Gills perfbnn a fan dance to a fisherman's song at the 10th annual Chinese New Year celebration Saturday night The fan dance was one of many performances at the event at the Nebraska Union,
which celebrated the year of the snake.
University celebrates year of the snake
■ Chinese and non-Chinese alike gathered to
honor the new year with a celebration complete
with acts, performances and fireworks.
BY ANGIE SCHAFFER
Fireworks filled up the sky as about 700 people
gathered to celebrate the year of the snake at UNL’s
10th annual celebration of the Chinese New Year
Saturday.
Inside, flickering candles lit the stage while a
mystical rendition of “Tonight Will Stay in Our
Memory” was performed by the children from the
Lincoln Chinese Language School.
The celebration, which came three days after
the official Chinese holiday, was put on by the
Chinese Student & Scholar Association Saturday
night.
The crowd was mixed, with as many Chinese as
not gathering at the Centennial Ballroom in the
Nebraska Union.
Beginning with a buffet-style dinner featuring
traditional Chinese dishes such as kung pao chick
en and teriyaki beef, the event ended with a variety
of performers who entertained the audience for
nearly three hours.
Entertainment included a little of something
for everyone: children and adults, Chinese and
non-Chinese, those looking for a glimpse of tradi
tional Chinese culture and those looking for a
laugh.
A favorite was the Chinese martial arts demon
stration.
Audience members saw examples of Eight
Trigrams, a popular type of Kung Fu, Wudang-Taiji
Sword, and the humorous Zui Quan, or drunkard
boxing.
A host of actors performed a satirical represen
tation of the CSSA presidential election, borrowing
material from the one involving A1 Gore and
George W. Bush. TWo candidates, inspired to run to
gain the approval of a girl, squabbled over which
was more handsome, and, thus, more deserving of
the office.
Many acts were musical, such as the solo on the
Yang-Qin, a traditional Chinese instrument resem
bling a xylophone, creating tranquil tones.
Popular folk and rock songs, and even a duet
praising Nebraska’s prairie history, followed the
traditional fan dance and a Beijing Opera.
Audience members enjoyed both the perform
ances and the chance to gather with so many
Chinese together at once.
7 liked the program and the
people, especially since there aren’t
any other Chinese in Wayne."
TaixiXu
Wayne State graduate student
"I liked the program and the people, especially
since there aren’t any other Chinese in Wayne,”
said Taixi Xu, a graduate student at Wayne State
College who drove to Lincoln just for the celebra
tion.
The night ended in celebration behind the
Cather-Pound residence halls, where fireworks lit
the sky.
Festivities were planned beginning in October
to commemorate the year of the snake, or “small
dragon.”
Although it’s the 10th year the CSSA has held
such a celebration, it’s only the fifth year that the
celebration has been open to the public.
“It's getting bigger and better every year,” said
Many Guo, event coordinator.
SSD to see
change in
director
BY JILL ZEMAN_
After students charged she wasn’t meeting their
needs, the director of Services for Students with
Disabilities asked to be reassigned to a different posi
tion.
Mary Thompson, who has served as director of
die office since May, will begin work Feb. 5 in Student
Involvement /
Thompson could not be reached for comment
Sunday.
Thompson faced criticism last semester from
several students who said the office wasn’t the same
since she had taken over.
Students complained that Thompson
rearranged the office without telling anyone, making
it difficult for students in wheelchairs to move
around the room.
Thompson moved the office back to its original
setting after the students voiced their concerns.
Several students who needed note-takers for
their classes said they weren’t getting their notes on
time, causing them to do poorly in their classes.
Jodie Engstler, senior special education and deaf
education major, said she was pleased Thompson
was leaving the SSD office.
Engstler and other students met with Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs James Griesen and
Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman separately last
semester to discuss their concerns with the office.
“I think things were handled appropriately, but it
wasn’t as quick as we wanted,” Engstler said.
Although it took time, Engstler said she was
pleased with Perlman’s response to the students’
complaints.
Perlman said Thompson’s reassignment wasn’t
orchestrated by the university because Thompson
requested to be moved from SSD.
“There was obviously controversy last semester,”
Perlman said. "I know (Thompson) was working
extra hard to make improvements.”
Stan Campbell, assistant vice chancellor for stu
dent affairs and director of campus recreation, will
oversee the office until an interim director is
appointed.
Engstler said she met with Campbell, and she
thought his presence in the office was a step forward
for SSD.
A search for a permanent director will begin in
February, Griesen said.
