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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2001)
' Derek Lippincott/DN No Bull Presidential Candidate Andy Mixan speaks at the ASUN debate at Union Square Thursday.The debate, moderated by the Daily Nebraskan, marked the last debate before the Feb. 28 elections. Candidates debate final time DEBATE from page 1 vass ASUN alumni and would raise money to fund student gov ernment projects. As candidates debated options to reduce the financial strain on students, Clements said she wanted to see more scholar ships created to aid international students. Independent candidate John Matzen, dressed in the clothing and makeup reminiscent of the movie “Braveheart” and speak ing with a Scottish accent, said he did not think scholarships need ed to be targeted to special groups. While he doesn’t want to ignore the needs of international students, he doesn’t want to neg lect the needs of average stu dents, he said. The next issue the candidates debated was the possibility of ASUN taking stances on divisive political issues. Citing the ASUN constitu tion, Clements said yes, student government representatives should speak out on controver sial subjects. In responding to Clements, Fuerst addressed the NUForce candidate on the subject of accountability. Fuerst said Clements put an emphasis on accountability but said she had missed two of the last four ASUN meetings. “How can you lead by exam ple?” Fuerst asked. Clements said she had been sick and defended her role in the ASUN senate. “I have written more legisla tion than any other senator,” Clements said. “The other sena tors have not done their job.” Speaking on accountability, Luttich said the deadline for ASUN legislation needed to be changed. He said if elected, he would have ASUN publish announcements in the Daily Nebraskan. “I want to let students know what legislation is proposed before it is voted on,” Luttich said. Mixan said if elected he would do more to gather student opinions before voting on con troversial issues. “I want to avoid the gross misrepresentation that hap pened last year,” he said, refer ring to a bill passed in the student senate in 2000 to lobby the Legislature against ending abort ed fetal tissue research. . The candidates were asked their opinions on the academic prioritization process, specifical ly on the possibility of decreased agricultural funding - an issue that has divided the academic community. Fuerst said he was not against prioritization. “I am not saying we shouldn’t review the budget, but a lot of business in this state relies on agriculture,” he said. Matzen said he didn’t have a problem with the idea of prioriti zation, either. “Prioritization just gives you a place to start,” he said. But Matzen said it was less important to debate whether a program should be listed as 97th or 79*. “More importantly, we need to get off our asses and get in gear. If you are prioritizing every thing, nothing improves,” he said. Luttich said while agriculture was important to the state, not everyone who grew up on a farm becomes an agriculture major. “The primary purpose of the university is to educate the peo ple of Nebraska,” he said. In each of their closing com ments, the candidates thanked "More importantly, we need to get off our asses and get in gear. If you are prioritizing everything, nothing improves.” John Matzen Independent presidential candidate the audience and encouraged students to go to the polls next week. Each candidate reiterated his or her platform, calling for stu dents to vote for the individual party. "This is not a training-wheels government,” Fuerst said. Others echoed that senti ment. “No fake smiles,” Mixan said of his party. “No hidden agendas. No Bull.” Luttich identified the impor tance of the ASUN president’s student seat on the NU Board of Regents. “It is serious and big busi ness,” he said. “You need some one who can speak to them and earn their respect and trust.” Clements, citing the recent Daily Nebraskan articles chroni cling the forged signatures turned in by one of her former running mates, said she was a "victim of yellow journalism” before reading a poem by Maya Angelou. Matzen, in the spirit of his costume and painted supporters in the audience, called for action in his final statement. “I am John Matzen,” he said, "and I see a whole body of stu dents wanting to see a change.” The ASUN elections take place Feb. 28. Man takes pair of boots, money from shoe store A Payless ShoeSource robber now has warm feet Lincoln Police Officer Katherine Finnell said shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, a man walked into the store, located at 4240 N. 48th St, and took a pair of boots in a box off the shelf. Finnell said the man walked up to the counter and demanded money from the register be put in the box. The employee gave him the money and the man left the store on foot heading northbound, Finnellsaid. • A small amount of money was stolen as well as the size 9 Vi-wide work boots worth $16.99, Finnell said. Man robbed after leaving bar with acquaintance After leaving a bar with some one he thought was a friend, one man was robbed early Thursday morning. Around 1:45 a.m., a 44-year old male said he left a