The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, September 21, 1988, Image 1

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    ^ CORRECTION
The date of the 12th annual symposium calle_ Global Climate and tho Future
of the High Plains Aquifers (DN, Sept. 20) was listed incorrectly The sympo
sium will be at the Lincoln Hilton, 141 9th St., Oct. 6 and 7.
Wednesday, mostly sunny and warmer, high 80-85 News Digest.2
with S winds of 10-15 mph. Wednesday night, increas- Editorial.4
ing cloudiness with a 20 percent chance of showers, Sports ..7
low in the mid 50s. Thursday, considerable cloudiness Entertainment..9
with a 20 percent chance of showers, high near 80. Classifieds.11
September 21,1988 University of Nebraska-Lincoln __Vol. 88 No. 17
Involvement increase
AS UN officers plan minority inclusion
By Ryan Sleeves
Senior Reporter
—
wo executive officers of the
Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska have
made plans to increase minority stu
dent involvement in the student gov
ernment process.
Jeff Petersen, president of AS UN,
said a Monday meeting with the Afri
kan People’s Union gave ASUN
members a better understanding of
the depth of the problems minorities
face.
At the meeting, minority students
said they sometimes receive hostile
looks from some non-minority stu
dents. The students also said they feel
ostracized at UNL.
It is ridiculous, Petersen said, “that
any student should have to feel un
comfortable on campus.”
Kim Beavers, 2nd vice president
of ASUN, said she wants to incorpo
rate a member from each student
minority group into the Residence
Liaison Committee.
She said she will propose this to
night at a 6:30 p.m. meeting of student
minorities at the Culture Center, 333
N. 14th St.
Minority group representatives
could better report problems and
schedules of meetings to AS UN if
they were part of the committee, she
said. Some racial problems would
See APU on 6
Posting student ID number
and grade may violate law
protecting personal records
By David G. Young
Staff Reporter
sing the complete social
security number to post stu
dents’ grades may be violat
ing a 1974 federal law protecting
student privacy.
Failure to comply with provisions
of the Buckley Amendment could
lead to cutting off all federal funding
for institutions in question.
The University of Nebraska-Lin
coin could lose $28 million a year in
federal money. UNL annually re
ceives $28 million in federal funding,
according to UNL’s Office of Busi
ness and Finance.
The Buckley Amendment restricts
release of “personally identifiable
records or files (or personal informa
tion contained therein)” to any indi
vidual other than appropriate school
officials, without student consent.
It is unclear, however, whether
social security numbers should be
considered “personally identifiable.”
Social Security numbers could
easily be perceived as “personally
identifiable,” according to Shelly
Stall, lawyer for Student Legal Serv
ices.
According to a set of enforcement
rules proposed by the Department of
Health and Education in 1975, “per
sonally identifiable” would be de
fined to include student identification
numbers as well as social security
numbers.
Leroy Rooker, director of the
Family Policy and Regulations Of
fice in the Department of Education
in Washington D.C., insists that the
law is unclear.
“We haven’t really addressed the
problem of using social security
numbers,” he said. “Who recognizes
a social security number besides the
person? It’s so implausible that it’s
never caused a problem.
“We would probably encourage
(university officials) to use the last
four digits of the social sccurii
number.”
While some UNL professors drop tlk
first five digits before posting grades,
many continue to list the entire social
security number before the student’s
mark.
Some UNL professors say they
have heard the possibility that posting
grades by social security number is
illegal but they continue to list the
entire number. This is largely due to
lack of student opposition.
“This has been the traditional
method and I’ve never had anybody
complain,” said Paul Burrow, profes
sor of physics and astronomy.
Similarly, Rooker said he could
not recall anyone ever filing a formal
complaint with his office on the mat
ter.
“Schools don’t intentionally vio
late the law,” Rooker said. “They do
it by oversight or purely by lack of
Assault suspect released
By Chris Carroll
Staff Reporter
A man suspected of 3rd-degrce
(I sexual assault was interviewed
^and released by University of
Nebraska-Lincoln police Sept. 6, said
UNL Police Cpl. Larry Kalkowski.
