Search for dean
nearins a finish
By CaraPesek
Staff writer
The search for a new dean for the
College of Human Resources and
Family Sciences may finally be com
ing to a close.
Negotiations are under way
between the university and candidate
Marjorie Kostelnik, said David
Brinkerhoff, associate vice chancel
lor for academic affairs.
Kostelnik is chairwoman of the
Department of Family and Child
Ecology at Michigan State
University.
Brinkerhoff said the search for a
new dean has not been easy.
Before the search began last
spring, another search had been con
ducted.
“We had a search going before
and didn’t find a suitable candidate,”
Brinkerhoff said, “so we started
over.”
This time the pool of candidates
was also small, said Marilyn
Schnepf, a member of the search
committee.
Schnepf said there were several
reasons for the small number of can
didates.
It is getting harder to be an
administrator at a university,
Schnepf said. For that reason,
administrators are in great demand,
and universities seeking qualified
applicants have to be competitive.
She said the university is also
facing a “dual-career problem” -
where two members of the family
work instead of just one.
“It’s not just a decision for one
person,” Schnepf said. “It’s a deci
sion for the whole family.”
Schnepf said the college is hop
ing to have a new dean in place by
July 1.
Rita Kean, previously the chair
woman of the textiles, clothing and
design department, is serving as
interim dean until a new dean is
hired.
Former Dean Karen Craig retired
at the end of last semester.
Brinkerhoff said Craig had ini
tially planned to retire in July but
postponed her retirement because of
the first unsuccessful search.
-LEGISLATURE
Bills help officers, inmates
ByGwenTietgen
Staff writer
Bills aiming to curb statistics such
as the six jail suicides that have
occurred in Nebraska this year were
examined Wednesday.
Preventing jail suicides and help
ing inmates who are mentally ill is
what Sen. Jennie Robak of Columbus
hopes to accomplish with LB965 and
LB 1022, which she introduced.
Joel Daltbn, director of correc
tions for Hall County, has had experi
ence with jail suicides.
“Less than one week ago, we had
two people with psychotic episodes,”
Dalton said. “One person ended up
being seen by three officials.
“Later, a police officer found the
inmate trying to hang himself with a
bed sheet.
“It shouldn’t be up to a police offi
cer to find an inmate before he hangs
himself” he said.
Both bills were discussed by the
Health and Human Services
Committee.
Robak said LB965 would increase
the training for law enforcement offi
cials to screen inmates.
Officials would be more likely to
U I would ask you to ask what it costs us
not to do this.”
June Remington
National Association of Social Workers Nebraska chapter executive director
recognize when inmates could be
harmful to others and to themselves,
she said.
The bill would also train officers
to deal with medication issues and
provide funding and support for a 24
hour hotline to a psychiatrist.
“We need to give our law enforce
ment officers better tools, and I think
this would be a good tool in helping
officers who don’t know how to rec
ognize mental illnesses,” Robak said.
Part of the discussion concerning
LB965 included a fiscal note attached
to the bill asking for $6,408,000.
“I also think there are federal
funds available besides just using state
general funds,” Robak said.
June Remington, executive direc
tor for the Nebraska chapter of the
National Association of Social
Workers, spoke neutrally about the
bill.
“I would ask you to ask what it
costs us not to do this,” Remington
said.
LB 1022 would establish a task
force in order to help inmates with
mental illnesses.
Robak said LB 1022 came out of a
interim study this summer. From this
study she discovered no one could tell
her how many inmates had mental ill
nesses.
Aleisa McKinlay, the public poli
cy specialist for Nebraska Advocacy
Services Inc., spoke on behalf of the
bill.
McKinlay said the group partici
pated in the study and found there are
not a lot of screening and assessment
services in Nebraska facilities.
Dalton said this has become a
major problem in the United States.
“The problem is that the 63 jails in
the state don’t have adequate health
care,” Dalton said.
Robak said the bills would be
moving to the Executive Committee.
Former coach freed on bond
■ NU track and field coach
says he didn’t know of the
Texas indecency charge.
By Michelle Starr
Staff uniter
A former NU volunteer coach
posted bond and was released from jail
Monday, but charges still stand.
The warrant for Michael Marsh, a
35-year-old former University of
Nebraska volunteer cross-country
coach, was issued Dec. 17 for his
/ alleged fondling of a 16-year-old stu
- dent between classes at Mesquite High
School in Texas last year.
