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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1974)
J-, ;ir m .... UNL may begin religion studies By Charles Johnson UNL may offer a program of religious studies by September 1975, according to Raleigh Peterson, dean of the Nebraska School of Religion (NSR formerly Cotner College). He said the old Cother College Brard would provide an endowment of $250,000 for the university of Nebraska Foundation to establish a Cotner College professorship in religious studies. The endowment would' include the present NSR building at 1237 R St. and a permanent endowment fund of $150,000. The building is valued at $100,000, he said. In addition, the Cotner College library will be transferred to UNL. . . With the Cotner College professorship, a minor in religious studies would be approved by the regents, Peterson said. Ha said it ha been discussed informally with tha regents. "We feel the University students ought to have a better opportunity in courses in religion than they have," he said. The College of Arts and Sciences presently doesn't allow religion to be studied as one of the humanities, he said. The College of Arts and Sciences made a study of religion on the UNL campus and found that the University already offered a number of courses related toeiigion, Peterson said. ' They found that 23 courses related to religion existed on the campus and they recommended that more courses be developed, according to Peterson. He cited the success of similar programs at tha University of Iowa and the University of Indiana, and said ha anticipates no problems' implementing the program. "The Supreme Court has ruled that the academic study of religion is legal and, in fact, highly desirable," he said. World religions and Biblical studies are the most needed courses, according to Peterson. In addition to the course offetings, he sees the need of another full time religion professor (in addition to the one stipulated in the endowment). "We are waiting on a declaration judgment as to the legality of the trust," he said. "If that moves quickly, the program jould begin in September of 1975." The idea for establishing religious studies at UNL was first considered seriously in 1970. Peterson attributed NSR interest in the plan to . "difficulties in scheduling students and finding funds for our program." F ft 'V. .' V V. ' ' arm sr 1i arKin friday, may 3, 1974 lincoln, nebraska vol. 97, no. 56 By Marl Hoffman Over the past year, UNL students have found at least one appeals committee appealing and others unnecessary or unused. The ASUN Parking Appeals Committee has heard about 100 appeals every two weeks, or 1,800 during the school year, according to committee member Russ Nelson. ( ' Ha said about 70 of the appesii iri thingod In t he student's favor wSh'tlberecomm to " Ron Gicrhan, UNL coordinator of studs nt conduer t referrals. ' Most of the cases involve instances such as a student parks illegally while he or she runs into a building for five minutes and has 8 ticket when the student gets back, Nelson said. Others might be students charged with parking within a "red line," or no-parking zone, or blocking a driveway when tha lot they had a permit for was so full they could not park in one of the stalls. "Most of the time it is a clear-cut case," he added, with a student proving he did not block the driveway, or the Campus Security unable to provide he didn't block it. He said of 100 appeals, 80 are presented to tha committee in writing and 20 are presented in person by the student. At the other extreme, the Faculty Senate Committee on Student Suspension Appeals has not heard a C3se all year, according to chairman Don Shaneyfelt. Shaneyfalt is the Law College assistant dean. , Gierhan, the UNL coordinator of student conduct referrals, said that no student had been dismissed . from UNL for disciplinary reasons over tha past year. Likewise the Faculty Senate Scholastic Appeals s most appea Committee has not heard a case this year, according to chairman Robert Johnston, a UNL chemistry professor. His committee hears cases involving students suspended from school because of bad grades, he said. Gerald Bowker, academic services director, said there have been UNL students put on scholastic probation or suspended during the last year, but he declined to say how many. He, said giving numbers ' may lia a breScfr6f cdrifiSenc t3 tftfisfpeople.rr:. Ha explained that ttudcrrts do not go to tha scholastic Appeals Committee because "Everyone who is suspended is scheduled for a conference (with his office). 