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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Matthew Waite EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin I ■ Our VIEW Down with quotas We need better tactics to build minority staff Quota: n. 1) a share or proportion which each of a number is called upon to contribute, or which is assigned to each; proportional share 2) the number or proportion that is allowed or admitted. Wednesday, the university unveiled a draft proposal to spend the $530,000 Targets of Opportunity fund to recruit and retain minor ity faculty members at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It’s a well-thought-out plan to improve the cultural education of an entire campus, and it includes laudable goals for improving the diversity of the faculty on campus - a 140 member faculty that now contains only 32 minority faculty members. But one element of the plan is troubling: the goal of hiring at least five minority facul ty members each year over a five-year period. Chancellor James Moeser said the plan doesn’t contain a quota. The plan doesn’t set aside a specific number of faculty positions at the university that must be held by minorities. But a goal demanding the hiring of a cer tain number of a certain kind of person sure sounds like a quota, which implies the ratio of minority to white faculty at UNL will not improve without a set hiring requirement or “goal.” The implication, created by the language in the dr^ft prbpQ^^ifnplies minority applL cants foruaiversity positions will be desirable solely fof the color of their skin, not the qual ity of their work. It also leaves room for newly hired minority faculty members to be criti cized by those who believe skin color influ ences UNL hiring practices. In fact, when UNL increases the quality of its minority recruitment program, the number of minority faculty hires will increase simply because of the quality of minority applicants, provided those hiring new faculty are not racist or culturally biased. In other words, if the university spends a *_*_a._a.*_ _ r* ii _ a aaa r* 1 . aigiiuiwaiii pvnuuii ui uic luiiu iu recruit more minority faculty as promised, the “25 in five” goal will be unnecessary, because the pool of minority applicants will contain the most qualified person to fill any position. Targeted recruitment must be the goal of any plan to increase diversity among the facul ty - not targeted hiring - but the language con tained in the draft proposal muddles this goal. In the future, any numeric goals or lan guage calling for increased minority faculty representation at the university should be established in order for the university to judge itself on its recruitment efforts, not solely on its hiring practices. Any final proposal to spend the Targets of Opportunity fund should list as a goal increasing the number of minority applicants for each faculty position. Then the number of minority faculty hired will take care of itself. -Jr , Haney’s VIEW * What about George and Abe? There has been much discussion recently concerning Martin Luther King’s birthday and whether we should hold classes on that day. Dr. King was a great man and trans formed the attitudes of many of us. However, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were also great mfeiypig) drastically changed purhis - Joty. Veterans who risked their lives for all of us are also great people. The university treats all these equally and does not cancel classes for any of them. The university does recognize a holiday for all of them: The holidays are traditionally given to university employees during the Christmas sea son. It seems to me if we change one holiday, we should change them all. Paul Carlson associate vice chancellor for business and finance A second rallying cry I wanted to thank Jason Ponec, a freshman, secondary education, who wrote an opinion letter on Wednesday, November 19, 1997 to theDN. He voiced his opinion about “Home Court Advantage?” regarding student participation at the women’s and men’s basketball games. I wanted to thank him for trying to rally the students to come to these games. My family and I regularly attend the women’s basketball games, and notice a lack of student participa tion. The Creighton game was better - there were some enthused students there cheering on the team. I hope these numbers continue to grow. DN LETTERS The games are exciting, and these women deserve your support. I would also encourage UNL staff members to attend these games. Volleyball gets a lot of support, and women’s basket ball deserves your support also. Check it out! Carol Bom facilities management staff Job security I have been thinking about a col umn I read in the Daily Nebraskan for the past month. It was disturbing to me that the columnist was so apathetic toward the sport of basketball. Is this the same game that the NCAA sold to televi sion for millions of dollars? Is this the same game that drives people in Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona and Kentucky into a frenzy? Is this the same game that highlights the Olympics? It must be a different game in Nebraska. You wrote about student apathy, wui^u uy me way, ai every institution. With more that half the students working, plus going to school, time demands are tough on today’s students. But to downgrade Naismith’s great game is going a bit far. I believe that Nebraska has the facilities, support and potential to embody two or three big-time sports in addition to football. It is true that we need to make some changes. In addition to great, fast-paced, in-your-face basketball, we must entertain people with staging as well. (The Bob Devaney Sports Center’s) impersonal atmosphere must change. People should have accessibility to the floor from the B and C sections. Handicapped seating needs to be improved. The sound system and scoreboards need a facelift. The atmosphere should be one of excite ment and entertainment. Plans are already underway to install HuskerVision and a sound system for 1998-99. Students at UNL are treated very well by the Athletic Department. The seating foi; students at Devaney is on the floor, not in the nosebleed section. Ticket prices for men’s basketball are t; less expensive than the movies (about half the price). Women’s games are free with a student ID. At UNL, stu dents do not pay an activity fee for intercollegiate athletics. Other schools charge up to $300 per semes ter for their free tickets to athletic contests. Nebrasketball needs student sup port, not apathy. Let’s make the Devaney Center a fun atmosphere, not a mortuary where you could hear a pin drop. Students do make a differ ence! Ask Roy Williams at Kansas, Tara Van Derveer at Stanford, Pat Summit at Tennessee or Tim Floyd at Iowa State. They will tell you how impor tant atmosphere is at basketball games. In most cases, during a close game, the fans make a difference. Our goal is to win every home game, and we need the students help. We are in the process of renaming the student section at Devaney “The Jungle,” complete with props. Please come out and show your support. Watch great basketball and go crazy. Let’s show those Jayhawks, Volunteers and Cyclones what atmos phere is all about. You will definitely help us win games and help me keep my job. Paul §anderford head coach women’s basketball Edltarlal PaHey Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Fall 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfo.unl.edu. PS. Write Back ... .. .. i‘ Send letters to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 "R" St., Lincoln, NE 68588, or fax to (402) 472-1761, or e-mail <letters@unlinfb.uhl.edu. letters must be signed and include a phone number for verification
