Wednesday, august 23, 1978
daily nebraskan
page 55
Report outlines problems of blacks for administrators
By Mary Fastenau
A new semester is beginning, but the
same old problems are reoccuring for
black UNL students.
These problems were summarized by
the UNL chapter of the Afro-American
Collegiate Society in a report given to
administration officials, according to
Hubert Brown, AACS vice-president.
Eleven situations that need to be ad
dressed were listed in the report, Brown
said.
Brown quoted figures showing there is
72 percent dropout rate among black
students, compared with 25 percent for
other students. Only seven out of 1,500
faculty members are black, he said. The
only area where the percentage of blacks
is above 2 percent is in service and main
tenance, where 3.5 percent of those em
ployed are black, Brown said.
The area that shows the most pro
gress is an orientation for black students.
He said Richard Armstrong, vice chan
cellor for student affairs, formed a com
mittee which has all of the plans for the
program down on paper.
Orientation necessary
Brown explained that he thought the
orientation was necessary because UNL
is "such a radically different environ
ment" than what the students are used
to.
He said all the plans have been made,
but there is no funding for the project.
Armstrong said that within two weeks
he will know if money is available for the
program.
Traditionally, black students have not
attended New Student Orientation because
of lack of money or a conflict in their
work schedule. Armstrong said he hopes
next year to have one day, early in the
summer, to bring in as many black students
as possible for orientation.
An in-depth workshop for black stu
dents is planned early this semester and
four to six seminars are scheduled through
out the year.
Another point mentioned in the report
is a need for recruitment of top black
scholars from throughout the nation,
Armstrong said. He explained that the
only recruiting done outside the state is
for athletic teams and there is no money
available to recruit out-of-state professors.
Pamphlet suggested
Brown said the AACS had suggested
a recruiting pamphlet be printed showing
the advantages of UNL
Another AACS plan is to go to high
schools across the state during the last
weeks of school to sell students on UNL.
Armstrong agreed the small number of
black faculty members is, a problem.
One aspect of the problem is that there
(is a small proportion of blacks in the state
and in Lincoln, Armstrong said. When
potential black faculty members come to
UNL and see very few blacks in the com
munity, it usually lessens their interest
in the school.
Nationwide, the number of qualified
black instructors is limited, Armstrong
explained. They are in high demand and
normally choose prestigious institutions or
those that can afford to pay them more.
UNL has neither advantage, he said.
Classes sparse
Another problem listed in the report
was a shortage of black-oriented classes.
Armstrong said such problems are not
Ten UNL students, professor
to study in Bordeaux, France
Ten UNL students and
one UNL professor will
spend academic year 1978
79 in Bordeaux, France.
They will be there as
part of a study abroad
program sponsored since
1963 by the University of
Colorado Office of Interna
tional Education, UNL
joined the program in 1966,
and this year for the first
time a UNL faculty mem
ber will be resident pro
gram director in Bordeaux.
That faculty member is
Frans C. Amelinckx, associ
ate professor in the Depart
ment of Modem Languages
and Literature. He, his wife
Carol, and their children
Andrea, 15, Alan, 11 and
Andrew, 8, left for France
August 2. While there, the
children will attend French
schools and Mrs. Amelinckx
will help her husband with
the program..
As director, Amelinckx
will serve as a liaison be
tween the French campus
and the 47 students from
Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas,
Missouri and Texas. He also
will serve as counselor and
adviser for the students.
The University of Bor
deaux, founded in 1441, is
in the center .of the Bor
deaux wine area and has a
student body of nearly
25,000. The city of Bro
deaux dates from the days
of the Roman Empire and is
a major seaport with a
population of about
400,000.
The students win leave
Denver for France Sept. 3.
From the middle of Sep
tember to the end of
October they will receive an
intensive language refresher
and orientation courses to
prepare them for then
studies. The 10 UNL students
participating are:
Susan Bailey, an
Omaha junior majoring in
journalism.
-Stephanie Blackman, a
Papillion senior majoring in
music.
Loretta McDonald, an
Omaha junior majoring in
secondary education.
-Mary Jo Pitzl, an
Omaha senior majoring in
French and journalism.
Laura Wiedman, a Lin
coln junior majoring in
French.
-Deborah Yamamoto, a
McCook junior majoring in
French.
-Jonna Hunt, a Kearney
junior majoring in French
and Russian.
-Betty Cheung, Hong
Kong, a junior French and
journalism major.
Rebecca Lea Thomas, a
McCook junior majoring in
political science.
-John Scott Melchert, a
McCook junior majoring in
French.
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handled by the administration so the
class requests were directed toward the
various departments.
A tutoring program, which was under
the auspices of the Multi-Cultural Affairs
office, also was criticized because last
year the budget ran out before the end
of the year, he explained.
Armstrong said the tutoring program
has received a federal grant for this year.
A Campus Activity Programming staff
member will work as part time adviser with
the Cultural Center this year.
Brown said his concern would not be
as great if the number of minority students
and faculty members had remained stable,
but it has been dropping. For example,
he said UNL has been losing black faculty
members at the rate of two a year since
1969.
Although he is happy about the things
that have been done, Brown said his
"optimism is very much guarded."
"We still have a lot of work to do,"
he said, "an awful lot of work."
Plant building nearly finished;
to house teaching research
Expanded teaching and research
facilities will be available to students
and faculty members this fall as the
Plant Science Complex on UNL's east
campus nears completion.
The $6.4 million addition to Keim
Hall will house the agronomy, horticul
ture and plant pathology departments
of the NU Institute of Agriculture and
Natural Resources.
Construction also includes 22 green
houses and a headhouse control center
for the greenhouses. This addition will
greatly expand the plant growth area for
soil and crop research, said Robert
Cast, chairman of the UNL agronomy
department.
Classes will be in the complex begin
ning Monday, but completion of the
project is not expected until Thanks
giving, Gast said.
"Our teaching facilities will be
greatly expanded and we will be
offering lab classes never available
before, he said.
The new buildings also will allow
scientists to expand current research
projects and begin new projects pre
viously limited by lack of space.
The plant pathology and horticulture,
departments will occupy the third and
fourth floors of the building, vacating
space in the Plant Industry Building to
be used by the entomology department.
The first two floors of the new struc
ture will house classroom and lab
facilities.
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