Nov. 2, 2012

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election 2012

dailynebraskan.com

friday, november 2, 2012 volume 112, issue 052

Inside Coverage

November drain

Voting in America

Experts say 2012 election lacks pop culture fizzle

Is the Electoral College still an optimal system?

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Climate studies major to be offered Regents hope to spark interest of potential students with new major Cristina Woodworth DN A new major in applied climate science will be offered to students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln beginning in fall 2013.

“We think this is an area that there is a lot of growing interest,” said Don Wilhite, a professor in the School of Natural Resources at UNL and one of the main proponents of the new major. “There are very, very few other universities that offer an undergraduate degree in this program.”

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents unanimously approved the creation of the new major at its Oct. 26 meeting. There are currently no applied climate science programs in Nebraska, according to documents from the board’s meeting. The only undergraduate major currently offered in the atmospheric sciences area in the state is in meteorology and climatology.

Only a few schools nationwide, including San Jose State University and California University of Pennsylvania, offer applied climate science emphasis areas to students, according to board meeting documents.

“We looked at what is available in undergraduate study in this area and found that most programs were offered only at the masters level,” said Betty WalterShea, a professor in the School of Natural Resources. “But there was nothing in this region. That was the main selling point.”

Students in the applied climate science major will take a variety of classes in the climatology, meteorology, ecology and agriculture fields, among others.

Wilhite said the majority of the required classes for the new major are already offered at UNL because of an existing emphasis area in applied climate science available through the environmental studies program.

“It’s more a matter of repackaging the classes in a new way so students will get a breadth of new understanding,” he said.

In the next five years, Wilhite said the department is estimating it will see between 30 and 60 students decide to major in applied climate science. Only a few students are currently on the applied climate emphasis track through the environmental studies program, he said.

“I think it really puts Nebraska in a position of advantage to recruit students to come here specifically for this program,” he said.

The new major will allow students to experience a unique, cross-discipline education as well, said Walter-Shea.

“There’s a need to be able to have student scientists reach across different disciplines,” she said. “We’ll have well-versed students in climatology reaching across the aisle to the fields of ecology, hydrology and others.

That’s the main reason to do this.”

Walter-Shea also said the new major comes at a critical time in terms of necessary scientific knowledge.

“We can use this field to make better decisions to deal with climate and the variability that we are currently experiencing with climate,” she said.

Wilhite agreed, saying there is a growing need for climate scientists in today’s world.

“There are more jobs out there now that require a knowledge of the relationship between climate and other fields,” he said. “I think it would be a great opportunity for undergraduate students.” news@ dailynebraskan.com

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Kerrey introduces former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel during a press conference at the Nebraska State Capitol on Thursday. Hagel, a former Republican senator, formally announced his endorsement of Kerrey at the press conference.

Hagel endorses Kerrey for Senate Kerrey gets new support from former Nebraska senator with less than a week until Election Day Story by Dan Holtmeyer | Photos by Bethany Schmidt

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ith less than a week to go until Election Day, Republican and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel gave his support Thursday afternoon to Democrat Bob Kerrey’s campaign for Nebraska’s open U.S. Senate seat, an unexpected splash in a tight Senate race against Republican Deb Fischer.

Both Hagel and Kerrey, whose past terms in the U.S. Senate overlapped, are known for breaking with their party lines – Hagel over the Iraq War, Kerrey over immigration and other issues. With today’s highly divisive politics, Hagel said, that willingness to meet opponents in the middle is exactly what Nebraskans need in Washington.

“Bob was a Democrat and I was a Republican, but it didn’t matter,” Hagel told the assembled group, echoing Kerrey’s frequent references to bipartisanship throughout his campaign. “We were serving the interests of the same people in the same state in the same country.”

Kerrey and Hagel announced the endorsement together in Lincoln, where they met with about 60 supporters and reporters in the Nebraska State Capitol Rotunda.

Hagel and Kerrey enter the rotunda of the Nebraska State Capitol on Thursday afternoon before the start of the press conference to announce Hagel’s support of Kerrey in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.

Hagel, who retired from the Senate in 2008 and moved away from Nebraska, said the rotunda has particular significance to him: There, he announced his Senate candidacy in 1995. He said the Capitol, home to a nonpartisan, one-chamber legisla-

ture, symbolizes the need for political moderation and unity.

Hagel and Kerrey both served in the Vietnam War, after which Kerrey was awarded a Medal of Honor. Hagel said military experience is more important than ever when neither

President Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney, candidates for the presidency, are veterans.

“When you commit a nation to war … you’d better be damn sure what you’re talking about,” Hagel said.

Meanwhile, Fischer gained her own endorsement in Omaha on Thursday from U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who ran against Obama in 2008.

Prominent Nebraska Republicans quickly dismissed Hagel’s endorsement, downplaying its significance and rallying around Fischer, a state senator from Valentine. Gov. Dave Heineman and current Sen. Mike Johanns, who is not up for re-election this year, pointed out Hagel’s wellknown opposition to George Bush’s policies in Iraq as a point against Hagel’s Republican credentials.

Hagel affirmed at the Capitol he is still a Republican, but said he and Kerrey largely agree on Social Security reform, foreign policy and other issues. Kerrey said he appreciated Hagel’s cross-party endorsement.

“This is an example of what we have to do,” Kerrey said. “It’s easy

kerrey: see page 2

When you commit a nation to war...you’d better be damn sure what you’re talking about.”

Chuck Hagel

Former Nebraska Senator

DN advertising pulls ‘offensive’ ad staff report DN ››Editor’s note: While the following article concerns Daily Nebraskan editor-in-chief Andrew Dickinson, Dickinson was not involved in the writing or editing of the article.

Following complaints from the public and from Daily Nebraskan editor-in-chief Andrew Dickinson, the Daily Nebraskan advertising department on Thursday evening pulled from the paper an advertisement that Dickinson called “offensive” and “disgusting.” The advertisement ran in the paper for four days starting Monday, Oct. 29.

The print advertisement for mean2u.com reads, “Nebraska Football Fans, want to make a real statement with an edgy T-shirt about the

upcoming football game with Penn State?” The “edgy T-shirt” on its website reads “Pedophile State University.”

Dickinson, a senior journalism major, said student advertising manager Matt Jung, a senior advertising and public relations major, told him in a phone conversation Thursday the advertising department was pulling the ad due to conversations with the editorial department and a letter of complaint from student organization The Iron N. “This shirt is not only extremely offensive to students, athletes, and any fan of Penn State athletics, but it is also discouraging that any media source representing the University of Nebraska should promote students to visit a website in which they were selling such shirts,” the letter said.

The Daily Nebraskan has an advertising department and editorial department that are separate from each other, Dickinson said, and the advertising department decides which ads run in the paper.

“From my point of view, the ad is distasteful, offensive and hateful,” Dickinson said. “Personally, I think most students at UNL would not support mocking this.”

Dickinson said he requested on Tuesday that the advertising department stop running the ad.

Jung replied in an email, “The ad doesn’t state anything about pedophilia, therefore it would require the individual to look at the site.”

In an email response Dickinson said, “In the end it’s your choice, but at the very least I would like to

know when questionable ads are being placed … I just want it to be known that I do not support running ads linking students to hateful, ignorant content.”

Jung responded, via email: “I’m running the ad. Next time I will give you heads up.”

Jung did not respond to the Daily Nebraskan’s attempts for comment.

Dickinson said Jung could not tell him how much money the ad was generating for the paper.

News@ DailyNebraskan.com

Read the Iron N’s letter to the editor PAGE 4

Researcher: State to blame for North Korean famine dan holtmeyer dn In the 1990s, floods washed through the overused and degraded farmlands of North Korea.

Food production literally washed away and anywhere from 600,000 to 1.1 million North Koreans died.

But it wasn’t the floods that killed them, said Rhoda HowardHassmann in a talk Thursday evening. Howard-Hassmann is one of Canada’s most prominent human rights researchers. “(North Korea) doesn’t have enough food,” she said. “But that’s because of state policy decisions.”

During an hour talk on the politics of food security in North Korea, Howard-Hassmann laid out what she called the state-induced famine in the reclusive east Asian dictatorship, which continues today, and what must be done to deal with it.

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“Human security is this new Her discussion, which was thing that’s come up,” Kohen said held in the University of Nebrasin an interview before the talk. ka-Lincoln’s Nebraska Union auditorium, was part of the G. E. “But there’s a question of what Hendricks Symposium. The po- it means … From a social science perspective, what do litical science you do with it?” department You need Human rights are puts together but human sethe two-day the freedom innate, curity is often called series of puband rule of law a goal. It can involve lic talks every what Kohen called few years to rights in order “political violence,” address major to have food including terrorism political topand governments atics. This year, security.” tacking their people, it’s focused but also natural rearound both Rhoda source issues like wahuman rights and human seHoward-Hassmann ter or food rights – all human rights researcher “hot topics” as climate curity. shifts and population Much of grows, Kohen said. the sympoSecurity could overlap with sium’s goal is to tease out the difthe concept of human rights, or it ference between the two concepts, could simply be updating the consaid Ari Kohen, director of UNL’s cept, he said.

Human Rights and Humanitarian Howard-Hassman’s talk landAffairs Program and one of the ed squarely in that debate, she event’s organizers.

said, because having enough food is a right, but being able to get that food, especially if the government controls it, ventures into human security issues that don’t have nearly the same international focus behind them. That fact makes doing anything about millions of starving North Koreans difficult.

“One of the easiest ways to starve your people is to lock up your reporters, lock up your judges, hang them, torture them – then you can do whatever you want,” Howard-Hassmann said, starkly illustrating the mix of human rights and human security.

She added that North Korea has roughly 200,000 people imprisoned at any given time because they aren’t supportive enough of the government.

Most of the country is nearstarving, but any dissent is met with harsh punishment for individuals, as well as their immediate families. Yet other countries, focused on North Korea’s weap-

ons, do nothing about the missing food.

