UNL grads seek teaching careers TEACHERS from page 1 only with recruiters from Southern California on Thursday. MI like the people, and I like the Midwest But the pay is just too low,” he said. Wicherski said everyone he talked to said they planned on going out of state to work. “They're losing everybody,” he said. But Nebraska’s teacher salaries - which rank 45th in the nation - haven’t gone unnoticed by state legislators. The Legislature’s Revenue Committee recently passed a bill proposing to increase the sales tax from 5 percent to 5.25 percent, with the raise going to fund teachers’ pay. And with the Legislature looking for ways to boost teacher pay, coupled with the closeness to home, not all Nebraska graduates want to go far. James Freeman, director of recruitment for the Omaha ' Public Schools, said he was pleased with the number of stu dents who showed up for inter views. In fact, Freeman wasn’t even scheduled to man the OPS booth at the fair - the crowd of students caused his colleagues to call in Freeman for extra help. But Freeman didn’t mind because he knew he’d be recruit ing top-notch teachers, he said. “I go all over the country, and I feel UNL is superior,” he said. Jan Gleason, personnel administrator for the Omaha Public Schools, said the day was "absolutely fantastic.” "It’s one of the best days we’ve ever had,” she said. Students were lined up, waiting to talk to Omaha recruiters, she said. And while much of Nebraska faces a teacher salary crunch, Gleason said Omaha schools offered solid benefits packages that graduating Teachers College students like. Keith Crocker, a UNL senior music education major, said he hoped to stay near Nebraska after graduation. "Most of my family’s in this area,” he said. *Td like to stay dose to them." “No matter where you are, it’s not going to he much more money." Keith Crocker ■ _UNL senior music education major For Crocker, money isn’t the issue, he said. "No matter where you are, it’s not going to be much more money," he said. Gene Hughes, director of special education at the Browning Public Schools in Browning, Mont., said he came to UNL to recruit special educa tion teachers. Browning Public Schools, located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, has about 1,800 students attending its district schools, he said. Hughes said he noticed most of the students flocked toward the recruiters from larger cities, such as Omaha, Kansas City and Denver. "But we hit their lines and stole some people out of them," he said. Hughes said he thought many students looked at where a school was located, not how large it was. "It seems a lot of graduates want to stay at home,” he said. Suzy Thompson, an elemen tary school principal at the Denver Public Schools, said she interviewed 34 people Thursday. About 70,000 students attend schools in the Denver School District; more than 45,000 attend Omaha Public Schools. Most of the UNL students Thompson interviewed were comparable with Colorado trained students, she said. At the recruitment fair, Thompson offered four con tracts to students to work in the Denver schools. "This is the first time Denver has sent people to Nebraska,” she said. "I’m going to recom mend we return in the future.” Schafer reflects on former presidency SCHAFER from page 1 college at Creighton University in Omaha, but he transferred because he didn't think it was the right place for him. Like many students, Schafer overcame obstacles in his per sonal life. Throughout his life, Schafer said, he's battled the blues. But his sadness grew when he got to college, and his grades were dropping. *1 went through depression my sophomore year, and it got so bad that I considered drop ping out,” he said. Schafer said everything changed when he talked to English professor Bob Bergstrom. The professor, as well as counselors at the University Health Center, helped Schafer work through his problems. If it weren't for Bergstrom, Schafer said, he would have left college and entered the work force. Schafer said his bout with ^ depression-and the fact he got through it - gave him die confi dence he needed to run for ASUN president ”1 had dealt with something that was really bad, and I beat it,” he said. ”1 had this feeling like, ‘I beat this, and I can do anything.'” Schafer decided to run for president while sitting at a cof fee shop with UNL senior Casey Brown. Schafer and Brown were discussing their dissatisfaction with the university. ”Kind of on a whim, I was like, ‘Well, 111 run for ASUN president’” he said. ”! wasn't happy with my place on campus,” he said. *1 felt like I was just a number.” Schafer said he wasn’t expecting to win. On the night of the run-off election, Schafer got up and started to make a speech that prepared the crowd for a loss. “I really didn’t think we were going to win,” he said, “but in the middle of that speech I got the call that we did win.” After he was elected, a lot of people - including himself - doubtfed whether he would be a good president But during his year as presi dent, Schafer said he gained new leadership skills, including listening and becoming a better public speaker. Hal Hansen, Government Liaison Committee chairman, said Schafer caught on quickly to the world of politics. “For someone who doesn't have a background in politics, he took to it like a duck in water,” he said. Schafer was good at relating to all types of people, Hansen said. Hansen said he had seen Schafer turn countless people’s frowns into smiles. “Students walk in absolutely hating Joel