March 14, 1997


No Scarlet March 28

There will be no Scarlet on March 28 because of Spring Break, March 24-28. The Scarlet will resume its weekly publication schedule the following week.

Severe Weather Awareness Week March 17-21

Severe Weather Awareness Week will be March 17-21. The statewide tornado watch and warning test will be March 19. The simulated watch will be issued at 10:30 a.m. and the simulated warning about 10:40 a.m.

UNL will participate with the Office of Civil Defense and test its systems when the outdoor sirens are sounded. All faculty, staff, students and visitors are urged to participate in the test to familiarize themselves with the locations of their designated shelters and the procedures to follow should UNL be struck by a tornado. When the warning is sounded, all personnel on campus should proceed to the designated shelter area.

The designated shelter area is displayed on orange posters in all UNL buildings.

Here are some reminders: For more information, call Bruce Bernt at 472-2131.

Tornado Awareness Training March 12

All faculty, staff and students are invited to attend one of two identical training sessions on "Tornado Awareness," scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the Nebraska Union and again at 1 p.m. in the East Union on March 12. These sessions will be presented by the Civil Defense Office of Lincoln/Lancaster County.

The purpose is to increase knowledge and awareness of tornadoes and the proper action to take should a tornado strike UNL. The information presented will be relevant to your safety at home as well.

For more information, call Bruce Bernt at 472-2131.

Spring Affair to Celebrate 'Color'

"Color" is the theme for the 11th annual Spring Affair Plant Sale and Educational Series from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 26 at State Fair Park in Lincoln.

A perennial favorite among area gardeners, it is sponsored by the University of Nebraska Botanical Garden & Arboretum, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and State Fair Park Arboretum.

The plant sale features more than 200 varieties of new and unusual perennials. The educational program topics include natural dyeing with plants, garden designing for beginners, choosing woody and herbaceous plants for year-round color, water gardening and woodland gardening. The event is free and open to the public.

For the true garden enthusiast, the 1997 Spring Affair Preview Party the evening of April 25 is sponsored by the University of Nebraska Garden Friends and will be a colorful, fun-filled evening featuring Italian cuisine, a silent auction, music and first chance at purchasing new and unusual plants. Tickets must be purchased for the preview party.

Feminist Scholar to Speak March 19

Patricia Hill Collins, one of the nation's foremost feminist scholars, will speak at 7 p.m. March 19 at the Wick Center. The subject of her talk is titled "The More Things Change, the More They Stay The Same: African American Women and the Politics of Containment." A reception will follow at 8 p.m. Collins will meet with faculty and students at 10 a.m. in 707 Oldfather Hall.

Collins is Charles Phelps Taft Professor of Sociology and a professor of African American Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Her new book, Building a Critical Mass: Black Feminist Thought as Oppositional Social Theory, will be published this year by the University of Minnesota Press.

The author of Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment and co-editor of Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology, has published more than 50 scholarly journal articles, book chapters and book reviews. She has served on the editorial boards of Ethnic and Racial Studies, Feminist Economics, Gender and Society, Signs, Teaching Sociology and NWSA Journal.

Collins received her M.A.T. from Harvard University in 1970, and her Ph.D. from Brandeis University in 1984. Her visit is sponsored by the Department of Sociology, the Women's Studies Program, the African American and African Studies Program, the Faculty Senate Convocations Committee and the Research Council.

For more information, call Helen Moore at 472-3631.

Seminar Examines Rural Radicalism on the Plains

The history of rural radicalism on the northern plains will be the subject of the next Paul A. Olson Seminar in Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

At 3:30 p.m. March 19, William C. Pratt, professor of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, will present "From Montana to Moscow: Researching Rural Radicalism on the Northern Plains" at the Great Plains Art Collection, 215 Love Library on the UNL city campus.

Pockets of rural radicalism existed on the northern plains well into the 20th century, Pratt said. Such activity was seen in a number of movements, including the Socialist and Communist parties, the Nonpartisan League and the Farmers Holiday. Left-wing activists also participated in broader, less strident efforts such as the Farmers Union.

