City Council OK’s widening
of East O Street in 6-1 vote
ByJohnHejkal
Staff writer
The City Council approved an
ordinance on Monday that will widen
East O Street.
The council voted 6-1 in favor the
plan. The $15.2 million project will
widen O Street to three lanes along the
1.3 miles from 52nd Street to
Wedgewood Drive.
No timeline exists for the changes.
Councilman John Camp cast the
lone vote against the ordinance.
He said he supported doing some
thing to ease congestion on O Street,
but Camp had some concerns about
the impact on businesses located
along the street. He also said there
were some engineering concerns that
had not been fUlly addressed.
, Camp hopes to institute an incen
tive plan for the contractor of the plan
in order to ensure that construction is
finished as quickly as possible.
“Any way we can minimize the
inconvenience to the businesses in that
area, the better,” he said.
Camp said some good things
would come out of the plan, such as
the use of U-turns on O Street. He
hopes to make U-tums available in
other places in Lincoln, such as 84th
Street and 70th Street.
“It was a borderline vote,” he said.
“I just had a feeling of discomfort con
cerning the impact on businesses.”
Ed Swotek, first vice-president
and strategic planning and special pro
jects manager for First Federal
Lincoln Bank, said the plan will hurt
many businesses in the O Street area.
The plan takes out left-turn lanes
from Cotner Boulevard to 56th Street
along O Street, he said, which could
hurt businesses in the area, including
the First Federal Lincoln branch at 135
N. Cotner Blvd.
“We’re very, very disappointed
with the outcome of the vote today,”
Swotek said.
He said all the options had not
been fully exhausted in coming up
with a plan that would better satisfy
area businesses and neighborhoods.
“The neighbors don’t want that,
we don’t want that, but that’s the plan,
and we’ll just have to make the best of
it,” Swotek said.
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Award
for
Creative Humanity
This annual award is presented to
one, two or three people (students,
faculty or staff at UNL).
It recognizes significant
contributions to the development
of a humane, educationally
creative, just, and caring
community on the UNL campus.
Nominations for the award may be submitted by anyone associated with UNL.
More information, nomination forms, and guidelines arc available at:
• IFC-Panhcllcnic, NU 332
• Residence Hall front desks, RA's & Maintenance offices
• Most college, school and division offices^
• Student Involvement offices, NU 200 & ECU 300
• Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St.
■ Human Resources, Admin. 407
• Facility Maintenance & Landscape Service offices
• Office of Student Affairs, Admin. 106
• Cornerstone, 640 N. 16th 68508 - 476-0355
• Website: http://www.uiil.cdM/tidball/
Nominations arc due February 14,2000
Union increases services
ByCaraPesek
Staff writer
More computers and longer hours
are making their debut at the Nebraska
Union this semester.
The Nebraska Union is now open
from 7 a.m. until midnight Sunday
through Thursday, and from 7 a.m.
until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, said
Daryl Swanson, director of Nebraska
Unions.
In addition, beginning today, UNL
students will be able to check out and
use laptops at the Nebraska Union
information desk.
Laptops will also be available for
check-out at Nebraska East Union
sometime next week.
Swanson said there were several
reasons for the changes.
Student fees were increased in
1998 to help pay for the addition to the
Nebraska Union, Swanson said.
Keeping the union open later is one
way to make the increase useful to stu
dents.
The construction at Love Library
has also played a role.
“Almost simultaneously to finish
ing our construction, Love Library
started theirs,” Swanson said.
Because of the construction at
i Love Library South, some study space
‘ has been lost. Longer Nebraska Union
i hours will help offset the lost study
j- space, Swanson said.
And, for students who need a pick
• me-up while studying, the Caffina
! Cafe is also staying open later - until
10 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.
Swanson said the change in hours
is a pilot program. After this semester,
the Union Board will study the results
Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-i 2 a.m.
^ifiday 7 a.m.~11 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m.-12 a.m.
