Grant aids in beer battle
_ ^_
■ The university will use
a binge-drinking grant
to fight problems caused
by underage drinking.
By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
The university is planning to
combat drinking on campus with the
help of a $700,000 grant that takes
effect today.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln was awarded a grant from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
this year to help address drinking
problems, Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs James Griesen said.
The $700,000 grant takes effect
today with provisions for enforcement,
prevention and alternatives to drinking.
Though administrators have not
decided exactly how the grant will be
implemented at UNL, Griesen said it
should have a positive impact on
campus.
University administrators and
police are well aware of the problems
•associated with drinking parties.
Physical and sexual assaults and
numerous public disturbances occur
at large parties, Lincoln Police Chief
Tom Casady said.
This weekend LPD implemented a
special enforcement program to dis
courage underage drinking and large
house parties off campus, Casady said.
Along with Lincoln police efforts
to diminish underage drinking in the
city, the university wants to send a
message to underage drinkers,
Griesen said.
“We are trying to make a point,”
Griesen said. “We want to let people
know there are consequences for their
actions”
UNL is one of two universities
awarded the binge-drinking grant this
year. •
Police, university join
forces to fight drinking
' DRINKING from page 1
addition to criminal charges.
Though the university does
not usually exercise its jurisdic
\ tion for misdemeanors that occur
off campus, these parties are a
special case, Griesen said.
“It’s our students they are
marketing to, and our students at
risk,” Griesen said.
“These parties are a detriment
to our purpose.”
Griesen said the university’s
stronger stance on alcohol in
campus housing in recent years
has pushed the parties out into the
city.
“(The university and police)
have to work together to diminish
the drinking, not just move it,”
Griesen said.
Police believe that the extra
officers will have an effect on the
parties.
> “We can reduce the size and
frequency of these parties,”
Casady said.
Police want to reduce the
number of alcohol violations and
other problems while decreasing
the size of these parties.
“The blatant violations are the
focus of this enforcement,”
Casady said.
Police believe these problems
are only getting worse as the num
ber and size of parties continue to
increase.
In light of national alcohol
fueled problems in university
cities, such as the rioting in
Boulder, Colo., last fall, and local
problems such as physical and
sexual assaults at large parties,
Lincoln police are trying to stem
the flow of problems.
The problems inherent in
these parties quickly multiply
when two officers are dispatched
to a 100 to 200 person party,
Casady said.
“People have figured out that
there is not much two officers can
do,” Casady said. “Much of the
risk has disappeared.
“We are trying to change
that”
The special detail of officers
gives police the resources they
need to handle larger parties,
Casady said.
Before beginning this
enforcement project police also
met with campus administrators
and representatives of greek
houses Aug. 20 to discuss alco
hol-related problems.
LPD plans to conduct similar
enforcement projects throughout
the year, Casady said.
“If you violate the law, be pre
pared to suffer the conse
quences.”
University officials have
described the efforts to discourage
abusive drinking as a battle in which
one of the objectives is to provide a
reasonable alternative to drinking
activities such as bar crawls.
But the grant is multifaceted
-1
because it discourages drinking while
providing alternatives and education,
Griesen said.
The university will hold a press
conference Sept. 10 to announce the
acceptance of the grant and some of
the initial plans for the money.
State auditor asks for resignations
AUDIT from page 1
individuals,” B reslow wrote in his let
tor to die governor. .v.
But HarmOn said the members
left early and stayed late to attend
national committee meetings and to
take advantage of lower airfares.
She said all costs, which must be
reported following strict state guide
lines, were legitimate business
expenses.
She said the Nebraska board has
suggested to NASBA that it should
consider the cost of the national and
regional conferences when planning
them.
“It’s important that the location be
local and centralized so that the board
can attend,” Harmon said.
But no matter the location or cost,
she said, board members have to
attend meetings, gather information
and vote on national issues before the
- board at the national conference.
In a statement prepared by
Harmon, she indicated that the
money spent by the board eomes
from licensing fees paid not only by
Nebraska accountants and account
ing firms, but also by accountants
outside the state.
The Nebraska Board of Public
Accountancy, which is made up of
licensed accountants and laymen
appointed by the governor, regulates
and administers licenses for public
accounting in Nebraska and also rep
resents the state at regional and
national conferences, Harmon said.
■' The board’s budget must be
approved by the Appropriations
Committee of the Nebraska
Legislature.
■r Harmon said the Legislature has
never recommended cutting travel
expenses because senators under
stand the high costs of travel are justi
fied by the importance of regional
and national conferences.
Breslow said the board should
have sent only one or two people, who
could have reported any new infor
mation to the rest when they returned.
In his letter, Breslow called on the
board members to “submit their res
u
Sometimes the only
way we can discover
problems like this
is by citizens
callingin.”
