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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 3, 1989)
WEATHER INDEX Monday, considerably cloudy and breezy News Digest.2 with highs 55-60, NW winds 15-25, 20 per- Fdilorials...'....4 cent chance of showers. Monday night, colder ArU & Entertainment.' .7.7..... 5 with lows in low to mid 30s. Tuesday, high 50. sports.6 Wednesday through Friday, cool with scat- Classifieds 7 .. 6 tcred showers, high in 50s. April 3,1989 _._University of Nebraska-Lincoln_Vol. 88 No. 129 South Dakota educators argue college definitions By Roger Price Staff Reporter Last month South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson sparked controversy by signing into law a bill that will change the name of the three state colleges in South Dakota to universities. The South Dakota law, which will lake effect in July, is similar to Nebraska’s LB760, which is currently being considered by the Nebraska Legislature. LB760 would change the names of the four state colleges in Nebraska to universities. If nassed. LB760 would change Chadron State College into Western Nebraska State University, Kearney State College into Central Nebraska University, Peru State College into Southeastern Nebraska State University and Wayne Stale College into Northeastern Nebraska State University. South Dakota State Sen. Jerry Lammers said students at the University of South Dakota have started a petition drive to place the name change issue on a 1990 state-wide election ballot. The petition drive was started as a campaign promise by Dave Hosmer, student body presi dent at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. By putting the issue on the ballot, a mm Hosmer said, he hopes 10 reverse the name changes. Hosmer said he will need 14,700 signatures on the petitions in order for the name change to appear on the next ballot. Hosmer said student apathy is the main obstacle he faces trying to get the issue on the ballot. “Only about 1 percent of the student body doesn’t support the petition drive, but only about 1 percent actively support it,’’ Hosmer said. “They’ll sign the petitions, but they won’t get active.’’ Hosmer said he also has encountered prob in/% milk ik a Cmilk TXaLaI a UVUllllg W»UI IIIV UVUU ■ L/Uixv/Ul UUII I Kill - stralion. He said administrators have told him privately that they arc opposed to the name change, but will not take a stand publicly because they are “team players.” Hosmer said most of his supportcomes from both undergraduate and law school alumni. He said the alumni arc helping to make the name change a statewide issue instead of just a local one. He said statewide support will be necessary for the petition drive to succeed. Hosmer said University of Nebraska stu dents opposed to LB760 should show their opposition to any name changes now, before they are forced to take retroactive measures like those in South Dakota. l It will be harder for Nebraska students to start a similar petition drive because if the Nebraska Legislature passes LB760, it is likely to do so during the summer, Hosmer said. Lammers said the controversy over the South Dakota bill deals mostly with resent ment among students at the two state universi ties - South Dakota and South Dakota State University. “It’s an ego problem with the two existing universities,” Lammers said. ‘‘I can under stand that students might feel the change de creases the status of their institutions, but the arguments for making the change far outweigh those against.” The colleges would benefit from the name change because several grants are available only to universities and not colleges, Lammers said. Lammers said the name change also helps make the South Dakota colleges more com petitive with colleges in North Dakota and Minnesota who already have changed their names to universities. Twenty-six other states have already re named their state colleges and another seven or eight are considering it, Lammers said. Kay Albright, director of public affairs for Northern State College,-one college affected by the name change, said, 'This measure puts us in line with the rest of the nation. Today, college refers mainly to two-year institu tions.” Albright said Northern Stale has to fight a perception problem because smaller institu tions in neighboring states arc called universi ties instead of colleges. Lammers agreed. ‘‘The old university definition is going by the wayside,” Lammers said. ‘‘Times are changing and we need to change too.” Sen. Roland Chicoine of Vermillion said he is opposed to the name change because ‘‘there is more to being a university than a name.” ‘‘I definitely support the petition drive and would sign a petiuon as soon as I see one,” Chicoine said. Chicoine said he is disappointed that the petition drive was necessary “The board of regents should show that type of leadership - not the people,” he said. Chicoine said that changing the name of the state colleges is “camouflaging the whole process of getting an education.” “Our state with 700,000 people docs not need six universities, he said. We have two and that’s all the state can support. “Instead of bringing the colleges up to the university level, we brought the universities down to the college level,” he said. -1 Attention given to stress subject of a UNL survey By Scott Cook Staff Reporter C survey is being conducted by a University of Nebraska Lincoln psychiatrist to deter mine if more attention should be devoted to problems associated with stress among UNL students. Victoria Weis/.,aclinical psychia trist at the University Health Center, is in charge of the effort to determine students’ problems. The survey consists of three sec tions and includes questions ranging from school-related stress to drug and the most common and most serious problems. Weis/ said she hopes the survey will enable her to determine whether students have excessive stress and • how they deal with it. Weis/ said she hopes to establish areas on campus where students can go for help if she finds students need to relieve stress. She said the Coun seling Center, International Educa tion Services, the health center and other places on campus also would he used. Weis/, said the university occa sionally seems insensitive to stu dents. She said she hopes the survey results will help improve the scope and effectiveness of available help. The survey, which was conducted through the mail, involved sending questionnaires to 896 students picked at random. An additional 105 surveys were sent to hand-picked faculty members who have dealt with student problems. “We wanted faculty members who had talked to students who have had these problems,” Wcisz said The results will be available this summer, she said. American Indian organization earns substance abuse grant nj jerry viueniner dial i rvcpuuci A Lincoln American Indian or ganization received a three year, SI59,926 grant last week that will be used to support alcohol and drug prevention programs for Lincoln and Omaha American Indian families. Syd Beane, executive director of the Indian Center Inc., said the pre vention programs will be targeted at families that have a history of alcohol and drug abuse. Beane said the programs will help American Indians with substance abuse problems develop bicultural competency skills. American Indians moving to ur ban areas have to adjust from a circu lar world view that emphasizes spiri tuality, to a linear world view that stresses time and economics, he said. Because of the rural to urban migration, some American Indians often feel empty, Beane said. Bicultural competency training helps American Indians retain the spirituality from their circular world view while developing the skills needed to survive in a linear view, he said. ‘‘It’s not meant to be seen as one versus the other,” he said. v_uiuiiui umciciiLO uic jum uii^ cause of substance abuse among American Indians, Beane said. American Indians suffer from ex tremely high unemployment rates and the lack of economic develop ment on reservations, he said. Also, American Indians were never taught about the evils of alco hol abuse by the early American set tlers who introduced liquor to them. “Alcohol was used historically as a weapon to dislodge Indian people from land, and to destroy their reli gious values,” Beane said. “They have been trying to get out from under that for a long time,” he said. Beane said he hopes the grant irum uie u.o. uepuiuueiii ui ricdiui and Human Services will be used to reach more families. The program plans to help 25 families in the first year, 50 in the second and 1(X) in the third, he said. The programs will use guest speakers and traditional American Indian activities such as games, din ners and native arts and crafts to talk about alcohol prevention, Beane said. Traditional activities provide a relaxed setting to talk about alcohol and drug prevention, he said. David FahlesoivT/dily Nebraskan Flippiri out Nebraska gymnast Jane Clemons competes In the floor exercise In the Comhuskers’ victory against Washington on March 25. The Huskers finished second at the NCAA Midwest regional Saturday at Salt Lake City. See story on page 6.
