Panelists discuss how
they were successful in
overcoming disabilities
By Sean Green
Senior Reporter
Five panelists said Monday that
education, determination and accep
tance of their disabilities allowed them
to be successful and productive, in
spite of the problems they faced.
The five women talked about going
to school, getting jobs and dealing
with family members who sometimes
rejected them because of their dis
abilities.
They spoke during a discussion
tilled “Women
and abilities,” as
part of Women’s
Week 1992.
Panelist
Nancy Ward, of
Lincoln, said she
had a learning
disability but was considered men
tally retarded by her family and her
community when she was growing
up.
“People didn’t know what a learn
ing disability was,” she said. “I was in
special-education classes all through
school, and no matter how hard we
tried, we were never allowed to earn
better than average grades.” ;__
After graduating, Ward tried to gel
into nursing school, but was unable to
pass the entrance exam because she'd
never had calculus or algebra, she
said.
“A counselor told me I had to go
back and get a GED,” she said. “I
thought that was why I went to high
school, but I found out that people
who take special education classes
don’t actually get a degree.”
Ward said she got her GED and
started working and taking college
level classes. She said she did it to
prove to herself, to her family and to
society that she could.
“I’m the oldest of six kids in my
family,” she said. “My parents helped
ail the kids pay for college, except
me. I paid for my own education.”
Other panelists said they had faced
challenges similar to Ward’s, and
discussed their own disabilities that
ranged from bipolar disorder to dys
lexia to polio.
Christy Horn, coordinator of serv
ices for students with disabilities at
the University of Ncbraska-Lincoln,
said most of the 431 UNL students
with disabilities did a good job of
surmounting obstacles, despite the fear
and ignorance of others.
Horn talked about one ASUN
senator who spent a day in a wheel
chair last fall to learn what it was like.
“He said nobody would look at
him because they were at raid they
would have to acknowledge his dis
ability,” Horn said. “Even people he
knew wouldn’t make eye contact with
him.”
Youth Baseball
Employment
Opportunities
The Babe Ruth Baseball
League needs umpires &
I coaches for the summer.
I Leave message at
489-4252 and specify if
interested in afternoon
umpiring or morning __
& afternoon coaching.
\
SSTANLEYH. KAPLAN
Jb lake Kaplan Or lake Your Chances
Classes are Starting for June Tests
GREs March 21
LSATs March 29
GMAT: April 11
475-7010
I
I
New $5 Bonus on first donation.
Return $5 Bonus after two months lapse.
Second donation in the same calendar week always receives
$20. Two hours free parking at any Park & Shop.
Bill could affect curriculum
at university level as well
College placing
more emphasis on
cultural diversity
By Sarah Scalet
Staff Reporter
A legislative bill requiring Ne
braska public schools to provide
multicultural education programs
also would increase multicultural
emphasis at the UNL Teachers
College, an official said.
LB922, still pending after ap
pearing on select file, would re
quire Nebraska public schools to
provide for the development and
implementation of multicultural
education programs.
Ali Moeller, an assistant profes
sor of curriculum and instruction
in the Teachers College at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
said the college had explored for
the past several years how to make
multicultural sensitivity and aware
ness more acute.
Instructors in the college were
attempung to integrate multicultu
ralism into existing courses through
field exposure and leaching mod
els, Moeller said.
Tcrcsita Aguilar,coordinator of
mulucultural cducauon in the Teach
ers College, said the college was
preparing for LB922 andcxplormg
the expansion of multicultural edu
cation.
Most students in the Teachers
College took a multicultural edu
cation course,CNI 330, which ful
fills a cultural diversity require
ment, she said.
However, Aguilar said she
wanted the course to become a
requirement for all students in the
Teachers College.
At the end of the semester, many
instructors required CNI 330 stu
dents to critique textbooks used in
public schools, she said. In their
critiques, students considered gen
der, race, ethnic group and reli
gious persuasion.
Moeller said teachers in the
college also tried to teach mullic
ulluralism by their own teaching
methods.
“What wc try to do is model the
way we want them to teach,”
Moeller said.
Teachers also tried to build the
ideas of open-mindedness and ac
cepting differences in courses, Mo
eller said.
However, the classroom is not
the only place multiculturalism is
being emphasized. An upcoming
conference will address issues of
multicultural education and litera
ture.
The conference will bring in
two lamous children’s authors, said
Sheri Rogers, an instructor of cur
-44
What we try to do is
model the way we
want them to teach.
Moeller
assistant professor of
curriculum and instruction
-99 ~
riculum and instructional literature
studies in the Teachers College.
Children’sauthors Virginia Ha
milton and Arnold Adoff will speak
at the “Multi-Cultural Literacy Con
ference,” April 11 at Lincoln South
east High School, Rogers said.
