February 18

dn the

dailynebraskan.com

tuesday, february 18, 2014 volume 113, issue 098

Inside Coverage

Wellness in Nebraska

On the bubble

Lincoln named top 10 city with health coverage

Win at Michigan State puts NU in tournament talk

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Unions board looking for new members

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James Hasselbalch serves customers at Duffy’s Tavern on Tuesday. Dollar beer night is every Tuesday at Duffy’s.

Beer & Pizza

photo by andrew barry

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Scrubbingout synthetics Brother-sister duo works to create organic soaps, prepares to open store The Fizz Shop

story by Mara Klecker | photo by Jennifer Gotrik

Layla YOunis DN Last semester, one student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln spent hours testing the comfort of furniture throughout the Nebraska Union.

She didn’t have any physical problems, and she didn’t work for a furniture store. But she was a member of the Nebraska Unions Board, who was advising on all the recent renovations taking place in the union.

And although trying out different couches was her favorite part about being on the board, Melissa Bakewell, a junior advertising and public relations major and vice president of the board, said her term ends this semester and union officials now need to search for new members.

The union board is made up of 12 students, two faculty members and two staff members. The board meets every other Thursday and also advises union officials with policy changes, space allocations and budgeting, according to Charlie Francis, director of the Nebraska Unions.

Half of the students will finish their two-year term at the end of this semester.

“This year, the board was involved in choosing the next pizza vendor,” Francis said, referring to the Subway Pizza Express that will be open by early April, according to union officials.

Choosing new food vendors is part of the board’s responsibility to help allocate space around the union to organizations and businesses that want to reserve space in the unions, Francis said.

For policy changing, students on the board will give their opinions on possible new updates on the reservation process.

Last year, two student organizations didn’t understand the renewal process for space allocation and didn’t send in their application to renew either their storage or office space in time, Bakewell said.

“Even when (a student organiza-

Summayia Khan, a UNL alumnae, and Asawar Sajid, a graduate accounting student, are siblings that are starting The Fizz Shop, an organic soap and skincare store in Lincoln. The store will officially open on April 12.

C

ollege guys sniffing mango-scented soap isn’t an unusual sight in Asawar Sajid’s accounting class.

“They just whip it out and smell it,” Sajid said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, are going to use that?’ They are like ‘Nah. Not yet. We just really like the smell.’”

The vegan and vegetarian soap

samples were gifts from Sajid, a graduate accounting student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He and his sister, Summayia Khan, a licensed esthetician and UNL alumnae, are starting The Fizz Shop, a specialty store selling organic soaps and skincare products. Located in the Calvert Place Mall on 48th and Calvert streets, the shop will offi-

cially open on April 12, though the duo will start making products in the store’s backroom lab starting March 1.

The idea came when Khan’s husband walked in the door and asked her to figure out a way to make vegetarian soap. The 25-plus ingredient products he was looking at in the store often had beef fat or

lard.

“I certainly wasn’t up for putting lard on my body,” Khan said.

So she designated a corner of her apartment as the soap-making lab. She started researching and ordering. Lavender. Eucalyptus.

Goatmilk. Honey. Pink Himalayan sea salt. She used some pots and pans, her microwave, a blender,

soap: see page 2

union board: see page 3

Morrill Hall to debut world’s largest snake exhibit Extinct Titanaboa replica to comes to campus from Smithsonian Institute collection Tyler Williams dn Titanoboa is coming to Lincoln.

The 48-foot-long replica of the world’s largest snake will be featured at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall starting Saturday. The exhibit is part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and will be open through Sept. 7.

“This is the first exhibit in recent memory to have such national and international coverage to be housed at Morrill Hall,” said Mark Harris, associate director of University of Nebraska State Mu-

seum.

Not only will the Titanoboa replica be on display, there will be fossils and bones of actual Titanoboas as well as modern reptiles and video clips from the Smithsonian Channel documentary “Titanoboa: Monster Snake.”

Harris said the replica of Titanoboa is so big it barely fit in the loading dock doors of Nebraska Hall, where NU State Museum has storage space. The replica will be unpacked in Nebraska Hall, then moved by University of Nebraska-Lincoln moving services to Morrill Hall. It will have to be carried up stairs because it won’t fit in the Morrill Hall elevators. A Smithsonian representative and his crew will assemble it, which is expected to take at least a half day.

The Titanoboa exhibit will be the focus of this week’s “Sunday with a Scientist” – called Titanoboa vs. Today’s Nebraska Snakes – from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Jason Head, a earth and atmo-

spheric sciences assistant professor at UNL and curator of vertebrate paleontology at University of Nebraska State Museum, will be presenting a program that highlights the differences between the giant snakes of the past and their modern ancestors, as well as their relationship to climate change.

The program will give visitors the chance to interact with live snakes and learn about the importance of snake conservation. Head, along with Carlos Jaramillo from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Jonathan Bloch, from the University of Florida Museum of Natural History, first described this snake in 2008.

