1 SPOUTS
Frankly speaking
I Frank Solich is satisfied with the results of his
first spring as the head coach of the Comhusker
football team. PAGE 9
A&E
The Edge is back
Well, not exactly. But The Waters Edge, a local
Christian rock group, recently released its first
album, “Change.” PAGE 11
April 30, 1998
BackF
Sunny, high 78. low 38.
VOL. 97 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 151
Ryan Soderlin/DN
MANDY THELEN leads an aerobics class at Chase Firm Fitness, 701 P St., Wednesday afternoon. Thelen, a
UNL junior business major, recently placed In the top half of the 102nd Boston Marathon.
Thelen goes the distance
ByEricRineer
Staff Reporter
It’s one of the few races in which
finishing 5,132nd is worth bragging
about.
After all, UNL junior Mandy
Thelen still beat about 6,000 other
racers in the 102nd Boston
Marathon April 20.
The race, which takes runners
past sites like Fenway Park and
through Kenmore Square, spans
26.2 miles from Hopkinton, Mass.,
to Boston. Thelen was one of two
Lincoln women to finish the race,
and her time of 3:34.22 qualified
her for the 103rd Boston Marathon
next year.
Even though she competed for
time during the Boston Marathon, it
also was a chance to have fun and
enjoy the camaraderie, she said.
“Basically, you run to enjoy die
crowds of people,” she said. “The
love that people have for you can be
overwhelming.”
Thelen, who high-jumped her
way to a scholarship at South
Dakota State University in
Brookings, S.D., transferred to the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
last year and since has concentrated
on long-distance running.
For the past two years, Thelen, a
business major, has competed in
other marathons, including last
year’s Omaha and Lincoln
marathons. She finished the races
in first and second place for her age
group, respectively.
Besides competing in
marathons, Thelen keeps herself
busy running about 60 miles a week
and working part time at General
Nutrition Center and Chase Firm
Fitness in Lincoln.
“She’s amazing,” said Bob
Chase, who owns and manages the
fitness center. “She’s one of the
most motivated students to ever
walk through our door.”
While Thelen spends most of
her time at Chase teaching aerobics,
she also instructs classes on upper
body weightlifting. Upper body lift
ing enables runners to maintain
good running form, Chase said.
“The clients crave her class,” he
said. “She always has energy and is
always motivating people.”
Besides doing aerobics and lift
ing weights, dancing also consti
tutes a major part of her training,
Chase said.
“All those ingredients go
together to make her the total pack
age.”
Thelen credits her motivation to
family traditions in track and field.
Having a father and sister who
high-jumped was motivational, she
said. After a few years of high
jumping, Thelen said, she was ready
to try something different and
began training for marathons.
She was pleased with the
Boston Marathon and said she con
quered several personal goals.
“It just leaves a big smile on my
face,” she said. “Once you pass that
big yellow finish line you accom
plish something.”
Nelson advocates wind energy
By Brian Carlson
Senior Reporter
Gov. Ben Nelson said Wednesday
that state government can continue to
set an example for the private sector
by encouraging the use of renewable
energy resources such as wind-gener
ated electricity and soybean-based
fuel additives.
In a news conference, Nelson
signed a contract to use wind-gener
ated electricity in the Governor’s
/
Mansion as part of a program spon
sored by Lincoln Electric System. He
also announced the expanded use of a
soybean-based fuel additive in state
vehicles.
“This is one more indication of
the current success, and potential
future success, of renewable fuel
sources,” Nelson said.
LES has said that when 1,000
units of wind-generated electricity
are purchased, it will build a wind tur
bine in northeast Lincoln to generate
electrical power. Since the plan was
announced in early April, 700 units of
energy have been purchased.
Households can purchase one or
two units of wind electricity, while
larger businesses may buy up to five.
The monthly price per unit will be
held at no more than $6.
Terry Bundy, LES administrator,
said the project’s initial cost includes
a $ 1 million capital cost. Although
wind electricity may be inefficient
Please see ENERGY on 2
Threats originated
from outside state
■ Police say the e-mail to
two graduate students was
not from Nebraska.
By Josh Funk
Senior Reporter
UNL police have learned that the
racially-motivated e-mail threats sent
to two graduate students last week
originated from outside Nebraska.
A sociology professor also
received a racist note slid under his
office door, but police do not believe
the incidents are connected, UNL
Police Sgt. Mylo Bushing said.
The two graduate students, who
wished to remain anonymous,
received identical e-mail, though they
were mailed to each of them individu
ally.
According to University of
Nebraska-Lincoln police, the mes
sage said, “I really hate Mexicans.
They should be shot in the head and
burned because they are big stealers.”
Keith Parker, a sociology profes
sor and director of the African
American and African studies pro
gram, received a note signed by a
“KKK member,” police said.
In the note to Parker, handwritten
on a piece of computer paper, the
author said, “I am afraid of smart nig
gers like yourself. Niggers should go
back to Africa. White Power.”
Bushing said police are taking
every precaution to protect the targets
of the harassment; however, to protect
those involved, he did not want to
comment on what steps have been
taken.
“Anytime we see threats like that
we take them seriously,” Bushing said.
All of these messages are consid
ered terroristic threats, which is a
class three felony carrying a maxi
mum penalty of five years in jail
and/or a $10,000 fine.
Though police are familiar with e
mail harassment, Bushing said they
rarely see serious threats such as
these.
Anyone who receives threatening
e-mail or other messages should save
the message and report it to police.
Group would boost
alcohol awareness
»
By Amanda Schindler
Staff Reporter
Sometimes tragedy is necessary
before change can be made.
And three UNL students believe a
recent tragedy - the death of UNL
junior Laura Cockson at the hands of
a drunken driver - should bring about
a serious change.
The three are trying to start a new
organization called GAMMA -
Greeks Advocating the Mature
Management of Alcohol.
Freshman elementary deaf educa
tion major Molly Schmitz, junior
international business major Laura
Bradley and freshman mathematics
major Brett Stohs hope to change the
alcohol culture on campus by bring
ing the national organization to the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Now is a key time for GAMMA
to begin,” Stohs said. “People will be
more receptive of GAMMA and what
it stands for after (Cockson’s) death.”
The three students came together
after spending a week at the
LeaderShape Institute near Ashland
during spring break. The retreat
helped participants develop a vision
to implement.
For Schmitz, Bradley and Stohs,
GAMMA seemed ideal after a
tragedy such as Cockson’s death
The trio hopes to implement vari
ous activities through GAMMA,
such as a sober driving system. With
the help of a corporate sponsor,
GAMMA will offer the phone num
ber of an area taxi service to call if
students are unfit to drive or in an
unsafe situation.
The bill would be sent to the
sponsor, allowing students a free
alternative to driving drunk.
Other activities include sponsor
ing National Collegiate Alcohol
Awareness Week, highlighting the
dangers of drunken driving for fresh
man greek members in particular.
“They need to be educated and
informed on effects (drunken dri
ving) can have, and did have, on UNL
students,” Schmitz said.
All-greek philanthropy projects
also are a possibility, with proceeds
going to an anti-drunken driving
organization such as Mothers Against
Drunken Driving.
Shmitz said she hopes GAMMA
will be up and running by Big Red
Welcome next fall. Membership
would include representatives from
each greek house, but services would
be available to all students, she said.
Besides the pain of tragedies such
as Cockson’s death, Schmitz said her
biggest concern is that most alcohol
related accidents can be avoided with
a little forethought.
“Whenever you hear about an
(alcohol-related) death, you think
something should be done,” Schmitz
said. “It’s all preventable.”