r Daily Nebraskan
Columnist Mark Baldridge
says people are a verb,
not a noun
lnOpinion/4
Throughout his NU
career, Cookie
Belcher's focus has
been on defense
In SportsWednesday/1
TREACHEROUS
TREK: The cold
weather and
snow flurries
didn't keep
freshman Kevin
Siminskefrom
sticking to hb
schedule as he
bikes hb way
back to Abel
Residence Hall.
Temperatures
averaged •
around 12
degrees but felt
as cold as 10
below zero to
students ventur
ing outside.
NateWagner/DN
Bush prioritizes education.tax cut
BY GEORGE GREEN_ ’’
President George W. Bush told a joint ses
sion of Congress on Tuesday night about two
pictures of one country.
“One would have warning signs - increas
ing layoffs, rising energy prices, too many
failing schools ... the stubborn vestiges of
racism.
“Another picture would be full of bless
ings - a balanced budget, big surpluses, a mil
itary that is second to none he said.
. With these contrasting images in mind,
Bush laid down his budget for the next 10
years.
The president cited education as his top
priority but promised increased funding for
Social Security, Medicare and a hefty tax cut,
too.
Some Democrats say the boosts in social
programs aren’t enough and believe Bush
can’t pull off his massive $1.6 trillion tax cut
while still maintaining funding for important
social programs.
Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, wasn’t
ready to condemn a tax cut, but he said he
wanted to be sure it didn’t jeopardize other
important spending initiatives.
“I’m insisting that any cut be coupled
with paying the debt,” he said.
Bush said projected surpluses could more
than adequately fund all of his proposals and
drop taxes and the debt.
Rep. Tom Osborne from Nebraska’s 3rd
Congressional District said Bush gave a good
performance, but he wanted to see concrete
numbers on paper before he took a firm posi
tion.
"The devil is always in the details,” he
said.
Armed with his own details, Bush gave
educational spending the biggest boost of
any program in his budget.
He proposed tripling spending on read
ing programs and “character education.”
Rep. Doug Bereuter from the 1st
Congressional District lauded the president’s
“heavy emphasis” on education.
Bereuter said people in the education
“Funding is important, and so
is reform. So we must tie
funding to higher standards
and accountability for results
President Bush
community deserved the budget’s 11.5 per
cent boost.
In addition to extra bucks, though, Bush
promised to tag schools with accountability
standards by mandating uniform testing.
“Funding is important, and so is reform.
So we must tie funding to higher standards
and accountability for results,” he said.
And Bush said schools that didn’t make
the cut would fall as the government gave
families other options for education.
The president, though, didn’t specifically
Please see BUSH on 6
Regent change
could be coming
■The Education Committee
heard ideas for a superboard
and plans for a student regent.
BYGWENTCTGEN
The faces that govern higher
education would change under
two proposed constitutional
amendments heard Tuesday in
die Education Committee.
One constitutional amend
ment, introduced by Speaker
Doug Kristensen of Minden, cre
• ates a Higher Education Board of
Regents and changes how
regents are chosen.
"Our direct obligation of
higher education is the gover
nance of higher education,”
Kristensen said.
The best way to run state
institutions is to have one group
ofpeople,hesaid.
The bill, LB401, and constitu
tional amendment, LR8CA,
would merge the University of
Nebraska Board of Regents and
the State College Board of
Trustees into a “superboard”
called the Higher Education
Board of Regents.
The bill would also eliminate
the Coordinating Commission
for Postsecondary Education,
which is charged with overseeing
all of the state’s higher educa
tion.
The conversation of how
higher education institutions
should be governed is nothing
new inside the halls of the
Legislature.
State senators have been
hashing out different ways to
govern higher education for 30
years.
“Will this be a priority this
year?” Kristensen asked.
“Probably not. But the commit
tee needs to realize restructuring
needs to be done.”
Kristensen’s restructuring
would call for a “superboard”
composed of eight elected mem
bers from each of the eight elec
tion districts and seven mem
bers appointed by the governor
and approved by the Legislature.
These members would
encompass the existing eight
members of the Board of Regents
and seven members of the
Nebraska State Colleges Board of
Trustees.
Nebraska is one of only four
states to elect its regents.
Kristensen said a national
trend existed toward appointing
regents and statewide gover
nance of higher education would
be an advantage to the state.
The “superboard” would cre
ate a unified voice for direct poli
cy making, he said, and would
consolidate state money going to
higher education - instead of
two boards at the trough, there
Please see REGENTS on 5
BY JILL CONNER
ASUN hoped to rock the UNL vote
Tuesday afternoon with bands, promotions
and an open forum for this year’s student
government candidates.
About 500 people, according to Vicki
Geiser, ASUN communications committee
chairwoman, checked out the “Voice Your
Vote Radio Rally,” an all-day event in the
Nebraska Union Crib that featured seven
local bands, KRNU disc jockeys playing
emcee and free prizes.
