The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, March 30, 2001, Image 1
Friday March 30,2001 VcHumelOO Issue 134 daHyneb.com Since 1901 v Lamenting the enc Simon Ringsmuth growth of the Intel In Opinion/4 UNL bids farewell to ASUN president ■Joel Schafer saw his last day in office Wednesday but plans to stay involved in campus issues. BYMABQAHETBBCM As Joel Schafer bids good bye to his year as student gov ernment president, he will return to living the life of the average college student Now that his term is up, Schafer said he planned on studyingalot "I’m just going to enjoy being a normal student," he said. But he said he Would still be involved in campus issues. He will continue to work for online student government vot ing as a member of an organiza tion he started called Students For Online Voting. Schafer said he wanted to help Nathan Fuerst, newly inducted ASUN president, but said he didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. "I'm going to help out where Nathan wants me to and try to stay out of his hair,” he said. Schafer, the long-haired guy with no previous student gov ernment experience, said his presidency proved anyone could get involved in student government "ASUN can be an elite organization of a select group of people, but only if you let it," he said. Many people recommended Schafer should cut his hair if he wanted people to take him seri ously, he said. Schafer kept his shoulder length hair until his last day - Wednesday - as president of die Association of the Students of Nebraska. "1 thought it was a fun litde jab to cut my hair while I was still president but on the last day," he said. Schafer transferred to UNL in 1998 after the first semester of his freshman year. He started Please see SCHAFER on 5 ' * -*=:. ’ ' ? ' * ■?-.■ * • liM IIW^—■ll^llll IMIM M Mil Ml ACCOMPUSHED ROTC students learn from mock rescue BY CHARUE KAUFFMAN UNL students Cody Trindle and Ed Iwan walked down a gravel road, waiting for the coming ambush. As they reached an intersection, they were cut down by bursts of M16 fire from troops con cealed in the woods. Trindle and Iwan were only playing the role of "enemies” in an exercise performed Thursday by the UNL Army ROTC at Camp Ashland, the Nebraska National Guard base. The guns that shot at them were only shooting blanks, and the participants were in full military gear, complete with face paint and helmets. The ROTC cadets were transported to Ashland in Army UH60 Blackhawk heli copters, which were recently used as medical evacuation helicopters in Bosnia. Their main mission was to rescue a downed pilot with a “broken’' leg, but they first had to clear the area with recon naissance and ambush mis sions, like the one that “killed” Trindle and I wan. "We’re supposed to put up a little bit of a fight,” Trindle said. Trindle and Ewan’s corpses were searched by the ROTC cadets for ammunition, intel ligence and weapons in what is called an EPW, or Enemy Prisoner of War, search. "The whole purpose is to hit the objective quickly,” Sgt. Please see ROTC on 3 TOPiTonyTimanus, senior/6 carried on a stretcher to safety by six men Thursday at Ashland National Guard Park. Timanus was playing the role of a pilot who had been shot down and had a broken leg. BELOW: ROTC students jump into a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter Thursday for a ride back to campus from the National Guard base near AshlandJhe students were picked up on campus and flown to the exercises. STORY BY CHARLIE KAUFFMAN PHOTOS BY Disease could cripple Nebraska beef industry ■The contagious foot-and-mouth disease, if contracted in Nebraska cattle, could cost billions. BY GEORGE GREEN Newspaper stories detailing foot and-mouth disease's rampage across rural Europe have given J.D. Alexander reason to pause. A touch of the disease in his feed lot could rob the feeder of millions of dollars almost overnight "It'd be a huge financial burden,’’ the Pilger feeder said. Alexander's feedlot houses 5,000 cattle worth millions of dollars. E Kir <rr' . One case of the nefarious disease could force him to execute hundreds of animals because the disease is so contagious. Ironically, the disease poses no threat to humans and runs its course in infected animals in a period of months. Few animals actually die from it But the disease is nearly 100 per cent contagious, forcing owners to cull massive herds if they want to put a lid on outbreaks. Mike Fitzgerald, Nebraska Cattlemen spokesman, said the infectious disease could cripple Nebraska. “Cattle production means more to this state economically than any other," he said. Nebraska feeds for slaughter as many cattle as Texas does, he said. But Texas supports several other industries, including the profit-rich energy production sector, he said. On the other hand, he said, Nebraska leans heavily on the beef industry. Therefore, Fitzgerald said, the disease would damage the entire state. Nebraskans directly tied to cattle production are acutely aware of how vulnerable they are, he said. “They want to make sure every thing that can be done is being done,” he said. The Nebraska Cattlemen office in I "Cattle production means more to this state economically than any other.” Mike Fitzgerald Nebraska cattlemen spokesman Lincoln has fielded several calls from livestock owners who want to know what the state is doing to protect livestock, he said. Sen. Ben Nelson also wanted to Please see DISEASE on 5 Joel Schafer's ASUN presiden tial term ended Wednesday when he passed the gavel to Nathan Fuerst Schafer's last artide of legisla tion was to give an official name toNusathe Moosa,the stuffed moose head mounted over the ASUN -t_o_ JT presidents desit* Bill would put students to the test ■A bill proposed Thursday to the Legislature would allot funds for tests that would increase students'capabilities in the working world. BY GEOBOE PREEN Sen. Elaine Stuhr of Bradshaw aims to boot Nebraska schools into the 21st Century. She introduced a proposal to die Legislature on Thursday that would create a new educational fund school districts could use to test students on their abilities to master new technology and employment skills, * “We are looking at a new curricular framework," she said. Districts across the state could apply for state funds they would use to evaluate student capabilities. Stuhr said the test would help students build on their abilities to be successful in the working world. This type of training and evaluation is particulady valuable, she said, because the modem workplace becomes increasingly technological and career-ori ented with each passing day. As nice as it sounds to beef up student capabili ties, Sen. Pam Brown of Omaha said she wasn't sure the state bucks would do much good for students. “This is feel good legislation," she said. Sen. Ron Raikes of Lincoln also wasn't sure the state should shell out money for a program geared toward only one part of education curriculum. In die past, he said, the state generally allocates money to districts and allows them to decide how spend it More importantly, he said, the test might divide students when they get back results pointing each Please see FUNDS on 5 Recruiters seek Teachers College grads BYJILLZEMAN Senior social sciences major Eric Wicherski would like to stay in Nebraska to teach. But Wicherski said he would try to work In Southern California because there Pbhmb was just no money for teachers in UJ J[kg {fag Nebraska. . Wicherski was one of a crowd People, of students who attended the Qnd / like Education Recruitment Day, held .. Thursday in the Nebraska Union "*** Centennial Ballroom. Midwest. More than 100 recruiters from across the country shared one thing in common: they wanted P<Xy is UNLs Teachers College graduates, *qq But even though die demand is , „ high, most recruiters can’t afford to lOW. offer future teachers big bucks for their work. £ric And while low salaries are the Wicherski norm for many new teachers, stu- senior dents were still lined up to talk to ■■ ■ potential employers. Wicherski, who would like to teach history and geography as well as coach, said he interviewed Please see TEACHERS on 5