The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 15, 2001, Page 3, Image 3
1 Division of money draws crowds TOBACCO from page 1 Seventy-five percent of Nebraskans have no public health services, he said. Moreover, mental health and substance abuse facilities are bursting at the seams. Ann Schumacher, director of operations for Alegent Health, told senators about the plight of mental health professionals who couldn’t find a single empty bed in all of Omaha for a young woman who overdosed on drugs. These shocking stories and statistics prompted the barrage of health-care bills that the committees began to sift through. Speaker Doug Kristensen of Minden introduced one of the bills, LB615, on behalf of Gov. Mike Johanns. Kristensen’s bill allocates $16 million of the tobacco cash for biomedical research, and leaves $27 million to the Legislature to spend as it sees fit The research bucks would be spread among private and public universities in the state and would create a new research center on the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus. Lt. Governor Dave Maurstad testified on behalf of the governor and said the research money would not be a waste because it would eventually benefit all Nebraskans. Richard Raymond, chief medical officer for the state of Nebraska, also backed the research proposal. He recalled the polio crisis that occurred more than 50 years ago to hammer home his point. Without biomedical research, polio would still be plaguing the country, he said. “Biomedical research will improve the health of future generations of Nebraskans,” he said. The day’s other bills stuck to more tradi tional health care concerns like hospital funding and mental health services. Sen. Nancy Thompson of Papillion intro duced a bill that compliments the governor’s plan. Her bill, LB623, would not allocate any of the $27 million the governor allotted to the Legislature to existing programs, but would fill in the "gaps” in mental health services, Thompson said. The bill would put particular emphasis on developing community-based health centers, she said. Another bill, LB372, would bail out exist ing and struggling hospitals that aren't receiving enough Medicaid money. Hospitals project their losses to be at least $6 million dollars for the 2000-2001 fis cal year. Sen. Lowen Kruse of Omaha introduced the bill and said it would increase the rate of state aid it owes these facilities. 1 “I’m asking Nebraska to pay its bills,” he said. Bill tries Juvenile system draws fire to stop bias at work EMPLOYERS from page 1 “Discrimination is not nec essarily an ugly word,” Mills said. Cases of discrimination should be dealt with on an indi vidual level, she said. “It doesn't mean that because of remote instances (of discrimination) you should rewrite your laws,” she said. Otherwise, Mills said, the passage of the bill could open a “Pandora’s box” of similar legis lation. "Eventually, it would all become meaningless,” she said. Although she can’t attend the Feb. 21 hearing, Mills said she planned to submit testimo ny in opposition to the bill. She now lives in Newport News, Va., where she works for Kerusso Ministries, a group that works to “spread tire truth about homosexuality.” George Wolf, an associate English professor, said he too wants to spread the truth about gay people and discrimination. Wolf said homosexuals aren't any different than other people; they have to hold down jobs and support their families. But he said they have to deal with unfair biases in the work place. In fact, Wolf said his partner lost a job several years ago when an employer suspected he was gay And Wolf said his partner is not alone. “It happens all of the time,” he said. Wolf said passing the bill would also begin healing the wounds of the 416 campaign that Mills led. The campaign whipped up unnecessary hysteria and left people from other states seeing Nebraska as discriminatory place, Wolf said. “There’s a great deal of very adamant homophobia in this state,” he said. JUVENILES from page 1 and minority juveniles in the system, which is higher than the national average, said Carlene Bourn, the executive director for the Nebraska Commission on the Status ofWomen. A December 1999 study found that Nebraska girls are committed to juvenile correction institu tions for less serious offenses than males. The study also found that 27.1 percent of girls in Nebraska were placed in Nebraska correctional facilities compared to 12.8 percent in Idaho, Nevada, Iowa, Montana, Utah and West Virginia. Thompson said she hopes the bill will be able to reduce the disparities that exist because of the racial and gender overrepresentation. But the concerns of the institute are already required under state law to be conducted by the crime commission, said Jeff Golden, executive director the Children and Family Coalition of