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April 28, 1987
Vol. 86 No. 148
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Anorea HoyOatly Nebraskan
Row by row
Steve Knobel spends his Monday efternoon picking up trcsh
row by row that was left from the Nebraska Red-White game
last Saturday.
5
suseedl limit a Fea
O A
Mm
Signs still going up; new limit legal along most of interstate
By Michael Hooper
Senior Reporter
By the time the Nebraska Depart
ment of Roads began putting up the 65
mph signs on the interstate this morn
ing, the new limit had been in effect for
several hours.
Monday, Gov. Kay Orr signed into
law a legislative measure with an
emergency clause to raise the speed
limit to 65 mph on most of Nebraska's
interstate highways as of 12:01 a.m.
today. About 42 mil -, of the interstate
in Lancaster, Douglas and Dakota
counties remains 55 mph.
Orr said the new 65 mph signs will
be all put up in a day or two.
All of the interstate in Douglas and
Dakota counties will remain 55 mph,
and Interstate 180 coming into Lincoln
also will remain 55.
Nebraska senators voted 43-3 to
approve the new speed limit Monday
morning. Only Sens. Ernie Chambers of
Omaha, Loran Schmit of Bellwood and
Don Wesely of Lincoln voted against
raising the speed limit.
Chambers moved to return the speed
limit bill, LB430, to second-round debate
to attach an amendment that would have
put a 10 mph cushion on the areas of
the interstate that will remain 55 mph.
His motion to return the bill to select
file was defeated 21-25. Had his motion
succeeded, it would have delayed the
passage of the bill a few days.
Chamber's 10 mph cushion on areas
of the interstate that will remain 55
mph would have prevented the assess
ment of points on the driving records of
people exceeding 55 mph by less than
10 mph and limit fines to $10. Before
Orr signed the new speed-limit I -aw,
there was a 10 mph cushion on a!! of
Nebraska's interstate system.
"I don't feel that a system people
have grown accustomed to" should be
changed, Chambers said. He said there
should be a lesser penalty for exceed
ing 55 mph than for exceeding 65 mph.
"Penalties should be proportional to
the degree of the offense," Chambers
said.
Chambers had tried last week to
retain an amendment to LB430 that
would have established a 5 mph cushion
on all of the interstate system. But after
Orr threatened to veto the bill with
that amendment, senators voted 32-9 to
attach a different amendment to the
bill and eliminated Chamber's 5 mph
cushion.
On Monday, some senators said they
were wasting time debating the need
for a 10 mph cushion on areas of the
interstate that will remain 55 mph.
"Here we are again. Same song, dif
ferent verse," said Elroy Hefner of
Colridge.
Sen. Howard Lamb of Anselmo en
couraged senators to vote against the
10 mph cushion because the State
Department of Roads and Orr were
against it. He said Orr would veto the
bill if it contained the 10 mph cushion.
In support of the cushion, Sen. Tim
Hall of Omaha said it would allow peo
ple to drive 65 mph if they were willing
to pay the $10 fine.
65 Mph on Interstate Highways
everywhere except: p
paca I 1129 Dakota County
1-80 and 1-680
in Itouglaa County
1-180 Coming into Lincoln
55
1
ILL I
John bruceUaay Nebraska"!
A
Q0 C
alls for a
new
look at ha
zing
By Libby York, Kim Beavers
and Shelly Hurlbert
Staff Reporters
Inspiration Week, Help Week, Hell Week. All
three terms describe the week of initiation and
orientation when fraternity "pledges" are trans
formed into "actives." Along with the traditional
terms, are the traditional hazing and horror
stories.
Hazing is broadly defined in the UNL Interfra
ternity Council Constitution as "any action
taken or situation created, intentionally, whether
on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental
or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harass
ment or ridicule."
When asked about hazing, most fraternity
members will answer: "We don't haze." But one
fraternity has chosen to take a closer look at
hazing.
The national chapter of Alpha Tau Omega
spent $5,000 to produce an educational video,
I'Hazing on TriaL"
The 40-minute video includes a speech to a
university audience, relating a fictional account
of a pledge's hazing experience. The film also
dramatizes parts of the speech. Audience
members are asked to imagine themselves as the
man's pledge father (afraternity member assigned
to help prepare a pledge for active membership)
who must answer his questions about hazing
practices, which include intense work, verbal
abuse, forced labor and drinking. The tape con
cludes as the fictional fraternity president is
charged with manslaughter after a drunken
pledge, who is forced to do push-ups, chokes to
death on his own vomit.
