daily nebraskan
friday, October 20, 1978 lincoln, nebraska vol. 102 no. 32
Graduation dreams delayed by work, money woes
By Jeff Unger
If you have ever had the feeling that
there has to be an end to it all but it
seems like it will never come, don't feel
alone.
Graduating in four years seems to be a
thing of the past these days for many stu
dents, and any number of reasons may be
cited for having to take that extra semester
or three.
Lyle Young, associate dean of engineer
ing and technology, said that only about
one -third of the engineering and
technology students graduate in four years.
Nearly another 33 percent take nine
semesters to finish school and another one
third are here for ten semesters, he said.
Young said many students need to stay
in school longer than four years 'because
we require 134 credits to graduate."
Another reason he cited was that 60 per
cent of the engineering students work
part time and carry a smaller course load .
Students come and go
Taking longer than four years to finish
school may not be a recent phenomenon,
however.
A study done in 1975 on a group of
freshmen that started at UNL in 1969
showed that 52 percent of the students
were still in school at the end of eight
semesters, according to Dr. Lawrence
Bundy, director of undergraduate ad
vising. The informal study, Bundy said , was a
"snapshot approach" using limited data.
He said the number of students who grad
uated early and those who quit or trans
ferred were not included in the final figure.
"Because students come and go, you're
never sure what percent graduate at one
time," he said. "I think if they are taking
longer (to graduate), there might be more
working and carrying fewer hours."
Stopping out
Bundy said there are programs where
students "stop out," such as in engineering,
to do work in their field. He also said
it is not uncommon for some students to
quit school and then "f.urn to school.
There are many reasons a student may
stay in school longer than four years.
Even with a requirement of 125 hours to
graduate, a student taking 15 hours each
semester will still be five hours short at
the end of eight semesters.
Work is also a factor. Many students
find they have to work more hours to be
able to cover the costs of room, board and
tuition.
This year, tuition was $22 50 per credit
hour for Nebraska residents and $61 for
non-residents. Student fees are $66.50
per semester.
Tuition increased
In the last five years, tuition has in
creased over four dollars per hour, accord
ing to Bob Clark, director of student ac
counts at UNL.
Clark said that resident tuition was $18
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School's out, sun's up and it's hot outside. All these two kids have to do is hurry home, check in with mom and then get
down to some serious foolin' around.
Flood of tears interrupts Ellis hearing
By Shelley Smith
Through a flood of tears, John Ellis'
former wife testified in Lancaster County
Court Thursday that she found two
butcher knives in her car in 1976.
Ellis is charged with first-degree murder
in the death of Debra Forycki, whose
remains were found in an old water tank
near Elmwood last month.
Martha Dickerson, who divorced Ellis
in 1977, told the court she was going
through her car one evening in June, 1976
when she found the knives.
In Wednesday's hearing, two women
testified that Ellis had attacked them at
knife -point.
One alleged attack was in June of 1976.
The other was in 1974, not more than 75
feet away from where Forycki's remains
were found.
Ron Lahners, prosecuting attorney,
asked Dickerson what she did with the
knives after she found them.
In a choked , tearful voice, she answered,
"I was so upset. I don't remembei."
Dickerson then broke down sobbing,
and was unable to continue her testimony
until after a ten minute recess.
She said she did not know where the
knives came from, how they got in her
car, or where they are now.
She said she and Ellis were the only
people who ever drove the car, although
she said she believed Ellis' brother
borrowed the car once.
Under cross examination by Steve
Berry, Ellis' attorney, Dickerson said her
car was net cleaned frequently, but she
said she does remember cleaning it that
night because Ellis had been hospitalized
following a motorcycle accident earlier in
the day.
Lahners said after the hearing that
Dickerson was upset by the accident when
she was cleaning the car, and when she
found the knives, she was even more upset.
Judge Jeffre Cheuvront asked both the
state and the defense to prepare reports
concerning the alleged attacks on the two
women.
He said it would be premature to decide
whether to dismiss the case or have it
bound over to the District Court without
first reading these reports.
He said if the defense had any new
evidence to present they could do so when
the hearing reconvenes at 3:30 p.m. Octo
ber 25.
per credit hour in 1973, and $48.25 for
non-residents. Fees were $51 .50 that year
and they increased to $61.50 in 1974.
A current student and two former
students cited their own reasons for finish
ing in more than four years.
"Work," said John Sanks, who started
in 1973. He said he will be done in Dec
ember this year and is currently taking
three hours at UNL.
Sanks, who works full time, said he
worked about 20 hours each week during
most of his college years.
"I had to cut down my class hours to
balance out my time," Sanks said. "I
suppose I averaged 12 or 13 hours per
semester."
If you've got the time
Julie Johnson, who is now teaching
school, said she took longer than four years
because she changed majors in the middle
of her college career.
She said she feels that unless a person
carries heavy course loads, there is no way
they can graduate in four years.
"I don't see how it's feasibly possible
to support yourself and graduate in four
years," said Johnson, who also said she had
to work her way through school.
Rich Meyer, who started in 1973 and
finished school in summer 1978, said he
took longer than four years because he
"had a really good time."
Averaging 13 hours each semester,
Meyer said some classes got more
interesting and also took more time as he
progressed. He said it would have been too
hectic to finish in four years.
Innocents learn
'do unto others'
lesson Monday
The Innocents Society finally has
learned the-meaning of the Golden Rule.
What they have "done onto others was
done onto them" Monday niht when four
MECA members "spooked" their meeting.
The 13-member honorary which dresses
in red -hooded robes and sashes, periodi
cally mask their faces and interrupts
meetings and UNL offices moving around
the room and expressionlessly peering over
people's shoulders.
Michael Gibson, a member of both
groups, claimed responsibility for the idea.
He said that at first the Innocents did
not know who the spooks were, but
"pretty soon everyone was rolling on the
floor with laughter."
One Innocent even tried to sell them
raffle tickets, but they didn't respond,
he said .
'The spookers did a better job of
keeping a raight face than the Inno
cents have," Gibson said. "Being an
Innocent is sort of an ego trip. This was
a perfectly ego deflating exercise."
He said one spook wore an Innocents'
robe and sash, another a red jacket zipped
over his head , another a Dracula cape and
one wore metallic sun glasses to mask his
appearance, Gibson said.
inside friday
Unspeakable terrors: Haunted houses
scare the bejesus out of Lincoln
ites page 2
Presenting the 1991 Cornhuskers:
Football players of the future
show their stuff on midget foot
ball fields page 14
YouVe got a little more to go, baby:
Columnist Kate Gaul explains the
Equal Rights Amendment . .page 4