At the conference, educators
from the elementary level through
the university level will discuss the
need for more multicultural litera
ture, she said.
Aguilar said this increased em
phasis on multicultural ism was fu
eled by different factors, including
changing demographics, the reali
zation that people have promoted a
mono-cultural education and
people’s reliance on the media and
stereotypes.
Teaching positive and healthy
aspects of people from different
groups, instead of perpetuating
negative images, was important,
she said.
Multiculturalism
Continued from Page 1
Although educators arc trying to
incorporate more information from
and about Native Americans, Afri
can-Americans, Mcxican-Amcricans
and Asians, she said, a “patchwork”
technique is being used.
Instead of making little “patch
work” changes, something dramatic
ind different must be done, Joyce
>aid.
Helen Long Soldier, a counselor at
the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs,
>aid textbooks were not written as
inclusively as they should have been.
And most textbooks arc written by
white, middle-class males, she said.
Teachers should use more than
pne source for their classes to help
iludcnts learn about contributions of
more than just one culture, she said.
Long Soldier said the availability
pf multicultural textbooks was im
proving.
“We arc now entering an era of..
more authentic information in our
extbooks, . . . which means inclu
>ivcness of more groups,” Long Sol
Jicr said.
“We have a new generation com
ng along saying, ‘Wail a minute.’”
Benjamin Rader, chairman of the
structors were increasingly conscious
of attention given to minority groups.
Instructors choose their own text
books. he said.
Although the history department
emphasizes multiculturalism, Rader
said, overall attention to the issue is
inadequate. And the available text
books frequently are not integrated
well, Rader said.
Many textbooks arc more like
encyclopedias, he said. Instead of
integrating multiculturalism, textbooks
often have, for example, a chapter on
women’s history, he said.
Rader said the process of integra
tion was incomplete because histori
ans needed to think through and syn
thesize multicultural aspects.
Joyce said that in the English
department, integrating multicultu
ralism would require radical changes.
“Until we do something in a radi
cal perspective... everything else is
just the ‘patchwork technique,’” she
said.
Restructuring the system would
require students to learn about litera
ture from other cultures, Joyce said.
However, to study more literature,
students must take more classes, Joyce
said. This means UNL would need to
hire additional teachers, which would
cost more money.
Joyce also said she wanted the
ethnic-studies program restructured.
UNL’s ethnic-studies program is
an essential element that docs noth
ing, gets little attention and has a
small budget, Joyce said.
Most students only take ethnic
studies classes to fulfill requirements,
she said. Instead, the program could
be serving a greater purpose.
She said the program must be
come a department so it could offer
majors. The program also needs hous
ing, Joyce said, so faculty members
could have their offices together.
The program has two American
Indian professors, two African-Ameri
can professors and two or three Mexi
can-American professors, Joyce said.
Although the status of minorities
appears to be improving, Joyce said,
it is not improving for all people.
Because a small number of mi
norities have been able to find a level
of success, those in power make the
situation appear better, Joyce said.
Although the situation for minori
ties is not good, Long Soldier said she
sensed change.
She said there was a movement,
especially with American Indians, to
ensure that representation of people
was fair, accurate and respectful of
people.
However, Ldng Soldier said there
still was room for improvement, and
she suggested teacher evaluations
include questions about multicultu
ralism.
■#»•* , v
■
Forum
Continued from Page 1
Beck said some efforts were being
made by university foundations classes
to educate students about drinking,
social situations and safely.
“But this effort could certainly be
beefed up,” she said.
Some efforts also arc being made
to improve safety on campus, Beck
said. The number of emergency phones
on campus is being increased from
seven to 24, she said.
But Hiblcr and Beck both agreed
the university had no current plan for
campus safety. Most of what is done
now happens by chance, they said.
Beck said the commission would
be meeting this semester to lay a
groundwork to address such facets of
campus safely as the groundspcoplc
who plant the shrubbery, the people
in charge of lighting on campus, as
well as the university police.
Beck said the university also was
)
lacking because no one at the Univer
sity Health Center was trained to deal
with evidence of a sexual assault.
Instead, victims arc sent to Lincoln
General Hospital and can return to
the health center for treatment of any
physical harm.
“It’s discrimination not to have
someone on campus to deal with this,”
Beck said.
During the rest of the forum, Beck
also addressed a number of other
concerns of women at UNL, includ
ing adequate child-care facilities, staff
salary inequities, the university’s
faculty-leave policy and the retention
and recruitment of women at UNL.
Beck said the emphasis for women
had shifted somewhat from inequali
ties in faculty salaries to actual num
bers on staff, as well as the climate
and advancement of women.
The commission is trying to get
away from being just a “generator of
reports,” she said. Instead, it is taking
a pro-active stance and is facilitating
discussion between groups at UNL to
solve or fix problems, she said.