Tliesday
February 13,2001
Volume 100
Issue 106
dailyneb.com
Since 1901
Jake G lazes ki has found a
Web site that has made him
an information god
In Opinion/4
Ron Brown isn’t going
anywhere in the near
future, and it’s because o1
religion
In SportsTuesday/10
The gallery in Richards
Hall opens with an exhibit
featuring seven Nebraska
artists
In Arts/8
BYJILLZEMAN
And then there were two.
After months of meetings and stacks
of applications to delve through, die chan
cellor search committee has narrowed its
pool of candidates down to two.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman and
Bill Hogan, a member of the University of
Minnesota Board of Regents, were select
ed as finalists to take UNUs top leadership
position.
The search process was cloaked in
secrecy, with all meetings closed to the
media and committee members staying
tightlipped.
Perlman also remained silent
throughout the process, neither confirm
ing nor denying whether he was under
consideration for the job.
But now, Perlman said he’s honored to
be chosen as a finalist
"I’m more excited than I would have
thought I’d be six months ago,” Perlman
said.
Despite being on the job since July,
Perlman still hasn’t devised his own mas
ter plan for UNL
“Honestly, I’ve been so busy the past
six months trying to get my hands around
this job that I don't have a grand vision of
what the university should be,” he said.
But a "grand vision” shouldn’t come
Perlman Hogan
solely from the chancellor, Perlman said
The 20/20 report, which outlines goals
for the university in the next 20 years, has
been a focal point for Perlman and other
UNL administrators this year.
"The faculty has spoken with the
20/20 vision report,” Perlman said.
“There's no shortage of things that need to
be improved.”
Hogan said he wouldn’t comment on
his specific goals about UNL before his
formal interview, but he was “very excit
ed” to meet with faculty members and
students.
Both Perlman and Hogan were nomi
nated for the position of chancellor - nei
ther applied.
Hogan, who is chairman and chief
executive officer of two Minneapolis-area
companies, said he was “delighted” when
he found out he was chosen as a finalist
Although Hogan isn’t a homegrown
Nebraskan, he said he was familiar with
the state and UNL.
“I think it’s an outstanding institu
tion” he said.
Hogan has been to Lincoln, visited
campus and has even caught a few
Comhusker football games.
Another tie Hogan shares with the
university is that he worked with former
UNL Chancellor James Moeser at the
University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Hogan worked as assistant dean of die
KU School of Electrical Engineering from
1973-74 and associate dean from 1974-76.
He was also associate executive vice
Please see CHANCELLOR on 3
Legislature
Battle over
MIP bill
continues
BY GEORGE GREEN
If you use, you lose.
And if LB 114 passes, minors caught with booze
will lose bad.
Under die bill, the state would revoke the drivers’
licenses of underage drinkers, stick them with hefty
fines and might even write a letter to Mom and Dad
explaining die citation.
With these heavy consequences in mind, advo
cates and opponents of the bill squared off before the
General Affairs Committee on Monday.
Pro-penalty testifiers dted increasing numbers of
young drinkers and the dangers of youth armed with
booze when they made their case.
Opponents of die bill raised questions about its
constitutionality and asked if its hefty penalties truly
fit the crime.
Sen. Mark Quandahl of Omaha said he intro
duced die bill to “catch the attention” of minors who
drink alcohol
Quandahl said young drinkers frequently flaunt
the law because they don’t fear the consequences of
their actions.
This bold mentality when coupled with an abun
dance of available alcohol has culminated into a seri
ous drinking problem in the state, he said
“There is an epidemic of underage drinking in
Nebraska,” he said.
But Marty Conboy, a dty prosecutor from Omaha,
said the bill would instill some healthy fear into the
hearts of die young.
Conboy cited a Daily Nebraskan editorial that
criticized die bill as evidence that young drinkers
were starting to show the law some respect.
“They are scared to death of this bill,” he said.
But, Conboy said, he could understand why
young people thumb their nose at the law.
“They don't have any common sense,” he said.
In the minds of the young, he said, today’s activi
ties simply override the importance of tomorrow’s
consequences.
Hal Hansen, a representative of the Association of
the Students of the University of Nebraska’s lobbying
arm, the Government Liaison Committee, countered
Conboy’s claims with his own take on common sense.
Hansen said the student association does not
Please see DRINKING on 3
A drawing dass sketches a still life in the newly remodeled Richards Hail.
Jennifer Lund/DN
Richards Hall facelift finally finished
BY UNDSEY BAKER
February saw the arrival of a little more culture
to campus with the opening of the newly renovat
ed Eisentrager/Howard Gallery in Richards Hall.
The three-room gallery, an $8.5 million project
that was in the works for more than two years, will
house student, faculty and alumni exhibits.