The Titanoboa was first discovered by these teams in Cerrejón, the world’s largest open-pit coal mine located in La Guajira, Colombia. Along with the Titanoboa, they found giant turtles and crocodiles, and some of the

Titanoboa: see page 3

courtesy photo

The Titanoboa is a 48-feet-long snake replica and is part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, which will be open through Sept. 7.

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

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dailynebraskan.com

tuesday, february 18, 2014

DN research roundup

DN CALENDAR

One in 4 americans doesn’t know earth revolves around sun

FEB.

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One in four Americans doesn’t know the Earth revolves around the sun, according to a survey conducted by the National Science Foundation.

More than 2,000 participants answered a nine-question quiz about physical and biological science. The average score? A 6.5.

Less than half – 48 percent – knew that humans evolved from earlier species of mammals.

Europeans did worse on the quiz. Only 66 percent knew the Earth orbited the Sun. Full results and methodology details will be released when the NSF delivers the report to President Barack Obama.

ON CAMPUS what:

Situational Awareness when: Noon to 1 p.m. where: Nebraska Union, Heritage Room more information: To register, go to http:// bit.ly/1iQUhrv.

Bonobos keep time to music with humans

Humans aren’t the only ones who jam out to music, scientists discovered after studying animals at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in Florida.

Bonobos, closely related to chimpanzees, can match tempo and synchronize a beat with humans. Researchers designed a large, sturdy drum and studied the bonobos as experimenters beat a drum at about 280 beats a minute. The apes synchronized the beat on their own drum.

Researchers also found that a sea lion at the zoo bobbed its head in time to music.

The researchers hope to expand the experiment to see if the bonobos will synchronize beats with each other. The findings may support the idea that musical and rhythmic abilities evolve to strengthen social bonds.

what:

Open Forums – C.Y. Thompson when: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. where: C.Y. Thompson Library, 38th and Holdrege streets

what;

Note-Taking Strategies when: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. where: Love Library South, Room 110

Gene may affect male sexual orientation

Genetics may play a role in male sexual orientation, according to a new study by researchers at Northwestern University.

The study tested the DNA of 409 gay men, finding that at least two chromosomes may affect a man’s sexual orientation. A different 1993 study

what:

Portrait of Murdock Pemberton: The New Yorker’s First Art Critic when: 5:30 p.m. where: Sheldon Museum of Art

IN LINCOLN what:

Rwandan Genocide Survivor lecture when; 6:30 p.m. where: Nebraska Wesleyan University Olin B Lecture Hall, one block east of 50th Street and St. Paul Avenue

Lincoln named top 10 in health care affordability Despite ranking, senators working to improve health care through Wellness in Nebraska Act madison wurtele dn

what:

Trill-Nye, Playing with Fire when: 9 p.m. to midnight where: Knickerbockers, 901 O St.

what:

The Crayons and Manic Pixie Dream Girls when: 9 p.m. where: Vega, 350 Canopy St.

what:

Genetically Modified Comedy when: 9 p.m. to midnight where: The Cask, 728 Q St.

Lincoln has been named No. 8 on Livability.com’s Top 10 Cities for Affordable Health Care 2014 ranking.

The ranking took into account each city’s average per capita spending on healthcare, primary care physicians per capita and number of area hospitals. With 30 area hospitals, Lincoln has the highest number of area hospitals on the list. Lincoln residents have also spent 12 percent less on healthcare costs than the rest of the nation. And along with healthcare spending, Lincoln’s environmental record and number of cultural and recreational activities in the city contributed to its ranking.

Despite this ranking, Sen. Jeremy Nordquist is one of several Nebraska senators urging the passage of the Wellness in Nebraska Act. This bill would attempt to provide healthcare to low-income working Nebraskans who earn too much for Medicaid but too little to gain access to the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace subsidies.

“The healthcare system in Nebraska was failing too many people,” Nordquist told an audience of about 15 in the Heritage Room of the Nebraska Union on Monday night. The public forum was hosted by the Lincoln Alum-

na and the Omnicron chapters of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority to explain the Affordable Care Act and who is covered.

Nordquist said he expects the legislature to vote on the Wellness in Nebraska Act within the next three to four weeks.

Anisah Nu’Man, a math graduate student and chair of the Delta Sigma Theta Omnicron chapter social action committee, helped organize the forum. Nu’Man felt this forum was important because it supported the advocacy of medicare expansion and spread awareness of the Affordable Care Act to students.

Adelle Burke, a consultant at Nebraska Appleseed, said the Affordable Care Act is relevant to students because it allows them to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they are 26 years old. She encourages students to look into the Wellness in Nebraska Act as it would expand coverage to those students who are unable to stay on their parents’ plans because of their age but who don’t qualify for insurance under the ACA. Cindy Balliet is a programs specialist navigator for Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving lowincome populations. She guides people through the process of becoming insured under the Affordable Care Act. She encourages students who are eligible for healthcare coverage to sign up on HealthCare.gov by March 31, which is the last day to sign up without a penalty.

