page 6
daily nebraskan
tuesday, October 6, 1981
Photo by Kent Morgan Olsen
Richard Simmons, 33, star of a fitness program on television, leads children through one of his popular exercises at the Universtiy of Nebraska Medical Center's Oktoberfest
health fair Sunday.
Health expert draws crowds to Oktoberfest
The NU Medical Center celebrated its ninth annual
Oktoberfest Sunday.
Oktoberfest is an open house sponsored by the
medical center in which various parts of the college put
on exhibits.
Lynn Phares, associate director of public affairs for
the medical center, said there were three purposes for
Oktoberfest.
"The first thing we want to do is show people what
the medical center is like," Phares said. "We want them
to know the variety of services we offer."
The second purpose is to give the public medical in
formation, Phares said.
In connection with this, free blood pressure tests
were offered to the public.
The third purpose is to introduce people to the
possibility of a medical career.
Phares said interest was high in this year's Oktober
fest. "We had an excellent turnout," she said. "I had
several comments from people telling me what a good
time they had."
The highlight of Oktoberfest was an appearance by
Richard Simmons, the well-known diet and health
expert.
Simmons gave two hour-long shows, which drew
large crowds.
"I definitely think his (Simmons') appearance has
boosted attendance," Phares said.
Phares said an attendance of about 6,000 was ex
pected before the event but, "we won't know an acutal
figure until we get one from our security people."
Linda Ractanus, a senior studying to be a
physician's assistant, agreed with Phares' assessment of
the turnout.
"We had a steady flow in here all afternoon,"
Rectanus said. "We've had a lot more people than last
year."
Rectanus said the goal of the physician assistants
exhibit was to educate people to the need for njore
physician assistants.
She said physician assistants handle 80 to 90 per
cent of what physicians traditionally have done.
"The rural areas of Nebraska are most in need of
this program," Rectanus said. "There are some count
ies in out state Nebraska that don't have a single
doctor."
She said another benefit of the physician assistant
program was that it allowed doctors to concentrate
more of their time on seriously ill patients.
Professor says winning takes fun out of sports
By Tom Shelton
Sports in America are not all fun and
games, said a UNL history professor.
Benjamin Rader said the emphasis on
winning has, to a great extent, taken the
fun out of sports.
"I think almost by definition sports
ought to be fun," he said, "but most often
they're not. The emphasis on winning may
have infected sports at all degrees." Rader
said he has seen a win-at-all-costs attitude
even at informal basketball games at the
Coliseum.
Rader, who teaches a course titled "The
History of Sports," said the mass media
have had a profound impact on athletes,
who no longer play for the enjoyment of
sport but for personal glory, he said.
"Sports is an elusive, ephemeral pillar of
modern society," he said. "It's analogous
to mass media and newspapers, and mass
consumption."
Rader said many people make sports a
way to identify with a common cause -the
team.
"People who watch sports have a
temporary feeling they're a part of the
team," he said. "While the game is going on
they feel they're a part of it."
Rader said in this way sports can serve
as a sort of "social order."
"Sports have replaced some of the more
traditional programs," he said. "To some
extent, they have replaced the traditional
family and the traditional church."
However, Rader said, sports have not
served as well as these traditions.
"They don't do as good a job as the tra
ditional pillars of society," he said. "We
probably ask too much of them if we think
of them as a religion or social cement -they
can't do that."
Rader said sports changed drastically
once they became spectator-oriented. He
said this led to less participation in sports
by the fans.
"The great bulk of people watch sports
rather than participate in them," he said.
Rader said football serves as a source of
pride to Nebraska spectators.
"In a state like Nebraska without great
cultural monuments, stunning scenery, or a
long distinct history, football provides
people a common pride in their teams,"
Rader said.
He said football is not as highly empha
sized in the East which he said has the
stunning scenery and distinct history he
spoke of. He said football is emphasized,
however, in the South.
Rader said more and more sports are
being over emphasized. He said this is
especially true in the Eastern European
Bloc countries like East Germany, and in
the Soviet Union which he said has captur
ed the most gold medals in the past several
Olympic Games.
Rader said he opposes the United
States going on a spending spree to keep
up with other nations in a frantic chase for
the most gold medals.
"I think it would probably be a waste of
money," he said. "You'd be spending a lot
ot money on just a few people."
Plan early for careers, says placement director
By Ben Brett
UNL's Career Planning and Placement service helps
UNL students in career planning and finding jobs, said
Frank Hallgren, director of Career Planning and Place
ment. Students should start their career planning and explora
tion as soon as they enter the university, Hallgren said.
They should have an open mind about the career they
want to pursue, he said.
No degree obliges students to a specific job, Hallgren
said. The Career Planning and Placement service helps stu
dents find alternative jobs that they might want to pursue,
he said.
The service helps students prepare their resumes and
interviews through video tapes, group sessions and in
dividual help, Hallgren said.
By the time a student is a senior he or she should be
doing on-campus interviews, Hallgren said. Even if stu
dents are planning on going to graduate or professional
school they should still look at the job market in case
they are not accepted into a school, he said.
The service also helps alumni, Hallgren said. Alumni re
ceive all the same services undergraduates do, except they
have a lower priority than graduating seniors for on
campus interviews, he said.
Hallgren said there is no fee for the services. All
students can use the Career Planning and Placement
office, even if their own college has a service, he said.
Hallgren gave an example of a student in Teachers College
who does not want to teach. That individual should use
the university placement service, he said.
The College of Agriculture, the Law College and Teach
ers College offer placement services. The School of Jour
nalism also offers a placement service.
The Agriculture College placement service is an affiliate
of the university service, Mari Alice Renard, director of
agriculture placement, said. The service is convenient for
students on East Campus, Renard said.
The Teachers College offers seminars on resumes, inter
views and applications, Fred Wendel, director of Teachers
College placement, said. Students should get in contact
with the service during their freshman year, he said. There
is a fee for the services, he said.
The School of Journalism also has a placement service.
Neale Copple, dean of the school said the school has more
listings of jobs than it does of students graduating. The
service helps with resumes and interviews, he said. The
school charges a fee, Copple said.
The Law College placement service helps students with
their resumes and interviews through individual help and
seminars, Janet Krause, assistant dean of the Law College,
said. She said the college is trying to inform employers
about their service through a letter campaign, she said.
There is no fee for the services, she said.
The Architecture College doesn't have a placement ser
vice, but does help students and employers communicate,
John Benson, assistant dean of the Architecture College
said.
Ernest Moore, chairman of the Department of Archi
tecture, said the college is trying to diversify its list of
potential employers for students. The college offers free
seminars on resumes, he said. The college hopes to have
more on-campus interviews in the future, he said.