“Why has this country sat there, starving its own people, for the last 20 years?” HowardHassmann asked. “We find that overall, loose nukes trump human rights.”

North Korea is particularly problematic because it is a flashpoint of international politics, she said. Its government has managed to offend or threaten every country around it, its government ignores international treaties and it possesses weak nuclear capabilities.

Nuclear insecurity is a valid concern, Howard-Hassmann said, but countries like the U.S. must stop separating that concern from concerns for human rights like food. All these concerns must be brought to bear in any decision about what to give to North Korea in negotiations on its nuclear program, or in addressing similar state abuses and crimes in other

more Inside Coverage:

‘Hackathon’ invites social media ideas Three student teams could win $1,000 each for websites, apps

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Bell carries the load for Michigan State Stopping the Spartan running back is key to a Husker victory

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

countries, such as Zimbabwe in southern Africa.

“You need the freedom and rule of law rights in order to have food security,” Howard-Hassmann said in an interview after her talk. “There are still countries around that say, ‘You know, we’re interested in food, but freedom’s a luxury.’”

The discussion of the interplay between human rights and human security continues Friday, starting at 9 a.m. Three panel discussions, involving panelists and experts from around the continent, will take place throughout the day at the Nebraska Union. A full list is available at events.unl. edu. All events are open to the public.

“It’s more than simply scholars talking among themselves, though there will be plenty of that,” Kohen said. “It’ll also involve students and faculty here.” news@ dailynebraskan.com

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dailynebraskan.com

friday, November 2, 2012

Ford Foundation sponsors mobile app and website contest Melissa Allen DN

STACIE HECKER | DN

Carolyn Reiland-Smith, a sophomore biology major, and Kyle Hanish, a sophomore computer engineering major, hold still while a caricature artist replicates their likenesses on paper. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was hosted by Campus NightLife and held at the East Campus Union on Thursday night. Other activities included karaoke, laser tag, hayrack rides and wax hand moldmaking.

East Campus hosts seasonal NightLife event Second-annual Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark draws large crowd at East Campus Union kaitlin karins dn Campus NightLife offered s’mores, karaoke, laser tag and more at its second annual “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” event Thursday night at the East Campus Union.

This year’s event brought back many of last year’s events such as the hayrack ride and new ones as well, including a station where students could have a wax mold made of their hands. At this station, students dipped their hands into a bucket of hot wax and then into a bucket of ice water repeatedly for about three minutes.

Dawn Carrillo, a senior psychology major, said the wax mold station was the first thing that caught her attention.

“I wasn’t nervous to put my hand into the wax,” she said. “I just didn’t know it would be so hot.”

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark also hosted a caricature artist, make-your-own caramel apples and nachos and s’mores bars.

Abbey Klein, a freshman vocal performance major, sang along to Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” at the karaoke station.

“I was a little nervous at first, but Adele is my car jam, so I knew all of the words,” she said. “Besides, any chance to perform is a good one.”

Ellen Muehling, a junior international business and global studies major and a two-year board member of Campus NightLife, said even though she has a busy schedule this semester and can’t

Teams of students will have 10 hours this weekend to create a mobile application or website to help social justice in Africa.

They’ll be competing for three $1,000 prizes.

The Ford Foundation is sponsoring the “hackathon,” which will take place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday in room 15 of Andersen Hall. Students will set up a mobile website or crowdsourced data application, which allows users to ask questions on specific topics.

Crowdsourced data applications like the ones that may be built at the hackathon give the “opportunity for the grantees to ask ‘does anyone know a solution to a problem concerning malaria, HIV, et cetera,’” said Gary Kebbel, organizer of the hackathon and director of the Center for Mobile Media. “At the same time, a wide variety of people can see that question, and perhaps someone will know the answer.”

The competing groups will focus on a “proof of concept” or partial solution for developing their ideas into product, according to Kebbel. Their online creations

will be help 14 different nonprofit social change groups in Africa to aid others. Three judges – Cody Elmore, a junior advertising major, Adam Wagler, an educational media multimedia designer, and journalism professor Matt Waite, a creator of PolitiFact.com – will review the websites and applications.

Each of the 14 nonprofit groups is a grantee picked by the Ford Foundation, which supports select organizations for social change. One of the grantees, TrustAfrica, promotes government accountability and socioeconomic equality across Africa, according to its website. TrustAfrica and the other 13 nonprofits may use the applications and mobile websites to link people and solve common problems, according to Kebbel.

As Waite sees it, this event is for “students who are developers, builders, programmers and designers who are visually working with students in journalism and business who have skill, want to conceptualize things and all work together.” However, the event is open to the public as well.

The rewards are impressive, Waite said, because this is an event students will “really be able

if you go what:

Hackathon Friday, 4 to 9 p.m., (dinner will be provided) Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch will be provided) where: Andersen Hall, room 15 when:

to sink their teeth into.” Students in the top three groups will also attend a mobile media conference on Nov. 30 to talk with developers and journalists at the Omaha World-Herald.

However, the most important aspect of this experience, according to both Kebbel and Waite, is not just extra cash and publicity.

“We’re hoping for students to have fun learning new skills relevant to today’s communication environment,” Kebbel said.

“While they are learning and having fun, we hope the result of their work will be some cool new mobile apps that could be used by Ford Foundation’s social justice grantees.”

News@ dailynebraskan.com

attend all the group meetings, she wouldn’t miss an event for anything.

“We try to have an event each month, whether it’s just getting people together to watch the Huskers on gameday or a holidaythemed event like ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark,’” Muehling said.

Muehling estimated more than 100 people attended the event. She said the line for the inflatable laser tag arena was one of the longest she’s seen for a Campus NightLife event.

Reshell Ray, associate director for East Campus programs for Student Involvement, was impressed with the attendance.

“It is the most exciting, lively, vibrant thing when Campus NightLife has an event,” Ray said. “Only when we light it up do things like this happen in the unions.” news@ dailynebraskan.com Shelby wolfe | dn

kerrey: from 1

Chewy, a rambunctious volunteer dog, enjoys the large crowd of students gathered around him in the Abel-Sandoz Welcome Center at Model UN’s “Pet A Pup” event Thursday afternoon.

the dog days are over shelby wolfe | dn

bethany schmidt | dn

Former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel leans in to hear a question from Kathryn Bolt, 6, after Hagel’s endorsement of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Kerrey (right) on Thursday at the Nebraska State Capitol. Kerrey took time after the press conference to greet and take photos with supporters. to take criticism from your enemies. What’s difficult is taking criticism from your friends when you’re doing what you think is right.”

In a press conference in Omaha Thursday morning, Johanns also suggested Hagel was trying to score political points with the Obama administration.

“I think Chuck would love to think he’s on the list to be secretary of something,” Johanns said.

Hagel, who currently serves as co-chairman of the bipartisan Presidential Intelligence Advisory Board, bluntly dismissed that idea. “(Johanns) doesn’t know anything about who I am,” he said to applause from the crowd of Kerrey supporters. “I’ve got a pretty full agenda.”

Hagel added jokingly, “If that’s my motive, what the hell am I doing in Nebraska? I can assure you I’d be probably in Ohio.”

No one asked him for an endorsement, Hagel said, but he decided Sunday to call the Kerrey campaign.

“You look over the past two or three months and it gets closer to the election,” Hagel said in a brief interview after the conference. “So I called him and asked, ‘Is there something I can do to help?’”

The endorsement comes as the Nebraska Senate campaign sprints into its final days. Over the past several months, the race has gone from a double-digit lead for Fischer to nearly neck-and-neck.

At a Kerrey campaign stop

on the University of NebraskaLincoln campus last week, political science professor John Hibbing said that trend reflects growing comfort for Congressional Democrats across the country.

“Things are looking better for the Democrats for holding their Senate majority,” mostly because of circumstances specific to each state, Hibbing said.

Kerrey said Thursday he expects Hagel’s endorsement will only help his chances.

“I believe that we’re closing,” Kerrey said, “and it’s reasonable for me to have some expectation that on Nov. 6, we’re going to win.” news@ dailynebraskan.com

Mickey the Shih Tzu, a longtime volunteer dog, was one of the dogs at Model UN’s “Pet A Pup” event Thursday afternoon at the Abel-Sandoz Welcome Center.

shelby wolfe | dn

Representatives from the Capital Humane Society brought their dogs to the Abel-Sandoz Welcome Center Thursday to give college students a chance to “Pet A Pup.” Here they sit with Bear, a veteran of animalassisted activities.

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Friday, november 2, 2012

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opinion 4 does vote matter? friday, november 2, 2012 dailynebraskan.com @Dailyneb

your

ian tredway | dn

In a changing world, the Electoral College is questioned for its relevance and equity within the American voting process Age-old Electoral College no longer has a place in the political process; switch to popular vote may be wise

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very vote counts.

At least, that’s what they tell us. But in a society where large clumps of votes are then translated into one vote (and at unequal rates across the country), is this really true?

Since its inception during the writing of the Constitution, the Electoral College has long been the vehicle our nation rides to elect a president. The College came under heavy scrutiny on the tail end of the 2000 election, when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore, despite Gore carrying the nation’s popular vote.

The Electoral College is comprised of 538 electors across the nation. Each state appoints its electors, usually average citizens who have never held public office, on a method that varies among states. On election night, electors pledge to vote for a certain candidate based on that jurisdiction’s vote, effectively determining who will win when a candidate reaches the 270 mark.

Those pledges come to fruition on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, which this year is the 17th. All of the electors cast their official vote, which is verified Jan. 6 and enacted Jan. 20 at the inauguration ceremony.

“It’s a violation of the most fundamental principles of democracy, meaning equality in voting,” said George C. Edwards III, author of “Why the Electoral College is Bad for America” in an interview with the Christian Post. “Under the Electoral College, every citizen vote does not count the same. As a result, the candidate who gets fewer votes can win the election. I can’t see how that’s a good idea under democracy.”