“We need to engage more people in this discussion,” Balliet said. news@ dailynebraskan.com

looked at family history and found that of more than 100 gay men, 10 percent had brothers who were gay, as opposed to 3 percent of the general population. Both the 1993 study and the recent one out of Northwestern University show a genetic marker on the Xq28 region of the X chromosome in the majority of gay men.

The latest study suggests that a man’s sexual orientation depends on about 30 to 40 percent of genetic factors, but other factors – environmental and in-utero hormones – may also play a role.

The study has yet to be published but was presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago and is provoking conversation about genetic testing for sexual orientation.

Crocodiles can climb trees to sunbathe Crocodiles can climb trees, according to a study published in the journal Herpetology Notes.

The study looked at five crocodilian species in Africa, Australia and North American and found that crocodiles can climb as high as 6 feet. As cold-blooded reptiles, climbing to sunbathe helps them regulate their body temperature.

The study supports anecdotal evidence from people living in the areas included in the study.

earwax may reveal a person’s identity, ethnicity Earwax may hold information about one’s identity and ethnicity, according to researcher from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

In previous studies, the researchers found that underarm odor can convey information about personal identity, gender, sexual orientation and health status. This time, the researchers looked at odor-producing compounds in the earwax of 16 healthy men, half of whom were Caucasian, half of whom were Asian.

The Caucasian men had higher levels of volatile organic compounds that the Asian men.

Researchers say further studies on earwax may prove it can identify other details beyond ethnicity.

—Compiled by Mara Klecker news@ dailynebraskan.com art by mike rendowski

soap: from 1

photo by Jennifer Gotrik

The soaps that will be sold at The Fizz Shop are made without synthetic chemicals. For each bar of soap sold, the shop will donate a percentage to a local homeless or women’s shelter. some spatulas. She and her brother worked from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., hours when her 2-year-old and 8-year-old children were out of the house.

“Soap is so easy to make,” she said. “It’s just four to six ingredients and a few weeks to cure. So why do we need all of these synthetic chemicals?”

Those synthetic chemicals are often the ones that make bubbles, Khan said. Bar soap has gone the wayside of lathering liquid soaps, but The Fizz Shop hopes to change that with its variety of 5 oz. bar soaps, selling for $6 a piece.

“Bar soap is kind of a vintage idea, and it will take people a while to get over the whole bubbly phase,” Khan said. “But people are just bubbling themselves away in nasty lard and chemicals.”

Khan said she hopes that she can find natural solutions for acne and other skin issues and is cur-

rently experimenting with various recipes that include activated charcoal and clay.

But it’s about more than giving people eco-friendly, chemical-free products. The Fizz Shop’s mission is to give back as well. For each bar of soap purchased, the shop will donate one to a local women’s or homeless shelter. And the products could be used for fundraisers for local school or church organizations. Buy the soap at wholesale prices, sell it for $6 and keep the $3 profit. Eventually, the shop hopes to use local ingredients and sell other local products to help other small Lincoln businesses with similar missions.

Khan and Sajid are also trying to incorporate an educational element into their business plan. They want to find a party room where groups could come in and make their own soaps or bath fizzes.

Sajid has also posted marketing and accounting internship op-

portunities on Husker Hire Link, so students can see and be a part of a developing a start-up business.

“With all of our plans, we want to keep that local Nebraska hospitality,” Khan said.

“I think one bar of soap could put a smile on someone’s face, especially in the women’s shelter,” Khan said. “We want that community support to spread those smiles and keep that giving going.”

In its simplest form, that giving has included those samples passed out to friends and classmates, even strangers who struck up a conversation on the bus.

“The response has been great and people love the soap,” Sajid said.

Khan interrupted.

“But I hope they start using it and not just sniffing it and telling us how great it smells.” news@ dailynebraskan.com

daily nebraskan editor-in-chief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1766 Hailey Konnath managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1763 Jacy Marmaduke ENGAGEMENT EDITOR. . . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1763 Nick Teets news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402.472.1763 associate editor Frannie Sprouls

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projects editor opinion editor Ruth Boettner

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Design chief Alyssa Brunswick

photo chief Matt Masin

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tuesday, february 18, 2014

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dn Big ten roundup Purdue receives $5 million anonymous gift Purdue University received a $5 million anonymous gift for scholarships for Indiana students.

The gift has m atch-

ing components that may mean up to $9 million to fund the Purdue Moves action agenda, designed to broaden the university’s global impact and enhance educational opportunities.

Of the $5 million, $3.75 million will create a Purdue Affordability Scholarship Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar match program with the potential to raise $7.5 million in endowed scholarships for state students in financial need.

Another $500,000 will go to a matching program to establish the first Purdue Day of Giving. The April 30 event will be a 24hour online fundraising event.

The remaining $750,000 will be added to an existing endowment.

iowa study finds police work more sedentary than active

A new University of Iowa study shows that police officers get as much physical activity as someone washing dishes or holding a baby.

