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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2000)
Rasta Rhythms Reggae bands, new and old, kplay tonight at the Royal Grove. A&E, PAGE 7 troversy New dollar featuring Sacagawea Vol 99, Issue 102 gets mixed reviews NEWS, PAGE 6 Lydia S. Gonzales/DN MUSIC MAJOR BRIAN COREY takes a break to view the Clothesline Project exhibit showing in the Nebraska Union Rotunda Gallery on Monday. The exhibit honoring Nebraska victims of violence also will be displayed today. Victims get artistic outlet By Margaret Behm Staff writer More than 60 people visited the Clothesline Project display in the Nebraska Union on Monday to view T shirts made by victims of violence. Katie Scheer-Williams said the shirts show that the people who are vic tims aren’t just numbers. “I think that you hear the statistics, but by having the T-shirts as physical objects means that you see that it^s not a statistic,” said Scheer-Williams, a sophomore general studies major. “It’s an actual, normal person that this hap pened to.” About 20 shirts are on display again today from 9 am to 5 pm in the Rotunda Gallery. The T-shirts feature both words and pictures. Each color of the T-shirts repre sents a different form of violence. White represents women who have died from violence; yellow or beige are for women who have been battered or assaulted; red, pink and orange are for women who have been raped or sexu ally assaulted; blue and green are for women survivors of incest or child sex ual abuse; purple and lavender repre sent those attacked because of then sexual orientation; and black and gray represent children living in abusive sit uations. Stork, coordinator of groups at the •* I’ve seen women crying while making the shirts because they ’re finally getting rid of their feelings.” Stork Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center coordinator Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center, said making the shirts is part of the healing process for victims. “I’ve seen women crying while making the shirts because they’re finally getting rid of their feelings,” said Stork, a woman who only uses one name. The T-shirts, which are usually kept in the Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center, show some victims how they can express their feelings, Stork said. “I’ve seen people come into the building who didn’t know how to express themselves,” she said. “And they look at the shirts and say that is how they felt” The T-shirts are made by people from all types of lifestyles, Stork said. Laura Andersen, a Prevent mem ber, said violence against women is a problem, even at UNL. Prevent sponsored the project with the Rape/Spouse Abuse Crisis Center and the Women’s Center. “I think it is a problem on campus,” said Andersen, a sophomore biology major. “That’s why we have Prevent. We recognize that it is a problem not only in the Lincoln community but also at UNL.” People who have experienced vio lence should go see the display, so they realize other people have been through die same thing, Stork said. “You may see a shirt that lets you know you aren’t alone,” Stork said. Scheer-Williams witnessed the exhibit’s impact on visitors. “There’s been a couple of people that are obviously choked up,” she said. “If they don’t have an emotional reac tion, they are in complete awe because it’s a moving display.” Stork said that the audio effects help people realize how often violence against women occurs. “When you realize that every time you hear that gong,” Stork said, “some one in the U.S. has been hurt by some one that says they love them. It makes no sense.” industry leaders ■ UNL’s agronomy and horticulture departments may be combined. By Kimberly Sweet Staff writer A faculty decision that would com bine two departments within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at UNL has some industry leaders in the state upset. The decision, which would inte grate the horticulture and agronomy departments, has horticulture industry leaders rallying against the decision. Combining the programs, they say, could weaken the horticulture program, sending prospective students elsewhere. That would be bad news for an industry horticulture leaders say is booming in the state. “It’s not a very good vote of confi dence,” said Bryan Kinghom, owner of Kinghom Gardens in Omaha, a land scape design firm. “Instead of trying to integrate, we should focus on making the premier horticulture program in the Midwest.” Members of die horticulture indus try are holding a special meeting today at the Lancaster County Extension Office at 1 p.m. to discuss the implica tions of integration. Horticulture involves studying row crops such as potatoes and dry beans. It also includes ornamental flowers and plants used in home landscape. Agronomy deals with the agricul tural production and the science behind it, said Edna McBreen, associate vice chancellor for the