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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2000)
Poetry in Motion are working hard to cre ate a scene for their art. A&E, PAGE 9 ' and tweets Video-gaming’s popularity has dilut ed its mystique and dulled its dark Monday, February 21,2000 dailyneb. com Vol 99, Issue 106 attraction, opinion, page 5 Josh Wolfe/DM MARLENA MCBRIDE and her husband, Stuart McBride, hold signs in protesl of the World's Toughest Rodeo held in Pershing Auditorium on Sunday after noon. They are members of the Students for Animal Rights group. Fewer up-front issues push campus activists into the background Editor’s note: In honor of Black History Month, this is the third story in a weekly series looking at the heart of diversity - what it means now and what it meant in the 1960s. Today we look at activism, a word that evokes images of people fighting for civil rights. By Kimberly Sweet Staff writer For UNL students in the late 1960s and early 1970s, one fear overshadowed their day-to-day tasks of studying and going to classes. It was the fear of the Vietnam War. The knowledge that their brothers, cousins, boyfriends or even they could be shipped off to a war the United States was losing sparked fear in the hearts of many. Please see ACTIVISM on 6 Law college event targets minorities By Margaret Behm Staff writer To help overcome the natioitoide shortage of minority lawyers, the University of Nebraska College of Law held Diversity Law Day on Saturday. Glenda Pierce, assistant dean of the College of Law, said the college geared the day toward minorities because just 7 percent of lawyers nationwide are minorities. “It’s basically aimed for members of minori ty groups because minorities are significantly underrepresented in the law field,” she said. Currently, there are 368 students pursuing their degrees in the law college. Thirty are minorities, Pierce said. The law school wants to increase the number of minority lawyers, and Diversity Law Day is one of die ways to do that, Pierce said. “We want a diverse class each year,” she said. Diversity Law Day is similar to other pro grams the law school has for prospective stu dents. The only difference is that it focuses on minorities. “People of color do have different issues sometimes,” said Damon Barry, president of the Black Law Students Association. “It’s geared toward a different crowd, but the actual program, for the most part, is die same.” It is important to have minority lawyers so there is equal representation in the courtroom, Pierce said “You want your lawyer to mirror the public,” she said “Lawyers represent people, and you want to have lawyers that are representative of the clients they represent.” Minorities who need to hire an attorney may feel more comfortable hiring someone from their own ethnic group, Pierce said “1 think that it’s helpful for people that are involved in the judicial process to not feel they’re isolated from members of their ethnic group,” Pierce said Having minorities in professional occupa tions helps to break down racial barriers, Barry said It also breaks down stereotypes and stigmas attached to minorities such as the idea that they can’t become professionals, he said Barry said he participated in Diversity Law Day to help other minority students. “I want to give back,” Barry said “I hope I can help educate another person of color, whether it’s a law degree, a doctorate or whatever it takes.” Barry said he hoped someday there won’t be a need for a Diversity Law Day. “Hopefully, one day we will be able to have a regular law day,” Barry said, “that we won’t need a Diversity Law Day. Unfortunately that day has not come.” i Fund helps diversity projects By Margaret Behm Staff writer The Diversity Enhancement Fund not only financially supports diversity events, but it also encourages campus faculty, students and staff to work together. The fund distributes money for diversity pro jects organized by faculty members who work together. Students can receive money for projects if they work with faculty members. Groups are more likely to receive funding if they work with people they normally wouldn’t work with, said Rita Kean, co-chairwoman of the Faculty Liaison Task Force for Diversity. The fund and the Faculty Liaison Task Force . for Diversity are in their second year. The task force is a link between faculty and administration and serves as an adviser to Academic Affairs. The diversity fond consists of $50,000 from the budget of the office of the senior vice chan cellor for Academic Affairs. The fund is not a permanent addition to the budget. Most campus entities have diversity pro grams in place, but the problem is that the differ ent groups atpn’t working together, said Kean, interim dean of College of Human Resources and Family Science. “What we found is that almost every unit on campus has special initiatives to address diversi ty issues,” Kean said. “The problem is it is frag mented. There’s a lot going on, but people don’t always know what other people are doing.” Kean said the fund shows that people are willing to work together for a diverse campus. “It has sent a message that diversity and inclusion is important on this campus,” Kean said. “It shows that the administration is serious about this, and there’s no better way than having faculty members weak together.” Please see DIVERSITY on 7 JUNI WUliC/LriN HOBBY UNDEMAN, an Omaha Burke wrestler, celebrates after his win over Hastings’ Dustin Davis in the 189-pound Class A competition during the Nebraska State Wrestling Championship Tournament finals on Saturday. The tournament was held at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. £*? • "hi- '■ f£v'v' If the eyes are the window to die soul, then the face is die billboard of human emotions. Pain, anger, frustration, joy, victory and relief were all on display at the Bob Devaney Sports Center during the Nebraska State High School wrestling championships Thursday through Saturday. The event brought students and their families from all comers of the state. Daily Nebraskan photographers Mike Warren and Josh Wolfe set out to capture the emotions on the faces of coaches and wrestlers during the three-day tournament. FOR PHOTOS PLEASE SEE PAGE 8