The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 08, 1994, Page 3, Image 3
UNL police plan deters violence i Program accents avoiding situations at work, in class By Brian Sharp Staff Reporter While violence in the classroom and the workplace is rare atUNL, the university police have created a pro gram to ensure it stays that way. The University of Nebraska-Lin coln Police Department’s new pro gram, “Violence in the Workplace,” is aimed at diffusing situations before they escalate to a violent point, Cpl. Larry Kalkowski said. “This is a service so we ’ re prepared in advance,” he said. “The ideal thing is to have all this training and infor mation and never have to use it.” The free program is available to everyone, not just university person nel and students. It is designed to cover all types of situations, from a student complaining about a grade to a confrontation with an intoxicated person, he said. “The program tells them (partici pants) what we as the police depart ment would like to see them do,” Kalkowski said. “Primarily, it’s de signed to give the person a plan to deal with a situation that is anticipated or might develop.” Simple things such as office design can remove some danger from the workplace, he said. Sitting next to the door in a meeting or moving the desk close to an exit avoids being trapped if an individual becomes violent. Kalkowski said it was also a good idea to have others present if there was a possibility of danger. Body language is another key topic covered by the program. Kalkowski said understanding the style and way in which things were said is at the center of diffusing a situation. “A large percentage of what is heard is not what is said,” he said. Learning the warning signs and reporting suspicious behavior could be the keys to avoiding a violent situ ation, he said. Kalkowski began work on the pro gram in late July. Prompted more by things that were going on nationally than specific incidents at UNL, how ever, he found no one in the area was doing anything. The program draws from various personal safety classes, as well as his own ideas, he said. “We’re not trying to tell people that they have to live in a state of fear,” he said. “A little training and prepara tion for the day is always helpful.” Mini-conference set for March Diversity panels, open forums, part of day-long event By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter Building on last semester’s Diver sity Retreat is the main goal of a similar event set for next month, a UNL official said. John Harris, special assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs, said the Second Annual Diversity Mini-Conference was set for March 12 as a follow-up to last fall’s diversity retreat. “The Diversity Mini-Conference gives us an opportunity to bring the information we share in the retreat... to a larger group,” he said. The day-long conference will cen ter on the theme “Preparing for a Future in a More Diverse America,” Harris said. Harris said he expected more than 400 people to attend the event. More than 200 people participated in the mini-conference last semester. Harris said the conference was free and open to the public. “The challenge for us is making it as good as the last one,” he said. “We’re working hard to do that.” Harris said the mini-conference would include: • A workshop on cultural diversity being the challenge of the 1990s. • An historical overview of Affir mative Action and its effectiveness. • A panel of international students discussing their experiences in the United States. • “Workforce 2000,” a workshop on the increasing diversity of the U.S. workforce. • A “Dear Abby” open forum, where people from the audience write anonymous letters about issues they may feel uncomfortable talking about in public. Harris said the “Dear Abby” seg ment would be in the same format as last week’s Racial Pluralism Action Team rally. The video festival, a s 's of vid eos selected to raise awan. 's of ra cial and cultural issues als^ will re turn, running concurrently with the program, Harris said. “We just want to make it an inter esting day,” he said. Fire Continued from Page 1 He left again with the candles still burning to study at a friend’s house. Wysocki said he received a call a few hours later from Abel staff saying they thought his room was on fife and he should get back. The fire occurred while Dave Keller, the Abel South Residence Di rector, was out of town, said his re ?lacement, Senior Student Assistant roy Gronberg. Gronberg said he woke up, checked some of the rooms on his floor and went downstairs to talk to the firemen. When Gronberg and the firemen went upstairs, he said one thing was hard to miss. “1 saw a lot of water,” Gronberg