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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1998)
SPDBTS Replacing Reitsma The Nebraska volleyball team goes with another lefty, sophomore Nancy Meendering, to replace the three-time All American. PAGE 9 A&E Roll it! A new major is in the works at UNL, and faculty members and students alike are awaiting the debut of our state’s first full-fledged film department. PAGE 18 August 25, 1998 A Step in the Right D rection Mostly sunny, high 89. Mostly o' '."’y tonight, low 67. Matt Miller/DN NIKKI ABBOTT CALLS her mom after finding out she is in Pi Beta Phi Sorority on Monday at Burnett Hall. A record percentage of women pledged on Bid Day. More rush to join sororities Record percentage of women turn out looking to go greek By Kim Sweet Staff writer The sidewalks leading to the 14 sorority houses at UNL were con siderably less traveled during the day on Monday. Just last weekend, 622 women packed the sidewalks as they visited one house after another for the annual sorority rush. They retreated to residence halls and classes Monday as they waited to receive invitations to houses. But a record percentage of those women returned to the streets on Monday evening, as they were escorted to their new houses by the Panhellenic representative for each sorority. The percentage of women actu ally placed in a house is the highest it has been in at least a decade, said Mary Ann Holland of Greek Affairs. Those increased numbers are positive for the greek system, said Laura Schweer, rush chairwoman for Phi Mu Sorority. “The greek system has a lot of benefits that go unnoticed,” Schweer said. “(People) don’t see that the grade point average is high er in the sororities than in the uni versity.” The more women the greek sys tem contains, the more women it can help, she said. This will lead to maintaining a positive image for sororities. The positive image the houses u The greek system has a lot of benefits that go unnoticed Laura Schweer Phi Mu rush chairwoman worked to build in the past helped to recruit the hundreds of women that attended rush, said Amy Ellis, rush chairwoman for Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. More women from western Nebraska made up the pool of girls who rushed, Ellis said. Ellis attributes this to the recog nition statewide philanthropic activ ities have given her house as well as the entire greek system. Schweer said out-of-state recruiting by the university also has increased rush numbers, as more non-Nebraskans took part in the activities this year. While the rush chairwomen were excited about rush numbers, those numbers required an extra effort on the part of many sorority members. More rushees meant more women to talk to each day, Schweer said. Though the increased numbers created more work for sorority members, the true dilemma came when it was time to choose, Ellis said. Matt Miller/DN KILEY SCHAFER, right, hugs a new Pi Beta Phi pledge in front of their sorority house. “I think it made it harder because there were so many good girls ” Ellis said. A potential problem with the increased number of women was solved by a new computer system used this year by Greek Affairs. The computer system eases the conges tion in the houses by methodically assigning women to houses throughout the day. The former system allowed women to choose randomly which houses they wanted to visit and when, said Linda Schwartzkopf, director of Greek Affairs. The new system eliminated an overabun dance of girls visiting one house while another remained empty. While the increased numbers required extra effort by the houses, Ellis said she welcomed it. “Each year hopefully we'll increase more and more.’’ Fraternity room catches on fire Electrical outlet blamed By Josh Funk Senior staff writer A faulty electrical outlet ignited a fire that gutted one room at Beta Theta Pi Fraternity Monday morn ing, fire inspectors said. The fire caused $1,000 in struc tural damage and $3,000 in damage to the contents of the room, Lincoln Fire Inspector James Ellis said. From the attire of the 20 fraterni ty members gathered on the lawn of 1515 R St., it was clear that the alarm had roused several of them from bed just after 10 a.m. Five fire engines, two command vehicles and an ambulance lined the street outside the fraternity with police blocking the intersections at 14th and 16th streets. A hose firefighters used to extin guish the fire snaked from one of the engines to a hydrant and then inside the building where fans were blow ing clear the last of the smoke. Deputy Chief Jerry Greenfield said smoke was rising from the northwest corner of the third floor when his engines arrived. The fire had started in the room directly over the entrance of the Beta Theta Pi house after the resident left for class at 9 a.m. Monday. Greenfield said that two other students who live on the floor smelled smoke and investigated the cause. When the students saw smoke emanating from around the door, they got the house manager, who had a master key for the room, and called the fire department, Greenfield said. The fraternity members were able to control the fire with extin guishers before firefighters arrived, Greenfield said. The fire destroyed personal belongings in the room and caused structural damage around the win dow. Children’s museum to play with new space By Kim Sweet Staff writer There are not many places where a 5-year-old can make a bank transaction. The place that provides chil dren of all ages with an ATM card also allows them to buy their own groceries, drive a tractor or suit up to fight a fire. Of course the money is fake, the tractor is immobile and the fires are imagined. But that does n’t decrease the excitement chil dren feel as they enter the Lincoln Children’s Museum, ready to explore. The museum, which attracts 80,000 visitors a year, is home to 50 exhibits that are similar to the bank, the fire truck and the trac tor. As children come and go through the museum, the staff hopes the children will do one thing - play. With this goal in mind the Lincoln Children’s Museum, at 121 S. 13th St., is planning to cre ate an even bigger opportunity for children to play. After a $1.8 million citywide bond issue was passed last May, the museum purchased a new location for an expanded chil dren's museum. The museum will move from its current location in 44 There are so many museums that don’t allow children to touch.” Tom White museum director of marketing the Lincoln Square building on O Street to 1420 P St. in the vacant building next to Rock ’N Roll Runza. The museum operates under the mission that a child’s work is play, said Tom White, director of marketing for the museum. White and the rest of the staff hold the belief that through playing, chil dren can learn what no one else can teach them. “It is by getting their hands on things where they learn how the world is and where their place in it is,” White said. After renting space in its cur rent location for the last 10 years, the museum will have a perma Please see MUSEUM on 6 Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at http://www.unl.edu/DailyNeb