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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2000)
Wednesday December6,2000 Volume 100 Issue 72 dailyneb.com Since 1901 ■ r&staefp oSks iojt tdnvt DTocKovicnBne^viemninatxng neighborhood^ rotten sme8 In News/5 ' ' The Husker model of consistency, wide receiver Matt Davison, nears the end of his NU career In SportsWednesday/12 The legendary Zoo Bar serves up nearly 27 years of nationally acclaimed blues In Arts/8 * NateWagner/DN BREAKING POINT: Brian Blade, a sophomore business major, makes the break in a game of nine-ball in the Rec Room, in the basement of the Nebraska Union. Black and hb friends play pool Tuesday (rights to have fun and pass the time. ■Workers scurry to spruce up Kearney and )maha as the Secret Service arrives to double iheck security for the president's stop on Friday. BY GEORGE GREEN Countless workers in Kearney and Omaha are scrambling to make sure President Clinton’s first visit to the state goes off without a hitch. And coundess others are trying to make sure every Nebraskan who wants to see Clinton will know where they can catch a ■ The media glimpse of him. . Allen Johnson, Kearney city , manager, said his office has been Clinton's visit, busy working with the Secret Please see Service to assure the president has page 5. a safe visit He said city officials have been beefing up secu rity where Clinton will stop: the Kearney airport, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument "We’ve put a big emphasis on security,” he said. Workers also have been deciding which routes will be best for the president to take to his various stops around town, he said. Randy Haack, UNK vice chancellor for business and finance, said the university has been doing security work of its own. He said university officials are inspecting the Health and Sports Center, where Clinton will speak, to make sure its safety standards are up to par. Workers have been double checking die com plex’s electrical system, its elevators and door locks, he said. “We want the visit to be safe and pleasurable for him and the people coming to see him,” Haack said. But, he said, the university is doing more than ensuring campus safety. UNK also is doing cosmetic work to spruce up the campus, he said. Workers have been busy cleaning and repaint ing the Health and Sports building and the signs around it, he said. Outside, workers are clearing away snow and ice so people can have easy access to the campus, he said. With all the work to be done, Haack said, cam pus officials have been grateful for the help they have received from the White House Advance Team and the Secret Service. Together, he said, UNK workers and the Washington personnel will have things ready when the president arrives. “We’re feeling very good about the effort,” Haack said. Kelly Krier, an administrative coordinator for the Kearney Chamber of Commerce, said her group is throwing its resources behind the campus as it tries to plan the visit. She said the group is distributing invitations for the speaking event to special guests appointed by the university. The group also is heading an effort between all of the groups involved in bringing Clinton to Kearney, so when the day arrives, every Nebraskan will know where to go to see the president. In Omaha, officials are preparing for the presi dent, too. Joe Mangiamelli, executive assistant to Omaha Mayor Hal Daub, said security efforts like the ones in Kearney are underway. But, he said, because the president won’t be spending as much time in Omaha, the work won’t have to be as extensive. The president will be stopping at Offutt Air Force Base and then attending a private Democratic fund-raiser at the home of Omaha businessman Vinod Gupta, Mangiamelli said. Anne Boyle, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said while her group isn’t helping Gupta plan for the affair, it is trying to promote the president's stop. “We're encouraging people to take the opportu nity to see the president,” she said. Academic Senate Faculty to grade proposal BYJILLZEMAN _ The issue of whether the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s grading system should include pluses and minuses is now in the hands of members of the fac ulty senate. Although members of student government rejected a bill that would recommend the change, UNLs Academic Senate will still make the ultimate decision. The motion to adopt a new grading system was introduced Tuesday by Jim Ford, associate professor of English. Members of die senate will vote on the motion at January’s meet ing. Ford said he appreciated the discussion generated by the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. ASUN rejected its bill with a vote of 14-9, but in 1995, the stu dent senate passed a bill that more strongly opposed adding minus grades to the system. Ford said he viewed this change in attitude as a step in the right direction. UNL is one of the few universi ties