Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2000)
*►*!«*?$* «* vr- a r • yT #* "-*-t ,.*'**. -r , Parties criticize ' ' others’ platforms ASUN from page 1 _ Duff party’s platform concerning alco hol on campus would hurt the academ ic climate. Schafer said the university loses a lot of students after the first year because of alcohol and alcohol abuse. “I don’t think the liberalization of ; our alcohol policy would help,” - Schafer said. i Heath Mello, Empower presiden tial candidate, also brought in Duff’s , platform in his answer. “Liberalizing alcohol is going to be more detrimental (to the academic atmosphere),” Mello said. The presidential candidate for Duff, Jason Kidd, refuted this by saying that by making UNL a wet campus, its reputation will not be lowered. “We want to educate people about alcohol and eliminate binge drinking,” Kidd said. “Hazard is not a crappy college, and Harvard has a wet cam pus.” Candidates were asked how fairly . the Daily Nebraskan represented the student election groups. Schafer said too many students rely on the newspa per, and the paper cannot accurately portray everything. Impact presidential candidate John Conley said the Daily Nebraskan offers a fair and clear view of the student elec tion groups. However, he said, it’s not to be used as a textbook but rather a starting point for learning about candidates. Kidd said the newspaper represent ed the groups essentially as they are. “If the other candidates are worried about being portrayed as the same, get some different issues,” he said. At the debate, the candidates also addressed what they would do if their beliefs were in opposition to students’ i beliefs. As candidates noted, in the past month, ASUN president Andy aSchuerman was accused of trying to , ‘advance his personal political agenda L concerning the use of aborted fetal tis sue in research. ” Harvard is not a crappy college, and Harvard has a wet campus.” Jason Kidd Duff presidential candidate Schafer spoke about this in regard to his personal ethics on the presidency. “The president should never advance personal political goals about those of the students,” Schafer said. “I will not be a rubber stamp for the uni versity.” Mello had another point to bring to the argument. “You have to keep your beliefs and balance the beliefs of 22,000 students and from there, make a sound deci sion,” Mello said. While the candidates did find some issues to agree upon, the question of what the most pressing issue on cam pus was provided vastly different answers. Empower second vice presidential candidate Mike Butterfield named stu dent apathy and parking, and Schafer cited the need to get more students from off-campus involved. Kevin Sypal, Duff first presidential candidate, said the university should be for the students, not focused on the alumni, boosters and research. Conley said what ASUN should be and is not is the biggest problem. “Students need a place to be heard,” Conley said. “Students walk from class to class feeling like a number, and ASUN is their voice.” Andrew Taylor, a freshman English major who attended the debate, said the debate helped him decide who to vote for March 1. “I got to start to solidify who I am going to vote for,” Taylor said. “I got a chance to see the passion the candi dates are putting into this.” ' —LEGISLATURE — iH Bill would curb teen smoking with ad contest By Veronica Daehn Staff writer & A bill that could curb teen-age smoking moved into the second round of floor debate in the Legislature on Tuesday. ? LB 1436, introduced by Sen. Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings, would create the Teen Tobacco Prevention and Education Project. The bill would create a fund to give scholarships to students who cre ate anti-smoking campaigns and a committee that would judge the stu dents’ entries. The committee would select a winning campaign proposal in each of the four classes of schools in Nebraska. Each winner would receive a $5,000 scholarship to a Nebraska school, and the winner’s sponsor would get a matching grant. According to the bill, high schpol students could submit proposals to the committee each year by Dec. 31 through 2002. The committee would then select the four winners by March 1 of each year through 2003. Each proposal must remain under $100,000 and could consist of adver tising campaigns, billboards, televi sion advertisements or other pro grams, the bill states. The bill would transfer $560,000 to the scholarship fund from the Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund. Thirty-seven senators have signed on in support of the bill. Tanya Hayes, the legislative aide for Sen. Pam Redfield of Omaha, said Redfield is supportive of most anti smoking legislation. Hayes said Suttle was in favor of Sen. David Landis’ bill, LB505, that would have increased the tax on ciga rettes. Landis pulled that bill from the floor earlier this session. Redfield dealt with other anti smoking legislation, too, Hayes said. Last year, she introduced LB313, a bill that would have moved the place ment of tobacco products to behind the counter at places where tobacco is sold. Hayes said the bill never made it out of committee. Sen. Deb Suttle of Omaha also signed on in Support of Bohlke’s bill. Ron Schroeder, Suttle’s legislative