A team of researchers at the university measured on-the-job movement of 119 university and municipal police officers in six departments in the Midwest and Hawaii. The study found

that unlike television portrayals, police work is mostly sedentary. Officers expended, on average, 1.6 metabolic equivalents per minute during their shifts. That’s the amount of energy needed to stand and wash dishes.

Police officers weren’t the only group sitting still. As technology use increases, physical activity in most workplaces is on the decline. In 2000, one in four worked at a low physicalactivity occupation, a 100 percent increase from a decade earlier.

Wisconsin works to regain top spot of peace corps volunteers

The University of WisconsinMadison had 90 alumni in the Peace Corps, taking the top spot for producing volunteers.

UW-Madison was ranked No. 1 from 2001 to 2006 and consistently ranked in the top 10 in subsequent years. Since the creation of the Peace Corps in 1961, the university has had 3,112 alumni serve abroad, second only to the University of California, Berkeley’s 3,576.

Wisconsin is in the top 10 states for Peace Corps volunteers per capita with 3.7 volunteers per 100,000 residents.

The university has an on-campus Peace Corps recruiter and hosts an annual Peace Corps week at the end of February.

board of trustees, comes after 3 1/2 month-long search that included allegations that expected appointee David Smith, president of State University of New York Upstate Medical University, had received unauthorized payment from outside sources.

Barron will replace Rodney Erickson, who has led the university since Graham Spanier was forced out in November 2011, after news of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal broke.

Erickson made it clear upon accepting the job that he wanted to leave by June 30 of this year.

Minnesota regents reallocate $4.1 million to public safety initiative

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents voted Friday to approve the reallocation $4.1 million to invest in the University’s public safety initiative.

Of the $4.1 million, $3.5 million will go to enhancing building access security, $350,000 to security cameras and $250,000 to lighting Penn STate selects new university improvements. Operating funds will support university police president Pennsylvania State University has named a former dean to be overtime, which has increased 550 hours since mid-October and an expansion of safe transportation options, such as the university’s 18th president.

Florida State University president Eric Barron was at Penn the taxi service Gopher Chauffeur, which has provided 2,000 State for 20 years, serving as the dean of the College of Earth rides this year, 650 more than last year.

—compiled by mara Klecker and Mineral Sciences for the last four years – 2002 to 2006. news@ The appointment, still pending approval from the university’s dailynebraskan.com

UNION BOARD: from 1

titanoboa: from 1

If you want to represent your fellow students and hear various viewpoints, union board is an organization that you should consider applying to.”

Marissa Curtiss

junior economics and english major and president of the union board

tion’s) space comes to question they can still come to the board,” Bakewell said.

The two organizations that missed the deadline last year were still able to keep their space, but the Nebraska Unions Board wants to make it clear to students how space allocations in the unions work, Bakewell said.

The board also helps with the Nebraska Unions budget by being able to look at it before Nebraska Unions sends it to the Committee for Fees Allocation, Francis said.

This year the Nebraska Unions requested a 1 percent budget increase in University Programming and Facilities and Fees from last year.

The Committee for Fees Allocation approved this increase at its Jan. 24 meeting.

Current board members and union officials select new board members during their last meeting, which is close to the end of the spring semester. Francis said he always challenges the board to think about choosing new members that will represent everyone who will use the union.

“It is a delightful group of students,” Francis said.

Marissa Curtiss, a junior econom-

The Smithsonian looks for facilitates that parallel their mission to be affiliated with. They seek out institutions that have a reputation of scholarship, professionalism, high-quality exhibits and effective museum education programs.”

Mandy haase

public relations coordinator for morrill hall

File photo by Andrew barry | dn

Students on the Nebraska Unions board meet every other Thursday for two years and have recently given advice on the union renovations. ics and English major and president of the union board, said she recommends applying to be on the board because of the leadership skills that

can be gained from the experience.

“If you want to represent your fellow students and hear various viewpoints, union board is an orga-

nization that you should consider applying to,” Curtiss said. news@ dailynebraskan.com

Food on the go

first known bean plants as well as some of the earliest fossil remains of banana, avocado and chocolate plants.

This area is now known to scientists as the world’s oldest neotropical rainforest. The scientists also believe that Titanoboa spent most of its time underwater in large river systems, which would a host a plethora of different animals for Titanboa to feed on.

Reptiles’ body sizes are reliant on their environments. With every increase in body size, a reptile also needs increased heat energy to survive. This allows scientists to learn more about the earth’s temperature in ancient times.

With the large size of Titanoboa, scientists can safely determine that the mean temperature for the region Titanoboa lived in was 86 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit during the Paleocene era.

The exhibit comes in celebration of Morrill Hall being

included on the list of museums affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, which was announced Feb. 5.

“The Smithsonian looks for facilitates that parallel their mission to be affiliated with,” said Mandy Haase, public relations coordinator for Morrill Hall.

