Jan. 30

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dn the

dailynebraskan.com

wednesday, january 30, 2013 volume 112, issue 090

Live free or dive trying

Inside Coverage

The Sherman show Acclaimed author Alexie visits UNL for reading

5 A celebration of music and life UNL Music Library receives large donation

2 Dunk after dunk Minnesota lights up the Nebraska defense

10 Stories from the middle Foreign students reflect on their UNL connections

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@dailyneb facebook.com/ dailynebraskan

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Nebraska senior diver Kaitlin Walker is recovering from a left foot injury and wears a boot over the foot after having surgery. She is also attempting to gain duel citizenship in her native country, the Philippines, to be able to swim for the Filipino national team.

Author supports student soldiers Corey Rumann dedicated 7 years to creating a handbook about college veterans s t o r y

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orey Rumann wants student veterans to have support. That’s the purpose behind a new handbook he co-edited. Rumann, an assistant professor of practice in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Educational Administration, wanted to help faculty in higher education to be supportive of student veterans and the challenges they may face. “Called to Serve: A Handbook on Student Veterans and Higher Education,” which was released in November, is described on Amazon.com as a comprehensive volume that includes information to help “student affairs professionals, academic administrators and faculty understand, serve and support student veterans.” It also suggests ways to help strengthen current programs and encourage coordination among various veteran services. The chapters, many written by contributing authors, focus on individual topics and conclude with a list of related resources and an assessment that readers can use for their own campus. “It doesn’t go into depth in any one particular area, but it gives a nice, broad overview,” said Rumann, who isn’t a veteran himself. “It’s a nice handbook and a good reference source for people to have on their desk to use.” Editor Florence Hamrick, professor and director of the College Student Affairs program at Rutgers University, feels the book’s message can be found in the title’s double meaning. “Although the phrase has clear military connotations, the name of the book means that colleges and universities are ‘called to serve’ the increasing numbers of veterans and service members,” Hamrick said. “Called to Serve” is the culmination of more than seven years of research. The project had a humble start, with a one participant study for introduction to qualitative research course Rumann took from Hamrick while pursuing his Ph.D. at Iowa State University. “It took off from there,” Rumann said. The one participant study turned into a six-participant qualitative research project. Rumann did a series of three interviews on students who had attended some college prior to deployment and then returned to college after their service. Though the book does not include the stories of the veterans from this study, it does have a case study chapter and vignettes from other student veterans. Without personal military experience,

Corey Rumann, a UNL educational administration professor, stands outside Love Library on Tuesday. Rumann’s new book focuses on student veterans, a group that often gets lost in the shuffle at universities.

If somebody told me, ‘Oh, by the way, you are going to Iraq for a year of your life,’ I don’t know how I would have reacted to that.”

Corey Rumann

assistant professor of practice

Rumann found it hard to imagine putting himself in the shoes of those he interviewed. While counseling students at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., he was moved by those who joined the military in the wake of 9/11. “I thought about when I was 19 or 20 years old,” he said. “If somebody told me, ‘Oh, by the way, you are going to Iraq for

a year of your life,’ I don’t know how I would have reacted to that.” Rumann remembers how inspired he was by the students’ lack of complaining and said he was able to develop strong relationships with the interviewees. “I was able to establish a lot of trust with the participants in my study,” he said. “I think you can still be supportive

Women to serve on front lines STAFF REPORT DN Women in the military will soon be allowed to serve alongside men on the front lines. Last Thursday, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the new policy, which will allow women to have the same opportunities for rank advancement. The shift in policy will open up combat roles to women by 2016. The decision overturns a 1994 Pentagon rule restricting women from artillery, armor, infantry and other combat roles, according to The New York Times. Even with this rule, more than 20,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2012, more than 800 women had been wounded in the two wars and more than 130 had died. In the military, serving in combat positions results in career advancement by obtaining higher ranks. Panetta’s decision came after he received a Jan. 9 letter

front lines: see page 2

unl on women in combat

and not have that shared military experience.” UNL’s Student Veterans Organization as well as the Student Veterans Task Force each has a copy of the book and on Friday, Rumann gave a presentation to UNL faculty at a mentoring training session. He also hopes to teach a course on the book this summer. Rumann is on the subcommittee for the UNL Student Veterans Mentor Program, a recent campus initiative aimed at building a support system of trained faculty mentors that student veterans can reach out to. Rumann said “Called to Serve” may be used as a resource for the mentors, and the

UHC requests $94,500 decrease Staff Report DN

This is a matter of equality. Women should be able to serve in the same facets as men do.” john henthorn

junior chemistry major

This is a great opportunity for females because it opens many jobs. Personally, I don’t like serving in the front lines but many Nebraskans do like that idea.” sarah petsche

sophomore business administration major and member of the army rotc

rumann: see page 3

Representatives from the University Health Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln proposed a slight decrease in their budget for the 2013-14 academic year at a Committee for Fees Allocation meeting Tuesday evening. If approved, funding for the UHC would decrease 1.6 percent next year, or to about $94,500. The health center currently receives 31 percent of student fees, or a little more than $143 per student per semester. Student fees would decrease about $2 per student per semester for the 2013-14 academic year with the UHC proposal. James Guest, director of the UHC, said the center has attempted to consolidate many of its expenses. “I’ve reallocated from a number of areas without increasing UPFF (University Program and Facilities Fees),” Guest said. “This fiscal year, we can manage with it because we have a lot of staff open-

ings due to resignations.” Last semester, UNL officials proposed a move to privatize the health center and received a bid from Bryan Health to build and operate a new center. UNL officials are still negotiating with Bryan Health about the possibility of the new health center and have not announced their decisions yet. Guest presented the health center’s budget to CFA as though the health center will continue to be operated by the university next year. Even with the proposed funding reduction, Guest said the UHC was able to hire several new staff members for the health center. “We’ve hired on a new alcohol and drug counselor and are adding a psychologist with an emphasis on diversity,” he said. “We’re not going to have much trouble cashwise this next year. I have the resignations of two physicians. We’ll still have some unfilled positions.” Guest said he decided not to

cfa: see page 2


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