■ Stronger effort and
increased involvement
among members led tov
an honorable mention in
the Condon Cup.
By Kim Sweet
Staff Reporter
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln chapter of Phi Gamma Delta
Fraternity was bestowed with an
honor this summer it hasn’t received
since the 1960s.
hor making strides in scholar
ship, philanthropy and internal oper
ations, the fraternity received an
honorable mention in the Condon
Cup, one of the most prestigious
awards a Phi Gamma Delta chapter
can receive.
“This is one of the biggest
awards in our fraternity. It goes to a
chapter that has demonstrated
tremendous improvement and
reflects the values of Phi Gamma
Delta,” said Dave Willmer, director
of programs for the international
headquarters.
The chapter began evaluating
itself last April. The members made
efforts during the year to increase
involvement, number of scholar
ships available and charity fund-rais
ing.
Philanthropy and social service
were on top of die fraternity's list of
improvements. Activities like a Hot
tub-a-thon, Green Eggs and Ham,
and other social events contributed
to the $4,000 the house raised for the
year. The money went to various pro
grams including The Gathering
Place, a local soup kitchen and the
YWCA’s Take A Break Program.
Many members were involved in
individual activities, like blood dri
ves, tutor sessions and hospital visi
tations.
“A lot of guys put in a lot of time
into the little things,” Jason Jacobi,
awards chairman, said.
As well as increasing tiie service
aspect of the house, members also
committed themselves to increasing
involvement More members joined
chibs on campus and were admitted
to honor societies. At the same time
the fraternity raised its G.P.A. to 3.0.
Phi Gamma Delta also has tried
to increase awareness of issues like
rape and alcoholism. Members have
tried to encourage attending safe and
responsible parties and to reduce
drinking, Jacobi said.
• One way of doing this was
increasing the responsibility of the
risk-management chairman.
Whenever the fraternity plans an
event, whether it be a date party or a
philanthropy event, the risk-man
agement chairman anticipates possi
ble risks and dangers that could
arise. The chairman also has coordi
nated a program that requires certain
house members to carry phones in
case someone is too intoxicated to
drive home.
There were 30 to 40 entries in the
annual Condon Cup competition.
First and second places were award
ed, along with six honorable men
tions.The house received a certifi
cate to commemorate the honorable
mention.“We’re really proud to have
received the award. Overall, jve’ve
just been getting together as a house
and utilizing the fact that if everyone
does something little, it adds up to a
big thing,” Jacobi said. “Hopefully
we’ll get it again next year.”
Nelson says
beef scare
overblown
NELSON from page 1
was subsequently shut down and its
resale to rival Iowa Beef Packing
should be completed this week.
Nelson said a meeting with execu
tives from about 20 Nebraska meat
packing plants is scheduled for
Monday.
The meeting, he said, would finally
allow those involved to meet and dis
cuss the situation and their views on the
USDA’s involvement
“We want to have full assurance
that the inspection process is adequate,”
he said.
No USDA officials were invited to
attend Monday, Nelson said, but he is
trying to arrange a meeting with them
before Oct 22, when Nelson will head
to Asia on a trade mission.
Nelson’s press secretary, Karl
Bieber, said the meeting would be a
step in getting the problem resolved.
“He really wants to get (the meat
packers) together and find outVhit
their concerns are,” he said. “He wants
it to be an open and frank discussion on
whether they feel the USDA is acting
properly.”
Nelson said the USDA had caused
unwarranted hysteria among beef con
sumers, but he didn’t think it would
have long-term negative effects on con
sumption because “people will realize
that beef has been villianized.”
Nebraska-produced beef, overall, is
just as good as it’s ever been, he added.
“But we have to be careful to
remind people what the enemy is here.
It’s a bacteria,” he said. “We’re having
bad luck, not bad beef.” *
ASUN debates higher speed limit
Universitywide undergraduate course evaluations also discussed
ASUN from page 1
Mark Shields said he thought the
area was dangerous because students
did not use crosswalks, not because
of the posted speed limit.
Other senators voiced concerns
about GLC’s time being taken away
from more “pressing” issues, like
deferred maintenance.
But GLC Chairman John
Wiechmann said the GLC’s time was
not an issue.
“You’re elected to represent the
students - it seems to me that you’re
more worried about a car going 10
mph (slower) than the safety of the
students,” he said.Because senators
could not agree, Hoffschneider
motioned for the bill to be held for
several weeks for his committee to
do more research.
The senate denied that motion,
and after more discussion, finally
passed the bill with some dissent.
ASUN members will talk to the
City Council in two weeks about the
traffic.
Vice President Amy Rager said
she was happy to see the debate on
the senate floor, and hoped senators
would discuss legislation more often.
Senators passed Government Bill
No. 13 with less controversy; the bill
was unanimously approved.
