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New UNL project to emphasize liberal arts
By London Bridge
and Ryan Johnson
Staff Reporters
Reading Homer’s “Iliad,” studying trigo
nometry and speaking a foreign language soon
may be required of every University of Ne
braska-Lincoln student
CURRICULUM
Reflecting a widespread national change,
UNL will undergo a gradual curriculum shift
placing more emphasis on the liberal arts, said
Robert Furgason, vice chancellor for academic
affairs.
A survey taken a year ago by the American
Council on Education found that 95 percent of
all two- and four-year institutions nationwide
overhauled their curriculum in the past few
years or were about to do so. UNL is no
exception.
Furgason said two years ago, the
Chancellor’s Commission on General and
Liberal Education, directed by G.G. Mcisels,
dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,
assessed elements that should be part of every
student’s education.
A second group, the Chancellor’s Commit
tee for the Advancemcntof General Education,
directed by Raymond Haggh, music theory
professor at the School of Music, was formed to
recommend ways to implement the new policy.
Last September, UNL Chancellor Martin
Massengale put Haggh in charge of the entire
project.
Haggh said to work with what he termed a
“gigantic task,” the 18 members of his commit
tee split into six subcommittees: communica
tion, mathematics, arts and humanities, basic
and applied sciences, culture and society, and
senior seminars. He said faculty members and
students were invited to join the project. Some
faculty members joined, he said, but no stu
dents.
Furgason said the groups thought the univer
sity places too much emphasis on specializa
tion.
“To face future challenges, students must
have a broad core of material, knowledge and
background in many different areas,” he said.
Although employers insist on specific tal
ents and knowledge, he said, most employers
today require communication skills. Employ
ers want their employees to have perspectives
beyond narrow views imposed on students by
specialization. They want the employee to have
the ability to conduct critical analyses on many
subjects.
To fulfill these requirements, he said, uni
vcrsitics and students need to concentrate more
on those areas that will give students a “broader
grasp” of issues and events.
Meisels’ commission targeted five areas of
concentration in its report: culture and society;
arts and humanities; basic and applied science;
mathematics; and interpersonal communica
tions.
UNL will emphasize these areas by initiat
ing a core curriculum which will require a
minimum amount of work in each area.
A college education in these areas will teach
students to think critically, combine informa
tion, re-examine accepted truths, respect dif
ferent ways of knowing and stimulate curiosity,
the report said.
The new policy is not a matter of every
student taking an English course here and there.
If the goals of the commission are met, general
and liberal education will constitute about one
fourth of a student’s class load, or at least 29
hours. These requirements will be distributed
throughout the student’s college career.
Required courses will reflect the intellec
tual, social and learning development of the
students and will draw on classes previously
taken, the report stated. Enrollment in these
classes should be restricted, ensuring the sepa
ration of freshmen and seniors.
Those 29 hours w ill not be the same for every
student. Furgason said the new system must be
flexible for each college. Engineers and per
forming artists will not take identical classes
throughout their college careers.
Haggh said most courses, excluding math,
will be interdisciplinary, incorporating differ
ent colleges into each class.
For example, iri a proposed fine-arts course,
he said, he visualizes a course based on atten
dance in class and at assigned events: produc
tions at the Lied Center, films at Sheldon Art
Gallery and viewing different local architec
ture. The class, he said, would be taught by a
panel of teachers from the colleges involved for
the first few weeks of the course, after which
each department would teach for a period.
Haggh said coherence is important. A stu
dent can start a freshman-level math course, he
said, without needing any previous body of
knowledge. But subsequent courses will build
on what a student has learned since starting the
program.
A math class is already planned, he said.
While all classes are important, he said, this
math class takes priority because it can be
implemented quickly and easily. He said he
would like to see the class started next year on
a trial basis. The class will deal with math on a
practical level, introducing students to math as
used in everyday society.
“A student who doesn’t have a math back
ground can take it and benefit from it,” Haggh
said.
Each class will be proposed through models,
which would be sample syllabi outlining
course description, requirements and grading
See CHANGES on 3
Legislature may revoke bill
requiring lots to pay towing
By Anne Mohri
Senior Reporter
Nebraska towing companies may
be back in business with the unani
mous first-round approval of LB833.
