NCAA proposes 1 ine lity
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
In an effort to boost falling gradu
ation rates, an NCAA regulated com
mission, the Working Group to Study
Basketball Issues, has proposed to re
institute freshman ineligibility in
men’s college basketball.
Based on statistics released by the
NCAA that reported graduation rates
had fallen to 41 percent following the
1997-98, the 27-member organiza
tion is considering the proposal.
Made up of presidents, athletic
directors and faculty members, the
committee suggested that making
freshman ineligible will bring rates
up to satisfactory levels and stop the
annual flood of underclassmen to the
NBA.
Nebraska Basketball Coach
Danny Nee said he thinks it’s too
early speculate on the proposal, yet
believes that it won’t be enacted.
“I don’t see how men’s basketball
players can be singled out,” Nee said.
“It’s ridiculous to think that freshman
will spend more time in the library if
they are ineligible. It’s kind of float
ing out there, but their intentions are
good.
Nee also offered that in discus
sions with other Big 12 coaches and
with Jim Haney, director of the
National Association of Basketball
Coaches, that both groups over
whelmingly are against the measure.
All of the Big 12 Conference coaches
against it and 95 percent of the NABC
opposed.
Factors that are against the action
include possible lawsuits, something
which the NCAA isn’t keen on after
the restricted earnings decision that
cost them millions
Scholarships may need to
increase and with Title IX a large fac
tor many universities would have
trouble making ends meet financially
thus hindering competition and
increasing the gap between large and
small schools.
■ Many schools routinely count on
newcomers to step up immediately
and Nebraska is no different.
“We have six new players coming
in next year and if we couldn’t get
contributions from them it would be
tough to even field a team,” Nee said.
Nee said Nebraska is well above
the national graduation rate with
approximately 70 percent of its play
ers graduation. This rate does not
include transfers.
“Our university has done a
tremendous job academically for ath
letes,” Nee said. “The is a real sensi
tivity here and kid with the right atti
tude can be successful.”
Other counter proposals offer
making freshman ineligible for only
the first semester and tying scholor
ships to graduation rates.
NBA Commissioner David Stem
is also trying to establish and age
requirement of20 before an individ
ual can play in the NBA.
As Nee says there is no quick fix.
“We all need to work at it because
its a complex problem but to single
out mens’ college basketball is the
wrong way to go about it,” Nee said.
Governor s office
holds conference
to fight violence
■ The conference will
allow people across the
state to discuss the repre
ssions of the epidemic
of violence in schools.
By Nicole Hall
Staff writer
Seven years ago on the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, 37 stu
dents could have been killed all too
easily.
A UNL student sat in his car and
slid a magazine clip into his semi
automatic assault weapon and walked
into a first-floor room in Ferguson
Hall.
The 37 students sat and watched
as he aimed his weapon at them and
pulled the trigger. Thankfully the gun
was jammed and the students were
left scared, but alive.
In an effort to stop events like this
from happening in the future the
Governors office, along with the
Department of Education, is holding
a statewide conference on violence
tomorrow at the Hardin Center for
Continuing Education, 33rd and
Holdrege streets.
More than 300 Nebraskans are
registered for the conference, which
w ill emphasize all aspects of school
violence, particularly what legal
action can be taken to stop it.
“I want to stress how important it
is to have a conversation about these
legal issues,” said Mary Ann Losh,
one of the conference coordinators.
“Teachers have to know their legal
options. Teachers and students
deserve to have school safety.”
The conference attendees will be
divided into panels to discuss their
experiences and knowledge of school
violence and the practices that have
proven effective.
“It will be an opportunity for the
best practices to be shared,” said
Chris Peterson, Press Secretary for
the Governor’s office.
“We tried to arrange the panels
with diversity in terms of East, West,
urban and rural,” he said. “Following
the shooting incident at Colombine
we wanted to bring together teachers,
students, policy makers, legislators
and elected officials.”
v At the end of the day, the panels
will come together to talk to the rest
of the guests about the developments
of that day.
w Many Nebraska communities and
citizens have responded to the nation
al violence by enacting preventative
measures in their communities.
Last year former mayor Mike
Johannes started a program in which
police officers were put in each
Lincoln high school. In Fremont a
father recently purchased and
installed a security system for his
children’s grade school. Fremont
Junior High School is installing a
security camera with grant money.
The Millard Superintendent is push
ing to have surveillance cameras in
all of the Millard schools.
Despite the surge of security mea
sures taken in Nebraska schools, the
conference will stress early detection
of troubled students and creating a
better awareness for students who
witness suspicious activity. „ Possible
measures include phone numbers for
students to call if they have informa
tion or concerns about their school
and increased law enforcement at the
schools.
For Peterson, it is better to be safe
than sorry.
“Nebraska school’s are safe, but
we need to be vigilant, prepared, and
watch for warning signs.”
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