Friday, February 25, 1983 Daily Nebraskan ooay ii Vof.82. No. 112 Fbiuary 25, 1903 University of Nebraska-Lincoln ji Daiiliy n r i u - empyMSozes MA vESobnlMy o on no Staff photo by Dave Bentz Tom Myers, left, Jerry Kreifels, Lori Glaess, and Susan TeSelle. By Jann Nyffeler In an attempt to resolve current Residence Hall Association problems, the BEER (Better Educational Environment for Residents) Party announced its candidacy for RHA executive positions Thursday. At a gathering of BEER candidates in the lobby of Smith Hall, Tom Myers, RHA presidential candidate and Harper Hall resident, outlined various points he believes need RHA attention. Myers suggested a number of solutions to the problem of student traffic blocked for long periods of time by trains on tracks south of Harper Hall. BEER recommends removing the tracks entirely, using instead an apparently unused set of tracks just north of Harper Hall. These tracks connect with the same points to the east, he said. Another option, he said, would be to construct overpasses for students at 16th Street, 14th Street and the "so-called Harper-Schramm-Smith cut-off," as well as another one tor tratlic. lie said the latter structure might be less feasible than the lirst three because of cost limitations. Elevating the tracks is yet another alternative the BEER Party offered. Myers also said that hall governments and residents don't seem to care what RHA does. To create more interest in RHA meetings,and generate increased attendance by members, BEER members plan to offer milk and cookies to live nude entertainment at the meetings, or to pay members who attend. Myers also suggested freezing floor funds if members don't go to the meetings. This policy currently is followed in most UNL residence halls. Myers said he believes that in the university community, "ASUN is large and visible, while RHA is tucked off in a corner and seen as ineffective." To resolve this, he suggests that the president of RHA, not ASUN. serve as student regent. To increase RHA's impact on UNL, the BEER Party, if elected, would call for "the rewriting of the constitutions of all hall governments and Greek councils, the Intei fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association," Myers said. New constitutions would be subject to RHA approval. He also addressed the issue of non-Selleck residents using Selleck Quadrangle facilities for meals and studying, which often results in overcrowding. Continued on Page 7 By Christopher Galen o WMfte-coliair cirame odd college camnoyses Nobody really knows how widespread the problem is, but academic dishonesty continues to plague campuses across the country, including UNL, according to Dolores Simpson-Kirkland, assistant to the dean of students. Because students are reluctant to talk about academic dishonesty, facts and figures about the true extent of cheating, stealing and plagiarizing in college courses are hard to find. For the 1981-82 academic year, the University Judicial Board, which Simpson-Kirkland oversees, heard 15 cases involving 23 students. She cited the Oct .20,1980, issue of U.S. News and World Report, which mentioned a survey conducted among men at the university. Sixy percent of those polled said they would be willing to cheat if they were under pressure to do well. Academic dishonesty takes several forms, including plagiarism; stealing or copying exams, cheating on exams by using crib notes, or even by having a surrogate take the exam in one's place, according to Simpson-Kirkland. "Dishonesty has created a lot of problems," she said, "particularly for those students who work hard and are honest." Competition for high grades has changed attitudes in recent years, she said. With today's bleak job outlook; a student's grade point average is often a deciding factor in getting a job. In addition, graduate schools for legal and medical studies are more selective than ever in admission policies, driving some students to cheat. "It's no longer education for education's sake," she explained. "It's education for the grade. They feel they have to make it - they have to have those grades in pre-med , pre-law." 43 No "typical" student cheater exists, but desperation is often the motivation. If a student doesn't understand certain basic concepts, he may feel the need to cheat on an exam. This creates a vicious circle in which the student eventually fails to learn anything, Simpson-Kirkland said. David Brooks, a chemistry professor who coordinates entry-level chemistry classes at UNL, said he sees an increase in the number of students caught cheating. "There are a lot of reasons why they do it," Brooks said', adding that the most unusual case with which he has dealt involved a student who was getting a B in class, when he was used to getting A's. The student cheated to improve his marks, even though he was not failing. In recent years, young people have seen that cheating and dishonesty often are used in the business and political worlds to get ahead, and they tend to emulate those examples, Simpson-Kirkland said. "The university is a microcosm of society," she said. "White-collar crime has reverberations in the college world. People are more tolerant of wrongdoing than they were." "People see that others don't get confronted when they do something wrong," she said. "They adopt an 'I don't want to get involved' attitude. This jeopardizes everybody." Once an instructor is aware that a student is cheating, he has three options, Simpson-Kirkland said. The instructor can fail the student on the specific exam of paper; he can give the student a failing grade for the entire course; or he can give a failing grade for the course and bring the student to the attention of the Student Life office and the University Judicial Board. Continued on Page 2 By Christopher Galen Editor's note: This story contains the opinions of the writer. The King is dead. Long live the King. Well, not quite yet, but Monday night, Feb. 28, will mark the passing of a cultural era"- the death of a small piece ot Americana which, through the years, has in one form or another touched the heart of almost every person in the United States. It would be next to impossible to find someone in this country who has not seen at least one episode of CBS-TV's "MASH" series. In its 1 1-year run, it has attracted the praise and the kudos of critics and viewers alike; but, like all other good things, it must come to an end. Monday's showing of the final episode of "MASH" is expected to draw a bigger crowd than this year's Super Bowl. There will be MASH parties, MASH wakes,.MASH dances, MASH bashes - all to pay tribute to what may be the most popular show ot its time. "MASH" was more than a comedy, more than a drama: it was an intelligent and sensitive look at an abhorred sense less event - war. J UciuLaUciJ u Ui uLi u ud U V5 uqUco , " JS I! , --.A' m-St ::s V is: ::,:!: . h . .' ' . : ' :"" x ., .-, ,mr:: ' -j ,. : .1 y U V A spot-check Tuesday night in the Nebraska Union TV lounge found a number of students watching a "MASH" rerun, perhaps for tjie second or third time. Tcri Wingate, an advertising major, said she has followed the show since it started and continued to watch it whenever she's not working. "The thing 1 like the most about it is the way they take such a bad situation, and get humor out of it," she said. "I like it for the way they incorporate the message into the show." Wingate said she is getting off work Monday evening so she can watch the last episode and attend a MASH party. "I'm waiting to be surprised Monday ' night. I think they might kill somebody off. I'd be disappointed if everybody just went home." Lincoln resident John Payea happened to be waiting in the union Tuesday night, so he decided to watch "MASH" as he does several times a week. He said he enjoys the shows, but thinks it is time for it to end. "I'm a firm believer in things going out on top," he said. "Even though it's only a TV show, it really seems so much like it . really happened." Continued on Page 7 X