Wednesday
March 7,2001
Volume 100
Issue 122
dailyneb.com
Since 1901
ASUN run-off election
attracts more to the
polls than last year
In News/3
Out-of-state Huskers
often hog the spotlight,
but Lincoln and Omaha
prepsters fill Nil’s ranks
In SportsWednesday/10
Life at the Hi-Way,
24 hours a day
In Arts/8
i
Election Night No. 2: Score!
NUForceaids
in run-off vote
BY JILL ZEMAN
Nathan Fuerst and
Jessica Lopez tried to make it
a surprise.
After learning they were
elected ASUN president and
\ first vice president, the two
wanted to heighten the
drama before telling sup
porters of their victory.
Fuerst and Lopez, who
got the crucial call with the
results outside of The N
Zone, 728 Q St., grimly
walked toward supporters of
the Score! Party.
Fuerst camouflaged his
smile with a hand over his
face, but Lopez gave it all
away, not able to conceal her
grin'
Before a word came out of
Fuerst’s mouth, supporters
started yelling, “Look at
Jessica! They won!”
Aftej Fuerst read the vote
total, the room erupted into a
combination of elated
screams, cheers and
applause.
But before the celebra
tion came the nerve-wrack
ing waiting period.
When Fuerst got the call
from Electoral Commission
are tallied
run-off
Score!
1,148
Jessica Lopez
No Bull: 1,003
Andy Mixan
Bill Westering
Total votes: 2,151
10.51 percent voter turnout
Delan Lonowski/DN
Director John D. Conley, he
had to call Conley back just
to make sure Score! had won.
And Fuerst waited for
another confirmation call
before he announced his vic
tor)'.
Fuerst, whose Score!
Party defeated Andy Mixan’s
No Bull Party by nearly 150
votes, attributed his victory
to Angela Clements,
NUForce presidential candi
date, whom Fuerst competed
against in Feb. 28’s election.
Clements publicly sup
ported Score! and helped
draw more votes to the Score!
party, Fuerst said.
ASUN President
elect Nathan
Fuerstfrom the
Score! Party
hugs First Vice
President-elect
Jessica Lopez as
Second Vice
President-elect
Nick Fitch looks
on Tuesday
evening at the v
N-Zone,728Q
Clements contacted
groups that originally sup
ported her party - such as
international student organi
zations and minority groups
- and encouraged them to
vote for Fuerst.
“She won this election
today,” Fuerst said.
Clements said she
endorsed Fuerst because she
thought he really cared about
the student body.
And with Fuerst in office.
——
Clements said her party plat
form ideas have a better
chance of being implement
ed.
Clements also said she
had problems with campaign
material the No Bull Party
distributed.
Clements objected to No
Bull posters hung up in sev
eral university buildings that
said. "No commies, no hip
pies. no yuppies ... nothing
that ends with -ies.”
Clements said she and
others were offended by this
because she said it implied
“no minorities."
“It was totally distaste
ful,” she said.
Regardless of the contro
versy, Fuerst said he was
ready to take on the chal
lenges of the Association of
Students of the University of
Nebraska president.
In fact, 30 minutes after
learning he was chosen as
David McGee/DN
president, he said he and
Sen.-elect Vince Cogley were
throwing around ideas and
talking about possible legis
lation.
Fuerst, who takes office
March 28. said his first action
as president would be talking
to each senator individually
to discuss goals for the year.
After that, Fuerst said he
and Lopez would work to
Please see SCORE! on 3
iiiiciim
Chancellor
Harvey Perlman
answers ques
tions asked by
students, faculty
and others at
the Morrill Hall
Mammoth ban
quet room
Tuesday after
noon. Perlman,
a former profes
sor and dean in
the College of
Law, is one of
two finalists for
the chancellor
position.
Nate Wagner/DN
Osborne adapting life
to patient political pace
BY GEORGE GREEN
Tom Osborne’s feet don’t hurt quite so
bad anymore: He’s beginning to fit into his
new political shoes.
When Rep. Osborne of the 3rd
Congressional District debuted on Capital
Hill, he found himself bogged down by its
often snail-like pace.
“It requires a little patience,’’ he said.
But weekly trips back to Nebraska to
work in his rural district and visits with his
family have eased his frustrations with the
political pace, he said.
Plus, Clinton scandals coupled with
Bush budgets have given Washington a kick
in the pants over the past weeks.
More importandy, Osborne said he val
ued the opportunity to serve his district and
the entire state.
“The pluses outweigh the minuses," he
said.
Osborne and his congressional peers
have spent a good deal of time over the past
few weeks weighing the hefty pluses and
minuses huried in President George W.
Bush's budget proposals.
Democrats say Bush’s plan inflates sur
plus projections and stretches the govern
ment too thin by forking over S1.6 trillion in
tax cuts to Americas.
