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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1995)
insidellT 1leekend Sports Women’s gymnastics set for regionals, page 8 Arts & Entertainment West Coast designer to visit Lincoln, page 11 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 94 NO. 136 - ______________ _April 7-9, 1995_ ASUN party brings complaints from bar owner By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter Student government president Shawntell Hurtgen says she and her newly-elected senators have done nothing wrong. But management and employees of a local bar and grill say otherwise. The argument stems from a March 29 party at Barrymore’s Lounge, 124 N. 13th St. That was the same night new student government omcers were sworn in. Following the ceremony, many celebrated at Barrymore’s. But that is where the similarities between the two accounts end. In a two-page letter addressed to A SUN and “Young Republican*’mem bers, bar manager Laird Haberlan la beled party-goer behavior that night as “repulsive.” Laird alleged that members of the group tore pictures off the wall, dam aged property and disrupted business while they were there. The letter also alleged that former ASUN president Andrew Loudon was chewing tobacco and spitting it on the floor. Loudon has denied the allegations. “I have never chewed tobacco in my life,” Loudon said. Hurtgen said the letter was an inac curate account of a rather peaceful evening. About 20 people showed up, she said, including former ASUN members and students trom Wayne State College. Hurtgen said the letter was the first mention of any problems from the event. “So far, we have not found anyone (from the party) who has seen any thing,” Hurtgen said. “I find that is rather odd.” Kristi Ziems, who was bartending that night, said she remembered dif ferently. Ziems said there were almost 80 people with the party, which started around 8 p.m. The group was standing f around in the center of the bar, she said, making it difficult for the only waitress on duty to take orders. Things got out of hand shortly after 10, she said. Ziems said party-goers were con tinually asked to settle down. There were three other couples in the bar, See ASUN on 7 Singers’ director to retire By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter Not many teachers can say their students act on Broadway, sing in Nashville or per form on a Hawaiian cruise ship. Ray Miller, founder and director of the Scarlet & Cream Singers, can say this with pride. But Miller is ready for his final curtain call. He will retire this year after 22 years as Scarlet & Cream director and 29 years as. a music professor at the University of Ne braska-Lincoln. About 130 Scarlet & Cream alumni will honor Miller at a special celebra tion this weekend. Scarlet & Cream singers and musicians, who are sponsored by the UNL Alumni As sociation, perform at alumni functions across the nation and serve as a public relations tool. But Miller made them much more than that—as a group and as individuals. Miller took the award-winning Scarlet & Cream Singers across the United States and over seas, and he scheduled a bi-yearly tour across Nebraska. He said he also wanted to give students an outlet for their performing talents other than opera or oratorio. He had them perform popular, fun music mainly from the ’30s and ’40s—with a few Beach Boys tunes reluc tantly thrown in. Miller served as a director and a father figure to the 14 singers and five musicians. Miller said he would miss working with the students more than anything. “It’s not like having them for a math or science class for one semester,” he said. “Some of these kids were with me for five or six years.” In that time, Miller said he tried to teach them more than notes and steps. “We taught them cooperation and com mitment,” he said. “We said if you had a big fraternity or sorority dance on Friday night and we had a performance, you were coming with us.” For some, the commi tment to performance turned into a career. Ken Goodwin, who was in the group from 1979 to 1982, started a nationwide chain of piano rock-and-roll clubs. Goodwin, who now lives in Cincinnati, said his experience performing on stage with Scarlet & Cream helped him with his career. “Ray took a bunch of crazy kids from different schools and put them together to perform for the alumni,” he said, “and still, somehow, kept his sanity through it all.” Don Robertus, who was with the group from 1985 to 1988, said Miller’s demand for commitment helped him stay focused in school. “Ray was there