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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1999)
* i ■ i $ VOL. 98 COVERING THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN SINCE 1901 NO. 139 SMUTS No more general Several teams across the nation, including Missouri, have to replace veteran quarterbacks for the 1999 season. PAGE 10 -- THURS >AY Love and the stage APRIL 15,1999 Canadian playwright Brad Fraser introduced him self to Lincoln last night with a talk on AIDS; his SNOW play “Human Remains” opens tonight. PAGE 12 Wind and rain, high 43. low 25. x If Making ""Grade Sex education fails to reach many Nebraska students Story by Kim Sweet I anet Tucker remembers escaping into a school bath ■ room one day before she was scheduled to teach ^Jp health class. Peering back at herself in the mirror of a cold, j empty restroom where every word echoed, the health u- and physical education teacher I had to practice saying the words 'penis’ and ‘vagina ’ in the mirror.” ai Lincoln nasi rugn acnooi tried to spit out the words that she would have to repeat numer ous times to a classroom of curi ous middle-school students. “I had to practice saying the words ‘penis’ and ‘vagina’ in the mirror,” Tucker said. That day marked Tucker’s first confrontation with sex edu cation. Janet Tucker JNeany " years ^er, lucxer no longer must practice saying the words that once felt so taboo. She’s comfortable with sex education - comfortable enough that she can instruct her students using a game of Pictionary in which they draw pictures representing masturbation or french kissing. While Tucker has overcome her apprehension about addressing sexuality in the classroom, other teachers have not, said Marybell Avery, a physical edu cation and health curriculum consultant for Lincoln Public Schools. Please see SEX on 7 HIV-positive man gives face to illness By Christopher Heine Senior staff writer Darren McCarty stood in Neihardt Residence Center, listing off HIV phobias: toilet-seat and doorknob germs, general homophobia and the belief that just sexually promiscuous people get HIV The 34-year-old with beefy biceps and a chiseled chest has been teaching sex education for eight years to such groups. He has devoted himself to volunteer public speaking about safe sex, drugs and alcohol, and has been one of the most requested speakers for those subjects in the state. He looked at the Neihardt group. Please see HIV on 8 Lane Hickenbottom/DN DARRBI McCARTY was among the first people in Lincoln to be -m-« —nn^ ■-—-* - Mapnoseu wiui ffiiv in ne ims spent tne pest eiyvn yeers educating others abort sex and sexually transmitted diseases. McCARTY HOUIS a daHy dose of 48 pills that he must trtte to stay healthy. Meth-dealing penalties could increase «— I don’t want to create excess punishments” V . Ernie Chambers Omaha senator By Jessica Fargen Senior staff writer J The high from the drug can last up to 16 hours. It’s cheaper than cocaine, and it is increasingly being made in makeshift labs across the state. Sen. Chris Peterson of Grand island calls methamphetamine the “Midwest Nightmare.” Lawmakers advanced a bill 26-0 on Wednesday that would increase sentences for meth dealers, making the penalties comparable to deal ing crack. “It is less expensive, more readily available than cocaine, and it has a longer-lasting high,” said Peterson, who is sponsoring the bill. Currently, people who deal 7 ounces or more of meth receive a flat sentence of one to 50 years in prison. With no mandatory minimum, a person TOUldbe eligible for release after serving the mini mum of one year. Under LB299 a person caught dealing 7 to 16 ounces of meth would spend at least three years in prison - which is the mandatory minimum -with a maximum of 50 years. Dealing 16 ounces, 1 pound, or more carries a sentence of five to 50 years, with a five-year mandatory minimum. Dealing up to 3.5 ounces and 3.5 to 7 ounces would also carry sentences, but with no mandatory minimum. The final version of the bill was a compromise between Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers and Sens. Peterson and Kermit Brashear of Omaha. Chambers originally motioned to indefinitely postpone the bill after 15 minutes of debate. He objected to the bill because of the harshness of the penalties. “I’m not opposed to dealing with the meth problem.... I don’t want to create excess punish ments,” Chambers said. Chambers withdrew his motion after he reached the compromise with Peterson and Please see METH on 6 ' ~ Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at dailyneb.com