Institute- of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Agronomists look at soil and the factors that make plants grow. Benefits of combining the pro grams include saving money on admin istrative costs and spending it on devel oping both programs, McBreen said. Integrating the programs would also allow the science aspects of one pro gram to support the other, she said. “It would allow for a much stronger department that would be able to offer very strong graduate and undergraduate degrees,” she said. Industry leaders say combining the programs would weaken one of the only programs in agriculture that is experi encing a boom right now. “The horticulture industry is one of the most rapidly growing segments of agriculture,” said Harlan Hamemik, owner of the Bluebird Nursery in ^ We need to be getting more distinguished professors instead of diluting and diverting.” Bruce Maunder UNL alumnus Clarkston. “Even though agriculture prices are down, horticulture has zoomed ahead.” Faculty in the horticulture depart ment have mixed feelings about the pro posed integration, said Garald Horst, a professor in the department. While some see the benefits, others are afraid to change, he said. Dave Lewis, the chairman of the horticulture department, said combin ing the programs would strengthen the plant science units that are required for both majors, he said. Agronomy faculty also have mixed feelings, said Stephen Baenziger, a pro fessor in the department. But Baenziger said the move would be positive in that a combined depart ment would combine the urban aspects of horticulture and the rural aspects of agronomy - allowing the department to be more connected to the state. Bruce Maunder, a 1956 UNL grad uate who has worked in agronomy for more than 30 years, said he may stop contributing scholarship dollars to the program if it becomes integrated. Maunder said he was afraid the spe cial needs of each program would be ignored because a chairman of one spe cialty or another would be appointed. Instead, focus should be put on strengthening both programs. “We need to be getting more distin guished professors instead of diluting and diverting,” he said. In the end, the reality of tight bud gets will probably drive the final deci sion, said Kenneth Cassman, the chair man of the agronomy department. Kinghom said if the departments merge, the University of Nebraska Lincoln will lose out, as potential stu dents choose nearby schools with sepa rate horticulture departments. “Iowa State University will be inter ested in taking our horticulture students for sure,” he said. Environmental Resource Center gets reorganized ByCaraPesek Staff writer In a sunlight-filled room on the second floor of the Nebraska Union is die Environmental Resource Center. Pamphlets and fliers about various local and national conservation groups line the walls. Potted plants fill the windowsills. The office is neat, orga nized and abounding with resources. It hasn’t always been that way. Graham Johnson, director of the office, has spent the past several months sorting though old files and boxes of papers, recycling outdated materials. Finally, after a few years of what Johnson described as “organizational disrepair,” the 9-year-old office is almost up and running again. Jeff Riggert, a UNL alumnus, is one of the co-founders of the office. “Some of the students involved in other conservation organizations saw die need for some type of referral-type service,” Riggert said. So he and a few other students decided to form one, and the Environmental Resource Crater was bom. The center got off to a quick start, and soon its volunteers were involved with projects throughout campus. Working in conjunction with other conservation groups such as Ecology Now, the center started a campus recy cling program. Later, it convinced the university to install energy-efficient lights, called green lights, in new university build ings. There was even a program that allowed students volunteering in the office to earn credit hours in the Environmental Studies Department, Riggert said. However, after Riggert and the other original volunteers at the center graduated, things began to fall apart, Johnson said. “The people running the office were full-time students, had part-time jobs and ran the organization,” Johnson said. “They felt like they were always responding rather than acting.” Another problem, Johnson said, was the high turnover rate of the stu dent volunteers and directors. Eventually, the center became so cluttered and disorganized that it near ly shut down. Johnson said it was inac tive for about four years. Last year, Johnson took over as director of the office. After extensive cleaning, sorting and organizing, the office is almost back on its feet. The office has already participated in several campus conservation pro jects. Volunteers have mapped the loca- ] tion of every garbage can and recy- | cling bin on campus and are looking - 4 . _~~ _ * Please see RESOURCES on 3 i - ■M