October ■*! 1989
I ■■■»y" ■ ■ - -- .
Many factors present9
Papik: Graduation percentage higher among athletes
By Jana Pedersen
Senior Reporter
Although graduation rates for
athletes at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln are below
the national average, a UNL official
%tid a greater proportion of UNL
student-athletes graduate than non
athletes.
A1 Papik, UNL assistant athletic
director tor administrative se r vices,
said that because many factors con
tribute to graduation rates at different
colleges and universities, * 'about the
only comparison you can make is
within you own institution."
According to figures provided by
Linda Olson, UNL athletic certifica
tion coordinator for academic serv
ices, 38 J percent of student athletes
who entered UNL in the fall of 1982
graduated by the spring of 1988.
Olson said the graduation rate for
all UNL students who entered in 1982
was 39.3 percent.
The national graduation average
for athletes during that five-year pe
riod was 47.8 percent, according to a
study by the National Collegiate
Athletic Association.
But Papik said many factors can
influence graduation rates that aren’t
reflected by the statistics.
Some institutions, for example,
are smaller than UNL or have stricter,
entrance requirements, which make
their graduation rates higher than
UNL's, he said.
Papik said he thinks the UNL ath
letic graduation rate is ‘ ‘on par’ ’ with
the graduation rates at institutions
similar to UNL.
Comparing graduation rates of
athletes and non-athletes at UNL
gives a more accurate picture of how
Comhusker athletes perform, Papik
said.
In die past three years, he said, the
graduation rate for athletes has been
comparable to the rate for all students
at UNL.
The most recent statistics, from
students who entered UNL in 1983,
show athletes’ graduation rate is
higher than the rate for all Students,
he said.
The rate for all students'wl}Q en
tered in 1983 was 40.2 percent while
46.4 percent of athletes graduated, he
said.
Papik said graduation rates at
UNL for athletes and for all students
are similar for several reasons.
Student-athletes probably get the
same mean test scores as other stu
dents, Papik said.
Being average students would
make the graduation rate for athletes
average as well, he said.
But because many athletes attend
college on scholarships, Papik said.
they don’t have to work to pay for
their education, leaving them more
time for studying.
“And many of them do not carry
that heavy a course load,’’ he said.
Another contributing factor is the
athletic academic support unit which
monitors class attendance and re
quires study time, Papik said.
Even with consideration of out
side influences, Papik said, gradu
ation rates don’t accurately portray
student abilities. *
Students who take more than five
years to graduate, leave the institu
tion in good standing or transfer to
other institutions to receive their
degrees are not figured in the gradu
ation rate, he said.
Papik said transfer students have a
stronger impact on graduation rates at
institutions like UNL that arc part of
university systems because a student
just may move to a different campus.
For example, he said, criminal
justice majors at UNL have to trans
fer to the University of Nebraska at
Omaha to get a degree.
Olson said low numbers of ath
letes in each sport also can influence
the accuracy of graduation rates.
The NCAA report gives national
averages for different sports, but •
those statistics aren't always an accu
rate representation of an individual
us, Olson sakl.
one student doesn't graduate in
a sport with few participants, it can
significantly lower the sport’s gradu- „
ation rate, she said.
On the other hand, a sport with
many participants wouldn’t be as
aversely affected by losing one ath
lete before graduation.
Because of such inequalities, she
said, UNL will not release ^aduation
See GRAD on 3
Styrofoam a social mainstay
despite attempts to ban use
Editor’s note: This is the fourth part in a
four-part series on recycling.
By Jana Pedersen
Senior Reporter
Despite nationwide [“ AlZUZITT' 1
food ccoteiaers, coffee RECYCLE
cups and other items RXtf'lWf 1?
still are being made
from Styrofoam. || £
Gene Hanlon, recy- £,
cling coordinator for the RECYCLE
city of Lincoln, said nliinvi1VD
Styrofoam has survived RElYC^UC
because nd product has _
been designed to replace it.
“Styrofoam is a very convenient product,”
Hanlon said. “In terms of food containers,
nothing has been developed to hold in warmth
like Styrofoam.”
Although Styrofoam does not make up a
large portion of the waste stream, Hanlon said,
it receives a lot of attention because it is so
visible.
Most restaurants use some form of Styro
foam containers, mostly for hot drinks and
takeout orders, he said, which stand out as litter
on the streets.
In the past, efforts to ban Styrofoam were
basdd on the detrimental effects of chlo
rofluorocarbons. or CFCs, on the ozone layer.
Reunion bookstore possibi
Hanlon said.
But, he said, most Styrofoam no longer is
made using CFCs.
Today’s debate about Styrofoam centers on
its biodegradability, he said.
“As with other plastic products. Styrofoam
takes many years to decompose,’’ he. said.
A Styrofoam container will take anywhere
from 300 to 500 years to decompose in a
landfill, Hanlon said, while a paper container
will take about 50 to 100 years.
For decomposition to occur, Hanlon said,
there must be both water and oxygen in a
landfill.
But Environmental Protection Agency
regulations prevent all £ut a minimum of water
and oxygen to penetrate landfills, he said.
Because of ground water contamination
fears, Hanlon said, full landfills are covered
with a three-footclay cap to prevent water from
coming in contact with the garbage.
The cap also prevents oxygen from pene
trating, he said, which, combined with a lack of
water, slows the decomposition process for all
garbage. *
Even though Styrofoam and other plastics
are very light and only make up about 7 percent
of all garbage by weight, they take up 20 to 25
percent of landfill space, he said.
That means that muen of today’s landfills
will be around for hundreds of years, he said.
I See RECYCLE on 3
>
e •
Developer wants limited items
sold in University Bookstore
By Jerry Guenther
Senior Reporter
1 .. '»i ...—1 - -
• V incoln* developer David Hunter said
.Tuesday that he hopes to give the Uni
‘•versily of Nebraska-Lmcoln ’ s two big
gest booksellers a run for their money.
Hunter, president of Hardy Building Corp.,
said he has spoken with representatives from
two bookstores and plans to announce within
30 days if a new bookstore will open in die
Reunion.
He also said he plans to attend the NU Board
of Regents meeting Friday to encourage re
gents to limit the items the University Book
store cm tell
According to the university’s role as de
fined by the regents. Hunter said, the Univer
sity Bookstore is limited to selling collegiate
supplies.
Legislation adopted by the regents on Sept.
15, 1951, states 4,the university owned and
operated bookstore shall be permitted to sell
classroom and laboratory supplies to students
in the Univoratty of Nebraska.”
On Jan. 10,1953, the regents adopted legis
lauon that limits the bookstore to selling pen
cils, pens, ink, erasers, notebooks, paper, glue,
index cards, tape, t-squares and about 30 other
items related to school usage.
Although Hunter said the list is outdated, he "
thinks the regents intended to limit the univer
sity-operated bookstore to selling textbooks
and school supplies.
“They sell everything from bikini pants to -
baby bibs - even bfeer mugs,” Hunter said. “I
don’t consider any of that to be essential to the
classroom.”
Ray Coffey, UNI. business manager of
business and finance, said the university can
sell any items at the bookstore as long as state
iaw does not prohibit it.
Coffey said a state statute from 1869 when
the University of Nebraska was founded man
dates that the university must provide text
books for students at a fair price.
Over the years, NU and UNL administration
officials have expanded items that the book
store can carry to include college simplies and
other items that relate to campqa life, he said.
§66 REUNION on 3
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