Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1990)
-I* T | Daily 1 WEATHER INDEX I 1 ifck 1 H Monday, partly sunny and mild, high 60-65, west News Digest 2 B gfl B HI HB Hr HL * HI Jr 9 HB |Hf BH wmd 5-1 Smiles per hour Monday night, increas Editorial 4 ^BSfflkit Mg"*- H W B ■+&-— HE HfejHk S HI I mg clouds and breeziness, low 2025 Tuesday Sports 6 mk n # H Hf . Hi m H cloudy, breezy and cold, high 20 25 Arts & Entertainment 9 A _Hl A IrHAjJLbJWLJL H. i.°» .1° February 12, 1990_______) __ University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 89 No. 96 O Change could make racial slurs violation By Victoria Ayotte Senior Reporter University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials said Sunday they are considering making an official stand against aggressive or abusive racial slurs, but said the change would not hinder free discussion of racial issues. Bryan Hill, president of the Asso ciation of Students of the University of Nebraska, and James Griesen, vice chancellor for student affairs, are looking at changing the student code of conduct to make the use of “fight ing words,” or personally abusive statements, a violation. The change under consideration likely would be similar to the student code ot conduct of the University of W T TW v m UNL officials say policy would not hinder free expression c.antomia, which slates that fighting words are any that are “inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction,” including derogatory references to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orien tation, disability or other personal A A and intimidating” environment that interferes with a victims’ ability to pursue their education or participate in university activities. Hill said he asked university ad ministrators to look into creating a • • —---— I think that people will become more cautious of words that would be perceived as fighting words, People will be thinking before they speak, Scott D.R.E.A.M. interim president ___m m characteristics. Words are harassment, the policy states, when they create a “hostile W W - similar policy mainly to promote discussion on the issue. “What I want right now is just for r - people to discuss it,” Hill said. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Chaplinsky vs. New Hampshire in 1942 that restricting “fighting words” is not necessarily a violation of free speech, Hill said. But for a university policy to allow free speech, the policy would need to specifically target abusive or aggres sive speech, he said. “If this policy isn’t narrowly drawn, I wouldn’t support it,” he said. Hill said he’s not positive if a “fine enough line” can be drawn to stop abusive statements but still al low free discussion of racial issues. “I want people to discuss ideas freely and that’s why this is hard to do,” Hill said. “I don’t think anyone should think this policy will solve racism on campus.” Griesen said the administration is “seriously exploring” a fighting words policy. “It’s not so much that we have a case history of such problems,” but that the presence of problems on other campuses have necessitated a policy, he said. It’s not the “mere utterance of the words,” Griesen stressed, that would be a violation. The words would have to be abusive and threatening to the individual, he said. Griesen said he hopes to have the student code of conduct revised this year with a fighting-words policy in it, but “you don’t enact things like See FIGHTING on 3 nousmg payment system to be simplified for next fall By Mindy Mozer Staff Reporter The Office of University Housing has pjanned several changes to simplify its I billing system fornextfall,said Douglas * Zatechka, UNL housing director. The changes eliminate the one-time pay ment option, but will allow residents to pay off their housing bill in eight installments rather than six. The housing office also will start putting room and board bills on the same state ment. ‘ ‘We based the changes on the advice from students,” he said. “These sound like changes that will accommodate their needs.” Zatechka said University Housing and the Residence Hall Association surveyed students before planning the changes. In the past, Zatechka said, students had three payment options. They could pay their yearly housing costs in one payment, pay each semester or pay six limes a year, he said. Next fall, they will by able to pay by the semester or eight times a year, Zatechka said. The one-time pavment was eliminated because it’s rarely used, he said. Students choosing the eight-payment plan will pay a set amount on the first of each month, Zatechka said. “Students run a better chance of making a monthly payment than six payments because it’s a little less money ... “ Zatechka said. But the eight-payment plan will cost stu dents about $32 more a year in handling fees, he said. Currently, students receive separate bills for room and board. Next year, Zatechka said, the bills will be combined to help students budget their costs. Combined room-and-board billing statements will be sent out on the 20th ol each month, he said. To encourage students to pay their bills on time, a $15 fee will be charged for late pay ments, Zatechka said. Students whe plan to return to the residence halls next fall will get a break from university housing, Zatechka said. They won t have to pay all of the $175 returned contract fee during the spring semester, he said. Instead, they will be able to pay $65 of the fee in the spring and the rest in June, he said. Collecting memories ... Lincoln resident Rich Anderson and his children Lyndsey and Ian view the “Errors in Concept and/or Execution of Stamp Design” exhibit at Linpex ’90. The annual stamp show, held at the East Campus Union this weekend, was sponsored by the Lincoln Stamp Club. Sex