aide, said Suttle is concerned about teen-age smoking in Nebraska. “She’s willing to discuss every good idea that comes by,” Schroeder said. Suttle also strongly supported Landis’ bill to increase the tax on cig arettes and other anti-smoking legisla tion that had come through in the last several years, Schroeder said. LB1436 was scheduled to be heard on the floor Thursday, but sena tors ran out of time. ■'££ :£? '■** . jjjjjjfr ',v • <•$* . *** Students need to read fine print ■ Spring break packages targeting college students may be risky. By Derek Lippincott Staff writer Last year on a March Friday morning, the eve of college spring break, Missy Gzehoviak sat in the Kansas City Airport with a group of her friends anxiously waiting for their flight to leave for Mazatlan, Mexico. But because of overbooked flights, Gzehoviak, a junior elemen tary education major, didn’t board her flight to Mazatlan until Monday morning. She had purchased her plane tickets and hotel reservations through College Tours, a company that specializes in spring break vaca tion packages. Companies like College Tours often go through private airlines that don’t have enough planes to carry all the students that week, so they have to delay flights, said Marilyn Bath, consumer specialist of the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General. “Most of the complaints we get are usually associated with the right to delay departure,” Bath said. “It always says it on the contract, but in most cases, students don’t read that far.” Bath stressed reading contracts in their entirety before signing them or giving a spring break package company any money. JL. ^ People get surprised when they sign something that they don’t think is the formal contract Marilyn Bath consumer specialist. Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General “What we would want college students to be aware of is exactly what contract they’re signing,” Bath said. “They need to read every word of the contract to make sure what it entails.” Sometimes companies don’t use formal contracts for agreements with students. The brochures they give to stu dents often are a contract in them selves, Bath said. “People get surprised when they sign something that they don’t think is the formal contract,” she said. “A signature is what constitutes a con tract, even if it is the brpchure they see first.” Gzehoviak also said that her group was hit with hidden costs dur ing its trip. While the package claimed to pay for transportation and travel expenses, it didn’t cover any of the charges for the clubs in Mazatlan. “I wouldn’t go through a compa ny like that again,” Gzehoviak said. “I would go through a travel agent, or I would definitely research it through a travel agency first.” Bath said before jumping into an out-of-state package deal, she rec ommends considering local travel agencies. “(Local travel agencies) might offer just as good of a deal if not bet ter,” Bath said. “And they will usual ly give you better information than a college student representing an out of-state company.” Michaela Adams, office manag er of Nebraska Discount Travel at 5400 S. 56th St., said the American Society of Travel Agencies is a rep utable organization. “We can work face-to-face with a client instead of over the phone on some 800 number,” Adams said. “We have a history with the agencies we work with, and if problems arise with your package, you can contact us, and we can help.” Phyllis Hennessey, Travel Consultant of Via Van Bloom Tour and Travel Services, 2143 O St., said local travel agencies can help bail students out of unfortunate situa tions with spring break packages. “There are a lot of companies out there that advertise in college stu dent newspapers that are not rep utable,” Hennessey said. “We’ve been called before to bail students out of fraud packages. We do spring break packages with people we know we can trust.” IT’S NOT JUST A SUMMER JOB. IT’S A RAID VACATION! Pay Potential B.OO oer hour* This summer, find one of the coolest jobs at one of the hottest spots In the Midwest - {Employees 10 St Over} Worlds of Fun. . c . . We know what it takes to make the most out of __ _ G u OS summer. Like free rides, free tickets, employee Allowance parties, and 2000 new friends. Plus with over 60 Paid Internships types of positions, we definitely have a job that's just right for you. APPLY TODAY! GREAT JOBS GO FAST! Interviews take place wiihout appointment at Worlds of Fun (1-435 at Exit 54) ^ ~ Mon. through Fri. from I co 5 and Sat. from 10 to 4. www.worldsoffun.com Call 816.454.454S, ext. 1010 for more Info. ema‘l' wolhr@worldsoffun.com TO SWITCH YOUR CELL ^SERVICE IN FEBRUARY C3 ” fake ourSMI New D7A Plan and you will receive: 200 Anytime Minutes 300 Weekend Minutes $29.99 )500 Total Minutes per Month Subtract the rebate offer above and you’ll pay just $1 7.50/mo yourself - We pay the rest! See our Map of FREE Long Distance and Roaming @ our web presence www.burmoodcellular.com or come into our store at 4029 So. 48th, Lincoln, Ne. Call anytime 402-580-6006 $50.00 From CELLULARONE (Pick any Plan 100 min or more) $100.00 From Burmood’s Cellular (You must provide the Phone) $150.00 Total Rebate 1 st Year of Service Offer ends February 29th at Midnight. Do Not Delay. Open Daily till 7pm