—SPORTS— -HE-WEDN 1SDAY
He’s no Mary Lou Pollywannacracker January 28,1998
With the help of a gymnastic workout program. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, which recent
NU I-back DeAngelo Evans hopes to recover ly opened in Lincoln, offers Southern-style hos- MlLD CHINESE NEW YEAR
from a pelvic injury by March. PAGE 7 pitality in north Lincoln. PAGE 9 Cloudy, breezy, high 46. Clear tonight, low 25.
Clinton:
economy
will hold
By Terence Hunt
AP White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) Shaken
b\ scandal. President Clinton
sought to reassert his leadership in a
crucial State of the Union address
Tuesday night, urging Congress to
"sa\e Social Security first” before
| cutting taxes or increasing spend
ing.
In an expectant atmosphere,
I Clinton faced probable the largest
television audience of his life as he
stood before a joint session of
Congress. The embattled president
did not mention the furor over alle
gations that he had a sexual relation
ship with former White House
intern Monica Lewinsky and urged
her to lie about it.
Democrats applauded Clinton
warmly when he strode into the
chamber. Stony-faced, most
Republicans applauded as well and
gave the president a respectful hear
ing. The president appeared upbeat
and spoke with conviction during
the 72-minute speech.
Hillary Rodham Clinton had a
front-row balcony seat, beaming
and applauding. In his speech,
Clinton singled her out as
“America’s first lady,’’ bringing a
burst of applause from lawmakers.
Amid fresh tensions with
Saddam Hussein, Clinton issued a
veiled threat of force against Iraq:
“You cannot defy the will of the
world. ...You have used weapons of
mass destruction before. We are
determined to deny you the capacity
to use them again.”
In his annual report to the
nation, Clinton said America is
enjoying good times enhanced by
-the lowest unemployment and infla
tion in decades. He urged Congress
to raise the minimum wage - now
S5.15 an hour - but did not specify
how much.
“We can afford to take one sim
pie, sensible step to help millions of
workers struggling to provide for
their families.”
With the end of big budget
deficits, Clinton challenged
Congress to join in a bipartisan
search for a fix to Social Security,
which faces bankruptcy next centu
ry as baby boomers retire.
Republicans are eyeing the surplus
Please see ADDRESS on 2
«
Our leadership in the world is unrivaled.
The state of our union is strong
President Clinton
Ryan Soderlin/DN
UNL SOPHOMORE JEFF NICOLAISEN rests his attention during the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday
night. In the Nebraska Union, about 50 students watched the address. Read about their reactions on page 3.
Fraternity to open new chapter
By Brad Davis
Senior Reporter
Despite two fraternity closings at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
this month, the Pi Kappa Alpha
Fraternity has announced it will begin
recruiting founding fathers to start a
new chapter at UNL.
Pi Kappa Alpha’s Gamma Beta
chapter closed its doors on the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln cam
pus in the 1970s, and its return will
mark the first expansion of the UNL
greek system since Triangle
Fraternity began in 1963.
Shad Williams, Pi Kappa Alpha’s
director of expansion, said UNL is a
coveted area among greek circles
because of its tradition and name
recognition.
“The University of Nebraska is
the place you want to go if you're not
already there,” Williams said. “It’s a
big-name university - everybody’s
heard of the University of Nebraska.”
Director of Greek Affairs Linda
Schwartzkopf said Pi Kappa Alpha,
which is one of the nation’s largest
fraternities, has a national reputation
for its redefinition of fraternity life.
She said the greek system nation
ally has been de-emphasizing social
aspects of greek life, and committing
to scholarship, leadership and service.
“They are taking a new direction
that may be appealing to students on
the Nebraska campus who may not
have been interested (in greek life)
before,” Schwartzkopf said.
Its recruiting process and dedication
to a “quality fraternity,” Williams said,
will make the new chapter successful.
“We’re looking to establish a fra
ternity that’s based on friendship and
people that respect each other,”
Williams said. “We’d like to be the
fraternity that every sister recom
mend their brother join.”
Williams said two staff members
from Pi Kappa Alpha’s national head
quarters in Memphis, Tenn., will
come to UNL Feb. 20, when they will
spend five weeks recruiting “schol
ars, leaders, athletes and gentlemen.”
“We’re not going to walk around
campus with a flag and bullhorn - it’s
going to be a very targeted approach.”
He said recommendations, from
both the university administration
and students, would play a key role in
establishing the fraternity.
Once the fraternity establishes its
membership, Williams said, housing
will be discussed.
“We don’t want to base our recruit
ing on the size of a room or rent, so
housing will not even be addressed
when we recruit people,” he said.
But, Williams said, new members
need not worry about a place to live
because of Pi Kappa Alpha’s $7 mil
lion in available resources, along with
more than 1,200 alumni from Lincoln
and Omaha.
After a student is recruited; he
will undergo a fraternity education
program, Williams said.
“It really shifts the focus away
from what fraternities are known for,”
he said. “The emphasis will be on edu
cation. That’s what makes it unique.”
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http.7 lwww.unl.edu/DailyNeb
Delegate
responses
are mixed
By Brian Carlson
Senior Reporter
After a State of the Union
address in which President Clinton
steered clear of recent turmoil to
push his policy agenda, Nebraska’s
congressional delegation followed
suit in interviews with the Daily
Nebraskan.
U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb.,
said Clinton's speech, which focused
on balancing the budget, shoring up
Social Security and investing in edu
cation. was successful.
Kerrey said he was pleased the
evening centered on issues rather
than Clinton's alleged affair with a
former White House intern and sus
pected obstruction of justice.
“I was encouraged both by what
the president had to say and by the
statements of the Republican leader
ship saying we 're going to let the j us
tice system operate,” he said.
But Kerrey said he was dissatis
fied with Clinton’s discussion of
Social Security and Medicare.
Clinton's plea to use future budget
surpluses on Social Security failed
to address the exploding costs
expected when 77 million
Americans retire between 2010 and
2030, he said.
U.S. Rep. Doug Bereuter, R
Neb., commended Clinton for the
president’s praise of Congress’
recent accomplishments, such as an
agreement to balance the budget by
the year 2002.
“He went out of his way to
reduce elements of partisanship, and
that’s unusual for this president,” he
said.
But Bereuter was skeptical about
Clinton’s predictions of a balanced
budget.
With the economic turmoil in
Asia, he said, the U.S. economy is
unlikely to continue its boom indefi
nitely, making budget surpluses and
funding for Clinton’s proposals
uncertain.
“In short, where’s the money
coming from, Mr. President?” he
said.
U.S. Rep. Jon Christensen, R
Neb., said Clinton’s education and
tax proposals called for a federal
government that was too big and
invasive.
“He seems to be permeating that
Washington, D.C.-knows-best per
sona that he came here with in
1992,” he said.
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Chuck
Hagel, R-Neb., said the speech was
“too long and too expensive.”
Clinton’s proposals ‘'wete’Vague,
and he failed to explain how to pay
for them, Hagel said.
“This nation has very serious
issues to deal with and we need seri
ous leadership, not campaign
promises.”