Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2000)
sr D///7)Nebraskan Those who cal Olympics remind NU UNL dancer | themselves outdoorsy shot-putter of what dances out J would be better off drug tests made him childhood dream on a bike, not an SUV miss In Arts/8 In Opinion/4 In SportsMonday/12 . ■ But Political Science Professor Robert Sittig said national GOP trust in Stenberg may wane. • BY BRIAN CARLSON Ben Nelson’s campaign was cau tiously optimistic and Don Stenberg’s was skeptical after an Omaha World Herald poll published Monday showed Nelson with a 20 percentage-point lead over Stenberg in the Senate race. The copyrighted World-Herald poll showed 53 percent of respondents sup ported Nelson, the Democrat; 33 per cent supported Stenberg, the Republican; and 13 percent were unde cided. "We’re pleased with the poll," said Marcia Cady, a spokeswoman for the Nelson campaign. “We believe it’s a confirmation that the governor is talk ing about the issues that concern Nebraskans.” Cady said she was surprised by the size of Nelson’s lead. But she said Nelson, the former governor, empha sized Monday that the only poll that matters will be the official election returns on Nov. 7. “You run like you’re 10 points behind,” Cady said. “There is a lot of time left; and anything can happen.” Although Nelson blew a similar lead over Chuck Hagel four years ago, Cady had a terse explanation for why that would not happen this year: “Don Stenberg is no Chuck Hagel.” Stenberg campaign chairwoman Christine Vanderford said Stenberg, the attorney general, disputed the poll’s findings. “Mr. Stenberg believes the poll numbers are inaccurate,” she said. “He believes the poll was conducted in good faith, but he believes it is one of those snapshots in history that isn’t really reflective of the way the race is going." Vanderford said other polls have presented a brighter picture for Stenberg. One of Nelson’s internal polls showed Nelson with only a 15-point lead. Last week, Stenberg won a Farm Bureau straw poll at Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island. Vanderford said Stenberg would not change his campaign strategy. He has repeatedly called for voters to sup For whom wouldtiflfE^Ml senate race! Pop Ben Nelson (D) Don Stenberg (R) 1 Other Don't know I Statistical error +/- 3.1 percentage pts. Copyright: Omaha World-Herald source: RKM Research and Communications port the team of GOP presidential can didate George W. Bush, Sen. Chuck Please see POLL on 3 COOL WORK: Meri Backensto, a culinary arts student at Southeast Community College, puts the finishing touch es on an ice sculpture Monday after noon at the col lege's 84th and 0 street campus. Students lined the sidewalk with chainsaws, picks and a lot of ice. Gay measure not decided, activists say BY BRIAN CARLSON_ After an Omaha World-Herald poll showed 59 percent of voters support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages and civil unions in Nebraska, both supporters and opponents said voter-education drives would help their sides prevail. The copyrighted World-Herald poll, pub lished Sunday, indicated 59 percent of voters supported Initiative 416, while 34 percent opposed it. “We were not surprised,” said Guyla Mills, chairwoman of the com- DetensGof . mittee sup- Marriaqe porting the for 59% J| _* amendment. ^ ACT We knew ^ this resonat ed deep in the hearts of the people of Nebraska, and we felt the poll reflected that.” But ! Angela Statistical error +/-3.1 percentage pts. Clements, Copyright Omaha World-Herald Student coor- source: RKM Research and Communications dinator for Students United Against 416, said she did not like the way the question was asked in the poll. On Nov. 7, she said, voters will not be deter mining whether gay marriages or civil unions are legalized. Those arrangements already are not recognized by Nebraska law. “The question is whether or not gay mar riage is left up for debate,” she said, “or whether we’re not going to say anything more on it and make the ban permanent because we’re bigoted and discriminatory.” Initiative 416, known as the Defense of Marriage Amendment, says: “Only marriage between a man and woman shall be valid or Please see AMENDMENT on 3 Sheldon to examine security after vandals damage sculpture ■ Measures to protect outdoor art will be compared with other institutions'efforts. BY JOSH FUNK Late last week vandals caused $5,250 damage to a mar ble retaining wall surrounding a popular sculpture in front of Westbrook Music Hall. In at least three separate incidents between Wednesday and Friday, 12 marble panels were pried off the top of the wall around the sculpture, called “Willy,” and smashed on the sidewalk, University Police said. Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Director Janice Driesbach said the gallery will evaluate its security procedures for the outdoor sculpture gar den. “It’s disappointing to see,” said Driesbach, who joined the university this fall. “Whenever there are outdoor sculpture gar dens, there are issues with pro tecting the pieces.” Driesbach said the gallery will compare its policies with those of other institutions that have outdoor sculpture in search of improvements. ' The "Willy” sculpture, which sits in the plaza north of Kimball and east ofWestbrook, is a pop ular place for students to lounge between classes. The retaining wall around the sculpture is faced with 3 foot by 1-foot panels of traver tine marble, which were import ed from Italy. The Sheldon gallery is also made of this stone. Damage was first reported to University Police on Wednesday afternoon when one of the mar ble panels was found damaged, Assistant Chief Mylo Bushing said. The vandals appear to have pried the panels loose from the top of the retaining wall and smashed them on a nearby side walk. Driesbach said that even though the adhesive securing the panels may have weakened, it would still have taken some effort to pry them free. The next incident of vandal ism occurred between 3 p.m. Thursday and 9:18 a.m. Friday when eight or nine of the panels were smashed, Bushing said. Two more panels were smashed Friday evening, but a suspect was seen in the act. Please see SHELDON on 5 Dean prospect: Balance colleges goals BY VERONICA DAEHN Russell Tomlin has worked in Oregon for the last 21 years, and he’s never spent time in Nebraska. But Tomlin is here this week - and is hoping he’ll get to stay. Tomlin, an associate dean of humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon at Eugene, is one of four candidates vying for the dean spot in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNL. Tomlin said he wanted to come to Nebraska for its com mitment to research and instruction. "Nebraska is a really excel lent university,” he said. “To be able to work with excellent fac ulty and students is exciting.” Tomlin spoke with about 45 arts and sciences faculty mem bers Monday about the chal lenges the college is facing and what can be done to overcome those problems. He is the second candidate to come to campus. It is essential to find a bal ance between a liberal arts edu cation and what Tomlin calls instrumental goals, he said. Instrumental goals are con cerned with preparing students for jobs after graduation, as opposed to building creativity and imagination, Tomlin said. There is increasing pressure to focus solely on instrumental education, he said. “We need to emphasize the essential value of a liberal arts education,” Tomlin said. "But at the same time, we can have a savvy demonstration of the instrumental benefits of a liber al education." Tomlin also said it was cru cial for an arts and sciences dean to foster faculty vitality. Oftentimes, faculty mem bers feel under-appreciated, he said. “We need to create an enduring mentality of mind and spirit,” he said. “It is the respon sibility of the dean of arts and Please see DEAN on 3 Some might think that stripping for a living would be exotic. But the dancers at Mataya’s Babydolls Gentleman’s Theatre Club say "it’s just like ■ any normal job.” Ill f T That would be true, JUDl ■ except for the fact that VIOT M ^ T these women spend _J w IV. I most of their shifts £|£|y wearing nothing but a /0t tuG g-string and heels, f f\ _Please see DANCERS on 6 | | | _ JoshWolfe/DN Colette Gray, known as Cole at the club, dances for a couple late on a weeknight at Mataya's Babydolls Gentleman's Theater. Business at the club, at 5620 Cornhusker Highway, has been slow at times, driving the dancers'profits down.