February 20,2001
Volume 100 h m
dailyneb.com
Since 1901
John Matzen,
independent
presidential
candidate, said
he hoped stu
dents take him
seriously in this
year's ASUN
election.
Matzen said he
' wanted stu
dents to get
informed, inter
ested and
involved in stu
dent govem
§ ment.
David Oasen/DN
ASUN candidacy no joke
Matzen uses his eccentric style to help get students involved
pi tfiuMnwn_____
John Matzen, ASUN independent presidential
candidate, is running a race based on more than
chicken.
Although his main platform issue is bringing a
i Chik-fil-A restaurant to Lincoln, he has got other
priorities, he said.
Like Peanut Butter Twix. *
Matzen said he made a late-night drive to
Omaha to buy his treasured candy because it was
n't available in Lincoln.
Matzen’s a joker. He knows that, and he thinks
his sense of humor - and his average-student per
sonality - can get him elected as student body
president
Matzen, a junior accounting major from
I Milford, has acted silly to gain students’ attention.
But he’s serious about being the next leader of
the Association of Students of the University of
Nebraska.
Matzen, who's running independently with
Holly Flanagan as first-vice presidential candidate,
knows his competition have been active on cam
pus and in ASUN.
He hasn't been too involved, apart from school.
He said he took his academics seriously - he’s a
member of accounting honorary fraternity Beta
Alpha Psi. v
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continual hunt for Bigfoot with friends, he said.
But he said he didn’t view his lack of on-cam
pus involvement, when compared with the other
candidates, as a disadvantage.
In fact, he's doing everything he can to differen
tiate himself from everyone else.
"If you’re the funny guy, people might remem
ber you and vote for you,” he said.
Matzen sported a half-soccer ball hat during
one of the ASUN debates.
When he announced his candidacy, he wore a
stuffed monkey around his neck in lieu of a tie.
He dressed up as Waldo - as in “Where's
Waldo?” - to ensure he was visible in the Daily
Nebraskan’s photograph of the second debate.
“I feel the students want a change,” Matzen
said. “I'm the guy they can joke around with.”
Apart from the Chik-fil-A issue, Matzen said his
platform consisted of the three Is: Getting students
informed, interested and involved.
Matzen said he would like to see the president
have a weekly column in the Daily Nebraskan to
better inform the students.
Students need to be aware about what's hap
pening on campus, he said.
A lot of Matzen’s plans to improve student life
have stemmed from other people’s ideas.
For instance, Matzen capitalized on the Score!
7 feel this university has gone
without funk for too long.”
John Matzen
ASUN independent presidential candidate
party’s idea of having a book exchange for stu
dents.
Rather than having it in the bookstore, as Score!
suggested, one of Matzen's friends designed a pro
totype Web site that allows students to trade books
online.
The wheels are also turning on an idea pro
posed last year by ASUN President Joel Schafer and
First Vice President Riley Peterson.
The two suggested revamping New Student
Enrollment to improve students’ first year at UNL
The idea never panned out because there was
n't enough money for ASUN to restructure NSE.
Matzen proposes to hold a freshman day early
in the fall semester to help freshmen better adjust
to UNL and answer any questions they may have.
Matzen said his first major piece of legislation
he would pass as ASUN president would be
Please see MATZEN on 3
Director for
disabilities
office hired
■ Leah Hall Dorothy will take Mary Thompson's
position with Services for Students with
Disabilities temporarily.
BY JILL CONNER
After student complaints, meetings with senior
administrators and a voluntary reassignment, the
Services for Students with Disabilities got a tempo
rary director Monday.
Leah Hall Dorothy, who will run the office part
time, along with her job in another campus depart
ment, promises to bring stability and positive student
interaction to an office that was dogged by com
plaints last semester.
Dorothy was named the interim director of
Services for Students with Disabilities after the former
director asked to be reassigned in January.
In addition to Dorothy’s new job, she also works
full-time as the assistant director of sports clubs and
special programs at die Campus Recreation office.
Dorothy said she would have no problem divid
ing her time between two offices because she has
worked directly with the Services for Students with
Disabilities office in the past
After the former director, Mary Thompson, asked
to be reassigned to a new position, Stan Campbell,
assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said edu
cation and training were deciding factors when
choosing an interim director.
Thompson volunteered for reassignment to the
Student Involvement office after student complaints
regarding the office’s management and accessibility
spurred meetings with senior administrators.
