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■ 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.
