Painter, paint thyself Lau9,/DN Senior art major Jeff Smeltzer touches up a self-portrait at Richards Hall on Monday morning. Race Continued from Page 1 people,” Munn said. “(Qualified minorities) are a commodity, a prized possession.” The affirmative action office is often at tacked for the relatively low number of minor ity employees at UNL, Munn said, but the problem is rooted much deeper. “Trying to hire minorities will be a struggle fora long time,” he said. “The situation will not change or improve until the nation focuses on this problem.” Nebraska’s small minority population also makes it more difficult to recruit minorities, he said. “It’s not easy to be a minority in what has been called a lily-white institution,” he said. The answer to the problem is recruiting, mentoring and educating, said Betty Mendoza, an administrative technician with the affirma tive action office. “Young people will go through these pro grams and then become part of the hiring pool,” Mendoza said. New committee to aid minorities By Adeana Leftin Senior Reporter Identifying minority concerns on NU cam puses will be the First priority of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents new committee to address minority issues, an official said Friday. Regent Chairman Don Blank of McCook, said with the help of the regents minority issues forum Oct. 18 and the other committee mem bers, “we should be able to sit down and identify (concerns) without too much of a problem.” Blank and former Deputy Attorney General Gene Crump will head the committee. Although Blank said he has not yet con ferred with Crump or the other committee members, he has some plans for the committee. After identifying minority concerns, he said the committee would identify what has been