Moeser begins plan to strengthen UNL
By Erin Schulte
Senior Reporter
Students, hang on to your desks —
some of your classes are about to get
harder.
When UNL Chancellor James
Moeser took his position earlier this
year, he vowed that he would make a
degree from UNL “mean something.”
He said he wanted employers,
graduate schools and professional
schools to see a degree from the Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln as a badge
of success.
To ensure that, Moeser said, UNL
needed to do three things: raise admis
sion standards, make sure courses are
rigorous and demanding and reinvent
the honors program.
Starting in the fall of 1996, UNL
changed its admissions standards to
include more college preparatory
courses. Before this fall, students ac
cepted to UNL had to have an ACT
score of 20 or better, rank in the top
half of their class or have 10 core col
lege preparatory courses under their
belts. Now, students must take 16 spe
cific college preparatory courses as
well as meet the ACT or class rank re
quirements.
Because UNL is a land-grant, pub
lic institution, it has been said that the
standards are unfair to Nebraska high
school students who may not meet the
criteria. But Moeser said the main pur
pose of the standards was to force high
schools to better prepare students.
“I don’t think it’s a good use of tax
payers’ money to let students in who
are not prepared to do collegiate
work,” he said. “We can almost pre
dict failure.”
The admission standards were not
made to keep any students out of UNL,
said Lisa Schmidt, director of admis
sions.
“No one will be denied,” she said.
“We may just defer their admission
until they gain additional academic
preparation through correspondence
courses or a community college.”
Schmidt said some students who
did not meet requirements would be
admitted on a case-by-case basis. For
example, a student from a very small
school who graduated fifth in a class
of six with a 3.5 GPA would be admit
ted, despite not meeting the class rank
criterion.
Only about 2 percent of new fresh
men and transfer applicants did not
meet those standards this fall. But com
pared to some other Big 12 universi
ties, UNL’s standards are pretty lenient.
At Texas Tech University, students
in the top 10 percent of their graduat
ing class need to score a 22 on their
ACT, and the top 25 percent of high
school graduates need to get a 25 ACT
score. At the University of Missouri
in Columbia, the average ACT score
of freshmen applicants accepted is a
«
I don't think it's a good use of taxpayers'
money to let students in who are not
prepared to do college work. We can
almost predict failure."
James Moeser
UNL chancellor
24. At the University of Colorado, the
median GPA of new freshmen is be
tween 3.2 and 3.7.
On the other hand, Kansas state
universities admit anyone who gradu
ated from an accredited Kansas high
school.
Moeser said he didn’t have plans
to toughen admission standards again.
But, he said, admission standards prob
ably are not what need to change to
make UNL graduates more esteemed.
“I’m more concerned about change
of the internal character of the univer
sity itself,” Moeser said. “It’s not just
a matter of raising the admission bar,
it’s making sure the curriculum of the
university is rigorous.”
Please see MOESER on 6
Kicked out
'
MattMiller/DN
JUNIOR UNL SOCCER PLAYER Tanya Franck fights for the ball with an Oral Roberts University player Friday night. The
Huskers won 5-0 , ;
Weekend fraternity party results in MIPs
By Chad Lorenz
Senior Reporter
Three busloads of UNL students were cited
as minors in possession of alcohol near Blair
Saturday night.
Blair police, with help from the Washington
County Sheriff and State Patrol, ticketed at least
36 minors after stopping buses traveling to a
fraternity party. Minors in the buses were drink
ing liquor and beer, police said.
Members of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity
and their dates, totaling about 100 people, were
riding in chartered buses to Tekamah for a bam
party, president Scott Moller said.
Blair Police Chief Marvin Doeden said po
lice stopped two of the buses near an Amoco
gas statical at 19th and South streets in Blair.
Police had received complaints from resi
dents living near the gas station that the stu
dents were urinating in their yards, Doeden said.
When the officers entered the bus, they saw
open bottles of liquor, and can* and bottles of
beer, he said.
Everyone on the buses was given a
Breathalyzer test, Doeden said, and Blair po
lice issued 25 tickets for minor in possession.
One person was cited for providing false
information after giving police a false age, he
said.
The third bus was stopped by State Patrol
and Washington County officers north of Blair,
Doeden said.
Trooper Eric Grossoehme said the State Pa
trol issued 11 tickets for minor in possession.
All minors with a trace of alcohol on their breath
were ticketed, Grossoehme said.
Washington County Sheriff Loren Jones
said he did not know how many MIPs his of
fice issued. Jones said he thought the total
number of tickets issued by all agencies was
about 50.
Motter said the incident was unfortunate fca
the members and their dates.
The trip was an alternative to drinking or
campus, Moller said, and safer than risking lives
with intoxicated drivers.
«
They kind of did selective
enforcement of their own
policy.”
Scott Moller
Lambda Chi Alpha president
% • , ; . ' .. -. a'\
ii
Some Lambda Chi Alpha members talked
to attorneys and thought some charges may be
dropped because of the way officers handled
the incident, MoUer said.
On one Inis, officers issued MIPs only to
minors who registered above a .02 blood-alco
hol level, Moller said, while on another bus,
minors with any trace of alcohol on their breath
were ticketed.
“They kind of did selective enforcement of
their own policy.”
Ex-NU coach
files lawsuit
against Lacey
Former Linebackers Coach
Kevin Steele seeks $1 million
for comments made in a Sports
Illustrated article.
By Chad Lorenz
Senior Reporter
Former Nebraska Linebackers Coach Kevin
Steele is suing Lancaster County Attorney Gary
Lacey for alleged defamatory comments made
in a Sports Illustrated article.
Steele, who now coaches for the Carolina
Panthers in the National Football League, is
seeking $1 million because Lacey’s statements
caused “substantial damage.”
In addition to the federal lawsuit, Steele’s
attorney has filed a $1 million tort claim in
Lancaster County Court that makes the same
allegations.
The complaint did not specify the nature of
the damage.
Lacey’s comments in the September 1995
issue of Sports Illustrated dealt, with a .22-cali
ber handgun used by Tyrone Williams to shoot
at an occupied car in January 1994.
Williams, who now plays for the Green Bay
Packers, pleaded no contest to a felony weap
ons charge and misdemeanor assault last week.
His sentencing is set for Nov. 19.
The article reported that Steele kept the
weapon while police were still investigating the
incident. The article did not identify a source
for that information.
Lacey told a Sports Illustrated reporter that
the handgun should have been given to authori
ties immediately, but Lacey never mentioned
Steele’s name in the article.
Steele said that he demanded a retraction
from Lacey in a letter dated Sept. 26,1995, but
Lacey declined.
Neither Steele nor Lacey’s attorneys were
available to comment Monday.
Robert Grimmit, Lacey’s attorney, said last
week that Steele’s complaint was groundless.
‘We view this complaint as lacking in merit
and will vigorously defend Gary Lacey,”
Grimmit said.
The Associated Press contributed to this re
port.