Campbell said it was important the person cho
sen as interim director of the office had a good history
with students.
Campbell said Dorothy was one of the lead con
tacts for the Campus Recreation Center in terms of
working with recreation needs for students with dis
abilities.
"Leah has a good history of working with students
on campus, with her sport club programs, with the
students she works with on a one-on-one basis and
with recreation needs for students with disabilities,"
he said.
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ties has always been a part of either her education or
her job.
“Its important to me,” she said.
Services offered to students through the office
include class notes, interpreters, test accommoda
tions, taped texts and Braille services.
Dorothy said she wanted to bring support and
direction for her staff as well as create a comfortable
atmosphere for students.
Please see DISABILITIES on 3
UHL student receives nation's
leading prize in mathematics
PTPMAHUHHULPtl
Imagine a trip to New Orleans - not
for Mardi Gras, - but for math.
When some of the nation's best
undergraduate mathematicians gath
ered in New Orleans last month, it was a
University of Nebraska-Lincoln student
who walked away with the top prize.
As the winner of the Alice T. Schafer
prize, UNL's Jaclyn Anderson, now a
graduate student, was voted the coun
try's top undergraduate woman in math
ematics.
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Women in Mathematics, the award goes
to a female undergraduate student who
demonstrates an interest in mathemat
ics, superior skill in mathematics cours
es and mathematical competitions and
die ability to do independent work.
UNL math professor Gordon
Woodward was one of the faculty mem
bers who nominated Anderson for the
Schafer Prize.
“Jaclyn is one of die best math under
graduates I have ever worked with,”
Woodward said.
As an undergraduate student,
Anderson participated in a National
Science Foundation-sponsored research
program. For her research, Anderson
worked on a project involving number
theory.
With applications in computer
encryption, number theory is a popular
K ML
Sharon Kolbet/DN
Jadyn Anderson stands in front of a chalkboard displaying the mathematical theorem she is work
ing on. Anderson, a UNL graduate student was awarded the Schafer Prize for being the nation's top
undergraduate woman in mathematics.
field in mathematical research,
Woodward said.
"Jaclyn is a very exceptional student
I would like to think that the math
department helped develop her skills,’'
he said
Woodward said Anderson became
the first UNL student to receive the pres
tigious award
Anderson received her undergradu
ate degree in December and plans to
continue her studies by pursuing a post
graduate degree in the field she loves.
Anderson said once she enrolled at
UNL, choosing a major was an easy deci
sion.
“I really enjoy the problem-solving
aspects of math,” she said.
Students try to work
around nagging flu
■ Many people on campus are trying
to stay healthy and avoid the illnesses
that interrupt their daily routines.
BYGWENTIETGEN
Sore throats, cases of bronchitis and
the flu are sneezing their way around
campus.
And judging from what most UNL
students who caught the bug said, the
symptoms will stick around about a
week.
Becca Becker, a junior communica
tions major, said she was sick last week
and so was her boyfriend.
Aching muscles, a continuous cough
and symptoms of the cold and the flu
were among the symptoms she experi
enced, Becker said.
“Every four hours I was downing
NyQuil,” she said.
Ryan Drahota, a senior film studies
major, said a lot of drainage, along with a
sore throat, was what he had last week.
“A lot of people had runny noses
where they would be blowing their noses
every five minutes,” Drahota said.
Jon Puett, a sophomore international
business major, said he was hit with an
ear infection, a runny nose and a sore
throat.
"I went home and was given three dif
ferent types of drugs,” Puett said.
John Lowe, a sophomore chemical
“A lot of people had runny
noses where they would be
blowing their noses every
five minutes
Ryan Drahota
senior film studies major
engineering major, said he hadn’t been
sick, but everyone in his family was sick
with symptoms of the cold and the flu.
Lowe’s advice for those who are sick is
simple: “Sleep a lot and drink a lot of flu
ids.”
Staying healthy can be as simple as
washing your hands before and after eat
ing, after using the bathroom and getting
a good night’s sleep, said Kristen Sukraw,
a health aide in Pound Hall.
Strep throat, bronchitis, a lot of differ
ent versions of the flu and even some
cases of mononucleosis have been com
mon lately, said Sukraw, a sophomore
exercise science major.
Proper techniques for thorough hand
washing include wetting hands with
warm water and soap, working the soap
into a good lather for at least 20 seconds,
rinsing hands so the warm water runs
back into the sink, and drying hands
thoroughly with a paper towel.
