UNL program to offer students safe rides home
RIDES from page 1
Phi Beta Sorority member Laura
Cockson was killed by a drunken dri
ver.
Fellow Gamma Phi Beta Sorority
sisters Laura Bradley and Schmitz had
a similar vision in mind, Stohs said.
The three of them “hooked up,” and
the result was NU on Wheels nearly a
year and a half later.
“We’re finally seeing something
developing,” Stohs said. “Seeing the
program there and ready to go is excit
ing and is inspiring us to work harder.”
After LeaderShape, Stohs said the
three stayed committed to implement
ing a safe-ride-home program.
They found out about National
Group Rides and Designated Drivers, a
group that helps college campuses set
up programs like NU on Wheels.
With the help of the national group,
Stohs, Schmitz and Bradley decided to
use taxis instead of shuttles or other
university-operated vehicles.
The use of a cab company frees the
university from any liability, Stohs said.
Stohs and Schmitz both said the
program is open to all NU students, not
just ones who are intoxicated.
“The purpose of the program is a
safe ride home,” she said. “It’s not a
tipsy taxi.”
Stohs said research was done to see
what type of program would work best
atUNL.
Surveys were submitted to 500
UNL students, and organizers conduct
ed research on what other universities
had done.
“We were careful in examining the
needs of this campus,” Schmitz said.
More than $ 13,000 was received in
grant money to pay for the program
until May 2000, Stohs said.
After that, either more grant money
will be needed or student fees may be
used.
Stohs said the process of applying
for Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska student fees
begins in January.
Receiving student fees would be
the best option, he said.
“This program is for all students,”
he said. “All of them will benefit. A
program funded by the students would
be ideal.”
Student fees would also be a stable
source of income for future years,
Stohs said.
There will be a way to monitor the
program’s success, Schmitz said.
Members of Project Care, the advi
sory board to NU on Wheels, will take
periodic rides in the cabs to see if things
need to be improved.
Surveys will also be distributed to
student users of the cabs.
Schmitz, a senior elementary deaf
education-art education major, said an
e-mail address specifically for NU on
Wheels also will be available by the end
of the week.
April Buell, a junior advertising
EPA: Sun heating Platte
SUN from page 1
accord with the federal Clean Water
Act. Under the act, the EPA has the
power to require states to regulate
water within their borders.
Lender said the Platte was natural
ly a warm river because it is shallow
and has a relatively low amount of
water.
He said that short of building a
canopy over the river, the only way to
lower the temperature was to add water
by releasing it from upstream dams.
“I’m not quite sure what (the
EPA’s) intent is,” Lender said.
He said state officials could not
find another instance where the EPA
had classified a stream as sun-pollut
ed.
Johanns said the state had been
dealing with the EPA on the issue for
about five years.
He said the issue first came up five
years ago during the re-licensing of
Kingsley Dam, the dam that holds
Lake McConaughy.
The dam was relicensed, but the
EPA has brought up the issue periodi
cally in the years since, Johanns said.
He said the state usually deals with
federal regulation issues quietly but
that he felt the time had come to make
the issue public.
“I wanted to shine some light on
the issue, no pun intended,” Johanns
said.
He said the EPA had ignored a
cooperative effort by Colorado,
Wyoming and Nebraska to make the
Platte a better habitat for endangered
species.
“Let’s just hope Nebraska common
sense prevails here,” Johanns said.
Parking problems persist
PARKING from page 1
There are as many Illegally parked
cars from Lincoln as from elsewhere,
Woolman said.
Sgt. Don Arp, who helped with the
detail, said parking was bad at the
beginning of every football season but
eased as the semester progressed.
“There’s a learning curve,” Arp
said. “As we get towards the end of the
year, (parking problems) will decline.”
Other factors affecting parking and
traffic on gamedays, Arp said, are con
struction and additional seats in
Memorial Stadium this year.
Football fans looking to avoid a
parking problem should arrive in town
early, Arp said.
Fans arriving early can not only
find a parking place, Arp said, but can
usually find something to do.
“It’s actually a day that Lincoln
puts on for the whole state,” Arp said.
The Nebraska Alumni
Association’s 125th
Anniversary Student
Celebration
City Campus East Campus
Plaza Union
Wed. 22nd Free Food, Tues. 21st
_t
major, said she is excited about the pro
gram.
“It’s about goddamn time the uni
versity or whoever showed they actual
ly care about the students,” Buell said.
I
“When my friends all turn 21 and we gc
to the bars, that’s when it will be help
ful.”
Stohs said he hopes students realize
that there are options for getting home
at night.
“This (should) make people realize
how simple it really is,” he said. “It
shouldn’t be a question. As Laura
Cockson found out, it just takes once.”
George Fraser
September 21, 1999
7:00 p.m.
City Campus Union
Auditorium
FREE to the public
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