The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, November 28, 1984, Image 1

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Wednesday, November 23, 1934
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 84 No. 63
II
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cr.thcr: Sunny, windy and warmer today with
a high of 47 (8C). Wednesday night, becoming
cloudy and not as cold with a low of 23 (-2C).
Thursday, cloudy with a slight chance of showers
and a high In tho lower 403 (GC).
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Academic dislumesty often ignored
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By Kevin Disn
Daily Nebra&kr.a EtxfT Reporter
cademic dishonesty occurs
no more often at UNL
than at other schools, but
it is still there.
LuAnn Krager, assistant to
the dean of students, said that
although cheating at UNL
occurs at about the same rate
as other schools, violations of
the university's code of conduct
occur frequently enough to keep
the Judicial Board active at
lease twice weekly.
, "We do get complaints and do
act on them," she said.
But Ed Sisson, a UNL engi
neering student concerned
Bill
about cheating, said he thinks
academic dishonesty b "more
widespread than people would
Eke to think."
Last spring Sisson surveyed
287 UNL seniors and came up
with figures representing those
who cheat or perceive others as
cheating, which put UNL on par
with other schools where sim
ilar surveys have been
conducted.
Krager said reported occur
rences of academic dishonesty
appear to be no more promi
nent in one college than
another, but most of the cases
do occur in 100- or 200-level
classes, she said.
However, not all of the cases
reported from these classes
involved freshmen and sopho
mores. This raises a question of
whether class size (since lower
level courses are often large)
and students' familiarity with
the teacher affects their deci
sion to cheat, Krager said.
Chemistry professor Robert
. Karris, who teaches large
freshman-level classes, said he
thinks "a one-to-one relation
ship between teacher and stu
dent is the best deterrent to
cheating. You don't cheat some
one'you know."
However, Harris said, a large
class is inevitably more imper
sonal, so a teacher must rely on
an elaborate, mechanical system
to prevent cheating. This system
can easily be foiled, he said, and
lots of cheating does occur, but
his strategy against failure of
the mechanical system is
vigilance.
Along with an elaborate
mechanical system and watch
fulness to prevent cheating,
Harris said he likes to maintain
a degree of flexibility in his
classroom. '
"An automatic F is overkill,"
he said. "It's a lot like the death
penalty seldom used.
Teachers are here to get people
to learn, not flunk.
"Most students want to do
well," Harris said. 'They are
forced into it; cheat or flunk as
tHey see it. I'd rather get them
to realize the error of their
ways."
Harris said he is an example
of psychologist B.F. Skinner at
work. He said he tries to deter
cheating through praise and
personal rewards.
"This is more effective than
. different levels of punishment,"
he said. "The final exam can
bring about their grade if they
work hard."
Another part of Harris' flexi
bility, he said, entails giving oral
exams to those he thinks are
cheating.
Thomas Mehle, an assistant
professor of psychology, con
ducts a Keller-plan section cf
Psychology 181, one of UNL's
largest classes. Mehle said the
course incorporates 15 units, 13
exams and a self-paced
approach by students.
Mehle said problems with this
system developed because the
same question pool was used
every semester. Students
created files of the questions
and inventories of the tests, he
said. As a service to the honest
students, he said, he then
rewrote test questions every
semester.
But I wasn't sure things
weren't getting out that fast."
Mehle said he caught people
outside his office door studying
from photocopied exams,' and
eventually caught up with a
teaching assistant who was sel
ling copied exams to students.
Mehle said he needed to build
honesty, into the system, so he
adopted i. different book and a
' different test structure. Psy
chology 181 now uses enor
mous versions of identical ques
tions compiled in a pool of tests
so that students are confronted
with the option of studying 100
versions of the same test, or else
reading the book.
Continued on Page 7
Pros
ury s
ecution predicts week-long
election for Douglas trial
By Brad Gilford
Daily Nebraskan Staff Reporter
Jury selection for the trial of
Attorney General Paul Douglas
moved into its second day Tues
day as questioning of the first 24
people was completed.
The prospective jurors have
been interviewed in groups of
four, and before completing the
interviews with group No. 6, Judge
Jeffre Cheuvront called in nine
more reserve jurors. He also
scheduled 12 more for Wednesday.
