_-_
# Eric Planner, Editor, 472-1766
Oaily Bob Nelson, Editorial Page Editor
-Ik T % - Victoria Ayoue, Memaging Editor
rVI C% ffXlfCt If Jana Pedersen. Associate News Editor
JL al IL/X a. Emily Rosenbaum, Associate News Editor
University of Nebraska-Line oln Diane Brayico, Copy Desk Chief
Brian Snell no. An Director
t _
In limbo
New ASUN can avoid earlier errors ■
Over the last few weeks, the Association of Students of
the University of Nebraska has been recruiting students
to fill openings in its governing bodies for next year.
The hodgepodge of boards, committees, subcommittees and
panels contains several new additions. Included in those are
three subcommittees designed specifically to increase represen
tation for international, gay/lcsbian/bisexual and handicapped
students in ASUN.
Unfortunately, one group of minority students is missing on
the list of openings at ASUN. Ironically, it’s the same group —
racial minorities — that began the push for minority represen
tation last fall.
Now the new ASUN senate gets to deal with the issue for
the first time since coming into office several weeks ago.
■ Wednesday night it will consider a new bill to create a subcom
mittee for racial affairs.
The solution to the the lack of representation sounds simple.
All ASUN would have to do is pass the new proposal and start
recruiting subcommittee members.
It may sound simple, but it’s not. Some senators tried to
pass a similar proposal under the last administration but a
mixture of polemics and stubbornness kept ASUN from
making any headway. Constituents often proved to be as
contentious as senators and executives in stonewalling prog
ress.
First, a standing ASUN Racial Affairs Committee was in
place. Then it was gone. When a compromise — a subcommit
tee — was suggested, it was scorned.
The entire debate is rooted not in substance but in words.
While the cantankerous wrangle goes on, nothing gets done,
ASUN gets a bad name and racial minority students go home
from meetings angry at their student government.
The results of that process are clear. Three minority subcom
mittees have been established, while a critical one is still in
limbo. The status quo must not continue into next year.
This year’s new senators would serve their constituents best
by passing the subcommittee proposal quickly — before the ri
diculous debate is renewed and this year’s senate gets the
unfortunate stigma of the last. ASUN’s list of openings must
be made complete.
— E.F.P.
-LETTERS tTh°e EDITOR
Writers condemn too quickly
I too would like to address Daniel
P. Thibodeau’s letter in the April 25
Daily Nebraskan. What he has done
here is done quite often in the letters
to the editor.
Everyone seems so caught up in
writing something condemning a
certain and specific group of people
who may do, or are involved in things
other than what the all-knowing letter
writer is involved in. They are too
* quick to pass judgment on others’
^ actions to attempt to get the facts
; first.
This I feel can be related to the
incident at Sigma Chi Fight Night as
well. The fact that it was a philan
thropic event is not an excuse for the
altercations occurring. I feel that only
bringing up ihc down side of the event
was in poor taste, not only on the part
of the Daily Nebraskan, butalso letter
writers specifically attacking the Sigma
Chi house for hosting the event.
Whether the members of fraterni
ties and sororities are “elite” or one of
the “privileged” (words used often in
describing both groups in the April 26
issue), should not be entered into any
debate of our worth on campus. Re
gardless of where we may live, we, as
students, all have our own niche to ft 11
in this university community.
Craig Lytle
junior
secondary education
Shirts much ado about nothing
Tui* leucr is in response to the
letter to the DN on April 25 regarding
Mr. Thibodeau’s lambasting of the
TRIAD T-shirts. I don’t think he
understands the big picture. There are
far too many things he should be
concerned with other than T-shirts.
He is making much ado about noth
ing. The TRIAD party has been a
tradition at UNL for many years. It
has never been regarded as anything
more than a social event.
As a former fraternity member, I
can say it was a privilege to attend a
TRIAD party. However, I do not util
ize this fact on my resume.
There is nothing wrong with group
promotion or commercialization of
an event. Mr. Thibodeau has implied
too much.
Mark Wilgus
graduate student
dentistry
-EDITORIAL POLICY
Initialed editorials represent offi
cial policy of the spring 1991 Daily
Nebraskan. Policy is set by the edito
rial board.
The Daily Nebraskan’s publishers
are the NU Board of Regents, who
established the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln Publications Board tc
supervise daily production of the
paper. According to the regents’ pol
icy, responsibility for the editoria
content lies solely in the hands of th<
newspaper’s student editors.
