Football player arrested
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|Sjl Wright trial
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mmmm Soul Asylum in Lincoln
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Murderer still at large;
police collect evidence
from student’s apartment
By Catherine Blalock
Staff Reporter
Police are still looking for the person
responsible for the murder of University
of Nebraska-Lincoln student Martina
McMenamin.
On July 25, McMenamin was found
dead in her south Lincoln apartment, at
4600 Briarpark #515, by her roommate.
County attorney Gary Lacey said
McMenamin died due to several wounds
and a great loss of blood.
Lincoln Police have recovered two
knives and four artificial fingernails from
the apartment, according to documents
filed with the Lancaster County District
Court.
Police filed the affidavit to request a
search warrant for McMenamin’s apart
ment. In the affidavit officers said
McMenamin’s body was found laying on
a carpeted bedroom floor.
The affidavit also said a large wood
handled kni fe was laying near the body in
a pool of blood. Police found two knives,
one “large” and one “small,” as described
in the affidavit.
Other items taken from the apartment
include four towels, a washcloth and a
sponge, a bed sheet, comforter, scarf,
sweatpants, white jean shorts, a telephone,
address book, date book and two aprons.
At this time no arrests have been made.
The Lincoln Police Department is still
following up leads.
Police are looking for someone who
may have seen something the night
McMenamin was murdered, LPD Chief
Tom Casady said.
hi an August 3 press release, LPD
gave the following description of a sus
pect: A white man, 18- to 22-years-old
and weighing 150 to 170 pounds.
Witnesses said he looked quite thin.
He is described to be light complected but
witnesses have indicated that his cheeks
were flushed and red.
He has collar-length wavy, dirty
blonde hair. Witnesses have described
the man as having his hair pulled back in
a ponytail. One witness recalled that a
majority of the man’s hair used to make
the ponytail was hanging out.
He was described as wearing tan or
brown 3/4 top work boots or similar foot
wear with dark crew socks.
Witnesses said one side of his shirt
was tucked in while the other was not. His
clothing appeared to be dirty and dingy.
Casady said the individual police are
looking for is not believed to be a jogger
other sources have reported.
But police would like to talk with the
jogger to see if he saw anythingthat might
be helpful to the investigation, he said.
McMenamin was a 1994 high school
graduate of Omaha Gross High school
where she wrote for the newspaper, was
an honor student and a cheerleader. She
had just completed her freshman year at
UNL, majoring in general studies.
America high on student’s list
Tanna Kinnaman/DN
Noboyuki Watanabe talks with friends outside Selleck Quadrangle Friday.
By Erin Schulte
Staff Reporter
Shaquille O’Neal, no. 32. Shawn Kemp, no.
40. Charles Barkley, no. 34. Chris Mullin, no.
17. Reggie Miller, no. 31.
These are just a few of the names and num
bers of National Basketball Association players
who Noboyuki Watanabe has memorized. In
fact, he knows them all.
Watanabe is a Japanese university student
spending his summer at UNL in the intensive
English program. His obsession with American
culture and hobbies turned him into a huge NBA
fan.
The intensive English program at UNL at
tracts students mostly from Japan, Mexico and
Malaysia, said the program’s coordinator, Tom
O’Conner.
Students do not get college credit, but most
hope to stay in the United States after the
program, hoping to pass the TOEFL (English
proficiency) test and apply to college in the
states.
Students in UNL’s program live in Selleck
Hall for one month and “learn English through
submersion” as well as in English classes,
O’Conner said.
They also spend one weekend with a host •
family to get a taste of American family life, and
take field trips to Kansas City.
Going to parks, movies and bowling are
popular activities for students in the program.
Watanabe went to see “Bad Boys” last week,
and said that although he loves American mov
ies, “they talk too fast, and you can’t understand
them.”
Watanabe said fast speech is the main lan
guage barrier to foreign students.
Wide open spaces and diverse races are the
best things about America, as opposed to the
homogeneous and jam-packed Japan, Watanabe
said.
He also pointed out that the cost of products,
most notably clothing, are much cheaper in the
United States.
The hot weather Nebraska has been facing,
however, isdefinitely a drawback for Watanabe.
Watanabe said Japanese are very fond of
anything American and really want to leam
about American culture.
“I love things different from Japan,”
Watanabe said.
About 38 high school and 28 university
students are involved in the intensive English
program this month, O’Conner said.
New director to march band onto field
by Becky Keasnng
Staff Reporter
This week, a group of University of Ne
braska-Lincoln students will be practicing hard
for the first big red game of the season. They
will practice every day from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
until school starts on August 21.
No, it’s not the Nebraska football team pre
paring for another championship season. The
Comhusker Marching Band is learning new
formations and music.
The band will also learn to adjust to its new
director, Rod Chesnutt. He will be taking the
place of the former director Jay KJoecker.
KJoecker still serves as the associate profes
sor of music, Director of Bands and wind en
semble conductor.
Chesnutt recently earned a doctorate degree
in music education from Florida State Univer
sity. While at FSU, he worked with the sym
phonic, concert, marching and pep bands.
“When the University of Nebraska offered
me the job, I was delighted,” Chesnutt said.
“UNL has one of the best marching bands in the
country. The band has been wonderful for 100
years.”
No major changes have been planned for the
marching band, Chesnutt said.
“I’ve been really impressed with the stu
dents, faculty and staff here,” Chesnutt said.
“I’m also really looking forward to my first big
red game.”
The marching band will give a free perfor
mance at Memorial Stadium on Friday, August
18, at 6:30 p.m.
