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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 1994)
Teaching nglish, spreading faith give her insight By Adeana Leftin Special to the Daily Nebraskan 11 was the empty eyes ot a ch 11 d l ha t propelled UNL graduate Susan Bcrke into the Killing Fields of Cambodia. Bcrke, a 26-year-old native of Eustis, returned to Lincoln this spring from a year of teaching English as a second language to medical students in Phnom Penh and doing missionary work. The college student, who grew up surrounded by a homogenous Ger man and Lutheran culture, was touched by photos of children at a concert benefit forCompassion Inter national. “It wasn’t that the eyes were sad; they were just so empty,” Bcrke said. “I thought if I could do something in the world so children never had to look like that, I would.” Bcrke, who majors in human de velopment and the family, graduated from the University ofNcbraska-Lin coln in 1989 and forgot about the child’s eyes until she began consider ing graduate schools, _ Then, she was reminded. After receiving her teaching cer tificate in December 1991, Bcrke sought employment oversees. Most international schools required more experience than she had, so Bcrke began looking into volunteer pro grams. She didn’t have to go far. Missions Abroad Placement Ser vice is a service through Berkc’s church denomination. Assemblies of God, that places people with skills in areas of need. Cambodia allows missionary groups into the nation only if the organization also performs some sort of social work. Besides Engl ish teach ers, MAPS sent translators, nurses and orphanage workers with Berke. MAPS offered Berke placement in Cambodia and Brussels, Belgium. “If I only had one experience over seas,” she said, “I wanted it to be something very different.” So she chose Cambodia. Berke arrived in Cambodia during the spring of 1993, just as the nation’s first free elections were being con ducted. From 1975 to 1979 Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Rouge. While many people were moved to rural areas to bring about a green revolu tion — one to boost agriculture — anyone with any sort of education, even as little as elementary level, was killed. ' Official reports have said 2 to 3 million people were killed, but Berke saidlhcCambodian people bcl ieved it was closer to 4 to 5 million. “I didn’t meet anybody who hadn’t lost most of their family in the war,” Berke said, “and they weren’t just murdered, but tortured.” Often. Berke said, Cambodians would be tortured and then taken to a certain field to dig their own grave. Then, their throats would be slit. Those fields became what gener ally are known as the Killing Fields. In 1989, the United Nat ions moved into Cambodia and began to promote free and fair elections. In May 1993. soon after Berke arrived, those elec tions took place. “I saw the change that many West ern soldiers can make in a country,” Berke said. Some changes were good; others were not. Close to 25,000 Western soldiers brought a lot of money into the coun try and stimulated the economy by their demand for Western food and restaurants. However, the soldiers also brought a demand for prostitution and caused an increase in the spread of AIDS. Berke said there were fewer than 100 cars in Cambodia before the United Nations brought in 17,000, disrupting the country’s transporta tion system. “It helped the economy and in c reased c orru p t ion w i t h a lot of money and the opportunity for that,” she said. Besides teaching beginning-level English classes to medical students, Berke spent much of her time in Cam bodia working in area churches as a worship leader and Sunday School teacher. “I still can’t believe what I’ve done,” Berke said. k*I get invited to places to speak as ‘the missionary to Cambodia.’ One thing I’ve learned is I’m just me, and I’m just very human. “I disappointed myself a lot over there with my pride and selfishness.” It is Bcrke’s commitment to the people and the children she worked with that will take hcrback toCambo If I only had one — experience o verseas. I wanted it to be something very different. —Berke UNI Graduate dia in July. “Before I went, it was the fact that I made a decision and I wouldn’t go back on it,” she said. “Now, the rela tionships that I made with some of the Cambodian people, the need in their life and the need of the country—and that I know that believing in Jesus Christ can make a difference in their lire.” Berke will teach international chil dren, children of missionaries and diplomats,at the International School of Phnom Penh for one year. A fte r ne x 1 ye ar, she ’ s not su re w he re she’ll end up. “Partofme wished... I could move out to the provinces and let the people really see my life.” Berke said the country was pre dominately Buddh ist and often treated the message she told of Jesus Christ as just another story. “There’s no impact until they see yourlife,” Berke said. “When they sec your life, they decide there must be something to what you say. “Before I went, it was the knowl edge that believing in Christ could change their life,but now it’s that I’ve seen it can happen.” * » Residency Continued from Page 1 out-of-state tuition scholarships de signed to ofTset tuition costs for excep tional and minority students. A 20 percent limit on the the num ber of out-of-state students that could receive scholarships was proposed by Blank, but later withdrawn. NU President Dennis Smith said he was skeptical of the administration setting limits on admissions — the cap was not needed. Smith said if the NU system lost students, it lost money. Regent Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City said competition in the graduate colleges was fierce. Even with the new residency requirements, she said, no admissions would be lost. Regents considered, and later re jected, moving the admissions dale up to the fall of the 1994 school year. Regent Rosemary SkrupaofOmaha said the University ofNcbraska Medi cal Center already had sent its accep tance letters. I mplement ing the change now could pose some problems with the out-of-state students and their par ents. she said. NU General Counsel Richard Wood said NU would have bigger worries than angry parents if it moved the implementation date up. The NU system could face a breach ofcontraclsuit ifregents implemented the change this fall, he said. The NU system could put up some legal arguments for implementing the change. Wood said, but he couldn’t guarantee they would work. Jones said the regents had a basic i merest in increasi ng the requ ircments and providing scholarships to recruit out-of-state students. “Part of out interest is to continue our abil ily to recruit from out ofstatc.” he said. Jones said if the change backfired on the regents and fewer out-of-state students came to Nebraska, it could take several years to correct the defi ciency. Proposal Continued from Page 1 or individual administrations for the The fees may be smaller than Nebraska’s peer universities across America, Loudon said, but that d idn’t diminish the issue’s importance. “1 think it’s very appropriate for you (the regents) to approve oral least be aware of what it really costs” he said. Smith said the original proposal got into micromanagement — some thing central administration and the regents did not want to do. “At some point, if the university is going to function effectively ... there has to be some authority delegated to the chancellors,” he said. Regents Don Blank of McCook and Nancy Hoch of Nebraska City said the president should report the increases, but the regents should not micromanage. University of Nebraska at Omaha student regent Matt Schulz amended the bill to remove a March 1 deadline for notification of the increases. Schulz also amended the proposal to remove the requirement for re gents’ approval. Loudon said the watered-down version was not what he wanted. How mtmammm ■■■■■■ m mmmmmam ever, if il meant getting part of the proposal passed, he said he would support the amendment. Regent Robert Allen of Hastings said problems with fees arose because there was usually little warning. “When you tell people it has to come out of their poeketbooks, it’s tough,” he said. The proposal passed with only Regent John Payne of Kearney voting against it. 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