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In News/2 In Arts/12 In Sports/14
NU on Wheels rolls into 7-day service
BYJILLZEMAN_
It’s been a year since NU on
Wheels made its debut
Organizers didn’t know how the
free-ride program would go over
when it began.
But a year later, they say it’s a
rousing success.
So much so, they’ve gone from
operating the service 12 hours a
week to 12 hours a day, seven days a
week*
The service will now be offered
from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, said
Molly Schmitz, student coordinator
and co-founder of the program.
Last year the cabs ran from 11
p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through
Saturday.
The hours have increased
because the program’s operations
shifted from the University Health
Center to the Association of Students
of the University of Nebraska in July,
she said.
The program has enough money
to run the extended hours now that it
is funded by student fees.
ASUN allocated student fees to
the program last spring, she said.
The group also received a $3,000
donation from Gamma Phi Beta
sorority to help pay for the cab serv
ice, she said.
Brett Stohs, NU on Wheels co
founder, said moving the program
from the University Health Center to
ASUN will benefit the program
because more students can take
leadership positions.
New students will continually
take over the program once the orig
inal founders graduate.
Both Schmitz and Stohs said they
were working to expand NU on
Wheels’ reputation to more than just
a “tipsy taxi.”
Hie service can be used for any
student who needs a ride, regardless
of his or her situation, she said.
Last year the program gave 4,102
passengers a free ride home — an
average of 71 rides per weekend, she
said.
This year the group has budgeted
for 90 rides for Thursday through
Saturday, in addition to the rides it
will offer throughout the week, she
said.
Bob Schroeder, alcohol and drug
program coordinator for the
University Health Center, said he
thought NU on Wheels is making a
difference in reducing drinking and
driving incidents at UNL
The program’s popularity came
as a pleasant surprise, he said.'
"It doesn’t offend drinkers,” he
said. ”In fact, it’s welcomed by
drinkers.”
Students can access the service
by calling 475-RIDE and presenting
their student ID to the cab driver,
Schmitz said.
New pledges of
CM Omega
Sorority take a
breather
Monday
between Bid
nay activities.
The day
days of formal
rashatUNL
Bid Day ends nerve-shaking week of anticipation
“It's just a celebra
tion of what we’ve
been doing in the
past four days.”
Lindsey Haller
freshman English major
who rushed
■ Hundreds who participated
in the formal rush were invited
to join houses Monday.
BY TONY MOSES
An event known as Bid Day ended
nearly a week of nervous anticipation
for prospective sorority members.
On Monday, hundreds of women
who participated in this year’s formal
rush found out which house they will
call their home for the next few years.
The women have been touring
sororities since Wednesday. On
Saturday, they picked their top three
choices in a process called “preferenc
ing.”
On Monday, the women went to
the Nebraska Union at 5 p.m. to find
out if they were matched with a soror
ity.
They were then taken to their indi
vidual houses to meet other members.
Each house had a different activity
for the girls.
“It’s just a celebration of what
we’ve been doing in the past four
days,” said Lindsey Haller, a freshman
English major and prospective sorori
ty member.
Haller said she was nervous during
rush but was excited for Bid Day.
“It’s been so much fun,” she said.
Bid Day was also a day of celebra
tion for current sorority members.
Cara Medley, rush chairwoman for
Alpha Xi Delta Sorority, said she was
excited to meet the girls.
She said she hoped the event
would allow each sorority to become
better acquainted with its new
pledges.
Medley, a senior advertising major,
said in the next four weeks, current
members will try to familiarize new
pledges with their sorority.
Medley said each pledge is given a
“sister."
The sister will be responsible for
assimilating each woman into the
sorority.
After the first week, the prospec
tive members will have the option to
join their sorority.
“They could be unsure, and we
don’t have the (induction) ceremony
until next Monday,” Medley said.
If the prospective members
choose not to be inducted, they can
still join later in the year, Medley said.
“They still have the option of
deciding the greek system isn’t for
them,” she said.
Nebraska Bookstore welcomes student IDs
UHL students will be assigned separate accounts from their centralized university bills
BY MARGARET BEHM
That piece of plastic with
your picture on it recently
became more useful.
