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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1987)
-J n y i Daily - J" March 10, 1987 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol.86 No. 119 International Women discuss different roles By Jen Deselms Senior Reporter Adjusting to a different pace of life and different customs are some of the changes made by women from foreign countries who come to the United States, speakers for the International Women's Panel said Monday. UNL student panelists from five countries provided a glimpse of how their culture affects women and what adjustments have to be made after moving to America. Graciela Flores from Mexico said that people from her country take more time to enjoy life than fast-paced, effi cient people of the United States. Children are looked at differently in Mexico. In Mexico, children are ac cepted as a gift from God, where in America they are many times viewed as a great responsibility, she said. Latin American women are taught to be good housewives and are raised with the Virgin Mary as a role model, Flores said. She said it can't be argued that Regents hearing draws UNSTA arguments By The Associated Press A legislative hearing Monday on a bill to give more powers to the Univer sity of Nebraska Board , of Regents turned into a forum for arguments against closing the NU School of Tech . nical Agriculture at Curtis. r f" ; Under LB856, the regents would be permitted to discontinue programs of the Institute of Agriculture and Natu ral Resources, including the Curtis school. Current law requires legislative authority to establish or drop programs in the institute, although the regents previously were given this authority for NU's 19 separate colleges. Opponents of closing the school took the opportunity to speak before the Legislature's Education Commit tee. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Glenn Goodrich of Omaha. Following debate, the committee failed to advance the bill on a 4-3 vote. Five supporting votes were needed to send LB656 to the full Legislature. Sen. Owen Elmer of Indianola offered an amendment that would separate the school from the university and give it a statewide governing body and separate state funding. The committee later rejected the amendment, 3-5. Curtis is the only school in the state with agricultural technology as its mis sion, Elmer said, and agriculture is becoming increasingly technical. Such a program wouldn't succeed if trans ferred to a vocational school because horticulture and veterinary technology "don't lend themselves well to an urban setting," he said. NU President Ronald Roskens has targeted Curtis as one of five areas vulnerable to potential budget cuts. It doesn't meet the NU mission because it is a two-year program and not a four year program, he has said. Roskens proposes removing $1,245,000 from the Curtis budget to help reduce the NU operating budget by $3.1 mil lion for 1987-88 as mandated by the Legislature. In effect, the reduction would close the school. The regents are expected to take final action on Roskens' proposals in April or possibly May. The school's future repeatedly has been threatened by budget cuts in recent years. Last year, former Sen. Tom Vickers of Farnam won a tempor women in the United States are treated more equally, Flores said, but that doesn't necessarily mean with more respect. Adi Asenaca Caucau from the Fiji Islands said the type of skills women learn depend on the area of Fiji in which they live. In villages women learn traditional skills such as mat and jewelry making but in large communities emphasis is placed on more modern wage-earning skills, Caucau said. While women are taught to be respect ful and submissive, this is not always the case, Caucau said. A saying shows the subtle way women work within the societal structure of Fyi. "Men are the heads, but the women do the turning," Caucau said. Ruth Chatwin, a UNL softball player from Austrailia, said unlike many of the panelists, she finds life slower in the United States. Chatwin said education in the two countries is quite different. In Australian universities, education is See WOMEN on 3 ary reprieve for the Curtis sr-fc lead ing a successful effort that , rsed ; n initial decison to close the facility. The state currently gives $167.7 mil lion to the university. Gov. Kay Orr has proposed $172 million in state-aid for the 1987-88 fiscal year . - Goodrich, UNL Chancellor Martin. Massengale and NU General Counsel Richard Wood were the bill's only sup porters. No one. testified against the measure. However, several witnesses said they would favor the bill if Elmer's amend ment were adopted and Curtis became an independent college. Everett Stencel, a Curtis veterinar ian and chairman of an ad hoc commit tee to keep the school open, said the school's graduates are vital to the state. If the school doesn't meet NU goals, he said, it should sever ties with the university. "We can't maintain quality and enrollment in the present situation," he said. Enrollment has dropped, he said, and the budget is lean. But the school's 2,103 graduates and 158-current stu dents are "the backbone of our whole doggone agricultural industry," he said. Humor can keep you U (I Mingle 1 -- ';' ' J Cold as stone The sun peeks through these two columns near Ed Weir track Monday. Partly sunny skies are expected today through Wednesday. Highs are expected to be 30 to 35 today and near 40 on Wednesday. Through the ages, jokes diffuse tension By Joeth Zucco Staff Reporter Learning to accept humor as an atti tude toward life will lead to a healthier life, a health and humor specialist said Friday. Marvin Mingle said healthy humor is a willingness to accept life and our selves with a shrug or a smile. We need a certain lightheadedness, to accept the systems, not because they're wond erful, fair, reasonable or even satisfac tory, but simply because for now they're all we've got, Mingle said. Mingle, an associate professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida, spoke to about 90 people as part of the Steinhardt Lecture Series. He spoke on "Humor A Valuable Wellness Tool." He cited clowning as one of the a. .;,c 0 ' v 4 ' ' n lit well, speaker says accepted sources of humor in hospi tals, Indian tribes and royal courts through the centuries. On a more mod ern timetable, he said that businesses look for a sense of humor when inter viewing for executives. Mingle said that humor is just one of the methods for improving the quality of life and transferring it to others. He said it goes hand-in-hand with nutri tion, exercise, stress management, lack of disruptive behavior, ability to relax, and meditation. A healthy sense of humor consists of sensitivity in knowing who your audience is and being secure about yourself. What may be funny to an 80-year-old may be cruel to a 29-year-old. He said jokes can tell much about people in the wayjokes are told and how people react to them. As a doctor, he said, he deals with a Ik 3- Doug CarrollDaily Nebraskan and preserve hope wide range of illnesses and patients every day. With humor, he said, he can get the message and its seriousness across. He said that tension can be abated by a sense of humor. "It's a positive way to diffuse a tense situation," he said. He also said that with the increased use of drugs for healing, much has been lost in doctor-patient and nurse-patient relationships. Humor starts at home, Mingle said. He said people should look at differen tiations of themselves. The labels that arise from these changes can be the source for good and bad humor. "If you can't laugh at it in yourself, then you shouldn't laugh at others," he said. "If you look for humor you'll find it and you'll find it in all situations." i 1