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and see whether or not to keep the new
hours.
The Nebraska East Union hours
will stay the same for now, Swanson
said.
“We don’t see a demand at the East
Union yet,” he said.
Along with being able to study
later, UNL students also have access to
more technology at the Nebraska
Union. Five new laptops are now avail
able for check-out at the information
desk.
The addition of the new computers
is a joint effort between the Union
Board and Information Services.
Swanson said the computer lab in
the Nebraska Union was consistently
full from the first day it opened about a
year ago.
“This quickly raised the question
of whether we at the union were pro
viding enough computer laboratory
space for students,” Swanson said.
Cody Northrop, chairman of the
ASUN technology fees committee and
a member of the Union Board, came up
with the idea of making laptops avail
able for check-out, said Linda Roos,
coordinator of research support.
“The laptop program is a way to
provide computing access to students
as an extension of the lab that is already
in the union,” Roos said.
The new Dell laptops, valued at
$3,500 each, can be checked out free of
charge to UNL students.
In order to check out the new
machines, students must present their
student IDs and one other form of iden
tification at the information desk, Roos
said. They must also fill out two forms
- a checklist of the computer compo
nents they are using and a laptop
check-out agreement.
Students are then free to plug in the
laptops to any of 44 ports around the
perimeters of the main lounge and food
court.
And soon, they may not even have
to plug in.
“Once we started talking about
this, the creative juices began to flow,”
Swanson said.
Within one month to six weeks, a
transmitter will be installed in the main
lounge that will have a range of 100
feet. The transmitter will allow stu
dents to use laptops and access the
Internet from almost anywhere in the
main lounge.
“We think that will pretty well put
us at the cutting edge of technology,”
Swanson said.
Event to help students study abroad
By Katie Mueting
Staff writer
Students wishing to expand then
educations should consider expanding
the borders of their college campus.
And the Office of International
Affairs will be offering information to
make the experience of studying
abroad easier.
The Spring 2000 Study Abroad
Extravaganza will be held today from
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the main floor of
the Nebraska Union.
Sponsored by International
Affairs in January and September, the
extravaganza will feature sessions on
study abroad programs, travel oppor
tunities, scholarships and financial
aid.
For some programs, studying
abroad costs the same as the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s
tuition, but others may cost several
thousand dollars more, said Caroline
Routh, assistant director of scholar
ships and financial aid.
Routh will suggest ways students
can pay for their study abroad.
Some study abroad programs may
appeal to students with specific
majors, but most programs have no
major requirement or other prerequi
sites, said Christa Joy, Study Abroad
director at International Affairs.
“It’s very important for students to
be aware of what’s going on in the
world,” Joy said.
Students can do this through
studying abroad, which adds value to
their degrees, Joy said.
Through UNL programs or
approved UNL programs, students
can study virtually anywhere in the
world, Joy said. During the 1998-1999
academic year, UNL had more than
400 students studying abroad.
Students who attend will be eligi
ble for prizes such as a $250 scholar
ship and a European rail pass. The
Extravaganza will feature a student
returnee’s photo contest, as well as
presentations by students who have
studied abroad.
Dara Lacy, a UNL doctorate stu
dent, will speak about the Australian
Educator Exchange Program. She
said that she gained a different per
spective of education, and the “cultur
al experience was unbelievable.”
dailyneb.com
-
Spring SCCC Study Abroad
Extravaganza
Today, January 25,11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Main Floor, NE Union
Schedule of the Information Sessions
11:00 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
.Noon
12:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
Eastern Europe Programs
Pan Pacific Summer Conference
Scholarships & Financial Aid
Japan Exchange Semester
Australia Educator Exchange Program
China Cultural Studies
Rotary/Fulbright Scholarships
Internet Study Abroad Resources
International Affairs 420 University Terrace www.iaffairs.unl.edu 472-5358
Just for kicks