A look into the Electoral College’s interesting inner workings and history can help explain why this process is no longer necessary to put our leaders in office, and why a switch to a popular vote would be optimal.

The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College in the Constitution as the best way to ensure a speedy and precise election using available colonial technology. Each jurisdiction would vote and send their College representative to a central location to determine the result.

Counting the votes of a few dozen representatives is much eas-

BENJAMIN WELCH ier than a popular vote would have been in that time.

Today, though, technology readily exists to provide every voting member in the United States an opportunity to instantly cast their ballot. Additionally, technology exists for computers to effortlessly count the tens of millions of votes a presidential election will garner.

Some kinks in the system will have to be fixed and security issues will have to be solidified, but after those relatively minor details, there’s no reason why some states should still be using decades-old punch card readers to vote.

In essence, the Electoral College’s original reason for existence is now obsolete. Thus, it’s time to move on to more efficient and accurate means of voting.

Indeed, a Gallup poll taken last year shows that 62 percent of Americans would prefer the switch to a popular vote.

The process by which the Electoral College is comprised and operates could also result in counting errors. Despite an elector pledging to vote one way, he or she could do the opposite or abstain from voting all together on Dec. 17. Such was the action of Washington, D.C., elector Barbara Lett-Simmons in 2000, who went against her previous pledge for Al Gore and instead abstained from voting.

The election was not derailed in this instance (because of LettSimmons, anyway), but this still exposes a flaw in the system wherein a large number of likeminded electors could wreak havoc on the process. Currently, only 24 states have laws prohibiting electors from voting opposite their pledge.

Attention to swing states is another downfall of the current program. Ohio, Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire and Penn-

sylvania are usually considered to be on the fence, and candidates campaign at a higher rate in these areas where they aren’t considered either a shoe-in or heavy underdogs.

Some may argue that states in the Midwest may lose election importance in a popular vote because the candidates’ concentration will be on those in highly populated states.

While this may be true, it still ensures candidates would have to pay attention to the 15 million in the middle of the nation (North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa) rather than assuming the outcome of its 33 of 538 electoral votes. However, emphasizing the equal value of votes on the individual level is paramount, especially in a society where we are all “created equal.” This will mean everybody’s vote for their chosen candidate matters.

With the current voting system, all states except Maine and Nebraska’s electoral votes go exclusively to the winning candidate in that state. A person’s Democrat vote in a traditionally Republican state is, essentially, nullified. So in a sense, your vote truly only matters if you’re voting for the winner. With a popular voting system, your vote counts regardless of the color of your state.

In Maine and Nebraska, however, each district votes independently and those states’ five and four electoral votes, respectively, reflect this with the possibility of the votes being split representatively between candidates. A move to a system like this one nationwide, while still not perfect, would at least offer somewhat of a more accurate final result.

If voting is a right and participating in the electoral process is truly necessary, the time has come to abandon this archaic Electoral College system.

When every vote has equal weight against each other, we become a government truly “of the people, by the people,” as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently stated. Combating voter apathy and increasing election-day turnout starts with quantitative evidence your vote truly counts.

Benjamin Welch is a graduate student of journalism. Reach him at opinion@ dailynebraskan.com

Current presidential election system may not be perfect, but Electoral College offers advantages over proposed alternatives

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y vote doesn’t count. This is a phrase used to justify not voting or to state that one doesn’t support the Electoral College. The fact of the matter is, not many people take the time to step back to take a look and to gather the facts necessary about our political system. The Electoral College plays a major part in our election, so shouldn’t it be worthwhile to delve into the facts?

I support the Electoral College. Yes, it has its flaws like any other voting system, but in the grand scheme of things it’s the system that works best. The College was created with the right intentions when the Constitution was written and communication was difficult because of the long distances. It makes sense that the Founding Fathers put a system into place where the will of the people would be reflected by others who had the knowledge and were wellinformed. The Founding Fathers didn’t intend the Electoral College to be democratic, but it does preserve principles of federalism, which the American political system was founded on.

These thoughts still resonate today. According to The American Presidency Project, only a little more than 50 percent of the voting population actually votes in the presidential election. If you tack on the idea that some of these people may be low-information voters, this becomes a problem.

So shouldn’t we trust those people selected who know the issues and know the policies?

I’ll admit there are advantages and drawbacks to the Electoral College. The Electoral College promotes a healthy and stable twoparty system. Even though this may make it difficult for third-party candidates to be successful, it allows the larger two political parties to adopt some of the third-party movements to cater to a wider majority. This leads to two large, pragmatic political parties that tend to the center of public opinion rather than several, or even dozens, of smaller political parties that only cater to divergent and even sometimes extremist views. This allows political coalitions to occur within parties instead of government.

Another advantage of the Electoral College is that it also institutionalizes a check on the majority.

While candidates might be able to attract voters, they are not guaranteed office unless they win states.

VICTORIA HARTZOG This prevents candidates from winning an election based on support from a few highly populated regions. The Electoral College also enhances the status of minority groups because the smaller minorities in a state can make the difference between winning all or none of a state’s electoral votes.

A disadvantage is that the Electoral College violates political equality and can possibly violate majority rule. But, this system of the Electoral College has worked in the past and there have only been a few instances where a candidate who received the majority of the popular vote did not become president.

There have been a total of four presidential elections where presidents won an election with fewer popular votes than their opponent, but more electoral votes. These occurred in 1824, 1876, 1888 and of course, the one we all remember, 2000. However, in the 1824 election neither candidate won the majority of the electoral votes and it was taken to the House of Representatives in conjunction with the 12th Amendment. Looking at these examples, the Electoral College may have its flaws, but is it really that terrible of a system when only four out of the 56 presidential elections have had a disparity between popular and electoral votes?

Even though direct popular vote might seem like the best option and the most democratic way to elect the president and other government officials, there are flaws with that system as well.

There would be the incentive for many minor parties to form in an attempt to prevent the majority that would be necessary to elect a president, whatever that majority may be. The candidates would then be forced to take on the regionalist or extremist views represented by those minor parties in an attempt to win the run-off election.

The Electoral College also con-

tributes to the political stability of our nation. If the election was chosen strictly by direct popular vote, candidates would focus mainly on highly populated areas like the East Coast, California, Texas and Florida. This would leave a lot of central states ignored because, essentially, the candidates could receive a majority of votes without them.

There could be the potential for reforming the system, but now is not the time because no better alternative has been proposed. The alternatives and reforms that have been put forward in Congress have failed because those alternatives seem to be more problematic than the College itself.

There are two potential reform plans. The first, being the proportional plan, maintains that electors would be selected in proportion to the votes cast for their candidate or party. The second, being the congressional district plan, maintains that the electoral votes are distributed based on the popular vote winner within each of the state’s congressional districts. Also, the statewide popular vote winner receives two additional electoral votes.

These seem like good ideas for reform, but the proportional plan would just add more complication to the voting process. Imagine a state with four electoral votes trying to split the vote with a 65 to 35 percent split. Who gets the fourth vote? There is also room for the chance that electors could be “faithless” more so with states being divided in votes.

The district plan would just be another version of the Electoral College, but instead there would be many swing districts instead of swing states. Someone’s blue vote in a traditionally red district would still be nullified.

I do support the Electoral College, but reforms need to be made.

However, we should wait for the right kind of reform and not one that would be inadequate. It may take some time, but there will eventually be a reform that will make the Electoral College more democratic and it will gain more support.

However, when you vote in the election on Tuesday, know that you do have a voice and that every vote matters, no matter where you are casting it.

Victoria Hartzog is a Junior English Major. Reach her at opinion@ dailynebraskan.com and follow her on Twitter

letter to the editor Penn State deserves respect from students and fans alike In the past four editions of the Daily Nebraskan there has been an advertisement, the latest being on the sports page, promoting students to buy an “edgy T-shirt” for the Penn State vs.

Nebraska football game. Upon visiting the site “mean2u.com,” the shirt being advertised showcases the words “Pedophile State University” printed across the front in navy blue font on a white shirt.

This shirt is not only extremely offensive to students, athletes and any fan of Penn State athletics, but it’s also discouraging that any media source representing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln should promote students to visit a website in which they were selling such shirts.

It’s apparent that the students of

Penn State have felt the effects of the tragedy and have done everything in their power to pick up the pieces, moving forward past this unfortunate situation that took place. The students changed the name of “Paternoville,” the location outside Beaver Stadium where students camped to guarantee rail-side seats at games, to “Nittannyville.” The students have done their part to move on from the scandal.

These shirts not only display a lack of sportsmanship and class that Nebraska fans are renown for, but are also in direct violation of the Big 10 Sportsmanship and Spirit Conference that students of UNL, along with other Big 10 schools, help create. This includes: 1. Treating our university and opponents with the utmost respect both on and off the field of play.

2. Promoting a welcoming environment by avoiding any hostility toward our opponents and their fans.

3. Remaining passionate throughout the course of the event with positive

cheering and without degrading our opponents.

4. Avoiding the use of vulgarity and profanity at all athletic events.

5. Encouraging healthy competition and rivalry by eliminating physical and verbal harassment toward any fan, student-athlete, coach or official.

The full list can be found displayed on a bulletin board in the city campus Union. The Iron N strongly discourages any students from purchasing or wearing any shirt disrespecting another team. This shirt might be seen as harmless, or even funny to some, but it will also be seen as extremely disrespectful.

Such objects of profanity have no place in collegiate athletics. As a university, it needs to be our focus to show respect to all of the victims of the terrible tragedy that took place on the Penn State campus, not ostracize it.

We have contacted Dr. Heckler, Dean of Students as well as the Athletic Department about these shirts. Dr. Heckler has assured us that the event

staff, as well as police department, will be notified of these shirts and they will not be tolerated in, or around, the stadium. We ask all students to maintain our tradition of excellence in class and sportsmanship, and welcome our guests from Penn State as we would any other visiting team.

The victims and Penn State deserve more than this.

