Leader heralds progress
■ Senate president says
faculty have been involved
in budget, parking decisions.
By Emc Rineer
Staff writer
At the halfway point of the semes
ter, Gail Latta says she is “extremely
pleased” with the progress of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Academic Senate.
Latta, the senate’s president and
an associate professor of libraries,
broke the progress into a dozen cate
gories, saying she felt each one of
those areas was improving tremen
dously.
Some of the more important
areas, she said, were the senate’s role
in helping the university with budget
planning, its role in the future of
UNUs parking and its support of uni
versity-related human rights issues.
At a Parking Advisory Committee
meeting last week, members of the
senate on the committee assisted in
denying a motion that would have
recommended student, staff and fac
ulty permit rates be the sole funding
source for a proposed garage near
17 th and R streets.
The senate’s input at the meeting,
Latta said, was instrumental in the
rejection of die motion.
“I was pleased that everyone on
the committee had an opportunity to
give their views and that they really
did take a vote,” Latta said.
“It resulted in some change and
practices for the university in a very
positive direction.”
Latta said the summer discussions
that took place between the parking
committee and the senate members
on the committee were key in the
motion’s rejection.
“The summer discussions were
very instrumental,” she said. “This is
when the PAC really engaged in the
decision-making progress.”
Another issue Latta deemed
important was the senate’s role in
assisting the university with its prior
ities for the biennial budget, Latta
said.
“Last year the senate had not real
ly been involved in helping to identify
budget priorities,” she said.
“I think it speaks particularly well
of both the sehate and the university
administration that we’re able to work
collaboratively to identify priorities
that clearly have been whittled down.”
Human rights, Latta said, were
also a focus of the senate’s this year.
Senate members have spent much
of their time this year forming a coali
tion between campus faculty, student
organizations and faculty senates at
other NU campuses. The coalition
supports health insurance benefits for
domestic partners, or same-sex part
ners.
John Gaber, Academic Senate
member and assistant professor of
community and regional planning,
said UNL was part of a shrinking
minority of universities that did not
provide benefits for same-sex domes
tic couples.
“We want to make sure everyone
is treated equally mid fairly,” Gaber
said. “If faculty and staff are not treat
ed equally in terms of benefits, that’s
a human rights violation.”
Latta said the senate had received
support from the Association of
Students at the University of
Nebraska, the chancellor’s committee
on the status of women and the
University of Nebraska at Omaha’s
faculty senate.
“It’s a serious issue because the
university does not discriminate on
the basis of sexual orientation with
regards to its hiring practices,” Latta
said.
More than half of the universities
ranked in the upper tier of universities
by magazines such as U.S. News and
World Report provided health bene
fits for domestic partners, Gaber said.
The senate passed a motion
recently to support health benefits for
domestic couples. In order for the
motion to pass officially, it would
have to be approved by NU President
Dennis Smith.
“We’re trying to push this issue to
the forefront,” he said.
Latta said she was pleased at the
overall performance of the senate this
year.
“I’m just really grateful to the fac
ulty for their contributions,” she said.
“I’m very optimistic about the
progress we can make the rest of the
year.”
NAACP honors Omaha leaders
■ Omaha chapter of
NAACP awarded local
residents who worked for
racial progress at fund
raiser.
ByJoshKnaub
Staffwriter
“Making Democracy Work” was
the theme of the Omaha Chapter of the
NAACP’s annual fund-raising dinner.
Held Thursday at downtown
Omaha’s Double Tree Hotel, the event
was designed to honor those who have
helped extend the nghts and privileges
of democracy to all people.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People pre
sented two Omaha leaders with
Freedom Fighter awards. The awards
are presented annually by die chapter to
Omaha-area residents who work for
racial progress.
Z. Clarence Barbee, a retired
Omaha principal, and L.C.
Menyweather-Woods, pastor of Mt.
Moriah Baptist Church, were named
this year’s Freedom Fighter award recip
ients.
The featured speaker for the dinner
was Dennis Courtland Hayes, general
counsel for the national NAACP.
Steva Hall, a coordinator of the din
ner, said Hayes’ legal work was impor
tant in extending equal rights to all
Americans.
Hayes directs the NAACP’s legal
program at a national level. He coordi
nates litigation in areas such as voting
rights, equal housing, fair employment
practices and equal education.
Karla Ewert, another event coordi
nator, said Hayes addressed the fact that
racism had become more institutional
ized and less blatant in the United
States.
Hall said Hayes had actively
advised the Omaha NAACP chapter on
legal issues.
She said she was unaware of specif
ic cases Hayes had helped with or
advice he had given but said that Hayes
had assisted the chapter with education
policy.
Hall said the $40-per-plate dinner
was the chapter’s only annual fund-rais
er.
Ewert said the dinner would also
commemorate the national NAACP’s
90th anniversary.
She said the theme “Making
Democracy Work” had been chosen by
the national NAACP office and would
be the theme of fund-raisers for all local
chapters.
Residence hall to hold poetry reading
ByDaneStickney
Staff writer
In the residence hall named after
one of Nebraska’s most famous poets,
John C. Neihardt, UNL students will
be sharing their favorite poems.
The residence assistants in
Neihardt Residence Center have
scheduled a poetry reading for stu
dents who want to share their favorite
poems. The event will be held Sunday
at 7:30 p.m. in Neihardt’s Blue Parlor.
