UNL’s largest college
recruits ambassadors
BySandiAlswager
Staffwriter
A new program would help the
arts and sciences department show
prospective students what makes
UNLs largest college tick.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln College of Arts and Sciences
will be adding a Student Ambassador
Program for the 1999-2000 school
year. '
Up to eight student volunteers in
the college will be selected to partici
pate as ambassadors.
Other UNL colleges have ambas
sador programs, which have helped
their recruiting efforts, Arts and
Sciences Recruiting Coordinator
Laura Hanzl said.
The arts and sciences ambassador
program will be modeled after a pro
gram used in the College of
Agricultural Sciences and Natural
Resources.
Student ambassadors will offer a
personal view of the university, the
college and its programs, she said
“Freshmen have high opinions of
current students,” Hanzl said.
“Prospective students value what cur
rently enrolled students have to say
about their college and where it can
lead them professionally.”
Natalya Shannon, a sophomore
biology and psychology major, said
the Student Ambassador Program
would promote the college’s pro
grams within and beyond the college.
It also will help students become
more knowledgeable of the large col
lege, Shannon said.
“I think the College of Arts and
Sciences is so broad,” Shannon said.
“Everyone has to take a class here.
(The Ambassador Program) will help
students enrolled in the college feel
more like arts and sciences students.”
Shannon, who is the president of
the College of Arts and Sciences
Advisory Board, said students had
the opportunity to get the program
going.
i
«
Anyone can
apply this year to
help get the
program off the
ground...”
Natalya Shannon
Arts and Sciences SAB president
“Anyone can apply this year to
help get the program off the ground
and get it grounded into what it will
be,” she said.
Programs and recruiting efforts
will be developed next year.
“The student population should
look forward to the program and the
great things coming,” Shannon said.
“It will be beneficial to the student
population.”
Ambassadors must be full-time
students with at least a 3.0 cumulative
GPA.
Students must be able to commu
nicate well verbally, by telephone and
in writing; have time to participate in
the program; and be genuinely enthu
siastic about the college.
A minimum of two hours per
week will be spent on scheduled and
informal recruitment activities.
The ambassadors will participate
in the program through campus and
off-campus activities, such as high
school students’ visits to on-campus
and recruitment fairs. Retreats and
weekly planning meetings also will
be held.
Hanzl said being an ambassador
would help a student develop leader
ship and communication skills.
Applications are due March 4 and
can be picked up at the Arts and
Sciences Recruiting Office, 229
Burnett Hall. For more information
about the program, contact Hanzl at
(402)472-6272.
Parties debate over binge
drinking, representation
DEBATE from page 1
would alert the administration of the
need for increased funding to die cen
ter, he said.
Opening up the facility to commu
nity organizations and companies
would also allow die university to join
in partnerships to get more funds for
improvements, Schuerman said.
Both groups expressed their com
mitment to monitoring the develop
ments of the Master Plan and making
sure students’ voices would be taken
into consideration during die planning
process.
Along with the Master Plan, the
candidates debated the correct ways of
supporting programs designed to bring
awareness of binge drinking to cam
pus.
Voice party candidates said they
wanted to promote and help with
efforts of a student group called
Project CARE, which aims to promote
responsible drinking.
One of Voice’s goals is to coordi
nate a safe-ride-home program with
the group.
England said while it was impor
tant to recognize and provide promo
tion for the group, it was also important
for ASUN not to take over projects.
Paul Schreier, Focus presidential
candidate, said the Focus party
endorsed opening the Nebraska Union
for longer hours during weeknights to
make it die “focus” of campus.
Working with local bars and the
University Program Council to bring
in more musical acts, the campus could
provide an alternative to the binge
drinking scene, he said.
The two groups also clashed on
what the fate of a proposed constitu
tional amendment should be.
Schreier said Focus was against the
amendment, which would add five at
large seats to the student senate, and in
favor of creating a presidential cabinet
instead.
Members of underrepresented
groups would be appointed to die cabi
net by the president, and could bring
forward legislation dealing with con
cerns of underrepresented people on
ramp is
“A cabinet position or executive
office would give a report every single
week,” Schreier said. “We want to have
underrepresented views at our meet
ings every week.”
Voice second vice presidential can
didate Vernon Miller said the cabinet
would not differ much horn die Racial
Affairs subcommittee of ASUN,
which is already in place.
Miller said Focus’s solution would
not help increase representation to the
senate.
Allowing five at-large voting
members to have a voice at every meet
ing would help fix the problem of
underrepresentation, Miller said,
Miller pointed to the system the
constitutional amendment was
designed after at Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa.
“Iowa State already has a model,”
Miller said. “The method has worked
and is working.”
Unions, UPC budgets partially restored
CFA from page 1
cents.
