have taken $12,000 in
property from 13 homes since the first
of the month, and there also were
several cases in October in the area
bound by 13th Street, 27th Street, J
Street and Highway 2.
“We are asking people to be more
alert to suspicious people in their
neighborhood,” Sundermeier said.
The thieves like to strike between 4
p.m. and 10 p.m. when they can easily
check if anyone is home.
Though police think more than one
thief is at work in the area,
Sundermeier said the thieves are work
ing independently.
The thief approaches a house or
apartment that looks unoccupied, and
knocks to see if anyone is home,
Sundermeier said.
If no one answers, the thief forces
hi$ or her way in through the front or
back door, and then takes tools, jewel
ry, cash, electronics and firearms.
Burglaries are up citywide this
year. In September, the most recent
month for which statisficswere avail
able, 49 burglaries were reported, up
from 33 in 1997.
Police have notified
Neighborhood Watch groups in the
area, and they are advising people to
leave a light on to make their homes
appear occupied. -v,-'
Police are asking citizens to report
suspicious people in their neighbor
hood, especially if they are carrying
something. Citizens should also report
anyone knocking on their door and
claiming to have the wrong house.
“This is a time when a lot ofpeople
are home and could help out,”
Sundermeier said.
Police have recovered some stolen
property and made one arrest earlier
this month. But the pattern of burglar
ies has continued. Anyone with infor
mation on the crimes can call Crime
Stoppers at (402) 475-3600.
Regents approve new honors residence hall
REGENTS from page 1
recruitment efforts.
The residential center will aid the
university in its efforts to increase die
retention of freshman students, which
has been one of UNL’s weaknesses as
compared to its peer institutions, he
said.
Although Regent Rosemary
Skrupa of Omaha expressed doubts
that die center would provide die land
of environment needed to foster
increased interaction between stu
dents, Moeser was confident it would.
‘*i will stake my everything on it
happening,” Moeser said. “It will
work.”
Regent Robert Allen of Hastings
said the new center would keep more
good students in Nebraska.
“It will help our brain-drain prob
lem,” he said.
Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska President Sara
Russell also cast a dissenting vote.
Student regents’ votes do not count in
the official vote.
Russell said although die thought
the center would be a “wonderful
asset” to the university, she had too
many unanswered questions regarding
parking relocation to vote for the bud
get
Parking Services Manager Tad
McDowell was not at the meeting to
say where temporary parking for the
lot taken by the center would be
located.
But in a telephone interview,
McDowell said some of the faculty and
staff who park in that lot will park in
the mall that runs along Vine and U
streets in front of Memorial Stadium.
Some who park in the mall now,
which is faculty and staff parking, will
park near the Reunion building in a stu
dent commuter lot
Those students will need to park in
a garage at 14th Street and Avery
Avenue that, if approved by the regents,
will be finished in late 2000, near die
finishing date of the Kauffman center.
The garage will compensate for
lots lost to ongoing construction pro
jects during a proposed campus plan
overthe next 12 or more years.
Russell said the money provided
for the center was not going to cover
the money Parking Services would
lose from the project
Parking Services is a self-funded
entity within die university, though die
parking lots are university property.
The 59,870-square foot center will
house 116 undergraduate students and
will provide quarters for four student
assistants, a house master, a resident
director and a visiting senior fellow.
It will have a lower level for stor
age, a main floor and two upper levels.
Chi the main level will be die great hall,
academic classrooms, housing,
kitchen and the courtyard.
On the second and third floors will
be student support facilities, residents’
suites, a lounge and student assistants’
rooms.
Other facilities include a recreation
area and a building network equipment
room.
n pa lace some students in trouble
LOANS from page 1
Loan Program, said students who
* default could face serious repercus
' sions, including:
i ■ gamisheeing of a federal tax
refunds or wages,
■ denial of state employment,
■ denial of professional licenses,
■ damaged credit reports or
■ denial of further financial stu
I-—1
Questions? Comments?
Ask for the appropriate section editor at
(402)472-2588
or e-mail dn@unJ.edu.
Editor: Erin Gibson
Managing Editor: Chad Lorenz
Associate News Editor: Bryce Glenn
Amodate News Editor: Brad Davis '
Assignment Editor: Kasey Keiber
Opinkm Editor: Cliff Hicks
Sports Editor: Sam McKewon
A&E Editor: Bret Schulte
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Photo Chief: Matt Miller
Design Chief: Nancy Christensen
Art Director: Matt Haney
Online Editor: Gregg Steams
Asst Online Edtton Amy Burke
General Manager: Dan Shattil
PnbHcattons Board Jessica Hofmann, . '
Chairwoman: (402)466-8404 .
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(402)473-7248
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(402)472-2589 '
Asst Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltjen
flsaiHltld Ad Manager: Mami Speck
* ' ' ' y
y
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
■ t
dent aid.
From October 1997 to September
1998, the Nebraska Student Loan
Program collected $42 million from
students who had defaulted on their
loans, Melecki said.
When students don’t pay at all,
though, the federal government reim
burses NSLP about 95 percent, and
NSLP pays the remaining debt itself.
If students start to make payments
after defaulting, they can relieve
themselves of penalties, said Melecki,
who administers Federal Family
Educational Loans through NSLP.
The biggest mistake students can
make is not calling their lender if a
problem arises, he said.
“It’s a natural human reaction,” he
said. “You start falling behind. Lots of
times it’s a scary thing. Instead of
thinking of them as someone that can
help you, you think of them as some
one who should be avoided
“If we can talk to a borrower who’s
having trouble making payments, we
can keep them out of default.”