Iron N executive committee: Tyler Gruttemeyer President

Jessica Francis

Vice President

Kevin Rush

Event Coordinator

Abbie Lamb Treasurer

Justice Jones

Marketing

editorial policy Editorials contain the opinion of the fall 2012 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author; a cartoon is solely the opinion of its artist. The Board of Regents acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board.

The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of Daily Nebraskan employees.

letters to the editor policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned or removed from online archives. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major, and/or group affiliation, if any. Email material to opinion@ dailynebraskan.com or mail to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE 68588-0448.

5

friday, november 2, 2012 dailynebraskan.com @dnartsdesk

WEEKEND

november drain O

Persistent negativity, familiar faces may be sapping pop culture zest from 2012 presidential race

story by Ingrid Holmquist | art by Gabriel Sanchez

n the level of popular culture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Ph.D candidate and political communication and political psychology student Michael Gruszczynski, can only describe the attention Barack Obama received in 2008 one way: “People were excited.”

After four years of a conservative president who, at the time, was statistically unpopular, many people were excited for an election that showcased diversity – including via popular media.

Artists, musicians, movies and TV shows shot their hands up at the opportunity to publicize, poke fun at and satirize the 2008 election.

“People were excited for a new president,” Gruszczynski said. “So you had that, along with Sarah Palin, who was providing endless comedy for popular media and popular culture.”

Remembering back to the now iconic Saturday Night Live spoofs and popular culture references of the past election, the 2012 may not be measuring up to the showdown four years ago, according to some experts. “(While) there isn’t as much popular culture as the election four years ago, people now are making satire on their own,” Gruszczynski

graphic of people,” Revense said.

And according to Revense, Barack Obama is doing a great job. As social media anchor for Star City Social media News, Revense is focused on comparing the candidates is no longer and giving them a social mea young adult’s dia score that evaluates their presence online. playground and a “I’ve been breaking it down by amount of tweets, place to be social followers (and) who they with their friends.” follow – it’s really an activity average,” Revense said. zach revense “A week ago, Obama was 93 senior journalism major percent higher in all of those volumes than Romney was, which is a significant number.”

Revense used the term “flawless” to describe how Obama runs his social media campaign.

or pistols, but via social media and public antics.

Leading up to the general election on Tuesday, Romney and Obama and their supporters said. “You have the bad lip-readings (on YouTube) or spar 24/7 online and there are many platforms the pictures of politicians paired with funny words.” for gauging the two candidates’ online reach.

Gruszczynski said he thinks people are joking Elections.twitter.com is one example of a tool foabout candidates less this year because, cused on analyzing social media for “As politics go on, it gets more cynical.” the election.

He said he has noticed that in his class(While) “Social media is no longer a rooms, students perceive this election more young adult’s playground and a there isn’t negatively when juxtaposed with some of place to be social with their friends,” the lighthearted pop culture mockery of as much popular said Zach Revense, a senior broad2008. casting and news editorial major, culture as the And while the presidential race in 2012 “It’s a place for news organizations has shown moments of great intensity, election four years and regular people, whose tweets negativity has long been a staple of Ameriare considered valuable data. It’s ago, people now can political culture. very different than what you would “In 1964, there was the famous ‘Daisy’ are making satire expect four years ago.” ad that Lyndon Johnson released,” GruszcWith Twitter’s memberon their own.” zynski said. “There’s a little girl pulling ship booming throughout petals off of a daisy and then when she the past two years, it’s easy gets to the end of it, a nuclear bomb goes mike gruszczynski to find political jargon in the graduate student off. He’s basically saying that if the other Twitterverse. Both the Romcandidate gets elected, it will result in an ney and Obama campaigns apocalyptic nuclear explosion. It doesn’t have been utilizing Twitter and get much more negative than that.”

Facebook as a means to solicit voters.

Founding fathers dueled at the beginning of the re“The Obama campaign has been using social public. Today, politicians still joust – not with swords media as a way to connect with a younger demo-

november drain: see page 6

Spirit of Cather classic ‘O Pioneers!’ lives on in opera School of Music to debut long-awaited ‘O Pioneers!’ adaptation Friday rachel staats dn What started as a chance encounter between two University of Nebraska-Lincoln professors 18 years ago has resulted in something much bigger.

Bill Shomos, voice professor and director of opera at UNL, and Tyler White, an associate professor at the school of music, began planning their first opera in 1994 when both professors were hired at UNL. While “O Pioneers!” first opened in 1999 in a performance Shomos refers to as “undisciplined,” White and Shomos have spent the past 13 years reworking the music, lyrics and stage work to create an entirely new production.

“It’s been a tremendous joy to go back to this music that I feel … writing it, was a real gift,” White said.

“I’d say it’s the same piece, but at the same time different in almost every measure.”

Shomos, stage director for the show, said he has changed so much in his approach that almost everything is different, perhaps the most prominent alterations were with pacing.

“I’ve made my choices less busy and I’ve gone more for a series of

tableau, which is actually in keepseemed perfect.” ing with what the opera is about,” While unusual for composers, he said.

White decided to write the lyrics to The opera, based on Cather’s the opera himself. This allowed him novel of the same name, centers to work the two elements together to around Alexandra and her younger create a musical style that was much brother Emil in their love lives on the more balanced in terms of the lyrics prairie. Alexandra, who has devoted and music fitting together. her life to the care of her family farm, As someone who has spent a is in love with Carl, who can’t set great deal of his life living on the aside his pride to marry a successful Great Plains, White finds the landwoman. scape particularly inspiring for both But it is the love story between the music and lyrics.

Emil and his married neighbor Marie “The feeling of space and the that makes this novel so perfect for light and the way things seem to be an opera, White said. flat, but actually have “The human all these interesting, It’s been a heart is un-chainsubtle roles and dips able,” he said. “It tremendous and turns – I got a lot really does often horof inspiration from ribly inconvenient joy to go back to that,” he said. “I’m things that tear peo- this music that I very glad to say that ple apart.” some of the singers This is the kind feel … writing it, in the show have noof raw, dramatic was a real gift.” ticed that about the emotion White said music.” seems to cry out for When the cast tyler white music. went on a field trip to associate music professor “It’s a beloved the prairie, many of novel and I take that the actors spontanevery seriously in presenting it to this ously broke into song, which White community,” he said. said spoke to the success of the music Given his previous affection for in communicating the feeling people Cather’s writing, it was a welcome have about the land. task to create an interesting story White said one of the most imfrom her novel. portant considerations for him when “The first thing you need as a writing the music was to create a composer is a story that attracts you sound that would almost imitate the and a take on that story, an emotional role of the Great Plains in Cather’s and dramatic take on the story,” story.

White said. “Since I’ve always been “In Cather’s writing the land – a huge fan of Willa Cather’s writthe Nebraska landscape – is like aning, and here we are in Nebraska, it other character in which all the other

Allison Hess | DN

Graduate student Talea Bloch performs during a dress rehearsal of, “O Pioneers!” Tuesday night at Kimball Recital Hall. Bloch is in her second year working on her doctor in musical arts. characters live,” White said. “There’s something sort of similar that the orchestra … represents Cather’s voice as a narrator and also the sort of spa-

ciousness and that distinctive marvelous quality of the Great Plains.”

To bring the landscape element into the performance, the decision

was made to make the set revolve around more than 20 projected im-

opera: see page 7

6

dailynebraskan.com

friday, November 2, 2012

Gallery Nine to host sci-fi First Friday exhibition cynthia todd dn

“The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black.”

“Willie’s pottery will predominately have a new black finish that he has been working on,” Steen said, describing what viewers can expect from the new pieces.

All of Steen’s work on Friday will feature names from works of science fiction, including one that shares the name of the exhibition.

Steen said she has added

Ask any artist on Lincoln’s First Friday Artwalk what inspires them and 1990s Vin Diesel alien movies usually goes unsaid. But things will go “Pitch Black” at Gallery Nine on Friday evening.

Gallery Nine has been participating in the monthly art walk for the past 18 years. This Friday, it will feature with new pottery from Willie Sapp and new paintings from Sandra Steen.

The two have shown work together for more than five years now, so November ’s First Friday reception won’t be a new experience for them.

Steen said their work, even in different artistic mediums, fit together nicely.

“My paintings are very earthy,” Sandra Steen said. “I would consider them minimalist landscapes that lean towards the abstract. Willie’s ceramics are natalia kraviec | dn anvery earthy with a streamline perothfection about them.” er course to the landscapes The title “Pitch Black” comes in this show, one that feel more from Sapp and Steen’s love of sci“old-fashioned,” in an attempt to ence fiction. They wanted a title invoke deja vu or a sense of childinvolving that genre, as well as hood nostalgia. a theme that could run – in one “The comparison between the way or another – throughout two styles is the equivalent bethe pieces. They settled on lifttween the past and the future,” ing the name from the 2000 film Steen said.

Steen said she is excited for the new exhibit and there is one piece in particular she is looking forward to displaying. It consists of 16 paintings grouped together, four works tall and four works wide. The individual paintings are abstract and resemble turbulent weather.

“It’s a very powerful piece that evokes energy,” Steen said. “I hope it gives the observer 16 different ways to view once piece of artwork.”

The “Pitch Black” exhibition at Gallery Nine falls in line with the goals of First Friday as a whole, Stefanie Warner said, marketing manager for the Downtown Lincoln Association, to promote local art to the people in the community.

“It’s kind of an anybody and everybody event, not just for the artsy crowd,” Warner said. “It’s good for family night, date night and just for anyone who wants to experience the art scene.” arts@ dailynebraskan.com

if you go “Pitch Black” Exhibition

‘Tis the season for good ol’ fashioned pumpkin pies, fallen leaves and maybe some not-so-old-fashioned poetry.

Since 2005, Lincoln’s Clean Part Reading Series has featured poetry readings from who its website calls “the cleanest young poets in America.”

The series is curated by Trey Moody and Jeff Alessandrelli, both Ph.D. poetry students in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln English Department. For it’s final fall installment this Saturday, Clean Part will feature readings from John Chávez.

