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I i Wednesday, December 1 ,1982
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 82, No. 71
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By Eric Peterson
Despite some difficulties many inter
national students at UNL are gaining a
valuable experience here, said Peter Levi
tov, director of International Educational
Services at UNL. ;
There are more than a thousand inter
national, students at the university, or
about 3.5 percent of the total student
body. That figure is larger than the na
tional average, which is about " 2. 6 per
cent of college enrollment nationwide.
A few generalizations can be made
about the diverse group of international
students. About 45 percent of them are
graduate students. There are almost four
times as many male students as female
students. The largest national groups at
UNL are those from Malaysia, 133 stu
dents, Iran, 131, Taiwan, 94, and Ni-
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tion. Army bell ringers
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since late last week,
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hours every day be
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south end of the NBC
center ringing up'
donations.
Staff Photo by Craig
And r wen
geria, 83. Engineering, agriculture and
business are their most popular majors.
Levitov said' about half of UNL's
international students pay for their edu
cations 'from private, especially family,
jsources, and half have scholarship sup
port from , their own governments or
from the VS. government. The United
States aids a small number of interna
tional students through both direct grants
and contracts with the student's home
government.
Male predominance
Levitov said the male predominance
among international students reflects the
cultures they come from.
"In most societies - this society in
cluded - there seems to be a preference
for the advancement of men," he said.
This may not necessarily be government
influenced, but . arise within the society,
he added.
Levitov explained the international
student concentration in .business, ag
riculture and engineering as coming
from the most pressing needs within
their countries.
"Most of the students here are from
developing ' countries," he said, noting
that business management skills are used
both in private corporations and in run
ning nationalized industries.
Many students are from oil-producing
countries which have decided to encourage.,
national Pi development through ;? inter
national education. Levitov said that
Venezuela and Nigeria in particular have
set aside some oil money for sending
students abroad.
Some international students finance
their educations by working at UNL,
Levitov noted. Most do research work,
and some teach after they have done
graduate work for a year.
"The University of Nebraska has never
recruited foreign students," Levitov said,
adding that many international under
graduates end up at UNL not through
picking this institution specifically, but
"almost through fortuitous circumstance."
Connections attract students
"Someone's cousin once went here or
someone's teacher may have studied
here ..." Levitov noted as reasons why
many international students are at UNL.
He said that with graduate students it is
different, because most international stu
dents are referred by their professors to
specific graduate programs at UNL.
. Levitov said some governments have
steered undergraduate students to UNL
because of the community atmosphere.
"One of the reasons that students
are placed here, and I think that this is
a compliment to the university, is that
it i a place that foreign students may
more easily adapt to" he said. Lincoln
is "sort of in the middle" of city and
country environments that international
students come from.
Cultural differences can make difficul
ties for many international students,
Levitov said.
"Our educational system has been
historically developed to suit the needs
of people in this country," he said.
Cultural differences
"In some countries, it js thought in
appropriate or disrespectful to ever speak
in the classroom, to ever question a pro
fessor," Levitov said. He noted that this
can be daunting to an international stu
dent at UNL who discovers class partici
pation will be part of the grade.
Language difficulties are another real
problem for many international students.
Levitov said that all international students
.have demonstrated proficiency in English,
but still may not be as fluent in the lan
guage as most other students, read as
rapidly or write as clearly.
Even the weather can cause problems
for students from the tropics, Levitov
noted. Nebraska weather could be a
potential trauma to their biological sys
tems. Possibly the worst problem some in
ternational students have is the change in
family and friendship patterns from their
home countries, Levitov said.
"If your mother is not here, or if
your friend is not here, you just can't
plug one in," he said.
A lot of international students suffer
from stereotypes, even well-intentioned
stereotypes, Levitov said.
"People generalize from small ob
servations . . . they want a quick label."
