The pass/no pass option
Academic Senate considers moving deadline up
By Jessica Fargen
Staff writer
It may be the D on that last test, the
overwhelming reading or the fear of
destroying a GPA that tip the scales in
favor of taking a class pass/no pass.
Whatever the reason, students
have until 6:30 p.m. today - when N
Roll closes - to make that decision, but
in the future that deadline may come
earlier in the semester, administrators
say
Don Lee, chairman of the
Academic Senate Grading and
Examination Committee, said the
committee plans to review and possi
bly recommend changes to the policy,
which has strayed from its original
intent, at the December meeting.
The policy is designed so students
can take classes they might not be will
ing to explore for fear of ruining their
GPAs, Lee said
Chancellor James Moeser asked
the Academic Senate in April to
review the policy because it was not
contributing to UNIi academic rigor,
Lee said
“One of the questions (Moeser)
has is, how is it being used? Are stu
dents using it in the way it was intend
ed?” Lee said
One way to return the policy to its
original intent would.be to push up the
deadline for changing a class to
pass/no pass, said James Giiesen, vice
chancellor for Student Affairs.
“No one is opposed to pass/fail
grading,” Griesen said. “But do we
really need eight weeks to make a final
decision?
“Or does allowing eight weeks for
the final decision lead to some abuse,
namely students finding out how they
are doing in their courses and deciding
which they could move to pass/fail to
avoid lower grades?”
Students can take up to 24 hours
pass/no pass of non-major classes, but
some colleges allow fewer hours or
limit the types of classes.
If a student receives a C or better in
a class, they pass, and the letter grade
is not reflected in their GPA
Last fall, 1,572 students took at
least one class pass/no pass. Most stu
dents took only one class pass/no pass,
according to the Office of Registration
and Records.
The senate will be soliciting facul
ty and student opinions about possible
changes, Lee said.
“I don’t think students necessarily
slack off because they are taking a
class pass/no pass,” Lee said, <(but I
think they are using it to try to gamble
on their GPA”
UNL forum examines benefits
■ A group of 25 question who at the
university will step up for gay faculty
members’ rights.
By Jessica Fargen
Staff writer
Inequality and lack of understanding surrounding
domestic partner insurance benefits pervades UNL, but
the university does not seem to consider it a necessary
part of “diversity,” faculty members said Thursday
night.
A group of about 25 people left a UNL forum on
equity and benefits asking each other which university
administrator, if any would champion their uphill battle
for equal benefits for gay faculty members at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
George Wolf, an associate professor of English, out
lined the frustrating history that gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered faculty members have had in trying to
secure equal benefits for their domestic partners, such as
health insurance and medical and sick leave.
“I don’t believe we are any closer to inclusion of
domestic partner benefits than we were when I came to
this university in 1966,” Wolf said.
Wolf, wearing a pin with a small, upside-down pink
triangle on it, said the Academic Senate adopted a reso
lution in April 1996 supporting extending benefits to
domestic partners.
The definition of domestic partners was “individuals
in an intimate, long-term, exclusive, committed relation
ship similar to marriage. Both heterosexuals and homo
sexuals are included in the definition.”
Later that year, the idea was taken to the university
wide Fringe Benefits Committee and permanently tabled
until legal, financial and other issues were resolved, Wolf
said. The committee is made up of representatives from
the four NU campuses.
Substantial costs is not a valid reason to not extend
equal benefits, said John Taylor, former chairman of
UNL’s committee on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgen
dered concerns.
Three of UNL’s 11 peer institutions - Iowa State
•University, the University of Iowa and the University of
Minnesota - have domestic partner benefits, which do
not strain their budgets, said Taylor, an attorney for the
Lincoln law firm Taylor, Charest and Yates.
The University of Minnesota system has had a policy
for the past four years, which he said cost about $65,000
oyer four years. The policy enrolls 186 people, he said.
“The administration is saying, ‘We don’t want to do
this, and we’ll hide behind the statement if there’s issues
still out there,’” Taylor said.
The rejection of domestic partner benefits also goes
against the 1989 NU Board of Regents nondiscrimina
tion clause outlawing discrimination based on “individ
ual characteristics,” which is interpreted to include sexu
al orientation, Taylor said.
Matt Zwick, a senior English major, said receiving
domestic partner benefits means more than “a few
queers wanting some money for their playmates,” Zwick
said. It is a recognition of his “family,” he said.
Family is not just a classification by the government,
said PatTetreault, sexuality education coordinator for the
University Health Center.
“When we ask for an inclusionary definition of fam
ily, that’s what we are asking for.”
Huskers’game competes with fall break
FOOTBALL from page 1
enough to accommodate game times.”
Jason McCallan, Homecoming
Steering Committee chairman, said
many students cannot adjust their fall
break schedules to accommodate the
time change.
“No homecoming events are
affected by the time change,”
McCallan said. “But students’ travel
plans are.”
Wiegert said he sold his home
comingjdotbali ticket and is going
homeTorthe weekend.
“I’m really bummed about miss
ing the game - it’s Homecoming,”
Wiegert said. “Originally, I was going
to attend the game. But now, because
it’s a night game, I can’t”
An Athletic Department Ticket
Office representative said students
have been asking all week for the val
idation of their football tickets
because they are going home for the
long weekend.
As of Thursday, 660 football tick
ets were validated.