Chávez, an assistant professor at Dixie State College of Utah, received his Ph.D. from UNL in creative writing in poetry, said he’s thrilled to return this weekend and to share his passion with the Lincoln community.

“Poetry speaks to a part of me,” he said. “It helps me understand about myself a little bit more.”

Chávez said he began seriously writing poetry in about 1994, when he decided to write for a living and switched his studies from psychology to a creative writing. Since then, his work has appeared in journals, such as Copper Nickel, Notre Dame Review, Anti-, Zone 3 and the Portland Review. He has also published a book, as well as several chapbooks.

Chávez said his love of poetry just “made sense.”

“I’ve always loved literature, that’s just always been a part of me,” he said. “Before I wrote poetry, I was a musician writing lyrics.”

Chávez said he draws inspiration for his poems from anything.

“I tell my students that we have to be observers of the world in order to write about it,” he said. “When I write, I have a basic sense of what I’m interested in exploring, but then it will just come out on paper … however it does.”

On Saturday, Chávez will be read-

when:

Friday, 6:30 p.m. where: Gallery Nine, 124 S. Ninth St. how much: Free

COMMUNITY arts DESK first friday The Burkholder Project opening reception

At the Ross: “Arbitrage”

directed by:

Nicolas Jarecki • Friday - 7:20 p.m., 9:30 p.m • Saturday - 12:40 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 7:20 p.m., 9:30 p.m.

• Sunday - 12:40 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 7:20 p.m.

when:

7 p.m.

The Burkholder Project, 719 P St. what: Meet and mingle with artists from the Burkholder Project while looking at new exhibitions in the galleries. The Main Gallery will feature a series of mixed media paintings and collages by Linda Benton (“In My Life”). The Outback Gallery will feature paintings by Sandra Acosta (“Rouge”) and sculptures by Albert Rhea (“Possibilities Within Our Universe”). The Skylight Gallery will feature “a multiple exposure experiment by Josh Fielder and Luis Peon Casanova (“duality”). A special exhibit room will feature paintings by Katrina Swanson (“Shadows and Reflections”). The exhibits will run through Nov. 30. where:

DN

COMMUNITY DESK

when:

6:30 p.m.

Gallery Nine, 124 S. Ninth St. what: Artists Willie Sapp and Sandra Steen will exhibit new ceramic work and paintings. The exhibition will focus on the simplicity of forms and textures. The exhibition will run through Dec. 2. where:

“BREAD AND BUTTER” opening reception

“Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present”

directed by: Matthew Akers • Friday - 5:15 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m.

• Saturday - 12:45 p.m., 3 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:45 p.m.

• Sunday - 12:45 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

UNL College of Architecture Hyde Lecture • Friday - 4:30 p.m.

when :

5 p.m. where : Lux Center for the Arts, 2601 N. 48th St. what : LUX Artist-in-Residence Nora Rolf has sculpted an interactive arrangement of landmarks made of plaster and bread. Art lovers can gently handle the smaller pieces in the exhibition. The exhibition runs through Dec. 1.

“WRAPPABLE: Art for Giving (& getting)” reception

ing mostly poems from his first book, “The City of Slow Dissolve,” as well as some of his new work.

“My first book was more lyrical and experimental,” Chávez said.

“I wanted to explore how important styles spoke to all poetics.”

“The City of Slow Dissolve” examines a journey from Colorado Springs to Las Cruces, N.M.. The narrative running throughout is a search for ethnic self-identity and acceptance.

Chávez’s newer poetry will be a part of a collaborative work called, “What History No S o o n e r Yield.” “ I t focuses a lot on histor-

when :

5 p.m.

Lux Center for the Arts, 2601 N. 48th St. what : Looking for holiday gifts? You can choose from artist-made gifts like handmade jewelry, ceramic dishes and hand-blown glass bowls or ornaments. The exhibition runs through Dec. 24. where :

The Public First Friday November when :

6 p.m. where : The Public, 1033 O St. what : Stop by The Public to check out photographic art from Hilary Stohs-Krause. Guilty is the Bear will be performing.

NT Live Presents “Timon of Athens”

• Sunday - 3 p.m. (encore performance)

New In Theaters: “Flight”

directed by:

Robert Zemeckis starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly

“Can Haz Cat Art” opening exhibition when :

7 p.m.

Screen Ink!, 416 S. 11th St. what : Screen Ink will be raising funds for The Cat House, a no-kill cat shelter, with a collection of cat-themed art. Donations will be welcomed.

Light food and beverages will be provided, but come quick before all of the food is eaten. where :

lia nata

ical aspects — it’s a very different style,” Chávez said. “You can expect more lyrical poems.”

Also reading Saturday night are contemporary poets Mathias Svalina, author of “The Explosions,” and Alexis Orgera, author of “How Like Foreign Objects,” “Dust Jacket” and a forthcoming book of prose focusing on “snafus of the brain,” such as hallucinations, migraines, and Alzheimer’s disease.

To those who stop by the Clean Part reading this Saturday, Chávez said he hopes the words “find a home in

DN

“Pitch Black” opening reception

Reading series to feature trio of “fresh” poets staff report dn

this week in film

n

iec | d

krav

them.”

“I tell my audience that I hope they find themselves in the poem and the poem in them,” he said. arts@ dailyNebraskan.com

if you go The Clean Part Reading Series

when:

Saturday, 6 p.m.

The Sheldon Museum of Art how much: FREE where:

Sheldon Museum of Art November First Friday Reception when:

5 p.m.

Sheldon Museum of Art, 12th and R streets. what: The Sheldon Museum of Art will close its Dia de los Muertos silent auction during its November First Friday reception. Art lovers can view works in the exhibitions “Five Decades of Collecting,” “The Geometric Unconscious: A Century of Abstraction” and “Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas” where:

“Secondary Nature” reception when :

6 p.m.

Workspace Gallery, Sawmill Building, 440 N. Eighth St. what : Martina Shenal will exhibit photographs focusing on human intervention on landscapes.

There will be a gallery talk with Shenal at 7 p.m.

The exhibition will run through Jan. 3. where :

– Compiled by Kim Buckley community@dailynebraskan.com

“Wreck-It Ralph”

directed by:

Moore

Rich

starring:

John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman

“Man With The Iron Fists”

directed by:

RZA Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung

starring:

DN Weekend Pick: “Wreck-It Ralph”

directed by:

Moore

Rich

november drain: from 5 “If I were running a campaign, that’s the exact way I would run it,” he said.

However, while Obama may boast a stronger online presence, both Revense and Gruszczynski said polls still show Romney is slightly ahead in the eyes of voters, putting the importance of social media into question as a means for predicting election results.

“If social media matters as much as people hypothesize that it does, Romney wouldn’t be leading in the polls right now,” Revense said.

As far as voter interaction online, it’s not uncommon to find hostility and “de-friending” between opposing party supporters.

“Increasingly, students are getting political information from social media,” Gruszczynski said.

“I know a lot of people are blocking people for just talking about politics.”

Gruszczynski said that when people cater only to those they

agree with on social media, they with people that I never would are going to discount contrasting have had the opportunity,” opinions.

Gruszczynski said.

“It’s been a tough campaign, Even with the Twitter exploanytime people encounter difsion of the last couple of years, ferent political views, I think it’s experts are seeing a decline in engood,” Gruszcgagement with the zynski said.

2012 election on Enthusiasm the level of popuWhile social media may lead lar art. for a new to hostility among Gruszczynski voters, Revense political actor said he thinks the believes it’s imdecline of artistic (generates pop perative. attention to this “When vot- culture).” election is derived ers are interacting from a lack of exMichael with each other, citement and disit’s a little bit more enchantment with gruszczynski volatile,” Revense politics.

Poly Sci Graduate Student said. “But as far “Enthusiasm as candidates are for a new political concerned, it’s an actor (generates ideal and incredibly important pop culture,)” Gruszczynski said. thing that they use.”

“We’ve had four years of PresiGruszczynski said the array of dent Obama and politics is messy people he has been able to contact and when people see that they politically through Twitter has don’t always like it … and shut off been productive for his own expo- from it.” arts@ sure to public opinions. dailynebraskan.com “I’ve had a lot of discussions

dailynebraskan.com

friday, november 2, 2012

‘Star Wars VII’ could prove laudable, scary

opera: from 5

I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S WATCHING

cameron mount

Allison Hess | dn

Graduate students Talea Bloch and Timothy Madden sing while rehearsing the opera, “O Pioneers!” Tuesday night at Kimball Recital Hall. Bloch and Madden play the roles of Alexandra and Oscar in the opera. ages of watercolors painted by Richard Schilling.

“It’s kind of like entering into this artistic, painterly vision of the Nebraska landscape,” White said.

He added that he believes this musical will be one people enjoy.

“The greatest musical performances you find in any genre of music are the ones where you feel in the audience … that you’re participating with the music and participating with everybody else,” he said. “There’s that incredible sort of communal chemistry that starts happening and I think we’ve really had that in preparing this show.”

Shomos added much of the audience appeal will come from White’s revised work.

7

if you go O Pioneers!

when:

Friday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall how much: $10 (students), $20 (public) “The way that Tyler has paced the last act and a half is overwhelming,” he said. “It’s like you get on a train and it doesn’t stop. “It just really hits you in the gut in all the right ways.” arts@ dailynebraskan.com

Three days have passed since Disney’s bombshell announcement they are buying LucasFilms and releasing a new “Star Wars” trilogy starting in 2015. The Internet has almost recovered.

Mickey Mouse ears have been superimposed on every character and space station, lyrics to “When You Wish Upon a Death Star” have been written, “These are not the dwarves you are looking for” memes have been exhausted and Leia has been almost fully welcomed into the Disney princess canon.

For as little as we know so far, “Star Wars VII” could be a masterpiece as easily as it could be a disaster, but it’s the most exciting news for the series’ future in decades.

