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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 1989)
~Tr..„,Jay _ ■' :: CORRECTION: In a story about the Recreation Center (DN, Sept 6), the cost of Cook Pavilion was incorrectly reported Thecostwas$3 5 million The Daily Nebraskan regrets this error. WEATHER: INDEX Thursday, partly cloudy and humid with a high from 85 to 90 and winds from the south at 10 to News Digest 2 15 miles per hour. A 30 percent chance of Editorial 4 showers during the day and 40 percent at Diversion.7 night. Partly cloudy and humid Thursday night Sports.19 with a low in the 60s Classifieds .23 I September 7, 1989 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. 8 Survey: Fewer students drinking alcohol On days that you drink, how many drinks do you average? St 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% I How does your drinking now compare to your drinking 2 years ago? _ 10%’ John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan By C.J. Schepers Staff Reporter The percentage of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students who drink alcohol has shrunk in the past few years, according to statistics from the annual UNL Stu dent Health Survey. In 1985, the survey showed that 84.7 percent of UNL students said they drank, and in 1986 and 1987, those figures were 82.8 and 85.1 per cent. In 1988, that percentage dropped to 78.4. The 1989 survey shows the number of students drinking has dropped to 77.7 percent. David Johnson, chairman of the UNL Department of Sociology, said the survey has a 6 percent margin of error. The report shows a “statistical significamdiffcrencc’ ’ in the number of students drinking, Johnson said. Although the number of drinkers at UNL has declined only slightly, college students still out-drink most other age groups, Johnson said. ‘ ‘Compared to the general popula tion figures, students drink at a much higher rate,” he said. Despite the nationwide decrease in alcohol consumption, problems of alcohol abuse have not decreased, said Ian Newman, director of the Nebraska Prevention Center for Al cohol and Drug Abuse at UNL. “It looks like there’s evidence of a small decline,” Newman said. “But it doesn’t mean that there’s not a problem.” He said alcohol is associated with a variety of societal “ills,” including crimes such as robbery and rape. “ It’s the most costly drug we have today,” Newman said. The UNL survey also found that college males drink more alcohol than college females. - ‘Compared to the general popula tion figures, stu dents drink at a much higher rate.' .—Johnson Women were more likely to con sume only one or two drinks during a single day, while men arc more likely to drink five to six drinks. Of students who said they drink, 22 percent of the males said they had five to six drinks, compared to only 8.6 percent of the females. Johnson said, “One of the heavi est drinking groups is college-age men.” Many things contribute to college students' higher rales of drinking, Johnson said, including peer pressure to drink and using alcohol as a pas sage rite to adulthood and independ ence from parents. Another significant study result was the difference in drinking be tween upper- and underclassmen, with freshmen drinking the most. Of freshmen who drink, 55.4 per cent said they arc drinking more now than two years ago. The percentage steadily drops, with 52.4 percent of sophomores, 23.7 percent of juniors, 11.1 percent of seniors and 2.6 per cent of graduates reporting the same. Johnson said heavier drinking among teenagers and young college students reflects a nationwide social pattern. Newman agreed that young people tend to drink more because of a “conceived pressure’’ to drink. As students grow older, there is a tendency to drink less and “smart up,’’ he said. For the first time in the survey’s history, students were asked: How serious of a problem at the university do you consider alcohol to be? On a scale of one to seven, 15.1 percent of students surveyed rated alcohol as a seven — or a very serious problem. According to Greg Barth, infor mation systems manager for the Uni versity Health Center, alcohol was rated by UNL students as the most serious health-related problem on campus. Bush’s plan draws mixed reviews By Cindy Wostrel Staff Reporter President George Bush’s new S7.9 billion drug program has drawn mixed reactions from Nebraska and University of Ne braska-Lincoln officials. Jim Joneson, executive director of the Nebraska Crime Commission, said he feels Bush is focusing on important points. In his new drug plan, Bush ad dresses education, treatment, arrest and prosecution, Joneson said. “I think that the approach he is taking is correct,” Joneson said. However, three UNL sociologists disagreed. Bush’s program is “focusing on issues that are not the root of the problem,” said Michelle Miller, a graduate assistant. Miller, who teaches a class on drugs, said Bush’s new program is no better than any other