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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1997)
sports_ as e _ TUESDAY Sweet Swinger Happily divorced Aprils, 1997 NU’s Todd Sears can become only the fifth player Bette Midler and Dennis Farina star as a divorced in Nebraska baseball history to hit .400 or higher. couple who rekindle old love and hate when they FLAKEY WEATHER Sears is currently at .447 for the year. PAGE 9 meet again in “That Old Feeling.” PAGE 12 Morning snow, high 34. Cloudy VOL. 96 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 N0.133 Nudity is essential to play, director says By Erin Gibson i Senior Reporter Despite minor controversy, a play with a | scene including full-frontal nudity will open this | weekend in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s 5f Howell Theatre. The award-winning play, “Six Degrees of Separation” by John Guare, recently raised the ? eyebrows of KETV and KOLN television news reporters and NU Regent Robert Allen of ; Hastings because of its fully nude scene of an adult male and adult subject matter. But Dick Durst, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Aits, said the university supports i i the play and believes its content will be presented responsibly by its actors and director Tice Miller. Both students and faculty helped decide to produce “Six Degrees,” which won the Olivier Award for best play and the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award in 1993, Durst said. Allen said he was concerned students who did not approve of the play’s subject matter would be required to help produce or view the play for course credit. Durst said he has assured Allen that no stu dent who felt uncomfortable with the nudity or subject matter would be required to see or work on the show. Allen also said he was concerned some audi ence members might not be made aware of the play s content prior to show time. Advertisements for the show warn of the adult themes, language and nudity, Durst said, so the public could decide for itself whether the material is appropriate or acceptable to view. “I feel strongly that neither he (Allen) nor I can be the public censor,” Durst said. Children not accompanied by an adult will not be allowed to see the show, Durst said. The play will be treated as an R-rated movie at the Howell Theatre box office. Miller, who is also a UNL theater arts pro fessor, said the adult content of “Six Degrees” is true to the playwright’s intent and is impor tant to the story line. The play makes a strong statement about the power of celebrity status and race today, he said. The play implies all people are connected, and all people ought to be caring and concerned for each other, Miller said. The play’s title re fers to the theory that any two people in the world can be linked through only six other people. All nudity featured in the pfay occurs in a scene that lasts about 30 seconds of the 90 minute play, he said. Those who choose to see the play for its shock value will be disappointed. “It’s very important to the character and the story line,” he said. “We shouldn’t do the play if we’re not doing the nudity.” The play opens Friday at 8 p.m. in the Howell Theatre, which is in the Temple Building at 12th I Jay Calderon/DN GRANT W1STR0M signs autographs before the start of the “School is Cool” Jam. gs ‘School is Cool Jam’ BLbrings good message —to Nebraska youth By Erin Schulte Senior Reporter Grade-school students from all over the state are used to cheering and whoop ing it up for athletic and academic marvels at the annual “School is Cool” Jam. But Monday, more than 11,000 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders cheered just as loud for a football player who said — national-championship winner or not— he didn’t always feel like a winner. Jared Tomich, a former Comhusker All-America rush end and recent UNL graduate, told students about his learning disability. “I am what I consider a special-needs student,” Tomich said. “It doesn’t mean that you are dumb, it doesn’t mean that you are lazy. “It just means you need a little extra help.” Tomich said he went through elementary and high school without knowing why he had such trouble understanding what other students had an easy time with. Some thought he was lazy, he said, but that wasn’t true. “I wanted to learn,” Tomich said, “I just didn’t know how.” When he got to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Athletic Department helped him. He found out he had a short attention span, and just needed to rein force what he had learned in class with tutors. He encouraged students who might think they’re not as smart as others to go for help soon. “Don’t feel embarrassed, don’t feel ashamed,” Tomich said. “Ask for help. Please see SCHOOL on 8 Forty-year tradition lays foundation for Health Aides By Kimberiy Swartz Staff Reporter For almost two years, senior Nikki Mcgee has helped students with everyday headaches to weekend hangovers. As a Health Aide Coordinator, she contin ues a 40-year tradition of “students helping stu dents,” by providing a link between her peers and the University Health Center. That link was first provided in 1957, when UNL was the first university to have a Health Aide Program. It was then that the Asian flu epidemic hit the campus and many students be came ill. The University Health Center trained stu dents to care for their peers then and continues to look for more students to be in the program for next year. The deadline for applications for next fall is Friday. Now, 40 years later, the program continues to grow with more than 100 Health Aides such as Mcgee, a pre-med biology major certified in First Aid and CPR. She has learned how to as sist other students with minor physical and emo tional concerns. She has taken many temperatures, provided a lot of Advil, and offered friendly support to other students. Please see AIDES on 3 City Council primaries today By Lori Robison Staff Reporter With UNL’s City Campus composing the largest voting district in the city, university stu dents could play a major part in today’s City Council primaries, an election official said. But 20 voters, or less than 1 percent, of the 1,846 voters in the district that includes City Cam pus voted in the 1996 city elections, said Patty Hansen, Lancaster County election commissioner. “Only nine voted in 1995,” she said. Hansen said that low voter turnout has all but eliminated any potential influence registered City Campus residents could have on local government. Today, all registered voters of Lincoln can choose six of the 14 candidates to advance to the City Council general election May 6, when voters will then decide which three candidates will fill three open at-large seats. Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Registered voters unsure of where to go can find the infor mation on their voter registration cards or by call the Lancaster County Election Office at441-7311. Most residents on and near the university’s City Campus can vote at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Residents on the south side of R Street must go to the Downtown Senior Cen ter, 129 N. 10 St., to vote, Hansen said. East Campus residents can vote at the American Lutheran Church, 4200 Vine St. Those residents who have moved since the last election but have not notified the election office can still vote today, Hansen said. Residents interested in voting in the final elec tions have until April 25 to register. 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