Andrew Shaw,-a sophomore resi
dence assistant, said students were
encouraged to share their own origi
nal poetry.
“We’d love to see a lot of people
come and share what they’ve writ
ten,” he said. “There really aren’t that
many opportunities to read poetry on
^campus, so hopefully a lot of students
will see this as a chance to read their
poems.”
Shaw said any University of
Nebraska-Lincoln student was wel
come to attend the event.
“We’d really like to see a lot of
people there,” he said. “We just want
4
this to be a fun and creative event.”
' Melissa Ellenson, a senior resi
dence assistant, said the poetry read
ing was an educational program.
Each residence assistant is required
to organize one educational program
every month.
“This activity will be educational,
but it will also be interactive,” she
said. “It will be a nice break for peo
ple because it is different than most
programs. It should be fun.”
Ellenson said the event would be
low-key, with cookies and beverages.
“It will be really laid back,” she
said. “Whoever wants to read, just
reads. They can read their own poems
or poems they like, or they can just sit
there, watch and listen.”
Shaw said he hoped the event
would foster a strong appreciation for
poetry on campus.
“Poetry is something that people
don’t seem to focus much on in col
lege,” he said. “It’s such a great form
of collecting and projecting thoughts.
I hope this event will give poetry a
presence on campus.”
Shaw plans on holding more poet
ry-related events in the near future.
66
Poetry is something
that people don’t seem
to focus much on in
college. Its such a
great form of
collecting and
projecting thoughts
Andrew Shaw
residence assistant
On Nov. 11, Bill Kloefkorn,
Nebraska’s State Poet, will present an
informal reading of his poetry at
Neihardt.
“(Kloefkorn’s) poetry is great,”
Shaw said. “It’s a huge honor to have
him come here, and I hope a lot of
people get the chance to come hear
him read.”
■ ; ... 'a >' ...
By Veronica Daehn
Staffwriter
Students surfing the Web may
want to check out the improved,
more comprehensive ASUN Web
/site to find out about student gov
ernment and its representatives.
The Association of Students of
the University of Nebraska has
redesigned its Web page to be more
accurate and up-to-date^,
“This is an additional opportu
nity for students to get involved and
find out about current projects,”
said Andy Schuerman, ASUN pres
ident
The site, at
http://www.unl.edu/asun, was fin
ished about two weeks ago, but
Schuerman said constant updates
were being done.
The Web page will be updated
weekly with new information about
ASUN.
Rob Glaubius, a junior comput
er science major, was in charge of
the site’s redesign.
Ideas for what the Web page
would look like were discussed last
May, and Glaubius began working
on the site this summer.
“I changed (the site) around,” he
said. “I made it look more profes
sional and less playful.”
Schuerman said students should
find the site more visually appealing
and more helpful in obtaining infor
mation about ASUN.
“The old page was grossly out
dated,” Schuerman said. “In today’s
competitive world, we need to do
what we can to keep it up to date.”
There will soon be a new link on
the site called “ASUN this week.”
General Studies Sen. Grant
Vicich said the link will be updated
weekly with what’s happening in
ASUN and its committees.
Minutes from past ASUN meet
ings will be available, as well as the
agenda for the current week’s meet
ing.
“This link will keep the public
up to date,” said Vicich, who helped
Glaubius redesign the site.
Glaubius became involved
because he didn’t like the way the
old page looked.
“I was displeased with the old
page,” he said. “It didn’t make me
proud to be a UNL student.”
E-mail links to all of the ASUN
senators and executive members are
available on the new Web page.
Students who visit the site are
encouraged to use them, Vicich
said.
Schuerman is happy with the
visual outcome of the site, but he
said the content was most impor
tant.
“This is an opportunity for us to
say ‘OK, here’s the information on
the Web site. Here’s what ASUN is
about.’”
Man arrested in connection
with garage burglaries
Police arrested a 28-year-old man
Wednesday on suspicion of burglariz
ing the garages of eight Lincoln
homes over the last eight months, Sgt.
Dennis Duckworth said.
Starting in April, police allege
Shawn Durham broke into the
garages, took a variety of goods,
including bicycles and golf clubs, and
later sold the goods to Omaha pawn
shops.
Duckworth said the total value of
the goods stolen was $6,800.
Couple held at gunpoint,
robbed of money at hotel
Two men armed with a sawed-off
shotgun walked into a Lincoln hotel
room and robbed a couple of their
money and unauthorized Tommy
Hilfiger brand clothing around mid
night Wednesday, Duckworth said.
The men knocked on the door of a
room at the Inn At Lincoln, in the
5200 block of Comhusker Highway,
Duckworth said, then entered the
room and held the people inside at
gunpoint.
The men took about $1,100 in
clothing and money before leaving,
Capt. A1 Soukup said. Police were
able to identify one of the men and
arrested him at his apartment in the
1100 block of E Street, Duckworth
said.
Duckworth said Titus M.
Williams, 19, then led police to a
home in the 3200 block of South 40th
Street where he’d stashed the shotgun.
The gun was a Winchester 1200 shot
gun.
Police are still looking for a 26
year-old man they believe was also
involved in the crime.
Compiled by senior staff writer
Jake Bleed
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