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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1998)
SPORTS Lueless Nebraska point guard Tyronn Lue announced Tuesday that he will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft. PAGE 7 A&E A day at the zoo This Thursday, the UNL theatre department will explore its animal instincts with the new produc tion of Edward Albee’s “Zoo Story” PAGE 9 WEDNESDAY April 1, 1998 Sweet Suhshower Mostly sunny, high 50. Clear tonight, low 30. DN - Special - Report Legality of hiring practices under fire ■ Teachers College members question the fair ness of affirmative action. By Brad Davis Senior Reporter The way UNL tries to hire more minority faculty has some faculty members criticizing the process, call ing it at best unfair, and possibly ille gal. But administrators say the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's affirmative action policies simply I encourage greater diversity in the hir ing process and fully comply with the law. UNL Chancellor James Moeser and NU President Dennis Smith have said that there are no quotas or “set asides” in any of the university’s hir ing. Despite administrators’ insistence that the university does not use quotas, some faculty members point to a memo written by Teachers College Dean James O'Hanlon, which they said proves the university is engaged in setting quotas for certain positions. The debate focuses on two para graphs in the memo that was circulat ed to the Teachers College Planning and Allocation Committee. In the memo, obtained by the Daily Nebraskan, O’Hanlon wrote the col lege would “place funds in reserve to support opportunity hires to bring greater diversity to our faculty.” O’Hanlon also wrote that one out of three final candidates for a position chosen by a search committee must be from a designated minority group (such as a black person or a woman). Because those stipulations seemed unethical, Psychology Professor David Moshman stepped down from one of the Teachers College search committees. i Although all faculty members on a search committee must undergo affir mative action training to ensure legal compliance, Moshman said the Teachers College requirements were unacceptable and possibly illegal. Opening opportunities But Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard Edwards said opportunity hires are used spar ingly at the university. For the “overwhelming bulk” of hiring at the university, he said, an extensive, national search is conduct ed for tenure-track, senior-level posi tions to ensure a diverse pool of candi dates. With an opportunity hire, the search process is forgone for a candi date who is exceptionally qualified, Edwards said. “If a white male Nobel Prize win ner comes along and says, ‘I want to move from Stanford (University) to the University of Nebraska,’ we are very likely to make that appointment without a search. “We’re not going to go out with a search that says, ‘Nobel Prize winners who want to relocate to Nebraska, Please see HIRING on 6 Losing Luo mil— 111111111111 i---1 Lane Hickenbottom/DN TYRONN LUE was all smiles sitting next to Nebraska Basketball Coach Danny Nee Tuesday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center after announcing that he will forego his senior season to enter the NBA Draft. ____ Sex assault numbers incorrect From Staff Reports A self-defense presentation at Gamma Phi Beta Sorority Monday night included incorrect informa tion about the number of sexual assaults at UNL. Dave Portnoy, a St. Louis mar tial arts instructor, talked with sorority members about how to prevent sexual assaults and defend themselves. According to sorority mem bers, Portnoy said that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus is the second-most dan gerous campus in America and there have been more than 45 sex ual assaults this year. UNL Police statistics show five sexual assaults since September. "We are nowhere near second most dangerous.” Police Chief Ken Cauble said. When Portnoy was contacted Tuesday night he said, “A campus of 25.000 to 30,000 students will typically have 45 sexual assaults.” But according to those at the presentation, Portnoy said that UNL had 45 assaults this year. It is important to get the correct figures out to dispel any rumors, Cauble said. "If you let rumors go long enough they become fact,” he said. Portnoy founded the Women’s Rights group to teach self-defense to college women after a friend of his was raped on a college campus in 1996. Despite the incorrect statistic, members of the sorority who heard the presentation said it was very informative. “It was very useful,” Gamma Phi Beta President Laura Lessley said. “I’m sure he has saved a lot of lives.” Vice President Molly Weichman agreed. “There was lots of good, rele vant information ” Maintenance plan resolved, law signed ■ Gov. Nelson approves a bill to refurbish university buildings and state colleges. By Todd Anderson Assignment Reporter Help is on its way for ailing buildings on University of Nebraska campuses. Gov. Ben Nelson signed into law Tuesday a spending bill that will give money to the university system to pay for deferred mainte nance and building renewal. “The multiyear approach embodied in LB 1100 is a good way to address the costly deferred maintenance needs of the universi ty and state colleges,” Nelson said. The plan will give S79.5 mil lion in bonds to the University of Nebraska to pay for 12 new main tenance and development projects over the next 10 years. The money will fund renova tion of three buildings on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s City and East campuses. Avery Hall, Love Library and Hamilton Hall will each receive a facelift at a total cost of about $35.6 million. In addition, Bancroft and Lyman Halls will be replaced by one new building at an estimated cost of $10.56 million. This spending plan for renova tions is separate from and in addi tion to last year's $8.5 million pro ject to renovate Richards Hall. NU President Dennis Smith said now is the time to take advan tage of low interest rates on bonds. “The issuance of revenue bonds to eliminate the backlog (of main tenance) is an attractive approach,” Smith said, “particularly because the rate of borrowing is offset almost entirely by the annual infla tion rate in construction costs.” To pay back the revenue bonds, the Legislature will pay $5.5 mil lion each year for the next 10 years. Smith said that amount will be matched by the university, which will be paid for in part by a tuition increase. Nelson said the cooperative approach to funding building renewal was the best alternative to a long-lasting problem. “It does not overextend reliance of the general fund in any single year and will ultimately save the taxpayers money,” Nelson said. The maintenance and renova tion bill also gives $400,000 to state colleges for repair and improvement. It also requires each state agency receiving maintenance funds to set aside 2 percent of the renovation budget for continued maintenance in the future. For UNL, that means SI.6 mil lion will be set aside. Omaha Sen. Dan Lynch, the main sponsor of the bill and chair man of the Legislature s task force for building renewal, said Tuesday was a monumental day for Nebraska. “For those who follow us and pay attention to this problem, the state can see its way out of this mess in 15 years,” he said. “The 1998 Legislature will be known as the Legislature that finally seriously addressed the deferred maintenance needs of our state buildings.” Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http://www.unl.edu/DailyNeb