Nebraska. And it’s the lack of adequate funding that makes the overrepresentation of female and minority juveniles difficult to address, said Golden, who testified neutral on the bill. “The coalition I represent believes in putting money into helping people and not into buildings or institutes,” Golden said in an interview. The bill was not made to repeat existing servic es, Herz said, but instead to build upon them. “We put a lot of effort into avoiding the dupli cation of services,” Herz said. ■ Daily Nebraskan Editor The 2001-02 editor in chief will formulate editorial poli cies, determine guidelines for the daily operation of the newsroom, hire the senior editorial staff, help determine the content of the newspaper and prepare the editorial wage budget. Applicants must have one year of news paper experience, preferably at the Daily Nebraskan.The position begins Aug. 1,2001 and lasts until May 10,2002. The editor earns $1,000/month (except in December, March and May) and reports to the UNL Publications Board.The editor must be enrolled in at least six credit hours during each of the two 2001-02 semesters, maintain a 2.0 minimum G.P.A., and not be on academic probation. Applications are available at the Daily Nebraskan office, basement of the Nebraska Union, and must be returned with up to five clips by noon, February 21. IThuis to tie, 7300 etodeots tne student job & Internship Fair 7/oufe.t iwfy for.. Tuesday, March 6,2001 Nebraska Union - City Campus 12:00 to 5:00 PM \ Part-time Jobs || | \ Summer Jobs ■ c**6.6* I * Internships/Co-ops | / V _ 1 www.unl.edu/careers/general/summer.htm ) free *FREE Even'ng & Weekend Calling For Life! 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CELLULARONE* ; nAHDT COMMUNICATIONS Premiere Authorized Dealer mfuwauuns ; J Jenni 890-5366 Doug 890-0215 Ryan 560-3988 Jerod 580-5920 Tom 560-0062 Gary 310-8767 { i Tanner 890-6095 Heather 890-0990 Rob 580-0062 Cassie 310-1920 Alan 580-4705 Traci 580-2044 i fc----------- - -- -- -- -- ------ -.- - -- -..-.....--.------------a > * Grading system is still unusual GRADING from page 1 administration associate in Student Academic Records, said the university receives sporadic requests for a switch to plus minus, but the university’s computers are unable to com pute plus-minus grade point averages. One question the University of Nebraska schools face now, according to Academic Senate members, is whether or not the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska at Omaha will switch to the plus-minus grading sys tem as well. “We took (the plus-minus grading system idea) to the last faculty senate meeting," said Elsie Cafferty, UNK’s faculty senate president. “There was some discussion, but we tabled it until next month.” Although UNL senate mem bers said they planned on con tacting UNO about changing their grading system, UNO fac ulty senate President Douglas Paterson could not be reached for comment Wednesday. EARN MONEY BY PARTICIPATING IN UNL JURY RESEARCH! Research on jury decision making will require about two hours. Contact Marc Patry at 472-0483 to schedule an appointment. For All Your Party Needs! Busch Reg. or Lt. 24 pk cans wm.9.99 Budweiser Reg. or Lt. 12 pk cans wm.6.69 Keystone Light 30 pk cans wm.9.99 Miller Draft or Lite 24 pk cans wm.12.99 Rolling Rock 12 pk bottles wm.7.99 Popov Vodka 1.75 L....9.99 Crown Royal 750 ML.16.99 Bacardi Dk. or Silver 1.75 L.16.99 Seagram’s Gin 1.75L....12.99 Prices good through 2/21/01 RECEIVE 30 lbs OF ICE AND 50 CUPS FREE! WITH KEG PURCHASE 19th &N 477-6077 Recycle Your Daily Nebraskan University Theatre " 1'%T’***n*‘ presents a romantic comedy by Philip Barry February 15 -17 & 20-24 7:30 p.m. Howell Theatre Temple Bldg. 12th & R For Tickets j Lied Center Box Office if Uf 800-432-3231 Celebrating 100 Years of'University ‘Theatre M - F 11:00-5:30 _12 & Q sts. __ nHM-1 KODO Drummers Lied Center programming is supported by the Friends of Lied and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts a federal agency; Heartland Arts Fund, jointly stmxted by Arts Midwest and Mid-America Arts Alliance; and Nebraska Arts Council. All events in the Lied Center are made possible by the Lied ftsrformance Fund which has been established in memory of Ernst F. Ued and his patents Ernst M. and Ufa HIM n University of Nebraska Lincoln An equal opportunity educator and employer wth a comprehensive plan for diversity. M Over the past 30 years, the KODO drummers of Sado Island, Japan have become one of the best-known and most respected percussion troupes in the world. Tne group s craft is centered on the traditional taiko drum, a Japanese symbol of the rural community. Wednesday, February 21,2001 7:30pm Lied Center for Performing Arts Lincoln, Nebraska Tickets: (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 Box Office: 11:00am - 5:30pm M-F www.liedcenter.org * * M '*