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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1989)
t WEATHER: INDEX Wednesday, partly sunny high near 80, winds 10-20 mph from SE. Cloudy tonight with a 20 nin..f 9 percent chance of showers, low around 60. cTT , 1.. Cloudy with a slight chance of showers Thurs- editorial.4 day, high 75 to 80. Dry and cool during the Sports.7 weekend, highs in the 60s Friday, 80s Sun- Arts & Entertainment.11 day. Lows around 40 Saturday, 50 on Sunday. Classifieds.14 September 20,1989_ University of Nebraska-Lincoln_ Vol. 89 No. 17 [ Study shows gap between athletes’ GPAs I By Jana Pedersen Senior Reporter 'TVifferences in study habits Icould explain a gap in grade point averages between male and female college athletes, accord ing to a University of Nebraska-Lin coln representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. A recent study by the NCAA re vealed that female athletes attain a higher grade point average than male athletes. Female athletes attained a grade point average of 2.67 while male athletes averaged a 2.44. James O’Hanlon, UNL institu tional representative to the NCAA, said* that although there is no docu Imented proof of reasons for grade point differences between male and female athletes, several hypotheses have been suggested. “The gap could be due in part to the sports themselves,” he said. “Some male sports are more time consuming.” If male athletes spend more time practicing than studying, he said, their grades might suffer. The tendency to emphasize athlet ics over academics can start at an early age, O’Hanlon said. “If a student is an athlete early on, they're treated as an athlete, not as a student,’ ’ he said. O’Hanlon said there is a tendency for athletics to be emphasized more to young men than to young women, which could result in poorer develop ment of study habits among young men. Poor study habits earlier in school can mean poor study habits in col lege, he said. ‘Being an afhlete affects some people positively and some nega tively.' -- O’Hanlon Terri Killion, UNL assistant women’s volleyball coach, said that study habits arc the key for her play ers’ good grades. When recruiting a high school athlete, Killion said, “we make it clear that we expect them to live up to some standards.” That includes required study time for players’ first college semester and also for the second semester i f they do not get a 3.0 grade point average. Players also follow the example of older teammates who get good grades, she said. “The seniors have standards that they go by for studying and that sets the example for the younger play ers,” she said. Killion said the volleyball coaches try to recruit students with good grades because they have a “drive to perform well” inside of them. “A lot of times if they’re not bright in the classroom, they don’t understand all the complex plays,” she said. But “if they have that drive inside of them, that transfers to the court.” Rhonda Osborn, UNL assistant women’s basketball coach, said that getting good grades could help ath letes play better, but being an athlete doesn't necessarily affect grades. “Being an athlete affects some people positively and some nega tively,” she said. Spending time at practice leaves some athletes short on study time, she said. But others use it to their advantage by becoming more organized to plan study time better, she said. O’Hanlon said having few profes sional athletic opportunities for women also could explain differ See ATHLETES on 6 C omputenzed files threaten privacy of student records By Kendra Gill Suff Reporter The computerization of UNL student records increasingly threatens confi dentiality, but the problem at UNI, probably isn’t any worse than at other schools, f said Robert Reid, UNL associate director of . registration and records. Unauthorized access of student records is a „ growing 'problem for universities because computerization makes records more acces sible to administrators, faculty members and students than paper documents, said Peggy Corley Askins, registrar at Oklahoma Baptist University. College officials voiced concern for the security and confidentiality of student com puter records in the spring at a meeting of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. uinl s instances oi uniawiui me access almost always involve office employees, a majority of whom are students, Reid said. But careless disposal of hard-copy or paper records is a bigger problem than unauthorized com puter access, he said. Reid said training programs for student employees in offices with access to student files reduce improper use and release of private records. Still, the programs may not be effec tive deterrents because enforcement of confi dential policies could be lax, depending on the office handling student records, he said. ■ Reid said that as far as he knows, access policies for employees are set by supervisors and could vary between offices. The supervi sors enforce the rules among their employees. Students are allowed only to see their printed, not on-screen records, and that infor mation is not always kept private because