“They seek out institutions that have a reputation of scholarship, professionalism, high-quality exhibits and effective museum education programs.”

Morrill Hall is the first museum in Lincoln and the third in Nebraska to become a Smithsonian affiliate. The other two museums are the Durham Museum in Omaha and the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland.

“This partnership (with the Smithsonian) is about developing a working relationship that will expand education for everyone,” Haase said. news@ dailynebraskan.com

photos by Stacie Hecker

Tradtional African dishes are served for the African Student Association’s Food-on-the-Go event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday afternoon in the Nebraska Union. For $5 a plate, customers got a to-go box filled with chicken, rice, plantain and fried dough. The food also helped to promote their upcoming event FESTAC, or “I am Africa,” which showcases African culture through food, music, dance and poetry. FESTAC will be held in the Nebraska Union’s Centennial Room at 7 p.m., on Saturday, April 12.

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OPINION

tuesday, february 18, 2014 dailynebraskan.com

d n e d i to r i a l b oa r d m e m b e r s HAILEY KONNATH

DANIEL WHEATON

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

PROJECTS EDITOR

RUTH BOETTNER

CONOR DUNN

opinion editor

news assignment EDITOR

AMY KENYON

ZACH TEGLER

assistant opinion editor

sports EDITOR

JACY MARMADUKE

KATIE NELSON

MANAGING EDITOR

assistant arts EDITOR

Letter to the editor

Fast food culture creates barrier to healthy diet choices

How To Enjoy How To Enjoy Today’s Weather?

Today’s Weather? (or?)

Kudos to the Daily Nebraskan staff for shedding light on the important issues of food access and eating habits with two pieces on UNL City Campus as a food desert on February 5th. Having lived near campus without a car for three years, I agree that a downtown supermarket would be very convenient. However, if “greening” the food desert is to truly create healthier eating habits, we must think beyond the food desert as we know it.

Last week, a National Public Radio piece showed that opening a new produce-stocked grocery store in a Philadelphia food desert did not change people’s eating habits. This is not surprising. Think about it: even if we succeeded in locating a grocery store in downtown Lincoln, would most students gravitate towards fresh fruits and vegetables, or pre-packaged snacks and frozen/instant meals?

Somehow, I don’t see the “drunk O Street post-2 a.m. masses” satiating their munchies with broccoli and bananas.

While inconvenient access to fresh food is a major barrier to healthy eating, our “fast food culture” is an equally, if not even greater, challenge to healthier diets. Our 24/7 lifestyles are filled with marketing messages that continually emphasize that we have limited time to prepare or eat real food (but, somehow, plenty of time to surf Facebook). Additionally, those who do have an intention to eat well may not have the knowledge or resources to prepare healthful meals for themselves. We need to acknowledge that UNL students are living in both a physical AND cultural food desert. One cultural solution is better nutritional and culinary education. Another is the prioritizing of time for one of our most basic biological needs and cultural traditions – connecting with, preparing and savoring our food.

The fact is that food does not have to come from a store. After all, are we not in Nebraska? The agricultural state that claims to feed the world? By embracing the simple truth that real food comes from plants, animals and farmers, we can begin moving towards more transformative and innovative ways to address our physical and cultural food desert.

—Joana Chan, Lincoln, Neb. For the full Letter, please visit www.dailynebraskan.com

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

(or?)

ian tredway | dn

Toys enforce gender stereotypes

W

hen I was little, my brother and I almost always played together. We had dolls, Hot Wheels cars, Lincoln Logs, stuffed animals, Tonka trucks, Tinkertoys and – my favorite – LEGO Duplo bricks. We created schools, hospitals, race car tracks, railroads, construction sites, castles, adventure sagas and hamster mazes – among other things – all from our own overactive imaginations. We shared almost everything, too, and as far as I can remember practically none of our toys were pink. It didn’t matter that I was a girl and he was a boy. We just wanted to play.

These days, not much has changed for kids – they still want to play – but their toys have become starkly gender-specific. Pink, white and lavender toys are marketed to girls, while primary-color toys are marketed to boys. Even more troubling is what the toys are. The girlcolored toys tend to be associated with the traditional idea of women – dollhouses, horse stables, princesses, play kitchens, and arts and crafts. The boy-colored toys are similarly associated with masculine things such as cars, trucks, outdoor activities, construction, superheroes and science kits. Gender-specific toys tell kids they should only like certain things, teaching them to conform to stereotypes. This division ultimately leads to an issue of gender equality. If boys and girls are equal, there’s absolutely no reason boys and girls can’t play

Devin Grier

with the same toys.

Let me go back to the LEGO Duplo bricks.

We had a train set, a zoo set and a whole lot of regular multi-colored pieces. Construction workers were princesses, hippos drove trains, elephants had palm trees planted on their backs and water pieces could be put anywhere we wanted. It was a big free-for-all – entirely up to us and not at all tethered to reality. That potential to make anything we had enough pieces for was why I loved the LEGO Duplo bricks, and gender didn’t even enter my mind.

