DEC5

CAPITAL ONE BOWL PITS NEBRASKA AGAINST SEC’S GAMECOCKS

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION UNL student uncovers scam in Daily Nebraskan classifieds PAGE 3

Huskers will seek season’s 10th win against South Carolina in Orlando on Jan. 2 PAGE 9 MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2011

VOLUME 111, ISSUE 070

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UNL works to close gender gap

Student, Rwanda genocide survivor make film

U N I V ERSIT Y HI R E S FE MA L E FA C U LT Y IN A N E F F O RT T O S O LVE D I SPARIT Y WI TH MA L E S TAF F IN S T E M D E PART M EN T S

I basically wanted to know what the country has been like in the years since the genocide.”

NATALIA LEDFORD JUNIOR UNL STUDENT

LARRY BROWN DAILY NEBRASKAN

GABRIEL SANCHEZ | DAILY NEBRASKAN

UNL STEM FIELDS LAG PEERS IN FEMALE FACULTY ROLL CALL

RILEY JOHNSON

35%

UNL Peer Average

30% 25% 20% 15% 10%

Plant Pathology

Entomology

Biological Systems Engineering

Biochemistry

Animal Science

Mechanical Engineering

Industrial and Management Systems Engineering

Electrical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Statistics

Physics and Astronomy

Mathematics

0%

Geosciences

5% Computer Science and Engineering

WOMEN: SEE PAGE 3

40%

Chemistry

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) departments at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln increased the number of female faculty members since 2009 and set a course to improve female faculty culture at UNL, according to a university professor.

Professor Mary Ann Holmes directs the university’s five-year, $3.8 million ADVANCE-Nebraska grant responsible for changes in STEM personnel at UNL. Since UNL received the National Science Foundation grant two years ago, the university has added 10 female faculty members to its STEM fields and increased the amount of female faculty position applicants. Holmes said that’s a sign of change from a few years ago.

“I think a lot of chairs, heads and faculty felt that

University of Nebraska-Lincoln science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) departments trail their Big Ten peers in percentage of women faculty, according to 2009-2010 data from Institutional Research and Planning.

UNL biochemistry associate professor Melanie Simpson says although UNL leads in biological sciences, computer science and engineering, statistics and biochemistry, the numbers are not as rosy as they appear because of the low number of full professors in those fields and others.

Biological Sciences

DAILY NEBRASKAN

SOURCE: INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND PLANNING

A survivor of the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, Emmanuel Habimana discussed his experiences on Friday in the Gaughan Multicultural Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Habimana and Natalia Ledford showed a preview of an unfinished documentary she made with the working title “The Children Who Lived; Orphans of the Tutsi Genocide.”

Ledford, a junior broadcasting and international studies student, was driven to make the documentary after reading a book titled “Left to Tell” by Immaculee Ilibagiza for a class in 2009.

The book is Ilibagiza’s testimony as a survivor of the genocide, which Ledford described as “very gripping.”

“I basically wanted to know what the country has been like in the years since the genocide,” she said. Ledford was able to visit Rwanda through a study abroad program given at UNL in 2010 and went with a small group of students for a three-week period to the African country for a final paper field study.

Ledford worked with the

RWANDA: SEE PAGE 3

Artists paint public benches for Slave Free Nebraska DAN HOLTMEYER DAILY NEBRASKAN

In a small, light-filled room overlooking downtown Lincoln, Sriyani Tidball, an advertising lecturer at the University of NebraskaLincoln, unveiled a public art project, undertaken by several of her students and named Slave Free Nebraska.

Its aim: to bring human trafficking and its local impact into the spotlight.

Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler, State Sen. Amanda McGill of Lincoln and UNL Athletic Director Tom Osborne, in his signature red blazer, were among about 40 Nebraska officials and residents present for the unveiling of five public benches painted by five local artists. They now adorn three corners of the intersection of 12th and P streets.

LAZARO PAGE 4

“This is the sort of celebration that really pleases me most,” Beutler said at the gathering. “This little thing that’s being done right here is a very important little thing.”

Government officials, researchers and organizations estimate between 27 and 29 million people around the world have been spirited across international borders to support the multibilliondollar global demand for people in construction, agriculture and sex work.

Tens of thousands are brought into the U.S. each year, according to the Polaris Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, and the flow is about evenly split between labor and sex trafficking. Trafficking victims include both sexes, but those in sex work are disproportionately women

and girls.

Nebraska isn’t immune to the problem, either. Interstate 80, located just north of Lincoln, for example, connects San Francisco to New York City and is an ideal conduit for traffickers, according to several local officials, including Lincoln Public Safety Director Tom Casady. At UNL’s Human Trafficking Conference in September, FBI agents who were stationed at the College World Series in Omaha said the series is a draw for sex traffickers around the region.

“It’s important to remember that exploitation does go on around us,” Beutler said. “The first step, of course, to stopping any problem, especially in a

TRAFFICKING: SEE PAGE 2

ARTS & LITERATURE PAGE 5

DAN HOLTMEYER | DAILY NEBRASKAN

Two people walk past one of the benches designed to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking. The benches are located at 12th and P streets in downtown Lincoln.

VOLLEYBALL PAGE 10

WEATHER | CLOUDY

Why, Siri, why?

The final word

Second-round knockout

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LITERARY COLUMNIST REFLECTS ON A SEMESTER OF READING

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@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

23°2°

2

monday, december 5, 2011

Daily Nebraskan

trafficking: from 1 democratic society, is making people aware.”

Bringing attention to the local reach of the global industry is this art project’s goal, Tidball said.

“The first thing you do is make your own city and your own state free of slaves,” she told the group.

The five benches, the handiwork of five local women, are a splash of color among the brown and white of downtown Lincoln. One, by Deb Bridges, shows a woman’s silhouette surrounded by a radiant glow of yellow and orange, her arms outstretched in a gesture of joy. Lindsey Weber, another artist, opted for a muted brown and grey pile of women’s shoes, an apparent tribute to trafficking’s victims.

For Amber Konz, 22, who also contributed her work to the project, this wasn’t her first brush with the problem.

“I’ve been studying human trafficking for about two years,” Konz said Friday at the unveiling, before a bright blue ribbon was cut from her bench and the others.

It was about two years ago that Konz traveled to Thailand, she said, with the Nebraska Family Council, a Christian organization based in Lincoln that counts human trafficking among the issues it works to address.

“It’s a huge problem, especially in southeast Asia,” Konz said. Thailand, like the U.S., is mostly a destination for forced workers and sex tourism, she said, though she still saw

women: from 1

the problem through a local lens. “Like Sriyani says, the first step is making the hometown free.”

Konz’s is one of the brightest benches, depicting a pure white bird escaping from a cage and surrounded by swaths of red, yellow and pale blue.

The project began in one of Tidball’s classes on social responsibility and advertising almost a year ago, Tidball told the Daily Nebraskan late last September during UNL’s Human Trafficking Conference, which she helped organize. The students decided to focus on the movement and modern-day slavery of people around the globe, and started researching a way to bring the issue to the public consciousness.

The people her students interviewed generally agreed when human trafficking comes up, the statistics and horrific stories of kidnapping and violence are simply too much information, Tidball said.

“But while they’re driving, they said, they listened to radio, read billboards and saw public art,” she said.

She and her class chose the last as a public awareness tool and ran with it, she added. “We decided that we’ll take this public art project all the way.”

The students, Tidball was always quick to say, did everything: they found sponsors, raised funds, created the Slave Free Nebraska brand and held a competition among local artists last summer.

“I believe there’s a lot of hope with student activism,” Tidball said in September.

“Things have changed in the world because students stood up and said, ‘Enough is enough.’”

The unveiling of her class’ work comes at an important time for Nebraska. The state recently received a failing grade from Shared Hope International, an advocacy organization based in the state of Washington, for what the group says are gaps and shortfalls in its trafficking laws.

Monday at 2 p.m., the Nebraska State Legislature’s Judiciary Committee also plans to meet to examine the local impact of human trafficking and what can be done about it.

“It’s a very open hearing to get any and all ideas,” Sen. Amanda McGill told the Daily Nebraskan at the unveiling Friday. What other states have done, how the courts and legislation can help and assistance for victims are all likely to come up in the hearing, McGill said. She was the only state senator to attend.

“Issues dealing with the safety of women are very near and dear to my heart,” McGill said. “(Human trafficking) was an issue that really resonated with me.”

The hearing and public arts project both are testaments to the work of Tidball and other professors and students to raise awareness, McGill added.

“The group on campus has done a great job of getting the word out on this issue,” she said. “It just all seems to be coming together at the same time.” danholtmeyer@ dailynebraskan.com

there was nothing they could really do to increase the number of women in their applicant pools,” Holmes said. “And now they have strategies to do that.”

ADVANCE-Nebraska provides departments with recruiting strategies, Holmes said. While she said the university has made strides in improving faculty equality on campus and in STEM fields, the journey is far from complete.

“We still have a long way to go,” Holmes said. “We tend to hire men at the full professor rank in STEM, but we haven’t hired any STEM women at that rank.

“We are making progress at the entry-level rank, but retention and recruiting to higher ranks is still a challenge.”

In UNL’s tenure and nontenure track faculty population, men outnumber women 981 to 575, according to 2011 data from Institutional Research and Planning.

Inequality is most pronounced at the professor level, where 99 women have full professorships compared to 412 men.

One reason for the increase in new hires comes from the grant’s focus on dual-career couples.

Nationally, 80 percent of women in STEM fields have

a partner in academia, according to the ADVANCENebraska website. So the university has adopted a dual career assistance policy, as an incentive for women in STEM fields to choose UNL. A female STEM field applicant’s partner will receive assistance during the interview process to help with dualcareer hires. Consistently, if someone in a STEM or other department had a female partner in a STEM field, this program would help the female STEM-field applicant.

Melanie Simpson, chair of the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women and an associate professor of biochemistry, commends grants work and the policy.

