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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1997)
SPORTS ARE Diving in Woo, boogie boogie! October 24,1997 The Nebraska men’s and women’s swim teams If that doesn’t freak you out, Halloween activities kick off their season today and Saturday at the that will are aplenty in Lincoln for those who BRIDAL SHOWERS Bob Devaney Sports Center. PAGE 7 dare venture out. PAGE 9 Cloudy, high 50. Windy and rainyytonight, low 38. Senator resigns to lobby for NU By Brad Davis Assignment Reporter Ron Withem has been serving the people of Nebraska for more than 14 years as a senator in the Legislature. Next month he will begin a new chapter in his life of public service when he becomes the chief lobbyist for the University of Nebraska. Withem, who will resign as speaker of the Legislature Nov. 24, replaces former state Sen. Lee Rupp as the director of NU governmental relations. He also is resigning from his position as executive director of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Omaha. The speaker from Papillion leaves the Legislature in the middle of his two-year term, which requires Gov. Ben Nelson to name a replacement for the Sarpy County senator. When the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 7, members wiifiiave to elect a new speaker of the Legislature to replace Withem, a senior member who had been called one of the most influential members of the body. Sen. David Landis of Lincoln said he would place his name in the run ning for speaker asji replacement for Withem. Other senators who have been named as possible contenders for the speaker position include Sen. Ardyce Bohlke of Hastings, Sen. Kermit Brashear of Omaha and Sen. Doug Kristensen of Minden. Landis said he would run for speaker because he had watched the legislative process for a long time, and hoped to “bring attention to find ing a common ground” to the job of speaker. >1 Landis said Withem’s resignation would cause the Legislature to scramble for a replacement, but would not put them in “too much of a bind.” With Withem’s resignation, how ever, the Legislature will be losing a “very good thinker,” Landis said. “Withem was a visionary thinker and a good tactical defender of his positions. We will be diminished by his absence,” he said. Withem said his most important work in Legislature involved public school finance reform, economic development and property-tax reform. He may have some reservations, he said, about leaving a position that he had held since March 1983, but the lobbying job presented him with the opportunity to further serve the public. “I can’t have been a member of an institution that I loved as much as I loved the Legislature and feel 100 percent good about leaving, but I’ve been able to live my dream of serving in public office. <, “There comes a time when you have to move on to bigger and better things,” Withem said. Moving on has been the focus of several groups that oppose public officials’ alleged use of their elected status to become lobbyists or further their personal careers. Withem said one of the reasons he was selected for the NU lobbying position was because of his knowl edge of the Legislature. “During my 14 years, I’ve devel oped an understanding of what it takes to get stuff passed,” he said. Frances Mendenhall, executive director of Common Cause Nebraska, said her organization opposed public officials’ using their “insider knowledge” to become lob byists. Please see WITHEM on 2 Lane Hickenbottom/DN ROBERT HILLESTAD, professor emeritus of textiles, clothing and design, will display new work and will have agaHery on East Campus dedicated to him Sunday. The shew will ran through Dec. 5. Professor’s unique textiles serve as both art, clothing By Brian Carlson Assignment Reporter Robert Hillestad’s textile art does more than catch the eye. It grabs the eye, excites it, pulls it closer, confuses it, teases it and amuses it - and leaves it blinking for more. Beginning Sunday, the University of Nebraska Lincoln community will have a chance to view 18 new samples of the former UNL professor’s unique work. In a ceremony starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, the Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery on the UNL East Campus will be dedicated. “The Dance of Textiles,” a show fea turing all-new work by Hillestad, will open Sunday and run through Dec. 5. Hillestad was a UNL professor of textiles, clothing and design from 1965 until his retirement last year. Internationally known for his art, Hillestad’s work was displayed in Paris this summer and is on display in South Korea. In his art, he uses traditional methods of textile design that, for many other designers, have gone by the wayside in an era of mass production. Using long strands of yam, rayon bias tape and var Please see TEXTILE on 3 Video game junkies get chance to compete By Josh Funk Assignment Reporter So you’ve spent six hours a day hard at work in front of the Sony PlayStation, studying all.the plays and building up the callous on your button finger. Now is your chance to test yourself against the best competition campus has to offer in the EA Sports NCAA Football ’98 Interactive Tournament. Electronic Arts and the NCAA Football Campus Tour will be at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in front of the Campus Recreation Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. “If you drink you’ve got game, then show up and prove it,” said Jonathan Kerr, a representative of the Athletic Licensing and Sales Department. The first four hours are filled with activities such as sumo football, the quarterback challenge, an obstacle course and a field-goal competition, Kerr said. Participants will also have the opportunity to play different Electronic Arts video games on a Sony PlayStation in an interactive van. At 3 p.m. the individual tourna ment will begin with head-to-head competition. Players who do well in the tourna ment will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Orange Bowl to compete in the national tournament, Kerr said. Also, the tournament winner will receive a miniature Sears Trophy worth about $400, Kerr said. Last year’s winners from UNL went on to win die national tournament and find an internship with EA Sports. “We have to find someone to defend the championship for us,” Ken said. The champ Jeff Luhr, a junior in general stud ies, realized one of his childhood dreams last year because he was good at a video game. His performance at the EA Sports Tournament last year helped him get an internship as a product tester for Electronic Arts video games. Luhr found out about the tourna ment on the Electronic Arts Web page and decided to enter the two-on-two tournament with his roommate Jerry Kuhl. “We practiced for hours every day,” Luhr said “We played video games so much, it’s a wonder we passed any classes.” In the campus tournament Luhr and Kuhl made short work of their opponents and found themselves in the finals facing their two other room mates. “We played them all the time at home and never lost,” Luhr said. Then after winning the campus tournament Luhr, Kuhl and three other teams were flown to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans for the national tourna ment. “We had a great time down there with New Year’s and the football game,” Luhr said. The Nebraska team blew away the competition at nationals, Luhr said. It was during the national tourna ment that Luhr made some contacts with the marketing department, which led to his internship. “I was real lucky to get the oppor tunity to work for them,” Luhr said. “And now that I have my foot in the door it is up to me to capitalize on that.” Luhr plans to go back this summer to work on the development of next year’s game. Although Luhr was disqualified for this year’s tournament because of his roll in the development of the game, Kuhl will compete in this year’s tourna ment. “Jerry’s my pick to win it this year because he has been there before,” Luhr said. But Luhr offered some inside advice for this year’s competitors. It is tough to play ‘D’, so you have to score every time you get the ball and go for two,” Luhr said. Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http:/ lwww.unl.edu/DailyNeb ’ "" ' z. -s ~£M
