The Fugitive' runs into suco&ss.
THURSDAY
AUGUST 12,1993
VOL. 92
NO. 164
UNIVERSITY OF
NEBRASKA
LINCOLN
■ ■
^ Daily _
NebraskaN
—
Spanier begins
year with speech
By Shane Tucker
Staff Reporter
The student body will be welcomed back
to the university with open arms this fall
in the form of University of Nebraska
Lincoln Chancellor Graham Spanier’s “Slate
of the University”
address.
The hour-long
speech will begin at
8:30 a.m. on August
20 and will be open
to students, faculty,
staff and interested
members of the pub
lic.
The speech will
allow the chancellor
the opportunity to
t*an. r look over past events
^anier atihc university and
then focus on the future of the institution,
Spanicr said.
“1 hope to review some of the important
developments at the university this past year.
See SPANIER on 2
Damon Lee/DN
Sign of the Times
Nebraska split sad Corey Dlxowsigns autographs for some Comhusker admirers during Wednesday’s annual
* “ Dlfon andhts teammates wfffbeflfn their hunt for a third-straight Big Eight title In their season I
opener Sept. 4 against North Texas.
UNL Boxing Club in question alter dismissal
By Jeff Zeleny
Senior Editor
The status of the boxing club at the Uni
versity of Ncbraska-Lincoln continues
to be in limbo nearly one year after it
was dismissed as a Campus Recreation-spon
sored program.
The cancellation of UNL’s program was
part of a growing trend nation-wide due to
liability concerns and health risks, said Stan
Campbell, director of Campus Recreation.
A report issued by the American Medical
Association detailed the high danger level of
the sport, and after discussion with University
Health Center and UNL risk management offi
cials, the decision was made to eliminate the
UNL program, Campbell said.
“With those opinions and checking with
other Big Eight universities, we felt it was
prudent that it was not an activity in harmony
with our mission for campus recreation for the
university,” he said.
The boxing club gained negative publicity
after its former advisor, Clifford Walton, re
signed from the university amid allegations of
third-degree sexual assault.
“Since they had not completed all the paper
work the practices were unauthorized so we
took an opportunity when they no longer had an
advisor,” Campbell said. “We felt that was an
appropriate time to evaluate the status.”
Boxing club president Dave Merritt said
after the assault allegations became public, the
club’s problems began to surface.
“It affected the organization of (the club),”
Merriu said. “People at campus recreation start
ed to try to tell us what we needed to do.”
Merritt, a senior anthropology major, said
the ruling that the sport was too dangerous was
ridiculous.
“If you ever go lo a football game, you know
that’s ludicrous,” he said.
Dr. Russell LaBeau, health center medical
director, said although football was dangerous,
boxing was more risky because of repealed
head trauma.
“Boxing is different in where you aim for the
head or a knockout,” he said. “I’ve been a
ringside physician in boxing matches. I think
boxing for spectators is an exciting sport, as far
as athletes themselves. From a health profes
sional’s standpoint it shouldn’t exist because
the object is to maim somebody.”
One option left for the boxing club is to
bccomea recognized studentorganization, said
Leah Hall Dorothy, coordinator of campus
recreation sport clubs and special programs.
Kim Hobson, UNL student organization
consultant, said the boxing club was planning
to work with the Association of Students at the
University of Nebraska in the fall to get their
status resolved.
“They do meet the requirements and they
have a staff ad visor and a constitution approved
by ASUN,” she said.
The boxing club’s new advisor, Mostafa .
Khattab, an assistant professor of construction
management, could not be reached for com
ment.
The club’s constitution was approved by
ASUN in January 1991, Hobson said. Since the
club i? no longer on the campus recreation
sports council, students involved in the club
have been in contact with the office for student
organizations, Hobson said.
“At that lime, they came to me and said we
arc no longer on the sports council,” she said.
“Thai’s when the question came up of what
happens now when they’ve been dismissed.”
Rebuilding Memorial Stadium
• Total estimated cost for work
completed and in process:
>t to be
1 14
t Memorial Stadium, not determined
initiated, including $ebt[on 14 ,
•j reconstruction and waterproofing of
■mhbmwmmmnmhmm
Source: UNL Facilities Management
aeon Monroe/uiN
Stadium inspection yields safety
By Brian Sharp
Staff Reporter
The dust may have settled from
the May 17 collapse of Memo
rial Stadium’s section 14, but
not all the questions have.
Representatives from both the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a
pair of engineering firms announced
last week they expect the stadium to
be filled this season, and there is no
reason for concern.
“There is no reason to have any
reservations about the structural in
tegrity of Memorial Stadium,” said
Donald Meinheit, project manager for
the Chicago-based WJE Associates
engineering firm.
Circumstances surrounding the
collapse arc still not clear, however.
“I don’t know what caused it," said
Kclton Bush, a structural engineer
with Batheja and Associates, Inc.
“There is virtually no possibility of it
(another collapse) now.”
Cracks like those that were partly
blamed for the collapse could have
occurred in a variety of ways, and
probably grew because water leaked
inand froze inside the cracks, Mcinheit
said. Eventually, the cracks grew to
such length that the area had to carry
the load in an unreinforced fashion,
he said.
Current plans are to replace the
columns under sections 14 and 18,
which were removed several years
ago, add two more columns to sec
tions 13 and 19 and add 360 stirrups,
or vertical reinforcing, to areas
throughout the stadium.
“If that (removing the columns)
hadn’t occurred, it wouldn’t have col
lapsed,” Bush said. “If a crack hadn’t
occurred, it wouldn ’ t have collapsed
Meinheit said the stadium was
looked at very closely from top to
bottom and some signs of aging and
corrosion were found.
“This study is still underway,"
Meinheit said, “and we have not final
See STADIUM on 2