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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1992)
New kid adjusts to Lincoln But he says he misses Detroit By Amy Cyphers Staff Kef>orter Making the transition from being the new kid in school to just one of the guys is no big deal for Daniel Shouse. 1 le’s done it before — five times. Something of an old pro when it comes to moving, and consequently, attending different schools, the 17 year-old Shouse was "ready to go to school," he says, when he came to Lincoln High last fall. Shouse has moved five times in a half-dozen years, he says, so he’s learned to manage the proverbial first-day jitters. “I don’t sleep a lot the night before,” he says, "but it (the first day of school) isn’t that bad.” Shouse, a junior, moved to Lin coln from Detroit, where he lived with his mother and attended a similar-sized high school, of 2,200 students. But the similarities with Lincoln High end there, he says. “It’s quiet here, and the people —the teachers—arc more palient. They’ll take that extra lime to help you,” he says. “It’s a lot rougher in Detroit," he says. “You have to watch yourself.” To avoid some of those “rougher” aspects of urban Detroit, such as gangs, Shouse moved to Lincoln last August to live with his father. While he wasn’t a total stranger to Nebraska’s Good Life— he had lived in Peru when he was about 11 — Shouse had never been to Lin coln. I ledidn’ilhink hehadmissed much, he admits. "When .4 came here, I didn’t think I was going to like it," he says. “Bull thought I’d give it a try." He didn’t have to try for very tang. “I like it now. The people are friendlier here,” he says. "People always say‘hi’ loyou onthestreets. 1 Ivey don’t do that in Detroit.” 1 he other kids identified him as ‘the new kid” right away, and that made the admittedly ‘‘shy’’ Shouse a little nervous, he says. But that tension was only temporary. “About a week after school started, I fell like I blended in,” he says. “People just start talking to you and stuff.” And those people include a tat of girls, he says. New kids shouldn’t "gel too wrapped up with the girls,” he says. “Or they’ll swarm all over you.” But those girls now might be swarming less to “Daniel the New Guy in School” and more to “Daniel the Basketball Star” instead. Since making his debut as the starting point guard for the Links’ basketball team, Shouse became the team’s leading scorer with an average of 19 points per game. All that playing time is another reason Shouse likes Lincoln High. “In detroit, I hardly played be cause of the competition," he says. “The whole team is good here, too, but I thought I’d get to play a lot when I got here.” Shouse’s athletic talents aren’t limited to basketball, however. He says he’s looking forward to taking the pitcher’s mound and the out ficla when the high school base ball season opens. Although Shouse has become part of a crowd at Lincoln High, Detroit was his favorite place to live, he says. “1 miss the music, the concerts, my friends and my mother,” he says. “I still don’t feel like Lincoln is home, but I’m Comfortable here.” Math Continued from Page 7 games.” Perhaps the corporate ranks of Apple or IBM? "I’d rather work with some seri ous company,” he says. “Someday I’ll see ‘operating system written by Jeremy Bettis.’ It’s a challenge to lake some inanimate object and make it do something." While his credentials sometimes conjure up images of hackers who stare at a computer screen every Friday night, Bettis says he tries to ignore the “math brain" stereotype. “Once in a while, people try to push you into a stereotype, but not to the point that I’m coasciously aware of it," Beilis says. “Ibere was a time when 1 would have identi fied myself with those people, but I grew out of it." Bettis says his schedule requires effort, but says his work is its own reward. “It’s worth it,” he says. “People say, W hy? W hy are you in the math club? You go take tests! You’re grinding your brain! And for what?’ W'cll, for the joy of it. People don’t understand that. You’recompeting for the same reasons you compete in anything else. It's exciting.” In spile of all the time he de votes if) activities and academics, Bettis df )esn’t th i nk he’s m issed out on the common high school activi ties, such as prom and Friday nights out with friends. “Even if I weren’t involved in all this stuff, I wouldn’t be involved in the pettiness. It’s too shallow. It drives me nuts." 1 - i T>N Dan Shouse, a junior at Lincoln High, is the new kid in school, but being new is something he is used to. Shouse has moved five times, the latest being from Detroit. Diamonds Put The Sparkle In Her Eyes Engagement rings priced from $195 "For the price, quality, and selection” Downtown Gateway 12th & “O’* Street Mali ■ Special Btudcnt financing qvnilablc I » ' ..." •- • *’ ; .*■