Schafer, and they leave the office thinking that Joel Schafer is the greatest pres ident that ASUN ever had,” he said. “And I’m not exaggerat ing." Bergstrom, the professor who helped Schafer out of his depression, agreed Schafer did an excellent job as student gov ernment president. “I’m very proud of him,” he said. “I think all the university students should be proud of him. He’s a good example of a University of Nebraska stu "Students walk in absolutely hating Joel Schafer,; and they leave the office thinking that Joel Schafer is the greatest president that ASUN ever had. And I'm not exaggerating Hal Hansen Government Liaison Committee chairman dent" Schafer said that although he had a hectic schedule between school and governing, he made it homd to Omaha almost every Sunday. “Home is a great place to be,” he said. Schafer said his family had been an important support group for him. “I have a great family who cares a lot about me,” he said. “They believed in me when things were bad, and I didn’t believe in myself.” Being a student member of the Board of Regents was also an important part of Schafer’s job, he said. Schafer said he was always prepared for the meetings and wasn’t afraid of the regents. “I didn’t feel like they could push me around,” he said. “I was never really intimidated. The job did have its low points, though, Schafer said. “I think the biggest chal lenge is the job can be a thank less job sometimes,” he said. Keeping senators motivated was also a big task, he said. Stress is also a big part of being AS UN president, he said. Schafer endured the rough times by turning to friends, fam ily and his girlfriend. “I relied a lot on the people close to me,” he said. “I had peo New tests beneficial in real world HWPSfrom page! person toward different careers. Stuhr said the state had gone about its business differently in the past, but new conditions demand newprograms. “We have to look at changing the direction we’re going,” she said. Sen. Bob Wickersham of Harrison said he wouldn't let new conditions isolate students. “We should not use a testing method to set aside some stu dents,” he said. Stuhr said the program would not pit student against student because all students in districts that request the funds would get the chance to take the test. "These programs are available tn all indents,” she said. Students aside, Wickersham said, it wasn't wise to create anoth er educational program when a massive, multi-million dollar teacher-pay proposal is looming. Plus, he said, bumping up die state’s teacher pay, which ranks 45* in the nation, is a more “com pelling" need than creating the fund. Not all ofthe senators, though, felt the state dollars would be wasted Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island said the program would help students decide whether technical schools - as opposed to colleges and universities - were a better fit for them. “This is really a great idea," he said The University of Nebraska, which draws the majority of Nebraska students, is planning to raise tuition soon, he said By let ting students know if they need to shell out the extra bucks for an education, he said, the state would be doing its youth a great service. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha wasn't ready to condemn the idea of guiding students to areas where they would exceL But, he said, the program sim ply doesn't have the financial backbone it needs to be effective. Originally, the fund was slated to receive $1.5 million of state money. In committee, lawmakers reduced that number to $500,000. And Chambers said $500,000 just isn’t enough to do much on the state leveL A few thousand dollars might help a small, rural district, he said. In Omaha, though, he said, a few grand is merely a drop in the buck et “Too little can sometimes be worse than nothing at all,” he said. More importantly, he said, teachers should already be teach ing skills that are so fundamental ly necessary. If they're not, he said, perhaps they don’t deserve the extra money the state is working to give them. Chambers lambasted the Omaha Public School District for testifying in favor of the bill because by giving the bill its stamp of approval, it essentially admitted that it wasn't doing its job. Chambers said every student should receive instruction in a variety of dolls. If the state sends its students off on different “tracks,” he said, it will push some students toward “any-and-all” opportunities while dooming oth ers to limited jobs. Stuhr said the state would simply be filling in a gap in instruction and helping students learn what was best for them. Chambers questioned the size of the gap in instruction. “If $500,000 will solve the (problem), we don’t have a prob lem,” he said. pie around me who were really supportive.” All in all, Schafer said the positives of being ASUN presi dent far outweighed the nega tives. “It was worth it," he said. “It was definitely worth it.” HONORS Ariel Bybee Richard Fleming Elizabeth Franklin Sara Granberg-Rademacker Robert Hitchcock Laurie Homer Dennis Leblanc Linda Major Hans Patuwo Joy Ritchie Viann Schroeder Kathy Stastny Lois White AWARD CELEBRATION & RECEPTION SUNDAY, APRIL 1 7:00 PM St*-Maik’s Episcopal Church 1309 R Street Celebrative Music PUBLIC INVITED Diesel PRADA Tessuto Lucky 3 Dot Rocket Dog Hugo Boss jvfavi Quicksilver Kenneth Cede UCBG Dragonfly Franco Sarto Camper Billabong Dr. Martens DKNY Bulldog Betsey Johnson & People vj—.. . Cooperative 2 Blocks From Campus! fei v 14th & P LincolnOmaha 132n