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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2001)
Student vote may count RECENT from page 1 student representative, so regents would be tapped from the campuses on an equal basis. The three remaining repre sentatives appointed by the governor would serve from each of Nebraska’s congression al districts, he said. Smith’s plan, though, faces some constitutional questions. Legal problems could arise because university students, during student government elections, would be electing a state constitutional officer, an NU regent, even though some stuj|ents are not official Nebraska residents. Smith said his Dlan dodged the constitutional dilemma by funneling the student represen tative through the governor’s office. Because the regent would be appointed by the gov ernor, he or she would not tech nically be an elected official. The plan also might be tripped up because it would set up a board with more than one regent from each district. But, Smith said, njany boards and city councils have district representatives and at large members, so the composi tion of the Board of Regents would not be irregular. Moreover, he said, Speaker Doug Kristensen of Minden, has introduced legislation that would more drastically over haul university administra tions. , Kristensen’s plan would eliminate the Board of Regents, State College Board of Trustees and the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education and fuse them into one “super board.” “My plan is more modest and reasonable,” he said. Vince Cogley, a junior histo ry major, who has worked to promote the idea of a student regent with real voting power, said Kristensen’s bill indicated that many people think it’s time to change the way university administration works. "It says there is a problem to be solved,” said Cogley, a lobby ist for student government’s Government Liaison Committee. Joel Schafer, ASUN presi dent and a student regent, said while he believed the idea of a voting student regent is sound, he had some reservations about the resolution. A rough draft of the resolu tion does not mention UNK as one of the campuses that could possibly be tapped for a student regent, which was a clearly unfair, he said. In addition, the resolution says student representatives need to be full-time students, which, he said is extremely diffi cult for student presidents because they are busy with gov ernment work. iviuic impuiumuy, oumici said, he has reservations about the resolution because it does n't explicitly say that the presi dent of the student body would be the person who would be appointed by the governor. Rather, a rough draft of the resolution states only that the person who the governor chooses needs to be attending the University of Nebraska. A system similar to the one proposed by Smith operates in Wisconsin, Schafer said. The University ofWisconsin student body has had problems with its student regent, Schafer said, because the governor has picked students who don't ade quately represent the students’ interests because he or she is not popularly elected. If Smith makes some changes, Schafer said, the reso lution could improve the Board of Regents. But, he said, the misgivings he has about the resolution are serious. “I would rather see us keep the present system than have a non-elected student appoint ed." DN you betcha. Johanns stresses education, taxes in speech STATE from pagel selves, he said. Despite reservations about the all-inclusive bonus, Johanns said, he would throw executive resources behind the Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program, the Master Teacher Program and a mentoring pro gram for new educators - all of which were suggestions of the task force. The attracting excellence program forgives college loans for educators who teach in Nebraska. The Master Teacher Program rewards teachers for receiving national certifica tions. Although he didn’t suggest a specific plan to fund these pro grams, the governor ardently maintained that he would not raise taxes. faking a dip into controver sial waters, the governor pro posed granting teachers in pri vate schools access to the attracting excellence and mas ter teacher programs. Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln, chairman of the Education Committee, praised the gover nor for emphasizing the impor tance of local control in educa tion. Raikes emphasized the importance of keeping up with other states in terms of teacher salaries. More importantly, Raikes said, the governor’s proposal to dump taxpayer money into the pockets of teachers at private schools could be unconstitu tional. In addition to addressing K 12 education, the governor also praised older students and their teachers and university admin istrators. The university’s review and reallocation procedures, which have occurred over the last few years, put the school in a posi tion to jump to the head of its class, Johanns said. “I support the university in its task of setting priorities that will result in a more focused mission and a higher level of excellence,” he said. To reward the university and other state colleges for their dedication to educational improvement, Johanns unveiled an “aggressive” plan to fund the schools. The governor’s plan would increase secondary education funding by $26.6 million in the first year of the biennium and $29.4 million in the next