Disc simulates alcohol use
■ The CD-ROM
program will be distributed
to greek houses and
residence halls.
By Christina Fechner
Staff writer
It’s Thirsty Thursday, and the
weekend is on its way. For some stu
dents, the way to relax is to put away
the books and crack open a beer.
But drinking alcohol, while it may
lead to a memorable night of partying,
sometimes leaves more consequences
behind then a day-after headache. Eric
Schilling, a UNL junior agriculture
education major, is doing his part to
educate students about those more
long-term risks.
Schilling, with the help of
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Administration, received 100 free
copies of a CD-ROM called Alcohol
101.
The program, which allows stu
dents to get drunk “virtually,” also
teaches them how drinking too much
impairs their judgment.
Forty of the CD-ROMs will be
distributed to greek houses, and the
remaining 60 copies will be available
to residence halls. The disc educates
users on the risks associated with
drinking.
Schilling said the program will
work because it seemed real and stu
dents could relate to it.
“You are individually put into a
situation. It is extremely interactive
and up to date,” Schilling said.
The program begins with the users
entering their height, weight and age.
Then the users are taken to a virtual
party where they can talk to other peo
ple and share experiences on drinking.
There is a virtual bar where the
users can have as many drinks as they
want, and the program will tell users
what their blood alcohol content
would be and the effects their body
would feel.
Users can reset the program and
see what happens if they consume
more or less alcohol. The conse
quences of receiving a driving under
the influence ticket are also discussed
on the program.
Schilling, who is also a member of
the Alpha Gamma Sigma Fraternity,
will put the discs to work by requiring
all freshmen members of the house to
use it for at least an hour.
He hoped all greek houses would
follow suit and use it not only for
freshmen, but for everyone.
“(The) program is there to stop
problems from starting,” Schilling
said.
The residence halls have not yet
used the program, but Nathan Johns, a
sophomore actuarial science major
and an Abel Hall residence assistant,
66
(The) program is
there to stop problems
from starting.”
Eric Schilling
junior agriculture education major
said he thought the program sounded
like a good idea.
It is something he would use on
his floor and said he felt some people
would be receptive to it.
Robert N. Joseph, public relations
director for the Interfraternity
Council, along with fraternity and
sorority members, will attend a meet
ing Oct. 5 to discuss the program and
when to implement it.
Joseph said he supported the CD
ROM because he thought it would
benefit and educate students.
“Hopefully, (after using the pro
gram) students will have a better
understanding of themselves,” Joseph
said. \
Although the CD-ROM program
has a reset button, Schilling said, real
life does not. Schilling said he hoped
the program would keep students
from making mistakes.
“(Students) should know their
limits and when to cut themselves
olf,” he said.
E. N. THOMPSON
FORUM ON WORLD ISSUES
A cooperative project of The Cooper Foundation and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Atlanticism, the New
Atlantis: Euro-American
Reveries and Realities
Thursday, Sept. 16,1999
3:30 p.m.
That we live in an era of globalization has
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contradict predictions of a coming Pacific Century
on the one hand and a deeper Atlantic partnership
on the other. There is nothing new in this tension.
Almost from its inception the United States has
looked both to Europe and to the Pacific in search
of its future. But up until now American's original
Atlantic perspective had always won out.
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Alloy-Ansin Professor,
International Relations, Pulitzer
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University of Pennsylvania
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Survey analyzes
Nebrasksans’ views
By George Green
Staff writer
How satisfied are you with your
community? Are you married,
divorced, single or separated? What
is the highest level of education you
have completed?
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students are among the interviewers
who will ask Nebraskans questions
such as these for the Nebraska
Annual Social Indicators Survey. The
telephone study is done by the
Bureau of Sociological Research at
UNL.
The survey is set to begin in
October and is designed to find out
how Nebraskans answer different
personal questions.
University students, along with
community members, are hired to
perform the telephone surveys, said
Lori Kreiful, a senior sociology and
political science major.
NASIS hires between 50 or 60
interviewers to do the telephone
interviews, and about half of those
are students. Kreiful supervises and
trains the interviewers, who earn
$7.85 an hour for their work.