Prosecuting Attorney Kirk
Nayior, who last week predicted
that jury selection would take
: two or three days, said he now
expects the process to last a
week.
Nayior and Defense Attorney
William Morrow will continue the
selection procedure until they
agree on 12 jurors and two alter-
A
lae
U.S.
IV
By Brad GifTord
Dai!- Keir&skaa Staff Eepcrter
An agricultural aide to Rep.
Doug Bereuter said he expects
the administration to grant
Bereuter's request that 300,000
metric tons of wheat be sent to
famine-stricken Ethiopia.
John Amick said in a telephone
interview Tuesday that "informal
information" from administration
officials indicates that the request
might be granted this week.
Bereuter and 18 other repre
sentatives made the same request
in February, but specific condi-
nates. Lancaster County District
Court Clerk Marge Hart mailed
320 summonses to people in the
county to establish a pool of pros
pective jurors.
Douglas is accused of lying
under oath, a felony, when he tes
tified to the Legislature's special
Commonwealth Committee about
his dealings with Marvin Copple,
former Commonwealth Savings
Co. vice president. Douglas has
maintained that Copple did not
influence his actions as attorney
general and that he paid correct
income tax on payments he
received from Copple, which he
said totalled $32,500. The prose
cution contends that he received
about $40,000.
The second charge against
Douglas accuses him of obstruct
ing government operations, a mis
demeanor, involving a statement
he gave to Special Assistant
TP IP
iieat may tie
tions permitting use of grain in
the Food Security Wheat Reserve
had not been met. Those qualifi
cations are: .
A national disaster must be
declared by the country's govern
ment, a United Nations ambas
sador or agency, or the U.S.
ambassador in the affected
country.
All PL480 foreign aid fund
ing must be exhausted or com
mitted. Tiie affected country must
be considered unable to purchase
the grain.
A supplemental request to
Attorney General David Domina.
Douglas said in the sworn state
ment that he had not discussed a
letter he had received from the
FBI with Copple. The prosecu
tion alleges he did.
Douglas was found innocent by
the Nebraska Supreme Court after
he was impeached by the Legisla
ture in March. Commonwealth
depositors then circu
lated a petition and gathered
enough signatures to legally
demand the county grand jury be
called. The jury indicted Douglas
in June.
Morrow asked Cheuvront to
move theJocation of the trial in a
pretrial conference, contending
that the media had editorialized
against Douglas on news pages as
well as the editorial page. Cheuv
ront dismissed the motion and
said that press coverage had been
fair.
Ip Ethiopia
Congress must be made. If denied
or unduly delayed, access to the
wheat reserve can be granted.
Bereuter's Nov. 20 request,
signed by 40 House members,
noted that the first three condi
tions had been met and that
since Congress will not convene
until January, a supplemental re
quest is unattainable.
"Ethopia, in particular, cannot
wait while Congress considers a
supplemental Tequest," Bereuter
said in his letter to President
Reagan. "Thousands of people are
dying every day."
Continued en Page 3
;
v h
Dsn DularsayDsily N&brssksn
Eoskens receives the Order of Merit from von Siegfried.
West Germany honors
NUP
resiaen
NU President Ronald Roskens
on Monday was awarded West
Germany's Commander's Cross
of the Order of Merit for helping
to build exchange programs be
tween the University of Nebraska
and West German universities.
Oskar von Siegfried, consul
general of the Federal Republic of
Germany based in Chicago, pres
ented the award to Roskens at a
private dinner in the Nebraska
Union's Centennial Room.
The Order of Merit, which was
created in 1951, is presented to
Germans and foreigners who have
contributed to West Germany's
political, cultural or economic
social fields.
Roskens has fostered exchange
programs between the University
of Nebraska and West Germany's
University of Hannover and
Braunschweig and the University
of Hohenheim. Students, faculty
members and adminstrators have
participated in the programs.
"The activities of the University
of Nebraska to cooperate with
German Universities and scien
tific institutions are an outstand
ing example of the value of coop
eration which may prove fruitful
in the future and stimulating for
others," von Siegfried said.
Von Siegfried said West Germans
also appreciate Midwestern uni
versities' efforts to study the
German language. ' Learning for
eign languages helps nation's bet
ter understand each other, he
said.