“Sometimes you take the approach that policy comes first and reality will bend to follow it,” Simpson said.

With policies like the dual career assistance policy in place, the reality of gender-faculty inequality is one Simpson hopes to see addressed. But those addressing that reality said it doesn’t come without challenge.

In a STEM field such as physics and astronomy, Simpson pointed to the disparity in the male-female faculty ratio as an obstacle to culture change. As of fall 2011, there are only three

women in the 27-instructor department.

University data from 20092010 shows UNL has a higher percentage of women faculty than its Big Ten peers in STEM fields such as biological sciences, statistics and biochemistry, but the university lags its peers by as much as 16 percent in areas like physics and astronomy, chemistry and entomology.

With so few women in that department, potential applicants might be hesitant to even apply for department positions where there are few women, Simpson said.

Reality shapes perception, she said.

“If you perceive there are people like you thriving and surviving, then you feel like you can thrive and survive,” Simpson said.

Simpson and her fellow female colleagues comprise roughly one-fourth of the 23-member biochemistry department, which she said is good, but not ideal.

Still the university’s progress the past few years shows promise for the future, Simpson and Holmes say.

They’re hopeful the university can build on its forward momentum toward improving the culture for female faculty at UNL.

RileyJohnson@ DailyNebraskan.com

correction On Dec. 2, the Daily Nebraskan ran a story about two University of Nebraska-Lincoln students, also Army Reserve specialists, who have chosen to deploy to Afghanistan. The featured quote on page two from the story was incorrectly attributed to Jon Ferneau.

However, in the story it was Mark Whitney who said, “I’m not scared of

getting shot, blown up or losing my limbs, I’m scared of what’s going to happen to my family if I don’t come back.” The Daily Nebraskan regrets the error. If you spot a factual error in the Daily

Nebraskan, please report it by calling (402) 4722588. An editor will place the correction that will run in the print edition, also using bold type.

Community desk Private Study Place when: Dec. 5-9, Dec. 12-16, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. where: Nebraska Union, Career Services, Room 225 what: Career Services is offering private study space for students during dead week and finals week. contact: Career Services at 402-472-3145 or careerservices@unl.edu Parking Advising Committee meeting when: Monday, Dec. 5, 9:30 a.m. where: Stadium Drive Parking Garage, Parking and Transit Services conference room, 625 Stadium Drive, Suite A what: The Parking Advisory Committee will meet to discuss parking and transportation issues on campus.

Lecture: ‘Conflict and Resolution on the Missouri River’ when: Monday, Dec. 12, 4 p.m. where: Hardin Hall, Auditorium what: Lecture by Bob Kerrey, former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator. Reception beforehand at 3:30 p.m.

Faculty Artists: Moran Woodwind Quintet when: Monday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall what: The Moran Woodwind Quintet will perform a recital.

Tickets are available one hour before recital. cost: $5 general, $3 student/ senior

contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu

Stress Free Zone when: Tuesday, Dec. 6, through Thursday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. where: Nebraska Union what: Area where students can pet dogs, get massages and do other activities. contact: Deb Henderson at 402-472-7442 or dhenderson1@unl.edu Tuesday Talk: Planning and Designing the ‘What’s In A Name? Inscribed Quilts’ Exhibition when: Tuesday, Dec. 6, noon where: International Quilt Study Center & Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St. what: Lecture discussing the “What’s In A Name? Inscribed Quilts” exhibition. contact: Maureen Ose at 402-472-6549 or info@ quiltstudy.org Edible Car Day when: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2 p.m. where: East Campus Union, Great Plains Room what: Engineering students will race edible cars they designed in the Incredible Edible Car competition. contact: 402-472-3905 or ecurtis1@unl.edu Lecture: ‘Pulse of the Plains: A Photographer’s Journey Connecting Water, Wildlife and Landscape’ when: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 7

p.m.

where:

Lied Center for Performing Arts what: Photographer Michael Forsberg will speak about his time photographing the Sandhill cranes and the Great Plains and what it has taught him about Nebraska’s ecosystem. contact: Katie Cervantes at 402-472-4747 Jazz Orchestra and Big Band Jazz when: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall what: The Jazz Orchestra and the Big Band Jazz will perform a recital. It will features guest artists Christine and Ingrid Jensen. contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu Wellness Wednesday when: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 8 a.m. to noon where: University Health Center, Laboratory – Room 205 what: The Health Center will offer wellness profiles for students, faculty and staff.

To get the most accurate reading, fast eight to 10 hours beforehand. cost: $25 contact: Gaye Homer at 402472-7470 Blood Pressure Checks when: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. where: Nebraska Union, wellness booth what: Blood pressure screening by a health professional

contact: Jennifer Snyder at 402-472-7459 or jsnyder2@ unl.edu

Foreign Language Social when: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. where: Nebraska Union what: Practice speaking in a foreign language with friends.

Make sure to bring your own lunch. contact: Kris Miller at 402472-2487 or kmiller14@unl. edu Percussion Ensemble when: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall what: The Percussion Ensemble will perform a concert. cost: $5 general, $3 student/ senior contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu Lecture: ‘Patterns of Terrorism and the Federal Response’ when: Thursday, Dec. 8, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. where: Nebraska Union what: Sociologist Brent Smith from the University of Arkansas will speak about terrorism and social movements. cost: Free and open to the public contact: Christ Eskridge at 402-472-6755 or ceskridge2@unl.edu Symphony Orchestra: Brahms and More when: Thursday, Dec. 8, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

where: Kimball Recital what: The Symphony

Hall

Orchestra will perform a concert featuring the works of Brahms and more. cost: $5 general, $3 student/ senior contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu Cornhusker Marching Band: Highlights Concert when: Friday, Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. where: Lied Center for Performing Arts what: The Cornhusker Marching Band will perform holiday favorites in their Highlights Concert. cost: $15 general, $10 student/senior contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu Mathematics Colloquium when: Friday, Dec. 9, 4 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. where: Avery Hall, Room 115 what: Marcelo Firer of Unicamp will give a lecture about mathematics. cost: Free and open to the public contact: Steve Cohn at 402-472-7223 or scohn1@ math.unl.edu Musical Theatre Showcase when: Friday, Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. where: Westbrook Music Building, Room 119 what: Concert with musical theater favorites.

cost:

Free and open to the public contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu Amahl and the Night Visitors when: Saturday, Dec. 10, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. where: Johnny Carson Theater what: Amahl and the Night Visitors tell the story about a poor mother and child who are visited by three kings bearing gifts. cost: Free and open to the public contact: William Shomos at 402-472-2494 Symphonic Band concert when: Saturday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall what: The Symphonic Band will perform a concert for the holiday season. cost: $5 general admission, $3 student/seniors contact: Mike Edholm at 402-472-6865 or medholm2@unl.edu

— Compiled by Kim Buckley community@ dailynebraskan.com

Community Desk runs in the paper every Monday and is updated daily on the Daily Nebraskan website. Submit an event to Community Desk by emailing the date, time, location, cost, contact information and general information about the event to community@ dailynebraskan.com

daily nebraskan editor-in-chief. . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1766 Ian Sacks managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1763 Courtney Pitts news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402.472.1764 associate editor Ellen Hirst

Hailey Konnath assignment editor opinion editor Zach Smith

Rhiannon Root

assistant editor arts & entertainment. . . . . . 402.472.1756 editor Noah Ballard

Chance Solem-Pfeifer assistant editor sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1765 editor Doug Burger

Andrew McClure

assistant editor Jeff Packer

assistant editor photo chief Andrew Dickinson

Multimedia Patrick Breen

editor

Design chief Emily Bliss

Blair Englund

assistant chief copy chief Andrew McClure

web chief Andrew McClure

art director Bob Al-Greene

Bea Huff

director Neil Orians

assistant director general manager. . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1769 Dan Shattil Advertising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402.472.2589 manager Nick Partsch Rylan Fitz assistant manager publications board. . . . . . . . . .402.613.0724 Adam Morfeld chairman professional AdvisEr . . . . . 402.473.7248 Don Walton

Founded in 1901, the Daily Nebraskan is the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s only independent daily newspaper written, edited and produced entirely by UNL students.

General Information The Daily Nebraskan is published weekly on Mondays during the summer and Monday through Friday during the nine-month academic year, except during finals week.

The Daily Nebraskan is published by the UNL Publications Board, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0448.

The board holds public meetings monthly.

Subscriptions are $95 for one year. job applications The Daily Nebraskan accepts job applications year-round for paid positions. To apply, visit the Daily Nebraskan offices, located in the basement of the south side of the Nebraska Union.

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Daily Nebraskan

Monday, december 5, 2011

rwanda: from 1

Morgan spiehs | Daily nebraskan

Emmanuel Habimana answers a question after presenting a documentary he co-directed in the Gaughan Multicultural Center on Friday about the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda titled “The Children Who Lived.” Habimana is a survivor of the genocide where most of his family was killed.

Interdisciplinary Genocide Studies Center (IGSC) and Rwandan college students.

One of the students was Habimana, who was the only survivor of the genocide working within the IGSC. “He became a major teacher for all of us,” she said. Habimana expressed to her that there were stories he wished he could make a documentary about – his peers, the orphans of the genocide.

“It’s a pretty neglected population,” Ledford said about the orphans of the Tutsi genocide. She went on to say that it’s a population that hasn’t been researched much. After receiving grants, one of which was a National Geographic Young Explorers Grant, she went back to Rwanda with Habimana to start the documentary.

“The genocide affected me in many ways,” Habimana said. He said his brothers

have the physical scars, and he suffers from a scar no one can see.

“I didn’t have as much education as a normal person should have,” he said.

The documentary showed the effects on the country and the genocide’s unique aftermath. Today, survivors of the genocide live side by side with the individuals who committed the violence, Habimana said.

“When they were killing, the government was telling them to kill,” he said. Habimana said it was hard in the beginning to be a neighbor with genocidaires — a term used in Rwanda for those who commit genocide — but he has since come to forgive them.

