Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1999)
Diversity summit held Diversity issues were addressed during summit By Sara Gardner Staff writer Being a part of a diverse society is a part of everyday life. Realizing the issues surrounding diversity may not be. This is why the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of People of Color arranged a diversity summit Thursday in the Nebraska Union. Juan Gonzales, co-chairman of the CCSPC, said a wide-range discus sion to promote diversity issues was needed. “The summit was to help us address diversity issues and how to implement the solutions,” Gonzales said. The commission surveyed differ ent student organizations about what they thought were topics that needed discussion. The 40 participants of the summit broke into four groups to discuss dif ferent topics during the daylong workshop. Cameya Ramirez, president of the Mexican American Student Association, said the small groups discussed recruitment, retention, sus tainability and campus climate. 66 With minority enrollment going up, we need to work on getting retention up.” Andy Schuerman ASUN president _ “One suggestion was that the Office of Admissions needs more support,” Ramirez said. “We could implement a team for minority recruitment.” Gonzales said participants also suggested a centralized way for peo ple to communicate. “We thought that a Web page would be the easiest way to let people know what is happening on campus with diversity,” Gonzales said. Association of Students of the University of Nebraska President Andy Schuerman said the summit was definitely worthwhile and need ed. “With minority enrollment going up, we need to work on getting reten tion up,” he said. Jessica Kennedy, assistant direc tor of alumni relations, said the next step for the commission is to take action. “We have a commitment to take these discussions and do something about them,” Kennedy said. “It’s a slow process, but we’re putting down the stepping stones.” The information from the summit will be passed along to University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor James Moeser, and will then be evaluated so smaller discussions can take place. Gonzales will present informa tion he gathered at the summit at the People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions conference on Oct. 15 and 16 on East Campus. Gonzales said he hoped that more summits would take place in the future. “We would like to see the commu nity of Lincoln involved one day.” Team helps student groups By Lisa Behrns Staff writer Student Involvement has created a new program designed to provide lead ership assistance to student organiza tions. The Leadership Team, or L-Team, will assess the needs of student organi sations, and then teach the group mem bers the skills they need to improve. Student Involvement is taking applications for membership in the L Team. The deadline for interested stu dents is Monday. “This program was designed to help organizations, which are strug gling internally to develop a better leadership structure,” said Stacey Duncan, student assistant for leader ship development at Student Involvement. “We want to help those strong groups remain strong.” Student Involvement is targeting groups such as residence halls, greek houses and college advisory boards to join the group. “We want to be thought of as a pro gram rather than an organization,” said Kris Baack, one of the program’s direc tors. “L-Team will serve mainly as a consulting team, and it will be up to the students to plan the projects.” The L-Team is still looking for 10 to 15 members. “We’re hoping to fill our team with a diverse group of students,” Duncan fct There are so many leaders who don’t possess all the necessary knowledge. We are teaching how to facilitate specific leadership skills, team building and decision-making.” Kris Baack L-Team director said. Membership with the L-Team includes attending several training ses sions before the start of the program, Baack said. “There are so many leaders who don’t possess all the necessary knowl edge,” said Baack. “We are teaching how to facilitate specific leadership skills, team building and decision making.” Responsibilities of the team include training organizations and groups, assisting in recruitment and training of future L-Teams. “This is unlike anything we’ve ever had,” said Duncan. “We’re really excit ed to get it started.” Members can expect to learn life long skills such as communication, better listening and how to organize and motivate a group, Baack said. The training session will happen this fall, and the L-Team will begin its work in the spring. L-Team members can expect a time commitment of between two and 10 hours of training in the fall and, in the spring, four hours of work each month, Baack said. Jadd Stevens, Residence Hall Association president, said the pro gram will help his organization. “If beneficial in achieving its goals, it will likely become a very use ful part of campus,” Stevens said. “Many of the students in the halls are busy with extracurricular activities, and the leadership training could help (them) to find a balance.” Applications for the organization are available at both City and East Campus Student Involvement Offices and the Culture Center. ASUN director rewarded for work By Veronica Daehn Staff writer Although most students wouldn’t recognize her, ASUN director of devel opment Marlene Beyke is one of the reasons for the organization’s success. Beyke will be rewarded today for her behind-the-scenes work with the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska when the NU Board of Regents honors her with a Kudos award. - • Kudos awards are given to out standing full-time university employ ees for the exceptional work they do fur students. Two Kudos awards are given at each regents meeting. The monthly regents meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in Varner Hall, which is on East Campus. Debbie Hendricks, executive sec retary to the vice chancellor for student affairs, said each vice chancellor has the opportunity to nominate someone for a Kudos award about three times a year. In this case, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen nomi nated Beyke for the award. First Vice President of ASUN Rachelle Winkle said Beyke helps them “in every way.” “She serves as our guiding light,” Winkle said. “She never tells us what to do but serves to guide us.” *\ As director of development, ^ Beyke’s job is to oversee all matters dealing with ASUN. “She’s our director and sponsor,” Winkle said. “Everything goes through her.” tWinkle said Beyke helps ASUN members with all sorts of things, such as parliamentary procedures at meet ings and with writing bills. She also helps Winkle and ASUN President Andy Schuerman with scheduling. “She keeps us on track,” Winkle said. “She acts as a pseudo-mom for everyone.” 11UUA1, V/^1UDL1\ X. y X X1 XJXJXWUJXVTVn M x v 5 10% off all other services with your UNL I.D. (excludes oil change) t No Appointment Necessary 3300 N. 27th St. Lincoln, NE 68521 402-467-6108 I j