that doesn't use a plus and minus system, Ford said. “ (UNLs current system) is very common among high schools and grade schools,” Ford said. If UNL used a plus and minus system, student grades would be more consistent with most univer sities in the country, which makes students' grades more understandable when they apply for graduate school, he said. “We’re always looking for ways to improve our academic climate,” he said. James Griesen, vice chancellor for student affairs, said several schools use a grading system with A B, C, D and F grades. UNL uses a grading system including plus grades but not minus grades. There’s no one grading system that serves as a model for universities, he said. Griesen said he was “fully prepared” to defend UNLs system at January's meeting. In other news, the senate passed a supplement to UNLs student absence policy. The policy, which hasn’t been revised since 1983, says any extracurricular activity causing a student to miss more than three weeks of class must be discon tinued. The new policy says it is the student’s responsi bility to request permission from an instructor to miss a class, but an instructor doesn't have to excuse “We’re always looking for ways to improve our academic climate Jim Ford associate professor of English Please see SENATE on 5 Mural blends art and community ■ As part of a class project, UNL students worked to decorate the west wall of the Matt Talbot Kitchen on R Street. 3Y JILL CONNER University of Nebraska-Lincoln student Zachary Stork thought he would be in for a stressful semester. His design essentials professor, Wendy Afeiss, asked him and his classmates to iesign a mural, obtain a mural permit from he city and then paint it on a 160 foot wall at Matt Talbot Kitchen, 1911R St. The idea of decorating the west wall of he soup kitchen was brought to Weiss' mention by Rita Kean, chairwoman of the Department of Clothing, Textiles and Design md also on the Board of Directors for Matt ralbot Kitchen. Kean said she was approached by ralbot's Executive Director, Suzanne Blue, vho wanted to spruce up the building. “I think it not only enhances our building jut enhances the whole community, the trea around the University and helps us -aise awareness of the homeless in Lincoln,” Slue said. Kean said she thought the idea could be ncorporated into the textiles and design mrriculum “I spoke with Wendy Weiss because her :lasses always have a community compo lent to (them),” Kean said. Weiss then coached her class through the iesign process. Students formulated ideas, voted on the Nate Wagnef/DN Professor Wendy Weiss'design essentials dass is painting a mural on the side of Matt Talbot's Kitchen, 1911R St. When the mural is completed, the message on the mural will read:"Serving the working poor, homeless and hun gry' best one and took the designs to the soup kitchen. The students surveyed the guests of the kitchen and board members at Talbot to see which designs were compatible, she said. “We really wanted input from the people on what they would like to see on the mural out there,” Blue said. “When working with the homeless, there isn’t a lot of enthusiasm, but it was really inspiring," Blue said. "It was something that was really embraced.” From that meeting, the class put togeth er a design team that synthesized the four Please see MURAL on 6 Committee mum on chancellor search ■ Panel was ordered to keep list secret after World-Herald report names Perlman as a candidate to replace Moeser. BYJILLZEMAN Committee members reviewing applications for University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s next chancellor are keeping tightlipped on who's in the run ning for the university's top posi tion. Members of the chancellor search committee, headed by UNL Plant Pathology Professor James Van Etten, are looking to fill the position after James Moeser left in July to become chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. David Brinkerhoff, acting vice chancellor for academic affairs, said in Tuesday's faculty senate meeting that committee members need to keep every thing they learn about candi dates to themselves. The confidentiality question arose because on Tuesday, the Omaha World-Herald reported Interim Chancellor Harvey “A breach of con fidentiality presents a serious problem David Brinkerhoff acting vice chancellor for academic affairs Perlman is among a pool of applicants considered for the position. The story quoted a university source who spoke on the condi tion of anonymity. When the Daily Nebraskan asked Perlman whether he applied for the position, he replied the same way he has since the search began: "No comment." Brinkerhoff said to protect the applicants, committee mem bers shouldn’t leak information about the search to anyone. “A breach of confidentiality presents a serious problem,” Brinkerhoff said. NU Spokesman Joe Rowson said he hasn’t been closely involved with the search process. Please see CHANCELLOR on 5