“It’s hard to see that they still have their families, but they also regret what they did,” he said.

Ledford said she thinks the

revision of history by “pseudo-academics” who tell the outside world that the genocide is a conspiracy theory is one of the struggles presenting problems for the victims of the genocide.

“When a survivor reads a blog that says what happened wasn’t really a genocide, obviously it would make you really upset,” she said.

Habimana said he thinks it is “shocking” that people would think the genocide really didn’t happen.

“There is nothing good in denying what happened because we were abandoned by everyone,” he said.

Habimana also said that the future of Rwanda is complicated.

“It is up to every Rwandan who loves Rwanda to make the future better,” he said.

Larrybrown@ dailynebraskan.com

morgan spiehs | daily nebraskan

Emmanuel Habimana gives Alex Svoboda a hug after his speech on his experiences surviving the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda in the Gaughan Multicultural Center on Friday. Habimana also showed a documentary he co-directed with Natalia Ledford about the genocide.

Student discovers nanny scam in DN classifieds tammy bain daily nebraskan

When sophomore hospitality, tourism and restaurant management major Sara Williams opened her copy of the Daily Nebraskan recently, she thought she had found an opportunity. What she found was a scam that could have potentially put her life in danger.

While searching job classifieds in the Daily Nebraskan to supplement her job at Misty’s, Williams came across one in search of a nanny. Jumping at the opportunity, Williams immediately emailed the contact named “Brenna,” she said in an email.

This person, Williams said, was supposedly on a business trip to Qatar, working for Venessia Petroleum. She asked Williams to be her assistant and take care of her things while she was away, then nanny for her when she returned home.

Williams said there was still no indication that this could be a scam. Then, “Brenna” asked Williams to send $1,900 to a person in the Philippines.

“I began to get very skeptical at that point,” Williams said.

So, she researched the name

“Brenna Buckstaff,” and found no indication that this person existed, nor did she find any indication that the person she was told to send money to in the Philippines existed. In the meantime, Williams was sent a check for $2,500 from “Brenna”. “(She) wanted me to keep $300 for myself, send $1,900 to the Philippines and she would tell me what to do with the remaining $650,” Williams said.

To make the situation even sketchier, Williams said the package was from a person named Laura Jameson from Philadelphia, the check was signed by a person named Jenny, “and nowhere on anything did Brenna’s name come up,” Williams said.

Contacted through email, Williams was told Brenna wanted to meet with her after arriving home from her trip, and Williams now says she is glad the arrangements never made it that far.

“I’m afraid it might have been a ploy to get me to meet with someone and I would have been in danger,” Williams said.

Williams took all of her information to the Lincoln Police Department. Officers said they would look into it and

immediately recognized the check Williams received as counterfeit, she said.

Lincoln Police Capt. David Beggs reviewed the incident report and explained how these scams can be identified.

“A lot of checks have things like safety marks or watermarks,” he said. “The report said (this check) did not seem to be printed on the right kind of paper.”

Beggs said that he reviews reports often, and this is the first scam he has ever come across from a local paper. However, with websites like eBay and Craigslist, these scams become increasingly common, he said.

A scammer is likely to send a counterfeit check to a person in hopes of the person sending money back, he said. The goal is for the person to send his or her legitimate money to the scammer before the check turns out to be counterfeit, he said. It can often take a long time to prove if a check is counterfeit, and the person being scammed will have often already sent money, he said.

It’s also common for scammers to have multiple addresses, email addresses or contact information, so it’s even harder

to find the frauds once the scam has taken place, Beggs said.

This can explain why “Brenna” was supposedly on a business trip in Qatar, wanted money sent to the Philippines, and had a check sent from Philadelphia.

Beggs said it is especially hard to find the fraud and prosecute when a fraud originates outside of the United States, such as the Philippines where Williams was told to send money.

“If it looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Breggs said.

He emphasized this especially when dealing with checks, especially when dealing with classifieds in newspapers and on websites including Craigslist and eBay. “If you get a check for something, even if it’s for the exact amount, make sure it’s legitimate,” he said, adding, “It’s a big red flag if someone sends you a check for more than the amount.”

Another person notified about the potential scam was Daily Nebraskan advertising manager, Nick Partsch.

A typical classified is either called or emailed to the advertising managers, and after the information is processed, the classified runs for however long

the customer would like to pay for it to run, Partsch said.

While classifieds don’t have an intricate screening process, Partsch said the advertising managers know what to look for in potential scams.

Classifieds will often not have a correct address, zip code or a contact name won’t match the name used in an email address, he said.

There have also been many classifieds in years past with cars for sale in other states that would require the caller to pay gas money to have it transported, and then never have a car arrive. Other scams have included free pets that were also out of state, that would inconveniently require postage money to be sent to ship them overnight, Partsch said. These kinds of scams are now recognizable to the advertisement managers and rarely even make the Daily Nebraskan, Partsch said.

However, Partsch said nanny classifieds are very common but this is the first scam he has ever come across.

The classified was taken down Sunday night, and had run since Nov. 17. The lifetime of a typical help-wanted ad lasts about three to four weeks,

Partsch said, and some ads will last an entire semester.

As for whether a scam customer receives their money back after having an ad pulled, Partsch said that while he doesn’t work with the business side of classifieds as much, scam classifieds almost always have credit cards that don’t work, or become impossible to contact when it comes time to be billed for their ad.

While Partsch has seen his fair share of classified scams and has been contacted about ones that have run, he said he’s never encountered a student who had lost anything due to a scam.

“It’s kind of up to the recipient if they’re dumb enough to follow through,” he said.

Beggs and Partsch both noted that Williams avoided loss because of her good judgement, and Williams herself said she learned her lesson.

“It opened my mind to actually knowing that scams like this really do exist,” Williams said. “I never thought I would potentially be a part of one, but I was.” tammybain@ dailynebraskan.com

Opinion DAILY NEBRASKAN

monday, december 5, 2011

dailynebraskan.com

DAILY NEBRASKAN

page 4

editorial board members ZACH SMITH

IAN SACKS editor-in-chief ANDREW MCCLURE

opinion editor

copy chief

RHIANNON ROOT

HAILEY KONNATH

assistant opinion editor

news assignment editor

our view

Students need to review policy for dead week

Dead week is finally here. Students’ last chance to enjoy some downtime before the stress of finals week.

But, beware. Many professors have littered the week with tests, papers and final assignments. Fortunately for you, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Academic Senate has a 15th Week Policy that provides some direction on what teachers can and can’t require of students during dead week.

From the policy: “Projects, papers, and speeches scheduled for completion during the last week (15th week) of classes must have been assigned in writing by the end of the eighth week ... Moreover, ALL requirements, except for the final exam, must be completed no later than Wednesday of the fifteenth week. However, if the instructor has assigned a project, paper, or speech by the eighth week to replace the final, then the project, paper, or speech may be completed any time in the 15th week of finals.”

The Daily Nebraskan reminds students to be aware of this policy and avoid hesitation in contacting a professor if there is a violation of this policy.

The policy continues that, if the professor is unable to resolve the complaint, the president of the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska can be contacted and asked to aid in the problem. If that step doesn’t work, the department chair can review the complaint, and if unresolved there, can be submitted to the college’s dean.

And in the event of a continued dispute, the student can appeal to the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

The DN encourages all students to review the policy, in full, online at http://www.unl.edu/regrec/grades/final_main.shtml.

opinion@dailynebraskan.com

editorial policy The editorial above contains the opinion of the fall 2011 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. It does 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 Gen-eds promote multi-faceted learning

An engineer who doesn’t know how to communicate. A musician who doesn’t understand psychological emotions and how they influence decision-making.

A pre-law student who doesn’t know how to write. A pre-med student who has never taken an ethical decision-making course.

Never mind general education courses though, right?

I’m writing in response to the editorial by Kaley Cook, “General education requirements hold students back.” Now, I wasn’t amazed at this article, as this is likely the thought process of many students. However, let’s analyze for a moment what general education actually means.

Education is more than just expertise in one subject area; it’s preparation to becoming a professional. In the most recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person had 11 different jobs between the ages of 18-44. Many of these aren’t in the same profession as his or her degree. So, what is the purpose of general education?

It isn’t taking a history course or a science course. Rather, it’s designed with multiple types of courses in mind. To give just one example, ACE 2 outcomes are to demonstrate communication competence. Does this need to be public speaking or a COMM course? No! It could be a visual art course, a leadership development course or a foreign language course.

The reality is that each major doesn’t have to complete 10 ACE outcomes additionally to their major to graduate. Take business for example. Built into their major are already courses that meet ACE 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10.

Realistically, the only “general education” courses that are being taken above what is required for the major are ACE 4, 5, 7, 9 (and 9 can be used for major requirements for international business).

Engineering majors have major requirements that meet ACE 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 (And for construction management 6 or 8). Again, only an additional four or five courses to obtain a major.

Businesses overwhelmingly are seeking those who have a liberal arts education. Carnevale & Strohl (2001) (as cited in Gaff, 2004) note that “Labor economists have determined that, for a knowledge-based economy where many people work on solving unscripted problems, a liberal education is excellent preparation for the best careers.” General education fulfills this need that will set you up for the future.

Embrace the ACE program and your general education experience. You don’t need to take a “math” course, but you do need to take a class that improves your analytical skills. The reality is many of the courses are already built into major requirements. Is taking all of these courses simply a waste of time? No! It’s a ticket to a successful future!

Tony Lazarowicz Ph.D., higher education administration

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. E-mail material to opinion@ dailynebraskan.com or mail to: Daily Nebraskan, 20 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE 68588-0448.

bob lausten | daily nebraskan

IPhone’s Siri clueless about women’s health

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op quiz! What can Siri, the iPhone 4S voice-activated personal assistant tool, help you find? A. Condoms B. Birth Control C. An abortion clinic. If you answered A, you’re correct! Siri can help you find many things related to men but few things related to women.

