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Sandy Summers/DN
NU HEAD FOOTBALL COACH TOM OSBORNE signs autographs for fans Saturday at Memorial Stadium. At times, the
line to get his signature stretched from end zone to end zone.
Fans support, show devotion to
Huskers at football photo day
By Josh Funk
Assignment Reporter
An hour before the gates to
Memorial Stadium opened up on
Saturday, fans young and old lined up
with Wheaties boxes and posters,
hoping to meet their favorite
Huskers.
Several hundred fans came out to
the stadium for the chance to meet the
Huskers and get their autographs at
the Nebraska Football Photo Day.
At 1 p.m. the gates opened and the
fans filed inside, but the wait wasn’t
over yet.
Inside the stadium, players and
coaches were spread out over the
field awaiting fans. The lines for
autographs from some well-known
players and coaches quickly grew 50
100 yards long.
The lines did not discourage fans
as they waited dutifully for a chance
to meet players.
“I’ve been a big fan all my life,
and this is my fifth photo day,” Craig
Kniefl of Fremont said from the mid
dle of a long line to see the starting
backfield. “It’s just fun to be around
all the players.”
Four-foot Jordan Paitz of
Columbus was impressed with the
size of some players.
“They were really big and tough
looking, but they were pretty cool
guys,” Paitz said.
Fans come in all shapes and sizes.
Southeast Community College pro
fessor Jim Hamilton, like many oth
ers, was hunting for autographs to
cover his football.
“I’m a big Husker fan. This foot
ball is going in my office,” Hamilton
said.
Seeing the devotion of all the fans
can be a humbling experience for the
players, place kicker Kris Brown
said.
“Seeing how the fans look up to
us makes me realize that I am a role
model for these guys and I need to
make positive choices.”
The support of the fans means a
lot to the players and the team, Brown
said.
“Today just makes me realize that
a big reason we have been so success
ful for so long is the great fan support
we have,” Brown said, “and this is
just a way for us to give something
back to them.”
Tight end Sheldon Jackson knows
that this kind of support is uncom
mon for a college team.
“I get excited about this. Other
schools wouldn’t get support like
this,” Jackson said. “We just try to
give a little back to the fans.”
Seeing the fans up close on the
field gives players the chance to see
the pleasure they bring to the fans,
Jackson said.
“I like doing this because I can
make kids smile and the fans can put
a face with the name and jersey,” he
said.
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University of Nebraska
CRC Computer Sales
School district charges students
per extracurricular activity
CENTRAL CITY (AP) — In
response to looming property tax
lids, the local school district has
joined others across the state in
charging a student activity fee, often
referred to as a “pay-to-play” fee.
The district has implemented a
$15 fee for each extracurricular
activity, up to $60 per student.
Eligible activities include band,
vocal music, drama, speech, foot
ball, volleyball, wrestling, golf, bas
ketball and track, Superintendent
Ron Wall said.
The new fee was in response to a
Central Athletic Conference meet
ing last spring where the 10 south
central Nebraska member schools
were encouraged to implement some
kind of fee structure, Wall said.
So far, Wall knows of only three
other schools in the conference with
pay-to-play provisions — Grand
Island Northwest, Columbus
Lakeview and Crete. Northwest’s
activity fee is $20.
The fee is becoming common in
Nebraska schools that are pressed to
meet property tax lids set to go into
effect next summer and possible cuts
in state aid.
The Ralston school board
already has considered a $30 fee on
student athletes and a $ 15 fee on stu
dents who join a club, while the
Grant school district has assessed an
enrollment fee based on a graduated
scale of $10 for students in kinder
garten up to $40 for high school stu
dents. There will be a cap of $100
per family.
“I guess there’s going to be some
of this going on in every school dis
trict at least by next year,” said
Chuck Chevalier, Central City High
School principal.
When school patrons are asked
to choose between cutting programs
or paying for them, they opt to pay,
Chevalier said.
“Our public was ready for it,” he
said.
Chevalier is like many parents in
the district. He has three children
who will each likely reach the $60
limit. Although he said he doesn’t
relish paying $180 for his children’s
activities, he recognizes the necessi
ty
With levy caps and reductions in
state aid to schools, more corners
will be cut. Wall said the school dis
trict has already taken many steps to
reduce costs.
“We’re in a new area of school
finance, and people will be paying
for more things that they never had
to pay before,” he said.
The fee will generate between
$ 12,000 and $ 15,000 for the district,
Wall said. That is essentially the
amount of money used to subsidize
school activities for uniforms and
pay for athletic officials, he said.
Speakers aim to inspire
educational ethics at
student convocation
By Sarah Baker
Assignment Reporter
UNL’s incoming freshmen and
transfer students had their first
chance to feel like a Cornhusker
at Sunday’s New Student
Convocation.
The convocation was based on
themes of tradition, caring and
opportunity for the class of 2001.
Students filled the Lied
Center of Performing Arts to
capacity, forcing students into
Kimball Recital Hall. Students in
Kimball were also able to see the
speakers live instead of watching
on TV monitors. The speakers
began at the Lied, then walked
over to Kimball to speak to the
others. All new students were
expected to attend.
The convocation began with a
slide show featuring highlights
from different departments
around the university, and
focused mainly on academics.
The deans of all the individ
ual colleges were formally
dressed in cap and gown and pre
sent on the stage, and speakers
from many departments through
out the university were featured
in the program.
ASUN President Curt Ruwe
was among the speakers at the
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convocation. Ruwe told students
to take advantage of this impor
tant time in their lives.
“The doors you have opened
lead to a promised land of oppor
tunity,” he said. “Being a Husker
should bond each of us together.”
Nebraska Football Coach Tom
Osborne was also a featured
speaker. Osborne spoke to the
class about character.
“Although academics, GPAs
and degrees are important for
students, the thing they are going
to carry away with them that is
the most important is character,”
Osborne said. “The character
they develop is going to be with
them forever.”
Osborne also touched on top
ics concerning attitudes and hon
esty for new students.
“Students need to choose
between absolute integrity and
cutting corners,” he said.
The incoming students in the
new class include students from
47 states and 24 countries, and
382 of those new students are in
the University Honors Program.
Chancellor James Moeser
also spoke at the convocation,
welcoming the new students and
alumni.
“You have chosen a great uni
versity,” he said.
Moeser challenged the new
students to achieve academic
excellence in the next year.
“Th is class is prepared for
challenge like never before
because of the new admissions
standards,” Moeser said.
“Education is a partnership
between the students and the fac
ulty, and is a privilege, not a
right,” he said.
Paul Kelter, associate profes
sor of chemistry, also spoke at
the convocation.
“It’s easy to do things because
you can, not because it’s right,”
he said. “We need to consider the
reasons behind what we do, and
ask ourselves if we should act
because we can or because we
should.”