<SPORTS
Game
coverage.
Huskers roll
past North
Texas, 76-14,
but injuries rock
key players.
Page 8
<A&E
Bungeeing
Bungee jumping
at the Nebraska
State Fair
provides thrills
for city
journalists.
Page 12
Wednesday
81/57
Today, mostly sunny
and warm.
Thursday, sunny
and windy.
Lincoln
Vol. 93 No. 12
U N L working to comply with EPA after violations
By Dionne Searcey
Senior Reporter
UNL officials in charge of haz
v ardous waste disposal are
working to comply with fed
eral environmental regulations that
have been violated, university offi
cials said.
Brenda Osthus, hazardous materi
als specialist at the UNL Hazardous
Materials Program, said the universi
ty was renovating warehouse space
that could store more waste than facil
ities now contain.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
officials are asking the EPA for a
permit to allow the mixed waste to be
stored in the new building for a year or
longer, Osthus said.
Last fall during annual inspections
from the Environmental Protection
Agencv, UNL was cited for violating
several regulations, she said. The
Resource Conservation Recovery Act
of 1976 requires an extensive set of
rules UNL must follow.
EPA officials cited the university
for improper disposal of a mixture of
radioactive and hazardous waste.
Both UNL campuses generate a
great deal of hazardous waste, Osthus
said. Chemistry and biochemistry re
search, janitorial services, the art de
partment and the University Health
Center contribute to radioactive and
hazardous waste.
The mixed waste is being stored in
sites on East and City Campuses, she
said. Federal regulations require
mixed waste be stored in such sites for
no longer than 90 days.
But UNL has nowhere to ship the
mixed waste, Osthus said, because
U.S. dumps will not accept it. Hospi
tals and industries have similar prob
lems, she said. And, Osthus said, the
mixed waste is radioactive and cannot
be moved for safety reasons.
See WASTE on 7
Hazardous waste
An example: After a chemistry experiment, the *
waste must be placed in a closed container.
The researcher responsible for the waste must
tag the container, listing the type and amount of
waste.
That information must be sent to the Hazardous
Materials Program where staff members determine
whether the waste is recyclable.
The researcher will store the waste in the
wait
Workers win ship the waste to a central l__.
location on City Campus at Manter Hall or a
storage shed on East Campus.
Before 90 days is up, a contracted company will
remove the waste from storage and ship it to
hazardous waste dumps across the United States
fcael«7ftnpJS!Br
Political science professor Ivan Volgyes spent two years lecturing on the roots of democracy at Hungarian
universities.
Volgyes helps Hungary to democracy
Professor spent
overseas years
teaching, learning
By Jody Holzworth
Staff Hapoftar
Along journey begins with a single
step, as the saying goes.
Ivan Volgyes has helped many peo
ple in Hungary take the first step in the
journey toward democracy by teaching Us
principles.
Volayes, a University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
political science profes
sor, recently spent two
| years in Hungary help
* yJjSK ing the country* peo
pie make the shift away
f from communism.
Volgyes attempted to
V Bf interpret the culture of
wr the west to the culture
.TY
• 1*1
of the East in Hungarian university class
rooms. He lectured on the roots of democra
cy—its original goals—with hopes that the
students would become part of the future
Hungarian government and make a differ
ence.
“Development can only come from be
low, not from above,” Volgyes said. “I
believe that many of these people will be
betterable to implement democracy’s goals.”
In return, Volgyes said, Hungary taught
him something.
“These last years have taught me that I
should value the American college experi
ence,” Volgyes said. “Our college education
system by and large has the ability to bring
out the best in students if the teacher is
sufficiently involved.”
Volgyes said American students partici
pated in discussions and challenged teachers
while Eastern European education was often
passive regurgitation.
“My own experience as a teacher in
Hungary made me wonder ifl ever wanted
to be involved in European education,” he
said.
While teaching at three Hungarian uni
versities, Volgyes also served as an adviser
for many Hungarians involved in politics
and business.