The bill recommends that the
Academic Senate require university
wide evaluations for all undergradu
ate courses. These surveys would be
one-page, five-question forms, and
would be the same throughout all
colleges.
“It’s important to give students a
universitywide evaluation regarding
their classes,” President Curt Ruwe
said. “A lot of times students feel a
certain department might not care as
much as another, this way there are
comparable standards across cam
pus.”
Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs James Griesen recommended
jar
the senate amend the bill to reflect
the importance of university wide
reviews in “promotion, tenure and
post-tenure review” of professors.
The amendment passed unani
mously.
In other ASUN news:
■ Senate Bill No. 6 passed unan
imously. This bill recommends that
midterm evaluations be enacted in all
classes.
■ Senate Bill No. 8 passed unan
imously. This bill requires all users of
Committee for Fees Allocations
funds to submit a report of specific
budget cuts the organizations made
this year.
■ Bylaw D passed unanimously,
which makes the Technology Fees
and Advisory Committee a perma
nent committee within ASUN.
■ Bylaw E also unanimously
passed, which allows more people to
join ASUN subcommittees.
Each week, the Daily Nebraskan will feature a
member of the Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska.
NSIW: Viet Hoang
Age: 21
Yeaf: Senior
Malar: Finance
ASWiosIdan: Speaker of the senate representing the
College of Business Administration
CaMiCt illlamattOB: Cali or visit the ASUN office in the Nebraska Union during Hoang’s
office hour. Hoang's office hours are: Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays frofh 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office phone number is
472-2581.
VlnBf IIVOIVBIIIOIL Innocents Society, Phi Beta Lambda business honorary, University
Leadership Council, Acacia Fraternity and the search committee for the dean of the College
of Business Administration.
Wily ASUN IS IWItftaM: “ASUN is a central part to the university. Students should
interact with one another and not make prejudgments. In an institution where we’re encouraging
independent thought, ultimately we should discourage myths — and ASUN can be a central
force in facilitating this process!* Hoang said.
iBSPONSlblliUeS hi ASUN: As speaker, Hoang is chairman of the Appointments Board
for ASUN subcommittee members. ‘I’m involved with all of the committees,* Hoang said. “I
provide guidance and support to the committee chairs and members.*
UttfTBNt ASUN PfifBCtS: Hoang is working with the Appointments Board to decide new
ASUN subcommittee members. “We’re trying to get a diverse group of applicants,” Hoang
said. “We’re trying to find the best people — people who are willing to work hard.'
Bigflest ChSllMUC facili UNL The student body doesn't interact with one another.
You can see this in the {recent letters to the editor) in the DN. Gteeks, off-campus students
and people living in residence halls are not seeing eye to eye,” Hoang said ‘If people actually
took time to get to know each other as individuals instead of a classification, it would certainly
help the university come together as a united community *
Packing pllnt under gun
HUDSON from page 1
the Agriculture Department’s inspec
tor general regarding the August
recall of 25 million pounds of ham
.burger produced at the Hudson plant
in Columbus.
Monaghan would provide no
other details, but Hudson officials
confirmed Wednesday that they had
received a subpoena for documents
related to the recall and expected
some employees to be called to testify
before the grand jury in Omaha.
“As it has in the past, Hudson
Foods will continue to cooperate fully
and completely with the government’s
investigation,” a spokesman for the
Arkansas-based Hudson said in a
statement. “Hudson Foods is confi
dent that a thorough and fair investi
gation of the facts will confirm that it
has violated no law.”
Hudson shut down the Columbus
plant at Agriculture Department insis
tence after the amount of meat
recalled due to possible E. coli conta
mination rose from 20,000 pounds
initially to 25 million pounds—by far
die largest meat recall in U.S. history.
Sale of the still-closed plant to
meatpacking giant IBP Inc. is nearly
complete. Hudson, which lost a big
r1
Burger King contract because of die
recall, is itself in the process of being
sold to Arkansas rival Tyson Foods
Co.
Nancy Bartel, spokeswoman for
the USDA inspector general, would
not discuss specifics but did confirm
that the agency had been auditing
Hudson’s records regarding the recall
jand that Monaghan’s office was
apprised.
“We have discussed this investiga
tion with the U.S. attorney in Omaha,”
she said. “He has been brought on
board.”
Monaghan’s statement said his
office had received a criminal referral
from the inspector general. That
would mean that the inspector general
found evidence suggesting that
Hudson employees may have lied to
food safety inspectors about the
extent of the E. coli contamination or
that they may have falsified or failed
to properly keep records. A prosecu
tor could pursue a criminal case or
seek civil penalties.
When the recall rose quickly from
20,000 pounds to 1.2 million pounds
to 25 million pounds, Agriculture
Secretary Dan Glickman cited a “lack
of confidence in die records provided
to investigators” as one reason to shut
down the Nebraska plant
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