to keep us in line,” he said. “He was kind of a father figure to us all.” v Joel Johnston, vocal instructor at Gretna High School, said Miller had the ability to recruit quality students, match them with “ See MILLER on 7 i A J J ; * - - 4- j. * • <* * » i * • ** *■ * * *• * * 5 » k * * -- * a 4 a * . a i . . ^ Jon Waller/DN UNL vocal music professor Ray Miller is retiring after 29 years with the university. Miller’s biggest contribution was creating the Scarlet & Cream Singers. Former student takes stage ay uoug peters Staff Reporter LAS VEGAS — Seven years ago, Rod Weber expected to be spending 1995 finish ing medical school and wearing a lab coat and stethoscope. Instead, the 29-year-old Nebraska native and former UNL student has spent much of the last 18 months on roller slates, playing one of the male leads in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Starlight Express” at the Las Vegas Hilton. Weber’s role is the product of his six years of work in show business. He quit school in 1988, passing up medical school in favor of the stage. Performing in “Starlight Express,” which has twice been voted best show in Las Vegas, has been demanding. The role requires We ber to perform 10 90-minute shows every week. “It’s a high energy show,” Weber said of the production, which is performed entirely on roller skates. It s the toughest show I’ve ever done, physically.” Weber, who performed with the Scarlet & Cream Singers while at UNL, credits the group with giving him experience and help ing him leam how to work an audience. He also said Scarlet & Cream’s retiring director, Ray Miller, influenced him. “He’s a man of experience,” Weber said. “He gave us a taste of what this life was like.” Weber is no stranger to performing. He participated in show choir in high school at Plainview and at Blair, where he graduated in 1983. At UNL he also performed with the Varsity Men’s Glee Club and the Nebraska Dance Ensemble’s production of “Dancing Gershwin.” Until 1988, performing was a hobby for Weber, not a career option. He was a chem istry and pre-medicine major at UNL, and even after a six-month break from school in 1988 to perform at the Tokyo Disneyland, he See WEBER on 7 UJNL alums radio success honored today By Tanna Kinnaman Staff Reporter Judith Stoia doesn’t hesitate to tackle con troversial issues. As executive producer for WGBH Televi sion in Boston, she has dealt with issues like abortion, AIDS and homosexuality. Her credits include a spe cial about AIDS for PBS and ABC, and the book, “The Hardest Lesson: Stories of a School Desegregation Crisis.” Today, Stoia will receive the Award of Ex cellence from the University of Nebraska-Lin coln College of Journalism and Mass Commu nications Alumni Association. She graduated from UNL in 1968 with a news-editorial degree and joined WGBH in 1972 as a radio reporter. “I started out writing for radio and kept intending to get into newspapers someday,” Stoia said. But after becoming a television reporter and editor, she found out she liked making televi sion programs, so she stayed at WGBH. In 1980, Stoia was promoted to WGBH’s television producer and became executive pro ducer in 1989. WGBH is an award-winning public televi sion station, and Stoia said proposed cuts in funding for public broadcasting concerned her. “It’s a shame,” she said. “We need some dance, music, fine arts and serious public affairs programs that are free to the public.” Stoia said large stations like WGBH would survive fundingcuts,but smaller stations would have a difficult time staying afloat. WGBH currently employs 1,000 people and has two television stations and one radio sta tion. It is the major producer of public televi sion programs such as “Nova,” “Masterpiece Theatre” and “Carmen Sandiego.” Stoia managed to get in some serious shop ping between her heavy schedule of appear ances at the College bf Journalism and Mass Communications. She came with direct orders from family and friends to buy items bearing the name Nebraska on them. “Wearing something that has Nebraska on it is considered exotica in Boston,” Stoia said. Some of her upcoming programs include “The World According to Us,” a women’s com edy special, an abortion special on PBS in November and a program in May about gay teen-agers. ■ The article “ UNL gets millions in two minutes” in the April 5 Daily Nebraskan should not have given the impression that the Legislature handed over to the university $4.5 million with a vote. The Legislature, by its vote, simply allowed UNL to enter into bond agreements that would fund the four projects.