However, these days even LEGO has pink playhouses and princess sets meant specifically for girls – as though girls can’t play with LEGO sets that don’t have at least one “girly” pink item in them. But LEGO is far from the worst when it comes to gender-neutrality. Just walk into a toy store.

Barbie, My Little Ponies and princess costumes stare down superheroes, swords and

Nerf guns in entirely different aisles. Even the miniature child-sized bikes have pink pompoms attached to the handles to signify that no boy could ever be caught riding one.

But why does it matter what kind of bike girls and boys ride? Boys can be artistic, and girls can love science. By saying that only some toys are for boys and others for girls, we shut the door on the other side. In the words of Jan Nyberg, sales director for the Nordic Toys R Us franchise, “Children are not coded to blue for boys and pink for girls – they should be free to choose what they want to play with.”

Children are also not coded to conform to gender stereotypes. Instead of pressuring children to like certain types of toys, we should be encouraging all children to decide for themselves. Gender equality is still an issue in the United States. We have far too few women in fields of science and technology, and women get paid less than men for doing the same jobs in any field. It’s as simple as mixing the aisles in the toy store and showing children of both genders playing together on boxes and in advertisements. Changing our society’s stereotypes isn’t going to end with changing how we market toys to kids. But if we can shift their perceptions now, perhaps they can build a better future in every color of LEGO bricks.

Devin Grier is a freshman biological systems engineering student.

Reach her at opinion@ dailynebraskan.com

US political correctness Open dialogue is crucial hurts LGBTQ acceptance to immigration reform

P

olitical incorrectness might just be what the United States needs socially and ethically. However backward that seems, it’s precisely what Thailand is leading us to believe with the debut of its latest game show craze ScanGay. If your intuition radar is working correctly, you’ve probably already deduced the show’s premise. Each episode, a young male contestant is brought on, and two celebrity judges are meant to test their gaydars and determine whether or not they think the man is homosexual. If the judges are wrong, then the contestant walks away with the American equivalent of $300.

Now, in the States, a show such as this would likely spawn controversy from every angle on the political spectrum. The idea of making a game out of something as intimate and personal as coming out or having people actually express their sexuality on live television can seem repulsive. Regardless of how Americans tend to view this seemingly offensive and outrageous piece of television, for Thailand, it’s actually pretty fabulous.

In Thailand, people’s views on the LGBTQA community are open and welcoming. Although unions between same-sex partners have yet to be legally recognized, the country has made it illegal to discriminate against people based off of their sexual orientation. Shows such as ScanGay aren’t meant to be disrespectful to members of the gay community.

Rather, as mentioned in the DailyDot, it acts as “a celebration of (their) identity.”

Although this might seem a bit alien to us, we have our own odd little ways of bringing social issues to light with farce. It’s the idea of taking something that was once taboo and putting it out in the open. Why else do you think shows such as “Saturday Night Live” or “The Daily Show” resonate so strongly within us? Why do we love practically every Mel Brooks movie ever made? Farces help us realize exactly how ridiculous our preconceived notions about what normalcy are. Whether or not we’d like to believe it, taking that step back is a step in the right direction.

And this political incorrectness is exactly what gets us talking about important issues such as gay rights. As Ellen Page recently said, she is tired of “lying by omission.”

As a country, we’ve been lying to ourselves about how progressive we are. Every politician talks about fighting for equal rights, but it feels like nothing ever gets done.

There’s something wrong when we’re afraid to show two people of the same sex kissing on television and yet have no problem airing heterosexual sex for chocolate commercials. There’s something wrong, just as Texan news reporter Dale Hansen said, when we have a problem accepting a gay football player but are willing to overlook one who has beaten and murdered people.

Political correctness was once rooted in something respectable, but it’s been changing for the worse. As BJ Gallagher from the Huffington Post remarks, although this movement started as a form of respect for others, it has begun to “(hinder) our ability to get comfortable in living and working with those who are different than us.”

Political incorrectness isn’t a bad thing so long as you are still able to find a way to be compassionate.

In “Blazing Saddles,” Mel Brooks might have used quite a bit of derogative slang, but it was meant to be a reflection of how people blindly judge others before getting to know them. “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” only ever criticize the people who have power and abuse it, and they uncover the holes we’ve been digging in our political system.

ScanGay might not be the right way for the U.S. to feel more comfortable with addressing LGBTQA issues. I don’t know exactly how much I’d like making a game out of something like that. However, it does prompt us to wonder if a tiny little country in Asia can do it, shouldn’t America the proud be able to do the same thing? I would much rather watch something that tries to be progressive than be reminded of the constant struggle rich, straight white people have to deal with in Beverly Hills.

Emily Kuklinski is sophomore English and theatre major. Follow her on Twitter @TheFunnyEmily or reach her at opinion@ dailynebraskan.com

Emily Kuklinski

I

mmigration reform is being chatted about through the halls of Congress, and many people feel that it’s about time.

