Wednesday
August 23,2000
Volume 100
Issue 4
dailyneb.com
Since 1901
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Practices heat upas
voieybal players
compete for spots
In SportsWednesday/14
' ■
‘Survivor* kept audiences
glued to their TV screens;
tonight is the finale ^
In Arts/11
Amendment would doom partner benefits
■ The Defense of Marriage
Amendment which will be
voted on in November, deems
same-sex unions invalid.
BY VERONICA DAEHN
As of Aug. 14, students at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
can do something that their fac
ulty and staff counterparts can
not
Because of a new health
insurance provider, students are
now able to receive benefits for
their domestic partners, regard
less of sexual orientation.
But if George Wolf, associate
professor of English at UNL, is
correct, the benefits won’t last
long.
If the Defense of Marriage
Amendment, drafted this sum
mer by a group of Lincoln resi
dents, is approved in November,
domestic partner benefits could
become unconstitutional.
"(The student benefits) are a
first step in the right direction,”
Wolf said. "And they’re going to
be pushed back.”
James Griesen, vice chancel
lor for student affairs, said he
hasn’t researched the amend
ment enough to comment on
what effect it would have on the
insurance plan.
The Defense of Marriage
Amendment says: “Only mar
riage between a man and
woman shall be valid or recog
nized in Nebraska. The uniting
of two persons of the same sex in
a civil union, domestic partner
ship or other similar same-sex
relationship shall not be valid or
recognized in Nebraska.”
The term "domestic part
ners” refers to two people who
live together and share financial
7 took the position that if we can (offer
same-sex partner benefits), and it doesn’t
cost anybody anything, it sounds smart.”
James Griesen
vice chancellor for student affairs
responsibility. This includes
both heterosexual and gay cou
ples.
Wolf is one of several UNL
faculty members who has been
working for years to gain domes
tic partner benefits for faculty
and staff.
UNL English Professor
Barbara DiBemard said she, too,
had been pushing for domestic
partner benefits but was frus
trated by the administration’s
lack of action.
“I don’t deny it’s complex,”
she said. “But I feel we’ve had
walls thrown up in front of us,
and we haven’t gotten the infor
mation as to how to push it
through.”
Griesen said he was in favor
of domestic partner benefits for
students because it was a stu
dent insurance plan not funded
by the university.
”1 took the position that if we
can do this, and it doesn’t cost
anybody anything, it sounds
smart,” Griesen said.
The university was in the
process of looking for a new
health insurance carrier at the
same time the Association of
Students of the University of
Nebraska was discussing sup
port for faculty and staff domes
tic partner benefits last spring.
When ASUN senators passed
a bill Feb. 23 overwhelmingly
supporting domestic partner
benefits, Griesen began asking
the finalists in the insurance race
what they could offer students.
None of the insurance carri
ers objected to providing
domestic partner benefits,
Griesen said, and it didn’t affect
the prices of policies at all.
Chickering Claims
Administrators was signed as the
new insurance provider for stu
dents, said Bev Heiserman, stu
dent insurance coordinator at
the Health Center, and it will
provide benefits for domestic
partners of students.
There are conditions stu
dents must meet to be eligible
for the benefits.
The two must demonstrate a
long-term commitment to each
other by showing proof of joint
bank accounts or joint lease of
property.
They must also have durable
power of attorney over one
another, which means if one is
comatose, for example, the other
can speak for him or hen If a stu
dent qualifies, his or her domes
tic partner must buy a separate
policy at the spouse rate, not the
student rate. The rate for a
spouse is more expensive than
the rate for a student
“It will be a handful of people
who make use of this,” Griesen
said. “You'll be able to count it on
two hands, and the majority of
those will be opposite sex cou
ples.”
Griesen said it would be less
expensive for most students who
are in same-sex relationships to
Please see BENEFITS on 3
Erstad’s
work
ethic
helps
him
chase
league
hits
record
Story by
Brian Carlson
I tv t»
Courtesy photos
Former Husfcer Darin Erstad prepares fbrapitchinagameearfier this year.Erstad leads the major leagues in hits with189 and is on pace to
record one of the highest totals in basebal history. He was the NoJpttfathe19ftiytyr League basebri draft
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Clad in
shorts and a cutoff T-shirt, Darin
Erstad stands in the carpeted hit
ting tunnel just behind the
Anaheim Angels’ dugout and
stares straight ahead at the pitch
ing machine.
As he awaits the next pitch, he
settles into his slightly open, left
handed stance. His bat is held
high, just above his ear. When the
ball arrives, he lashes a line drive
into the net with his compact but
powerful stroke, releasing his top
hand as he follows through.
It’s just before 3 p.m., more
than two hours before game time
on Aug. 13, but Erstad, the former
Nebraska baseball and football
star, has been at work for hours.
After arriving at noon, the
Angels’ left fielder lifted weights
and began to mentally prepare
himself for that night’s game. The
Angels were set to face the two
time defending champion New
York Yankees and their starting
pitcher, five-time Cy Young Award
winner Roger Clemens.
When Erstad goes to the
indoor hitting tunned, his mission
is clear. He will work on his swing
until it feels just right. And when
it’s right, he will have no doubts.
"You just know,” he said.
“Everything in your swing just
flows together. Everything is
relaxed. You feel a relaxed intensi
ty”
Erstad has felt that relaxed
intensity all season long, giving
him the chance to pursue one of
baseball's most enduring records.
After a disappointing 1999
season, Erstad went on a tear to
start this season and has hardly
cooled since.
