Language tables
help students relax
By Tom Koenig
Staff Reporter
A mug of beer and a Spanish/
English dictionary are a familiar sight
at a local tavern on Wednesday
nights.
Spanish students, professors and
anyone else wishing to increase their
fluency in Spanish can gather at the
Spanish table once a week, said Owen
Williams, a Spanish teaching assis
tant at UNL.
The Spanish table meets at 5 p.m.
Wednesdays at Chesterfield, Bot
tom sley & Potts in the lower level of
the Glass Menagerie, 245 N. 13th St.
The atmosphere is relaxed, Wil
liams said, “which helps, especially
after a hard day in class.”
“A couple of years ago twoCubans
came to Lincoln for a brief period and
they didn’t speak a word of English,”
said William Wayne, a UNL geology
professor. ‘They said the Spanish
table was beneficial to their assimila
tion into the American way of life.”
Wayne has been coming to “la
mesa” for eight years, he said as he sat
with about 15 others around the table
last Wednesday night
Wayne, who is doing research on
the dates of glacier deposits and inter
preting landslides in the High Andes
mountains of northwestern Argen
tina, said he finds the table a useful
tool for his work.
Robert Eckerson, a Spanish major
at UNL, said he comes to the table to
meet people. Eckerson said he has
studied in Costa Rica and finds the
Spanish table a good way to make
friends and stay fluent. He said he
Regents set up
teleconference
to rethink offer
REGENTS from Page 1
employees at this time,” he said.
Hoch said she thinks it is “unrea
sonable” that the regents weren’t in
formed sooner.
Robinson added, “We’re not sup
posed to be their rubber stamp.”
Regent Robert Koefoot of Grand
Island said he didn’t see why there is
any question of approving the project.
Hoch responded that she doesn’t have
any quarrel with the need, but does
question the planning system.
Regent Don Blank of McCook said
fan “obviously we have to do some
thing,” but he wants the university to
work with the Nebraska Legislature
to get the package, since they would
have to pay for the system.
Blank moved to table the motion,
but it was defeated by one vote. The
motion to approve the package also
was defeated by one vote.
Some regents were concerned
about losing the $ 100,000 incentive if
they did not act by Thursday.
Hoeh proposed holding a telecon
ference call Wednesday, which she
said would give regents time to re
view the proposal and talk with
members of the Legislature’s Appro
priations Committee.
The teleconference could allow
the regents to act quickly so they can
avoid losing the $100,000 incentive.
Other regents agreed with this idea.
Moylan set the date for Wednesday at
10 a.m.
After the meeting, Jack Goebel,
UWL’s vice chancellor for business
and finance, said he is hoping for
approval of the computer proposal.
“If we take action in a timely
manner it shouldn’t cause problems,
Goebel said. ‘There have been some
instances where we have been work
ing at capacity.”
In other business, the regents ap
proved an actuarial science major in
the Arts and Sciences College and the
Center for Insurance and Risk Man
agement. They also approved contin
ued funding for UNL’s Polar Ice
Coring Office of $534,078 and a bid
of $295,750 from Commonwealth
Electric Company for construction ol
lighting at Buck Beltzer Baseball
Field. , . ,
i A need statement for a parking lot
on 19th Street on the former Rock
Island property was delayed until the
November meeting for further plan
ning, UNL Chancellor Martin M«
sengale said.
David Fahleson/Daily Nabraakati
Visitors to the Spanish table review a proposed flier promoting the table.
encourages everyone with an interest
in Spanish to attend.
Joseph Stephens, a Spanish, his
tory and community development
and regional planning student, said he
is interested in traveling to Spain or
South America and maybe even
working for American companies
who have problems communicating
in Spanish.
“The table is a place where you can
make errors and no one cares,”
Stephens said. “In class you arc tense
and you need a break from studying.”
Learning Spanish opens many
doors, Stephens said. Students can
read foreign newspapers and books
and talk to foreign people on a differ
ent level than they would in English.
“You have to work with the words
as much as possible,” Stephens said.
“You have to deal with your failures
and go out on a limb if you want to be
good.”
Williams said French, German,
Russian and Italian language tables
also exist. The French table meets
Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. at Duffy’s
Tavern. The German table meets Fri
days at 4 p.m. at Julio’s. The Russian
table meets Mondays at 5 p.m. at
Barrymore’s and the Italian table
meets Monday at 3 p.m. at The Coffee
House.
Farm group moves
CENTER from Page 1
Currently, Miller said, the group is
participating in a project with Mo
rocco. Students from that country are
getting an agricultural education at
MIAC universities, while MIAC fac
ulty members have traveled to Mo
rocco to show farmers how to raise
grains such as wheat and barley.
All of the group’s projects involve
teaching and training people, doing
research and teaching and training
fanners how to use that research,
Miller said.
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