Comprehensive immigration reform has been in front of Congressional leaders of both parties.

Both sides have taken aim at border security, reforming the visa program and how to deal with the undocumented aliens who live here already. Unfortunately, both sides of this issue have failed to pass meaningful reform of which anybody could be proud. There are many problems beyond these three aspects, but attention to these problems would help reform immigration for future generations. Starting now could benefit the American business owner as well as documented and undocumented immigrants who wish to become citizens.

What comes to mind when you think of illegal immigration? Some people think of entitlement reform, business owners and the American Dream. I think of people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families – but I also understand that immigrating here illegally is a crime. Immigration reform could possibly be the next piece of massive legislation in Congress. But what should the focus be? Regardless of your predisposition to race, ethnicity or immigrants, we need to welcome willing and ambitious people from everywhere, as a melting pot should.

According to the Pew Research Center, there are about 11.7 million undocumented workers in the United States and about 45,000 in Nebraska. That is an amazingly large number of people who need many things, including healthcare, insurance, education and a place to live. Additionally, we need to ensure these workers are paying taxes and participating in programs such as Social Security. The most important aspect of reforming the immigration system is helping the 11 million people who are already here. Then we can concern ourselves with reforming the border and the Visa and E-Verify programs.

Communities respond to the need for reform in different ways. Cities such as Fremont, Neb., have recently voted to uphold their 2010 immigration law that disallows illegal immigrants in the city to rent or own property. Obviously, there is some harsh dissent to expanding property rights to anybody but American citizens. How-

ever, we need to help immigrants grasp a stable foothold in our society as they’re working just as we are. Some people feel undocumented workers in the U.S. are obtaining access to federal programs and are taking jobs away from citizens by working for smaller hourly or annual wages. For example, there is a misconception that undocumented workers are eligible for Social Security benefits, a fallacy according to the Social Security Administration. Contrarily, there are many undocumented workers in the United States who are working for low wages who don’t have access to these programs. They aren’t able to reap the benefits of labor citizens of the U.S. are eligible for.

Compromise is key to addressing this issue. I know many conservative members of Congress don’t want to concede any headway they’ve made on entitlement reform in the past few sessions. Liberals don’t want to see any more fences or deportations. To ensure immigration reform passes, a few key points of view need to be conceded in order to appeal to the more obstinate members of Congress on this issue. Namely, border control and taxes. These two topics are on the agenda of many Southwestern members of Congress who consider themselves conservative. To pass comprehensive immigration reform, we need a genuine conversation about these issues to look at each aspect and to solve any problems.

We don’t necessarily need to build more fences along the Southwest border, but an increased appropriations fund for Homeland Security’s payroll may be a step in the right direction. Secondly, the undocumented workers who aren’t already paying taxes need to start to contribute to society as average workers. An open dialogue about immigration is where we need to start. We need to begin where the problems lie and consider why it’s easier to be an undocumented worker than to gain citizenship. Building fences and providing a quick pathway to citizenship aren’t enough all at once. Nebraska has more than 40,000 undocumented workers in our businesses across the state. We need to do what we can to make sure eager and determined workers have a fair shake at the Good Life.

Mark Batt is a junior political science major. Reach him at opinion@ dailynebraskan.com

Mark Batt

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aRTS & LIFE

tuesday, february 18, 2014 dailynebraskan.com @dnartsdesk

BEER

&

PIZZA

P e o p l e l o v e t h e i r b e e r, a n d p e o p l e l o v e t h e i r p i z z a .

W e h e r e a t t h e D a i l y N e b r a s k a n A r t s s e c t i o n d o t o o, a n d h e r e ’s a l o o k a t c o u p l e o f o u r f a v o r i t e a v e n u e s f o r t h e d e l i c i o u s c o m b o.

First there’s Ramos Pizza and Pub. Since the spot’s cream cheese pepperoni is literally the only thing we’ve eaten there (mainly because a trip to Ramos demands nothing but the best) we’ll focus on that alone. As the review mentions, cream cheese has a subtlety to its power that keeps it checked and balanced by cheese, dough and our Americanized salami – pepperoni. The cream cheese pizza is the classic separation of powers, each ingredient emphasizing and specializing in its own taste bud version of government. Which, we admit, works out for a smoother, tastier experience in the context of food than in more political subjects.

Mac Wall DN

jake crandall | DN

Tim Gulbrandson and his grandmother, Lucille Caves, have a family gathering inside Ramos Pizza and Pub on Sunday night. Ramos offers gluten-free pizza crust to customers such as Gulbrandson, who has a gluten intolerance.

A sign next to the entry way says “Don’t talk about yourself. We’ll do that when you leave.”

Customers laugh,shout and gesture over the bartender’s head, tall boys in hand. Ramos Pizza and Pub is obviously a local establishment. The patrons know many of the bartenders by name, and the employees seemed to know it was my first time visiting.