Is Apple really trying to prevent you from having an abortion or finding contraception? Although it may seem that way, it’s highly unlikely.

It’s strange that Siri can help you find condoms, where to hide a dead body and where you can get an escort, yet can’t help you find family health planning centers. Isn’t the average person more likely to need birth control than need to know where to hide a dead body? The evidence definitely is against Apple but what people fail to realize is that Siri is an application for a cellphone, and, contrary to popular belief, cellphones can’t do everything. We can find these things online or in the Yellow Pages, it’s not like it’s a secret.

The rumors began circulating after a couple bloggers in New York City claimed that Siri was unable to find any abortion clinics. The results would either come up blank or redirect them to anti-abortion organizations.

Since I have the iPhone 4S, I wanted to test it out. I first asked Siri, “Where can I get an abortion?” It replied with, “Sorry, I couldn’t find any abortion clinics.” I then asked it, “Where is an abortion clinic?” It replied, “I don’t see any abortion clinics. Sorry about that.”

Siri never directed me toward any antiabortion centers, but it’s the unhelpful

gabrielle lazaro responses that it gave that caused so much stir. Even large organizations such as American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws Pro-Choice America foundation released statements demanding an explanation from Apple.

Apple typically doesn’t comment on rumors but with this one receiving so much attention, spokesperson Natalie Kerris released a statement to The New York Times, saying, “Our customers want to use Siri to find out all types of information, and while it can find a lot, it doesn’t always find what you want.”

She also added, “These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. It simply means that as we bring Siri from beta to a final product, we find places where we can do better, and we will in the coming weeks.”

TV host Steven Colbert was able to poke fun at the allegations. On his show he said, “Siri is clearly an archconservative woman – she’s like Laura Ingraham, but less robotic.”

Of course Siri isn’t going to be able to find everything and do everything you want it to. It’s an application for a cellphone that’s made by humans.

Humans aren’t perfect, so nothing that’s

made by them will ever be perfect, either. Siri is also a very new product, so of course it’s going to have bugs that aren’t worked out yet. If you really take a look at what the accusation is, it’s a bit ridiculous. “My cell phone is trying to stop me from having an abortion.”

Obviously this type of accusation is farfetched. However, Siri is without a doubt lacking information when it comes to women. According to a Dec. 1 post from Feministe.com, Siri “is apparently unable to find anything related to women’s health.” In fact, it doesn’t even understand words such as “clitoris” or “cunnilingus.” But it does understand “blowjob” and “dick.” When telling Siri, “I want a blowjob,” it tells you it found x amount of escort services near you. Yet when telling Siri, “I want my clitoris licked,” it replies with “I don’t understand ‘clitoris.’”

Clearly, not enough women worked on this project.

Siri’s lack of female knowledge is annoying, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. As Kerris said, Siri is still in the testing stage, and with this much attention surrounding its flaws I’m sure it will be debugged in no time. At least, I hope so.

Using your cellphone to find things such as an abortion clinic probably shouldn’t be done in the first place.

Having an abortion or needing contraception are things that should be taken seriously and deserve research. Using Siri to locate these things isn’t giving the issue the attention it requires.

Gabrielle Lazaro is a News-Editorial major. You can reach her at gabriellelazaro@ dailynebraskan.com

Motion-capture actors deserve awards “

L

ord of the Rings” was one of the first movies (or rather, series) that captured my interest in filmmaking.

When the special extended editions came out, I would watch hours of the crew crafting armor and the cast learning Elvish. I was fascinated by not only the acting, writing and directing processes, but the special effects. The execution of Gollum was my favorite part to watch because of the complicated blend of motion capture, acting and character development. Andy Serkis was the lucky one slapped in the middle of it all and even luckier for him, he’s made motion capture acting his niche in the film industry.

Since “Lord of the Rings,” Serkis has played Kong in “King Kong,” and recently, he’s played Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and Captain Haddock in “The Adventures of Tintin.”

Now, Serkis and his representative are advocating that motion-capture acting should get more attention, namely through traditional award nominations.

“I never approach a live-action role any differently to a performance-capture role. The process of acting is absolutely identical,” Serkis said in an interview with the BBC. Should his performances this year be included among the “regular” acting roles? Ultimately, his roles shouldn’t because Serkis isn’t solely responsible.

Other actors have more control over their characters. Animation is the big difference here, even if Serkis’ approach is the same. Although his movements and expressions are used as the model, images are still being created over his.

He can’t deny that there’s interference between his acting and the audience.

When we see the actual films, we’re not seeing Serkis, we’re seeing Kong, Gollum or a

erica bartz chimpanzee. Part of the audience’s reaction to the characters is seeing the image of something that isn’t him or other motion-capture actors. Voice acting has a similar problem. While voice acting takes substantial acting skills, the images of the actor’s characters are also contributing to the performance.

However, to be fair, the contribution of actors like Serkis is more involved than those of voice actors. As he said to The Hollywood Reporter, he sees his “acting choices” when he watches his movies later. Since he maps out the actions and facial expressions for the character, which are drawn over later, he is the emotional core for the performance. Gollum’s wide range of memorable facial expressions wouldn’t have been possible without Serkis’s original interpretation.

Realism, especially in digital animation, is always enhanced by watching and imitating the actual movements. In fact, even in traditional animation, copying actors’ movements has been common practice. In many Disney favorites, such as “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty,” animators used live models or observed the movements of the voice actors, as a basis for their work.

Of course, this brings up another issue of whether motion-capture animation can truly be called animation. Many animators, such as Mark Mayerson, consider motion capture a

“post-production technique” and say it “marginalizes” them even further.

Understandably, they feel their artistry (and jobs) are being undermined by the hiring of actors to map out everything.

They consider true animation to be part of production, and even acting in some ways. Motion capture not only eliminates their role in production, but also shifts attention from the animators to the actors.

Essentially, it seems that the debate comes down to where the credit for motion capture should be allocated. Everyone wants to be given their dues, especially when awards are at stake. Ideally, an award for a motion-capture character would be given to both the actor and the animators who created the character on screen. Separating the contribution of both sides is almost impossible. But the problem with that is not many awards are given to groups of people. The whole idea of giving awards is to give attention to individual contributions. Otherwise, a couple of people will be given all of the credit for a collaborative creation.

While I know Serkis would definitely disagree, the only practical solution is to give motion capture its own category or categories. If his performance were nominated along with traditional performances, that would be unfair to the animators.

The whole sphere of a motioncapture character isn’t just the result of the actor’s rendition. Much like other aspects of filmmaking, its creation and execution is a collaborative experience.

Acknowledging the talent of that creation can only be done by giving more specific awards to the actor and the animators. Movies aren’t solo efforts.

The cast and crew, from the director to the caterers, should get credit.

Erica Bartz is a senior film studies major. Reach her at ericabartz@ dailynebraskan.com

DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM

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DAILY NEBRASKAN

ART LITERATURE

THE

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2011

PAGE 5

FINAL

WORD ART BY BLAIR ENGLUND

COLUMNIST CHANCE SOLEMPFEIFER WEIGHS IN ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM ANOTHER WELL-READ SEMESTER NO COLUMN FOR OLD BOOKS

CHANCE SOLEM-PFEIFER Not everything means something else.

Some things just are.

A wise person (wiser than me at least) once told me that – sage advice as much as it was scolding. And though I can unsurface no recollection of whether or not she came up with the words, the quip has stuck to me like a barnacle of realism on a person that might otherwise compare himself to a ship because he has a hard time saying what he means.

This is, as you might have guess, the semester’s final installment of “No Column for Old Books” and as this is the case I’ll indulge in a kind of retrospective (as will our other talented columnists this week, so stay tuned). With my friend’s advice in mind, I cross my heart not to pretend the experience of writing a weekly book column this semester was any more or less meaningful than it was. We’re going straightforward.

Here are five things I learned: 1. Don’t write the columns when you’re sick. I tried it once and, my word, what a jejune decision. In my case, health impairment (a high fever left me confined to the couch, tormented by the undulating volume of the Jets-Patriots game) didn’t hinder my verbosity, but defeated coherence: An undesirable combination to say the least. A&E Editor Noah Ballard claimed the column read like a high-minded drunk rattling off inside jokes for the amusement of old friends. It’s not that personal jokes and old chums aren’t fun, but lesson learned.

Friendly advice: the next time you’re halfdead on the couch, let the sweet sounds of Mark Sanchez pretending to know how football is played wash over you and just tap out.

2. No matter what any of us say, some people do read these things and occasionally even the subjects of my rambling. Writers and publicists have contacted me to voice their approval or lack thereof regarding my take on their novels. From “Thank you, you really got it” to “I’d sue you for libel if I didn’t pity you so,” the feedback has been varied to say the least. At the end of the day, I don’t claim to mean anything to these writers, who (it’s worth saying) are capable of writing that I could never produce. And yet hearing their voices and

reading their angry emails is what makes me feel like I’m not giving a speech to an empty room (this is the obligatory “I want to hear from you” public service announcement). From the debut novelist who insisted I read her book the wrong way to the man who killed Chewbacca due to contract obligation and told me he’s lived to regret it, these voices are what make the job real (you know what I mean).

3. Listening to an audiobook is totally worth the initial feeling that you’ve given up on being an adult reader. I gave it a go with Justin Torres’ “We the Animals” on a late-night drive from Omaha to Lincoln. And while it was a nice distraction from the “stay in your lane” nonsense that mars the Interstate 80 route, the sound experience of fiction was something I hadn’t been exposed to before. The dialogue is, all of a sudden, starkly real or (inversely) very artificial. There’s nowhere to hide in the audible experience. The same goes for the first-person narrator. He either comes to love or fades into the garbage heap of surplus tools that writers misuse. There’s no reason for a permanent switch to audiobooks, but give it a go. Hopefully you’ll find a narrator who doesn’t ruin it for you.