said. “There were six or seven rooms that had a layer of water on the floor. The carpet in the hall was soaked.” Gronberg said both sprinklers in the room were going off, putting out about 30 gallons a minute each. He estimated that there was 600 gallons of water on the floor. The water leaked all the way from the 13 th floor to the basement, Gronberg said. Wysocki said he was the first to talk to the UNL police. He said he was pretty shaken up when he spoke with them. The police asked Wysocki where he had been, if anyone was in the room at the time of the fire and if he could -‘ailed account of what had Wysocki then talked to the Fire Marshal, who asked the same ques tions. After the questioning, the au thorities let him go upstairs for the first time. Wysocki said he saw the water that had flooded half of the floor being vacuumed. “There was no fire damage at all,” he said. The only signs of a fire in the room were the smoke stains on the walls and plastic on the floor from melted crates. Residents of the 12th and 13th floors were not allowed back onto the floors until 6:30 a.m. Many of the residents took shelter next door in Sandoz Hall in the lobby and friends’ rooms. Deb Mullen, the complex program director for Abel-Sandoz, said main tenance had been working all day Monday to get students’ carpets out of the rooms and dried. She said they were trying to prevent a mildew prob lem. Mullen said maintenance were also giving students quarters to dry laun dry that had been soaked by the sprin klers. Currently, there is no policy disal lowing candles in residence hall rooms, Mullen said. However, she said, she thought it was dangerous. Wysocki said the people on his floor had been decent about the whole ordeal. “A lot of them asked if I needed help cleaning up the mess,” he said. “They’re just concerned.” The only damage he had was to a sleeping bag, two blankets, two radios and a typewriter. Sgt. Bill Manning of the UNL po lice estimated the costs of the cleanup on the floor to be between $305 and $350. The costs to the students’ rooms is difficult to estimate, Manning said, since students file damage claims with their individual insurance companies. Wysocki said he would be able to move back in his room by Tuesday and had some advice for people living in the residence halls. “Just blow out your candles.” THE ROYAL GROVE 340 W. Cornhusker, Lincoln, NE Medicine & Therapy Tuesday Feb. 8 $5 Door plus one drink minimum Doors open 8:30 pin 18+ admitted I.D. required Police Report Beginning midnight Thursday 7:24 a.m.—Purse stolen and recovered, Ferguson Hall, $40 value. 9:45 a.m. — Bookbag taken, University Bookstore, $92 loss. 10:12 a.m.—Bookbag stolen, University Bookstore, $126 loss. 11:12 a.m. — Noninjury accident, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, 1115 N. 16th St., $800 damage. 12:47 p.m. — Wallet stolen, Campus Recreation Center, $17 loss. 10:25 p.m.—Phone calls, Phi Mu Soror ity, 125 N. 16th St. Beginning midnight Friday 8:59 a.m. — Hit-and-run accident, Area 10 lot near Veterinary Diagnostic Center, $1,200 damage. 9:37 a.m. — Noninjury accident, 38th Street and East Campus Loop, $300 dam age. 11:15 a.m. — Purse stolen and recov ered, Nebraska Union, $41 loss 2:53 p.m. — Car stereo equipment sto len, Area 6 lot near Burr Hall, $25 dam age, $100 loss. 4:05 p.m.—Car stereo stolen, Area 1 lot at 17th and R streets, $900 damage. 4:09p.m.—Car stereo stolen, 1820 rock lot, $270 damage, $222 loss. 9:04 p.m.—Money stolen, Campus Rec reation Center, $30 loss. 9:48 p.m.—Wallet stolen, Campus Rec reation Center, $115 loss. Beginning midnight Saturday 6:17 a.m.—Two phone receivers stolen, Abel Residence Hall, $50 loss. 8:35 a.m.—Arson, door burned, Selleck Residence Hall, $150 damage. Beginning midnight Sunday 7:11 a.m.—Vandalism and criminal mis chief, vehicle damaged, Area 10 lot at 940 N. 17th St., $500 damage. 12:19 p.m. — Items stolen from vehicle, alley 405 in University Terrace, $385 loss. 12:38 p.m. — Items stolen from vehicle, driveway of University Terrace, $500 loss, $250 recovered. 4:30 a.m. — Fire, Abel Residence Hall, unknown damage. Free Computer Classes! The Computing Resource Center is offering free microcomputer classes to UNL students. The classes will feature an introduction to Microsoft Word for the Macintosh and WordPerfect for IBM machines. No reservations are required. Introduction to WordPerfect for IBM Tuesday, February 8 1:30 - 3:00 Sandoz lab Introduction to Microsoft Word for Macintosh Tuesday, February 8 3:00 - 4:00 Andrews Hall lab ij Low Cost Tax Preparation. i It's Easy. * . >■-?**« J NEBR4SK4 i It's Quick. BOOKSTORE 5j No Hassles. |j Professional Preparation. |j Instant Refund Loans.* v *To Qualified Filers gg£