“Art students need to be able to see work done
by their peers and others outside the campus on a
regular basis,” said Dan Howard, professor emeri
tus of art and art history and benefactor of the
gallery.
Both Howard and professor Emeritus of Art
and Art History James Eisentrager, for whom the
new gallery is named, donated money to the reno
vation of the gallery.
During construction on the
Eisentrager/Howard Gallery, art students and
members of the art department used the Nebraska
Union’s Rotunda Gallery to showcase exhibits.
Chairman of the Art and Art History
Department Joseph Ruffo said art students could
still utilize both galleries. He said the Art League,
an organized student art group, would use the
Rotunda.
“The Art League will be using (the rotunda), but
the department won't be using it,” Ruffo said.
Assistant Director of Student Involvement and
Rotunda Supervisor Karen Wills said though the
Rotunda was booked for the remainder of the
semester, anyone was free to use it.
"The art students still want to use the space
because it’s so visible,” she said.
The Rotunda is now playing host to a print and
poster sale.
The Eisentrager/Howard Gallery is now featur
ing Seven Nebraskans, a month-long exhibit dis
“Art students need to be able to see
work done by their peers and
others outside the campus on a
regular basis."
Dan Howard
professor emeritus of art and art history
playing art from seven art department alumni.
Ruffo said the next exhibit would highlight stu
dent work. He said the gallery would be used to
house graduating students’ capstone and thesis
exhibitions with a summer-long program of alum
ni artwork.
Catch-up not a problem for professors
BYGWENHETGEN
Returning to classes Monday after
Friday's 10-inch snow fall, students were
groaning about make-up tests and professors
were playing catch-up.
But several professors who were playing
catch-up said they didn't mind the extra work
load and agreed safety was more important
than traveling through a snowstorm.
The university’s closing on Friday was the
first time classes had been canceled because
of weather since the infamous October 1997
snowstorm, which snapped power lines and
tree limbs across eastern Nebraska.
Interim Chancellor Harvey Perlman
makes the final decision when it comes to
whether classes should be canceled or not.
“We think university business is very, very
important, but not more important than the
safety of people at the university,” Perlman
said.
When deciding whether to cancel classes,
Perlman said he first gets a report from
Landscape Services, which is responsible for
clearing the university sidewalks and parking
lots.
“If they can’t keep the sidewalks and park
ing lots open, then we can’t conduct universi
ty business,” he said.
Then, Perlman said, he watches the
weather forecast and checks with other insti
tutions to see what they may be doing.
The time of year and the events happen
ing at the university also play a role on
whether classes are canceled or not, Perlman
said.
Last semester, during finals week and
commencement, the Lincoln area saw anoth
er snowstorm.
But because of graduation, finals weren’t
canceled, Perlman said.
“All you can do is make the best judgment
you can,” he said.
Venetria Patton, assistant professor of
English and ethnic studies, agreed and said
though it’s unusual for the university to can
cel classes, it was the best decision because of
Friday’s storm.
“Safety is more important than getting to
class,” Patton said.
“I’d rather have a student stay home and
miss class than be dead trying to get to class.”
Laura White, associate professor of
English, said former Chancellor James
Moeser wouldn't have canceled classes, but
she was grateful Perlman did cancel Friday’s
classes.
"I’m glad he did it,” White said. “If he did
n't, I couldn’t have possibly gotten to school.”
Moeser said in 1997 that he was “a firm
opponent of closing school."
Charles Kingsbury, professor of chem
istry, said even though his classes were put
behind a day, the weather merited a day off.
“I had no objections to canceling classes,”
Kingbury said.
“But I had a Russian student who thought
the weather was bad but didn’t think classes
should be canceled,” he said.
Mark Hinchman, assistant professor of
architecture, said he wasn’t dependent on the
condition of the roads to get to work because
he walks.
"I think more professors should live closer
to campus,” Hinchman said, who doesn’t
teach Friday classes. “Then, it wouldn't be a
problem.”
Weekend thieves
hit parking meters
BY JILL CONNER
People digging in their pock
ets for change to feed the park
ing meters located in front of
the Nebraska Union on Monday
could have simply checked out
the ground.
When Public Service
Officers checked parking
meters in front of the Nebraska
Union shortly before 4 p.m.
Monday, they noticed quarters
and dimes laying all over the
ground, said Lincoln Police
Officer B. Podwinski.
The officers noticed a large
amount of change lying around
the bank of meters and called
the Lincoln Police Department.
Police later discovered that
all the parking meters on R
Street - from 12*" to 14*h streets
-had been robbed.
Podwinski said he couldn't
say how much money was taken
from the meters.
Portions of R Street were
blocked so police could investi
gate the area, although they
could not determine how the
meters were cracked, Podwinski
said.
University shuttle busses
had to be redirected during the
Please see METERS on 3