Pratt's presentation will consider experiences and observations drawn from ongoing research, including interviews with former participants and their relatives, newspapers, court house records, FBI files and American Communist Party materials from Russian archives that only recently have been opened to scholars.

The seminar and a 3 p.m. reception at the Great Plains Art Collection are free and open to the public. The Olson seminars are sponsored by UNL's Center for Great Plains Studies.

Racism to be Topic of Community Conversation

A panel of campus and community leaders will head a public discussion on the topic, "Racism at UNL: What are the Limits to Free Expression?" March 18 in the Nebraska Union.

Sponsored by UNL Community Conversations, a coalition of student, faculty and staff groups, the discussion will be in the Georgian Room of the Union from 3:30 to 5 p.m. While the session, moderated by Ron Lee, associate professor of communication studies, will focus on the panel, the public is invited to participate.

Seeking to continue the conversation sparked by recent events, the program will explore the difficult boundary between the rights of free expression, including expressive actions, and those words and actions which a free and civil society may find unacceptable.

Among the panelists will be James McShane, associate professor of English and director of the UNL Freshman Foundations program; Richard Duncan of the College of Law; Peg Blake and John Harris of the Office of Student Affairs; Venita Kelley, assistant professor of communication studies; Ricardo Garcia, director of affirmative action and diversity; and Kathleen Rutledge, city editor of the Lincoln Journal Star. Other persons, including representatives of several student groups, will be added to the panel.

Opportunity will be given for questions and comments from beyond the panel. For more information, call Vernon Williams at 472-9310.

Forum to Gather Input for NCAA Certification

A forum open to students, faculty and staff designed to gather information for the NCAA certification self-study will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 19 in the Nebraska East Union.

In December, the university began a year-long, campuswide effort to study its department of intercollegiate athletics as part of the NCAA Division I athletic certification program. The purpose of the certification is to ensure integrity in the institution's athletic operations. Information for the self-study will be gathered through a variety of methods in addition to the open forum and will be used in preparation for a site visit of an external review team reporting to the NCAA.

"We want to hear about both the good news and the areas where change might benefit our athletics program," said Joan Laughlin, chair of the NCAA certification study steering committee. "We're here to listen and gather information."

Joining Laughlin in listening at the open forum will be representatives from the self-study subcommittees of academic integrity, fiscal integrity, governance and rules, and commitment to equity. All members of the campus community are encouraged to participate.

Symposium to Examine Gender, Motivation Issues

The 45th annual Nebraska Symposium on Motivation will focus on issues related to gender and several forms of motivation when it convenes March 20-21 at the Wick Alumni Center.

The symposium will focus on how and why women and men may have uniquely motivated forms of psychological processes. The symposium will examine the range in which the fundamental motivations of males and females overlap, and how similarities and differences may be considered.

The symposium begins at 8 a.m. March 20 with registration. Topics for discussion that day include "The Science and Politics of Gender Research: The Meanings of Difference," by Carol Tavris, author and lecturer ; "Hidden Feelings: Emotionality in Boys and Men," by Reed Larson, University of Illinois; and "Gender and the Organization of Sexuality: Contesting Perspectives," by writer and clinician Leonore Tiefer.

The schedule for March 21 includes the following topics of discussion: "Gender and Competitive Motivation: From the Recreation Center to the Olympic Arena," by Diane Gill, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and "Childhood Aggression and Gender: A New Look at an Old Problem," by Nicki Crick, University of Minnesota.

For more information contact Daniel Bernstein, symposium coordinator, at 472-3786.

Economist Urges Diversifying Rural Economies

Production agriculture cannot remain the sole engine that powers the Great Plains economy, a Texas A&M University agricultural economist said March 11 at the 26th annual Nebraska Water Conference in Lincoln.

Although production agriculture always will be important to the Great Plains, the region must become less dependent on it to survive the strong forces of a rapidly changing world economy, said Dennis Fisher.

