j Affirmative action
opponent to speak
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Bt Km Sweet
Staffwriter
Affirmative action will meet a
formidable foe tonight at the
Nebraska Union.
Ward Connerly, an outspoken
advocate of ending affirmative action
, policies, will explain his views on the
subject during his speech, “Racial
Preferences are Dead.”
Campus proponents of affirma
tive action said the speech could lead
to an important discussion.
Connerly is known for bringing
national publicity to the issue of bas
ing university admittance on race
after being appointed to the
California Board of Regents.
In 1995, Connerly served as
Chairman of California’s proposition
209, which made it illegal to use racial
preferences in university admissions
in California, said Ben Patton, vice
president of UNL College
Republicans.
The civil rights leader comes to
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at
a time when it is necessary to present
the other side of the debate over affir
mative action, College Republican
Secretary Josh Moenning said.
With much discussion and public
ity given to UNL’s diversity plan and
other affirmative action items,
Moenning said that much of the infor
mation students are given comes from
a liberal viewpoint.
“I think Connerly will bring the
other side,” he said
“I think it will definitely bring
some division of thought,” Moenning
said.
And, Patton added, it will do so “in
M
The conversation is
one that has to be
had. It has to be
civil, and done in a
way that moves
people forward.”
John Harris
assistant to vice chancellor
a very pro-affirmative action cam
pus.”
John Harris, special assistant to
the vice chancellor for student affairs,
said he disagrees with Connerly’s
views, but thinks his speech is an
important one.
“The conversation is one that has
to be had,” he said. “It has to be civil,
and done in a way that moves people
forward.”
Since Connerly is African
American, Harris said, his views
against affirmative action should
draw people to the event.
“It kind of makes it an oxymoron,”
he said. “So that is challenging to
some people.”
Connerly will speak at 8 p.m. in
the Centennial Ballroom. His appear
ance in Lincoln is one of the first in
the Midwest, Moenning said.
The event is sponsored by the
UNL College Republicans, the
Nebraska chapter of the National
Association of Scholars and the
Young America’s Foundation.
Students at Princeton
discuss binge drinking
Daily Pnncetoman
University of Princeton
Princeton, NJ. (U-Wire)-To pre
pare for their upcoming meeting with
tile Board of Trustees’ subcommittee
on alcohol abuse, student government
recently discussed the nature of alco
hol consumption on campus and
potential policies to fight binge drink
ing.
“We have to think of it as if we’re
not doing battle with the trustees,”
senator Kelly Cross said. “I think we
need to take a proactive perspective.”
While the Undergraduate Life
Committee discussed alcohol issues
with the trustee subcommittee on
_ J . i 1 •««
uiwuui auuac, aiuucm lcaucis will
meet with the subcommittee Oct 22.
The Board of Trustees convened
the alcohol abuse subcommittee more
than 18 months ago and will receive
policy recommendations from vari
ous campus groups Dec. 1.
For most of this semester, the
Undergraduate Life Committee will
be discussing proposals to help miti
gate alcohol abuse on campus, such as
four-year residential colleges, a sub
stance-free residence hall, an alcohol
free pledge signed by incoming fresh
men and more Friday classes, com
mittee chair Dana Bememan said. ..,
Student government members
disagreed about the focus of specific
policies. Though some said alcohol
consumption is inevitable and that
student government and the universi
ty should concentrate on the conse
quences of alcohol abuse, others said
policies should counteract a culture
that fosters binge drinking
“To me, the issue is the behavior
that results from excessive drinking,”
said U-Councilor Teddy Nemeroff.
I
He said harming other students or
university property should bring
harsh penalties.
Senator Carlos Lazatin said exam
ining the reasons a student decides to
binge drink and the consequences to
his or her body should precede a dis
cussion on the communitywide con
sequences of abuse.
“We should look at how binge
drinking affects the binge drinker,”
Lazatin said.
Though some student leaders
made suggestions for nonalcoholic
social events to counteract the possi
ble culture of alcohol abuse, others
took a more bottom-line, pragmatic
approach to student drinking.
i-vaaciuug uiai uuucigiauuiucs
will consume alcohol regardless of
proactive policies, U-Councilor Dok
Harris suggested that McCosh Health
Center offer saline drips for students
who might become dehydrated after
drinking too much alcohol.
Senator Jim Simmons questioned
whether trustees are being consistent
in addressing alcohol abuse.
“If you go to alumni events ~ the
reunions — they are the biggest drink
ing events in America,” he said,
adding, “I’m surprised the trustees
are approaching this in such a harsh
way, considering so many of their
brethren want to continue a culture of
drinking.”
The trustee subcommittee is not
attempting to eliminate alcohol con
sumption, according to student gov
ernment president David Ascher.
“I think it would be unfair to say
the trustees are hoping for a crack
down before Dec. 1,” he said, adding
that student government will prepare
a report on alcohol abuse for the
trustees before that date,
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Students push for gay studies major
“ - TV®
University of Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH, Penn. (U-Wire)
-Though most students pursue con
ventional majors, others are fighting
for the opportunity to receive a degree
in gay studies.
