EMPTINESS OF SPACE
HUSKER MEN’S TENNIS QUALIFIES FOR NATIONALS
Students receive backing for short, existential science-fiction film PAGE 5
Despite loss in regional finals, two players will compete for title PAGE 9
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2011
VOLUME 111, ISSUE 051
DAILY NEBRASKAN DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
Program celebrates 40th anniversary MAREN WESTRA DAILY NEBRASKAN
In 1968, San Francisco State created the first Black Studies program. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln followed suit three years later by implementing the same program, which eventually evolved into African American and African studies. The 40th anniversary of this program was last month, and the Institute for Ethnic Studies hosted four days of events to celebrate. UNL is the only Big Ten University that doesn’t have an entire department dedicated to African American and African Studies, sometimes called Africana Studies. This is because of differences in structure and demand between UNL and these other universities, according to Jeannette Jones, an associate professor of history and ethnic studies. “Part of (the reason UNL doesn’t have this department) is exposure,” Jones said, adding that she believes the university needs to improve advertisement of the program to students who aren’t in the College of Arts & Sciences. “I think it can only get better.” From Oct. 19 to Oct. 22, various events to celebrate the 40-year anniversary included speeches, film clips and poetry readings demonstrating the value of African American and African culture. The trend of studying these cultures began in the 1960s and 1970s as part of civil rights activism, according to Kwakiutl Dreher, an ethnic studies professor and one of the event speakers. It wasn’t until 2005 that UNL began offering an ethnic studies major. African American and African
Studies are only available as minors, but Jones said she thinks this is changing, and that UNL could potentially create a major out of the program within the next three years. According to Jones, the reason this hasn’t happened yet is because in the past, the department lacked a sufficient number of tenured professors. As more professors joined the program, the number of courses increased as well. Shimelis Beyene, Dawne Curry and Alice Kang teach African Studies. Lory Dance, Patrick Jones, Gregory Rutledge, Dreher and Jones teach African American studies. Amelia Maria de la Luz Montes, director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies, says the program is becoming increasingly important as globalization occurs and interest in Africa spreads. “There’s so much (a person can) do with this minor,” she said. Though many students use what they learn in this program to help them when entering the fields of law, government, teaching or social work, both Dreher and Jones said this program is beneficial for any student. “It makes you flexible in terms of the way you view the world,” Dreher said. “It gives you a broad knowledge of the world, which then can inform
RILEY JOHNSON DAILY NEBRASKAN
the w a y you interact with people.” J o n e s agrees. “I think this is a degree for everyone.” They both said the program is as much about the skills as it is about the content. Students learn to read, interpret and understand in new ways, including with
CELEBRATION: SEE PAGE 2
NEIL ORIANS | DAILY NEBRASKAN
Occupy Lincoln NU Foundation donations faces first day of see record fiscal year winter weather JORDAN MARTIN
FUNDS RAISED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION
DAILY NEBRASKAN
DAILY NEBRASKAN
Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots around the world have protested against the power of money in politics and income inequality for almost two months. But for Occupy Lincoln, it was only a matter of time before protesters met a new foe: the Nebraska winter. Wednesday, winter weather delivered its first strike, with winds from the north gusting at about 20 mph, temperatures a few degrees above freezing and a wintry mix of snow and rain. Wednesday afternoon, most protesters were at work and school. But it was apparent that Occupy Lincoln had taken a hit. “I think it got cold and people scattered,” said Andrew Ivanhoe, shivering and clutching a cup of coffee as he stood alone, holding aloft a now plastic-covered cardboard sign that read “Fight corruption, not government,” on the Centennial Mall along L Street. Occupy Lincoln’s tents, between 40 and 50 in number, extended down the mall in both directions from where he stood. The
MOUNT PAGE 4
grass around them was coated with a wintry slush; about a third of the tents had at least partially fallen to the wind. One, in front of the State Office Building, was half-surrounded with water. “This was expected,” said Ryan McCollum, a student at Southeast Community College. Minutes before, he’d returned to his tent, half-collapsed, to find everything inside soaked, including a soggy textbook he needed for his next class. “Definitely going to have to do some rethinking for this one,” he admitted, motioning at his tent. But when asked if he planned on staying anyway, McCollum, an Army Reserve member, used the same word: definitely. “We all knew something like this would come about,” he said. With that sentiment, McCollum echoed many of the protesters, who have been camping out in the public park since Oct. 15 in a prolonged demonstration of their political and
