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A J IS lil (Dli5)L
Friday, April 19, 1985
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Vol. 84 No. 144
Weather: Warm and windy again today with a
chance of thunderstorms, high 85 (29C). The risk
of severe weather will increase tonight and Sat
urday. Tonight's low 63 (1 7C). Partly cloudy over
the weekend with highs in the low 80s (28C).
Bob BrubacherDaily Nebraskan
Hall and Oates reel
Off the hitS...Page8
Softballers are on a
winning streak...Page9
A Tl A
By Gene Gentrup
Senior Reporter
Fifty-four-year-old Helen Crosswait said she
never thought about graduating when she enrolled
at UNL IVz years ago. She just wanted to change
her life.
Helen's story is about her return to college,
the frustration and the triumph, and why she
came back.
7 needed a way out. It
was a last-ditch effort
to change my life ...I
didn't know what I
wanted until school. 1
Helen said she wanted to change her life
because she was living the life of a "superin
tendent's wife," and not enjoying it. She had two
children Connie, 28, and Mark, 24 a 'huge
house on the hill,' in Rapid City, S.D., horses,
time to travel and a husband of 28 years. But she
wasn't happy.
"Half of my married life I was frustrated as a
person," she said. "I did enjoy being a mother,
but my marriage was not personally fulfilling."
Helen said her unfulfillment goes back to her
childhood, when her father's strict Victorian
disciplinary values and her mother's passiveness
combined for a "very protected life.
"My mother overprotected me unbelievably,"
she said. "She lust 10 family members to tuber
culosis. The protect ion over being sick and Dad's
concern about my boyfriends made my life a lot
worse than other women. Not to blame anyone,
but my parents always said, 'don't ask ques
tions,' and 'don't be so curious,' so I didn't."
When Helen married at 24, the "overprotec
tion" continued.
"I replaced my parents with a husband who
was controlling me like my parents," she said.
For the first few years of her married life,
Helen said, she enjoyed herself. But the joy
slowly died.
"I asked my husband to counsel with me for
years and he was so extremely busy that when he
didn't, I went ahead by myself," Helen said. "My
pastor and feminist counselor decided school
would be the test way to start."
During her marriage, Helen attended classes
Evaluation important
MWJ
Me in UNL lasses
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at South Dakota State University and Black Hills
State College. But it wasn't until she visited her
daughter Connie at UNL three years ago that "it
happened."
"I was taking a walk one day on campus while
Connie was in class," she said. "I went into
administration and registered for fall classes. I
just did it. It just happened. I got free advice
from inside."
Helen is single now, divorced from her hus
band of 31 years last year.
"My daughter was very supportive she loves
her dad, but had a sense of what I was feeling
somehow," she said.
Helen said she is happy with her decision.
Crosswait
"I needed a way out," she said. "It was a
' last-ditch effort to change my life. I didn't know
what else to do. I didn't know what I wanted to
do until school."
The Women's Resource Center and the Non
Traditional Students Association have helped
her adjust as a non-traditional student.
"They set down my roots as far as feeling at
home," she said. "WRC has helped me by having
a place where I can go and sit down, talk and
visit with women that understand each other's
problems. My real close friends have been
through non-traditional students (NTSA) and
Unitarian Singles."
David CreamerDaily Nebraskan
Helen is president of Unitarian Singles Club,
which sponsors social events for single Lincoln
residents.
With her ex-husbands' alimony payments,
Helen has been able to support herself through
school.
In class, Helen said, she finds herself actively
participating in discussion.
"I find myself bursting with things that
should be said," Helen said. "In women's stu
dies, I tell them I've been there. Many times
they've wanted me to talk. I felt I was kind of
looked at as a role model."
Continued on Page 6
Professor 'X' ideal teacher
By Jim Rasmussen
Staff Reporter
Professor "X" gives interest
ing lectures, shows concern
for his students, answers
questions during lectures,
listens to student complaints
and runs a well-organized
class.
"AT" makes sure his students
understand the goals of the
course, always comes to class
well prepared and keeps his
office open at all times in case a
student wants to talk.
To top it off, "X" makes sig
nificant contributions in his
professional field, outside of his
teaching duties.
If any UNL professors fit the des
cription of the fictional professor
"X", they undoubtedly command
respect from students and colleagues.
In interviews on campus, students
and department chairmen named the
attributes of professor "X" as impor
tant qualities in a good professor.
Jim Garrett, a junior economics
major, said he likes professors who
make sure students know the goals of
a course.
"He monitors the student to see
whether he or she is achieving that
goal, rather than just handing out
lecture notes and putting the mate
rial on the blackboard," Garrett said.
"Some take the attitude that 'well, if
they don't understand it, big deal, let
somebody else handle 'em.' "
Jeanette Pestal, a sophomore
accounting major, also said professors
should take an active interest in their
students' progress.
"You need a professor that's inter
ested in teaching students and mak
ing sure they understand the mate
rial," Pestal said. "A professor should
make sure students don't just take it
in and regurgitate it on tests."
Pestal said she appreciates a pro
fessor who welcomes questions dur
ing lectures, and who won't make
students feel stupid for asking.
John Hill, a senior engineering
major, also puts a premium on profes
sors who answer questions.
"It's important thaf they're know
ledgeable," he said. "If you ask a
question, some professors will stum
ble around and really not answer the
question. What they're mostly saying
is go find out for yourself."
Answering questions helps, but
students say professors must be
interesting as well.
"He should be interesting, not a
drag," said a UNL junior who identi
fied himself only as Dave. "Ninety
nine percent of them are boring. It's
not their fault, though. The weather
is shitty here, and they aren't paid
enough. The good ones aren't going to
come here."
Not all students take such a dim
view of their professors. Ernest
Moore, chairman of UNL's architec
ture department, reads many teacher
evaluation forms each semester.
Moore said most students in his
department say they would recom
mend their professors to future
students.
Students comment most often on
whether the professor's lecturing
style is interesting, he said.
"I think a professor has to be sort
of animated in his lectures, or stu
dents will say he's boring," he said.
Continued on Page 7
Equality group 'splan
considered by ASUN
By Jonathan Taylor
Staff Reporter
ASUN is considering a resolution
from the Equal Opportunity Coali
tion that would help the senate fol
low up on statements made during
its campaign in March, the coalition
chairwoman said.
At Wednesday's ASUN meeting,
Mary Marcy and other EOC repre
sentatives outlined the goals of the
newly formed group.
During the campaign, all of the
parties that ran emphasized a "more
representative voice for students on
campus," Marcy said. As evidenced
by a 600-percent increase in black
voter turnout at this year's ASUN
election, those claims sensitized
students to the possibility of a
louder voice and more participation
in university activities and groups,
she said.
The goals of EOC's proposal in
clude: O Extending the appointment
and recruitment policy of university
groups.
O Passing an equal opportunity
bill in ASUN to preclude any cam
pus group from discriminatioa
0 Setting up a Student Equity
Officer position, to be appointed by
the dean of students and a commit
tee of three students.
Overall, the proposal is meant to
give all people an "equitable chance"
to know of positions open to them
and get involved, Marcy said.
Reshell Moore, president of the
Africa People's Union, said that if
it's passed, the proposal will let all
students have a chance to share in
the decisions that affect them.
Adrian Casillas, the president of
the Tri-Culture committee of the
University Program Council, said
the decision to approve the prop
osal "calls for a sensitivity to the
needs of the minority students on
this campus."
Gerard Keating, ASUN president,
said the EOC proposal won't benefit
only minority students, but also
students in all living units.
Continued on Page 7