Most importantly, the $4 billion acquisition rightfully confirms the “Star Wars” universe extends much further than George Lucas’ mind.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see ‘Star Wars’ passed from one generation to the next,” Lucas said in Disney’s press release.

“It’s now time for me to pass Star

Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that ‘Star Wars’ could live beyond me and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.”

The possibilities are frighteningly diverse. The most likely move is recruiting a director like Brad Bird, who worked previously with Disney and brought creative direction to an established action franchise in “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”

A more worrying possibility is to follow the Marvel (also owned

by Disney) format, creating films for individual characters leading to an “Avengers”-style ensemble flick.

At the most unlikely, but hopeful end are directors like Christopher Nolan, who just like with Batman could stay true to the “Star Wars” universe while delving deeper and darker. Don’t expect to see a Pixar take anytime soon, but the depth of “The Clone Wars” animated series shows this isn’t as sacrilegious as it first sounds.

Though the upcoming trilogy will set the tone for the near future, the possibility is now there for creative reboots when one incarnation flops.

While the prequels were rightly critiqued, they also satisfied

a story arc that was practically Shakespearean in scope.

The safest bet Disney has to expand the story in a way that is at once creative, logical and similarly massive is to follow Timothy Zahn’s bestselling and acclaimed “Thrawn Trilogy” series of novels.

These novels take place roughly five years after “Return of the Jedi” and bring back Han, Luke, Leia and Chewbacca, as well as a host of new characters like Dark Jedi and Grand Admirals. The trilogy is smart, action-packed and much more than a retread of old ground.

Recasting beloved characters is a risky move, but the chances of recruiting the now aged Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams to reprise their roles is near impossible. Still, if the alternative is to ignore the characters fans have been clamoring to see more of for three decades, a new cast of old characters, a few new ones and a cameo or two for good measure is Disney’s best option.

All that is known so far about “Star Wars VII” is that it takes place sometime after “Return of the Jedi,” which by itself is excit-

ing. The prequels featured the shiny height of the republic, with clean CGI that was often critiqued as artificial. This is in contrast to the original trilogy, which took place during the grimy rule of the Empire and required more physical sets. Since the new films will take place as the world recovers from Empire rule, fans can expect a more aesthetically interesting mix of technology and physical sets.

The “Star Wars” fanbase is solid enough that Disney’s first try could be a misfire and the series would still be in good standing.

The original film is the second highest-grossing film of all time adjusted for inflation and has since spawned hit television shows, video games and sustained popularity with new generations.

Jedi, lightsabers and “the Force” are as near to our culture as virtually anything in classic folklore. As a company synonymous with Grimm tales like “Snow White” and “The Little Mermaid,” Disney is the perfect company to carry the “Star Wars” folk tale into the future. cameron mount is a senior english education major. reach him at arts@ dailynebraskan.com.

GIMME 5: Alternative Months Gimme 5 Monthly Themes More Challenging Than Not Shaving

1.

Jump-Someone January: See what others have and then take it for your own. “Hey. Sweet puppy. It should be really happy at my house.”

2.

No-Flesh February: Just take it off. You have to take it all off.

3.

Accepting April: Be a total doormat for everyone. Or nice.

Some people call that “nice.”

4.

Why, Mom, Why May: Finally call Mom out on all her bullshit. She can be so inconsiderate sometimes!

5.

December of Deception: Make sure you check the shadows. compiled by tyler keown and chance solem-pfeifer art by ian tredway

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Housing Are you looking to live on campus next semester? Currently seeking one female, who is a sophomore status and who is at least 19 years old, (must have turned 19 before the start of the fall semester), to take over a housing contract for The Village for the Spring 2013 semester! 4 bed/2 bath apartment style dorm.

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SUDOKU PUZZLE

By Wayne Gould

Every row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 thru 9 with no repeats across or down.

Answer to Previous Puzzle

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1-2 & 3 Bedrooms Apartments, Townhomes and Duplexes

402-465-8911 www.HIPRealty.com

DN@unl.edu

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dailynebraskan.com

friday, November 2, 2012

UNL Cricket Club begins to establish membership, identity If they are available for the clear day, they are on the team. It’s open. Anybody who is new, we give them a chance.”

Kekeli Dawes DN If you were walking by the Mabel Lee Hall Fields on a Friday night in late September, you may have seen a strange sight: 14 men on a soccer field – two running back and forth, two tiny stumps, another man running up and down with a tiny white ball and a group of people huddled on the sidelines cheering, clapping and blowing whistles and horns.

That’s not something a UNL student sees every day; cricket matches are hard to come by on campus.

In the last weeks in September, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cricket Club rang out their inaugural season with a threeweek tournament for cricketers from all over Lincoln and Omaha.

Twelve teams of seven gathered at the Mabel Lee Hall Fields each Friday night to compete in the knockout tournament.

Naren Parimi

unl cricket club founder

Cricket isn’t new to Nebraska.

The Omaha Cricket Club began more than 20 years ago, and clubs in Lincoln have been around for more than 10 years. However, cricket is new for UNL. Attempts to start a team or club began in 2001, but none of them stuck until last year, when Naren Parimi, a computer science graduate student, decided to give the application process one more try.

After working with Campus Recreation and a sponsorship from Lincoln Technologies, the UNL Cricket Club became a reality in late spring last year. With their brand new gear and uniforms, they won the first summer tournament they entered.

“We’ve got a couple good

players from UNL,” Parimi said while on the sidelines during one of the tournament’s semifinals.

In fact, they now have eight more than they did in the summer.

The official club squad roster is very fluid.

“If they are available for the clear day, they are on the team,” Parimi said. “It’s open. Anybody who is new, we give them a chance.”

There weren’t any beginners in this tournament, but there were some new faces.

“Each team has brought in two new players and has tried to give everyone a chance,” said Apoorva Pandya, a UNL alumnus and a member of the UNL club and tournament team. “It’s for fun, basical-

ly. But then we play cricket, when it’s more about aggression.”

The final matches on the first Friday of October weren’t too aggressive, but some of that was partially due to the smaller format of play.

“This is a more controlled form,” Pandya said. “You don’t want to go and hit every ball.”

A typical cricket field is oneand-a-half football fields in diameter, but were shrunk by half for these nighttime matches. They reduced the usual 11-man squad to seven, and they limited the number of overs, or innings, to 10. Each over had six bowls, or pitches so after the fielding team completed their 60th bowl, they would take their turn to bat. The team with the most points gained from runs would win the match.

The final match that night turned out to be a showdown between the UNL club team and the OCA Red Devils, a team from the University of Nerbaska at Omaha.

The UNL Reds, up to bat first,

grabbed 49 runs, a score the Devils easily met with their top batsman scoring 25 runs and no outs.

It was a loss for the Reds, but three of their members earned individual awards for the tournament. Parimi was the tournament’s best bowler, Pandya was the tournament’s best fielder and Vijay Durvasula, a graduate student in management, was the tournament’s MVP with 115 total runs and six wickets.

Parimi was pleased with the turnout and the team’s performance, and looks forward to having more people join the club.

“The whole reason for having this tournament is to get new players into this and to see if we

can get some overseas players like West Indians and Australians,” he said.

Rama Prasad Cheruku, the president of the Lincoln Cricket Club, started working with the UNCC this year, and he hopes to see more participate as well. He said most members of the UNL squad are from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“Hopefully next year we will see more people interested,” Cheruku said. “We would like to spread the game to the outside communities. We want to make it more fun. Even though you are a beginner, you can come here and start learning.” sports@ dailynebraskan.com

UNK preview: from 10 2012-2013 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

file photo by matt masin | dn

Nebraska senior point guard Lindsey Moore takes the ball up the court against Iowa last year. Moore said the Huskers still have much to improve on this year.

also hoping to put up stellar numbers on defense, too.

“It’s really important for me to play well on defense so I’m balanced on both sides of the court,” Hooper said. “Offense is almost second nature to me; defense is something I focus more on to be better all-around.”

Last season, the team defeated

Kearney 85-55, with Hooper contributing 28 points. Hooper also tallied six rebounds while going 3-for-6 behind the three-point line.

Hooper, who also led the team with her double-digit performance Monday, said she and the team are looking forward to its opponent Sunday.

LOCATION

OPPONENT

DATE

Nov 04 Nov 09 Nov 11 Nov 16 Nov 18 Nov 20 Nov 23

Nebraska-Kearney (exh.)

North Carolina A&T Temple Northern Arizona South Dakota State Sam Houston State USC

Nov 28

Maryland

Dec 01 Dec 05 Dec 08 Dec 16 Dec 20 Dec 20 Dec 29 Jan 02 Jan 05 Jan 10 Jan 13 Jan 17 Jan 20 Jan 24 Jan 31 Feb 07 Feb 11 Feb 14 Feb 21 Feb 24 Feb 28 Mar 03

Idaho State Creighton Florida State South Florida Oral Roberts Grambling State Wisconsin* Purdue* Indiana* Penn State* Illinois* Minnesota* Michigan State* Ohio State* Minnesota* Northwestern* Iowa* Ohio State* Michigan* Iowa* Wisconsin* Penn State*

TIME

Devaney Center Devaney Center Devaney Center Devaney Center at Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena) Devaney Center at Los Angeles, Calif. (Galen Center) Big Ten/ACC Challenge Devaney Center

Mar 07 - Mar 10 TBA

2:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

2:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

4:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

Devaney Center at Omaha, Neb. (Sokol Arena) Devaney Center at Tampa, Fla. (Sun Dome) Devaney Center Devaney Center Devaney Center Devaney Center at Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall) at University Park, Pa. (Bryce Jordan Center) Devaney Center at Minneapolis, Minn. (Williams Arena) Devaney Center at Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena) Devaney Center at Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena) at Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena) Devaney Center at Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Arena) Devaney Center at Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center) Devaney Center Big Ten Tournament at Hoffman Estates, ill. (Sears Centre Areana) NCAA Tournament

2:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

2:05 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

2:05 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

TBA TBA TBA

Mar 23 - Mar 26 NCAA First & Second Rounds at 16 Predetermined Sites Mar 30 - Apr 02 NCAA Regionals at Oklahoma City; Norfolk, Va; Spokane, Wash.; Trenton, N.J. Apr 07 - Apr 09 NCAA Women’s Final Four at New Orleans, La. (New Orleans Arena) “(Monday’s win) definitely gave us some confidence, but coach says we can’t just look at that game,” she said. “We’re

getting geared up for Kearney.