Fisher studied 160 counties in nine Great Plains states during the 1980s and the early 1990s. He found the economic "winners" included areas that attracted retirees, had federal lands or were close to metropolitan areas. Colorado's front range is an example of a Great Plains area that has fared well, he said.

Although rural communities cannot change their location on a map, they must begin using technology such as the Internet to their advantage, Fisher said. In the future, people will be more free to choose where they live. Great Plains states must seize this opportunity for economic development.

If they don't, "they will be more isolated than before," he said.

Great Plains states must move toward developing more value-added products, Fisher said.

For one thing, "selling in bulk generates low incomes," he said. Value-added products are what consumers want, both in the United States and abroad, he said.

Fisher said the Great Plains states must work together to create a plan for their future. This will be hard for people in states known to have a strong individualistic streak, but it is essential, he said.

In addition to all of the changes agriculture faces as an industry, individual farmers will be affected by changes in federal agricultural policy. Under the Freedom to Farm Act, farmers are now free to grow what they want, but they will not have the safety net of commodity price supports that have been a big source of income, he said.

Fisher said economic forecasting is difficult because "we're looking at a world we haven't seen yet," Fisher said. "We don't know what the jobs will be."

Still, economists must do their best to see trends and pass the word on to the public, he said.

Environmental Programs Web Site Named 'Best Of The Internet'

Two years and more than 50 updates after its debut on the World Wide Web, the University of Nebraska's Pesticide Education Resources website has been named an "Academic Institutions Best of the Internet " site by Progressive Farmer magazine.

The site grew from a simple idea in the fall of 1994 to an electronic reality by April 1995 and since then "has exceeded our expectations in turning out to be a significant route to reach people using technology that is fast becoming a world standard for communications and the exchange of information and ideas," said NU extension pesticide coordinator Larry Schulze.

The site hasn't replaced more traditional methods Schulze uses in delivering his Pesticide Applicator Training and other extension pesticide programs across the state, but in less than two years, it has become an increasingly powerful addition. Last year alone, the site was accessed nearly 5,000 times. "That allowed us to reach 5,000 more contacts beyond our regular extension programming," said Schulze.

"With about 100 menu links within the home page, the site also has a very useful pesticide bookmarks list, in addition to links to obtain weather, markets and production agriculture information," said Schulze. He developed the site with extension assistant and Environmental Programs colleague Clyde Ogg and gives Ogg most of the credit for the site's ongoing evolution and success.

In addition to being named an academic "Best of the Internet" site by Progressive Farmer magazine, Schulze' and Ogg's pesticide education resources web site also was chosen as one of the best education-related sites by the Education Index. Education Index searches-out only those sites offering interesting, well-organized, reliable information.

Internet users can find the Pesticide Education Resources home page at http://www.ianr.unl.e du/ianr/pat/ephome.html.

Credit Union Adding East Branch

The University of Nebraska Federal Credit Union recently purchased an additional building at 301 N. 52nd St. to serve as an east branch office. With this new acquisition, the credit union can better offer services to those members working on East Campus or living and working in the eastern part of the city.

The new credit union branch building, formerly home to Burlington Credit Union, has more than 2,600 square feet of space with offices for lending and member services. After adding a second drive-up window and remodeling of the interior, the full-service branch is scheduled to open in early spring. A grand opening celebration is planned for early May.

Annual Credit Union Meeting Is April 3

The University of Nebraska Federal Credit Union's annual meeting will be at 6 p.m. April 3 at the East Union. A sandwich buffet will be served and the business meeting will follow. Members will elect three people to the board of directors. These volunteers set the policies and services of the Credit Union.

Nominees are Harold L. Allen, Dennis Engelbart, Phillip D. Hauptman, Matt Meister, Kersi Pajnigar, Terrance Riordan and Diane Rolfsmeyer.

Voting times for the elections are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 28 and 31 and April 1-2 at the Credit Union office and 5:30 to 6 p.m. April 3 in the East Union.

Colloquium Series Features Raffaelli

The 1997 Women's Studies International Colloqluium Series presents Marcela Raffaelli, assistant professor of psychology, at 3:30 p.m. March 19 at the Nebraska Union. She will speak on "Acculturation and Sexual Behavior of Latino Women in the United States."

