f.ic . Jay. pait.y
sunny and a little cot ler. High in the
rviij to upper 70s. Southeast wind
10to 15 mph. Monday night, mostly
clear. Low 45 to 50. Tuesday, mostly
sunny with the high In the lower
80s.
April 27, 1987
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
r'.;vs Digest Ps$-3 2
Editorial '. Pago 4
Sports Page 13
Entertainment . Page 11
Classified Paca 14
Vol. 86 No. 147
The curse of trying to fit in
By Amy Edwards
Staff Reporter
Miriam Krebsbach came to UNL two
years ago with an open mind about
meeting new people. Krebsbach, a
black woman raised by white parents,
has strong ties to all her roots. She said
she thought she would meet more peo
ple like herself in a larger school.
Instead she found herself stereotyped
and categorized.
James Morris, a freshman on the
track team, came to UNL from what he
calls a "different culture" in New York.
At UNL he found himself paired with a
white South African roommate. Morris
said that when his roommate and other
South Africans see how poorly black
students are treated in a free country,
they do not "turn their backs on
apartheid."
. Many black students at UNL find
themselves ostracized by the majority
culture because of their skin color and
ignored by university officials.
Krebsbach is giving up the fight at
UNL She'll attend an all-black univer
sity in Oklahoma next year.
Morris will stay at UNL, where he has
a scholarship.
The two took part in a survey con
ducted recenty by the Afrikan Peoples
Union designed to gauge the attitudes
of black students at UNL
The results were far from encouraging.
Of 24 black students polled, 78 per
cent said they have experienced some
sort of racism at UNL
Tina Holley, a sophomore political
science major, was a victim of discrim
ination in her residence hall.
"A girl accused me of stealing some
thing. I didn't, but because I am black,
she assumed it was me," Holley said.
"She ran down the hall and called me a
'black nigger.' Then she called the
police. There was no evidence and the
police laughed at the incident."
But racism isn't always so well
defined, Krebsbach said. It comes out
in subtle ways.
"When a black person comes on this
campus, they automatically get a nega
tive attitude. They feel outnumbered,"
she said.
Tina Moore, a political science and
communications major, said that some
times being the only black student in a
class of 100 can be an advantage.
"I am at an advantage because the
professor knows me," Moore said. "He
knows my name, where I live, knows
who I am. It's a disadvantage because
he notices me. Why should I know the
14th Amendment more than anyone
else should? I think of it as an advan
tage, though, and try to get over it."
UNL black students are outnum
bered. In 1986, 341 black undergradu
ates attended UNL, making up about
2.2 percent of the student population.
That's about the same number that
went to UNL in 1982 when national
statistics showed black college enrol
lment at its peak.
Many black students become active
in all-black student groups like the
Afrikan Peoples Union, black fraterni
ties and sororities and the University
Program Council's Black Events com
mittee. But many also become involved
in general student activities.
Yet, in general, relationships between
blacks and whites in such integrated
organizations seem more professional
than social, said Tanya Horn, president
of the Afrikan Peoples Union.
"Seldom do I see them interact out
side of school. Usually they walk by on
the street without noticing each other.
It's a bad situation. Sometimes I wonder
how some that I pass really feel about
me because I am black," Horn said.
Stevie Wilson, a junior at UNL who's
involved in UPC, said that although
interaction varies among students,
"generally there is also a lack of under
standing" between black students and
white students."
Wilson attributed part of the prob
lem to stereotyping.
"Nebraska perceives black people
as Doug DuBose and Bill Cosby," Wil
son said. "I want you to treat me as a
person who happens to be black."
Krebsbach said that white students
don't acknowledge blacks as people.
"They acknowledge you as a black
student on their campus," she said.
The survey, not yet completed, is
part of preliminary research for a pro
ject on the problems black students
at UNL
The project, coordinated by several
black faculty members in conjunction
with the Multi-Cultural Affairs Office,
will be completed sometime at the
beginning of next semester;
Vaughn Robertson, a counselor for
the Minority Assistance Program of
Multi-Cultural Affairs, set up the team
for the project, which includes Dr.
