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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1987)
hhbhhhhhhhhhhhhh I WEATHER: Friday, mostly _ _ ^ ^ IlnSlde. sunny. High in the upper 50s. Friday W I JL-^CULjL V I I News Digest. —Page 2 night, partly doudy. Low in the lower I | | ^ ^ ■ Editorial.Page 4 30s Saturday, partly cloudy. High in I m ■ Sports .Page 6 the mid-50s. I mlbFl II ^*1 HI I Entertainment.Page 9 _ 1 ivL/i d^IVCll I. .pa9eiol October 23, 1987 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 87 No. 42 Massengale says aid office is free to talk But chancellor supports limit on access to staff By Joeth Zucco Staff Reporter University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Martin Massengale said Thursday that the staff in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid have the freedom to visit with the press as guaranteed by the First Amendment. “We don’t tell anyone they can’t talk with the press,” Massengale said. James Griesen, UNL vice chancel lor for student affairs, reportedly told William McFarland, director of the financial aid office, that he could not talk with the press unless Griesen was present. On Monday, a Daily Nebraskan reporter attempted to talk with McFar land and was refused the opportunity. Massengale said that Griesen indi cated to the staff members that they should limit their time with the press when there are students waiting. “In terms of managing his units, Griesen’s concern is for the students,” Massengale said. “There should be a limit on time used for others.” Massengale said that what Griesen was trying to get across was that management would be more appro priate to talk to than the staff. “It depends on the information you’re talking about,” he said. “Wc want to get the information out in a broad context. Different people have different information. We want to get the total information out to the press.” Massengale said that there is al ways work on improving comm un ica tion with the staff and their supervi sors and the supervisors and their vice chancellors. The problem was cited in the North Central Association of Col leges and Schools accreditation report earlier this year. Massengale said that the current media coverage of the financial aid office would not solve problems any sooner. He said that the administra tion has been working on solving them for a long time. The financial aid office has re ceived a 16 percent increase in the state budget this year. Massengale said that the office is behind schedule in computerizing. The computers would help speed up the process, he said. Massengale also said that the office hasn’t been able to add the needed manpower. Engineering fees could be raised Regents to mull surcharge By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter A proposal to impose a tuition sur charge on students in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engi neering will be discussed at the NU Board of Regents meeting Friday at 1 p.m. in Varner Hall. The surcharge, which could go into effect during the 1988-89 school year, is designated for equipment purchases to meet requirements for accredita tion of the engineering college, Joe Rowson, NU director of public affairs, said Thursday. AS UN President Andy Pollock said the surcharge sets a bad precedent within the Engineering College and in other colleges. If any college needs money from now on, students may suffer through tuition increases, he said. 'It's a shame that it boils down to in creasing student tuition as the last alternative.' -Pollock “It’s a shame that it boils down to increasing student tuition as the last alternative,” Pollock said. There will also be a report on a collective bargaining agreement with University of Nebraska at Omaha faculty members to distribute their portion of legislative funds. Rowson said collective bargain ing is used for the Omaha campus because the UNO faculty union, the American Associa tion of University Professors, dis puted he university’s plan for distribution of the funds. UNO is the only University of Nebraska campus with a faculty un ion. The regents will also vote to ap prove the design development for the student recreation centcr/indoor prac tice field phases lb and II. Phase la, the indoor practice field, is expected to be completed early in November. Phases lb and II arc the addition and completion of racquet ball/handball courts and a track to the Coliseum. Rowson said a late item, authoriz ing the administration to make a pur chasing bid on Husker Hall, was added to the agenda. James Gricsen, UNL vice chancel lor for student affairs, said Husker Hall could be used for several types of student housing. Husker Hall, 705 N. 23rd St, is being sold by the Comhusker Co-op. UNL vice chancellor among six finalists for position at Florida university From Staff Reports Robert Furgason, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is one of six candidates being considered for presi dent