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.”
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