SPORTS A & E
Kelsay rising The bold & the bartenders August 26,1998
Nebraska senior rush end Chad Kelsay fulfills a Employees of the Brass Rail are stepping from
life-long dream to play for the Huskers-and behind the bar to serve up the Rail’s third one-act THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
excels at it. PAGE 9 play. PAGE 12 Chance of rain, high 83. Cloudy tonight, low 67.
Ranking
doesn’t
faze UNL
By Lindsay Young
Senior staff writer
Administrators said the university
shouldn’t be discouraged by UNL’s
drop in the latest U.S. News and World
Report undergraduate school rank
ings.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln moved from the second to the
third tier in the recent U.S. News
undergraduate school rankings, which
means UNL ranks between 118-172
out of 227 national universities.
The annual report rates schools on
academic reputation, financial
resources, alumni giving, faculty
resources and student selectivity.
UNL has beentnoving up and
down in the magazine's rankings
within the past few years. Last year, it
moved from the third tier to the sec
ond.
“1 think it shows we are right 01
the cuff between the second and thir<
tiers,” said Chancellor James Moeser
University officials said tha
despite the rankings, the university i
the same as it was last year, when i
was placed in the second tier. Via
Chancellor for Student Affairs Jame
Griesen said he believes UNL’s acade
mic reputation has not changed.
English professor James Ford saic
UNL’s ranking appeared to go th<
opposite way of its improved statis
tics.
“In all of the relevant statistics th<
university improved, and it went dowi
(in the rankings),” said Ford, who als<
is the past president of the Academr
Senate. “It shows vagaries.”
Moeser said the report highlighte<
some of the positive changes made ii
the last year. “(The ranking) doesn’
come as a shock,” he said. “I an
encouraged by a number of very posi
Please see RANKING on (
1 Matt Miller/DN
ASUN PRESIDENT SARA RUSSELL spent part of her summer in Israel participating in a nine-day student government seminar.
t -
■ Israel visit
, enlightens
; ASUN chief
i -
By IevaAugstums
Staff writer
Soldiers walked streets with machine guns,
t watching every move she made.
She noticed the lack of security while visiting
the U.S. Embassy in Israel, a couple of days after
U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa.
, She learned to negotiate conflicts peacefully,
>
along with Israelis and Palestinians.
Those were just some of the situations the
Association of Students of the University of
Nebraska President Sara Russell came face-to
face with during a nine-day student government
seminar Aug. 6-14 in Israel.
Russell, a senior math major, met with 12
other university student body presidents from the
Midwest, Rocky Mountain and Plains states to
heighten international awareness and discuss
diversity in Israel’s society, people and history.
“Life is not the same after you are ripped out
of your comfort zone,” Russell said. “It’s uncom
fortable and scary.”
Through the program, organized by Project
Interchange, an educational institute of the
American Jewish Committee, Russell visited
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the West Bank and Christian
holy sites near the Sea of Galilee and in
Bethlehem. She was selected to attend the travel
seminar after completing an application and inter
view.
ASUN Director of Development Marlene
Beyke said ASUN fully supported Russell’s
endeavors in Israel.
“Anytime when we have the opportunity to
expose our students to other cultures and experi
ences, it is a growing experience, which cannot be
refused,” Beyke said.
The $7,000 trip, paid for by Project
Interchange, offered participants an overview of
challenges within Israeli society, including human
relation conflicts.
Russell said meeting with elected Palestinian
Authority representatives, Arab community lead
ers and U.S. government officials helped her learn
about national politics, the U.S.-Israeli relation
ship and the Middle East peace process.
“It was a crash course in U.S. international
relations,” Russell said. “It was more intense
learning than any university course could have
offered me.”
Please see ISRAEL on 7
Policy may exclude non-students from union
By Jessica Fargen
Staff writer
About 20 transients who make then
home most of the day and night in the
Nebraska Union may have fewer places
to go if the Union Board approves a
restrictive policy next month.
Nebraska Unions Director Daryl
Swanson said the board will vote Sept. 8
to restrict use of the Crib, unfinished
northwest study lounge, unfinished base
ment billiard room and television lounge.
After 6 p.m., those designated areas
would be open only to UNL students, fac
ulty members and staff.
If asked, people in the union may be
expected to show a valid University of
Nebraska-Lincoln identification card,
Swanson said. If patrons fail to produce a
valid identification, they would be asked
to leave the posted area.
Swanson said the policy, which
would go into effect immediately if
passed, is the result of student concerns
and safety issues.
“Some people have expressed their
objections to the homeless population (in
the union),” Swanson said. “It varies
from personal hygiene issues, to late at
night, we’ve had some drunk and disor
derly issues.”
Swanson told the Union Board
Tuesday night he wants the new union
to be known as a safe place to study at
night. Facilities at the union, such as the
convenience store and copy center, will
be open late, and the union will have bet
ter lighting for studying, he said.
A UNL community service officer
would be at the union to enforce the poli
cy. Swanson said people would not be
asked to show an identification card
based on appearance.
“I will not put my staff in the position
of selective administration of this policy,”
he said.
But, he said, “If you are blending in,
you are not likely to be asked.”
The policy would leave the food court
and hallways for the 20 or so transients
and the general public, Swanson said.
He said the proposal is not aimed at
wiping out union transients - which
would be illegal because the union is
public property.
The union is allowed to set certain
“house rules,” though, Swanson said.
Patrons must follow all house rules,
including the proposed policy, if enacted.
Safety is another reason for the poli
cy, Swanson said. Students have told him
they don’t feel safe in the union, especial
ly at night, he said.
“I’ve never really been concerned
that the union is not safe,” Swanson said.
“Safety is a perception more than a real
ity
“We are trying to change that per
ception.”
Besides safety, Union Board mem
bers said the presence of transients
made them uncomfortable and was not
conducive to studying.
Union Board President Matt Luth
said he sometimes felt awkward or dis
couraged from studying in an area
where several transients were present.
“They can monopolize a pretty big
area,” he said.
Ryan Fuchs, Union Board member,
said wiping out transients in study areas
such as the Crib will make the union
more study-friendly.
“It will make it much more attractive
for students to be here,” he said.
The Union Board will vote on the
new policy at its Sept. 8 meeting in the
Nebraska Union.
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