The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 29, 2001, Image 1

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March 29,2001
g Volume 100
Issue 133
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I ASUN induction
BY MARGARET BEHM
An emotional night took place Wednesday in
student government as newly elected members
took office while others said their good-byes.
The Association of Students of the University of
Nebraska met in the Wide Alumni Center to hold its
final meeting and to induct the new members.
Looking back at his past year in office, former
ASUN President Joel Schafer remembered being
judged by people because he didn’t have previous
involvement in ASUN.
“I was that long-haired kid with the funny ads,”
he said. “People labeled me as apathetic.”
Schafer said his year in
u. . office changed him for the bet
/ have tec*
become “I have become someone
who I never thought I could
SOmeOne be,” he said. “I have found tal
who I never ents inside myself that I never
thought 1 ^Sch’afer'said his year in
COUld be. / office has shown him the uni
have found versit7is heading in a good
talents “I really believe this is
inside going to be a wonderful uni
• - , versity,” he said.
myself that Nathan Fuerst, newly
/ never incjucted ASUN president,
i complemented Schafer's lead
thOUght I ership in office.
had.” “Joel has been a great
leader of ASUN this year,” he
Joel Schafer said. “(Joel’s) shoes are going
outgoingASUN to be very hard to fill,” he said,
president Riley Peterson, former first
1 vice president, said he had
made a lot of friends during his
year in office. He encouraged die senators to keep
in touch with him.
"If there’s ever anything that you need, just give
me a call," he said. "Who loves yah? Riley loves
yah!"
Schafer reminded the newly elected senators
to remember they are here to represent the stu
dents.
The senators will face many challenges along
with their new offices, he said.
But, Schafer said students across campus also
face challenges every day without receiving the
attention die senators will receive.
Please see ASUM on 7
Derek Lippincott/DN
ASUN President Nathan Fueist gets sworn in by former President Joel Schafer on Wednesday night at the ASUN inauguration at the \Nkk Alumni Centec Fueist won the ASUN presidential election
in a March runoff. Sdiafer urged Fueist not to forget the average student when passing the reins of student government Fueist pledged to get to work on passng bilk that don't automatically
cany over each year.
Napoliello takes RHA's top spot I
Sales tax tapped
in pay proposal
BYJILLZEMAN
Nebraskans could fork over
more money at the checkstand for
the sake of higher teacher salaries
if a proposed bill moves ahead in
the Legislature.
State sales tax would jump
from 5 percent to 525 percent if a
plan passed by the Revenue
Committee on Tuesday is
approved by the full Legislature.
This means that for every $100
that is spent, 25 cents of the $525
in sales tax will go to the state’s
public school teacher salaries.
LB206 passed into the first
round of floor debate without a lot
of opposition or discussion, said
Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln.
But according to a Wednesday
Associated Press survey, the pro
posal doesn’t have the support of
the full Legislature, nor that of
Gov. Mike Johanns.
The survey showed 18 sena
tors supporting the measure, 19
opposing and eight undecided.
Tb pass, the biU needs the sup- .
port of 25 senators.
Although the committee
approved the increase, Raikes,
chairman of the Education
Committee, said it’s not the only
option the Legislature can explore
to raise teacher pay.
Raikes said raising sales taxis
the simplest approach, though.
“We’re not proposing to spend
money we don’t have,” he said.
Sen. Bob Wickersham of
Harrison said few people support
a tax increase, but die least oppo
sition comes from a sales-tax
jump.
“If you’re going to increase
teacher pay, someone has to pay
for it,” Wickersham said.
Wickersham, chairman of the
Please see TAX on 7
BY UNDSEY BAKER
RHA presidential candidate
Bill Napoliello, though “in a daze,"
let exit a cry ofjoy when polls were
tallied late Wednesday, revealing
him as the new Residence Hall
Association president
“We're pleased," Napoliello
said. “It's finally oven”
Napoliello, along with vice
presidential candidate Andrew
Moeller, .of the Vision Party cap
tured the race with302votes; their
opponents, Richard Brown and
Gwen Hetgen of the 4U Party,
received250votes.
RHA election commissioner
Lindy Gustafson said of die 4,759
residents eligible to vote, 685 stu
dents - or 14 percent - participat
ed in the elections.
Brown said he thought the
turnout was low.