Because he spent the first 20 years of his
life in Hungary and made contacts with
many Hungarian people during the past 30
years, Volgyes was asked by many Hungar
ians to help them achieve a democracy
similar to the United States.
Serving as an adviser for a country’s
political decisions, he said, required him to
be humble.
“The whole notion is that you really need
humility when you begin to try to advise
anyone else,” Volgyes said. “You should
only give advice in areas that you are famil
iar with and know if things will work.”
Volgyes said the advising role required
warning other societies against following
some of the paths Americans have taken.
“I have seen things done by American
businessmen that have made me ashamed of
sharing my citizenship with them,” he said.
“Many of these snake-oil salesmen come in
with no idea of the Hungarian culture or the
boundaries of the field in which they are
consulting.”
Volgyes said he told his Eastern Europe
an colleagues to choose the democratic struc
ture they put into place very carefully.
They can choose from the best aspects of
democracy while avoiding the excesses of
individual freedom, such as violent crime,
gangs and the lack of public safety, he said.
Volgyes said changes in government al
ways resulted in significant job layoffs, but
he said people need not be put on the streets.
“There are ways to empower them to
assume responsibility for their own fate,”
Volgyes said. “And of my accomplishments,
this is what 1 am most proud of."
Volgyes’ years of work with Hungarians
has blossomed into the organization of the
Hungary’s first professional civil service to
guard against corruption in Eastern Europe.
Volgyes helped draft the law and regulations
for the civil service.
He also established the Erasmus Founda
tion for Democracy in Hungaiy, founded the
Center for Security and Defense Studies,
and has participated in the economic, aca
demic and political life of Hungary.
Program links
underclassmen,
administration
By Melanie Brandert
Staff Reporter_ *
This fall, underclassmen in UNL’s res
. idence halls will finally get a chance
to interact with administrators and
senior faculty members on a more personal
basis.
Dopglas Zatechka, director ofhousing at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the new
Residence Life Faculty Fellows Program, a
student mentor and referral service, assigned •
16 ifnmfi to different residence ball Hoots. Each
team includes one senior faculty member and
one student affairs official.
Zatechka said the program was designed to
establish student-faculty relationships more
quickly. This kind of relationship, he said,
could speed up the students’ senses of belong
ing, improve tneir ability to solve problems and
reduce homesickness.
“There is strong evidence that if a student
can develop a relationship with a student affairs
or faculty member, they will simply do better,”
he said.
Thirty-nine faculty members and adminis
trators are involved in the new program, which
serves all residence halls except Cather and
Pound halls and the graduate sections of the
halls.
Zatecnka said tnat while tne program didn t
have enough teams to assign one to every floor
in the halls, each residence hall has at least one
floor participating.
If the program is successful, he said he
would like to see teams assigned to every floor.
The program focuses mainly on the resi
dence halls with large numbers of freshmen
because those students have the most problems
adjusting to the university, Zatechka said.
Students aren’t the only beneficiaries of the
program, he said.
Zatechka said he thought the program also
would benefit UNL because it would encour
age students to stay in school.
Faculty volunteers will get better acquaint
ed with residence hall students and have a better
idea of what they do outside the classroom, he
said.
James Griesen, vice chancellor for student
affairs, said he hoped more faculty members
would realize the benefits of the program and
get involved.
Griesen said articles in area papers already
had led to more faculty interest in the program.
UNL Chancellor Graham Spanier has vol
unteered to be in the program—in part, he said,
to set an example for other faculty members.
Spanier already has made plans to get to
know his assigned group of Selleck 6100 stu
dents.
Spanier said he would invite these students
to his house for dinner Sunday nights when
residence hall cafeterias are closed. He also
will hold informal discussions once a month
during lunch at the Selleck Quadrangle cafete
ria, he said.
Spanier also plans to attend his floor’s meet
ing this week.
“I will look for opportunities to be involved
whenever I can,” Spanier said.
See PROGRAM on 7
