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