The man, who allegedly grabbed a
UNL student’s thigh and breast Aug.
23, confessed to the alleged assault,
Kalkowski said.
The man could not be arrested,
however, because he did not Fit the
description the woman gave police,
Kalkowski said. The woman told
police she couldn’t make a positive
identification of the alleged offender.
A suspect can’t be arrested unless
a victim has filed a charge that can be
specifically linked to that individual,
Kalkowski said.
But the man is still a suspect, he
said.
The incident occurred Aug. 23 at
9:30 p.m. near the recreation field on
17th and Vine streets, Kalkowski
said.
Kalkowski said it’s possible that
the suspect who confessed to the Aug.
23 incident has been involved in pre
vious unreportcd assaults.
“It’s possible that his mind-slate is
such that he confused the incidents
with ones he’d been involved with
before, that haven’t been reported,”
Kalkowski said.
Because the Aug. 23 incident is
still under investigation, Kalkowski
said he could not release a description
of the alleged offender.
Third-degree sexual assault, ac
cording to Nebraska state law, is the
intentional touching of the victim's
sexual or intimate parts or touching
the victim’s clothing covering the
immediate area of die victim’s sexual
or intimate parts.
This is the only reported sexual
assault this semester according to
UNL Police incident reports.
Two sexual assault incidents were
reported in the spring semester of
1988, Kalkowski said. One occurred
in Abel Hall and was reclassified as a
1 st-degree sex ual assault. The other, a
2nd-degrec sexual assault, occurred
in Sandoz Hall.
Kalkowski said it is important for
UNL students to report all sexual
assaults to UNL police whenever they
occur.
Addressing minority issues is part of DREAM
By Diana Johnson
Senior Editor
Although it may be easier said than
done, a new campus organization will
attempt to sensitize the campus to
minority problems at the university, said Paul
Miles, special assistant to the chancellor.
DREAM, Developing Realistic Events
Assessing Minorities, will be the core of an
effort to unite minority student groups and
other students at the University of Ncbraska
Lincoin, Miles said.
The group meets for the first time at 7 p.m.
mnighi at the Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St.
All minority student group leaders and mem
bers and any other interested UNL students je
invited to attend the meeting, Miles said.
The idea for the group was formulated more
than a year ago when Miles was hired by UNL
Chancellor Martin Massengale. Miles said he
hoped to address and have input on campus
minority issues.
DREAM is a part of that, said Miles, a UNL
graduate and former 1-back for the Comhuskcr
football team.
“It’s a way to try to get minority students,
other students, faculty and staff to work to
gether to help themselves understand the prob
lems of other minority groups,” Miles said.
DREAM will act as an umbrella to already
existing student minority groups such as the
Afrikan People’s Union, Mexican American
Student Association, Native American Student
Association, International Student Organiza
tion and other student minority groups, Miles
said.
But it will not interfere with activities and
programs already established by those groups,
Miles said.
Miles said he will act as a senior adviser to
the group.
“I don’t want to hear people saying ‘Paul is
sick so we can’t have a meeting today or we
can’t get this done,’” Miles said. ”1 want to see
the students take the initiative. They have to be
the leaders of this.”
Although DREAM is still in its formulative
stage. Miles said he hopes students will decide
to meet weekly or bi-monthly to discuss how to
address minority issues.
“The idea is not to condemn others,” Miles
said. “But to assess needs of others.”
DREAM also will possibly hold awareness
campaigns during Black History Month and
hold workshops in order to understand other
cultures’ customs, Miles said.
DREAM also can be a learning tool for white
students on campus. Miles said, because it will
help them achieve a greater understanding of
minorities that they may later meet with in
metropolitan areas.
Formulation of die group began this summer
when Miles toured mostly white populated
campuses such as Michigan University, Iowa
State University, Kentucky University,
Rutgers University and the University of Cali
fornia at Berkeley, he said.