Exchan ;
groups
ALCORN from page 1
same with the students at Alcorn.
“It’s tough to get people to look
* beyond the blinders of the communi
- ty they grew up in.”
By exposing Alcorn students to a
white community and UNL stpdents
f to a black one, die blinders begin to
go down, Parker said.
So far, as many as 10 undergradu
* ate students have come to UNL dur
~l ing the summer or the regular school
Allowing Alcorn students and
faculty to observe UNL’s research
will help improve their own, Bolden
said.
“We want students to get some
idea of what research is at a Research
I institution,” Bolden said.
Since the exchange began and
UNL faculty started talking to Alcorn
faculty, the number of grants Alcorn
has received has gone up.
Although he can’t directly con
nect the results, Bolden said he thinks
f— " me two pnenomena are reiaiea.
lf For the first // # UNL also gains
' time, three under- It is (2 through the
1 graduate students exchange by drawing
f i from UNL are 1fl(2WCl0US prospective graduate
attending classes at students, Parker said,
t Alcorn this semes- CUltUfUl Encouraging stu
f ter. ^ f dents to come to
. Experiencing a immersion UNL as undergradu
different culture ates often influences
-t within the United CICtivitV.” their decisions to
States is even more *' come here as gradu
valuable than . r . ate students, he said,
studying in Europe . jamo tinraen “This partnership
or in another coun- vice chancellor for student affairs is enabling students
try, said James to come,” Parker
Griesen, vice chan- said. “We’re con
, cellor for student affairs.
*1 “It is a marvelous cultural immer
sion activity,” Griesen said. “The
three students who are at Alcorn are
going to come back with a better
learning experience than most study
, abroad students.”
By exposing students to racial dif
ferences, Davis said, UNL students
are gaining a marketable quality.
“Graduates need to be prepared
for a different world,” Davis said. “By
having an exchange program between
universities, we’re preparing students
for the real world.”
While UNL students, faculty and
administrators are gaining a new cul
tural perspective from the exchange,
Alcorn State is benefiting from the
guidance of a Research I institution.
The purpose of Bolden’s first trip
[ r to Nebraska was to scout out equip
ment to fill Alcorn State’s new sci
ence building..
Since then faculty have recog
nized there are many other opportuni
v ties for exchanged knowledge.
g UNL specializes in mapy areas
i!i Alcorn State is looking to for the
£. future, such as biotechnology, Bolden
Li said.
stantly engaging in conversation with
potential students.”
Two Alcorn students have come to
UNL to do their student teaching in
the Lincoln Public Schools, Parker
said. One was offered a job afterward.
The agreement is scheduled to go
on for five years. Davis said both uni
versities are looking for external
funding to allow more students, fac
ulty and administrators to take part in
the exchange.
The goals for the next four years
are to continue the number of faculty
and staff flowing between the
schools, as well as start an adminis
trator exchange, Davis said.
Parker said the success of the first
year shows the exchange is off to a
good start. He said he is optimistic
about the things that will develop over
The next four years.
But what both schools have
gained in just over 12 months has
made the program worth it already, he
said.
“Even if we were to stop now, it’s
been a worthwhile investment of
time,” he said. “We already have a
pipeline forged.”
' Program provides students
«with cultural experiences
STUDENTS from page 1
- friendly; everyone says hi,” Alcorn
said.
But Gartner admits that for her,
the idea of walking into a room full
of black people took some getting
j used to.
- “Being put in a situation you’ve
never been in before is intimidating,”
Gartner said.
Many of the Alcorn State stu
% r dents have talked to the UNL stu
dents about being three of the few
: s white students among thousands of
£ black students/Gartner said.1
Standing in the cafeteria line, a
student asked Gartner how she felt
being one of the few white people in
•y; the room.
The student shared his honest
i feelings about how he would feel
a being in the minority, she said.
“He said, ‘If I saw this roomful of
white people, I’d get a to-go tray,”’
r Gartner said.
Worrall said some of his most
>i eye-opening experiences have come
it through classroom discussions. The
^f smaller class sizes at Alcorn State
l seem to spark more interaction, he
:n said.
He said he has been able to
observe many more viewpoints than
he does in his classes at UNL.
“People love to share, and they
are more vocal in claSs,” he said.
The kind of experiences the three
students are having are those the
exchange was intended to foster, said
James Griesen, vice chancellor for
student affairs.
~ “Alcorn has things to offer our
students, just as UNL has things to
offer them,” he said.
Worrall and Alcorn said the expe
rience they are getting will change
the way they interact with people
when they come back to UNL next
fall.
Worrall said being surrounded by
a different race will help him serve as
more of an authority when he
engages in future discussions con
cerning race.
“I’m going to have a background
in talking about these types of
issues,” he said.
Alcorn said he is going to try to
bring the southern friendliness he’s
grown accustomed to back to UNL -
a campus that can have a cold atmos
phere, he said.
“I hope I can walk right up to
people and start talking to them,” he
said.
“Hopefully that will encourage
someone else to do the same thing.”
■ ■■ ' ' **'■ W';'% - '
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
researched by UNL professors
By John Hejkal
Staff writer
The problem of obsessive-com
pulsive disorder looms large for
families who have a child with the
condition.
Research to help those children
is a priority for Susan Swearer.
Swearer, assistant professor of
educational psychology, is conduct
ing a study to determine the effec
tiveness of linking school-based and
clinic-based treatment of OCD.'
The study is being conducted on
children aged 5 to 18.
Because children spend most of
their days at school, working with
them both there and in the clinic
would be a positive step, according
to Swearer’s hypothesis.
“So far we’re seeing very posi
tive results,” she said. “Participation
~ in the program is reducing OCD
symptoms.”
The participants’ symptoms are
tracked through weekly homework
sheets and symptom checklists.
Client, parent and clinician ratings
combine to track the patients’
progress.
Swearer is working on the study
with Debra Hope, UNL associate
professor of psychology.
Swearer said the joint work of
two departments is unusual.
“That’s another unique aspect of
this study, that it’s a collaborative
study between two departments on
campus,” Swearer saw
Children with OCD experience
obsessions about germs, terrible
occurrences or making mistakes.
The children or adolescents then
develop compulsions to help deal
with the obsessions.
Common examples of compul
sions include repeated washing,
doing things slowly’and thinking or
speaking in a rigidmapner.
According to the sthdy overview,
the most common trak was repeated
washing, which was found in 85 per
cent of children with OCD.
Many children-with OCD may
have academic problems, too. J /
Part of the treatment for OCE| ih;
the study involves exposure aiid
response prevention methods,
Swearer said.
The techniques include exposing
i -■ •" -i (. • 'vf •
^ Participation
in the program is
reducing OCD
symptoms.”
Susan Swearer
assistant professor
the patient to the feared object anc
finding strategies to help the patieni
not respond in a compulsive manner
Swearer said the study was mak
ing progress.
“The most important need is tc
help teach youth how to cope wit!
their symptoms,” she said.
Katy Hilgenkamp, clinical direc
tor of the Child Guidance Center
said the verdict is still out for some
OCD treatments.
“There is quite a bit of informa
tion out there on treatment, but any
thing that furthers knowledge in tha
area is important, especially wher
that knowledge can be applied tc
treatment,” Hilgenkamp said.
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