Zelma Mosley, assistant professor of
political science; Dr. Mario Kelly, as
sistant professor of educational psy
chology; and Jessie Myles, assistant
professor of sociology.
Preliminary results show that many
black students think that the univer
sity needs to take a stronger stand on
minority issues.
Some programs are already in place
to help black students adjust.
The Minority Assistance Program, a
division of the Multi-Cultural Affairs
department, offers counseling to help
minority students adjust to college life,
Robertson said. The program includes
personal counseling, technical assist
ance, academic advising and training
sessions on tolerance for housing units.
Robertson also said that the .NU
Medical Center has training programs
set up for minority students so they
have a better chance.
The Culture Center, part of the
union system, is set . up primarily for
racial minorities, but, Robertson said,
it could use more funding than wht is
presently allocated from the CAP office.
Morris said that if there are no signs
that the university is willing to help
minority students, the students them
selves can't do much.
Tom LauderDaily Nebraskan
"The only minority stand at UNL is
the football team," Morris said. "Is that
the only reason we're allowed here?"
Perhaps because of attitudes, per
haps because of policies, the number of
blacks enrolled in colleges has dropped
dramatically in the 1980s, according to
national magazine reports. At UNL, the
decline has been less than 1 percent,
but the black student population has
always been small, statistics show.
See BLACKS on 5
Powwow celebrates
future of race
By Lee Rood
Staff Reporter
More than 300 people, mostly Indians from
U.S. and Canadian Indians, gathered Saturday in
Minority leaders honored
Several UNL students and faculty mem
bers received awards Friday for their work
this year with the University Program
Council's American Minority Council.
Organizational awards went to Tonya
Horn from the Afrikan People's Union,
Wendy Walkey from the Vietnamese Stu
dents Organization, Dan Paez from the
Mexicam American Students Association
and Lakota Harden from the Native Amer
ican Student Association.
Jessie Myles, assistant professor of
sociology, received special recognition
from the Afrikan People's Union for his
work as adviser of the group. Deborah
McGriff, minority program coordinator,
also received a special award for her
service.
McGriff presented certificates of merit
to the Culture Center staff. And American
Minority Council President Lisa Bickert
presented recognition awards to leaders of
council organizations: Thuy Le, Asian Amer
ican chairwoman; Stevie Wilson, Black
Special Events chairman; Theresa Webb,
Black Entertainment chairwoman; Dan
Paez, Chicano Special Events chairman;
and Lakota Harden, Native American Spe
cial Events chairwoman.
the UNL Coliseum for a powwow celebration.
Men, women and children from the Omaha
Sioux and Winnebago tribes danced and com
peted traditional powwow songs and drums to
celebrate future leaders of the Indian race.
Antonio Laravie, moderator of the Native
American Student Association, called the pow
wow a spiritual and social event honoring this
year's Native American graduates from American
universities and high schools.
The powwow included competitions in tradi
tional and fancy dancing. Laravie said the male
traditional dancers try to tell a story of bravery in
battle, in their dancing, while the women tradi
tional dancers try to show the values of the
Indian. The fancy dancing, Laravie said, is more
flamboyant and a way of showing the dancers'
agility and strength.
The dancers were judged by the elders of the
tribes. To be judged as good dancers, Laravie
said, they must try to dance in harmony or
become "one" with the drums. Drums, he said,
represent the people, and if the dancers become
"one" with the drum, they are said to represent
the heart of the people.
Laravie said there are more than 30 native
American students at UNL. But some of them, he
said, are afraid to claim their "Indianness" for
fear of prejudice and discrimination.
He said it is not easy to be an educated
American Indian today.
"To be an educated native American today
means to have learned of the cultural genocide
inflicted upon the Indian culture," he said.
Laravie said the powwow also was a "prayer
for pfeace" between the Indian and the whiteman.
"It's a hope that one day we will all be able to
be brothers and sisters," he said.
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Ward WilliamsDaily Nebraskan
Dancers of sSI ages competed Saturday In a Native American Indian Pow Wow.
Th pow wow was In the Coliseum. The dancers competed for prizes and money.
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