Feb. 5

Page 1

dn the

dailynebraskan.com

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013 volume 112, issue 094

Inside Coverage

The new (double) U

Ice cream for cash

Local band strives for darker sound

UNL solicits new ice cream ideas in contest

5

Cleared comeback

2

Nebraska track and field volunteer jumps coach Dusty Jonas attemps to clear a jump at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Saturday. Jonas’ later cleared jump broke the national, and, for a few hours, world record.

electric ride

10

pROFESsOR DONALD COX USES personal TEslA ROADSTER TO TEACH

Storm Farnik | DN

Felice Gaer, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, speaks to the crowd about the plight of religious minorities. Gaer presented as part of the E.N. Thompson Forum at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Monday night.

Felice Gaer speaks on human rights Layla Younis DN

Professor Donald Cox poses in front of his Tesla Roadster in the driveway of his home on Sunday afternoon. The sports car has no gas motor and runs completely on electricity.

story by brittany schave | photo by brianna soukup

D

onald Cox’s red Tesla Roadster can go from zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds. But that’s not why he bought it. “We have it because it plugs in the wall,” Cox said with a laugh. The only advice Donald Cox gave me as I navigated his $100,000 sports car out of the driveway was to really push down on the pedal and see what it could do. Cox, a visiting professor of electrical engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,

owns one of a few thousand Tesla Roadsters in the world. The $100,000 car is entirely electric and faster than most sports cars. Cox retired in August after nearly 20 years at Stanford University, but by September, he was back in the game. Besides the appeal of returning to his roots, Cox said what really got him to teach at UNL was the opportunity to conduct a class about electric cars. He called himself an “evangelist for electric cars.” To explain his fascination, Cox had to go all

the way back to 1983, when he worked for Bell Labs with mobile phone technology. What does wireless technology have to do with electric cars? A lot, Cox said. About 30 years ago, he had a hunch: People would like to have phones they could fit in their pockets. Cox was working on technology to produce phones small and light enough to carry around. He said he and his colleagues were the only ones in the country working on this technology at the time.

cox: see page 2

serve to be treated as humans, Gaer said. This year’s theme for the E.N. Thompson Forum foFelice Gaer, the director of the cuses on examining connections American Jewish Committee’s between religious faiths, politics and human rights globally. Jacob Blaustein Institute for AdGaer gave numerous exvancement of Human Rights, amples of discrimination within discussed the importance of the religious minorities such as Ishuman rights of religious minorities at the E.N. Thompson lamic extremists in Mali and the Shiite MusForum on World Issues lim attacks Monday night. It’s my in Pakistan The lights were on focus when and IndoGaer as she walked nesia. on stage with a white discussing human G a e r blazer and black pants also shared in front of a crowd of rights to discuss a story more than 100 Univer- individuality.” a b o u t sity of Nebraska-Linwhen she coln students, faculty felice gaer a and Lincoln residents speaker at e.n. thompson forum visited Saudi Araat the Lied Center for bian school Performing Arts. where an imam — a Muslim reli“It’s my focus when discussing human rights to discuss gious leader — lied to her about teaching Zionist textbooks, thus individuality,” Gaer said. She furthering the prejudice against serves as the chair of the Leo Nethe Jewish community. vas Task Force on Human Rights “My father had one and it of the United Nations Associahas a rich history here,” she said tion of the USA, vice chair of the U.N. Committee Against Torture the imam told her about the Ziand a member of the Council on onist book. The takeaway for Gaer: Be Foreign Relations. educated so you can’t be fooled. Religious minorities around the globe that are subjected to persecution and oppression de- e.n. thompson: see page 3

Greek Affairs adds Former UNL administrator dies at 85 new rating system Heather Haskins DN

UNL houses will be given between three to five stars in five different categories Elias Youngquist DN The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Office of Greek Affairs hopes to implement a Greek rating system at the beginning of next semester in an effort to provide an assessment of UNL’s Greek chapters. The values inventory would give Greek houses between three and five stars in five categories — any houses scoring below three stars will not be given any stars. UNL is the only Big Ten campus without a system in place like the values inventory to evaluate

how Greek organizations are performing said Greg Golden, one of two graduate students working on the inventory. “Not having (a system) is a disservice to ourselves and a disservice to the Greek community,” Golden said. The current plan will be an offshoot of UNL’s Show Your Red character campaign, which emphasizes citizenship, dependability, commitment, respect, caring and open-mindedness, according to Luke Bretscher, the other graduate student working on the values inventory. “Largely, the system’s goal is to gauge the strength that all of our organizations have,” Bretscher said. “All of our organizations are value-based organizations, and we’ve met with the

ratings: see page 2

and teacher education, said he worked with Alfrey for 30 years and remembers Alfrey as an advocate for students. Elbert “Bert” Alfrey, a former “He did such a nice job of University of Nebraska-Lincoln administrator, died Jan. 29 due helping students succeed in setto respiratory complications and tings they were in,” Walter said. Before working at UNL, Alheart failure. He was 85. frey worked at Grand Island SeAt UNL, Alfrey nior High School for was a professor and 14 years as a teacher, a director of the student basketball coach and a teaching program in principal. the Teacher’s College Alfrey was also a and later became diWorld War II veteran. rector of the Student He joined the U.S. Services Center and Navy and served on the the director of field storied aircraft carrier experiences and cerEnterprise, where he tification officer for witnessed the battles the Department of of Leyte Gulf and Iwo Curriculum and InJima. struction. alfrey In his time at UNL, Alfrey was born Alfrey helped develop Feb. 10, 1927, in Chaa program that allows nute, Kan. He was the Southeast Community College fourth of eight children. Jim Walter, an interim chair- students to transfer to UNL and man for teaching, learning take 60 credit hours with them.

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

When there were problems (with students), he was just so adept at being able to advise them.”

Jim walter

interim chairman

Walter said Alfrey was ready for whatever life threw at him. “When there were problems (with students), he was just so adept at being able to advise them and helping to work though them,” Walter said. “He was just a really great problem solver.” Alfrey’s daughter Pam Alfrey Hernandez said when around 400 people attended his memorial service Saturday, she realized how giving and selfless her father had been. “He wanted other people to succeed,” Alfrey Herandez said. “You can’t be the teacher or the coach if you have a big ego.” Alfrey Hernandez said her

father liked to find young talent. “If he found a student that he thought would be a good student teacher … he would open doors,” she said. “He really liked getting out in the schools and watching the student teachers work with kids.” He was preceded in death by his first wife, JoAnn (McGrew) Alfrey, with whom he raised two children. Alfrey is survived by his second wife, Louise Alfrey, and his son Stephen and daughters Pam Alfrey Hernandez and Theresa Reinhard. News@ dailynebraskan.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.