. Lorn Simpson/DN
MITCHELL DOMANT and more than 600 other children assembled from day cares and elementary schools to
pet sheep, chickens and cows as a fund-raiser for UNL’s Block and Bridle club. The event was held at the
Animal Science Complex Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Kids mingle with farm animals
By Michelle Starr
Staff writer
A herd of children running toward
a catde pen was nothing out of the ordi
nary for the Kids Day event Thursday
on East Campus.
More than 600 Lincoln pre-school
and elementary children experienced
what event co-chairwoman Cindy
Zimmerifian called “a giant petting
zoo for farm animals.”
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln’s Block and Bridle club spon
sored the event - held twice each year
since 1971 - which ran from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m. at UNL’s Animal Science
Center.
“It is really important to expose
kids to farm animals so tl^ey will
understand them,” said Zimmerman, a
senior animal science major.
John Snoke, a junior animal sci
ence major, agreed.
“A lot of people have not been
around them much,” he said. “They
have simple questions.”
Block and Bridle members
answered questions about the animals
at each station.
A baby lamb, goats, chicks and
Snickers, a 15-year-old horse, were
among the most popular animals.
Interaction between the children
and animals provoked varied reac
tions.
Some children held their noses to
combat the smell of the animals, others
made animal noises and most had
smiles on their faces.
First-grader Marco Ramirez, when
Zimmerman told how old the mother
goat was, exclaimed “It’s 9 years old!
It’s not big enough. I’m 7 and still not
married!”
Zimmerman said some of the chil
dren’s questions were “really cute.”
“One little girl asked me, ‘Why
does the cow have phone numbers in
her ears?’ She was talking about her
ear tags. I tried to explain it to her that
they are like name tags.”
Two plastic, life-size horses were
also provided, one with a Western sad
dle and the other with an English one,
to let children feel what it would be like
to sit on a horse.
Junior animal science major Brent
Pohlmann, the event’s other coordina
tor, said the hardest part of putting the
day together was trying to get enough
people to help because of conflicting
class schedules.
Lincoln children left the event -
coloring books and information in
hand - with more exposure to live
stock.
Zimmerman said she enjoyed shar
ing the experience with the children.
“It’s good to carry on an important
tradition, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Death-penalty bills advance |
The Legislature’s Judiciary
Committee advanced two death penalty
oills in an executive session Thursday
night
LB76, introduced by Omaha Sen.
Ernie Chambers, moved with a major
reconstruction. The bill was originally
intended to abolish the death penalty. As
amended by the committee, it would
place a three-year moratorium on set
ting execution dates during a study of
whether or not the punishment is
applied fairly.
Omaha Sen. Kermit Brashear, com
mittee chairman, said he supported the
death penalty, but is concerned about
disparate sentencing. In Nebraska, 165
people are jailed for first-degree mur
der. Only 10 are on death row, he said,
even though some, who are not on death
row, have been committed for multiple
or heinous murders.
“That becomes a matter of discre
tion,” he said, referring to prosecutors’
decisions to make murder cases capital
cases.
Chambers said he is not afraid of
anything the study might uncover and
added that he wants a prolonged discus
sion about the issue.
“The issue is too grave,” he said.
“The matter needs to be debated by the
Legislature.”
Sen. Tom Baker ofTrenton cast the
lone vote in committee against the
amended bill. He said he had circum
stances within his family that would not
permit him to vote to send the bill to the
floor, but he would listen to the debate.
“You’ll just have to work harder on
me,” he said.
The committee also advanced
LB52, introduced by Brashear, which
would change Nebraska’s method of
execution from electrocution to lethal
injection. Anyone who received the
death sentence before the bill’s effective
date would be able to choose the method
of execution if the bill passed.
Concealed-weapons bill
sent to floor
The committee also advanced a
concealed-weapons bill to the floor.
LB476, sponsored this year by Sen.
Ray Janssen of Nickerson, would allow
citizens to obtain permits for carrying
concealed weapons if they passed back
ground checks of criminal and mental
health records and completed gun-safe
ty training.
" A similar bill, introduced by Sen.
Stan Schellpeper of Stanton in 1997,
fell short of passage last year. As the
1998 Legislature drew to a close, the bill
was dropped when it became clear Sen.
Ernie Chambers of Omaha would use
all the allotted debate time to filibuster
and block the bill.
Thursday, Chambers said he would
fight the bill on the floor again this year.