'They are given the critieria for what they h3ve to do to become eligible," he said. Problems usually are straightened out there or in the colleges themselves, he added. Another appeals body, the University Judiciary, has heard only four cases this year, said member Jania Erdenberger. Two cases involved students who were appealing cases from the previous year. One involved a drug problem, the other a dormitory problem, she said. The other two cases involved a fight on campus. Tha student came back because he thought the wording in the University Judiciary's first written opinion was detrimental to his character, Erdenberger said.'--"' . The body reworded its opinion, she noted. In the other two cases, it upheld the decision on the drug case and changed the ruling on the dormitory case allowing him to go back into the residence hall. Dr. Paul Bancroft, the University Health Center (UHC) ombudsman, said he has handled 18 ling to students complaints over the last three months. This is average for a three-month period, he added. Half those complaints concerned students who complained about having to pay fees for services rendered, Bancroft said. "Some students labor under the misinformation that all the care they receive is free' ha noted and complain about fees they receive for care such as laboratory tgets." i .-..' ,,-..,,..., ,w;.vt"ti0-.ftmsdt?t3t wh!!3 students do have to pay the UHC s&Us, lor such service U U sbp'4,1 telt ti of other hospitals. Other complaints are that UHC does not provide service for the students' families, and some students complain of personality clashes with doctors. He said UHC does not have the staff or facilities to handle students' families and students are able to choose different doctors if they have a problem with one particular physician. . Gicrhan and Bancroft said if a student has a problem or complaint the student is told he can appeal a decision through the ombudsman, or the appropriate appeals committees. Bowker said a student who is put on scholastic , probation or suspension is not notified about the Scholastic Appeals Committee. The UNL appeals committees are listed in the Campus Handbook. The last hurrah " Today's issue of the Daily Nebraskati is the last one for the semester. Publication will resume in the fall. Studen calls for evaluation changes Cy Pat Scbnitzar If UNL student Bill Freudenburg has his way, student evaluations will become an organized, systematic way to judge classes and teachers. "Students should have adequate information to vliut tearhot-e " ho said. The existing forms are sometimes inadequate, he added. ' Freudenburg submitted a proposal to the UNL Teaching Council which calls for a "2-pronged" evaluation form to be used in all UNL departments. A computerized section of the form would evaluate the teacher's effectiveness, ha . said. Freudenburg explained that students would answer about 203 questions, such as: Is the' teacher interesting? Does he encourage , class participation? Evaluation results would bo published after the first year and then once every two years, he said. This system would allow students to compare teachers, he said. The other part of the evaluation would be decided by each department, he continued. A chairman could ask questions specific to his department and fill any gaps the first part of the form left, Freudenburg said. He also said the teachers might give out mid-semester evaluations so they Freudenburg said the Teaching Council endorsed his proposal "in principle". Virginia Trotter, vice chancellor of academic affairs, has been advised to organize an ad hoc committee to study the proposal,, he explained. He stressed that his evaluation system should not be "pushed down the faculty's throat" But teachers now are being judged by rirrnor, innuedo and distorted facts, ha said. "This is not a good way to know who the best teachers are," he said. He explained that his proposal arose from a report on evaluations ha heiped prepare last year. "There were different forms used in different ways and no one understood the policies governing z valuations," he explained. The newly adopted Board of Regents' by-lsws of August 1973 said students should have the opportunity to voice their opinions, Freudenburg said. Teaching Council members seemed to favor an updating of student evaluations but were skeptical about certain parts off L.K. Benedict, assistant dean of the Collegs of Pharmacy, said he doss not want to return to the days of no evaluations because they supply instructors with a bread student reaction. However, he said he had reservations about publishing evaluation results. Some courses, like an English honors course and introductory chemistry class, are not comparable, Benedict said. English Prof. Robert Hough said he has ambivalent feelings about the newly proposed evaluations. The instruction and missions of each department are different, and it might be unfair to compare classes, he said. However, Hough said ho thought evaluations results should be published. But department chairmen should show faculty members the evaluations first, he added. . m J. a,, 4.,, A, . Jt. ,