stu dents or employees leave the copy laying around, he said. This is not a problem with computer records. See CONFIDENTIAL ON 6 ASUN to discuss protest resolution By Jana Pedersen Senior Reporter Responding to student concern over the dismissal of' former NU President Ronald Roskens, ASUN senator Steve Thomlison has introduced a formal protest resolution that will be discussed at tonight’s senate meeting. Thomlison said he became concerned about student opinion on Roskens’ dismissal after a recent ASUN meeting. During that meeting, two students questioned student regent Bryan Hill about the NU Board of Regents’ refusal to disclose any information. Thomlison said that after talking with other students who also were concerned, he and three1 Other senators decided to sponsor a formal protest resolution. “We thought that this was a stance that ASUN could take to be representative of the students,’’ he said. 11iv u/^iuuuii tons iui mt it^tiiui iu un close information about Roskens’ dismissal because “the University of Nebraska, gov erned by the Board of Regents, largely is sup ported by funds provided by students and tax payers,” and students have a right “to be kept fully informed” of how their money is being spent ASUN Special Topics Committee members passed the resolution Monday 4-2. ButThomlison said passage by the commit tee was not necessarily an endorsement The committee members voted to pass the resolution only because they felt it must to be discussed by the entire senate, he said. The senate also will discuss a bill that would allow the ASUN Campus Life Committee to conduct a study of the university housing visi tation policy. ASUN senator Bart Vitek, sponsor of the bill, said he proposed the idea because the visitation policy in residence halls and fraterni ties and sororities was established in 1974 and hasn’t been changed since then. See ASUN on 6 Massengale urges higher education system [fine - tuning’ By C J. Schepers Staff Reporter The majority of those who spoke during a 2 1/2 hour hearing on postsecondary education Tuesday urged the Con sultant Study Team to look at three main factors in their study of higher education: Nebraska’s limited fund ing, small population base and large geographical size. About 15 people testified before Harold Enarson and Patricia Widmayer, two of three persons ap pointed by the Legislature to study Nebraska’s higher education system. Although the merging of Kearney State College into the University of Nebraska system has dominated the higher-education debate, few spe cific comments were made about the KSC transfer. Martin Massengale, interim NU president and University of Ne braska-Lincoln chancellor, told the members that they have an “unusual opportunity" to create a'quality edu cational system, but cautioned the team to look at “fine-tuning" Ne braska’s current system, instead of recommending “radical alteration." He urged members to examine the state’s “relatively small population" and “narrow economic base" and to use “great,caution” in determining the best possible system. Robert Furgason, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the UNL, also said the current system can be im proved with “some refinement and fine-tuning." Furgason said he strongly urged the committee to be objective in its assessment of Nebraska’s current education system to approach changes “very prudently.” “Quality must be considered the most importantcomponent,’ ’ he said. In establishing other programs at other state colleges, Furgason said, “I personally question whether there is a need.” He said telecommunications should be a key component to ex panding education in reaching out state communities. James McShane, president of UNL’s Faculty Senate and associate professor of English, called for a “careful” study of Nebraska’s postsecondary system. McShane emphasized that die university is lacking research dollars and that current programs already are strained financially. “We cannot prepare Ph.D. pro grams without research programs on site, and they are expensive,” he said. “I believe in higher education. But to expand may well be to collapse,” he said. UNL student regent Bryan Hill asked members to ignore the political aspects of the education issue. “Although some may consider me a whippersnapper, I have watched the Legislature... hit efcch other over the heads with big clubs and jab each other with big sticks,” Hill said. He urged politicians to look to ward the future and to* ‘put down the sticks.” Stale Sens. Jerome Warner of Waverly, Ron Withem of Papillion and La Von Crosby of Lincoln were at the hearing. Russ Johnson, chairman of Stu dents for the Right to Vole Commit tee, asked the panel to examine the student regents’ right to vote. “The students feel that a voting partnership is long overdue,” he said. Johnson said the university col lects more than $55 million in tuition and fees. This is equal to more than one-tliird of state appropriations, he said. “ It is only reasonable for students to request a meaningful say in how that money is spent,” Johnson said. The three-member team plans to deliver its interim report Nov. 15. «