OCCUPY: SEE PAGE 2
It’s been a landmark year for the University of Nebraska Foundation. The organization that collects private donations for the University of Nebraska system raised a record-breaking $172.1 million during the past fiscal year. According to a press release, this total marks the sixth consecutive year that donations have exceeded the $100 million mark. “The Foundation’s extraordinary success is exciting news both for the University of Nebraska and the people of the state,” said James B. Milliken, president of the University of Nebraska. “The generosity and vision of our donors has positioned us to establish groundbreaking initiatives.” Among the major projects and gifts donated during the past year is a $1 million scholarship endowment from World’s Foremost Bank, which is associated with Cabela’s, a gift to create the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and a donation of $1.2 million to support the engineering faculty at the University of NebraskaLincoln. Robb Crouch, Director of Public Relations for the University of Nebraska Foundation, said the size of the gifts given by donors was very wide ranging. “We had five to ten-dollar donations to multi-million
PERFORMING ARTS PAGE 5
Lie back, count sheep
Against the wind
DREAM SCIENCE PRESENTS EXCITING SOCIAL POSSIBILITIES
UNL STUDENT THRIVES ON EXPRESSIVE ACTING, AIMS FOR NEW YORK
The dip in 2009 may have been the result of the economic downturn. Amounts are from July 1 of the previous year to June 30 of the present year. 200
Dollars (million)
DAN HOLTMEYER
Perlman realigns academic divisions
$172.1 million
$166.5 million 150
$136.9 million $128.1 million 100
$104.7 million 2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA FOUNDATION’S WEBSITE.
dollar donations,” he said. Crouch also said that the donations go to every college. According to Crouch, one of the direct results of the donations has been a large number of scholarships and programs for students. “Because of the gifts provided by donors, $23.6 million has been provided for students,” Crouch said. He also added that over 10,000 students in the university system receive financial aid as a result of these donations. As for the cause of these record-breaking donations, Crouch pointed to confidence in the university and its future. “Donors tell us they’re very excited in the direction
the university is going,” said Crouch. “They’re excited about the leadership on all campuses and are excited about UNL moving to the Big Ten and the athletic and academic opportunities that come from that.” Crouch also believed that a big reason for the large number of donations was that the foundation is in what he called “campaign mode” for a project called Campaign for Nebraska that hopes to raise $1.2 billion to help the university system by 2014. “We have been contacting
FOUNDATION: SEE PAGE 2
FOOTBALL PAGE 10
@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan
Let the shuffling begin. With goals to grow to 30,000 students, increase graduation rates and hire more faculty and staff at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by 2017, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced the realignment of the Academic Affairs and Student Affairs divisions on Oct. 28. “I hope this will signal (to) the campus as a whole that there is a need to rethink everything we do and to become almost fanatical in working to grow and enhance the academic profile of the university,” Perlman said in his realignment announcement. Under the realignment, the following offices move to Academic Affairs: • Admissions • Registration and Records • Scholarships and Financial Aid Student Affairs will oversee the following offices and others: • University Housing • Campus Recreation • Nebraska Unions • University Health Center • Student Involvement • Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services (OASIS) Perlman and his colleagues said the realignment will not affect day-to-day operations of the offices, but rather will increase communication as the university aspires to become like its Big Ten peers. “This isn’t a creative change by any means,” Perlman told the Daily Nebraskan. “It’s the kind of thing other institutions have done for a long time,” he said. Other than Northwestern University — a private university of 20,541 students in 2010 — every Big Ten school has adopted a similar structure, he said. Discussions about realigning into the Big Ten model began in October, Perlman said. With realignment, Academic Affairs will focus on enhancing the academic experience through dean and faculty communication, he said. Student Affairs, on the other hand, will look to expand overall student engagement, focusing on the international and nonresident student experience in particular, Perlman said. Alan Cerveny, Dean of Admissions, said the need for better collaboration became evident after Perlman’s address two months ago. “We need to be proactive, not reactive,” Cerveny said. A bigger university will require increased enrollment efforts. But Cerveny said it’s not just about getting more students here. Admissions needs to not only help the individual colleges recruit, but it also needs to ensure classes are open and financial aid is available to the new students when they arrive, he said. All that comes with open
ACADEMIC: SEE PAGE 2 WEATHER | SUNNY
Pedal to the medal
NEBRASKA OFFENSE PUTS PRESSURE ON DEFENSES WITH TEMPO
48°25°