The colloquium is sponsored by a grant from International Affairs and is free and open to the public. For more information, call 472-9392.

Property Control Supervisor Relocating

Effective March 17, John Lohmeier, property control supervisor for the inventory department, will relocate to the East Campus Inventory Surplus Warehouse No. 1.

Inventory Surplus open house hours will continue to be from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. In addition to these hours, viewing will be available Monday through Friday afternoons by appointment only.

Call 472-1187 for more information and appointment scheduling.

Purchasing Card Program Training Offered

Orientation/training sessions for the University of Nebraska Purchasing Card Program will be from 1:30 to 3 p.m. March 27, April 10 and 24 at the Business Services Complex, 1700 Y Street..

Registration is required and space is limited. Contact Darla Huff at Purchasing's Customer Service Hotline 472-5050 to make a reservation for one of the sessions.

Chang to Present Optical Research

The Center for Microelectronic and Optical Materials Research will host guest speaker Yia-Chung Chang in a presentation of "Optical Properties of Semiconductors and Quantum Wells with High Carrier Density" at 2 p.m. March 21 in Room 205N Walter Scott Engineering Center.

Chang is recognized worldwide among scientists for his research in the theoretical physics of semiconductor materials. He has conducted research at the Honeywell Science Center, the IBM Research Center, Sandia National Lab, the Hughes Research Lab, Bell Communications Research and the Rockwell Science Center.

Franklin TimeQuest Seminar April 25

Interested in learning the Franklin Quest Time Management System? If you have been considering this or if you already use the system but have not attended training, a seminar will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 25 at the Nebraska Union. Franklin TimeQuest Seminars are offered at a reduced rate to UNL faculty, staff and students. Registration fee is $149 ($85 if you already have your Franklin Planner). To register or get more information, call Gina Matkin at 472-4454.

Pollution Prevention Satellite Training March 25

A regional satellite training session on pollution prevention will be broadcast from the University of Nebraska March 25 from 3 to 4:15 p.m.

Pollution prevention techniques for farmsteads, agricultural production, acreages and households will be featured.

The free training session will be available at downlink sites across the state. It will include presentations by Mohammed Dahab, Robert Grisso and Wayne Woldt, NU biological systems engineers, and Shirley Niemeyer, NU home environment specialist.

For information on downlink sites, call a local Cooperative Extension office or (800)755-7765.

Dine Out for Public Radio

Diners across the state can support the Nebraska Public Radio Network just by going out to eat on March 25. That's when Nebraska restaurants from Fremont to Eustis take part in "Dine Out for Public Radio."

More than 30 restaurants of varying cuisines-ranging from The Giggling Gourmet in Gering and The Black Crow in Beatrice to The Uptown Eating Establishment in Norfolk and Ole's Big Game Steak House and Lounge in Paxton-will donate 10 percent of the day's receipts to help maintain NPRN's mix of musical, cultural and news programming.

Individuals and groups are welcome to take advantage of the benefit and urged to thank their local restaurant owner for participating in this very special event. For a complete list of restaurants, call NPRN at 472-7722 (voicemail); or toll-free 1-800-290-6850; or e-mail the Network at nprn@unlinfo.unl.edu.

Donations from the statewide dinner tabs will benefit the Public Radio Nebraska Foundation, the non-profit, 501(3)(c) fundraising arm of NPRN, which is heard across Nebraska on nine transmitter stations.

Helen Stauffer Featured on Welsch Program

Helen Stauffer, writer, educator and Mari Sandoz scholar, is this week's guest on Roger Welsch &, when the interview series airs at 8:30 p.m. March 21, on the Nebraska ETV Network.

"I know Helen Stauffer from her work as a teacher in the English Department at the University of Nebraska. And from her research andwriting about Mari Sandoz. And from her distinguished career as a faculty member at Kearney. And from her performances with the Nebraska Chautauqua. And, well, you get the idea," said Welsch. "Helen Stauffer's unrelenting attention to Nebraska's literary heritage has won her countless awards and, heaven knows, my boundless respect. More than that, she's a delightful person and a valued friend of mine."