I hadn’t lived until I sat through Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House in the Big Woods” as read by Shaquille O’Neal. God, I wish that was real.

4. There’s nothing wrong with throwing a change-up. Jamie Moyer knows what’s up. Devotees to “No Column for Old Books” (that’s not a thing and you know it, Chance) may have noticed that this semester I reviewed fewer individual works.

Because I didn’t feel like burning through a book every Saturday night? Maybe.

But really, I just feel like you and I can relate more easily when I touch on literary themes or certain trends, rather than laud over or crucify a specific book. You’ve likely never read that specific novel and may not have the time or interest to do so. I can respect that. I know that “Dark Knight Rises” drops in like 230 days. Who will count down if not you? So I broadened the scope of what we can chat about.

I think it worked all right. I’m just being the hero that contemporary fiction fans deserve – not the one they need right now.

The one they need would probably be better read.

5. This is, as I’ve long felt, still worth doing. The argument of book column

SOLEM-PFEIFER: SEE PAGE 6

6

monday, december 5, 2011

Daily Nebraskan

Fiction writer Taylor toys One book, many movies: with familiarity, distance another sign of the times chance solem-pfeifer

TOM HELBERG

daily nebraskan

Justin Taylor is one of those young writers who’s managed with his dry and somehow simultaneously earnest voice to be considered “hip.” But with his back-breaking, palpable settings and characters, we’d be more likely to glimpse in our own bathroom mirrors than in popular fiction, he’s also managed to be considered “good.”

Taylor’s debut novel, “The Gospel of Anarchy,” was released earlier this year to great critical acclaim and it experienced the prestige of the New York Times Editor’s Choice list. The novel came on the heels of Taylor’s notable collection of short stories, “Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever.” With his penchant for wayward characters bouncing off the sometimes unforgiving walls of their settings, Taylor has become a favorite in recent years for lovers of rich fiction wrought with imperfect human beings.

The Daily Nebraskan caught up with Taylor to discuss his writing habits and retrospective feelings for his own stories.

Daily Nebraskan: I’ve always sort of thought of your characters as being profoundly impacted by your settings, but I’m curious how you conceptualize the relationship. Is it symbiotic? Are they symbiotic at conception or is their intertwining a gradual process?

Justin Taylor: I agree with you completely. When I was putting my story collection together, I thought of it very much as a book about place.

“The Gospel of Anarchy” is as much “about” Gainesville, Fla., as it is “about” anything else. I’m fascinated by the ways people interact with and/or think about the places they live or used to live, or are visiting. The house in “Gospel” is a house I really lived in and several of the houses in “Everything Here” are the homes of childhood friends of mine. Whether it’s a floor plan or a neighborhood or a whole city, I like to set invented people loose in places I know well. It keeps the work charged with the personal, but without forcing me into straight confessional writing.

DN: In both “Everything” and “Gospel” the weight of the Florida settings came through rather palpably, presumably because you’re so familiar with it. In the course of getting to know a place, like Brooklyn or Hong Kong, do you stow away specific setting details for future use or is it more of an immersion process and you dig for the details when you sit down to write?

JT: Certain places, Florida, for example, I know pretty much by heart, though I did supplemental research on Gainesville when I was writing “Gospel,” including a trip back down there to visit and photograph the Devil’s Millhopper. Other places where I’ve spent less time I know less about, but writing those places can be a way of getting to know them.

Sometimes it’s a mix. There’s also something to be said for distance (in space, time and emotion) because it gives you critical perspective. You get far enough away from the thing to see it whole. I wrote big chunks of “Gospel” while in Hong Kong, but couldn’t figure out how to write about Hong Kong itself. After four years of visiting and maybe 10,000 junk words of attempted fictions, I’ve managed to produce a few nonfiction pieces and exactly one short story which is partially set there.

But now that the cousins I was going to Hong Kong to visit have moved to Singapore, I’m probably not going back there anytime soon, so can hopefully begin to think of my experience there as something

chopping up the books

DAILY NEBRASKAN

courtesy photo

finite and complete.

DN: This may be a cheap way to ask a question, but I wanted to run a quote by you from the late Gerry Shapiro (a fiction writer and professor at UNL).

“I think we find our humanity most profoundly in our moments of failure ... I hope my characters are interesting failures, because I think that’s the best that most of us can hope for.”

I’ve read some of your characters described as everything from “aimless” to “unfulfilled” to “desperate.”

Can you relate to Shapiro’s idea at all in your crafting of characters?

JT: I can definitely relate to the idea as an idea – I agree with the first part of the quote entirely. The second part, too, I suppose, but with less enthusiasm.

In his song “We Are Real” David Berman asks, “Is the problem that we can’t see or is it that the problem is beautiful to me?” That’s maybe the way I’d prefer to put it: I can’t resist the beauty of a great problem.

DN: In my feeling, at least, David would have fit right in with some of the characters in “Everything Here Is The Best Thing Ever.” Did “Gospel of Anarchy” start in a similar place as some of those short stories?

JT: Yes and no. “Gospel” has its roots in the two “anarchist stories” (“Estrellas y Rascacielos” and “Go Down Swinging”) in the collection, but after I wrote them I felt that I hadn’t gone deep enough into that world. The two stories are very barebones and they are essentially satirical: a kind of insider’s critique of a certain type of lifestyle radicalism.

The novel tries to put flesh on the bones of that world, give it a functioning nervous system and a beating heart and to imagine it in the terms that imagines itself. It is emphatically not a satire, though the insider-critique returns in a modified form in the character of Thomas.

Relentless self-critique really is a part of anarchist culture.

Just as the most pious Christians put the greatest emphasis on sin, the hardestcore anarchists will always be the ones most cognizant of how they could be better anarchists.

DN: I typically pose this question to any first-time novelists I speak with: What’s one part of the novel-writing process that you couldn’t have or didn’t predict when you started out?

JT: I don’t know if this answers the question, but after working on the novel part time for years, while also writing stories and doing reviews and that kind of thing, for the last year or so I put all other fiction aside and focused solely on it. I only read poetry and texts relevant to the characters (Kierkegaard, Crimethinc, etc.). I basically let the novel take over my brain, so even when I wasn’t actively working on it I was still dwelling in it. I don’t remember how I came to feel that this was necessary, but it was a wonderful experience. I’ll probably do it again when I want to start the next novel.

DN: Of the stories in “Everything,” is there one or two that still resonate with you a great deal? Have you found that pieces of writing, like songs for musicians, fall in and out of favor you, as their creator?

JT: To do your best

at something necessarily means to hit your own limits of imagination, talent and executive skill.

Looking back at old work, you remember that feeling of doing your best, but you also remember wanting to do even better and not being able to. Luckily, the general reader usually doesn’t give a damn about comparative success and can regard each piece on its own terms. That said, my favorite stories in the book are probably “The New Life” and “Jewels Flashing in the Night of Time,” which hasn’t changed since the book came out. I still love “What Was Once All Yours,” but it’s not quite as tight as I thought it was.

DN: I think your secular upbringing is pretty welldocumented and often addressed by you in interviews, so I’m curious then how in your early writing religious themes started to appear. Was there any apprehension on your part?

JT: As a young reader and writer, I was often drawn toward stories with some supernatural element, which meant a lot of genrehorror and some classical mythology. I liked ghosts, vampires and ancient Gods better than, say, spaceships, aliens and lasers. I’m tempted to read a pre- or proto-religious inclination into those preferences, but I might just be retro-projecting or something. I remember going to my half-Torah lessons with the cantor at my temple and thinking, “OK, now he’s finally going to lay it all out for me,” and then being so disappointed when it became clear my job was just to memorize the Hebrew by ear. We didn’t talk about God or theology once ever.

It was awful. Anyway, I don’t think I ever felt apprehensive about exploring “religious themes” or questions of faith in my fiction, but I did struggle to find the language to articulate my interest. I didn’t understand how to speak about religion/faith in earnest, as something with self-evident merit and of such complexity as to merit in-depth exploration.

DN: I had a friend comment that your writing, while excellent, made him antsy and uncomfortable (I believe it was David’s outlook and life decisions that troubled him specifically).

Are you the type of writer who conceives of a reader and his/her potential responses? Is the provocation of an emotional response from a reader a success in your thinking?

JT: David starts out “Gospel” living one kind of “wrong” way and over the course of trying to right his life winds up somewhere else as or more wrong. I thought that trajectory was worth exploring in as truthful a way as I could. I want the reader to be able to empathize with him and understand where he’s coming from, even when he’s thinking something the reader might never think, doing something the reader might never do. A sense of empathy with a character whose actions and psychology one finds totally alien or abhorrent will always come as a shock: It’s a sign that the distance between the reader and the character is perhaps less wide than the reader would prefer. So yes, discomfort is a totally valid response. chancesolem-pfeifer@ dailynebraskan.com

When it comes to literature, can there be too much of a good thing?

Hollywood film studios are putting the old adage to the test. An increasing number of book-to-film adaptations are being broken into multiple parts, a recent trend in blockbuster filmmaking.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was one novel, but it was released as two separate films, the second half of which was released on Blu-ray and DVD in November.

Following the trend, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” hit the big screen on Nov. 18 and the second half is slated for a November 2012 release.

This pattern, according to Wheeler Winston Dixon, a film studies professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is predictably a matter of dollars and cents.

“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins will reportedly be split into four movies. Lionsgate, the film studio behind the project, has not announced if the final book that will be split into two films. The first film will be released March 23, 2012.

“The idea is not to make a movie, but to make a series of movies,” Dixon said. “Each producer hopes their movie becomes a franchise.”

And in Dixon’s mind, selling a film is easier if audiences are already familiar with the concepts, citing the popular “James Bond” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises.

But not all view this recent trend as a blatant cash grab by movie studios.

“It’s a good way to make sure everything that needs to be there is in the movie,” said John Jackson, a junior secondary education major at UNL. A reader of the Harry Potter series, Jackson believes that the lengthy books were better suited to be broken up into multiple films.