They’re not the same team as Pittsburg State. It’s a new game plan and we’re on to them.”

After they wrap up their second and final exhibition game, the women’s basketball team will host North Carolina A&T next

TBA TBA TBA

Friday to open up the regular season. sports@ dailynebraskan.com

wrestling: from 10 2012-2013 WRESTLING SCHEDULE DATE

Nov 02 Nov 04 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 16 Nov 18 Nov 18 Nov 30-Dec 01 Dec 08 Dec 09 Dec 16 Dec 16 file photo by morgan spiehs | dn

Nebraska’s Robert Kokesh grapples with Iowa wrestler Mike Evans last season at the NU Coliseum. Kokesh and the Huskers kick off the 2012-2013 season with their intrasquad meet Friday.

erans. Kokesh has advice for this figure out some of the things you still need to work on before year ’s freshmen based on his first experience in the dual. actual competition starts coming “I would just tell them to have around,” Kokesh said. “It just gives you a feel of that dual-meet a positive attitude,” Kokesh said.

“Just go out there atmosphere.” and use this as an NU coach Mark Nothing’s experience to get Manning is more to the norm of the excited for competireally going college level.” tion against other Among the schools, but said the to shock me. We newcomers this intrasquad is an imexpect a lot out season are juportant and necesnior Caleb Kolb sary transition to the of them because (197), sophomore regular season.

“It’s good prac- they’ve got a lot in Spencer Johnson (197) and redtice to get out in them.” shirt freshman front of fans, get Donny Longenout of the wrestling mark manning dyke (285), who room and get out nu wrestling coach will fill the voids and wrestle underleft by graduatneath the lights,” he said. “(The) more times you do it, ing seniors. Kolb will wrestle in the 197-pound weight class until the better you get at it.”

Johnson recovers from a knee inIn that sense, the intrasquad meet will be more valuable to the jury. “(It’ll be) good practice for team’s newcomers than to its vet-

Dec 29- Dec 30 Jan 11 Jan 12 Jan 18 Jan 27 Feb 01 Feb 10 Feb 17 Feb 24 Mar 09- Mar 10 Mar 21-Mar 23

LOCATION

OPPONENT

TIME

NU Intrasquad Devaney Center Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open at Brookings, S.D. Northern Colorado at Greeley, Colo.

Wyoming at Laramie, Wyo. Minnesota* NU Coliseum North Carolina NU Coliseum South Dakota State NU Coliseum Cliff Keen Invitational at Las Vegas, Nev. Arizona State NU Coliseum Wisconsin* NU Coliseum Grapple at the Garden Rutgers at New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden) Maryland at New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

7:00 p.m.

9:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m.

7:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

Midlands Invitational Michigan* Northwestern* Illinois* Penn State* Michigan State* Iowa* NWCA National Duals NWCA National Duals Ben Ten Championships* NCAA Championships

9:30 a.m.

6:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

TBD TBD 10:00 a.m.

11:00 a.m.

at Evanston, Ill. at Ann Arbor, Mich. at Evanston, Ill. NU Coliseum at University Park, Pa. NU Coliseum at Iowa City, Iowa at Ithaca, N.Y. at TBA at Champaign, Ill. at Des Moines, Iowa

9:30 a.m.

11:30 a.m.

* Conference Meets them to get out there and show what they’re all about under the lights,” Manning said of the squad’s new starting wrestlers.

At the other eight weights, the Huskers return all of last year’s starters, including six who are nationally ranked heading into the 2012-2013 campaign. Senior Josh Ihnen, an All-American last season at 184 pounds, leads the pack, with fellow seniors Ridge Kiley (141) and Tyler Koehn (174) also

in the top 25. The sophomore trio of Kokesh, James Green (157) and Jake Sueflohn (149), who moved up a weight division, enter the season ranked in the top 15 after making the NCAA Championships last year.

Manning will not be surprised to see them repeat that effort this season, and it starts Friday night.

“They’re better technicians,” Manning said. “Nothing’s really going to shock me. We expect a lot

out of them because they’ve got a lot in them.”

Manning said his main job during the intrasquad will be to observe, not coach, the matches. He will be watching how his wrestlers handle nerves and the expectation of performing at a high level.

“Can the guy do it no matter who they’re wrestling?” Manning said. “Not that they’re just wrestling their buddy or their teammate. They’re wrestling to show

their skill level and their competitiveness.”

And while the intrasquad does not carry the same intensity as a regular season dual, the meet may as well be for Kokesh.

“Coach always tells us we need to focus on one match at a time,” he said, “and this is a match. It means something to us.”

It’s not just another practice. sports@ dailynebraskan.com

dailynebraskan.com

Friday, november 2, 2012

9

Michigan State scouting report Michigan State Spartans East Lansing, Mich.

stadium: Spartan Stadium (75,005 capacity) rivals: Michigan, Notre Dame, Indiana all-time record: 641-43144 claimed national titles: 6 (last in 1966) conference titles: 7 last season: 11-3 (Outback Bowl champions) notable current players: RB Le’Veon Bell, DE William Gholston, CB Johnny Adams notable former players: Andre Rison, Mark Ingram Sr., Plaxico Burress, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Flozell Adams, James Caan (actor) connection to Nebraska: The Huskers hold an

all-time 6-0 series lead over the Spartans, with the most notable game coming in 1995, when the Huskers pummeled the Spartans 50-10 en route to a second straight national title. coach:

year)

Mark Dantonio (6th

overall head coaching record:

67-43

playing career:

Defensive back – South Carolina (1976-78) head coaching career: Cincinnati (2004-06), Michigan State (2007-Present) notable assistant coaching stops:

Butler CC (DC – 1982), Akron (DB – 1985), Youngstown State (DC – 1986-90), Kansas (DB – 1991-94), Michigan State (DB – 1995-2000), Ohio State (DC – 2001-03)

Michigan State University

established:

1855 public University students: 47,954 motto: Advancing Knowledge. Transforming Lives. specializations: Of the more than 200 academic programs at MSU, agriculture and education have garnered the most accolades and attention. what makes it unique: Michigan State pioneered the study of music therapy, horticulture and packaging. Also, MSU has the largest study abroad program of any single-campus school in the U.S., with more than 200 programs taking place in more than 60 countries and on all continents, including Antarctica.

Key Matchups MSU RB Le’Veon Bell vs.

NU Linebackers Nebraska’s linebackers had a breakthrough performance this week against Michigan, and the unit goes up against Michigan State’s bottom-of-theconference rushing attack.

However, the Spartans are still led by Le’Veon Bell, a back who has shown he can shoulder the load and fight for extra yards. This battle will determine if Michigan State can get any points on the board.

MSU Passing Game vs. NU Secondary Nebraska will likely play a 4-3 most of the game, leaving option for Michigan State passing the ball.

The Spartans will need a

big game from quarterback Andrew Maxwell to break down the Husker secondary, allowing the Spartans a chance in this game.

NU WR Kenny Bell vs. MSU CB Johnny Adams Michigan State has one of the best defenses in the country talent-wise, and the Huskers have one of the best offenses in the country stats-wise. Something has to give in this matchup. Kenny Bell is the Huskers’ best receiving threat and cornerback Johnny Adams may be MSU’s best

defender. This matchup will go a long way for determining whether Nebraska can establish the pass early, setting themselves up for a win.

-compiled by chris peters

Tennis team to close fall in Minneapolis Husker men hope to end autumn season on high note at Gopher Invitational

file photo by bethany schmidt | dn

Nebraska senior outside hitter Gina Mancuso goes down for a dig against Penn State on Sunday. Mancuso, a leading candidate for the NCAA Senior CLASS Award, will try to maintain her high level of play against Michigan and Michigan State this weekend.

Volleyball team heads to Michigan Staff REport DN After coming off of arguably the best Husker win of the season against No. 1 Penn State, Nebraska hopes to stay strong in the Big Ten race with a weekend trip to take on Michigan and Michigan State.

The victory has the Huskers’ confidence soaring after coming back from being down 2-1 in sets. But after a fifth-set victory, Nebraska didn’t move up in the rankings because of a loss to Ohio

State on Friday. The team still holds the No. 4 spot.

But the Huskers won’t have much time to celebrate.

“Any Big Ten road game is a tough one,” NU coach John Cook said at a press conference Monday.

Michigan and Michigan State sit tied for sixth in the Big Ten standings, both with a 5-7 conference record.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with Michigan 6-1, beating them 3-1 the last time they faced

each other in late September, but that doesn’t mean the match will be a cakewalk.

“Michigan went five games with Penn State, too,” Cook said.

“Teams can get hot and beat anybody.”

Michigan State (17-7) has yet to beat Nebraska in 13 meetings and will try to avenge their 3-0 loss to the Huskers earlier this year.

Gina Mancuso has been in the spotlight lately, posting 16 kills against Penn State. She is one of the leaders in the fan balloting for

the NCAA Senior CLASS award.

The fan votes account for onethird of the total, with the other two-thirds determined by NCAA coaches and media members.

Nebraska is hoping to ride Mancuso’s hot streak into Ann Arbor on Friday and East Lansing on Saturday during this trip.

The Michigan game is at 6 p.m. Friday. The Huskers will have to turn around quickly and play Michigan State at 7 p.m. Saturday. sports@ dailynebraskan.com

think for us, some of our guys … Brandon (Videtich) has been struggling a little bit mentally, maybe Andre (Stenger) and Eric (Sock), a couple of our seasoned guys. I don’t think they’re playing bad, but I don’t think they’ve had their best draw and Matt Nathan I think mentally they’ve been DN down on themselves.“ McDermott knows his team The final fall tournament of the can make improvements, makNebraska men’s tennis season ing them a goal so his team can is the Gopher Invitational Nov. be ready come next semester.