survey to include UNL By Shonny Schneider Staff Reporta' The University of Nebraska Lincoln will’be included in a nationwide survey meas uring sexual attitudes and condom use during National Condom Week, Monday through Friday. Representatives of Market Source, a polling company, will -tt College students ore one of the high risk categories.. They donft think they are exposed to AIDS, when in fact they are. Anthony spokeswoman for Trojan Brand Condoms -9 9 - survey students at 15 U.S. colleges and universities as part of a pro gram to educate students about the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and the need for protection. Trojan Brand Con doms is sponsoring the survey. Mary Anthony, spokeswoman for Trojan, said students will be surveyed at the Nebraska Book store on Tuesday and Wednesday. She said students will be ques tioned about birth control and knowi edge amJ concern about STDs. UNL and the University of Colo rado arc th« Big Eight schools par ticipating in the survey. Anthony said selection is based on geographic location so that all areas of the country arc represented. UNL will participate in the survey for the second time. This is the first year for Colorado. Trojan started the annual sur vey four years ago. “College students are one of the high-risk categories,” Anthony said. r‘They don't think they are exposed to AIDS, when in fact they are.” r» *__ i aoo IVCOUH5 Ul Ul^ 1 707 Mil vcy showed that 86 percent of those surveyed were concerned about STDs, Anthony said. Dial same poll also showed that two of five people knew someone with an STD, she said. Condom use has increased be cause of the fear of AIDS, she said. The 1987 survey showed that, 23 percent of those polled used no protection against STDs, Anthony said. In 1989 that number had decreased to 11 percent *4 Awareness is the main goal of the survey,” Anthony said. During the survey, students will receive copies of former U.S. Sur geon General C. Everett Koop’s report, “Understanding AIDS,” in formation on Trojan products and samples of Trojan condoms. Personal computers used more often Students face computer shortage By Courtney Butherus and David Burchell Staff Reporters Because the University of Ne braska- Lincoln has a shortage of mainframe computers, computer science majors are having to tum on personal computers to write programs. Junior computer science major Kris Lappala said, “students have to stay up practically all night to do their programs” because 160 students in the Introduction to Computer Sci ence class have to share 16 lines into the mainframe of the Harris computer system. To reduce the shortage, Ziya Ar navut, a lecturer who teaches the in troduction course, said he is encour aging students to use personal com puters if they have access to them. Personal computers are available on campus, Arnavut said, and soft ware is not difficult to find. Chris Carlson, a freshman in Ar navut’s class, said personal comput ers are faster and more accessible than the mainframe, and are available almost anywhere on campus. “It’s just a matter of getting the software and learning a little new stuff to use the PCs,” he said. John Brewer, also a freshman computer science student, said he uses his own computer because it takes too much time to get on the Harris sys tem. Amavut said he thinks the initial frustration in trying to access the mainframe will subside as more stu dents begin using personal comput ers. Roy Keller, chairman of the De partment of Computer Science & Engineering, said almost all UNL departments arc experiencing a com puter shortage. Keller said the shortage is a result of Gov. Kay Orr’s veto of UNL’s 1989 budget request for instructional equipment. “UNL’s equipment replacement and improvement is not financed by the stale, and we made a big proposal to obtain some of the funding needed,’’ Keller said. “Uppei administration is now trying to get some of the funding back.’’ Keller said the shortage poses a problem, specifically for computer science majors. “In general, we have only one half to two-thirds the amount of equip ment that we’d like to have,” Keller said. “And with students who.ieedto use these computers a lot, we have definite need for more.” Cecilia Daly, assistant professor of computer science, said she realizes that some students have had trouble with the Harris system, but she ex pects there will be less confusion as the semester wears on and students become more familiar with it Daly said she requested accounts on the Harris system for this semester because she was dissatisfied with the Pascal compiler on the system used last semester. Pascal is the program ming language used to teach begin ning computer science students. Although the Harris system doesn’t have a service contract, “it docs have a real compiler,” she said. “It’s doing its job,” Daly said. Gerald Kulish, acting director of the Computing Resource Center, said there is no service contract for the Harris system, so if it breaks down, it probably will not be repaired. The service contract on the system was not renewed because the system is out of date, Kutish said. The ma chine’s technology is seven years old, two “generations” behind the ma chines currently offered by Harris, he said. But Kutish said the money saved by ending the Harris’ service contract is being used to pay for a Hewlett Packard computer, which is used pri marily for research. The Hewlett Packard machine, with three times the disk space and the capability to serve four times as many users as the Harris system, became operational in September, Kutish said. “The cost that it took to maintain the Harris in four years would pay for the H.P.,” he said. Next semester, beginning computer science classes will be using a differ ent system, Kutish said, but he does See HARRIS on 3