year. Beyond Johann's central issues of property tax relief and education, the governor also discussed crime, the state’s trou bled mental health programs and disbursement of national tobacco settlement money. To improve safety on Nebraska highways, Johanns said, he wants to put eight new State Troopers on Nebraska roads. He wants to arm the offi cers with a sophisticated wire less communications system, which will let them stay in con stant contact. The governor also said it was imperative to bail out a mental health system that has fallen into disrepair. “I have met families from across the state with heart breaking stories of loved ones who have no service, no hope and no future,” he said. To assist these troubled fam ilies, Johanns proposed shifting $6 million in tobacco settlement funds into the mental health budget, in addition to increas ing state aid to mental health programs by 35 percent over the biennium. Sen. DiAnna Schimek of Lincoln said she was pleased to hear the governor address the importance of mental health. “It has become a critical issue,” she said. Schimek, though, wasn’t as impressed with Johanns com ments about abortion. . The governor called for “a bold commitment to honor the life of the unborn,” and urged lawmakers to pass a law ban ning research that uses fetal tis sue from aborted fetuses. Schimek couldn’t recall any other governor addressing the abortion issue in the State of the State address and wasn’t sure if the governor’s comments were appropriate. "I was surprised and disap pointed,” she said. King Day focuses on awareness MLKfrom pagel Sheldon because of the appro priate backdrop the quilt exhibit provided. “(We hoped) that people would go to look at the quilts,” she said. Other events include sever al motivational speakers with King-themed presentations, a free lutfch at the Nebraska Union and a musical presenta tion from Lincoln Northeast High School’s Voices “N” Harmony. Everyone who comes to the event will get a meal ticket, Wills said, good for $4 worth of food at union merchants. r After two decades, Big Red Store to close SHOP from pagel “I always tried to help them out like that,” she said. Working in the store on busy game days, Livingston said the roar of the nearby game crowd was tremendous, but in all her years as owner and manager she never made it across the street to see a game. To assist Livingston in staffing the store during the busy football season, her sisters and son, Clifton, often pitched in. Clifton Livingston graduat ed from UNL and later moved to Tampa, Fla., to practice law. Even though he was living far from the store, Livingston con tinued to travel to the Big Red Shop on game days. “I flew up to Lincoln for every possible home game,” Clifton Livingston said. “I never saw a game during that time, even though it was going on across the street.” During its busiest days, the store had 10 or more employees, though right now the staff has decreased as the store prepares for its closing. The employees still at the Big Red Shop are get ting ready to pack up any unsold merchandise left after Tuesday. Looking back on more than two decades of business, Loraine Livingston said she would miss her loyal customers. “I made friends from all over the world working at this store.” Johanns proposes record Nil funding BUDGET from page 1 the elementary and college levels. One area the governor failed to respond to the problem of teacher’s salaries. Johanns rejected a $183 mil lion teacher pay raise plan endorsed by a task force set up to examine the issue. He also said he wouldn’t support a tax increase to fund the plan. Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln, chairman for the Education Committee, said he agreed with the governor’s strong funding for the university. Raikes said even thougji Johanns rejected the teacher pay plan, his committee would address it this session. “Additional teacher salaries need to be a partnership between state and local governments," Raikes said. “Some schools are capable of paying their teachers more and simply don’t/'Raikes said legisla tors would spend a lot of time working to come up with a good, overall package. The Education Committee wants to maintain equalization - targeting state funds to school dis tricts most in need - and local con trol of school systems, Raikes said All the budget work lands in the hands of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. Members started work on the budget Tuesday by reviewing each public agency’s request for aid The committee must have a draft of the budget in by April 20 in order to debate and pass it before the session ends in late May. "(The governor’s) proposal will certainly be taken into consid eration, but it won’t be the final answer,” Raikes said. Real technology experience!^ You were the one who always hooked up the new VCR. Now you’d like to learn more about the world of audio, video and computers. § Gain experience that will actually m something on your resume. Workin g with UNL Information Services, you have the opportunity to learn about audio, video and desktop computer technologies. Responsible students can enjoy a flexible and fun work environment that understands the needs of students. • Learn valuable skills • Work on came • Flexible schec mpu< edule Learn more about employment opportunities with UNL Information Services. 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