McCallan said having a night
game should help keep students a lit
tle longer at the university during fall
break.
“It’s Homecoming and fall break,”
McCallan said. “We only can hope
students will stay and show their
school spirit”
I----—r
ibraskan
iSSWJ^’1400
IALCOPYnGHT'1986
LY NEBRASKAN
Editor: Erin Gibson
Dan Shatril
>essica Hofmann,
(402)466-8404
Don Walton,
(402)473-7248
NickPartsch,
(402)472-2589
\ndrea Oeltjen
Mami Speck
Law, dental schools
take shorter break
* *_
By Sarah Baker
Senior staff writer
Most UNL students are looking
forward to this weekend’s first annual
fall break to take a trip, celebrate
Homecoming here or just simply
sleep in.
But a few University of
Nebraska-Lincoln students won’t
have such leisure.
Students in the colleges of law or
dentistry won’t get a few, precious
days off, or at least not die full four.
Administrators in both schools have
decided to hold classes over at least
part of the break.
Harvey Perlman, former dean of
the College of Law, said the adminis
trators had no choice but to hold
classes on Tuesday.
“Our accrediting agency has a
certain number of days we are
required to hold classes, and we
couldn’t do it,” Perlman said
The college discussed other
options, such as a Saturday class, but
Perlman said the best option was to
have class on Tuesday.
Galen Kathol, administrative
director for the College of Dentistry,
said students and faculty members
will work on Monday and Tuesday of
the break.
“We go by the Med Center sched
ule,” Kathol said. “We have the day
before Thanksgiving off, but no fall
break.”
Fall break, Saturday through
Tuesday, will be observed at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha and
the University of Nebraska at
Kearney as well as at UNL.
M
The faculty
has'always been
really closed-minded
towards the fall
break.”
Amy Rager
NU law student
Amy Rager, a first-year NU law
student and one of the students who
originally worked to get a fall break,
said she thought there had to be
another solution instead of taking
away one day of the break.
Rager, a former student govern
ment vice president, said law students
already were required to come to ori
entation classes for two days before
the school year started, and she didn’t
see wiiy one of those days couldn’t
have counted, or the extra day been
added, before the semester started.
“I personally am really frustrated
by this,” Rager said. “The faculty has
always been really closed-minded
towards the fall break.”
Earl Hawkey, UNL director of
Registration and Records, said both
colleges work with a modified ver
sion of the UNL calendar.
The students who study in the col
leges are simply out of luck, Hawkey
said.
“As far as I know, these are the
only two colleges who had a major
scheduling conflict with the break.”
Records: GOP big spender
in two congressional races
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
Republican candidates for two of
Nebraska’s congressional seats have
raised and spent more money than
their Democratic opponents, accord
ing to campaign finance reports sub
mitted to the Federal Election
Commission Thursday.
Lee Terry, the Republican con
gressional candidate for District 2,
has raised and spent more than seven
times as much money as Democrat
Michael Scott since the beginning of
the 1998 election year.
The spending reports, which must
also be submitted to the Nebraska
Accountability and Disclosure
Commission, show Terry’s campaign
has spent $187,000 since July 1 and
$507,000 since January.
Scott’s campaign spent nearly
$30,000 between July 1 and Sept 30,
and a total of more than $69,000 since
the beginning of the year.
His largest contributions came
from the Transport Workers Union
and Sen. Bob Kerrey’s political action
committee, at $5,000 and $1,000,
respectively.
Mark Allen, Scott’s campaign
manager, said it is usual for
Democrats in Nebraska to operate
such as gun control, icare and
social security.
He said the Republican party was
more likely to represent big business
interests and right-wing groups, both
of which support the party financially.
He said Scott wanted to win the
election by going out and talking to
the people of District 2, which
encompasses metro Omaha.
Allen said more advertisements
would appear on radio and television
as election day draws near.
Dennis Wellendorf, Terry’s cam
paign manager, said 70 percent of the
contributions to the Terry campaign
came from more than 15,000 individ
uals.
He said the Terry campaign is
proud of its grass roots support in the
second district
Tory and Scott are running for the
office that will be vacated by Rep. Jon
Christensen, who announced he
would not seek reelection during his
failed bid for the Republican nomina
tion for governor.
Candidates for the representative
from Nebraska’s first congressional
district, which includes Lincoln, also
reported a large disparity between
campaign contributions and expendi
tures in the Federal Election
Commission’s quarterly reports.
Republican incumbent Doug
Bereuter, who has served as first dis
trict representative since 1978, has
spent nearly $48,000 since the begin
ning of the year, including more than
$28,000 contributed since July 1.
More money was contributed to
Bereuter’s campaign by registered
political action committees than by
individuals at a rate of almost four to
one.
Candidates for national office
may accept contributions only from
individuals or legally registered polit
ical action committees, and not
directly from companies or corpora
uon nret, raised almost $3U,UUU tor
the year, with most of his money com
ing from personal loans.
Eret, who manages his own cam
paign, did not return phone messages
Thursday from the Daily Nebraskan.
Judy Dougherty, Bereuter’s cam
paign treasurer, said being the incum
bent in any election gives the candi
date an advantage over his opponent.
She said the campaign has tried to
remain in contact with past contribu
tors and fund-raisers in Nebraska and
Washington, D.C., for monetary sup
port