Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2000)
1 Time ti \ A mingling of six one-aw», II in die Timing,” debuts at Howell 9 I 8th t . doesn’t talk to the media, but his Thursday, February 17,2000 dailyneb.com Vol 99, Issue 104 wrestling does, sports, page 16 ■ - t " • •’ • /I' • ' ' ” He’s been a gpod advocate of the arts for the community and the state.” Lawrence Mallet director of UNL’s School of Music By Kimberly Sweet Staff writer A dean who helped bring millions of dollars in scholarships to the College of Fine and Performing Arts and worked toward increasing faculty diversity is leaving UNL to take a posi tion at Penn State University in University Park, Pa. Richard Durst, dean of the Hixson Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, will leave the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at die end of die aca demic year. He will become die new dean of the College of Arts and Architecture and executive director of University Arts Services at Penn State. Durst has been at Nebraska since 1996. The College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State includes the ater, music and visual arts programs - die same as UNDs college. It also includes die architecture and landscape architecture departments. Durst said the integration of the architecture and fine arts components made the job at Penn State appealing. “I believe real strongly in the col laboration of arts and architecture,” Durst said. The bigger departments also drew him to the job, he said. Durst will start his new job July 15. Reflecting on his three years at Nebraska, Durst said he was proud that the college brought in eight new minor ity faculty members. The college also experienced an 18 percent increase in student enrollment. Both are feats unparalleled by any other UNL college, Durst said. Jeffery Ehvell, chairman of the the ater arts and dance department, said his decision to come to UNL a year ago was largely because of Durst. “I’m sorry for me and the campus Please see DEAN on 3 —ASUN ELECTION — ' ;w’ ' r,.;r: • -'"r ;v -v."".cs •• - :-■■■ - Debate focuses on involvemeiit Parties tout merits atfirst debate of year By Katie Mueting Staff writer In the first executive debate of the ^ ASUN election campaign, groups A Team, Impact, Duff and Empower spoke of student involvement and improving the campus climate. The debate at the Nebraska East Union was sponsored by the Residence Hall Association and Interfraternity Council and was attended by about 100 students. Empower second vice presiden tial candidate Mike Butterfield said the campus climate could be improved by increasing die communi cation between ASUN and other stu dent oiganizations. Increased communication would also make more students aware of existing services, Butterfield said. This idea was echoed by Joel Schafer, A-Team presidential candi date. “Increasing student involvement in ASUN and other groups would be our number one priority,” Schafer said. Schafer would start by imple menting a freshman orientation pro gram that would focus on building a community within small groups of freshmen before they started classes, he said. Empower presidential candidate Heath Mello said necessary orienta tion mechanisms already exist. Mello referred to the freshman year experi ence task force and learning commu nities. Impact’s second vice presidential candidate, Amy Ellis, proposed mandatory senate office hours. ASUN senators are currently Photos by Nikki Fox/DN TOP: IT WAS STANDING ROOM only at the first debate of ttie 2000 ASUN election campaign. About 100 students attended the debate, which was held la the Nebraska East Olden on Nfbdnesday night.! BOTTOM: DUFF SECOND sice presidential candidate Betsey Saunders and Duff presidential candidate Jason Kidd answer a question at the first ASUN debate._ assigned 12 to 15 student organiza tions to oversee. Ellis said senators could use their office times to e-mail and call their organizations, making contact with them once a month. She also proposed having student organizations go down “avenues never explored” by combining their resources to bring big-name enter Please see DEBATE on 6 Race and education examined ■ Speaker says black stu dents may feel alienated by strictly European views. By Margaret Behm Staff writer Many black students struggle with their identities because history is taught from a European prospective, a UNL professor said Wednesday. Leon Caldwell spoke about lack of curriculum representation for blacks and how it affects their lives during a symposium in the Nebraska Union. “The fact that most of us don’t know the complete history of African people demonstrates that Eurocentric education has infused your educa tion,” said Caldwell, an assistant pro fessor of educational psychology. This type of education isn’t flawed necessarily, unless those being taught are not from European ances try, Caldwell said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with a European frame of ref erence,” Caldwell said. “However, it becomes extremely problematic when you’re not European, and you’re forced to take on a frame of reference that is not naturally you. Then one is oppressed.” Because they are taught from a European perspective, black males have the highest drop-out rates, because they don’t identify with then education, Caldwell said. Students usually are taught only about the history of African people during the time when they were slaves in the United States and during the civil rights movement, Caldwell said. Rowena Pacquette, a member of the Afrikan People’s Union, said black students should be educated about their heritage to help them in the future. it you re supposed to move tor ward, you need to look back at the struggles of your ancestors to appre ciate what they did,” said Pacquette, a junior economics major. “As stu dents, if we don’t know our true histo ry, we are deprived.” Some blacks don’t want to claim their heritage because of the way edu cation represents their past, he said. “We have some African Americans that don’t even want to claim they’re African American,” Caldwell said, “because not only does the Eurocentric education demonize diem, but it doesn’t tell the complete story.” Blacks may actually start to feel inferior through education, he said. Black students feel oppressed, and this makes them less outgoing on campus, Caldwell said. “Many of us African Americans still live with mental shackles,” he said. “Many African-American stu dents buy into the notion that they are still oppressed. They limit their involvement on campus, because they don’t see this campus or Nebraska as their world.” Please see CALDWELL on 3