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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1998)
Law schools promote affirmative action LAW from page 1 dents is the most common type of affirmative action. Sen. Kate Witek of Omaha pro posed a similar resolution in the Nebraska Legislature this year. LR314CA was killed Feb. 18 in the Judiciary Committee, however. If the amendment would have passed, LeMieux said, “you couldn’t have minority law recruitment days. That would be outlawed.” At the University of Texas law school, until the Hopwood Case, 10 percent of students were Mexican Americans and 5 percent were blacks. After the Hopwood Case, only four out of 468 students were minorities - about 1 percent The Hopwood Case in Texas stated universities “could not use race as a factor in deciding” whom to admit. This affected states such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Nationally, though, there has not been a substantial decrease in national minority enrollment, Romero said. He is hoping the recruitment cam paign will counter the negative public ity regarding affirmative action and encourage minorities to apply for law schools. “We want (minorities) to know we welcome their applications,” Romero said. Although the number of minority students at NU’s law school is above the national percentage of minorities in the legal profession, that does not mean all of those students will go into the legal profession after graduation, said Glenda Pierce, assistant dean of the NU College of Law. Nationally,^ percent of the nation’s lawyers are minorities, and f.....-. less than 4 percent are black. Also, NU College of Law is about 10 percentage points below the nation al percentage of minorities in law schools. Pierce said 10 to 11 percent of the NU law college’s students are minori ties. This is due, in part, to the smaller pool of applicants Nebraska has, she said. According to Law School Admission Council records, of all American Bar Association-approved law schools, 20 percent of their stu dents are minorities. Most schools in the United States are ABA-approved. The 20 percent includes blacks, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, other Hispanic groups, American Indians and Asian Americans. NU’s Minority Law Day is held every year to promote legal education and to introduce the college to prospective students, Pierce said. “The idea behind this is to reach out and provide information to stu dents of color in law school,” she said. Participants will hear about prepa rations for law school, the LSAT and admissions. In areas where laws against affir mative action have been put into place, minority students tend to stay away, Romero said. During Minority Law Recruitment Month, law schools nationwide need to convey that minorities have a place in the legal pro fession, Romero said. “The organization is committed to diversity and education. It is essential there is access to the legal profession by all members of the society,” Romero said. “We want to make sure that we make that fact known.” I I T | ! Man charged for DN theft University police have a suspect in the theft of nearly $7,000 of camera equipment taken from the Daily Nebraskan offices a few weeks ago. Samuel Zollicoffer Jr., 25, was arrested by Lincoln police for nar cotics possession Tuesday when police searched his home in the 500 block of North 28th Street University police contacted Zollicoffer in jail Wednesday regard ing the missing camera equipment, University Police Sgt Mylo Bushing said. When Zollicoffer was uncoopera tive, police cited him for possession of stolen property for a lens he had pawned. More charges could follow if he is identified by witnesses from the cam era store to which he allegedly sold half of the stolen equipment for $ 125. Knife fight ends in arrest A domestic argument escalated into a knife fight around 2 a.m. Thursday in an apartment at the 4400 block of South 27th Street Dennis Phillips, 44, was arguing with the woman he lives with, Joy Orth, 29, when Orth became upset and picked up a large knife, Sgt Ann Heermann said. Orth then started swinging the knife and cut Phillips on both his arms and back. Police arrested Orth for second degree assault p Diversity in History Editor’s note: Each day during Black History Month, the Daily Nebraskan *?5* will tell the story of a minority who made an important contribution in America’s history. Because he guided the founding of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in Chicago in 1915’ %g J* Because he directed and edited the Journal of Negro *550^0 History from 1916 to 1950; Because he served as Howard University’s liberal ar*s dean and the dean of West Virginia State College in Institute, W.Va; £-0”% Because he organized and became president of the Associated Publishers in 1922, which became <**'-'*■ the most important black American-owned publishing company for three decades; Because he received the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Spingarn Medal in 1925 for collecting and publishing the records of blacks in America; Because he inaugurated Negro History Week in 1926 and the Negro History Bulletin in 1937; Because he went on to publish several books on black history, including The Negro in Our History, which became the standard black history text for.many years; Carter Godwin Woodson is known as “the father of black history” and an editor and educator who . Ja spearheaded early efforts to chronicle black history em’W and work for its inclusion in American history texts before his death on April 3, 1950. Correction Larry Willis was incorrectly identified in a Daily Nebraskan article Thursday. Willis is a Residence Hall Association senator. NebrasketbaJl GIVE IT A $ H o NU Women vs- Iowa State Saturday, February 28 at 7 pm at Bob Devaney Sports Center Promotion: Free Burger King coupons will be given away to the first SO students at the game. Sponsor: y ornhusker BANK