Students can now use
their UNL student IDs for
charge accounts at the
Nebraska Bookstore, 1300 Q
St
Students’ having credit
will not only help the store
but will help students, too,
said StanVala, general man
ager at Nebraska Bookstore.
“Because we didn't have
credit, we weren't getting as
many students,” he said.
“Now we have an equal
chance. And the advantage
is that students have two
places to shop."
About 1,500 students
have signed up since the
t JSM
program started three weeks
ago, Vala said.
University of Nebraska
Lincoln students who would
like a credit account at the
Nebraska Bookstore need to
bring their student IDs with
them, Vala said. They will
also need to fill out an appli
cation.
Employees run a credit
check, which takes about
five minutes.
“We usually tell people
to fill out the application and
go do their shopping,” he
said. "We’H have their
account open by the time
they're done."
The students’ credit
check results determines
what their credit limits will
be. The maximum amount is
$500. The charges made on
wr
the Nebraska Bookstore
accounts will be billed sepa
rately from their university
accounts.
There is no annual fee
and no interest rate for the
credit account There is a $10
late fee if the balance due is
not paid on time.
James Main, assistant
vice chancellor for business
and finance, said he doesn’t
think the new program will
affect the University
Bookstore's profits.
Students’ charge
accounts are activated when
their cards are scanned for
the first time at the
University Bookstore.
About 9,000 students out
of the 16,000 who have acti
vated their accounts regular
ly use their cards to charge at
the University Bookstore.
The new program allows
students to put off paying for
more stuff, but Vala said
most students are charging
within their limits.
“There’s good and bad
students," he said. “Some
will abuse any credit they
have; for others, credit (is)
just a nice convenience.”
Main said most students
pay their bills at the
University Bookstore on
time. Students want to avoid
the fines, holds and other
consequences that occur for
not paying the bills.
Having the new
accounts will help students
build their credit histories,
Vala said.
Please see BOOKSTORE on 3
City, university
work to slow
theft from cars
■ Nice wantto teach students how to
protect their valuables locked in cars in
campus parking lots.
BY JOSH RINK
Police plan to use education and enforcement
to decrease the number of thefts from cars this fall.
But car owners can have the greatest impact on
these thefts by hiding or removing valuable prop
erty and locking their doors, said Lincoln Police
Capt Jon Sundermeier.
An increase in the number of thefts from cars
this year prompted Lincoln Police
to create a task force for the prob
lem.
“The numbers indicate that the
problem is quite large,” said
Sundermeier, who heads the task
force made up of police, and city
and county attorneys.
During the first six months of
the year, more than $1 million in
property was stolen in 2,242 thefts
reported to Lincoln Police. About
$200,000 damage also was caused
in the thefts.
On campus, theft is the most
common crime, and larcenies
from cars account for a significant
portion of those thefts. In 1999,
there were 427 thefts, according to
University Police statistics.
This past weekend there were
six larcenies on campus with more
than $1,200 in stolen property
reported.
The rate of thefts from cars is
expected to increase with the
arrival of university students who
have more expensive stereos and
leave CDs and book bags in their
cars.
The thefts are more common in
areas with many cars and few peo
ple such as university, high school
and apartment parking lots.
Sundermeier said that most of
the time thefts from cars are
crimes of opportunity.
”If the thief doesn’t see it, he
won’t break the window,”
Sundermeier said.
University Police Assistant
Chief Mylo Bushing said UNL
parking lots are patrolled every
night and during the day, but stu
dents can help by reporting suspi
cious activity.
Cars that continue to circle
parking lots past open spaces and
people looking into cars or trying
to open doors should be reported.
The university and city police plan focused
enforcement projects, but community education
will be key to both their efforts.
Lincoln Police are leaving flyers on cars they
find unlocked or with valuable property in plain
sight with advice for car owners.
University Police plan to provide similar advice
to students through residence hall newsletters.
Police say there are a few simple steps car own
ers can take to protect their property:
• Lode all doors.
• If possible, remove any valuable property
from the car before leaving or at least make sure
that valuables are out of sight.
• If the car stereo has a detachable face, take it
with you.