Interviewers do their work from
several rooms in Oldfather Hall. They
set their own schedule but have to
work a minimum of 12 hours per
week, Kreiful said.
Students are involved with more
than just doing the telephone inter
viewing, she said.
Graduate students in the past have
paid thousands out of their pockets to
add questions to NASIS.
“A few years ago a student bought
time on the NASIS study to find out
how Nebraskans felt about genetic
testing and implications in the insur
ance industry,” said Cheryl Wiese,
associate director of the Bureau of
Sociological Research.
The NASIS study, which started
in 1977, provides valuable insight
into how Nebraska and its residents
have changed over the past 20 years,
Wiese said.
The study covers a variety of top
ics as diverse as public trail usage,
road conditions and simple demo
graphic statistics, Wiese said. The
u—
There are a core set
of questions that are
asked each year ”
Cheryl Wiese
associate director of UNL’s
Bureau of Sociological Research
survey also has a list of basic ques
tions each year.
“There are a core set of questions
that are asked each year along with
the other questions provided by dif
ferent agencies and organizations,”
Wiese said.
Wiese helps different contribu
tors to the survey - including some of
the student workers - develop ques
tions that will effectively gather the
information they want.
Some agencies and organizations
can pay up to $2,750 for a minute of
time on the survey.
Amnesty International, the
Nebraska Department of Corrections
and the Nebraska Division on
Alcoholism are just a few of the many
organizations that gather information
through NASIS, Wiese said.
“We wanted to put a finger on the
public’s pulse at a time when legisla
tors were pushing a ‘get tough on
crime’ agenda and prisons were
becoming increasingly overcrowd
ed,” said Steve King, planning and
accreditation manager for the
Nebraska Department of
Correctional Sendees.
“We found that Nebraskans sup
ported drug rehabilitation programs
in prison and alternative sentences
for first-time, non-violent offenders,”
Kipg said. -
/The Department of Corrections
now has rehabilitation programs in
prison, King said.
It also has several pilot programs
in progress in various communities
that allow citizens to decide how to
punish non-violent, first-time offend
ers.
Oftentimes these communities
use alternatives to prison sentences
such as house arrest and community
service programs.
UNL graduate college
creates speaker series
By Sara Gardner
Staff writer
Any student wishing to discover
some exciting job possibilities should
search no further.
The UNL graduate college is
bringing a new speaker series to cam
pus this fall that will cover the job
search and other topics concerning
both students and faculty.
“Scholarship in Society” kicks
off Sept. 22 and will run through the
school year.
Students will have the chance to
hear these speakers discuss the many
avenues life can take after receiving a
college degree.
The first speaker is Desiree Beck,
a senior cryptologic mathematician
for the National Security Agency.
Beck will speak Sept. 22 at 2 p.m.
in the Great Plains Art Collection in
Love Library about her career and her
transition from graduate school into a
career.
Other speakers will discuss affir
mative action, concerns of American
Indians and the impact of race and
gender on educatiohal aspirations
and development, said Suzanne
Ortega, associate dean of graduate
studies.
Ortega, who created the series,
said she chose the speakers based on
their wide range of careers and back
grounds.
All of the speakers have a gradu
ate education and reflect a broad
range of careers and personal experi
ences, she said. Six speakers are
scheduled for the semester, but more
may be added.
“We wanted to help students and
faculty think about the relationship of
social issues, research and scholar
ship outside of the academy,” Ortega
said.
The Native American Studies
department and the Ethnic Studies
department are also sponsoring the
series.
Layton Brooks, coordinator of
graduate student services and a grad
uate student himself, is arranging the
speakers’ appearances.
“(The series) is for all students,
not just graduate students,” Brooks
said. “It is important to see all of the
possibilities there are after gradua
tion and to realize all of the places
you can go.”
Brooks said the series will work
to enforce the idea that money stu
dents spend for higher education is
truly worth it.
With the expected interest and
opportunities for more funding,
Ortega hopes the series will be avail
able every year.
Students interested in attending
the series can call the graduate stud
ies office at (402) 472-2875.