As film budgets rise, movie studios need their franchises to take in huge returns to recoup a profit. The two upcoming “Hobbit” films, directed by Peter Jackson, will stem from the single book by J.R.R. Tolkien. MTV Movies reported that the combined cost for the two Hobbit films will be more than $500 million, making it the most expensive film production of all time (figures not adjusted for inflation).

Legal fees around a dispute with the Tolkien estate, increased salaries for the cast and a bevy of visual effects have increased production costs.

Director Guillermo del Toro entered and exited the project and Jackson, who helmed the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, finally agreed to direct.

“The Hobbit” has been envisioned as two parts since 2006, but the content of the films has changed along with development. Originally MGM planned for the second film to be a “bridge” to take place between “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Now the story of both films will just be taken from one book, “The Hobbit.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (July 2011) Though it shared its $250 million dollar budget with Part 1, David Yates’ 2011 Potter film rode its “The End” selling point to a $400 million dollar international grossing advantage over its predecessor.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (November 2011) The first film installment of Stephanie Meyer’s fourth “Twilight” novel went for $511,000,702 with moviegoers in the United States and abroad.

The Hunger Games (March 2012) “We’ve got something really special here,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy in a Bloomberg interview. “We would be disappointed if we didn’t make three or four movies.”

The Hobbit Part 1 (December 2012) “The story ... encompasses more than one film,” said the films’ former director, Guillermo del Toro. “That’s why we are thinking of the two installments as parts of a single narrative.” The total budget for the duology (now under the direction of Peter Jackson) is $500 million.

In the interim, MGM went bankrupt and the “The Hobbit” stalled in development no man’s land until MGM reemerged in 2010.

Whether the trend of splitting books into multiple films will continue is likely dependent on how well such films do at the box office. Lionsgate will closely watch “The Hunger

Games” to see if making four films would be most profitable.

For the time being, however, it appears studios will continue to make franchises that audiences already know.

“People want something familiar, but only slightly different,” Dixon said. tom helberg@ dailynebraskan.com

solem-pfeifer: from 5 detractors is always the same.

Nobody reads, so nobody cares.

Yes, in some ways I’ve always had a hard time refuting that particular claim. I look around and people like to watch movies, TV and sports.

They like to shop and drink and play video games. I get it.

I’m the same way. At the end of an exhausting day, I would much rather watch “How I Met Your Mother” reruns than try and break down the convoluted plot lines of Kate Atkinson’s latest novel. I like taking the easy way out, too, man. Anyone with ambitions knows what it’s like to piss away a weekend recovering from the strenuous weekly pursuit of those ambitions.

But you know what? Mercifully, not every moment is the end of an exhausting day. In fact, once every 24 hours it’s a brand new day (Breaking

Dawn, if you will. I won’t).

You’ve got those 25 minutes in between class on Tuesdays when all of this feels bearable after the first cup of coffee.

That’s the time when you could knock out 10 pages from that book I once recommended and your mom coincidentally bought you for your birthday (your mom is wonderful). That’s the time when you could learn something about yourself and the way you look at the world.

And after those 10 pages, go ahead. Scamper off to class, run around like you’ll never get old and watch Netflix until the guilt makes you sleepy.

But a week later, pull that paperback with the now-mangled cover out of the catch-all middle pocket of your backpack (with the gum wrappers and orphan sock from your fall break roadtrip). Read 10

more pages. One day you’ll finish the book and though I’ll never know the difference, you can tell your mom her gift was worth it and that you even enjoyed it a little.

And you’ve got that one line you like about the way love is.

And when you don’t remember anything about “How I Met Your Mother” other than Ted should’ve shut the hell up and Will Forte should’ve been featured more, you’ll roll around that line like a smooth stone in your hand and feel good about yourself.

I have many illusions, my friends.

The vast and universal importance of my column is not one of them. Take from it what you will and recycle the paper when you’re done. chance solem-pfeifer is a junior english major. reach him at chancesolempfeifer@ dailynebraskan.com.

Daily Nebraskan

monday, december 5, 2011

Lincoln readers pick ‘Cutting for Stone’ as 2011 favorite Shelby fleig

understanding of a different culture and the history of Ethiopia,” said Kathryn Kelley, the One Book – One Lincoln coordinator.

Verghese, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, includes the topic of health care throughout his book.

Kelley said the book explains the dynamics between patients and surgeons with a “fascinating” backdrop.

“The topic of medicine is important right now,” she said.

“There is a need for medical care and this book opens your eyes to that.”

Although One Book – One Lincoln is sponsored by Lincoln City Libraries, local bookstores

daily nebraskan

Lincoln’s readers have spoken.

This year’s One Book – One Lincoln winner is “Cutting for Stone” by Abraham Verghese, a New York Times best seller.

Among the three finalists, “Cutting for Stone” received the most votes from the public.

One Book – One Lincoln winners are most often chosen for their discussion value – and “Cutting for Stone” is no different, featuring relatable themes like family, betrayal, health care and acceptance.

Verghese’s novel centers on orphaned twin brothers growing up in Ethiopia during a revolution.

“Readers can gain an

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Washer/Dryer in Unit. Utilities run for about $40 a month. Call/Text Drew at 4022702092 or email at andrew.ramos@huskers.unl.edu

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One Roommate needed to share 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment right by East Campus (33rd and Holdrege) and very close to City Campus.

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FIFTEENTH (15th*) WEEK POLICY [*the 15th week refers to the last week of classes before finals week]

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Projects, papers, and speeches scheduled for completion during the last week of classes must have been assigned in writing by the end of the eighth week and must be completed no later then Wednesday of the 15th week. This refers to the project and its scope, but not the topic. Furthermore, ALL requirements, except for the final exam, must also be completed no later than Wednesday of the fifteenth week. If the instructor is replacing the final exam with either a project, paper, or speech, the due date can be any time during the 15th week or during finals week (providing that the assignment has been given by the eighth week. The exception to this is a class meeting one day a week on a Thursday or Friday for which all policies/requirements are shifted to either a Thursday or Friday, respectively. The Fifteenth Week policy does not apply to classes offered by the College of Law. If there is a violation a complaint can be filed at the ASUN office, 136 Nebr. Union or call 472-2581

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much to gain by paging through “Cutting for Stone,” Dokken said.

“Throughout the novel, we see how things are broken,” Dokken said. “We also see how they are mended through a surgeon’s talent or with the human power to heal with kindness. What form of treatment is administered by ear?

Words of comfort.”

As part of One Book – One Lincoln, Lincoln medical professionals will share their mission trip experiences on Sunday, Dec. 11. The panel will run from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Bennett Martin Public Library, 136 S. 14th St.

$9.00/15 words $5/15 words (students) $1.00/line headline $0.15 each additional word Deadline: 4 p.m., weekday prior

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Looking for two roommates to live in 4-person home in a nice neighborhood. Washer, dryer, and dishwasher included. Extremely reasonable rent at $280 plus utilities. Fenced-in backyard, five minute drive from campus. Please e-mail Gary at gshuda_22@hotmail.com or call at (308) 379-6537. Available second semester.

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to a discussion.

“It’s a great thing for all of us to be reading,” Kelley said.

“We need to engage with others and not stay in a vacuum.”

While Dokken admits she doesn’t always agree with the winner each year, she said “Cutting for Stone” is worth reading.

“It opened my eyes to that part of the world in the way that ‘The Kite Runner’ opened my eyes to Afghanistan,” she said.

While hundreds of readers have already voted for the winner, everybody still has time to read the book during the holidays in time for community discussions.

Ultimately, readers have

phone: (402) 472-2589 Fax: (402) 472-1761

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nice group of a variety of people who are interesting, smart and socially conscious.”

Dokken is eager to continue participating in One Book – One Lincoln after serving on the selection committee for two years.

“I absolutely love this program,” she said.

For Lincoln readers, One Book – One Lincoln creates a sense of community. By reading and discussing the same book, people have something to talk about at the water cooler or in the checkout line. The program is ultimately “a guide to fantastic reading,” Dokken said.

Kelley said participation is simple: read the book and get

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play a large role in promoting the program.

Kelley said bookstores have been great supporters of the program. She wants as many people as possible to read the book and discuss it with others. Lincoln’s bookstores are a great place to do just that.

A Novel Idea, a bookstore in downtown Lincoln, will host a book discussion of “Cutting for Stone” on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m.

Store owner Cinnamon Dokken encourages anybody to come to the discussion, whether they have read the book at this point or not.

“Discussions are fun, laid back and unpretentious,” Dokken said. “We usually get a

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Daily Nebraskan

Daily Nebraskan

monday, december 5, 2011

Technicals hurt Huskers in loss to CU

9

Robby Korth daily nebraskan

With 9:13 left in the second half and the Nebraska basketball team trailing Creighton 46-45, Toney McCray, Christopher Niemann and CU’s Grant Gibbs fought for a rebound on the Bluejays’ end.

A scuffle ensued; Niemann was given a personal foul and McCray exited the scrum with a technical foul for a hand gesture, McCray said.

NU coach Doc Sadler didn’t like the call.

The sixth-year coach of the Huskers went over to the scorer’s table to give the referees a piece of his mind. While Sadler was in the official’s ears he decided to take a seat on the table and he too was given a technical foul.

“I’ve gotta apologize to our team,” Sadler said. “That loss is strictly on (me).”

Creighton’s Doug McDermott turned around and hit three of the four technical foul shots and Gibbs hit his two shots for the personal fouls.

And Creighton never looked back, as the Jays beat the Huskers 76-66 Sunday night at the Century Link Center in Omaha.

“That series of technicals was big for us,” Bo Spencer said. “We never recovered from right there.”

“As a team we was glad to see Doc fighting out there for us and knowing that he still has our back,” Spencer added. “That’s his job.”

The Bluejays were able to communicate well on the floor, as the squad managed 15 assists while the Huskers only had nine.

