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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1998)
SPORTS I Not pretty The Nebraska football team struggled through its final scrimmage before its Saturday game against Louisiana Tech. PAGE 14 A & E Sugar daddies Old (very old) school group Sugarhill Gang required the aid of dubbed recordings when it per formed at the Big Red Welcome. PAGE 18 August 24, 1998 Hotter Than Haoes Partly cloudy, high 95. Chance of ram tonight, low 65 ■ i Dawn Dietrich/DN NICOLE WITTWER, an employee of Fringe and Tassel Costume Rental, 735 0 St., hands out rings to students during Sunday’s Big Red Welcome. Many vendors, student and community organizations peddled free items to advertise their services and groups during the all-day festival on R Street. A welcome, Big Red style ■ Thousands endure the heat to start the school year with freebies, music. By Adam Klinker Staff writer It’s been said that you can tell a freshman by the slap-happy look - but at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. it's by the bags of free stuff. Sunday night, 144 student orga nizations, clubs, area businesses and other services filled 240 booths on R street between 12th and 16th streets. The students followed. “It’s intimidating,” said fresh man biological sciences major Emily Jorgensen. “But it’s awe some.” Enduring the high heat and humidity - 94 degrees with 54 per cent humidity - thousands of peo pie lined the street in front of the Nebraska Union to get their hands on free compact discs, food and coupons. Following a New Student Convocation given for transfer stu dents and the freshman class, the Big Red Welcome kicked off at 5 p.m. and wrapped up with a concert by the old-school rap group Sugarhill Gang at 7 p.m. Bill McLaughlin, chemistry professor and recipient of student government’s Outstanding Educator Award, told students dur ing the convocation to experience the college atmosphere and ques tion answers in addition to answer ing questions. McLaughlin finished his speech with an impromptu perfor mance on his harmonica. Afterward, the capacity crowd at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts streamed onto R Street to join the already growing crowd. Construction of the booths designed to attract students walking along R Street began around 8 a.m. and preparation for Big Red Welcome continued until about 3 p.m. One of the more popular booths was the one from Havelock Bank featuring a “House of Cash" money grab. About 30 people walked away with a share of the 100 SI bills blowing around in the booth, Pat Myrick, a spokeswoman from Havelock Bank, said. Lance Ford, a senior art major, was the first to get a chance at the flying $1 bills. “It’s great,” Ford said. “Lots of food, free money. I’m having a good time.” Ford picked up S7. The Navigators, a campus Christian group, handed out 2,000 Blue Bunny ice cream cones donat Please see RED on page 3 Moeser marks mission areas By Lindsay Young Senior staff writer To help fulfill its mission as a land grant university, UNL will work to improve three areas in the next year. Chancellor James Moeser said Friday. In his annual state of the university address Friday morning to about 1,000 people, Moeser announced the forma tion of three committees designed to build upon the University of Nebraska Lincoln's strengths, increase academic ngor and consider the state of the cam pus climate - all priorities he set last year. One committee, named the Future Nebraska Committee, will consider UN Us areas of greatest strength and potential for future developments. The committee will be headed by Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard Edwards. Moeser said he is setting down only one requirement for the commit tee - that it create a plan that moves Nebraska forward in research and graduate studies in the next five years. Edwards said committee members win uc djjpunucu uy me ciiaiiccnoi anu will represent a diverse cross-section of campus. “I believe (Moeser’s) intention is to have a rather open process,” which includes self-nominations, Edwards said. This committee will “turn the question of the university’s future into a research problem,” Moeser said. Moeser said Future Nebraska could look at problems or opportuni ties UNL is well-positioned to solve and assess the status and quality of cur rent programs. It also could envision what might be possible with enhanced resources or a reorganization of exist ing resources. The Association of American Universities may review its members on a periodic basis in the future, Moeser said. The association, of which UNL has been a member since 1909, focuses its efforts on retaining a mem U We cannot become so focused that we abandon our comprehensive mission James Moeser UNL chancellor bership of the principal research and doctoral-degree granting universities in the country. “I am confident the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will continue to be a member of good standing,” Moeser said. He said the university would wel come the scrutiny of the AAU. which could benefit UNL, pushing it to focus its energy and resources. The strategy for building on UNL's strengths will cause a greater focus on selected areas, Moeser said. He said the university must create balance and research. “We cannot become so focused that we abandon our comprehensive mission,” Moeser said. Another committee that has been created will examine how the universi ty can improve the educational experi ence of first-year students, which, in turn, will improve retention and gradu ation rates, Moeser said. The Freshman Year Experience Taskforce will be headed by Ted Pardy, a professor of biological sciences. One of every four freshman stu dents fails to return for his sophomore year, Moeser said. Also, only about 50 percent of students graduate within six years. He set a goal to reduce the fresh man attrition rate to less than 20 per cent and increase the number of stu dents who graduate in a timely fashion Please see MOESER on page 7 Union delays mean users lounging with ladders ByIevaAugstums Staff writer Students will have to dodge jack hammers, bulldozers and dust today, as the Nebraska Union expansion and renovation project enters its third year. Originally a two-year project scheduled to be completed Aug. 12, construction is expected to proceed into the 1999 spring semester, accord ing to Rachelle Setsodi, spokeswoman for the University of Nebraska Lincoln Facilities Management and Planning department. Yet, students will pay in fees for the renovations, even if they graduate before the project is completely fin ished. Nebraska Union project manager Brad Muehling said the almost four month delay was caused by bad weath er and an unforeseen excess of asbestos found in the building. “We are picky, and all of us want (the union) fast, quick and cheap,” Muehling said. “Unfortunately, we can’t have it that way.” Even though the union is not fully complete, Nebraska Unions Director Daryl Swanson confirmed that begin ning this fall, and continuing every semester for a 20-year term, an addi tional $20 per student, per semester will be added to student fees. “New areas - the lounge and din ing area - are being used,” Swanson said. “Students are paying for the use of the new union.” The total cost of the union as of this fall is $13.48 million, instead of the originally estimated $12.68 million. The additional $800,000 was approved by the NU Board of Regents to cover the increased cost of asbestos abate ment, Swanson said. Heather Hipschman, a senior bio logical science major, said having stu dents pay now for the unfinished union is outrageous. “It’s all kind of ridiculous paying for the union if it’s not done,” Hipschman said. “But I guess you do have to pay for it in order to get it done.” Freshman Cory Crouse, also a bio logical science major, said paying $20 a semester wasn’t a big deaf “It’s something we have to do as students,” Crouse said. “Nothing gets done on time - we must deal with it.” Features of the project include adding 55,000 square feet to the build ing and the renovation of 66,000 square feet of the existing union struc ture. Muehling said he cannot hold the contractors liable for delays that result ed from things beyond their control, including asbestos and the weather. New areas of the union - the first floor lounge and food court dining space - are substantially completed and are accessible and in use, he said. Other areas, including the north entrance, the fountain, the plaza, the recreation room, the big-screen TV lounge, the 24-hour computer lab, the copy center and the lecture and meet ing rooms will be substantially com pleted by late October or early November. Please see UNION on page 7 Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http:/ lwww.unl.edu/DailyNeb