Geiser said her committee decided an
event more like MTV’s “Rock the Vote” or the
“Rock ‘n’ the Vote 2000” rally held in
November for city and national elections
was needed on the University of Nebraska -
Lincoln campus to increase voter turnout.
“We wanted people to have fun and be
entertained as well as have the opportunity
The final years of
architecture mean
a bigger space,
more freedom
In Arts/8
Nebraskans
hyped for
Bush visit
BY GEORGE GREEN
They've dished out the tickets,
and they’ve finished the plans.
Now, Nebraska Republicans
are simply'waiting for today’s
arrival of the nation’s chief execu
tive.
Ben Kiser, executive director
of the Nebraska Republican Party,
said his office fielded countless
calls Monday from Nebraskans
seeking a glimpse of President
George W. Bush.
“(Tickets) were gone in an
hour or two,” he said.
With the tickets dispersed,
Kiser said the Nebraska GOP
office switched gears to coordi
nate the schedules of the various
elected officials expected to pop
up during the president’s visit
U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel and
Ben Nelson will catch a ride with
the president on Air Force One.
Omaha Mayor Hal Daub and
Gov. Mike Johanns, along with
other local dignitaries, will greet
the president when he stops in
Omaha and hops the border to
Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Kiser said all the official
greeters were looking forward to
brushing shoulders with Bush
“It’s a great honor to have him
here,” Kiser said.
Mike Fleharty, a spokesman
for Eppley Airfield in Omaha,
won’t be shooting the breeze with
the president today.
But, he said, his office had
been busy accommodating the
requests of the president’s
advance team, which was charged
with arranging the president’s
travel plans.
Fleharty said airport officials
also joined forces with the Secret
Service and other White House
staffers to pull the visit together.
“It’s a meeting of the minds,”
he said.
Together, he said, White
7 feel a great deal of
pressure to do the
right thing for
Nebraska."
Sen. Ben Nelson
D-Neb.
House and airport workers ham
mered out a safe place for the
president to land and a good route
for him to take out of the airport
Chris Peterson, a spokesman
for the governor, said the
Nebraska State Patrol would step
in to help Secret Service officers
protect the president once his
automobile crossed the airport's
barrier.
The Secret Service and the
state patrol plan to shuttle the
president to the Omaha Civic
Auditorium without any stops,
Peterson said.
He said Nebraskans who did
n’t get on the stick to nab a ticket
won't get a chance to see Bush in
the flesh.
At the Civic Auditorium,
Peterson said, the president
would try to sell his budget plan to
Nebraskans.
The president revealed his
budget plan to Congress on
Tuesday night
Bush plans to plug his $1.6 tril
lion ta$ cut, his debt reduction
policy and his scheme to beef up
education and the military in his
speech to Nebraskans, Peterson
said.
Hearing the president lay out
his plans in person is a rare oppor
tunity for Nebraskans to get a
good handle on Bush’s ideas, he
said.
Kiser said Nebraskans owed a
Please see VISIT on 5
The band 8th
Wave plays a set
during 903
KRNU'sand
ASUN's" Voice
Your Vote Radio
Rally” held in
the Nebraska
Union's Crib on
Tuesday after
noon.The event
was held to
encourage stu
dents to vote in
today's
Association of
Students of the
University of
Nebraska elec
tions.
ASUN rocks student body, encourages voting
to meet the (candidates) and find out what’s
going on,” Geiser said.
All of the Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska candidates were
invited to speak at the rally, either behind a
microphone or while mingling in the crowd.
Although all the candidates made a
cameo, Geiser said only three took the
opportunity to speak.
NUForce prtesidentiaf candidate Angela
Clements said she played the theme to the
movie “Star Wars” as her first vice-presiden
tial candidate, Erik Kinyungu, came on
stage.
“We wanted to make it more fun and a lit
tle light hearted," she said.
No Bull presidential candidate Andy
Mixan rehashed his platform and detailed
his idea for a Web-based e-mail system.
“We are more than just a party against
fetal-cell research,” he said.
V
Mixan said he thought the rally was a
good way for ASUN to reach out to students.
Independent presidential candidate
John Matzen, dressed in a “Fat Tuesday” out
fit, also detailed his platform and encour
aged students to vote.
The One Party presidential candidate
Jaron Luttich and Score! presidential candi
date Nathan Fuerst chose to mingle rather
than speak formally.
Several first and second vice-presiden
tial candidates, as well as students running
for senate seats, also attended the rally,
Geiser said.
Senior broadcasting majors Tony Bock,
Matt Fiorita and Karissa Armstrong, the
hosts of 90.3 KRNU's “Hot Lunch,” a pro
gram that airs Monday nights from 9 to 11
Please see RALLY on 3