Dance funds provide
services for troops
By Wendy Mott
Staff Reporter
UNL students will have the
chance to tie one on Friday at a
“Yellow Ribbon Dance” in The
Reunion to show concern for
American troops in the Persian Gulf,
an organizer said.
Jeff Gorder, Residence Hall
Association social chairman, said
the dance will not be a political
statement, but merely an expres
sion of concern for American troops
in the Persian Gulf.
“The campus needs to unite,”
he said. “We can’t unite on whether
the war is right or wrong, but we
can agree on concern for Ameri
cans.”
Gorder said his organization has
done everything it can to empha
size the neutrality of the dance.
RHA has kept “support” out of
dance advertisements, is donating
the money raised to a neutral group
and is trying to get a variety of
students to attend, Gorder said.
“We want to make sure it doesn’t
become political,” Gorder said. “The
dance is a way to provide local
service for soldiers overseas.”
The dance is sponsored by RHA,
Golden Key National Honor Soci
ety and the Red Cross. Proceeds
from the dance will be donated to
the Lancaster County chapter of
the American Red Cross, Gorder
said.
Dave Norris, director of public
relations at the Lancaster County
chapter of the American Red Cross,
said the money will be used to
provide a communication link be
tween soldiers overseas and their
families in Nebraska.
“It’s kind of 1 ike Nebraskans for
Nebraskans,” Norris said.
The Red Cross serves many other
functions as well, but the dance
funds will help families transmit
urgent messages to soldiers in the
gulf, he said.
Gorder said most of The Reun
ion’s food court will be open dur- J
ing the dance, and The Pub will
have its weekly $1 draw special.
KFRX-FM will be providing
music for the dance, he said.
The dance will be at The Reun
ion from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Gorder
said. Tickets arc S2 for students
and S4 for non-students if purchased
in advance, or S3 and S5 at the
door.
Class
Continued from Page 1
24,000, has been able to avoid large
classes, Griesen said.
The student-to-faculty ratio at UNL
currently is 17.3:1 .according to Insti
tutional Research Planning and Fis
cal Analysis.
Griesen said he has heard few
complaints about class size.
Brian Oltmanns, an undeclared
sophomore, said that, unlike in the
past, he is not having problems with
large classes. But, he said, if students
are having problems, it’s their re
sponsibility to speak to their instruc
tors about them.
Freshman theater arts major Amy
Reiner said she doesn’t mind large
classes.
Reiner said she has not had any
problems with her biology or art his
tory classes, both of which are large
lecture classes.
But Marcy Knorr, a senior eco
nomics major, said she doesn’t like
large classes. There are more distrac
tions, she said.
Junior Marc Kappcl agreed.
“I always do better in a smaller
class,” he said.
Kappcl, a history and English sec
ondary education major, said he finds
the classes more interesting when they
are smaller. He said he is able to learn
and retain more of the information
presented.
Philip Hugly, chairman of the UNL
Department of Philosophy, said smaller
classes provide a better learn ing en vi
ronment.
“It’s important to get students in
17.3 students: faculty member
Source: UNL Institutional Research Planning and Fiscal Analysis 1
small classes,” Hugly said.
According to the philosophy de
partment’s correction rosters, two
sections of Philosophy 101 are of
fered. About 108 students may enroll
in each course. This semester, 105
students are enrolled in section 150,
while 104 students are enrolled in
section 250. Quiz sections with a limit
of 27 students are required for the
introductory courses.
Hugly said he would like to see the
introductory course drop to an aver
age of 80 students, which would re
duce quiz sections to 20 students.
Two teaching assistants instruct
the quiz sections, he said. Each TA
teaches four quiz sections, with 25
students enrolled in each class, put
ting the TA in charge of about 100
students.
Hugly said quiz sections give stu
dents the opportunity to interact with
a teacher. Students also can write,
discuss ideas and take frequent quiz
zes, which increase learning, he said.
Full professors teach the introduc
tory class, he said, to make sure stu
dents erase the content of the mate
Amie DeFrain/Daily Nebraskan
in the spring, some students opted for
the Keller Plan, Thompson said.
Keller Plan students read the book
and take tests over the material at
their own pace without having the
scheduled structure of the classroom.
Thompson said some students may
prefer this style because it’s flexible.
But most classes don’t offer Keller
Plan sections.
For those classes, Millard Beatty,
chairman of the Department of Engi
neering Mechanics, said, “Early en
rollment is the key to getting a class.
It depends on the semester and the
sections that can be offered.”
Beatty said the engineering me
chanics department has limits on the
number of students who can enroll in
its classes. For example, enrollment
in the introductory class, which offers
four sections, is limited to 25.
The engineering mechanics depart-,
ment has set limits to keep most classes
below 40 students.
With smaller classes, Beatty said,
“you get to know the students.”
“You get to know each student by *
name. Breaking sections down ac
rial.
It’s important to allow the best
people to communicate philosophi
cal ideas, Hugly said, because at the
introductory level it’s the only expo
sure some students will get.
Ross Thompson, an associate pro
fessor of psychology, said students
tend to learn more when they can get
involved in classroom discussion.
Thompson, who teaches Psychol
ogy 181, said he has about 234 stu
dents enrolled in his class this semes
ter. But students also sign up for a
smaller recitation section to discuss
the class material better.
The recitation sections, Thompson
said, are designed to get students
actively involved in learning. Two
TAs instruct three recitations, which
have about 40 students each.
Because Psychology 181 is the
only introductory lecture class of
fered by the psychology department
commodates students, in a smaller
section, students arc more inclined to
ask questions.”
Griescn said smaller recitation and
lab sections arc offered for some of
the traditionally large classes such as
psychology, biology, math and speech
communications.
For example, Griesen said, Math
101A has an average class size of 33.
English 150 and 118 average 23 stu
dents. Biology 101 offers three sec
tions with an average of 200 students
per class, but biology labs arc no
larger than 24 students.
“It is important for students to have
a small environment, so they can re
late to the instructor on a one-on-one
basis,” Griesen said.
Stephen Hilliard, English depart
ment chairman, said the ideal English
class size is 20 students per class.
But classes that small aren’t pos
sible, he said. The English depart
ment tries to keep its 100-levcl class
average at 25 and its upper-level
average at 31.
“We arc delivering good size
classes,” he said. “On the whole,
smaller classes arc better for students’
learning.” ' . - .
Griescn said making students lee!
comfortable with the UNL educa
tional environment begins when they
arc incoming freshman.
Griesen said five programs have
been instituted to help incoming Ircsh
mcn feel a sense of community:
• The New Student Enrollment
packet containing information about
UNL is mailed to potential students.
• The New Student Welcome
Program, formerly Big Red Welcome,
acquaints students with the campus.
• The New Student Enrollment
Student Guide is a comprehensive
undergraduate bulletin given to each
incoming freshman.
• The University Honors Program
accommodates students who would
like to take advanced classes their
first year.
• University Foundations helps
expose students to campus life.
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Sweatshirts of the Week.
Welcome Big 8 Conference Black
Student Government
Representatives.
[ Lower Level Nebraska Union
POLICE REPORTi
Beginning midnight Tuesday,
Feb. 5
7:01 a.m. — Man slipped and
broke ankle, 38th and Hunting
ton streets.
8:05 a.m. — Non-injury auto
accident, 14th and W streets,
$800.
9:58 a.m. — Man fainted at
Hamilton Hall, transported to
University Health Center.
