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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1992)
CORRECTION A story in Wednesday's Daily Nebraskap misquoted Eric Jolly, director of the Affirmative Action and Diversity Office. A quotation about minorities making the University of Nebraska-Lincoln responsive to their needs should have read: "You (students) don't need to solve problems. You should hold the administration , responsible for solving the problems, and you should tell us what they are." The Daily Nebraskan regrets the error. Committee votes down prayer resolution Representatives plan petition to reinstate prayers at ceremony By Angie Brunkow , Staff Reporter___^_ Student government representatives said Thursday that they planned to start a petition to reinstate prayers in the gradu-. ation ceremony. The UNL Commencement Committee banned prayers at gradua tion in a meeting Thursday morning. In a 9-2 vote, the commit tee decided to remove the prayers because it thought they would not represent the diverse student body presentN^ljJic ceremony. AS UN Speaker of the Senate Andrew Loudon said during Thursday afternoon’s press conference that the committee’s decision ig norcd student opinion. Loudon said 90 percent of the members of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska supported keeping the prayers in the ceremony. He said the prayers could be presented in a non-offensive way that would be a learning experience for students who attended the cer emony. “It’s an educational experience lor any stu dent whether they believe in a God or not,” he said. General Studies Sen. Narroyl Parker, who co-sponsored the AS UN bill to reinstate the prayers, said the committee did what it thought was right, rather than listening to what students wanted. “This decision is going to spoil commence ment for a lot of students,” he said. The Rev. Norman Leach, executive director ol the Interfaith Council, said the decision was part of a “dangerous trend” of excluding reli gion in the name of pluralism. “Separation of church and slate does not mean the elimination of religion,” he said. ASUN officials argue invocation traditional part of commencement By Chuck Green Senior Reporter An ASUN resolution calling for the re turn of prayers to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’sgraduation ceremo nies was voted down Thursday by the UNL Commencement Committee. The committee voted 9-2 against an appeal to include the traditional invocation and bene diction in UNL’s graduation ceremonies. The prayers had been removed from gradu ation ceremonies by the committee last month amid concerns of insensitivity for students’ diverse religious backgrounds. A resolution, submitted by Andrew Loudon, speaker of the senate for the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, and general studiesand architecture senators Narroyl Parker and Ryan Swanson, urged the Com mencement Committee to reconsider its deci sion and include prayers in the graduation ceremony. The resolution pointed out that invocations and benedictions at commencement ceremo nies had been a long-standing tradition, and that the prayers “offer a cultural and educational experience by displaying different religions traditions.” The resolution also addressed a recent Su preme Court decision — Lee vs. Weisman — that banned prayer in kindergarten through the 12th grade, noting that the ruling did not apply to poslsecondary institutions. At the Commencement Committee meeting last month, Herb Howe, associate to the chan cellor and a member of the committee, had raised questions about the graduation invoca tion and benediction, and cited the Supreme Court ruling. The committee found that the decision was not binding to college graduation ceremonies. But James McShanc, an associate professor of English and a committee member, said that although the Supreme Court’s ruling did not include college graduations, UNL had a re sponsibility to be sensitive to students with diverse religious backgrounds. In a written statement, McShanc called for prayers to be left out of the ceremonies for that See COMMENCEMENTon 6 Left hand red Gary Doyle, president of University Program Council, calls out the moves as Stephanie Meyer, a freshman accounting major, and Andy Free, a junior business management major, await their next twist at the Twister-Rama Thursday in the Nebraska Union Ballroom. Firm donates billboard space to Harms hunt By Chuck Green Senior Reporter A local outdoor advertising company has dohaied billboard space to help in tnc search for a missing University of Ne braska-Lmcoln student. Imperial Outdoor Advertising of Lincoln has donated eight billboards to help promote awareness of U NL fresh - man Candice “Candi” Harms, who has been missing since Sept. 22. The billboards are yellow and black, with Harms’ photo and a Crime Stoppers tele phone number. Along with the photo is the word “Missing.” Martha LccChurch, director of Imperial, said she decided to donate the space when Todd Sears, Harms’ boyfriend, called and asked for the company’s rates. Church said some of the company’s employees had suggested donating space before Scars had called. The first billboard was placed last week at 27th and Holdrcge streets. Church said other billboards would be put up in Lincoln, Omaha and smaller southeastern Nebraska cities, such as Cercsco. Sears said he was surprised Imperial do nated so much space for the advertising. f K+ See HARMS on 7 Graduates face tough market Economic growth doesn’t guarantee job opportunities By Kristine Long Staff Reporter Recent figures showing growth in the U.S. economy have not boosted the job market sig nificantly, a UNL official said. The job outlook for December graduates is not much better than it was for students who graduated last spring, said Larry Routh, director of Career Planning and Placement. Although the job market usually improves with economic growth, people tend to think that employment opportunities rely only on recession and recovery, Routh said. The job market is related to the economy, Routh said, but many com panies also have gone through struc tural changes that will affect employ ment. For example, he said, companies arc keeping their payrolls to a mini mum, and arc hiring fewer white collar workers and middle managers. Cuts in the defense industry also have contributed to the poor job mar ket, Routh said. Workers who used to be employed in the defense industry now arc back in the job force and competing with college graduates, Routh said. This makes it especially difficult to find jobs in areas such as Southern Cali for nia, where the defense industry was once a dominant employer. The best place for December gradu- ^ ales to find jobs is in the Midwest, m where there arc fewer defense compa- M nics and more agribusiness compa- ■ nies, Routh said. ■ “Agribusiness has weathered the V recession quite well,” he said. “People I will always need to cal.” j Graduates need to be aware of the ■ industries that are growing or con tracting, Routh said. And they should focus on jobs related to health, human services and agriculture, he said. However, Routh said, students shouldn ’ t pick careers based solely on “supply and demand.” Instead, he said, they must be aware of available op See OUTLOOK on 6 The beet place for December graduates to find jobs is in the Midwest The job outlook is not much better than it was for students who graduated last spring. Graduates should focus on jobs related to health, human services and agriculture. Scott Maurar/DN - * ,:>