1-4 in Minneapolis. No Husker “I want to see that we start players competed on the first next semester, that our guys day of the tournament. After the realize that we have a good Gopher Invite, Nebraska will nuclear group of guys,” he said. have time to rest until Jan. 13 “I don’t feel like were a great when they take on Louisville on team, but I think we’re a good the road. NU coach team, and I think we Kerry McDermott can get really good. admits his squad But it’s a matter of hasn’t been the best guys really believing team out there, but in themselves and said they should their teammates, and still try to play like not think we’re averthey are. age or OK … hopeful“I think at this ly it’ll carry over next point (our players semester.” need to) compete Videtich wants his as hard as you can team to start improvno matter what the ing. That doesn’t just Videtich score is,” he said. start with him, but “You can still win with everyone. matches even when “As a team we you’re not playing want to compete at a high levwell. You can still win matchel,” he said. “Winning is great, es because you’re competing but we’re all hoping to make well.” improvements in our games so Because this is the last outthat we’re ready come January. ing of the fall, McDermott We all need to step up; we’re wants his players to keep fighttrying to see where guys fit in ing in their matches, no matter the lineup and what combinawhat the score. tions work in doubles. So we “We want to make sure that need to have a good showing to the guys finish the fall season … see what works and where we so they’re always fighting until need to make adjustments.” the end, and anything can hapVidetich echoed McDerpen. Just kind of put it out there mott’s statement. He said he and let your actions speak for wants his team to finish strong yourself,” he said. and achieve good results at the McDermott saw players like Gopher Invite and beyond. freshmen Dusty Boyer and Marc “We want to end the last Herrmann impress him this seatournament of the year with a son, but has also seen players strong showing, solid play and struggle, like seniors Brandon some good results to build off Videtich, Andre Stenger and for the season. And then next Eric Sock. semester we hope it all comes “Dusty (Boyer) did a really together and we can prove to good job I thought last tournaourselves that all this hard work ment (USTA-ITA Regionals). this fall paid off.”

And I actually think Marc (Hersports@ rmann) did a really good job dailynebraskan.com of competing well,” he said. “I

football: from 10 sive coordinator John Papuchis “Our focus will be taking him out of the game and making said he expects Maxwell to try to (quarterback Andrew) Maxwell open up the passing game by hitbe (the guy),” senior linebacker ting a multitude of receivers.

“The thing that jumps out to Alonzo Whaley said. me more than anything (besides Whaley said he was confiBell), is their balance in terms of dent the Huskers could limit the distribution of catches across Bell’s production because they the board,” Papuchis said. “They have done so in the past, including successfully holding bulky have five different guys with beWisconsin running back Montee tween 22 and 32 catches. A year ago, (B.J.) Cunningham was their Ball under 100 yards rushing in a guy, and we knew we had to stop Husker win.

The biggest advantage for the him going into the game. This year, they are more Huskers against evenly distributed Bell and the SparThat’s the across the board tans, Whaley and that makes it a said, is personnel difference little more difficult matchups. to defend.”

“Their style of in this team right While the Sparoffense falls into now as a whole. tans do a good our strengths as a We really focus job spreading the defense,” Whaley wealth around in said. “When teams on the next the passing game, pack it in and run the team’s pass ofit, they never really week and not fense still ranks in have success to- what lies after the bottom half of ward our defense. the country at 229.1 It goes to where that.” yards per game. our strengths are.

Nebraska’s pass Most teams try Alonzo Whaley offense ranks even and attack us by nu senior linebacker lower, with 225 spreading it out; yards per game, there’s not too and the pair are exmany teams that try to attack us by packing it in pected to do battle in a low-scoring, defensive game. and trying to power you.”

“I think it’ll be another deAs a result, many expect Michigan State to try to spread fensive game – which offense can the field a bit more to expose Ne- score on which defense,” Whaley said. braska’s weaknesses. NU defen-

file photo by anna reed | dn

Nebraska senior linebacker Alonzo Whaley (45) talks with defensive teammates. Whaley and the Blackshirts will have to try to slow down big Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell on Saturday.

For Nebraska, which boasts the seventh-ranked rushing attack in the country, coaches will

be aiming to focus on the ground game to wear on a top-10 Michigan State scoring defense, whose

strength is pass defense.

“They play aggressive, they play hard and they are physi-

cal up front,” Pelini said. “They challenge receivers on the outside in the secondary. They are wellcoached. It’s a good group.”

Getting a win this week against the Spartans would say a lot about a Husker team which has had trouble establishing consistency this season. Early in the year, the team hit a high before dropping a game to UCLA, then responded with a powerful comeback against Wisconsin, only to fall to Ohio State the following week.

Now, the Huskers are winners of two consecutive conference games, hoping to establish some solid momentum late in the season.

“That’s the difference in this team right now as a whole,” Whaley said. “We really focus on the next week and not what lies after that. The good thing we’ve learned from is the losing end. Being so high and then you end up losing the next big game, I think we really did a good job focusing on what’s in front of us and what can happen if we don’t focus on that. That’s all you can do. You can’t sit around and worry about Michigan. I’ve honestly forgotten about Michigan already.”

No. 21 Nebraska takes on Michigan State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. TV coverage is set for ABC regionally and ESPN2 elsewhere. sports@ dailynebraskan.com

gameday

friday november 2, 2012 dailynebraskan.com @dnsports

nebraska vs. michigan state | Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 | 2:30 PM east lansing, mich. | tv: abc/espn2

Clear

Bell

as a

Stopping the big, bruising Spartan running back is key to slowing down Michigan State offense, but it’s no easy task

Story by Chris Peters File photo By Kaylee Everly

S

tanding 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 244 pounds, Le’Veon Bell is a tough man to tackle.

Nebraska is faced with the task of taking down the Michigan State running back, who has racked up 1,061 yards and eight touchdowns this season, when the Huskers head to East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday.

“You have to get on him quickly,” coach Bo Pelini said. “You have to be good up front and physical.

He’s a big physical back, and you don’t want to get him rolling.”

The Huskers (6-2, 3-1 Big Ten) hit the road this weekend to take on Michigan State (5-4, 2-3) in a game that could turn out to be a pivotal moment for Nebraska making its push for a Big Ten championship. A win Saturday would likely require the Huskers to shut down Bell.

Most teams try and attack us by spreading it out; there’s not too many teams that try to attack us by packing it in and trying to power you.” alonzo whaley nu senior linebacker

Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell carries the ball against Nebraska last year in Lincoln. Bell has been the focal point of the Spartans’ offense this season, rushing for more than 1,000 yards through eight games and scoring eight touchdowns.

football: see page 9

Husker women begin to gel in exhibition contests Nedu Izu DN

file photo mary-ellen kennedy | dn

Nebraska wrestler Josh Ihnen tries to fend off Iowa’s Vinnie Wagner in last year’s matchup of two of the Big Ten’s best wrestling teams. The senior is ranked sixth in the country at 184 pounds.

Intrasquad meet marks crucial competition for wrestlers Annual meet pits teammates against one another, gives chance to compete Zach Tegler DN In Robert Kokesh’s first dual as a Husker, he had to wrestle Jordan Burroughs.

As teammates in the same

weight class on the Nebraska wrestling team, they grappled with each other in practice often.

But their 2011 match in the seasonopening intrasquad meet (which Burroughs won) was Kokesh’s first experience in a competitive format.

It’s not just another practice.

“This is a live competition,” Kokesh said. “We’re not in the practice room. You’re out there to compete. You’re out there to win the match.”

Two years later, Burroughs

is an Olympic gold medalist and Kokesh has become a strong wrestler in his own right. The redshirt sophomore enters the season ranked sixth in the country at 165 pounds.

The Huskers will take to the mat in the NU Coliseum for the first time this season at the NU Intrasquad on Friday at 7 p.m.

“You’re wrestling against your teammate – you see him in practice every day – but this helps

wrestling: see page 8

Jordan Hooper threw a threepointer 15 seconds into the game against Pittsburg State’s defense.

The attempt was good.

The junior forward’s shot would be the first of her 17 points and propelled Nebraska to a 78-34 victory on Monday, its first exhibition game of the season.

After being away from competition since March, it didn’t take the No. 18 Huskers long to get back in the groove of things, according to Hooper.

“I thought we did really well,” she said. “It was a lot of fun and I think we did a lot of good things.”

One key factor in the team’s first win in exhibition play was its fast start.

After the 2011 All-American’s first shot, the Huskers went onto hold to a 22-0 lead through the first seven minutes, when the Gorillas made their first basket.

Senior Lindsey Moore, who finished the game with five assists, said the offensive burst boosted the team’s confidence for its next game.

“It was good seeing us be so aggressive offensively and knock down a shot,” she said. “It was definitely surprising to have them scoreless as long as we did.

We didn’t expect that.”

The Huskers hope to match that success on Sunday when they host Nebraska Kearney at 2:05 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

Though Nebraska won the game 78-34, the team’s overall play was far from superb, Moore said.

The Huskers recorded four

file photo by matt masin | dn

Nebraska forward Jordan Hooper, left, helped the Huskers jump out to an early 22-0 lead against Pittsburg State. The junior said she wants to try to make a bigger impact on defense this year. blocks against Pittsburg State.

However, the Gorillas outblocked them by four. The Huskers also coughed up 15 turnovers and allowed 12 offensive rebounds to their opponents.

Moore said there’s not just one thing the team needs to improve on.

“We still got a long way to go – rebounding, executing on offense – just the game in gener-

al,” Moore, a senior point guard said. “I think improving in all aspects is something we’re looking forward to do.”

Hooper agreed with her teammate and said she’s hoping to make an impact not just on offense for her team. She finished with nine rebounds in NU’s first exhibition match and said she’s

unk preview: see page 8