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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1995)
Nel^raSkan m COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 94 NO. 137 inside onday Sports ~ Men’s and women’s gymnastics teams qualify for nationals, page 7 Arts & Entertainment Cable channel fX comes to Lincoln, page 9 April 10, 1995 Division cuts 24 jobs to meet bottom line By Matthew Waite Senior Reporter Ten years ago, the maintenance department at the University of Ne braska-Lincoln employed more than 50 people. Times have changed. With changes in the way the uni versity does business, the department has taken 24 cuts in the number of employees that come to work every morning. Paul Carlson, interim vice chan cellor for business and finance, said the maintenance reductions came be cause UNL began contracting with private construction companies to do maintenance projects. Carlson said the university called the maintenance staff when something broke. But repairs ran in cycles, he said, and workers would be busy one week and standing around the next. With the change, Carlson said, the salary savings were used to hire out side labor, which is more expensive. “You pay for their overhead, their labor and their profit margin,” he said. But, Carlson said, paying a more expensive unit-price for labor would cost less in the long run than keeping full time employees on staff. NU is following a national trend of downsizing by cutting employees and increasing efficiency. At the March NU Board of Regents meeting, NU President Dennis Smith announced the creation of a task force to review administrative processes. But the university is straying from national trends in that it has shied away from large layoffs and across the-board job cuts, Carlson said. UNL has laid off some workers, but they were laid off because they were poor performers, Carlson said. He said the university relied on attri tion — early retirement, quitting and death — to eliminate jobs. “When you downsize and you have to let people go — that’s a tough thing,” Carlson said. “We know people have families and mouths to feed. “We certainly don’t do it willy nilly and without a lot of forethought.” One avenue the university does not have when looking to eliminate staff positions is contract buy-outs and early retirement options, Carlson said. He said the faculty had those options, but staff did not. According to university records, the salaries of the 3,787 administra tors and operations staff in the NU system make up 25.8 percent of the See CUTS on 6 Efficiency ■ Efficiency has become an issue at NU and UNL. NU President Dennis Smith has created a committee to address it, and Regent Drew Miller had a similar proposal rebuked. Miller has called for redesign and reduction of jobs. That has happened in the maintenance division of the Office of Business and Finance, where 24 jobs were cut through attrition. The office wants to contract more with private companies to do maintenance work. Rowdy ride Travis Heying/DN A saddle-bronc rider from North Dakota State University concentrates Saturday night before his ride at the University of Nebraska Rodeo Association’s College Rodeo. The rodeo ran Thursday through Saturday at State Fair Park. Eight-second rush draws cowboys to brave the untamed By Brian Sharp Senior Reporter The 1,500-pound black bull is quiet as it stands in the middle of a hushed arena. Its gaze is fixed on a cowboy lying face down 30 feet away. He failed to stay on the bull for eight seconds. As the cowboy gets up, he glances over his left shoulder and sees the bull. The bull breaks its few seconds of hesitation. It charges. The cowboy franticly scrambles on all fours for the protection of a barrel. The bull reaches full speed and lowers its stubbed horns. The cowboy never makes it. A spiteful blow to the head knocks Barry Stephen off course and back to the ground. Stephen suffered an intense headache and temporary loss of balance. Amid cheers and heroics, last weekend’s Nebraska College Rodeo at the State Fair Park Coliseumshowed the danger of the sport. Tyler Fritz, a saddle-bronc rider from South Dakota State University, left the arena on a stretcher. Fritz’s bronc threw him head first into the bars of the metal fence sur rounding the arena. Fritzlay motionless, harnessed and braced, as the ambulance pulled to the west entrance. See RODEO on 3 Park celebrates sorority’s anniversary By Brian Jensen Staff Reporter To celebrate their 75th anniversary on cam pus, the women of Kappa Delta Sorority de cided to give back to UNL by building a new park. The park, which is behind their house on the comer of 16th and R streets, attracted almost 400 people to its dedication ceremony Satur day. Active Kappa Delta members, alumni and friends stood under the cloudy canopy as guest speakers told about the project. “Lots of administrators across the nation are against the greek system, so it’s nice to have a celebration like this happen,” said Pat Niemann, Kappa Delta national president. Niemann called the park beautiful and said it was one of the top projects any Kappa Delta chapter had undertaken. Niemann said the sorority’s national chapter gave the University of Nebraska-Lincoln chapter $1,000 to start the project. Alumnae contributions and the UNL chapter paid for the remaining costs. “Iam so impressed,” said Chancellor Gra ham Spanier, who spoke at the ceremony. “This park is quite remarkable and meaningful.” UNL Landscape Services worked to put the $10,000 park together. “What you see now has only taken us a month,” said Kim Todd, the project’s head architect. “All that we have left to do is the irrigation system and the seeding.” Area students hunt for eggs, understanding By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter Lincoln elementary and junior high students found out what it was like to maneuver a wheel chair during an Easter egg scavenger hunt Sun day in the Nebraska Union. “The Hunt for Understanding,” which was sponsored by the Nebraska Human Resource Institute, Project PALS and Pre- Teen Junior Project, paired counselors, orthopedically dis abled children and non-disabled children on teams. The students and counselors traded off mov ing around in the wheelchairs, which were do nated by Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, Jim’s Home Health and University Health Center. Co-chairman Mike Johnson, a junior pre med major, said the event was a self-confidence builder. “We wanted to show these students what it was like to be in someone else’s shoes,” he said. The hunt was to be held outside, and the students were going to be directed to Bancroft Hall, which is inaccessible to wheelchairs. But they accomplished the same understand ing inside and unanimously agreed Nebraska Union needed another elevator. A line of six students piled up in the narrow hallway next to the elevator as only two wheel chairs could fit on the elevator at a time. One of the students, Megan Merrick, waited in line after finding her first clue. y ou reany get to see wnat it s like to oe in a wheelchair and what it’s like to be a disabled person,” she said. “But we have the advantage. We get to get out of it in the end.” Merrick said she realized what she took for granted. “You can’t use your feet to get around,” she said. “You can only use your hands. And it’s hard.” It was Kylie Magnuson’s first time in the wheelchair. “I don’t like backing up,” she said, as she struggled to reach for her egg under a micro wave in the union. “It’s really hard when you’re backing up and running into everybody.” Magnuson was joined by a pro, Darnell Utley, who was spinning around and speeding to the next clue, and he showed her the ropes. Magnuson caught on and wanted the wheel chair back from her counselor, Amy Gunderson. “I can drive that thing much better,” she said. “I may not be able to drive a car, but...” The team reached the last clue and Utley raced to the arcade to pluck his egg from behind the Star Trek game. After the hunt, the participants gathered to discuss their experience. The students said they were frustrated by the wait for the elevator and that their amis hurt. Counselors encouraged them to go back to their own schools and try to find barriers that would challenge disabled students in wheel chairs.