| i ly Race separation NU capitalizes on [
N 68/35
Mostly sunny today and
dear tonight. Tomorrow,
a little warmer.
Study indicates UNL’s climate unpleasant
I^Uookathowfive groups of students rated their experience
| with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Minority students
find college life
not satisfactory
By Chris Hopfensperger
Editor
Editor’s note: This is the first of
a four-part series on the findings of
the UNL Racial Climate Survey.
African-American students are
not as happy as other groups
with their education and expe
riences at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln, a survey released Friday in
dicated.
Results of the UNL Racial Climate
Survey, conducted last spring, indi
cate that“African-Amcrican students
are significantly less satisfied than
other students” with UNL, Wayne
Osgood, co-director of the Bureau of
Sociological Research, said.
“ 1 hey aren t saying they absolutely
hate this place,” Osgood said. “They
aren’t saying they love it either.”
During the survey, students were
asked a series of questions to gather
information in four areas: academic
climate, social climate, perception of
racial altitudes and satisfaction with
the university. The answers then were
reported in a series of scales, which
combined responses to related ques
tions.
Results were based on telephone
interviews with 433 full-time under
graduate students. The group included
1(X) African-American students, 67
Hispanic students, 15 Native-Ameri
can students and 201 non-minority
students who were randomly selected
from the university’s registration lists.
For the most part, Osgood said,
students expressed satisfaction with
the university. Differences appeared
when the results for the different
groups were compared.
Eighty-eight percent of the non
minority students surveyed expressed
general satisfaction with UNL. Only
60.2 percent of African-American stu
dents said they were satisfied with the
university.
“That’s a pretty substantial differ
ence,” Osgood said.
James Griesen, vice chancellor for
See RACISM on 3
-- |
Assistance
fund created
for missing
UNL student
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
An assistance fund for the fam
ily of a missing University of
Nebraska-Lincoln student has
been established, while the investiga
tion into her disappearance contin
ues.
The fund, established by the Vet
erans Administration, will help the
family of UNL freshman Candice
I Harms, who disap
peared last Tuesday
night. Harms’ fa
ther works for the
Veterans Adminis
tration.
Todd Sears,
Harms’ boyfriend,
„ said the fund would
narmb ^ USC(j lQ pay por
newspaper and television advertise
ments, printing costs for fliers, fees
for private investigators, if needed,
and “anything else that might come
up.”
Sunday’s Lincoln Journal-Star ran
an announcement of the fund on page
2. The ad included a photo and de
scription of Harms, an address and
telephone number for donations and
telephone numbers of the Lincoln
Police Department and Lancaster
County Sheriff’s Office.
Sears said the Journal-Star ran the
announcement tree ot cnarge.
Also, The Associated Press re
ported Sunday that Comhusker Print
ing Co. planned to print at no cost
several thousand fliers with Harms’
photo and description.
Harms, 18, was last seen at about
11:40 p.m. Tuesday, leaving Scars’
house at 332 N. 22nd St. Scars and
Harms’ father reported her missing at
about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Harms lives al 6100 Vine St.
Harms’ car was found shortly after
5 p.m. Wednesday in a milo field
north of Lincoln.
Lincoln police Lt. David Bcggs
said Sunday that authorities had no
new information on Harms’ disap
pearance.
Lincoln pol ice and Lancaster Coun
try Sheriffs deputies are investigat
ing the case jointly.
Bcggs said a description of Harms
and the details of her disappearance
were entered into the national crime
information computer last Wednes
day, which would give law officers
throughout the country information
concerning the case.
“Right now,” Beggs said, “it’s all
just looking and more looking.”
_ _ . . r. . . , Julia Mikola|cik/DN
Keep the home fires burmn
Mark Schoepp of Seward throws a third flaming torch to his 11-year-old daughter, Jeniea, during her juggling performance
Saturday at the Farmers Market in the Haymarket. Isaac, 8, watches his sister perform. The family does a juggling show that
includes stories and song.
Women ‘get their say’ at Big Eight meeting
By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Changes made last week in ihc
Big Eight Conference athletic
governing structure have laid
the foundation for increased gender
equity in athletics, two UNL officials
said.
Athletic and faculty representa
tives from Big Eight universities met
in Kansas City, Mo., last Wednesday
and Thursday to discuss, among other
issues, how to narrow the gender gap
in athletics.
James O’ Hanlon, the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln’s faculty represen
tative to the Big Eight, said the most
significant action taken at the confer
ence was a change in the Big Eight’s
governing structure. That change will
incorporate senior women adminis
trators into conference decision-mak
ing.
He said the change, which was
adopted after a vote by athletic and
faculty representatives, would pro
vide opportunities for women admin
istrators to meet with athletic direc
tors at future conferences to make
recommendations and address prob
Historic conference lays foundation for
changes in athletic governing structure
lems.
BigEight representatives will meet
again in December.
Although representatives did not
discuss specific action to narrow the
Big Eight’s gender gap among ath
letes and coaches, O’ Hanlon said, the
change in the governing structure
“opened the door” to solutions.
“Clearly, this is a good first step,”
he said.
Athletic administrators through
out the country arc search ing for ways
to resolve gender inequity in college
sports. An NCAA report released last
March indicated that only 30.9 per
cent of Division I-A athletes arc
women.
At UNL, 25.7 percent of
Comhusker athletes arc women.
O’Hanlon said senior women ad
ministrators were asked at last week’s
meeting to bring recommendations to
December’s conference on how to
increase equity among student-ath
lctcs.
He said there was no discussion of
the possible addition of women’s var
sity sports, such as soccer, to increase
the number of women athletes.
“Right now, it’s just too soon to tell
what we might try to do,” O’Hanlon
said.
Barbara Hibner, Nebraska assis
tant athletic director in charge of
women’s athletics, called the change
in Big Eighlgovcming structure “his
toric.”
“We’ve been wanting this for a
long time,” Hibner said. “It wasa long
struggle, but it was very fruitful. I
know it was as hard for the men to do
it as it was for the women to wait. But
it’s something that needed to be done.
“The Big Eight has not exactly
been a leader in gender equity.”
Hibner said she remembered sit
ting at NCAA conventions and being
one of only two women in the Big
Eight party. Elaine Hieber, associate
athletic director at Iowa State Univer
sity in Ames, was the other woman.
Other conferences, she said, al
ready have incorporated women into
their governing structures.
“In other conferences, the women
representatives would sit right along
side their athletic directors,” Hibner
said.
She said the change would not
enhance gender equity, but would
“afford more opportunity to work in
conjunction with the men” to find
solutions to inequity.
Hibner said she came away from
last week’s conference “feeling very
good.”
“Finally, the athletic directors are
saying,‘We want to hclfl, what can we
do?”’ she said. “Finallyvthey’re ask
ing us to present to them a list of
programs for selection and solicita
tion of women administrators and
coaches, and to make recommenda
tions on how to solve the gender eq
uity problems.
“Finally, they’re giving us our say.”
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