bar with a DarrelYarbrough, 40, to go to 1317 L St. and buy some marijuana, Finnell said Finnell said the man was then forced into an apartment and held down by several other men who took his money and forced him out of the apartment. Finnell said officers then arrested Yarbrough, and recov ered $36 of the stolen money. Compiled by Jill Conner. i ^ free Evening & Weekend Calling For Life! SPECIAL i Nokia 252 * FOUR State Local Calling Area - h 1 ® Swlllll | [ FREE Case * RATE Plans Starting as low as $29.99 (In | Vj7 * some restriction apply ©fib _ • Specials at these locations ONLY Nebraska Bookstore Super Saver 13" and Q Street 27* and Pine Lake Rd Russ's Market Super Saver 70* and Van Dorn 27* and Comhusker Hwy Russ’s Market Super Saver 33" and Hwy 2 48* and O Street Super Saver Big K-Mart 56* and Hwy 2 Beatrice, NE Super K-Mart 27* and Comhusker Hwy SPECIAL NEW RATE PLAN *2,000 minutes for just $39.99. Includes no long distance charges to anywhere in the United States! ENDS SUNDAY! Bring in this ad and we will pay Nokia 282 Nokia; 5120 ; i I I I I I I | Ryan 560-3988 Jerod 580-5920 Tom 560-0062 Gary 310-8767 | « Rob 580-0062 Cassie 310-1920 Alan 580-4705 Traci 580-2044 i ft » — — — — — — — — - — — — — — — — — — — — — — — - — — - — — — — - J _ t. m Committee keeping on track BY lacOHGc GREEN And they keep on truckin’. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee put another slew of bills under its belt Thursday, slow ly reducing the pile of legislation it had to cover. This year the committee had to tackle 154 bjlls when the ses sion began. After Thursday’s work, the committee will have plowed through 110 of the proposals. In comparison, the Agricultural Committee had only 25 bills on its plate when the Legislature went back to work in January. Sen. Patrick Bourne of Omaha, vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the hefty woridoad tacked extra hours onto the committee’s days. “We have a lot of late nights,” he said. lb cut back on the long days, Chairman Kermit Brashear of Omaha put a three-minute cap on each person’s testimony. In the Legislature’s other com mittees, people use as much time as they please. Testifiers before the Judiciary face the senators and a little box with three lights: green, red and yellow. But, he said, the committee can handle the stress and has established “pretty good cama raderie” among its eight mem bers. Such positive relations might surprise onlookers considering the committee houses some of the Legislature’s most conservative and liberal senators. In particular, Brashear and Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who sit on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Chambers has been a staple of liberal politics in the Legislature for several decades, while Brashear typically anchors the body’s conservative senators. Despite political differences, Bourne said the two senators gen erally work well together and their distinct perspectives usually enhance die committee. “Diversity of opinion is a great thing,” he said. On Thursday, Brashear and Chambers reached some consen sus on a bill that would put cam eras on street lights to catch peo ple who run red lights. Both senators voiced con cerns about some the bill's legal technicalities. LB534 would drop a point off the license of a person caught run ning a red light by a cop but wouldn’t take a point away from a driver caught on tape. Chambers wasn’t sure the dis parate treatment would hold up in court. The drivers committed the same offenses” but they wouldn’t receive the same penalty he said. Chambers said the policy could violate the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. Brashear concurred with Chambers and said the bill might need some rewording if it were to become a law. In addition to tackling street light cameras, the committee delved into the subjects of pro tecting animals and tattooing minors. LB79, introduced by Brashear, would make a distinction between a person cited for neglecting an animal and one caught for abusing an animal. Currently, the law treats the two offenses as equal. Brashear’s bill would put stiffer penalties on the animal abusers. Sen. Elaine Stuhr of Bradshaw brought a bill before the commit tee that also dealt with abuse. But she said her bill would protect minors from abusing their bodies. Stuhr’s bill, LB264, would pro hibit minors getting tattoos or body piercings without their par ents’ consent. Stuhr said several of her con stituents voiced concerns to her when their daughters - some as young as 13 - returned home with tattoos that they paid $3 for. Such young children aren’t aware of the dangers of transmit ting diseases through dirty nee dles, she said. "Our concern is for the safety and health of minors,’’ she said. J.D. Baker, a Lincoln tattoo artist, said the bill’s intentions were good, but won’t stop kids from getting tattoos. “We can’t force kids to do what their parents want,” he said. Instead they will go to “sleazy” businesses that don’t use safe nee dles. A better plan, he said, would be to teach children about the per manent nature of tattoos. "We’ve got to educate our kids a little bit better,” he said. Just a phone call away. 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