-|^v • "I Punk Positivity
■ *_■ I B J Collection of monologues on stage
_ _ B J I ■ ^ work to further AIDS education.
^B “ ■ T ’^B A&E, PAGE 9
J^N fC^^Lri VeringGood
UNL wrestler Brad Vering captures
state title in St. Louis, Mo.
Monday, March 20,2000 dailyneb.com Vol 99, Issue 121 sports,page 16
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Sharon Kolbet/DN
BONNIE PRICE PROTESTS outside a circus at Pershing Auditorium, 226 Centennial Mali South, on Sunday after
noon. Price and other members o! the group In Defense of Animals were joined by UNL students from Students for
Animal Rights to protest against the Shrine Circus held Thursday through Sunday.
Animal rights groups protest circus
” / think pigs are
better off working
in a circus than on
someone’s plate.”
James Plunkett
producer of the Lincoln Shrine Circus
ByJillZeman
Staff writer
Pershing Municipal Auditorium
was home to trapeze artists, elephants,
clowns and performers of all sorts
Thursday through Sunday.
It was also home to a small group of
protesters, holding signs that said: “The
Crudest Show on Earth.”
Members of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Students for Animal
Rights group passed out fliers outside
Pershing, 226 Centennial Mall South,
at each performance of the Lincoln
Shrine Circus.
The group was formed last semes
ter, and Jason Nord, a senior philosophy
Please see CIRCUS on 8
UNL’s frequent
binge drinking
rate decreases
Statistics on the national number
of frequent binge drinkers are up
By Kimberly Sweet
Staff writer
The percentage of students classi
fied as frequent binge drinkers is rising
nationwide but decreasing slightly at
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
That was the news UNL officials
announced last week after the Harvard
School of Public Health released data
about college binge drinking national
ly
National data from the 1999 study
showed that 22.7 percent of the stu
dents surveyed were frequent binge
drinkers, up slightly from 20.9 percent
in 1997.
Of the UNL students surveyed in
the study, 27.6 percent were classified
as frequent binge drinkers. The figure
is down from 32.4 percent in 1997. .
James Griesen, vice chancellor for
student affairs, said he expected the
decrease.
“All the data is trending in the right
direction,” he said. “These results are
not accidental.”
Linda Major, project director for
NU Directions, said the university’s
efforts through education and other
preventative measures helped UNL go
against the national tide.
“It’s because of our resources that
we have a much more aggressive and
comprehensive program,” she said.
The survey also showed a slight
increase in the number of UNL stu
dents who abstain from alcohol. The
number rose from 10.6 percent to 12.1
percent in the 1999 survey.
Nationally, the number of abstain
ers also increased.
Griesen said one of the most
encouraging statistics in the study
came in the reduction of students who
“drink to get drunk.” That number
decreased from 64.7 percent to 48.2
percent at UNL.
The percentage of students who
frequently binge drink is going down at
A slight drop
64.7% tfifffUfff
Source: Harvard School of Public Health
i/rv f31 UNL ^E9 national
•'E- ' jlPI average Jfj| average
Melanie Falk/DN
the University ofNebraska-Lincoln but
is still higher than the national average.
But Griesen said UNL’s drinking
rates are comparable to schools in the
northeastern and north central United
States - areas characterized by cold
Please see RATES on 8
LeaderShape offers students chance to mold projects
■ Sixty students spent their
spring breaks at Camp Carolioy
Holling in Ashland.
By Sarah Fox\
Staff writer
Amy Olsen spent her spring break in eastern
Nebraska instead of on the beaches of Cancun.
Nate Johns spent his spring break getting up
at 8 a.m. while his friends slept in.
But Olsen and Johns said they would defi
nitely repeat their weeks.
Olsen, a junior exercise science major, and
Johns, a sophomore actuarial science major,
were two of 60 students at this year’s
LeaderShape for the University of Nebraska
Lincoln. The students learned about leading
with integrity and developed a vision for
improving the community.
Olsen, a health aide in Abel Residence Hall,
said she received a LeaderShape application
from her supervisor at the University Health
Center.
“I didn’t really know much about it,” she
said.
Olsen and the other 59 students stayed at
Camp Carol Joy Holling in Ashland from March
11-16. Each day, a topic was focused on, such as
valuing community, knowing yourself and
depending on others and leading with integrity.
The students talked about the day’s theme with
their family clusters of 10 people.
Olsen said the family clusters helped stu
dents be accountable for their goals throughout
the week. She said one man wanted to be more
optimistic, and her family cluster watched him
to make sure hC kept working on an optimistic
attitude.
In the middle of the week, the students
developed visions.
After talking with her family cluster and
attending workshops, Olsen chose the vision of
having a health aide in every greek house and on
every residence hall floor.
“I live in Abel, and in Abel alone we have
abput four health aides, and Sandoz has only
one,” she said. “Each year, there’s about two
greek houses we never have a health aide for.”
Olsen also wanted to start a UNL student
community emergency response team, which
would help the city of Lincoln if it were hit by a
tornado or a natural disaster.
Chuck van Rossum, special assistant to the
vice chancellor for student affairs, said
LeaderShape asks students to “stretch what the
university should be like.” Van Rossum was a
cluster facilitator at LeaderShape this year for
the second time.
At LeaderShape, van Rossum encouraged
students when they were apprehensive about
trying to find a big project, such as NU on
Wheels, which came out of the 1998
LeaderShape.
“Some of them were very leery they’d be
able to match (what others had done),” he said.
VanRossum said he told students to think of
a broad topic and narrow it.
“Think of something you’re really passion
ate about,” he said.
The original LeaderShape was started in the
mid-1980s by the national Alpha Tau Omega
Fraternity, said Kris Baack, an assistant director
in Student Involvement.
The program was eventually turned over to
an international board of directors. Students met
Please see LEADERSHAPE on 6