A recent .NSLP survey from
October 1995 to September 1996
identified the types of students likely
to default:
■ The higher the grade level at
which students get their loans, the less
likely they are to default.
■ First- and second-year students,
especially first-year dropouts, are
more default-prone.;
■ Students who borrow federally
unsubsidized loans are less likely to
default than those who borrow subsi
dized loans.
H Students who start borrowing
later in life are more default-prone.
But the number of students in
Nebraska who fit these profiles has
declined as default rates are at a three
year low of 8.5 percent, Melecki said.
UNEs default rate is 4.7 percent.
Melecki said several factors con
tributed to the low rate.
“Obviously the economy in the
Payback time
Loan repayment starts six months after
graduation. Students who have direct
loans and loans through the Federal
Family Educational Loan Program, or
a mixture of both, have several options.
Students caare*pgp*iajto their
payments ahd can always opt to pay
more.
Standard repayment plan - This the
most common repayment plan. Studies
pay the samernontNy payment every month
tor up to 10years. Tresis determined by
the amotldcprtowad and the interest rate.
Extended rap^paent^Tba minimum
monthly payment to $68, bid payment
period can be extended 12 to 30 years,
depending on the amount of toe loan.
Graduated repayment plan - Students
can start out at one paiment level and
increase it every fewyfjars.
Income sensitive repayment -INs plan
is forstofcft who are entering tow-paying
jobs. StodiitSCan pay mtom monthly
payment, but must provide the lender with
a report of their annuai gross monthly
income, which dotomitos payment amount
for the next year.
state has been very good, and unem
ployment has been extremely low,” he
said. “Most students, if they have a job
and are earning enough to pay their
loans, they do.”
Munier said one way students can
become more financially secure is
through loan consolidation, which
combines various student loans into
one loan, with one payment to one
source. Although students pay smaller
monthly payments, they will be pay
ing their loans off longer, Munier said.
Students with FFELP loans should
talk to counselors at UNIPAC Service
Corp., 13th and O streets.Students
with direct loans who have consolida
tion questions can receive loan coun
seling at UNEs financial aid. office.
Dallas Smetter, a 1995 graduate,
said he knew what he was getting into
when he took out his $10,000 in stu
dent loans.
Pay up
Part of determining a loan repayment program and monthly payment is figured by a student’s
starting salary after graduation and the percentage of loan debt that a student can manage, which
should not exceed 8 percent of a student’s gross monthly income. AH professions are based on a
bachelor’s degree unless otherwise noted.
Occupation Y Estimated starting Manageable loan Monthly
hMn in Ntbiislai debt payment
• mrcant df orota . .
v*.; J Income) • vC. p Pp
Accountant ||ll $22,400 - $27^50181!' $12^25 II $150
Architect $27,000-$31,000' $14,670 ? $180
Chemist *£pY $26,400 - $33,200 Y $14,260| $175
Construction managsr.::, $22,000 - $30,000 $11320 $145
Cosmetologist (certmed) •" £ $8,800 -$10,400 $4,725 $58
Elementary/secondary teacher $16,000-$19,000 $8,550 .. $105
Engineer $28,325 -$33,000 $15,485 ; v ; $190
Financial manager . j$28|500-$32,525 $15,485 $190
Geologist • '$18,000-$22,000 $9,780 .. $120
Journalism $12,000-$16,000 $6,520 *'-4} $80
Lawyer (juris doctorate) $28J501$36,300 $15,485 . * : $190
Mathematician $20,000*$25,000 $10,595 ' f $130
Personnel specialist $18,600-$24,350 $10,190 " . '$125
Pharmacist ... I-$42,0001: $17,525 $215
Physical therapist T i-$40,0(»p $17,930: JIY$220
Physicianas®8B.?: ..„ . -$47,000 * #16,300 $200
Physicist (masteris degree) 5,000 - $30,000 $13,450 $165
Psychologist (doctorate) 3,000 - $35,000 $16,300 $200
Registered nurse ,$20,000 - $30,000 $10,595i $130
Respiratory therapist $21,000 -$25,000 $11,410 $140
Social Worker (masteris degree) $23,000 - $25,500 $12,225 $150
Systems analyst $30,000 - $37,800 $16,300 $200
Source: Nebraska Educational Planning Center
- '
He thinks about that commitment
every month when he drops a check
for $300 in the mail. He also thinks
about how important his education
was.
“It’s better than the alternative -
not getting an education and being a
poor bastard all your life,” said die 27
year-old, who now works as a teacher
near South Padre, Texas.
Smetter said his loan debt was
fairly low because he got assistance
through the G.I. Bill for college. He
admitted that all of his loan did not go
to books and tuition.
“A lot of that 10 grand was fun
money,” Smetter said.
Kristi Lankford, 23, who graduat
ed in May, said, along with working,
her student loan also allowed her to do
jon r kank/jjjn
some extra things in college such as
travel to Europe and join a sorority.
* But after four years of school, she
will start paying back $11,000 in loans
next month. *
-• “You kind of have fun using those
loans and now it’s like ‘Oh yeah, 1
have to pay that back now,’” Lankford
said.
Scott, a December graduate, said
despite die monthly payments and 10
years of debt, student loans were a
necessary evil.
“Even if it seems like a ton of
money, if you are going to pay for
school, that is what you are going to
do,” Scott said. “It’s kind of that catch
22 - you take the loans and you go to
school, or you don’t take die loans and
don’t go to school.”