David Westol, national vice president of Theta
Chi fraternity, produced the tape, which features
volunteers from the University of Illinois ATO
chapter.
The videotape, which costs $30, has gained
popularity in the year is has been distributed,
according to a recent national ATO newsletter.
UNL's ATO chapter president Tom Olsen said
his fraternity group first watched the tape a year
ago.
Olsen said they'd already modified their prac
tices from past decades when hazing was more
common in many major fraternities, but the pro
gram made the members look at practices that
might not be so commonly thought of as hazing
practices that, on the surface, might seem
harmless.
"We took a good look at the program and
changed things that even the public could
construe as hazing," Olsen said.
Like many other UNL houses, ATO's "help
week" activities mostly include group painting
and repairing sessions, pledge education and
other activities, Olsen said.
Jayne Wade Anderson, director of greek affairs,
said that no reported hazing occurs at UNL.
Because of strong student and alumni support,
UNL is "light-years ahead of other campuses,"
she said.
Some Greeks, however, are not so quick to
agree.
One fraternity member, who wished to remain
anonymous, said that "line-ups," still occur
sometimes. Pledges are assembled in a line,
frequently clad only in their underwear, while
the active members swear at them and sometimes
hit or spit on them, the fraternity member said.
A pledge from another UNL fraternity, who
also requested anonymity, said some pledges
must read certain texts as quickly as possible
while holding a burning match in their hands.
But the individuals quickly added that hazing
is not as common as it once was.
"Hazing is largely a function of individuals
rather than organizations," one person said.
Jonathan Brant, director of the National Inter
fraternity Conference, said his organization, like
ATO, works to combat the hazing problem
through education. Guest speakers, written
materials and alumni leadership are used to
convince individual chapters to abandon hazing.
Brandt also emphasized that hazing is not
solely a fraternity problem. Any organization
that subscribes to a membership process such
as a sports club, a high school clique or a mil
itary corps can produce hazing.
Although combatting hazing is a continual
struggle because of transient fraternity mem
bership, Brandt stressed that a "responsible
adult leadership is trying to address the prob
lem" and that a "sincere interest" exists among
many fraternities to eliminate hazing practices.
Over
e body, over t
hey
ears
s-
WO
mini
By Lee Rood
Staff Reporter
Probably no article of clothing worn
over the years has caused more con
troversy than the miniskirt.
In the 1960s, America's female youth
wore the mini not only because it was
popular, but because it was a way of
rebelling against the establishment.
Today, the mini is no longer viewed
as an anti-establishment symbol. It is
an accepted fashion trend donned by
women all over the country.
And while some people may still dis
approve of the mini, one thing is for
sure: It's back.
Tracey Poyer, a sociology student
..
John Lruceuaiiy Nsaraskan
studying ideal forms of female beauty
and fashion, said several reasons peo
ple have used can explain the mini's a shift from the mostly male-dominated
return.
Poyer said she has found through her
research that there are cycles to fashion,
and "boredom" causes a shift in socie
ty's idea of attractiveness. Some peo
ple, Poyer said, think today's fashions
reveal more of the body because Amer
icans are in better shape.
"We just aren't the chubby Ameri
cans we used to be," she said.
Kathy Paswaters, manager of The
Limited in the Atrium agrees that the
mini is worn today because it flatters
the female body.
"If you've got the legs, they are really
flattering," she said.
Passwaters said there also has been
trends in past years to a revival of the
1960s look and the focus on the body.
"I think the switch is mostly because
the look used to be so oversized and
big, now we are wearing clothes that
are more revealing," she said.
Becky Edwards, junior sportswear
buyer for Ben Simons, said she thinks
the mini is becoming popular again
because today's young women like the
"retro" look of the '60s.
Edwards said the change in the
weather is another reason women want
shorter skirts. Nancy Lindsley-Griffen,
assistant professor of geology at UNL
who grew up in the '60s, said the mini
fit her lifestyle then.
"I wore it because I was in southern
California at the time, and it was
damned comfortable," she said.
Lindsley-Griffin said that while she
liked wearing them in college in the
'60s, she is "not going to bite this time."
"I think it's a plot by the designers
to separate you from your hard-earned
money," she said. "They're hoping that
women will be stupid enough to go out
and buy a whole new wardrobe."
Still, others disagree with the sexual
implications of the miniskirt.
"I think it's a male device to exploit
women's anatomies," said Ted Muens
ter, an undeclared junior. "But that
doesn't make them any more or less
appealing."
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