Legislative notebook compiled by
Shane Anthony
Editor: Erin Gibson
Managing Editor: Brad Davis
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Ask for the appropriate section editor at (402) 472-2588 Asst Copy Desk Chief: Heidi White
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General Manager: Dan Shatdl
Publications Board Jessica Hofmann,
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Permit fees may
increase by 2004
PARKING from page 1
business and finance, said the project
is estimated to cost the university $50
million.
“We are not adding new invento
ry,” he said. “We are simply rdplac
mg.
Concerns about the future of
parking for UNL faculty, staff and
students began to rise in 1997, so
campus officials decided to create a
solution.
“The university is dealing with a
campus parking crunch and crisis on
both (City and East) campuses,”
Main said.
After considering three different
strategy plans, McDowell said, the
best option was the parking garage
additions.
The garages are the best alterna
tive, because they centralize parking
for all users, increase safety for stu
dents who live on campus and better
serve commuter students, he said.
They would also increase parking
for visitors, he said.
The other two garages on City
Campus will be located at 14th and
Avery streets and at the east entrance
to campus on Vine Street.
In addition to the parking
garages, an Express Transit System
will be implemented, which will run
faculty members and students from
the parking structures to the core of
the campus.
It will operate in a loop that will
take no longer than five minutes to
get from place to place, and hours
will be extended at night to better
accommodate students.
Also in the works is an Intelligent
Vehicle Tracking System, where a
monitor would be connected from
each bus to the office of Parking
Services so campus officials can
monitor the whereabouts of all the
vehicles at any time.
McDowell and Main urged
patience among UNL students, staff
and faculty members.
“It’s trial and error,” Main said.
The purpose of the new garages is
to benefit this university’s students
years from now, Main said, because
today’s students are benefiting from
their predecessors’ sacrifices.
McDowell said the university is
planning today for what could be a
problem 10 years from now.
“There’s a transition period that
will be painful,” he said, “but once it
gets done, you will be a lot better off
than you are today.”
Kelter wins teaching
award for excellence
KELTER from page 1
College in New York in 1976, Kelter
came to Nebraska for his doctorate
because his undergraduate grades
were not very good.
While a graduate student at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
Kelter taught his first academic class
es and learned to teach from role
models, both good and bad.
One of Kelter’s positive role mod
els, Health and Human Performance
Professor Charles Ansorge, said
Kelter has an unbelievable amount of
energy.
“The campus is lucky to have
someone like Paul,” Ansorge said.
“The students are the true benefac
tors.”
After finishing his doctorate in
1980, Kelter followed opportunity
elsewhere, including post-doctorate
work in Georgia, a stint at NASA and
most recently eight years with.the
Wisconsin science outreach program.
“It is important to get away and
hone your craft,” said Kelter, who
came back to UNL in 1993.
“I’m better for having those other
jobs before coming here.”
In addition to experience, motiva
tion is important to effective teach
ing, said Kelter’s colleague and
friend, chemistry lecturer Bill
McLaughlin.
“What makes anybody a good
teacher is motivation,” McLaughlin
said. “Paul is always student-cen
«
The campus is
lucky to have
someone like
Paul. The students
are the true
benefactors.”
Charles Ansorge
professor
tered.”
The bottom line is always treat
students with dignity and respect,
Kelter said.
“I teach students to play on then
strengths while working on their
weaknesses,” he said.
Kelter said he tried to challenge
his students in class while being
responsive to their needs.
“Questioning is a powerful tool in
teaching,” Kelter said, “but you have
to be flexible... good teachers can go
with the direction of their students and
then bring them back to the point.”
In his teaching, Kelter has Set a
simple standard of success for him
self.
“Students should learn in class,
and leave class with a hunger to learn
more.”
Bill would require senators
to wait one year to lobby
BILL from page 1
not support this type of bill,” he said.
“Where there is not a problem, there
really is no need for legislation.”
In 15 years with the Legislature,
he said, he did not see members cross-.
ing what he considered the line of
proper behavior. Introducing such a
bill implies that something is wrong.
Withem resigned as speaker in
November 1997 to take the university
position.
Committee chairwoman DiAnna
' v ’0* * <*\XICi i V,*lssjj
Schimek, who joined Nickerson Sen.
Ray Janssen in voting against the bill,
said it would probably not reach floor
debate this late in the session unless a
senator prioritizes it.
She said she voted against it
because she did not want it to go for
ward without building more of a con
sensus among senators.
“I felt that it should be part of an
overall interim study on ethics,” she
said. “T’— little bit leery of just
putting so*, ething out on the floor
without building a consensus.”
A 1JZSJA tAAl\ JAA.t. tSl |