programs of the past. To be more effective, Miller said, a war on drugs should focus more on education and society’s structure and less on the law. Bush’s plan calls for: •Increasing four-fold military and law enforcement aid given to Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. The government will give $261.2 million to the coun tries in 1990. •Diverting $751 million from other programs, which include juve nile justice, housing, immigration and economic development, to the drug budget. •Authorizing $1.6 billion for cor rections, $250 million to strengthen the court system, $3.1 billion for law enforcement, $ 1.2 billion for preven tion and education and $925 million for treatment. •Doubling the amount of money given to local law enforcement ef forts to about $350 million to finance a street-level attack on drugs. •Urging states to adopt stiffer fines for casual drug users, including seiz ing users’ cars and suspending driv ers’ licenses and sending some of fenders to military-style camps. • Requiring schools, colleges and universities to adopt drug-prevention programs before they can receive federal funds. •Urging state and local govern ments and private institutions to adopt drug-testing programs for employees, including mandatory drug testing for those arrested by the federal government, prisoners and those paroled for illegal drug use. •Asking insurance companies to cover drug treatment in their policies. Joneson agreed with Bush’s plan to combat the drug problem at the local level. “The war must be on the street,” Joneson said. Bush’s new program differs from previous drug programs, Joneson said, because it is far larger in scope and more expensive. Similar programs have succeeded in the past in finding more drug users and prosecuting more drug-related cases and in getting drug users into treatment, Joneson said. Miller said she finds it interesting that money is going to be spent trying to prevent drug problems in other countries, implying that other coun tries arc causing the United States’ drug problem. See DRUG on 5 Former student receives probation, tine By Pat Dinslage Staff Reporter Convicted on theft and third degree assault charges, Todd J. Zimmerman, a former Uni versity of Ncbraska-Lincoln student, was sentenced Wednesday in Lan caster County District Court. Pleading no contest to the amended charges, Zimmerman re ceived one year probation and a $500 fine from Judge William D. Blue. Zimmerman is the fourth of six students to be sentenced for partici pation in the robbery and alleged at tack on 31-ycar-old Mitchell Radncy of California last May at the Corn husker Hotel. According to Deputy County At torney Jan Lipovsky, the victim's statement, listing the items stolen, only recently has been received, as Radney has been on a buying trip for his job as a jewel dealer. Items listed in the statement in clude two wallets, keys, a briefcase, a gold-and-sapphirc ring, a watch, an airplane ticket, about $110 in cash and a pinky ring. The pinkie ring had not been included in the list at the lime of the incident, Lipovsky said. Blue directed the Probation Off ice to attempt to contact Radney again for clarification of the discrepancy. One of the wallets, the pinky ring and the ticket have not yet been re covered, Lipovsky said. When asked by Blue, Zimmerman denied any knowledge of the second ring. Zimmerman’s attorney, Jerry Socie, told the court that Zimmerman plans to attend Coastal Carolina Col lege in South Carolina this year. Socie said that during the days Zimmerman spent in jail on these charges he “obtained two years col lege education... The chances of him participating is this kind of thing again are nil.’* Zimmerman declined to comment on his plans or feelings about the sentence. Leodis Wiley, the fifth student involved, will be sentenced Sept. 28. Previously receiving one year proba tion for their participation were David Kuszaj, John Mikkelsen and Ward Elliott. Kuszaj also received a fine of $800. Mikkelsen and Elliott, upon suc cessful completion of probation, may have it stricken from their records. Zimmerman was not offered such terms. Yet to be tried is Mitchell Hope, also a former IJNL student. the GenTest service.' .* UNL graduates begin unique business of sequencing DNA By Lisa Botin Staff Reporter Two University of Ne braska-Lincoln graduates have started a business unique to the Lincoln area. In fact, the business is one of few of its kind operating in the United States. Jim Willett and Doug Koenig make their livelihood sequencing deoxyribonucleic acid - DNA. Willett said that as far as he knows, there is only one other business in the United States simi lar to theirs. Their business, GenTcst, assists researchers by discovering how different genes are put together, Willett said. Through automated sequenc ing, GenTcst figures out the DN A sequence of gene samples sent to it by its customers, he said. The four bases DN A is made up of - A, T, C and G - are the basic See DMA on 5