Griesen said it hasn't been determined what
Thompson would do in Student Involvement, but
Thompson would be needed because the office was
short a worker after director Marilyn Bugenhagen
left Friday.
Thompson said in a press release she would miss
her old position but looked forward to her new one.
"I will miss the positive interactions and working
relationships that I have experienced with students,
staff, faculty and other directors through Services for
Students with Disabilities,” Thompson said.
"I look forward to the challenges of my new role.”
Mentoring program offers Latino
youth chance at a brighter future
BY VICTORIA RUS
Several Latino youth are find
ing it is conceivable to go to col
lege with the help of some UNL
students.
Every week, nearly 15 college
students meet one-on-one with
Latino students, ages 9 to 18,
from Lincoln Public Schools.
The students were matched
up by a program called the Latino
Achievement Mentoring
Program, started by two
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students.
The college students serve as
mentors, helping the younger
ones with homework, participat
ing in social activities, listening to
their problems and giving them a
tour ofUNIi campus.
Lora Carpenter, a senior envi
ronmental studies major, said
she mentors two sisters who are
in fourth and sixth grade.
She said both sisters were
intelligent, but because no one in
their family went to college, the
sisters needed role models to
show them that higher education
was possible.
“We went to a university fash
ion display,” Carpenter said. She
said it was exciting to hear one of
the sisters say she wanted to be a
fashion designer.
Mandy Snyder, program
director for the Latino
Achievement Mentoring
Program and UNL student, said
the program had one aim.
“The goal is to make the uni
versity more accessible,” she said.
The program was established
last fall by the Hispanic
Comihunity Center, 2300 0 St.,
and university faculty members
of the Latino Research Initiative.
The mentors and the Latino
students met for the first time in
September at their respective
schools.
The students are from Elliott
Elementary, Everett Elementary,
Park Middle School and Lincoln
High School.
Snyder, an English and
Spanish major, said the program
was about more than going to the
movies and just hanging out.
“(The school setting) sets in
their mind that the program real
ly focuses on education,” Snyder
said.
The students were matched
up at the schools, but now they
are free to choose where they
meet and what they want to do,
making the program individual
ized for each student’s needs.
Laura Roy, activities coordi
nator for the mentoring program,
said mentors were required to
participate in a weekly two-hour
workshop to improve mentoring
skills and gain support from
other mentors.
The mentors meet with the
students at least two hours a
week to help with school work,
meet with family members or go
out to have a good time.
Eryn Vaughn, a sophomore
Spanish and communications
major, said she had been a men
tor for a month. She volunteered
her time without any incentive of
college credit because she
enjoyed being a volunteer.
My mentee is 10 years old
and is really smart,” Vaughn said.
"She comes from a large fam
ily with a lot of younger brothers
and sisters,” she said. “So we go
out and do new things like ice
skating.
"It is refreshing to have a rela
tionship that is not about you,
but someone else.”
J.W. Novotny, a secondary
education major, said he had
been a mentor since September.
He's getting college credit for it,
but that’s not what motivated
Please see MENTOR on 7
Attorneys to decide on pending suit
BY JILL CONNER
A UNL professor has two
weeks to amend his case against
the University of Nebraska
Board of Regents.
Instead of arguing the case
in court, Thom Cope, attorney
for associate professor Karl
Reinhard, agreed to the dis
missal of the case against the
University of Nebraska Board of
Regents.
Now Reinhard and Cope
have two weeks to decide
whether they will continue
tion suit against the University
of Nebraska.
Reinhard filed the suit
against the NU Board of Regents
becaiise he was accused of mis
handling American Indian
remains in a story that appeared
in a 1998 issue of the UNL's
College of Journalism laborato
ry paper, The Journalist.
Alan Peterson, who repre
sents the university, argued that
the statute of limitations had
run out on the allegations for
the suit filed last November.
He also argued that the
sible for the defamation.
Peterson asked for a demur
rer, or a dismissal of the case on
the basis that it doesn’t have
enough evidence to support a
lawsuit.
Peterson said he, Cope, and
Judge Karen Flowers came to an
agreement Friday that the
demurrer should be sustained.
Cope has two weeks to try to
amend his case, Peterson said.
“If he doesn't amend, then
the case will get dismissed in
^leaseseeREINHARDon^
■ . 1
Kelly William of
Lincoln lets out
a laugh seconds
after tripping
over her duck at
the annual
"Quack OfTin
Avoca,Neb.on
Saturday after
noon. Hundreds
of people
descended on
the small town
to watch the
races, which
were followed
bya dance at
Town Hall.