The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, January 24, 1991, Page 9, Image 9
Staci McKee/Daily Nebraskan Student assistants Toni Dike of Selleck Residence Hall and Nick Kincanon of Harper Residence Hail watch dance instructors Kirsten Bartels of Neihifrdt Residence Center and Chad Thornton of Harper. Bartels and Thornton have been teaching country dancing since January 1989. Programs guide students By John A. Skretta Staff Reporter The residential education pro fram offers students about 400 to 00 programs and workshops annually about a variety of topics, said Dr. Lyn Jakobsen, assistant director of housing for residential education. "We assess student needs in relation to current issues and re spond to these needs through programming," jakobsen said. ’'Well probably reach three-fourths ofour students in any given year." "We try to educate students and provide a supportive environment that simultaneously challenges students to broaden their thinking concerning these issues," Jakob sen said. The programs and workshops are structured around the school year to meet student needs that research has shown follow an annual cycle, Jakobsen said. For instance, at the beginning of the semester, programs about finan cial aid ana time management and study skills are more relevant than they might be at the end of the term, she said. The programming schedule also includes passive programming, Jakobsen said, "which is merely posting items on bulletin boards encouraging students to get in volved with different activities." A number of issuesare relevant year after year, Jakobsen said, and these topics include responsible alcohol consumption, responsible sexual behavior and others. These programs will continue in about the same path as they have previ ously, Jakobsen said, because every year they reach different audiences. One current issue of overwhelm ing importance that the residen tial education program is attempt ing to respond to through pro gramming is Operation Desert Storm, Jakobsen said. "Keeping up with the Iraq situ ation is obviously of immediate relevance to our residents," she said. "We're approaching this in a variety of ways. For instance, we're encouraging students to attend teach-ins so that they can get a cognitive view of what to antici pate as the crisis continues." "The anticipation is really what we're dealing with," she said. "Students have questions about their loved ones stationed in the middle east, questions about their country and the anticipation of how the war will affect it." "One immediate problem is how to get the students to deal with the news coverage," Jakobsen said. "I mean, people are just glued to the television sets, ana so you're look ing at a situation auite detrimen tal to some of tnese students' grades." Jakobsen feels quite confident about the ability of her staff to meet questions and concerns about any current event, however. "The Nebraska housing pro gram has a wonderful national reputation for this (program ming)," she said. Jakobsen recalled one inter-collegiate housing con ference where a colleague informed her that UNL's student assistants were the caliber of many other universities housing directors. "We've got super, just super people working for us/' Jakobsen saia. "I couldn't ask for more from the people I'm working with. I mean, I love to come to work." Jakobsen oversees the program ming work at five complexes with a total of 122 student assistants. The student assistants are required to program and deliver program summariesat the end of each term. Statistics on student attendance at programs and the number and kinds of programs delivered are then compiled from these reports, she said. Discovering relevant program ming ideas is a matter of monitor ing current media events as well as assessing the student popula tion, Jakobsen said. The residen tial education program previously delivered the Life Skills Interest Survey to housing residents until See SA on 12 Noodles Comedy Club I Fea tarm /fa tional Fourinfr Cotn&dians I As Seen On I HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Carson & Letterman ShowiiMEs: FRidAy & SATURdAy 7:50 & 9:45 pM Must be 21 CaII 475-0900 foR Reservations Country swing spins S.A.s into winter whirl By Heather Heinisch Staff Reporter Country music blared from the stereo as members of a wide-eyed audience watched the twirling, foot-stomping, two-stepping demonstration of country swing. Their turns were next. As part of the student assis tants' winter workshop, Chad Thornton, an S.A. in Harper Resi dence Hall, and Kirsten Bartels, an S.A. in Neihardt Residence Hall, showed five couples die basic steps of the country swing. Dance steps with names like Pretzel, Suicide Dip, Double Decker and Thread the Needle caused most of the participants to react with cynical disbelief that they could ever twirl without get ting tangled, much less rememoer the correct order of the steps. Roger Miller, an S.A. in Selleck Residence Hall and a senior ac counting major, said, "This was the first time I ever learned to dance in my life. I wasn't good." Thornton and Bartels have been dancing together for two years and have given demonstrations to organizations like the Farmhouse Fraternity and presented a cam puswide show, with each show drawing about 150 people last year, Thornton said. A junior English and history major, Thornton said he first learned to dance at age 7 at the bar See SWIWG on 13 Childhood bear wins approval from S.A. s By Connie L. Sheehan Senior Editor On the third floor of Fedde, if someone calls you a Pooh, you can take it as a compliment. The childhood character, Win nie-the-Pooh, has once again be come a hero in the eyes of some students at Fedde with the publi cation of the book, "The Tao of Pooh" by Benjamin Hoff. The book compares the enter taining accounts of Pooh with the a mm warn mm mam am mma amm aaam Siam m mm Chinese philosophy of Taoism that advocates simplicity and selfless ness. As part of her midyear Student Assistants' training session, Sue Richart, a law student and sec ond-year S.A. at Fedde, demon strated how to apply the Pooh Tao philosophy to everyday life in the residence nails. With the help of Winnie-the Pooh animated videos, Richart See POOH on 13 mam ama wmm nmm amt mam amm mam wmm mm mm am iW.C.'s W.C.'si i i •A TAKE A STUDY BREAK! VI | $2.30 Pitchers ^ I Jh $1.00 Well Drinks kji 1 j\ W. C. 'S Downtown Q J 1228 'P* Street | IW.C.'s • Coupon Not (JihkI With Ant Other Offer • W.C.’sJ ---