“They’re playing with

ANna Reed | daily nebraskan

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler argues with officials Sunday at the Century Link Center in Omaha. NU lost 76-66. hype,” Spencer said. “They’re 10-for-16 from the field and Nebraska coming in with the playing with talent, they can had a game-high 29 points for right mindset, McCray said.

“We was definitely confishoot it extremely well and the Huskers.

“I thought Bo played within dent coming in here,” he said. they have good chemistry and they share the ball really well.” himself really well tonight,” “We prepared well and we folDoug McDermott led the Sadler said. “He took what they lowed the gameplan.”

However, the Huskers aren’t Bluejays in scoring and re- gave him and set up the team happy with the final result, bounding with 24 points and well.”

But the 29 points wasn’t but they are looking forward 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double this Spencer’s only contribution. to moving on for a Wednesseason, he’s the first CU player The point guard also managed day night game against Florida to accomplish that since 1994. three steals and five defensive Gulf Coast in the Bob Devaney Center.

But McDermott’s perfor- rebounds for the Huskers.

“You look at the points, you “We’re definitely angry,” mance and CU’s 51 percent field-goal percentage wasn’t a can tell he played well on of- McCray said. “We felt like we fense,” Sadler said. “But I felt should have won this game. surprise for Sadler.

“Not much different than his overall performance was They’re a good team but so are we. We’re down right we expected coming into the much better.”

Spencer managed 12 of now, but tomorrow is a new game,” Sadler said. “Creighton’s got a great basketball NU’s 29 points in the first day and we need to move on half while the Huskers held and get ready for our next team.”

However, Spencer was Creighton to 32, its lowest game.” robbyKorth@ able to do his part in NU’s total of the season in a half. dailyNebraskan.com And that was a result of effort. The point guard was

SEC’s Gamecocks to meet NU in bowl Jeff Packer As finals week approaches, the Nebraska football team still has a grade of its own to grab, and now it at least knows who it has to play to get it.

All the excitement of Sunday evening was sapped up by the announcement of the BCS national title game. There was very little drama to be had by the Capital One Bowl’s notice of a South Carolina GamecocksHuskers matchup.

No, this may not be the Jan. 9 flashy rematch of two SEC powerhouses, but the “best conference in football” will be represented, and Nebraska will get a crack at its fourth-best team. Sounds like something to take advantage of, or at least a measuring stick. The Gamecocks are among the cream of the crop at this level and everyone will get another idea about this Husker squad.

There is still a funny taste in the collective mouth of Husker Nation. They’re not sure what they think about this season. It wasn’t a clear setback, but there wasn’t apparent progress either. The win against Iowa was

a fitting response to adversity, but it only bought time before everyone handed in a final assessment.

Who better to get graded against than South Carolina?

The Gamecocks are 10-2 in 2011, with their only losses coming to Auburn and Arkansas. They navigated a schedule that lacked Alabama and LSU, but did so with big wins against Georgia, Florida, and Clemson.

On a Capital One conference call, NU coach Bo Pelini pointed out that a record like that in SEC play isn’t easy.

Perhaps more than that, the Huskers have a bowl game against Steve Spurrier, which is always a chance to prove one’s self.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” Pelini said. “We thought we had a good year and I think the Capital One Bowl recognizes us for that.”

Pelini admitted that he had a limited knowledge of the Gamecocks, but he mentioned injuries as being a problem for South Carolina. The Gamecocks have lost players at every level on each side of the ball.

Running back Marcus Lattimore tore a ligament in his knee early in the season and backup Shon Carson blew his ACL two carries into the year.

Add in that they dismissed problem-prone quarterback Stephen Garcia and you’re looking

Patrick Breen | daily nebraskan

Bo Pelini and the Huskers will go for their 10th win of the season on Jan. 2 against South Carolina in Orlando. at an offense that has changed down South are.

“People act like the only drastically since the beginning place people can run is in the of the year.

In some ways, these two Southeastern Conference,” Peliteams are a lot alike in that they ni said. “I’m sure South Carolina began 2011 with wide-eyed is a fast football team and I’m dreams that became derailed. sure they have some speed, but South Carolina saw a second- we have guys that can run, too.”

It’s that kind of attitude the straight conference title disappear when Georgia showed Huskers will need going into up with, gasp, a good football an extended bit of preparation team. Nebraska wasn’t ready time. In their own beach-filled for the parity offered up in the corner of the world that is OrBig Ten. The Huskers may not lando, Nebraska can prove that be the only team without an they are still capable of showencompassing grade on their ing up against the big teams.

That’s the obstacle that stands report card.

The usual questions about between them and a middle-ofSEC speed and dominance will the-year “A” or “C”. jeff packer is a senior prevail in the coming weeks.

Broadcasting major. Reach Nebraska fans will tire of hearhim at Jeffpacker@ ing about how good the folks dailynebraskan.com

Wrestling finishes 4th in Las Vegas Faiz Siddiqui daily Nebraskan

What happened in Las Vegas this weekend is apparently following the Huskers right back to Lincoln.

The Nebraska wrestling team faced off against a number of Big Ten opponents and familiar foes at the Cliff Keen Invitational Saturday, where a total of six Huskers found themselves standing proudly at the awards podium. Placing fourth overall behind Ohio State, Michigan and Dec. 10 home-opener opponent Wyoming, NU left the Las Vegas Convention Center Saturday pleased with a worthy showing, having competed against nationally ranked opponents.

“You’re always looking to place and finish at the top,” said redshirt freshman Robert Kokesh. “I think the coaches are pleased with how we did.

Overall, I think we wrestled pretty well.”

Kokesh (165 pounds) avenged an earlier loss to No. 12 Stephen Burak of Colorado to capture third place. Despite Burak’s pin of Kokesh in the last five seconds of their first match, the NU redshirt freshman was able to respond with four straight victories, including two by pin in his remaining matches. Kokesh recorded a total of four pins to go along with a major decision, amassing the most pins of any wrestler at the tournament in the shortest amount of time.

Freshmen James Green (141), Kokesh, junior Josh Ihnen (184) and senior Tucker Lane (Hwt) all won consolation finals matches on Saturday to capture third-place finishes. Following them in the standings was freshman Jake Sueflohn (141), who finished in fourth place and junior Ridge Kiley (133) who finished in sixth. Despite failing to place at the Vegas Invitational in the 165-pound weight class, junior Tyler Koehn remained

optimistic about his performance and prospects for future showings. Koehn is new to the 165-pound class this season, moving up from 157 pounds.

“It was very disappointing not placing, but tomorrow we’ll go in and see what I need to correct, and I’ll be ready by the next big tournament,” he said.

“I don’t think the change affected me that much.”

The Huskers entered the tournament as no stranger to eventual third-place finisher Wyoming, who the team had battled weeks before at an open-mat-style tournament in Kearney, Neb. Having faced the Cowboys, and faring slightly worse than them Saturday, Kokesh and Koehn look to gain redemption on Dec. 10.

They’ve watched the Wyoming matchup evolve into a smallscale rivalry. Eagerly anticipating the home opener, the two will certainly bear the teams’ past meetings in mind.

“Wyoming’s a tough team;

they’ve got a lot of good kids,” Kokesh said. “It’s definitely a rivalry match for me and as a team going into Saturday.”

Kokesh has no shortage of confidence in his own abilities as well as those of his team. For him, performing well is simply a matter of execution.

“We’re in great shape from what I see,” he said. “I think we were the best shaped team that was in Vegas, but there are always things you can work on as a team.”

The team will return to the mats Monday in hopes of making the necessary adjustments to fend off the worthy adversary they met Saturday in Las Vegas.

“We’ll correct all the mistakes we had this weekend and at the same time we’ll work on this week’s preparation, too,” Koehn said. “The whole team is excited. We’ve got our first big dual of the year and we want to show (Wyoming) that we’re better than them.” faizsiddiqui@ dailynebraskan.com

Andrew Dickinson | daily nebraskan

Nebraska guard Lindsey Moore fights for a loose ball Sunday at the Devaney Center.

Defense carries Nebraska in win against UTPA Andrew WArd daily NEbraskan

As the temperatures dropped outside, so did the shooting percentages inside the Bob Devaney Center Sunday afternoon.

Both Nebraska and TexasPan American shot less than 40 percent in a 65-27 Husker victory.

“Execution on offense wasn’t good and we just didn’t make shots,” coach Connie Yori said. “We are going to have to play a lot better in our game on Thursday.”

It was the third straight game in which the Huskers failed to shoot above 40 percent, as they shot 38.3 percent.

It did not help that two starters went without scoring as well, Yori said. Freshmen Hailie Sample and Emily Cady both were held off the scoreboard.

“We can’t have two starters go without scoring,” Yori said.

The poor offense can be attributed to a lack of care for the basketball, according to freshman Katie Simon. Nebraska finished the game with 21 turnovers.

Simon said the Huskers can only blame their lack of focus for those turnovers.

“Turnovers are always frustrating,” Simon said. “We just have to stay composed and not get flustered like we have the last couple games.”

Luckily for Nebraska, the turnovers did not make a difference in Sunday’s game because it nearly doubled its opponent’s shooting percentage.

UTPA shot just 19.6 percent from the field and only made four field goals in the second half.

The 27 points surrendered

by Nebraska are the fewest given up by the Huskers since 1975. Yori credited her team for its defense despite a sloppy game overall.

“Anytime you only give up 27 points, you know you are playing good defensively,” Yori said. “In the second half, we took a step forward in defending what they were trying to do on offense.”

A bright spot offensively for Nebraska was the reemergence of leading scorer Jordan Hooper in the first half. Hooper had struggled during Nebraska’s nine-day, three-game

road trip on the offensive end.

The sophomore scored all 16 of her points in the first half, outscoring the entire UTPA team in that half. Hooper also added five rebounds and two blocks.

“I was finally feeling it in the first half today,” Hooper said. “It’s not that I didn’t feel good on the road trip, but it’s just a different feeling.”

