Board of Regents news briefs for June 7, 2004

Monday, June 7, 2004 | 10:04 a.m.

CCSN to get own police force

The Community College of Southern Nevada is going to get its own police force.

The Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada has authorized Sandy Seda, chief of public safety at the school, to hire officers to replace the private security guards.

"We don't have a professional core of first responders," he said.

Seda told the regents Friday he was the only certified police officer at the school, which has three campuses, and there were four weapons cases in the past year.

"I can't be everywhere," he said.

Under the program, Seda will hire six police officers the first year and eight in each of the next three years to eventually replace the private security. The officers will have certified training and will carry guns. But they will not enforce any laws off campus.

The University of Nevada campuses in Las Vegas and Reno have their own police departments.

CCSN presently spends $1.8 million a year for the Allied Security Co., which is scheduled to rise to $2.3 million in the fourth year. Seda said he wants to keep the cost of his police force within that amount. He said at the end of four years, he will look at the staffing to determine its adequacy.

Fee on athletic tickets put on hold

A proposal to charge up to a $1 fee on each ticket to an athletic event at UNLV and UNR to support academic programs has been put on hold by the regents.

Regent Mark Alden, one of those who offered the idea, said more information has to be gathered.

Alden, of Las Vegas, wants to find out how much money the additional fee would raise and whether it might hurt ticket sales.

The regents agreed to table the issue until a later date.

Anthony voted board chairman

Regent Stavros Anthony was re-elected Friday to a second term as chairman of the Board of Regents.

Anthony, a Metro Police captain, is serving his first term on the board.

Jill Derby of Gardnerville was selected vice chairwoman to succeed Marcia Bandera of Elko, who is not running for re-election and whose term expires in January. Derby has been chairwoman of the board three times and is in her third term.

Regent Jack Schofield of Las Vegas said the vice chairmanship should be passed around. He offered Regent Doug Hill of Sparks as a candidate. But he was unanimously voted down.

Proposals approved for new laws

The Board of Regents has endorsed proposals for law changes in the 2005 Legislature, including one to make sure the residency requirement to qualify for a reduced resident tuition is 12 months.

A conflict arose last year about whether a student had to live only six months in the state before getting the lower fee for residency status.

The board also called on the Legislature to amend the law to permit spouses of international students to get a driver's license. There are about 2,700 international students in the system. They are eligible for a driver's license but their spouses and family members are not covered by the law.

Regents also want to change the name to the Nevada System of Higher Education from the University and Community College System of Nevada.

New policies set for UNLV's paper

New policies have been adopted by the regents governing the twice-weekly Rebel Yell, the official student newspaper of UNLV.

There will be stricter accounting for the money, including a requirement that any expenditure of $500 or more will need approval of the advisory board. The editor in chief of the newspaper will be given final authority in deciding disciplinary actions towards a staff member.

"This has nothing to do with First Amendment rights," Regent Howard Rosenberg of Sparks said. He said the controller would have trouble at times "trying to figure out what was going where."

The new policy, according to university officials, delineates the role of the business manager from the faculty adviser.