If passed, the bill would revoke the
recent Nebraska Supreme Court rul
ing that made car owners in private
parking- lots not responsible for the
tow and storage fees.
Sen. Howard Lamb of Ansclmo
said people are parking illegally be
cause they know they will not be
towed. Towing companies will not
tow because they may not get paid for
their services, he said.
Lamb said LB833 will probably
pass without a lot of opposition be
cause most people realize the parking
situation is a problem that needs to be
addressed.
If the bill passes, he said, and a
person's car is illegally parked, it will
be towed and the owner will have to
pay the fee in exchange for the car.
Sen. James McFarland of Lincoln
said circumstances should be looked
at before a car is towed.
“There are more reasonable alter
natives than just to give someone
indiscriminate discretion to have cars
towed,” McFarland said.
Legislators also gave second
round approval to a proposed consti
tutional amendment. The amend
ment, passed 28-5, would allow 17
year-olds to vote in Nebraska primary
elections if they turn 18 before the
general election.
Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha,
sponsor of the amendment, said high
school students studying the political
elections should be allowed to vote
while they have the education and
want to vote.
“I believe that if they are allowed
in this first instance to vote while the
knowledge and awareness and enthu
siasm for the system is upon them, we
may catch them and they will be
participants in the political process
from then on,” Chambers said.
The final decision for the amend
ment will be addressed on the No
vember election ballot.
Chamber’s amendment was at
tached to LR248CA, sponsored by
Sen. Tim Hall of Omaha. LR248CA,
a proposed constitutional amend
ment, which would change the word
ing on legislative statutes from elec
tors to registered voters.
Eric Gregory/Daily Nebraskan
Round the tables
Bob Sildmets, assistant manager of the Nebraska Union’s catering department, sets
tables in the Sheldon Art Gallery for the annual Chancellor s Spring Gala. The event,
which was Monday night, is a chance for the university to show Its appreciation of
legislators and other supporters and to celebrate spring, said John Peters, associate to
the chancellor.
Mayor expects depot project to attract tourists
By Victoria Ayotte
Staff Reporter
Lincoln Mayor Bill Harris selected the Arter
Group Monday to direct a $2.5 million to $3.5
million redevelopment project of the Burling
ton Northern Depot in Lincoln’s Haymarket
district.
Arter’s proposal was chosen over two other
development packages, Harris said.
The Lincoln group hopes to start renovation
in the next 120 days and open the depot for
business in May or June 1989, Arter said.
The depot is to be called Lincoln Station,
life depot will remain, but there may be addi
tions of a theater, a restaurant/lounge, retail
businesses that emphasize Burlington ’shistori
cal impact on Lincoln, office space and a
farmer’s market
'We are going to have
one of the most excit
ing tourist attractions in
the Midwest.’
—Harris
Harris said Arter’s proposal was chosen
because Arter showed a willingness to work
with city officials and the current owners of the
depot. Glacier Park.
“We are very, very excited by this pro
posal,” Harris said. “We are going to have one
of the most exciting tourist attractions in the
Midwest.”
Rep. Doug Bereuter played a big part in
bringing about the depot development project,
Harris said.
Bereuter visited with Housing and Urban
Development officials to secure their commit
ment for a $700,000 grant for the project, a
written statement said.
In the statement, Bereuter called the devel
opment of the depot and the Hay market the
keystone to development of Lincoln.
Dean Arter, president of the Arler Group,
said Lincoln will have a major role in the
development of the depot.
“I think that moving ahead with this project
is an exciting example of the city’s commit
ment to development,” he said.
Arter said previous redevelopment projects
in the area, such as the Haymarkct Square and
Junction, have shown the potential of the area.
‘‘Many more are perhaps waiting for the
depot project to lead the way,” he said.
The project team includes the Arter Group
of affiliated companies, which will serve as
developer, management and leasing agent and
construction manager; Erickson/Schulz, which
will be in charge of architectural design; and
Smith Hayes Financial Services, a financial
consultant