Marsh was a history teacher and
track and field coach at the Texas high
school.
He was arrested Jan. 20 at Sports
Courts, 222 N. 44th St., where he
worked as a personal fitness trainer.
Gary Pepin, University of
Nebraska track and field coach, said
no problems had been reported on
Marsh since he began volunteering for
the university in the fall.
“If we’re talking strictly about
coaching, Mike would be a very good
coach,” Pepin said.
“This guy wasn’t some yahoo at
some little school in Texas ... He had
athletes that had gone on to major uni
versities throughout the country.”
Pepin said he did not know of the
charges when Marsh started, Pepin
---
said.
Background checks are made the
majority of the time for employees and
volunteers, but the extent to which the
check goes varies, Pepin said.
Marsh was an excellent high
school track and field coach and very
enthusiastic about being at the
University of Nebraska, Pepin said.
Michael Carnes, Dallas County
first assistant district attorney, said
Marsh’s case would come before the
District Court in Dallas County within
the next four to six months.
If convicted, Marsh could face a
two- to 20-year prison sentence or a
$10,000 fine or both, said Sgt. Joel
Martin, a spokesman for the Mesquite,
Texas, police department.
I! , ™l|[r|
Council to create link
between Johanns, teens
By Jill Zeman
Staff writer
Gov. Mike Johanns emphasized
once more his dedication to youth
Wednesday when he announced
members of his youth advisory coun
cil.
Johanns said the council, which is
made up of 28 students from
Nebraska high schools, gives young
people a good opportunity to build
their leadership skills.
“This advisory council serves a
representative voice for all Nebraska
youth,” Johanns said in a press
release.
Of all groups that offer advice to
him, the youth advisory council is the
most fun to work with, Johanns said.
“They feel a need to communi
cate directly with the government,”
Johanns said.
Johanns said the teens came up
with several good, important ideas.
One idea was a Web site for
young people that could be linked to
the governor’s home page.
Johanns said if the Web site
became a reality, he’d like to talk to
teens in a chat room.
“There needs to be a balance of
communication and collaboration
between Nebraska’s youth and the
adults who are creating laws, policies
and initiatives that affect young peo
ple in our state,” Johanns said.
Joyce Jonak, a 17-year-old stu
dent from St. Paul, serves on this
year’s council, which met for the first
time Tuesday. She said she learned
about it when she was part of a work
experience group over the summer.
Her adviser asked her to apply,
and Jonak completed the application
shortly after Christmas, she said.
Jonak said she was dedicated to
youth development issues and hopes
to address them while serving on the
council.
The council will meet quarterly to
discuss its plans, she said.
Fifth party jumps
into ASUN election
ASUN from page 1
breaking year,” ASUN’s First Vice
President Rachelle Winkle said about
the number of student election groups
running this year.
No one in ASUN knew the last time
five parties had run.
ASUN also approved bills that will
be seen during this spring’s elections.
The passing of these bills by the
senate does not implement them but
only places than on the ballots for vot
ers’approval.
The first is a bylaw amendment to
alter the mission statement of ASUN.
Fine and Performing Arts Senator
Erin Reitz said a student not affiliated
with ASUN liked the new statement
“They totally agreed with it and
said die mission statement is just how
they would say what they wanted for
their student government,” Reitz said.
The mission statement being con
sidered refers to ASUN as “the repre
sentative voice for UNL students,”
whereas the existing statement calls it
“die supreme student governing body.”
. The next bill that was passed was to
eliminate the senate seat for the division
of continuing studies.
This ensures all of the senate seats
are occupied by full-time students.
President Andy Schuerman said the
seat has existed only for about 10 years
and has been unoccupied for the past
five or six years.
The third bill presented and passed
by the senate deals with the election
policy of executive officers.
Because of the large number of
votes cast for ineligible candidates such
as Mickey Mouse and Bill Clinton, run
off elections have had to be held.
“With this bill, only votes cast for
eligible candidates will be counted,”
Schuerman said.
Government Liaison Committee
Chairman Andy Faltin spoke in favor of
this bill.
“I pity the person who has to go
through a run-off because of this kind
of stupidity,” Faltin said.
The bill passed unanimously.
Also passed by the senate was a bill
presented by College of Arts and
Sciences Senator Natalie Hoover for a
gender-neutral student constitution.