Junior Lindsey Moore, despite having an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers, followed Hooper in points with 12, and she also added five rebounds and two assists.

After struggling to rebound in its loss to Georgia Tech, Nebraska came out strong on the boards Sunday, outrebounding the Broncs by 15. It was a combined effort for NU, as each player that played recorded at least three boards. led by freshman Emily Cady with seven.

Senior Kaitlyn Burke had a strong game for the Huskers despite only scoring two points. The senior led the team in assists with four and also added two steals as she hounded the ball handlers for UTPA. Reserve guard Tear’a Laudermill did not play Sunday due to injury. The freshman has averaged the most minutes of any other player off the bench with about 20 a game.

“Not having T (Laudermill) on the floor hurts because she runs the offense when Lindsey is not on the floor,” Yori said. “It made us a little out of sync at times because we had some different combinations of players out there some times.”

Despite being without one of its main players off the bench, the rest of the NU reserves picked up the slack, outscoring the Broncs 35-6 off the bench.

Freshman Brandi Jeffrey played 27 minutes during the game and scored 10 points while adding a team-high three steals. Simon recorded nine points in limited action to lead the way off the pine for the Huskers.

“Some players got some experience today but we still have to get better at what we are trying to do,” Yori said.

Andrewward@ dailynebraskan.com

volleyball: from 10 K-State’s first win in five sets on the season. The Wildcats are 8-1 in five-set games in 2011, so in the end the victory wasn’t a surprise for the team, which doesn’t feature any seniors.

“We thought we could play with them honestly, and we tried to instill that in our team,” Fritz said.

“Our team carried through.”

Next on the Wildcats’ agenda is Pepperdine on Friday in Honolulu.

And the young squad is

ready for the contest, Fritz said. She’s pleased with how her team has played down the stretch.

“We’re playing well at the right time, and I like the confidence our team has,” she said. “We have tremendous team chemistry, we have 15 kids committed to the success of this team and I think it’s rare, I think it’s unusual and I think it’s special.”

RobbyKorth@ dailynebraskan.com

Sports DAILY NEBRASKAN

page 10

dailynebraskan.com

monday, december 5, 2011

Kansas State Defeats Nebraska, 25-22, 22-25, 31-29, 22-25, 15-11

SECOND-ROUND KNOCKOUT Huskers fail to reach regional round of NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 seasons.

Robby Korth daily nebraskan

Anna Reed | daily nebraskan

Kansas State players celebrate after they upset No. 2 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Anna Reed | daily nebraskan

The Huskers’ season ended Friday night at the NU Coliseum after a five-set thriller against the Wildcats.

For the first time in 18 seasons, Nebraska volleyball won’t make it to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Late Friday night, the Huskers were upset by unranked Kansas State in a five-set thriller 25-22, 22-25, 31-29, 22-25 and 15-11.

It was the third time the Wildcats beat the Huskers at the NU Coliseum, the most of any squad. But before Friday, the last time KSU defeated Nebraska was in 2003.

“Not very many people have the opportunity to come into this building and win one,” KSU coach Suzie Fritz said.

Despite the atmosphere in the building, K-State kept what they had to do in mind.

The players turned to junior setter Caitlyn Donahue, who had played matches in Lincoln previously.

“We’re lucky to be able to come here and play at Nebraska,” she said. “Because we know the gym and we know the fans and we know the atmosphere and that helped us settle down when things were getting hectic.”

Sophomore Kaitlynn Pelger led KSU with 22 kills on her way to hitting .314 on the night. The middle blocker also managed 2.5 blocks and 12 digs in KSU’s victory.

And for Pelger, the win was so special she could barely speak about the victory against NU. “I’m at a loss for words,” she said. “It’s just so awesome.”

The deciding set proved to be the dramatic third. After KSU jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, Nebraska went on a 10-2 run and took a 13-8 lead. However, the Huskers couldn’t finish off the Wildcats and KSU capped off the set with a 5-0 run to take an 18-17 lead over NU. And the Wildcats and Huskers traded points back and forth until Pelger finally managed a kill to give KSU a 31-29 victory.

NU had KSU at set point three times while Kansas State was a point away from beating Nebraska four times, and that final set point became the determining factor in the match, NU coach John Cook said.

“We win that game, maybe we win this match in four,” Cook said. “We certainly had our chance, we just gave KState a chance to come back.

We didn’t make plays when we needed to, they did.”

For Cook’s counterpart, the set was more of a rush. By the time the postgame press conference rolled around, Fritz still couldn’t recall what was running through her head during the third set.

“All I know is that I just kept saying, ‘Let’s keep siding out with them, keep siding out with them.’

“If we could just stay in it and just keep chipping away, (I know) that we would get our opportunities.”

A disparity between the Huskers and Wildcats was serving. NU committed 11 service errors with only two aces while KSU committed seven service errors and converted four aces.

The errors for NU came from the atmosphere of the tournament and the Coliseum, Cook said.

“It was a big match,” Cook said. “It was hyped up, and we just made errors. Sometimes it happens.”

Another issue for the Huskers was their inability to maintain a balanced attack, an area Cook had praised all season.

Gina Mancuso accounted for 58 of NU’s total attacks, Morgan Broekhuis had 46 and Hannah Werth, who had almost 30 percent of NU’s total attacks this season, only had 35 of NU’s 195 total attacks.

But the biggest problem for Cook’s Huskers on the evening came from not executing the fundamentals.

The Huskers notched more kills than the Wildcats and hit 21 percentage points higher, but NU committed more careless errors and didn’t execute, Cook said.

“We were just relying on our athleticism to make plays, and that can only get you so far,” he said. “You’ve gotta play good volleyball and control the ball and make good contact and Kansas State totally controlled that area tonight.”

But this match wasn’t

Volleyball: see page 9

Huskers a victim of recent college sports parity Sean Whalen It’s class warfare in college athletics right now, and the proletariat is winning.

For a long time, a person could have some idea of who was winning the national championship in any given sport. UCLA and maybe 10 other programs had a shot at a national title when John Wooden manned the sidelines. Now, Butler and Virginia Commonwealth have three Final Four appearances in two years. Oregon and Wisconsin will play in the Rose Bowl, Texas A&M is women’s basketball champion and Creighton may beat North Carolina in men’s soccer.

Fresno State, Oregon State and South Carolina have won five out of the last six CWS Titles and Boise State may be the key to the Big East keeping its major conference football status.

These weird times have largely missed volleyball, in which four teams (Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State and USC) have won 15 of the last 17 national championships. Now, two are gone: Nebraska and Stanford lost at home to Kansas

State and Michigan, respectively. Penn State and USC are largely untested but, lurking in the Sweet 16 are the rabble: KState and Michigan, Ohio State and Kentucky, Florida State and Minnesota.

So what this means is that coach John Cook needs to adjust how his teams play. Cook has always said everyone’s good in volleyball – now, it’s true. Now, winning a title at NU is more than being the best of the fearsome foursome. It’s about being better than Purdue or Illinois or whoever else has a Final Four team in a particular season. It’s also about not overlooking Kansas State, so that Big Ten-champion Nebraska isn’t at home watching seven teams it beat playing in the regionals.

But, honestly, the Huskers should still be in it.

The only set KSU played demonstrably better than NU was in the fifth set, ironically enough.

But the match shouldn’t have gotten that far; had the Huskers been able to serve properly, the first set would have been theirs. NU had a minus-six service margin in the first and won rallies not ended by a service ace/error 21-18. But they had four more service errors and two fewer aces. If the Huskers don’t do that, they’re off to Hawaii. NU also missed on three set points in the third set (as did KSU). If the Huskers don’t do

that, they’re off to Hawaii.

But flying off the handle is hardly appropriate. The signs were there, even if we didn’t want to see them. By my count, NU did worse than expected in 10 of its 30 matches, whether it was just scraping out a win against an inferior opponent, like New Mexico State or St. Mary’s, or losing winnable matches, like Colorado State, Northwestern and Kansas State.

The bottom line: from Sept. 17 to Oct. 28, NU was the best team in the country. At all other times, they were just another good team.

And another reason people shouldn’t freak out too much is that an upset like this isn’t unheard of. The easiest comparison I have to NU’s loss is to take No. 1 Kansas’ loss to Northern Iowa in the second round of the 2010 men’s basketball tournament, only make it happen in Lawrence instead of Oklahoma City.

But it’s not like upsets like this have never happened in Nebraska athletics before. Anyone remember when the baseball team got a No. 6 national seed before losing at home to Manhattan and San Francisco?

Or the 2001 Colorado football game? Or the 1996 Big 12 title game? If we’re being honest, the 30-win women’s basketball team from two years ago probably should have made it past Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

These upsets happen – just, generally, not to the volleyball team. And that, I think, is where the shock sets in. They’re just so reliable that casual fans can wait until the Sweet 16 to care about the team. Where else is there a program like that in any sport? Maybe Connecticut in women’s basketball or North Carolina in men’s soccer, but few others.

The key is how the Huskers respond to such upsets. As you may have noted when they were originally brought up, the baseball team struggled badly after its upset episode, as did the football team in 2001 and the women’s basketball team, for various lengths and reasons.

Yet the 1997 football team won the national championship.

So, really, there’s only one question to be asked: What now? While NU still has massive advantages, the last two years have shown that the field is catching up to the elite in college volleyball. Will NU falter like the baseball team, or use this moment to its advantage and run through people like the `97 Huskers did?

Regardless, fans should all learn some lessons that Cook would have said before we banked on a Husker victory.

The first two rounds aren’t exhibitions. You can’t think “it’s just K-State” anymore, even if it is just K-State. Playing at the Coliseum does not guarantee

Anna Reed | daily nebraskan

Self-inflicted wounds kept Nebraska coach John Cook’s team from a trip to Hawaii. victory, though it does help.

And if the regional is particularly expensive, wait until after the second round to book

that flight.

Sean Whalen is a senior News-Editorial Major.

Reach Him at Seanwhalen@