In his first six games, he
pounded out 15 hits. He set a
. (I nnf-*■— -I LL
trstad was voted to ims
second AK-S tar game
this summer. At
Nebraska, Erstaddb
puyeomsameocaDih
ity by playing for the
Comhusker basebal
team and punting for
the football team.
major league record with 48 hits in
April
Through Tliesday night, he led
the major leagues with 189 hits,
placing him within striking dis
tance of George Sister’s 80-year
old single-season hits record of
257. He has played in 122 of the
Angels’ 125 games, and he has
gone without a hit in just 22 of
them.
With 84 RBIs, he is well within
range of Boston Red Sox star
Nomar Garciaparra’s record of 98
RBIs from the leadoff position.
Most importantly, as far as
Erstad is concerned, his play has
helped give the Angels a chance to
contend for the American League
West championship or the AL
Wild Card.
Although Erstad has a
reserved personality, he has been
indispensable to the Angels’ suc
cess because of his intensity, hus
tle and work ethic, his teammates
and manager said.
“He’s the MVP in the American
League so far, as far as I'm con
cerned,” said Angels Manager
Mike Scioscia. “Every day he
comes to the ballpark, I see him
driven to win. He has a passion for
the game you don’t see in other
guys.
“From day one of spring train
ing, his work
ethic and habits have been impec
cable”
Erstad’s teammates are equal
ly appreciative of his efforts.
“He’s a catalyst, man," said Mo
Vaughn, the Angels’ first baseman.
“ He’s the definition of a gamer. He
does whatever he has to do to win
a baUgame. He’s great to have on a
team.
“I haven’t capitalized like I
should this year. I should have
over 100 RBIs, as many times as
Darin’s been on base for me.”
On the defensive side, Vaughn
said: “I like to say, if it’s in the ball
park, he's going to catch it”
***
Erstad, 26, grew up in
Jamestown, N.D. At Nebraska, he
was a punter and place kicker on
the 1994 national champion
Comhuskers while starring as an
outfielder on the baseball team.
He was the top pick in the 1995
draft and, in his four full seasons in
the majors, has played in two All
Star Games.
For Erstad, who was hitting
.357 with 21 home runs through
Ttiesday, 2000 has been quite a
Please see ERSTAD on 12
Police crack down
on illegal drinking,
partying students
BY JOSH FUNK_
Each fall thousands of students travel to Lincoln, settle in to new
homes and attend raucous parties. Some would can it a rite of passage.
This year, like each of the last two, Lincoln Police will travel all over
town, settle in on the bigger parties and arrest the raucous partiers.
Last weekend, police resumed efforts to discourage the large parties
that disrupt neighborhoods and are often frequented by college students.
“This is a means of improving the quality oflife in neighborhoods that
are plagued by these parties,” Lincoln Police Chieflbm Casady said.
Using a combination of plain-clothed and uniformed officers, die
police infiltrated three parries and handed out 53 tickets.
Police also call landlords and parents, and if the offender is a student
nere, uiNuomciais ww Decauea.
University students could face
penalties as severe as expulsion
under the student code of conduct,
and they may also face criminal
penalties. The university has a right
to enforce the code off campus if offi
cials can demonstrate an education
al need
“These people are of age (18,19
and 20), so we’re not legally required
to contact parents,” Lincoln Police
Capt. Joy Citta said. “(We’ve) found
that parents still have an influence in
young people’s lives.”
The party enforcement team was
created in 1998 to reduce high-risk
drinking, especially among the city’s
youth and college populations,
Casady said
Lincoln Police have long worked
closely with the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln to address stu
dent-related problems and con
cerns.
“We don’t want to create an envi
ronment that will encourage stu
dents to get into trouble,” Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs James
Griesensaid
The university’s efforts to reduce
high-risk drinking on campus in
recent years may have pushed more
partiers out into the city.
In this weekend’s enforcement,
Lincoln Police broke up parties at
2932 Q St, 1430 S. Ninth St and 1331
N. Ninth SL
Police seized $195 from two of
the houses and 13 kegs of beer, both
empty and full, from all three houses,
Gttasaid.
But Sgt. Brian Jackson, who
headed the effort said police also vis
ited several parties that were consid
ered lawful and where no tickets
were issued.
A party becomes illegal when
people are charging money for alco
hol, minors are drinking or the party
is disruptive in another way such as
noise, litter, parking and public uri
nation problems.
“The Lincoln Police Department
The Party
is Over
Three large parties wore bro
ken up and 53 tickets issued
this weekend by the Lincoln
Police Department as part of
an otiQoino enforcenwnt eloiL
■ 10 maintaining a
disorderly house
■ 10 procuring alcohol tor
minors
■ 5 selling alcohol without a
license
■ 12 minor in possession
■ 11 urinating in public
■ 1 failure to comply with
an officer
■ 2 providing false
information to an officer
■ 1 resisting arrest
■ 11nmate of a disorderly
house
■ $195 seized from two
parties (One was not
charging.)
■ 13 kegs of boor, empty
and full, seized
is not interested in preventing parties TimKarstens/DM
or someone's enjoyment,” Casady said. Preventing other crimes and pre
serving the rights of neighbors are prime concerns for the party enforce
ment team, he said.
Griesen confirmed that the university was not out to spoil college stu
dents’ fun; officials want students to exercise good judgment and have
fun responsibly.
"We want students to have great times in college,” Griesen said.
“We're working hard to help students see ways to have great times with
out drinking excessively.”
A. t • As Jk