SPORTS
A tough loss
The Nebraska wrestling team lost a dual to
Minnesota 22-9 Sunday, dropping several close
matches. PAGE 7
A & E
Plains literature
The University of Nebraska Press operates quietly in Lincoln
but is heard around the world. Its catalog includes titles as
diverse as basketball and classic science fiction. PAGE 9
MON >AY
February 15, 1999
So-So
Mostly cloudy, high 50. Snow possible tonight, low 30.
VOL. 98 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 101
Acquittal spells relief for many students
«
In a way it
wasn’t anyone s
business. But even
if you are the
president, what
he did was wrong"
Tracy O’Donnell
UNL freshman
By Brian Carlson
Staffwriter
After the Senate’s acquittal of President
Clinton on Friday, University of Nebraska
Lincoln students’ reactions were mixed.
An unscientific survey of students studying
in the Nebraska Union on Sunday found a vari
ety of reactions - disappointment, satisfaction,
apathy and relief - that the 13-month saga had
ended.
The Senate voted to acquit Clinton on arti
cles of impeachment alleging the president com
mitted perjury and obstructed justice as he
attempted to conceal his relationship with a
young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
Ben Mueller, a freshman who has not
declared a major, shared the ambivalence many
Americans have expressed about the Clinton
Lewinsky scandal.
“I would have voted to acquit, even though I
think Clinton’s a sleazebag,” he said.
Although Clinton lied to the American peo
ple and tried to cover up his relationship with
Lewinsky, Mueller said, the president was tech
nically not guilty of perjury and obstruction of
justice. The House prosecutors failed to prove
those charges, he said.
“He didn’t commit an act that designated that
he should be removed from office,” Mueller
said.
Perjury and obstruction of justice, however,
would merit conviction and removal if proven,
he said.
Most of all, Mueller said, the scandal dis
gusted him. He said he was most disturbed by
the constant media attention to the scandal and
the crude details contained in the report pro
duced by Kenneth Starr, the independent coun
sel.
“The Starr report pretty much made the
American government look like a joke in front of
the rest of the world,” he said. “You have to have
tact, and we didn’t.”
Please see ACQUITTAL on 2
CHRISTINE MEYER, a senior horticulture major, and Craig Wagner, a senior English major, cuddle on the shores of Holmes Lake on Sunday evening.
Valentines please some, peeve some
By Sarah Fox
Staff writer
Cutie pie. You go girl. Www.cupid.
Is this what St. Valentine was thinking of
when he was beheaded in Rome?
Valentine’s Day customs have changed since
ancient Rome, and so have peoples’ attitudes.
This year, the holiday may have seemed like a
“Single Awareness Day,” a day celebrating friend
ship or a day to celebrate true love.
Valentine, a Christian bishop, didn’t intend to
start a holiday in 270 A.D. when he opposed
Claudius II, “mad emperor” of Rome, by per
forming secret marriage ceremonies.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica
online, http://www.eb.com/when Claudius dis
covered Valentine was performing the cere
monies, he was stoned and beheaded.
Valentine left behind his lover, to whom he
wrote a letter signed “From your Valentine.”
Two hundred years later, a Roman fertility
festival was changed into a Catholic church holy
day, and Valentine was chosen as the day’s patron
saint.
However, some University of Nebraska
Lincoln students wished the saint had never exist
ed.
Please see VALENTINE on 2
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at dailyneb.com
Need for
teachers
adds up
■ A report projects an
increased demand statewide
for teachers, gratifying
education students.
By Ieva Augstums
Senior staff writer
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students seeking a teaching career in
the state won't have to look hard for a
job.
According to a report released
Friday by the State Board of Education,
the state could need 1,200 to 2,000
more teachers than are currently avail
able by the year 2003, and 1,400 to
2,400 more teachers by 2008.
“That makes me feel good." said
Jennifer Seeman. a UNL junior ele
mentary education major. “It's almost
like 1 am going to be assured a job once
I graduate. "
Mike Britten, a consultant who per
formed the study for the Nebraska
Department of Education, told board
members the high demand stems from
young teachers looking for out-of-state
jobs and older teachers taking early
retirement.
Nebraska’s 835 public and private
school districts, along with the state’s
17 teacher preparation institutes, were
asked to provide statistics for the study
that sought to find the need and avail
ability of K-12 teachers for the years
2003 and 2008.
A preliminary report last month
showed the state could have 1,600
unfilled teaching positions by 2003.
Board member Rick Savage said
the study might not accurately project a
shortage, because only 51 percent of
the state's school districts responded to
the survey.
But Teachers College Dean James
O’Hanlon said he was not surprised to
Please see TEACHERS on 2