I IS PORTS ARE
—
Boys of spring Make your day February 18,1997
MThe Nebraska baseball team plays host to the Uni- Clint Eastwood starred in, directed and produced
versity of Nebraska at Kearney in a doubleheader “Absolute Power,” a new thriller that’s definitely SlUfER LINING?
this afternoon at Buck Beltzer Field. PAGE 7 worth the price of admission. PAGE 9 Cloudy, high 53. Chance of rain jlater, low 27.
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VOL. 96 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 103
By Matthew Waite
Senior Reporter
Lawrence Phillips’ NFL coach said Monday
that the former Husker’s latest round of legal
troubles has been greatly exaggerated.
Dick Vermeil, coach of the St. Louis Rams,
said Phillips’ past has made him a target of me
dia attention. Phillips was not the only one mak
ing noise at a weekend hotel party in Omaha.
“But since he’s Lawrence Phillips,” Vermeil
said, “there’s a big target on him.”
Phillips, given more attention for his off-the
field foibles than his on-the-field heroics, was
arrested for disorderly conduct eariy Sunday
morning for shouting obscenities at Omaha po
lice officers.
Because Phillips no longer lives in the area,
he was taken to central booking and j ailed for a
short time. He posted a $50 bond and was re
leased.
The charges come at a time when Lancaster
County Attorney Gary Lacey is trying to re-ar
raign Phillips for a 1995 assault on a former girl
friend. Phillips pleaded no contest and received
probation for the incident, but that was revoked
because of a drunken-driving incident in Los
Angeles in 1996.
The assault at a Lincoln apartment complex
touched off a storm of criticism for him and the
Husker football program, which intensified af
Please see PHILLIPS on 3
Matt Miller/DN
THE REV. DON COLEMAN is president of the Lincoln chapter of MAD DADS, an organization trying to stamp out violence and drugs.
Coleman’s office is at 2737 N. 48th St.
Strength guides MAD DADS leader
Bailors note: in honor ot Black History
Month, the Daily Nebraskan is profiling
prominent black leaders in the Lincoln
community. Today is the second in a five
part series.
By Kasey Berber
Staff Reporter
He’s carried the Olympic torch, been
awarded the Gold Key to the city twice and
served in the U.S. Army for 25 years, at
taining the rank of sergeant first class.
But the Rev. Don Coleman is most
proud of how he’s helping the young people
of Lincoln.
Coleman, president of the Lincoln chap
ter of MAD DADS, said he never expected
to head an organization working toward
educating youth on the dangers of drugs and
social disorders.
MAD DADS is a community organiza
tion that began in Omaha in 1989 and stands
for Men Against Destruction—Defending
Against Drugs and Social Disorder. The
organization’s Lincoln membership has
grown from an initial 25 men to more than
1,300! The group has grown as more and
more people associate themselves with its
message, Coleman said.
But times were not always as success
fill for Coleman.
Racism was an intense part of Coleman’s
past, and he worked hard to overcome its
message of hate.
“I was the only black male in my class
Please see COLEMAN on 6
U
• £ ■ .... ■ . ' -
If our children don't read history, they're bound
to repeat it."
The Rev. Don Coleman
MAD DADS president, Lincoln chapter
UNL strives
to strengthen
recruiting arm
By Erin Gibson
Senior Reporter
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln seized
an important chance Monday for the university
to recruit more than 500 high school seniors to
attend UNL in the fall.
Lisa Schmidt, UNL director of admissions,
said the university welcomed high school seniors
and their parents for the day, showed them the
university’s ropes and pushed them toward a
decision to attend UNL.
It was the last Red Letter Day of the 1996
97 school year — a day when $7 buys a student
a host of college seminars, a residence hall meal,
a special session on financial aid and scholar
ships and a campus tour.
Duane Wiles, campus visit coordinator, said
the day also buys the university a priceless chance
to recruit future Comhuskers.
Recruiting students is essential to the uni
versity, he said, and the day helps many NU
Please see RECRUITING on 3
