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_ Comhuskers next fall. PAGE 9 '--'Ik I can see it at Joslyn Art Museum. PAGE 11 Possible flurries, high 32. Clo^fetonight, low 16.
VOL. 97 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 95
Michael Warren/DN
CHUN-KEAT KHOO from Malaysia (left) meets with his English conversation partner, Nathan Johnson, on the
steps of Canfield Administration building. Johnson, an economies and International business major, vol
unteers his time through the International Affairs office to speak with Khoo at toast ence a week to help
him improve his English skills.
Program helps foreign students
By Lindsay Young
Assignment Reporter
American students who spend
hours chatting with international stu
dents are experiencing things most
people only encounter overseas.
Nathan Johnson, an economics
and international business major, is a
participant in the English
Conversation Partners program at the
University ofNebraska-Lincoln.
He said he has learned a lot about
the culture and customs of his conver
sation partner Chun-Keat Khoo’s
home country Malaysia.
“It’s almost like studying abroad,”
Johnson said.
The English Conversation
Partners program is designed to bring
U.S. and international students
together informally to share each
other’s culture and language.
Participants in the program meet
with their partner regularly to talk, go
to movies, eat out or study.
International Affairs, which sponsors
the program, also holds informal get
togethers for participants. .
During the fall semester, 128 stu
dents participated in the program.
This semester about 60 students were
paired, said Jason Felker, a program
assistant in International Afiairs.
A majority of the participants are
from Southeast Asian countries such
as Malaysia and Korea. There are also
participants from Bolivia, Nepal,
Turkey, France, Mexico, Germany
and Nicaragua.
U.S^ participants usually are
involved because they have studied
abroad or study a foreign language,
Felker said
However, not all international stu
dents get matched because fewer '
American students participate than
Please see PARTNER on 3
Diversity Plan
under scrutiny
■ Some formn members
say the current proposal
leaves out certain universi
ty groups.
By IevaAugsttums and Brad
Davis
Daily Nebraskan Reporters
Before UNL’s Diversity Plan can
work, the campus community needs to
better define what it means by “diversi
ty,” participants in a forum said
Wednesday.
About 20 faculty members and
graduate students met with University
of Nebraska-Lincoln administrators to
explore how the Diversity Plan and
Implementation Initiatives can be
improved before they are finalized.
Many forum attendants were con
cerned that the issue of sexual orienta
tion was ignored in initial Diversity Plan
outlines.
“If you are going to have a plan that
deals with diversity, you have to deal
with all diversity,” Pat Tetreault, co
chairwoman of UNL’s Committee on
Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender
Concerns, said.
The Diversity Plan lists three goals
for improving diversity on campus:
increasing faculty and staff diversity;
understanding and appreciating diversi
ty; and providing programs to support
diversity education.
Many forum participaBts said they
were unsure why the university only
mentioned ethnic, racial, geographical
and gender diversity inti* repeal
/ “This is a very crucial point for the
university,” Tetreault said, “in terms of
how it will deal with diversity issues,
and how inclusive it really will be.”
Luis Diaz-Ferdomo, a psychologi
cal counselor for Counseling and
Psychological services, said UNL
should not commit the “sin of silence”
by ignoring certain groups like homo
sexuals and the disabled
“Oftentimes I find that students are
desperately looking for acknowledg
ment of who they are,” Diaz-Ferdomo
said “The university needs to acknowl
edge their presence.”
Because of events in the past year,
Diaz-Ferdomo said UNL has proved it
is not a welcoming campus.
But gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans
gendered students and others are part of
the community and need to be wel
comed he said
English Professor George Wolf
agreed and said UNL had to be clear
that the plan is inclusive.
He said prospective employees
would examine the university’s policies
when making decisions on whether to
come to UNL.
UNUs current anti-discrimination
policy should be used as a basis for the
Diversity Plan, Tetreault said
The policy says UNL will not dis
urniiua^ uu uk uooia ui sca, agz9 uia
ability, race, color; religion, marital sta
tus, veteran’s status, national or ethnic
origin or sexual (mentation.”
“I don’t think you can avoid this
issue with language or omitting lan
guage,” Wolf said.
Senior Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs Richard Edwards said
he would diink about using UNEs cur
rent statement but advised drat any plan
must complywith state and federal laws.
“We are attempting to develop a
plan to move the university forward,”
Edwards said.
He said not only will die final plan
Please see DIVERSITY on 3
Grant application
approved for UNL
By Jessica Fargen
Assignment Reporter
UNL wants to prevent student
binge drinking, even if it takes hun
dreds of thousands of dollars.
Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs James Griesen told
Association of Students of the
University of Nebraska members
Wednesday night that die university
win apply in March for a grant to help
combat binge drinking.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln has been chosen as one of
five universities to apply for the
$700,000 grant, which win be award
ed to two universities.
Griesen said he and Senator Chris
-—
Linder were putting together a coali
tion of community and campus lead
ers to work toward receiving the
grant, which is awarded by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.
Griesen said members of the
foundation would visit UNL in April.
“A lot of problems occur to stu
dents because of binge drinking
Griesen sad. “Assault cases and vio
lence on campus are usually related to
drinking.”
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the
1998 fall football migration game
Please see ASUN on 3
Conference set to discuss e-mail
By Ted Taylor
Senior Editor
As students and faculty Wednesday
were once again surrounded by talks of
racism at UNL, an English professor
whose e-mail ignited toe discussions
planned a news conference for today
hoping to set the record straight.
But David Hibler, the English pro
fessorwho over theweekend distributed
e-mail to more than 300 faculty mem
bers and students using the word
“nigga” several times, had little to say
Wednesday about two messages some
perceived as racist
He said he wouldn’t discuss the
issue in detail until he spoke to the
media at 2 pm today in toe Nebraska
Union’s Pewter Room.
But he did tell toe Daily Nebraskan
he had no plans of taking toe messages
off the university hstserv.
“Short of a district court order, I’m
not taking it off, ” he said.
Hibler also called the Daily
Nebraskan Wednesday to offer direc
tions on how more people could sub
scribe to the listserv.
He urged people to send an e-mail to
listserv@unl.edu and write subscribe
mumlitemture in the text field.
The text of the email was available
exclusively on the Daily Nebraskan
Wfeb site Wednesday morning and cam
be found in die online edition^ archive.
Parts of the e-mail tell of Hibler’s
love for his “Black but beautiful son,”
and his now-disputed “amicable resolu
tion” between himself and the
University of Nebraska-^incoln
Afrikan Peopled Union to use the word
“nigga” in his messages, which he does
several times.
APU’s adviser said Tuesday she
knew nothing of the resolution.
Word of die e-mail and flhanceflnr
James Moeser’s quick condemnation
Tuesday night spread quickly across
campus and the city.
Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers, the
only Made state senator, brought up the
issue during floor debate at the
Nebraska Legislature, calling for die
university to discipline Hibler.
Hibler^ news conference was origi
nally scheduled to take place in
Moeser’s office, but Wednesday after
noon die chancellor said it had been
moved to the union, and he would not be
present.
Moeser did not return phone calls to
the Daily Nebraskan Wednesday after
noon, btnThe Associated Press reported
be had nothing more to say on the issue
and that there were no plans for discipli
nary actions against Hibler.
“This is clearly protective of free
speech,” Moeser said. “The Internet
was created to help share scholarly work
as well as opinions, as is the case here.”
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