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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1995)
iNenrasKan COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA SINCE 1901 VOL. 94 NO. 140 inside T 1 hursday Sports Bohl glad to be back at Nebraska, page 7 Arts & Entertainment Liam Neeson brings Rob Roy to the big screen, page 9 April 13, 1995 High-tech tour looks at future By Paula Lavigne Senior Reporter Members of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education experimented with advanced educational technology Wednesday on a tour of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They spent much of the day looking at high-tech computer applications, interac tive classrooms and multimedia projects. But when it came to the simple task of pulling out of a parking lot, they ran over a pole with their van. Driver Alvah Kilgore, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, managed to free the vehicle, and the group was on its way. The new media lab in Mabel Lee Hall gave the members a chance to work hands on with multimedia technology. They watched several demonstrations, including an interactive resume and a video oriented sign language program. The commission’s executive director, David Powers, said he was impressed with the technology and asked if it was business oriented and cost effective. The goal of the commission, he said, was to serve the interests of post-secondary edu cation throughout Nebraska, not just UNL. “We have to find out how to reach the rest of higher education,” he said. “We need to find out how does one promote it? How can it be transferred?” The group saw a long-distance learning demonstration in the College of Business Administration, where video cameras were sending a live broadcast of a human-com puter interaction class to downlink sites across the state. Satellite links and other distance-learn ing capabilities would allow institutions to reduce the 85 percent of their budgets they spend on staff salaries, Powers said, and give students more “bang for their buck.” In the Neihardt Residence Center cafete ria, Powers and the other commission mem bers mingled with a group of honors stu dents and Patrice Berger, honors program director. Mike Wemhoff, facilities coordinator, said he wanted to test out the food before his son, Adam Hoffman, a senior at Lincoln JonWaller/DN Joyce Yen, a senior mathematics major and a member of the UNL Honors Program, speaks with John Ingran of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education Wednesday afternoon. Yen and six other Honor Program students ate lunch with commissioners. East, came to UNL next year. At East Campus, the group toured inter active classrooms, some of which were so new that the chairs were still wrapped in plastic and wires covered the floors. Donald Edwards, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Re sources, challenged the group by asking, “Is this facility a fad, or is it the way of the future?” Lawmakers postpone vote on welfare bill By John Fulwider Staff Reporter Nebraska’s welfare program destroys self respect, the sponsor of the welfare reform bill told lawmakers Wednesday. Sen. Ardyce Boh Ike of Hastings said her bill “dis mantles a system that de stroys self-respect, destroys family units, and doesnoth ing to preserve work ethics and responsibility.” After nearly two hours of discussion, legislators did LEGISLATURE not vote on advancing the bill to the second round of debate. The bill would end cash benefits to able bodied welfare recipients after two years. It would still provide food stamps, child care and medical assistance for another two years. Child care is a major feature of the reform plan. It would provide free child care for two years after a woman receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits returns to work. The present system provides only one year of child care. The bill also would: — Allow recipients to own one car and still receive benefits. Under the current system, a car is counted as a resource, rendering many car owners ineligible for benefits. — Remove the requirement that one parent be absent, incapacitated or unemployed to receive benefits. Bohlke said the requirement often forced the father to live separate from the mother, weakening the family structure. — Require welfare recipients to meet the terms of a self-sufficiency agreement to re ceive benefits. The agreement requires welfare recipients to take job training or college courses to help them find jobs. The agreement also prohibits additional cash payments for additional children. Bohlke said responsible decision making included fam ily planning. Sen. LaVon Crosby of Lincoln was a vocal opponent of the bill. She said the two-year cutoff could be unre alistic in some cases. For example, she said, a mother enrolled in a 4-year college would eventually be able to support herself — but two years of cash benefits may not be enough to support her through college. Homeless man jailed for assault From Staff Reports A Lincoln man remained in jail Wednesday after police arrested him on a charge of assaulting a UNL student. David Garnett, 23, is charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with an incident that occurred early Sunday. He is being held on a $5,000 percentage bond. Garnett, who UNL Police Sgt. Bill Manning said was homeless, was arrested at the Peoples City Mission, 110 Q St. A sophomore student gave the fol lowing account to police: Shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, the woman was returning to her room in Pound Hall. She got out of her car and walked westbound in the gravel park ing lot near the northeast comer of See ARREST on 6 Spanier’s influence to last at UNL By J. Christopher Hain Senior Reporter ' Chancellor Graham Spanier will leave UNL at the end of the summer, but his influence will live on through the campus programs he helped cre ate. While at the University of Ne braska-Lincolnr Spanier created sev eral successful programs, such as the chancellor’s leadership class, the Dual Career program and the faculty asso ciate program. Spanier, who has been chancellor since 1991, will leave Aug. 15 to assume the presidency of Penn State University. Alexia Scott, who participated in the first chancellor’s leadership class in the 1993-94 school year, said Spanier’s involvement in the class was excellent. Spanier speaks to the class often. He had the students to his house for dinner and participated in a fireside chat with them. Spanier’s departure will create a chance to work with someone new, Scott said, and the class will continue to move forward without Spanier. The Dual Career program is an idea Spanier brought with him from Oregon State University, where he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. The program helps find employment for partners of new faculty and staff moving to Lincoln. Spanier provided initial guidance in developing the program, said Eliza beth Grobsmith, associate vice chan cellor for academic affairs. But since that time, others Have taken over and moved on with the program, she said. Such a program is important for recruiting faculty, she said, so the program won’t be flying away with Spanier. Spanier started the faculty associ ate program three years ago, allow ing women and minority faculty mem bers considering careers in adminis tration to work on a half-time basis in “He’s really gotten to know some of the students. ” ■ BRIAN BUESCHER Faculty Fellows participant the chancellor’s office. Ann Mari May, the faculty associ ate this year, said the program had allowed her to get a broad view of the university. May, an associate professor of economics, said whether the program continued probably would depend on the personality of the new chancel lor. “(Spanier) has tried to provide avenues to people,” May said. “But the program wouldn’t be a good idea if you had a chancellor who didn’t have a commitment toward it.” Spanier also has been actively in volved in Faculty Fellows, a program pairing faculty members with stu dent affairs administrators and match ing them with one of 13 residence hall floors. Spanier personally has been in volved with the honors floors at Neihardt Hall. Brian Buescher, an honors student in the Faculty Fellows program, said Spanier had taken a sincere interest in the program. Buescher and several other honors students spent Jan. 1 watching the Orange Bowl and eating pizza at Spanier’s house as part of Faculty Fellows. Spanier has done a number of other things with the honors students, Buescher said. “He’s really gotten to know some of the students,” he said. Buescher said there had even been talk on the honors floors of throwing Spanier a going-away party.
