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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1998)
ASUN wants increases examined ASUN from page 1 Teachers College Senator Chelsy Harris said one of die main reasons why students want closer parking is safety. “Students are willing to pay for such spe cial parkingHarris said. “But increasing an already costly permit by 20 percent is not going to work. Students will not go for it” Slaughter said there will always be safety concerns, no matter where someone parks. “Yes, it’s always on everyone’s mind, but people will pay to be safe,” Slaughter said. Senator Jason Boykin, a graduate student representative, said the proposal was good, but if passed there potentially could be a shift in the number of permits students buy. “Students will probably opt for the lowest costing permit, but not every student will receive a permit,” Boykin said. “We could be creating more problems for students who want to have parking than helping them.” Senators also decided Parking and Transit Services should be compensated for land and services the university takes away from it The concern comes from the removal of parking spaces in order to build the new visi tors center and Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater in the Temple block and the Esther L. Kauffman Residential Academic Center in the greenspace north of the Nebraska Union. College of Engineering and Technology Senator Paul Schreier explained to the senate that UNL does not reimburse parking services for any lots the university decides take away. “Parking services is a self-supported busi ness. They charge only what they need to in order to provide their services,” Schreier said. “They should be given market value for their land and provided services.” Slaughter said students could potentially face increased parking meter charges and more aggressive ticketing and fine collection to pay for new parking spaces, as well as for the replacement of old spaces. Railroad track trespassing can put students in danger (Jfjicials stress keeping patience with trains ByIevaAugstums Staff writer University of Nebraska-Lincoln administra tors are thrilled students are eager to attend class, but trespassing on railroad tracks to make it to class on time is putting them in danger, they said. University faculty members and staff have reported seeing UNL students crawling under neath and between stalled railway cars. “This is a disturbing issue,” said Walter Mientka, a mathematics and statistics professor. “Safety should be on the minds of everyone, including university administration, faculty and students.” Mientka, an Academic Senate member, said he saw about 25 students walking between stalled railroad cars, and five students crawling under neath, on the tracks parallel to Avery Avenue from north of the power plant to Nebraska Hall early last month. Those tracks are owned by Union Pacific Railroad and are used occasionally for freight and grain transport. Mientka said he is concerned students are not aware of the danger and the trouble they risk if they are caught illegally crossing railroad proper ty. He asked the senate to take responsibility as faculty members. “Students are precious to this university,” Mientka said. “We don’t want anything harmful happening to them.” Although Mientka witnessed the stunts a month ago, the sight of students walking on rail road tracks is nothing new. University Police Sgt My lo Bushing said stu dents have walked on the railroad tracks for many years. The tracks are private property, he said, and crossing the tracks at nonspecified areas is ille gal. Ed Trandal, Union Pacific Railroad spokesman, said walking under or between rail road cars is trespassing. Those caught could be fined $35-$ 120, depending on the situation, he said. Union Pacific has more than 175 railroad police who work with local police and highway patrol officers to enforce railroad safety laws. A railroad officer’s main duty is to get people off the tracks and out of the trains’ right of way, he said. About 500 deaths a year occur because peo ple trespass on railroad property. Nine out of 10 fatalities are the result of trespassing, he said. “Trespassing on railroad tracks is not worth anybody’s time,” Trandal said. “It’s not worth the danger in trying to save time.” Rob Logsdon, executive director of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, said under state law, a train can sit for no longer than 10 minutes. Trandal said trains stop mainly for mechani cal purposes, such as to fix problems with brakes and to make minor repairs, dispatching and scheduling errors. The length of time a train may stand in one place is dependent on the problem the train has, he said. Mientka said having trains stall for a long time is not fair to students. “Students become impatient, and that’s where the safety issue comes in,” Mientka said. “Students seem to be willing to do anything to cross those tracks.” Trandal agreed. “Students need to realize there could be a sur prise in store - trains do move suddenly without forewarning,” Trandal said. Therefore, people who decide to duck under neath or squeeze between cars could be maimed or killed. Guss Melonas, a Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway spokesman, said the company is aware of the student trespassing situation. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway own tracks parallel to campus, between Holdrege Street and the state fairgrounds. Melonas said « Students become impatient and that's where the safety issue comes in. Students seem to be willing to do anything to cross those tracks.” Walter Mientka mathematics and statistics professor students need to use the railway crossings at 10* 17* and N streets. “We apologize for the inconvenience for our cars,” Melonas said Scott Lewis, associate vice chancellor for business and finance, said UNL is working with die local railroad district, including Union Pacific representatives, to acquire the railroad tracks. The tracks would be developed into a hiker-biker path, he said “It’s a complicated issue at this point, but the university will eventually hopeiully remove the tracks,” Lewis said Lewis said acquiring the tracks is part of UNEs preliminary Master Plan, but because the project is a federal project there is no specific timeline. Parking Services Director Tad McDowell said removing the tracks and bringing parking in closer to the campus should eliminate trespass ing. While train trespassing incidents have been reported to Parking Services, McDowell said his office cannot enforce those laws. “We want students to be safe,” McDowell said. “All we can keep on doing is discourage stu dents from trespassing.” Internet gambling site stops use ofHusker images CASINO from page 1 Husker Casino offered a chance to win a trip to a Husker bowl game this year, and up until last weekend, was using pictures of former NU Coach Tom Osborne, former football play er Ahman Green and the Sears trophy, Bahl said. The site, which offered gambling such as black jack, craps and sports betting options - was not endorsed by the university, Bahl said. “Obviously we are in the business of ama teur athletics,” he said. “Collegiate athletics is against any form of gambling, and that’s our biggest concern. Also the University of Nebraska’s image is a big concern of ours.” About a month ago, someone informed Bahl about the site, which at the time was using pictures of Osborne and Green. Bahl sent the World Wide Web site operators letters telling them to cease operating under the false percep tion of a tie to the University of Nebraska Lincoln. “We wanted them to quit with the confusion r---— that there could be a tie between the casino and the University of Nebraska, which we absolute ly do not want nor condone,” Bahl said. Last weekend, the site stopped using Husker images, but until Wednesday afternoon it still offered a chance to win a trip to a Husker bowl game and used the trademark name ‘Husker.’ The site had a black-and-red outlined figure of a football player, dice and a flashy, red Husker Casino nameplate at the top. Gamblers could play games for a fee or just for fun. For $30, bettors could view live sports games and bet. Bettors had to give their credit card numbers over the Internet to pay for bet ting options. The Web site, which had operated since January, was licensed and regulated by GoTo Entertainment. The company had been accept ing wagers via the Internet since January. Although the university would never allow its image to be used, to endorse a gambling operation, it does charge royalty rates between 7.5 percent and 10 percent for people who want to use the university’s logos for other promo tional use. Bahl said his office often deals with trade mark infringement, but this was the first time a gambling operation had tried to connect itself to the Huskers. If GoTo Entertainment, also known as Entretenimiento, had continued to ignore let ters and use the university trademarks, the com pany could have been sued, said Michael Drucker, associate counsel for the Collegiate Licensing Co. in Atlanta. “The last step is obviously bringing an action in a court of law,” Drucker said. “We usu ally don’t get to that step.” UNL hired Drucker to handle the Husker Casino case. Drucker said he did not receive a response from letters sent to a GoTo Entertainment address in Miami asking the company to cease using the university’s marks in connection with the casino. Though infringement is no longer an issue, Internet gambling is still a dangerous trap that can leave eager gamblers deep in debt, said state Sen. Stan Schellpeper of Stanton. Schellpeper, who has supported legislation that would warn people about the negative impact of Internet gambling, said the hands of states are tied in trying to regulate Internet gambling. Many gambling sites are controlled outside of the country and are largely unregulated - a chore left up to the federal government, Schellpeper said. “We can warn people and tell them what could happen if they gamble and give out cred it card numbers,” Schellpeper said. “We can’t do any legislation because they are not in this state, or in this country.” Non-Internet gambling is illegal in Nebraska, which makes gambling from the comfort of home even more attractive, Schellpeper said. “Unfortunately there’s always some people who think they are going to win,” Schellpeper said. “They think if they can get on the Internet and gamble, they are not really responsible for their debts. “But they are - it’s on their credit cards.” . n-. Questions? Comments? Muueb*Editor SdLSt Associate News Editor: Bryce Glenn JJJg Associate News Editor: Brad Davis * e-msll dn<t$.unl.edu. Assignment Editor: Kasey Kerber Opinion Editor: Cliff Hicks General Manager: Dan Shattil Sports Editor: Sam McKewon Publications Board Jessica Hofmann, A&E Editor: Bret Schulte Chairwoman: (402) 466-8404 Copy Desk Chief: Diane Broderick Professional Adviser: Don Walton, Photo Chief: Matt Miller (402) 473-7248 Design Chief: Nancy Christensen Advertising Manager: Nick Partsch, Art Director: Matt Haney (402)472-2589 Online Editor: Gregg Steams Asst Ad Manager: Andrea Oeltjen Diversions Editor: Jeff Randall Classified Ad Manager: Mami Speck Fax number: (402) 472-1761 Worid Wide Web: www.unl.edu/DailyNeb The Daily Nebraskan (USPS144-080) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St, Lincoln, NE 685884)448, Monday through Friday duming the academic year; weekly during the summer sessions.The public has access to the Publications Board. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas arid comments to the Daily Nebraskan by calling (402) 472-2588. Subscriptions are $55 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St., Lincoln NE 68588-0448. Periodical postagepaid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1998 THE DAILY NEBRASKAN M.I t Itt.t *>>,*»t i+t f f f A»/>>*/// |T students cautioned against scams FRAUD from page 1 vices will guarantee results, though they have no real control over them. Most illegitimate search services operate out of a P.O. box, rather than a street address. Other things to look for that should incite alarm include no telephone number listed online or with directory assistance, notes that say everybody is eligible and unusual requests for per sonal information, such as credit card or bank account numbers. Many search services offer to refund fees if the applicants don’t receive any awards. Those services often require a rejection letter from every source on die list to claim the refund. That usual ly doesn’t happen, Munier said. Before using any service, Munier suggests calling the Better Business Bureau in the area the service operates from or contacting the U.S. Department of Education. Munier said frauds have been con trolled more since the advent of the Web-based services trusted and adver tised by institutions such as UNL. UNL’s home page has a link to FastWEB, an online scholarship data base. It is free and requires only about 30 minutes to give information about interests, majors, involvement and family income. Marlon Lozano, UNL financial aid adviser, said he directs students looking for scholarships to FastWEB. Within five minutes of finishing the online form at the Web site, http://www.fastweb. com/, results are posted in a mailbox set aside for the applicant. The results include awards that the applicant may qualify for. The service does not apply for those awards for the student, but it does provide addresses u The only vaccine against (scholarship scams) is good judgment." Craig Mumer UNL director of scholarships and financial aid and contact numbers. FastWEB is run by a board of advisers from colleges, high schools and scholarship providers nationwide. Lozano said many services ask students for fees to do exactly what FastWEB and university financial aid offices do for free. “You should not pay for it”