of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, - Fla. The field of candidates was reduced from 10 to six Tuesday. Other finalists are Hugh Lee Thompson of Indiana Univer sity, Morris Marx _ of the University Furgason of Mississippi, Duane Leach of the University of Texas, Beverly Beeton of the University of Alaska and Ed ward J. Hayes of Savannah State College. More than 260 candidates applied. The field was narrowed based upon how the candidates met the selection criteria, said Patty Dismore, adminis trative coordinator for the presidential search commission at the University of West Florida. Candidates will go to the Univer sity of West Florida in the next couple of weeks for campus forums and will have interviews with the board of regents on Nov. 16 and 17. The final selection is expected Nov. 24, Dismore said. John Bruce/Datty Nebraskan 340 Nebraska Union to become a land of Dungeons, Dragons By Amy Edwards Senior Reporter You are captured by slavers and shackled in a covered wagon. Somewhere along the way to sell you, the slaving caravan loses its food wagon and you have to do without. The caravan stops for the night. You hear something attacking the guards. It sounds like wolves. The next morning no one comes to check on you. The elf in your party breaks his chain and goes out to see what’s happening. There are a half-dozen bodies and a couple of horses lying on the ground. All of them are half-eaten. Of the original three wagons in the caravan, only one remains. The land around is barren, a wasteland with only a faint trail the caravan was following. The game begins again. Every Tuesday night, Nebraska Union 340 becomes a fantasy world for University of Nebraska Lincoln students. The fantasy world is created in a game called Dungeons and Drag ons, where players match wits in a world set in medieval times. The world, like real life, has no set rules. Players live out the lives of their characters, said Phil Lutz, president of the UNL Dungeons and Dragons Club. “Dungeons and Dragons is like acting except there is no stage,” Lutz said. Characters and actions are de termined by the roll of the dice. Six different dice are used in the game. Characters are based on three different categories. The “class” of a character determines its gender, capabilities and skills. The “race” also determines abilities, along with what a character will be. Humans, dwarves, elves and halflings — creatures that are half human and half elf—are the four main races, Lutz said. Statistics, or scones, is the last category. A character’s strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution and charisma make up the statistics. A character is drawn up by a random roll. This prevents players from getting a character that is too strong or too weak for the world they are in. A world is the overall setting for each game. In every world, there are numerous “dungeons” the players go through. Lutz designed the primary world the club uses five years ago Since then, the world has been altered to suit the expectations of everyone in volved. Lutz said a world can last as long as everyone is willing to play in it. The dungeons in each world arc designed in correlation with the amount of magic and money in the world. Dungeons can be anything from a deserted castle to an island and can last a few hours or weeks on end, Lutz said. The Dungeon Master usually creates the dungeons. The Dun geon Master, the referee of each game, decides what will happen. A Dungeon Master actually tells a story. Lutz said. The Dun geon Master creates a scenario that the characters can live or die in. He designs the plot, the scenery and the encounters for each game. Anyone can be a Dungeon Master, Lutz said; all they need is a good working knowledge of how the game works. Wally Barsell, a pre-pharmacy sophomore and member of the Dungeons and Dragons Club, said he became interested in the game when he saw a television show that depicted Dungeons and Dragons as an evil and demonic game. “It isn’t demonic,” Barsell said. “You have to keep in mind that it’s just a game and not get too in volved.” Chabella Guzman, a junior broadcasting major, joined the club this year. Guzman said she had tried play ing the game at home, but couldn’t learn how. She said she heard about the club and went to the first meet ing not knowing anything about how the game worked. “The game’s fun. I like the fan tasy aspect of Dungeons and Drag ons,” she said. Kevin Jameson, a senior history major, said he likes playing Dun geons and Dragons because it’s a competition of wits. “It’s fun because it’s something other than a game where someone says, 'This is the way it is,”’ he said. The UNL Dungeons and Drag ons Club started in the late 1970s. But, Lutz said, the club wasn’t ^ made official until five years ago. Anyone can join the club. Lutz said about 30 regular players par ticipate each week. The Dungeons and Dragons Club meets every Tuesday in Nebraska Union 340 from 6:30 to 11 p.m.