Rainbow Alliance President
Christie L. Hudson said she wants
Queer Theory added to the course
selection because many students are
not properly educated about people
with alternative lifestyles.
Hudson’s idea was only one of die
methods of educating Pittsburgh
University students about having
respect for people with different
lifestyles and beliefs discussed at the
Rainbow Alliance’s first general body
meeting last week.
Co-president Raymond Murphy
said he feels the campus is insensitive
to the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual
Oliu UOilOdCMIOl OUlU^UId. JIUUCUld
sometimes lump all people with alter
native lifestyles into (me generalized
group, he said.
“The needs of a gay white man are
not the same as the needs of a queer
black woman,” Murphy said.
Murphy added that he intends to
work with the Resident Student
Association on having resident assis
tants trained in gay and lesbian sensi
tivity.
“I would like to get pink triangles
placed on the residence hall doors of
students who are supportive, saying,
‘I am respectful of everyone regard
less of race, ethnicity and sexual ori
entation,’” Murphy said.
He said the Rainbow Alliance
chose this year’s theme, “Claiming
our 10 percent, acceptance through
education, diversity and responsibili
ty,” because many people are not
respectful of the needs of students
wiui aiiciuouvc mcsiyira.
“Where there is a predominance,
people tend to be apathetic to other
peopled needs,” Murphy said
Rainbow Alliance Treasurer Joe
Yew LoongYan said hie is working to
develop an information center on
campus that would try to eradicate
misconceptions people have about
gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsex
uals. 4
Public Relations Chairman Steve
Fugge will assist Yan’s efforts in try
ing to make the group well-known on
campus by having weekly soq> operas
air in David Lawrence Hall on
Thursday nights.
Murphy said such support efforts
are vital to creating an atmosphere
where gay students can feel comfort
able.
“Being gay is baggage enough,”
Murphy said. “We don’t need added
pressure.”
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Some Web sites ‘trapping1 their users
WASHINGTON (AP) - Pity the
soul who comes across a Web site run
by Brett Wright
His pages are like ocean riptides,
pulling Internet surfers under and
whisking them against their will to
resurface elsewhere.
Three of Wright’s Web sites use a
high-tech, behind-the-scenes method
to route visitors automatically to other
commercial sites, which pay Wright
for such “referrals.”
When puzzled surfers try to close
those browser windows - for sites they
never even intended to visit - other
browser windows open automatically.
And those can spawn still more brows
er windows.
It can be a nearly endless, frustrat
ing cycle to regain control of the com
puter.
“You fell into my trap,” says
Wright, who lives neiaf Atlanta. “It
bounces you all over the place, doesn’t
it?”
Wright’s technique is becoming
common among sexually oriented
sites like the ones he operates, which
boast 250,000 visits daily. But the
online pom industry is renowned for
I
its innovation, first to use the Web’s
newest tools and techniques - from
live video to payment schemes - that
months or years later become main
stream for the rest of the Internet.
So, will mainstream Web sites
hunting bigger audiences and elusive
profits soon lure visitors into this
loop?
“The whole goal is to move traffic
like cattle, which sounds terrible, I
know,” explains Wright, whose sites
use the “window.open” Javascript pro
gramming command. “But the easiest
way to send traffic somewhere is to not
give them the opportunity not to go
there.”
Critics say the notion of even
briefly kidnapping visitors is antitheti
cal to the Internet, where the allure is
the ability to jump among sites with
out regard for boundaries, physical
distance or software compatibility. On
the Web, ideally, you just click and go.
“Once you put someone on a path
where they can’t get out, the natural
inclination is to quit,” says Jonah
Seiger of Washington-based
Mindshare Internet Campaigns.
Wright acknowledges the practice
outrages some visitors - especially
those with less powerful computers,
which can crash if too many windows
are open.
Some experts doubt the technique
ever will be embraced by mainstream
sites, such as the most popular online
bookstore.
“You won’t see amazon.com use
that. People wouldn’t tolerate it,” said
Michael Willis, who co-wrote a book
about the worst Internet sites.
“It’s almost like if you went
through the doors of a Wal-Mart store
to buy some pants and walked into a 7
Eleven,” Willis says. “You want pants,
not a Slurpee. It would create ill will
for both parties.”
Donna Hoffman of Vanderbilt
University, an expert on Internet busi
nesses, agrees it is hard to imagine the
model working on more traditional
sites.
“People don’t want to be sent
places,” she said. “They want to
choose where to go.” l.
Wright says pages with never-end
ing loops, while technically possible,
are “frowned upon highly.” Most sites
eventually set visitors loose.
“Racial Preferences are Dead.”
Ward Connerly
' .Ur ..
Tuesday, September 29th 8:00 p.m.,
Nebraska Union
• President of the American • Chairman of Callfomia’s
Civil Rights Institution Proposition 209
FREE ADMISSION
Sponsored By:
•Young America's Foundation • UNL College Republicans
• National Association Of Scholars-Nebtaska Chapter
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