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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1999)
Accused professor maintains innocence By Jessica Fargen Senior staff writer A UNL professor arrested for indecent exposure last week is maintaining his innocence, and uni versity officials said it is too early for disciplinary action. “No one from the university has suggested to me that any action is necessary at this time,” said Richard Durst, dean of the UNL Fine and Performing Arts Department. If Ron Bartels, a UNL associate professor of graphic arts, was con victed of the indecent exposure charge, that would be the time the university would possibly consider taking action, Durst said. Bartels was arrested Wednesday at his home at 3061 W St. and was held several hours for questioning. A motorist allegedly saw the 50 year-old Bartels masturbating Wednesday morning as they both drove south on Ninth Street, police said. Bartels said his arrest is a case of mistaken identity and denies the allegations. “They said that I was honking, that I didn’t have my shorts on and I was trying to get attention in traf fic,” Bartels said. “This is just something that I just never did. And I certainly do deny that charge.” People that know me know that this is not any sort of activity that I would have ever engaged in.” Ron Bartels associate professor of graphic arts While Bartels denied in a Friday Daily Nebraskan story that he was arrested, he now says he was heavi ly medicated because of oral surgery when interviewed. Bartels said he was confused during the interview, and consid ered the arrest more of an interroga tion. Durst said he had spoken with Bartels about the incident and Bartels “suggested to me ^that the allegations were false.” Durst said he has not received any phone calls concerning Wednesday’s incident. Although recent media and police attention has been damaging to him, Bartels said, he had the sup port of his colleagues and students. Bartels “I was not doing that in my car and beyond that I’ve gotten so much support from my students and my faculty that it’s been very uplifting,” Bartels said. “People that know me know that this is not any sort of activity that I would have ever engaged in.” Sally Wise, chairwoman of the Academic Senate’s Academic Rights and Responsibility Committee, said the committee has no role in this situation unless a complaint is filed. The Academic Senate commit tee considers things such as faculty tenure revocation and faculty and student discrimination cases based on formal complaints. LUBE' 17th & ‘N’ No Appointments Necessary 476-9466 «6 Off ^)il Change Service Ivith UNL student ID. I Now Only $19.79 ^reg. $25.70, Environmental disposal fee included.) • Oil & filter change ( up to 5 qts.) ^ Lubricate zerk fittings k Check & fill fluids: £>rake, power steering, battery, washer, and automatic transmission fluid only • Check antifreeze, air filter, wiper blades, and tire pressure Vacuum interior & wash windows Best Service in Just 10 Minutes Most brands available Expires 05-31-99 Open Mon-Fri, 8-6 • Sat, 8-4 dailyneb.com 474*4918 2324 “0” Street cJr jJ£uJy ffJ>ir ' J r r r Cheek these sites out at dailyneb.com Property taxes likely to rise, Johanns says By Jessica Fargen Senior staff writer Property tax valuations increased more than 8 percent last year, mean ing higher property tax bills, said Gov. Mike Johanns. The raise is yet another reason to try his proposed property tax rebate plan, he said. “It appears to my judgment to be a warning sign that property taxes are likely to rise in the next year,” Johanns said of the valuation increase. Johanns touted his proposed direct property tax rebate plan during a Monday conference call from San Francisco, where he was preparing to depart on an Asian trade mission. Johanns said if state spending increased even at a modest rate of 3 percent, property taxes would end up going up. That’s where his plan comes in. “The true approach to tax relief is to either leave the money in people’s pockets or return it to them before you have excess in the treasury,” he said. The plan, LB881, would give Nebraskans relief in the form of a rebate check for a portion of their property tax bill. But the plan is at odds with the Legislature’s recent work to reduce property tax burdens through lower levy limits. LB881 is held up in the Legislature’s Revenue Committee. Taxpayers would be jumping the gun if they assumed their property taxes will increase just because the state valuation did, said Scott Gaines, property tax associate with the Nebraska Property Tax Division. “They won’t go up because of the valuation changing,” Gaines said. Gaines said valuations increase because buyers and sellers are buying and selling property for more than they were last year or because of new construction. The 8.2 percent increase in valua tions could also mean less state aid to local school districts, Johanns said. “Local resources or valuations increasing dramatically will have an impact to reduce state aid,” Johanns said. “As local resources increase, the need for state aid decreases under the formula.” In related news: Johanns departed Monday for a trade mission to Taiwan and Japan to encourage foreign investment in Nebraska agricultural products. Johanns will be joined by Merlyn Carlson, state agriculture director; Allan Wenstrand, economic develop ment director; and Bryce Neidig, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation. Johanns will return April 14. Universities take close look at greek systems, culture Indeperideiit Florida Alligator University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla. (U-Wire) - With three fraternities, two of them tem porarily suspended, under investigation for alcohol and hazing violations and two fraternity chapters kicked off cam pus for such violations, University of Florida administrators are following a national trend of re-evaluating the effec tiveness of their greek judicial system. “We need to look at the judicial sys tem,” Dean of Students Julie Sina said. “I’m not sure it really works. We can see that it hasn’t had an impact on the sys tem.” Through the Alcohol Task Force established in July, UF researched new ways to reduce alcohol abuse among its greek members. But they still do not feel UF has an effective way to deal with these problems, especially in light of the most recent cases. “We’re introducing students into a system that, by and large, drink more,” said task force member Andy Miller, coordinator of health education at UF. “Are we normalizing this behavior?” Last month, Delta Chi Fraternity was suspended and charged with violat ing seven Student Conduct Codes. The 73-year-old chapter faces a hearing at 7 p.m. Friday to determine whether those violations, including illicit sex, drug use and underage drinking, occurred. Last week, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity was suspended after parents of a pledge told administrators their son was hazed March 29. And Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity is under investigation for allegedly serv ing alcohol to minors, after university police found an intoxicated 20-year-old female student in the parking lot. Similar cases are occurring at most major universities, each of which are developing their own way of addressing alcohol abuse and hazing problems among greeks. Some of those academic institutions are taking a no-excuses, no-hesitation approach to curbing the problem. One of the most drastic examples is at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, whose fraternity houses went dry last year. Unlike Iowa, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is trying to control its 47-house greek system by making the judicial process as well publicized as possible. Rob Binder, UNC’s director of Greek Affairs, publicizes all judicial cases of fraternities and sororities. “One of the problems that I’ve found is that groups know when organi zations get caught, but they don’t know what happens afterward,” he said. Binder said he wants UNC greeks to know the consequences of their actions and those of their peers. “Students, greek members and their parents have a right to know what’s going on,” said Binder, who sends e mail to greek students detailing the sanctions placed on houses. He feels the greek system is in con stant need of revision and evaluation. “We all need to evaluate our own greek systems and see what we can do to fix our problems,” he said. “The solu tions are going to be different for each campus, because each campus has dif ferent problems and people involved.”