“There’s a lot of conflicting views about
how big the surplus is,” he said.
Osborne said from what he could tell,
the president’s $5.6 trillion surplus estimate
was “somewhere in the ballpark.”
If these numbers are correct, he said tax
payers deserved to get some of their money
back.
But Democrats have said lawmakers
Please see OSBORNE on 6
Perlman ready to take reigns
■ One of two finalists for the chan
cellor position,the interim leader
says he wants to be permanent.
BYJILLZEMAN
Harvey Perlman hasn’t always
wanted to be the university’s chancel
lor.
In fact Perlman, who serves as
UNL interim chancellor, said he was
appalled when NU President Dennis
Smith suggested he apply for the
position.
But now, Perlman said he was
enthusiastic about possibly taking
the reins as the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln's top leader.
His change in mind, he said, was
based on what he learned in the eight
months he has served as interim
chancellor.
“I’ve learned that it's less about
attending banquets and more about
intellectual pursuits," he said.
But even if he’s not chosen as
chancellor, Perlman said he'd be just
as happy to go back to his previous
job as a professor in the NU College of
Law.
Perlman spoke to faculty mem
bers, students, staff, administrators
and community members in a recep
tion on Tuesday.
Perlman is one of two finalists
vying for the position vacated by for
mer Chancellor James Moeser, who
left in July to become chancellor at
the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
The other candidate. Bill Hogan, a
regent at the University of Minnesota,
visited campus Monday.
In Perlman’s eyes, the most
important mission of the university is
its academic mission.
“The leadership has to believe in
the greatness of this university,” he
said.
But Perlman said the university
still needed to improve. The 20/20
vision report, which outlines univer
sity goals for the next 20 years, and
the academic prioritization process
are steps in the right direction, he
said.
The prioritization process, which
outlines the top 25 percent of UNL’s
academic programs, wasn't some
thing that appealed to Perlman at
first, he said.
“I thought, why. in my little time
as interim chancellor, do we have to
do this,” he said.
But now, Perlman said, he was
committed to and excited about the
process.
“It's not perfect, but it’s a darn
good start," he said.
Other important issues, Perlman
said, were enhancing UNL’s research
and recruiting more qualified stu
dents to the university.
The NU Board of Regents
Saturday passed Perlman’s recruiting
plan, which includes the targeting of
out-of-state students, Nebraska resi
dents and minority students.
“Part of (the plan) says we’U
recruit every qualified student in
Nebraska and we’re going to do it -
even if it kills us,” he said.
Perlman, 59, said he planned to
finish his career at UNL.
He said he had no intentions of
moving on to another university for a
higher-paying job.
His time at UNL, he said, depend
ed on his health, energy and enthusi
asm for his work.
“I’m going to give this a good shot
for a reasonable period of time,” he
said.
Edie Schleiger. a staff assistant in
Please see PERLMAN on 5
In round two, No Bull
again falls a bit short
BY MARGARET BEHM
After a tight finish in Feb. 28 s
general election, the No Bull Party
fell short in Tuesday’s run-off elec
tion in its pursuit to lead student
government.
About 80 people gathered at
the Main Street Cafe, 1324 O St., to
await the results of the run-off
election.
The No Bull Pam- was defeat
ed by the Score! Party. No Bull
received 1,003 votes and Score!
received 1,148.
Andv Mixan. presidential can
didate for No Bull, said he was
unhappy his party lost the elec
tion.
“I’m really disappointed." he
said. “We put a lot of time, money
and effort into this.”
After the results came in,
Mixan told the crowd of about 80
people the bad news.
He then stayed in the upper
level of the bar for the next 10 min
utes. He sat with his head in his
hands while about five people sat
around him and smoked.
Mike Echternacht, campaign
manager, said it was hard to tell
the crowd the results.
''It's tough to get up in front of
50.60,70 people and tell them that
we lost,” he said. "It breaks my
heart to tell the people that."
Bill Westering, first vice-presi
dential candidate, told the crowd
how it felt to lose the election.
“We all feel kind of crappy
right now.”
Echternacht told tire crowd to
keep its chin up despite the loss.
Please see N0BULL on 3
Academic Senate
Faculty demand
equal benefits
BY LINDSEY BAKER
The Academic Senate placed a resolution to
cover birth control measures, along with provid
ing employee benefits to same-sex couples, on
emergency status at its Tuesday meeting.
University insurance policies do not cover
birth control - something the senate wants to
change.
John Wunder, a UNL history professor, repre
senting the Faculty Women’s Caucus, presented
the resolution, saying the university’s failure to pay
for birth-control measures violated federal law.
He said the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission ruled failure to provide
insurance coverage for birth control breaches the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnancy
Please see BENEFITS on 6