John Breslow
state auditor t
ignation to (Nelson) and reimburse
the state for the money wasted.”
All members of the accountancy
board received copies of the letter
sent to Nelson last week. ^ -
Karl Bieber, spokesman for the
governor, said Nelson’s office will
wait for a response from the board
until it takes any action,
Hannon said die board will pre
pare an official response to Breslow’s
letter this week.
Leaders encourage talk about remains
PROTEST from page 1
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act officials will join in
a meeting on East Campus beginning
today to arrive at a solution to the
issue that has perplexed university
officials and American Indians alike.
For the next two days, NAGPRA
and university officials will concen
trate on Nebraska, said Pamina
Yellow Bird, an Ankara tribe mem
ber and NAGPRA consultant.
But supporters marched not only
for the return of bones at UNL but
also to persuade other universities
and museums around the country to
return the bones they have to the
* i
native tribes to whom they bp long,
she said.
“We want to come to some kind
of agreement about how we are
going to solve this problem, not just
ihetoric,” Yellow Bird said.
Priscilla Grew, UNL vice chan
cellor for research, said she was
committed to returning the bones to
American Indians.
Grew said she was encouraged by
the cooperation of those working to
return the bones to American Indians
and by the lessons they have taught
the university.
“This is a university,” Grew said.
“Usually we teach people, but this
time it’s been the other way aro»md.”
Senior economics major Jeff
Hughes, who came to the march after
reading about the issue in the news,
said he thought it advanced the
cause.
“I think it brings about aware
ness,” Hughes said.
Student government President
Sara Russell said she supports the
efforts of the march.
“I think this is a way for the peo
ple to express their disdain with
what’s happened at the university,”
she said.
“I hope it promotes more aware
ness of the inhumane treatment of
the Native American remains at the
University of Nebraska.”
4. -Jfc * 4» 4» * U * 1
Student-athletes find
time for study, play
Arizona Daily Wildcat
University of Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. (U-Wire) - When
it comes to academics, athletes are
more like Rodney Dangerfield than
Albert Einstein in traditional public
perception.
They really don’t get any respect
And while some of that is self
deserved, most student athletes are just
as successful, if not more, than the
average student. In 1997,64 percent of
University of Arizona athletes graduat
ed, besting the school’s overall average
by 12 percent.
“Our student-athletes are well
motivated and really work hard on their
studies,” Athletics Director Jim
Livengood said.
“They have the tough task of bal
ancing their studies, practices and social
time. It forces them to get the most out
of what limited time they have.”
Even though the numbers look
impressive at first, they are a bit mis
leading. Realistically, Arizona student
athletes fall into two categories: those
whose meal ticket is their education and
those who are looking to professional
sports for a living.
“I think it’s a misrepresentation to
clump all of sports together when it
comes to their education,” UA women’s
volleyball coach Dave Rubio said.
“Generally, the media focuses on
the football and basketball teams. And,
in this case, many times they have a dif
ferent motivation than, say, the women’s
soccer or volleyball athletes.”
In the men’s sports with legitimate
professional opportunities - basketball,
football and baseball - the athletes are
more tempted to take less work-inten
sive majors than athletes in other sports.
For example, in football and men’s
basketball, 40 percent of last year’s
starters were m me traaitronaxiy eusiiy
majors 01 lamuy siuuies anu communi
cation.
Family studies majors have few
real-world opportunities upon gradua- /
tion because of the social science base,
so the large number of athletes major- ;
ing in this area tends to indicate a
lighter workload.
“Like most social sciences, there
aren’t as many opportunities to earn a
high salary as the engineering or busi- ■
ness venues,” said Rod Cate, director of /
UA’s School of Family and Consumer
Resources. t
“But what I think the athletes do
like is our supportive faculty. We don’t
try and weed students out.”
The other sports tend to behave •
more like the school averages, with the
exception of fewer technical majors.
Some teams, like the women’s vol- t
leyball team, also enter diverse areas -
of studies as a group. Most of the vol
leyball players take four years of sign
language to fulfill their humanities
requirements.
One worry is that there are the play
ers who try to keep eligibility but never
earn applicable degrees.
“It is a concern for us. But you have
to realize that the purpose of college is
to prepare you for a good job,”
Livengood said.
“If thepnofessionql ranks give some r?,
keep their
“It’s like if a chemical engineer, who
could make $70,000 upon graduation,
was offered $2.5 million after his third
year to work for an engineering firm. Of
course he is going to take it, and that’s
what we have to sometimes face with
these talented athletes.”
The UA does have guidelines for
retaining eligibility. NCAA regulations
and Arizona Board of Regents policies
state that all athletes must declare a
major by their fifth semester with a
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