“I think it could have been a
litde bit better," he said. “There
were not that many local govern
ment positions applied for, so that
didn’t bring any extra voters.”
Napoliello and Brown said
they thought the campaigns of
both parties were fair.
“I think both parties did a very
good job of addressing the issues
and informing the residents who
live in the halls,” Napolidlo said.
Napoliello said when he takes
office, he will begin work on the
Vision Party’s goals - to work with
University Housing as a problem- <
solving vehicle; to strengthen local
government, or individual haU gov
ernments; to increase minority
and international student interac
tion in RHA; and to develop a
stronger connection between RHA
and ASUN student government.
Napoliello said he wants to
investigate dormitory residents’
concerns, then take issues to
housing, with which he will meet
once a month.
To strengthen local govern
ments, Napoliello said he wants to
hold workshops and training ses
sions for local government mem
bers.
“Well teach them how to write
legislation,” he said
Napoliello said he will contact
student leaders in student inter
national and minority groups and
dormitory residents to recruit
diverse RHA members.
He said he is interested in
hearing the concerns of minority
RHA elections
Resident hail students voted Wednesday to elect their representatives to
the Residence Had Association, which serves as the living units’ government
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Melanie Fai/DN
and international students.
“There are different cultures
... out there that myself and others
have not been introduced to,”
Napoliello said.
He also said he plans to have
an RHA representative at every
meeting of the Association of the
Students of the University of
Nebraska to ensure communica
tion between die groups.
Moeller said he and the Vision
Party candidates did a lot of
research to produce reasonable
Please see ELECTION on 7
A worldly feast: International bazaar serves diversity
■Visitors to the Nebraska Union
were able to sample delicacies from a
number of student organizations.
BY UNOSEY BAKER1
Eva Paris, a UNL graduate student in
modem languages, sank her teeth into a
curried pastry Wednesday and smiled.
"It's good,” she said.
The pastry, prepared by the
Singapore Club at Nebraska, was just one
of the international treats offered at
Wednesday's annual International Food
Bazaar in the Nebraska Union, where
international organizations prepared
and sold a myriad of foods.
Curtis Biggs, president of the
International Student Organization and
coordinator of the bazaar, said die goal of
the event was to create international
awareness among all University of
Nebraska-Lincoln students.
"It's an opportunity for (international
students) to share their culture and their
foods with everyone here,” Biggs said.
Biggs said the bazaar is unusual
because most food-related events in the
Nebraska Union are catered, but stu
dents prepared and sold food for the
bazaar themselves.
Groups involved in the bazaar
included the International Student
Organization, Lincoln Friends of Foreign
Students, the Muslim Student
Association, Singapore Qub at Nebraska,
Union 15 - a Russian student organiza
tion, the Latin American Student
Organization, the African Student
Organization, the Culture Center, the
Indian Student Organization, the
Intensive English Program, the Afro
Caribbean Students and an independent
group of Japanese students.
The money garnerdd from sales,
Biggs said, will go toward each club’s food
and preparation expenses. Any remain
ing money will go the clubs’ personal
funds.
Biggs said turnout for the anticipated
event was high.
“We asked each group to prepare 100
servings,” Biggs said. An hour before the
end of the bazaar, he said all the groups
were running low on food.
"We’ve had about 700 people passing
through,” Biggs said.
Groups prepared both typical native
dishes, like the Latin American Student
Organization’s empanados argentinas,
and those suited more for American
tastes, like the Singapore Club at
Nebraska's vegetarian selections.
Irene Simonenko, vice president of
Union 15, a club representing 15 former
Soviet Union countries, said popular
dishes at her booth included walnut rolls
and stuffed grape leaves called dolma
and pirogi, made of flour, eggs, yeast,
cabbage and onions.
Junior philosophy and sociology
major Irish Wonch said she had visited
the bazaar in previous years and came -
bade to sample foods she doesn't usually
have the chance to try.
“It’s really unique," she said. Wonch
said she had already tried the sushi on
her plate, but the foods from Singapore,
Arabia and Japan were new to her.
Paris, a native of Spain, said she
attended the bazaar to broaden her food
tastes as well. ‘
"I like to try different varieties of
food," she said. “I think it’s boring to eat
the same food every day."
Biggs said students interested in any
of the international groups can contact
International Affairs at (402) 472-5358, or
Biggs at (402) 477-0446.