“I think it’s important to put the
money away over time,” he said.
But his colleague, Jeff Woodford,
disagreed.
“These are fantastic ideas,” he said.
“But we just can’t afford it this year.
Heacock’s motion failed on a 6-5
vote. But after the committee voted to
restore the Student Involvement money
and UPC money, the idea returned
leading to boisterous debate.
CFA member Jason Boykin moved
to reinstate 49 cents of the Campus
Recreation request
Boykin said he thought the other
funds granted would have pushed fees
up to $254.06, rounding up to $255.
But Vice Chancellor for Student
Affairs James Griesen said he would
not round up 94 cents, and student fees
would stay at $254.
Schreier questioned whether or not
Boykin’s motion was serious.
Woodford objected.
An exchange ensued that ended
with Boykin stomping out and yelling.
The committee then recessed.
Schreier overruled Boykin’s
motion to restore 49 cents.
Amy Rikli moved to restore 25
cents.
Woodford moved to amend the
motion, listing several figures, but then
withdrew and asked for debate, but
never spoke at that time.
Another motion to amend - this
time to restore 50 cents - passed on a 6
5 vote, wilh Woodford voting “Why the
hell not?”
The motion to restore die 50 cents
failed.
On the other two appeals, commit
tee members said cuts made to both
Student Involvement and UPC alloca
tions sent a clear message that better
efficiency would be required.
Student Involvement Director
Marilyn Bugenhagen said restoring
$10,687 of the $26,381 that CFA origi
nally voted to cut would allow it to con
tinue most serv ices.
UPC president Adam Kafka asked
why the committee voted Tuesday for a
2.5 percent cut on top of an initial 7.5
percent reduction.
Schreier said CFA members want
ed better eff"ciency from UPC.
Mara McClellan, UPC vice presi
dent, said getting acts that would bring
in diverse student groups was difficult
“If we take all of our money and put
it into one event, we would be stepping
away from our mission statement and
our goals,” she said.
ASUN will vote on the budget
March 10.
IT’S 11:59 ON NEW YEARS EVE.
RO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DA«IS?_^^
’eatssmiRBi DBmHBi mcgMiiiiu MratFHnmni
• , huk inKHiurajHia im _smi« «t*m mi na »smhh -.-mimm* Sam
ran ""smaima"ssimhwjsssawiMasiibbibbiiimimmminiatmwmi am .m.
• ■ CM RE inh-sa^ -«■ ~*g8Em«e ami uu Minmn -^SHKiMsa —sinminuin bss? mmmm MI
IN THEATRES THIS FEBRUARY 8aaaa—
Senators question future
of petition legislation
BILLS from page 1
Kristensen said.
LB729, sponsored by Lincoln
Sen. DiAnna Schimek, would allow
the Secretary of State to refuse to
place an initiative on the ballot if it
conflicted with the state or U.S. con
stitutions.
Secretary of State Scott Moore,
who supported all the measures
heard Thursday, said he would care
fully review petitions with his legal
counsel and the Attorney General
before declaring them unconstitu
tional.
“It’s got to be pretty egregious
for me not to place it there,” he said.
Schimek’s bill would also give
state courts the ability to determine
the constitutionality of initiatives
before they are placed on the ballot
Schimek said catching unconsti
tutional bills before millions of dol
lars are spent supporting and oppos
ing them made sense.
Mark McGuire, a lobbyist for
the Nebraska State Education
Association, said every initiative
approved by voters in die 1990s has
resulted in litigation or the measures
being declared unconstitutional.
“This problem pops up basically
every two years,” he said. “We’re
hoping to make this a better process
than it currently is.”
With LR8, another constitution
al amendment, Lincoln Sen. Chris
Beutler proposed to allow the
Legislature to debate petitions and
then pursue several options.
Under his resolution, the
Legislature could enact a petition
with no vote by the people, propose
an alternative measure that would
appear next to the petition initiative
on the ballot or pass similar legisla
tion.
Initiatives that are constitutional
amendments, or approved by the
Legislature, require a vote of the
people under the Nebraska
Constitution.
Beutler’s resolution would also
bump up the filing deadline to
January, before the Legislature con
venes.
-“The Legislature has absolutely
no opportunity to react to the state’s
proposal before it’s voted on by peo
ple in November,” Beutler said.
But Aurora Sen. Bob Kremer
pointed out that many times peti
tions are circulated because those
measures have been unsuccessful or
not addressed by the Legislature.
“If they weren’t going to accom
plish it before the petition drive,
why would they do it after,” he
asked.
Senators also heard testimony
on LB723, sponsored by Papillion
Sen. Nancy Thompson. The bill
would require a public hearing prior
to circulation of an initiative or ref
erendum. The hearing would be
held 15 days after the petition was
received.