«
JANA PEDERSEN
Dead Week alive, hectic
Welcome to Dead Week, or
maybe you’d forgotten.
Once again, most students’
schedules prove that the University
of Ncbraska-Lincoln Dead Week
policy is a joke. Between the final
project I have due Tuesday and the
final exam I have Friday, this week
for me is significantly less than dead.
Actually, the project and the test
don’t really bother me. Both were
discussed many moons ago, so I knew
they were coming. During a truly
dead week, I would have had plenty
of time to prepare for them and for
finals next week.
I guess I forgot that UNL doesn’t
really have a Dead Week.
According to the 1991-92 Sched
ule of Classes, UNL’s Dead Week
policy prohibits instructors from sched
uling projects, papers and speeches,
unless they arc assigned before mid
term. The policy disallows any tests
except for makeups or for self-paced
or lab sections.
The key clement UNL’s Dead Week
policy doesn’t cover is the presenta
tion of new material or any less-than
major assignments.
1 n class Friday, a student asked our
professor if the material she would be
delivering in lecture this week would
be included in our final exam.
“Of course,” she said.
In another class, the instructor
apologized for announcing a 10-poini
quiz this week to fill out the course’s
point schedule.
That seems to be the same song 1
hear every semester. Rarely have I
had a class in which the material
presented during Dead Week was
supplementary or review. Rarely have
instructors thought twice about mak
ing small assignments during the week.
At many East Coast colleges, on
the other hand, Dead Week means
students don’t even have to go to
class. Students devote theentire week
to final projects and papers and study
ing for final exams.
In class Friday, a
student asked our
professor if the
material she would
be deliverine in
testing this, weak
mold bs. included
jn ogr final exam.
“Of course.” she
said.
Typical reasons for not having such
a policy arc that it encourages last
minulc preparation, discourages stu
dents from organi zing their time more
efficiently and allows many students
who don’t have heavy workloads a
whole week to sluff off.
But let’s look at the pro side.
First of all, a free week would
mean instructors could present no new
material students would have to learn
for finals. That would encourage early
preparation for exams by ensuring
that students have all the material
they need to know more than a week
before the test.
No last-minute assignments would
save students the stress of trying to
find extra minutes in which to com
plete them during an already over
booked week.
A week free of classes also would
provide leeway for projects that in
volve equipment shared by large groups
of students. Even if students are or
ganized well in advance for final
projects, last-minute hitches are in
evitable. When there only arc limned
number of computers dial students
arc able to use to finish projects, Dead
Week is especially hectic. More free
time would allow students more free
dom in scheduling equipment lime.
Most importantly, a free Dead Week
would provide ample time for stu
dents to review for final tests. Trying
to remember 15 weeks worth of inlor
malion deserves at least a week’s
attention. Bui with everything else
UNL’s Dead Week involves, students
can ill afford to devote that much
time to studying for exams.
Many instructors probably realize
the difficulty students have in prepar
ing for finals. Many of my instructors
make their “finals” non-comprdicn
sivc, meaning I only have to review
as far back as the last test.
But finals should be what they ’re
called. Making them non-comprchcn
sivc to compensate for students’ lack
of time is kind of a coptml, although
I wouldn’t gel angry at any ol my
instructors for doing so.
The only solution to UNL’s cur
rent Dead Week policy is loclimmaie
it and the whole week together.
The current policy does nothing.
Instmclurs who want lo schedule major
assignments for Dead Week do so
well enough in advance. That would
happen with or without a policy. The
smaller assignments and new mate
rial are presented anyway.
For students, the only solution 10
the Dead Week problem is to also
make it what it’s called — dead.
Pederaen to a junior newi-ediior UJ and
fcd verUsiu* major and a Daily Ncbrasfc -n »■
social* news editor and columnist
-LETTER POLICY- I
1 The Daily Nebraskan welcomes
brief letters to the editor from all
readers. Letters will be selected for
publication on the basis of clarity,
» originality, timeliness and space
availability. The Daily Nebraskan
retains the right to edit letters.
Letters should be typewritten and
less than 500 words.
Anonymous submissions will not
be published. Letters should include
the author’s name, address, phone
number, year in school and group af-1
filiation, if any.
Submit material to the Daily Ne-1
braskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 K g
St., Lincoln, Neb. 68588-0448.