The weekly television series features humorist and author Welsch in discussion with a variety of Nebraskans-from authors and educators to historians and prominent citizens-whose contributions to the good life in Nebraska make for interesting conversation.

The Nebraska ETV Network and EduCable are services of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET). The complete program schedules for Nebraska ETVand EduCable are available on NET's World Wide Web site, http://net.unl.edu.

'Statewide' Examines Entitlement Reform

Social Security is a political hot potato, but Nebraska U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey is leading the charge to change the program. Statewide, the Nebraska ETV Network's weekly news magazine, examines proposals to trim Social Security, Medicare and other "entitlement programs" in a "Perspective" report to air at 8 p.m. March 21.

The program, which repeats at 1:30 p.m. March 23, also provides up-to-the minute news reports from across the state and other features of interest.

A plan being promoted by Senator Kerrey would give workers greater control over part of their Social Security taxes. Other ideas are also being discussed in Washington, including recalculating the consumer price index (which determines cost-of-living allowances for Social Security and other programs) or "means-testing" Social Security (which would reduce or eliminate benefits to high-income households). Statewide correspondent Brad Penner reports on these proposals and the impact they would have on Nebraska, which has a higher-than-average percentage of older citizens.

ETV Special Shares History of Rose Theater

From Ruin to the Rose, a half-hour program documenting the restoration of Omaha's historic Rose Theater, will be broadcast at 7 p.m. March 18 on the Nebraska ETV Network. The program will be repeated at 10:05 p.m.

Built in 1927 as the Riviera, this landmark theater has gone through a number of transformations through the years. After the stock market crash of 1929, it became the Paramount Theater. For a short time the theater was a bowling alley and then became a Todd A-O large screen movie house called the Astro.

Personal interviews and archival photos tell the story of the historic theater's several transformations, and contemporary footage shows the resultant theater Omahans know today, The Rose, a living, thriving theater for young people.

Omaha filmmaker Mele Mason won the 1996 Nebraska ETV Network Open Call competition for independently produced television projects with her partially completed Rose documentary. Post-production editing services, enabling her to complete the project, were provided by Nebraska ETV as part of the award.


Answering viewer's questions on this year's Backyard Farmer program are moderator Reggi Carlson, center, and panelists (left to right) Dave Wysong, Don Steinegger, Fred Baxendale and Roch Gaussoin. (Photo courtesy of IANR).

Program to Feature Landscaping 'Nebraska Style'

Great Plains gardening styles will be featured this year on Backyard Farmer, the Nebraska Educational Television program.

The hour-long program premieres April 1 and airs each Tuesday through Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.

This is the program's 44th season. It is the nation's longest-running locally-produced gardening show, said Jim Randall, communications specialist for the University of Nebraska's Communications and Information Technology unit. He is the program's executive producer for NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Jessica Sall, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum education specialist, said arboretum officials are working with the program's producers to air monthly segments demonstrating how Nebraskans can grow native flowers, plants and trees.

"Most of our gardening traditions come from Europe or the east coast of the United States," Sall said. "We've tended to overlook our natives."

Growing native vegetation provides Nebraskans an alternative, she said.

Segments featuring Great Plains landscaping will fit Backyard Farmer perfectly, Randall said.

"The charm of Backyard Farmer is that, unlike the national gardening shows, it's tailored to Nebraska's lawn and gardening questions," Randall said. "Our panelists are household names to Nebraskans."

The panelists, all NU extension specialists, are: Roch Gaussoin, turf specialist; Fred Baxendale, entomologist; Don Steinegger, horticulturist; and Dave Wysong, plant pathologist. Reggi Carlson moderates the program for Nebraska Educational Television.

Backyard Farmer is a cooperative effort of NU's IANR and the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission

Fans can visit the "Backyard Farmer" Internet web site at http://net.unl.edu/~byfarmer/.
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