Continued on Page 2
Nuclear waste transportation possible by 1983
By Kema Soderberg
Setbacks have postponed the transportation of spent
fuel through the Lincoln area, but the Nebraska Public
Power District hoped to initiate the transfer by the early
part of next year, said Ron Bogus, NPPD public relations
director.
However, a city ordinance proposed by Lincoln City
Councilman Eric Voungberg could delay the transfer or
Nuclear Issues
$top it entirely. The ordinance will be presented to the
council in January.
High-level radioactive waste was scheduled to begin
its trek from the Cooper nuclear power plant near Brown
viile to a temporary General Electric, holding site it
Morris, III., last September. The proposed Burlington
Northern route runs through the UNL City Campus.
NPPD plans to ship 1 ,056 spent fuel rods in six to nine
trips a year for three years. The rods are approximately
12 feet long and pencil thin . About a pillion times more
radioactive than fresh fuel, they will be shipped on
special trains in 100-ton casks. A
Questions must be resolved about an Illinois law
prohibiting storage cf waste from outside itate boundaries
before shipment of the waste can begin. A federal district
judge found the law unconstitutional, but the decision
has been appealed to the VS. Supreme Court. The law is
now technically unconstitutional and Bogus said NPPD
will not start shipping waste until the case is closed.
Casks removed
Another problem arose when transporting casks were
removed from service after a testing error was discovered
in September. GE realized that it was using the wrong
maximum weight figure for Nuclear Regulatory Commis
sion tests and reported its mistake to the NRC, which
.removed the casks. Bogus said new casks are expected on
the market within the next few weeks.
He said NPPD hasn't applied for NRC route approval
vet. The proposed route would run through Peru,
Nebraska City, Dunbar, Syracuse, Unadilla, Palmyra, Ben
nett, Cheney, Lincoln, Waverly, Greenwood, Ashland,
South Bend, Louisville, Cedar Creek and Plattsmouth.
' According to Bogus, The NRC and the Department of
Transportation have "hundreds of pages" of rules govern
ing nuclear waste transportation. Train speed, track
condition, theft prevention and cask approval are four of
the area covered.
Youngberg, however, does not think these regulations
are strong enough. If adopted, his ordinance would re
Qui re NPPD to document alternatives to the transporta
tion. Other things which could be checked Include liabili
ty insurancy, testing casks under actual rather than simu
lated conditions and notifying the city government seven
days before shipping nuclear waste. Federal regulations
don't require any of these measures, Youngberg said.
Youngberg also said the ordinance would equire that
warning labels be put on the railroad cars shipping the
spent fuel. The Transportation Department and NRC
have different requirements for labeling, and Young
berg said he belives the practice should be consistent.
Local authority
' He said he thinks the local government has the
authority to regulate nuclear waste transportation when
the federal government "refuses to provide adequate re
gulations." Voungberg said that, in New York City, a
court decided the Transportation Department could not
preempt the city's regulations,
Bogus said he did not know if the proposed ordinance
would affect the plans for spent fuel transfer and tha't
NPPD's ability to comply with the ordinance would
depend on its final wording.
Transportation of nuclear waste to Illinois is unneces
sary and irresponsible because the Cooper plant has
enough storage space to last until 1991 or 1992,
Youngberg said. Ie said the GE storage site Is only a tem
porary facility and that if transported there, the waste
might have to be reshipped through the Lincoln area for
permanent storage In Nevada or Washington. "
Youngberg said the Tennessee Valley Authority may
present another storage option soon.'The TVA Is now run
ning tests on new permanent on-site storage casks.
Bogus argued that unnecessarypostponcment of the
planned transfer could cost rate payers $30 million or ,
more because of rising transportation costs. lie said that
future retransfer would be unlikely if the GE plant is
allowed to start reprocessing spent fuels again. Reproces
sing was discontinued during the Carter administration.
Bogus called the TVA experiments in dry, on-site
storage "pioneering In the fjcld' and added that he Is
convinced that transportation is a safe operation.