Ramos has been open since 1983 and has kept a loyal fanbase. The pub is currently in the running for a pizza award on lincolnschoice.com. Despite not knowing about the nomination, Ramos and its staff have made it into the Top-5.

Ramos Pizza and Pub sits at 48th and Normal, a good deal away from campus. But even without a location next to 20,000 hungry students, its food has become famous. They deliver city wide, and taking the trip out to Ramos is easily worth it. There is no long wait, no lines filled with patrons from the bar next door and no disgruntled employees glaring at you as they wait for the shift’s end. They specialize in pizza and barbecue and have a fairly large menu. They can accommodate a family of four as easily as a group looking for a drink. Ramos is comfortable, quaint and always playing something like Bob Dylan or Jimmy Hendrix – in case beer and pizza just isn’t American enough for you.

The most obvious attraction is their “World Famous” Pepperoni Cream Cheese Pizza. It’s a combination that sounds odd at first. After all, cream cheese isn’t one of the most prominent ingredients of Italian cuisine. But who cares? It’s delicious

and takes no time to get used to. It’s just subtle enough to not turn people away, but unique enough to make it a favorite.

After trying it, I feel like any other pizza I have will be missing something. Most weird additions to pizza, such as anchovies or pineapple, are an acquired taste or stand out compared with everything else. But the cream cheese seems just as essential as sauce.

Ramos also builds a complete pizza and doesn’t skimp. Every slice is covered in ingredients from edge to center. No one counts pepperoni slices or ladle-fulls of sauce, he or she just cooks something to taste good. The pepperoni cream cheese pizza is spot on, and it’s a great value to boot. Ramos prides themselves on their quality, and it has a right to.

Ramos also has a touch of personality to it as well. If you feel like ordering delivery and are put on hold, you are treated to a fuzzy ring-back tone, courtesy of the early 2000s. When you pull up to their store location, you park in their unmarked lot wherever you can. You walk in to a low hum of equal parts conversation and Free Bird. In the back of the room you can find old couples enjoying a slice. Families sit around eating quietly while their toddlers stand up on the booth seats, nibbling on pizza crusts and curiously staring toward the bar.

This seems to be the most popular seat in the house – where beer, barbecue and pizza are all in arm’s reach. The full menu is fair game until closing time every day, which is something everybody at the bar can appreciate. The service is low key.

Bartenders hand out menus and get your order without taking too much time, and they don’t stop by again

ramos pizza: see page 7

Then we have Duffy’s Tavern and its famous Dad’s Beer Night. Each Tuesday, the bar features its array of typically Dad-esque tallboys for $1 flat.

Whether its a Pabst Blue Ribbon or good old Hamms, patrons can take on 16 ounces of their favorite brew for a mere buck. Options like Old Style and Rolling Rock round up to $1.50 each, but there’s still no better excuse to drink on a weekday.

Andrew Barry | DN

A Duffy’s Tavern customer holds a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on Tuesday at dollar beer night. PBR originated in Milwaukee and is known for being inexpensive.

Andrew Barry | Dn

Arminio Frech, Paulo Roberto Barbosa, Rogerio Sampaio, Marianna Marcondes and Sergio Vilas Boas socialize at dollar beer night at Duffy’s Tavern on Tuesday. Duffy’s is known for their fish bowls and live music scene.

Slam poet Xplicit hopes to leave impact on students about life experiences Xplicit will perform his wide variety of verses in Nebraska Union Auditorium on Tuesday night Maranda Loughlin DN Tuesday evening, slam poet Xplicit will be bringing his verses to the Nebraska Union Auditorium. The Daily Nebraskan spoke with him to learn more about the poet behind the words.

Daily Nebraskan: Do you

mainly perform at college campuses?

Xplicit: Yes, that’s my main performance area currently. Actually right now, what I do is I teach high school. So for the previous two years, I was a full-time poet.

And just this school year I have accepted a job teaching full-time high school in Peoria, Ill. So I kind of travel everywhere, and then when I’m not traveling, I’m teaching math.

DN: How does poetry have anything to do with math?

X: I know, that’s what people say. I guess I’m one of left/right brained people.

DN: So, what’s the backstory on your relationship with slam poetry?

X: First, I have always been a fan of hip-hop. I love lyricism.

I love Eminem and Jay Z and the way their stories brought music to life, you know what I mean? I really enjoyed hip-hop, but I started not to like the negative images and the negative messages. So I just started not to like what I was seeing in hiphop, and it made me kind of gravitate toward something else, and the thing is, I didn’t really know what that something else was.

HBO’s “Def Poetry” was a huge influence, and then I started going online and looking up poets, and then I started getting more interested. I was living in St. Louis at the time, going to grad school and teaching math at a junior college.

Then in 2007, I started doing spo-

ken word poetry, and I just fell in love with the whole culture. I fell in love with going to open mics and being in open mics and the people I was meeting. It was like going to a party or a club just with dope people who were creative and open-minded. We were just like minded people. There was never any drama. People weren’t just in here getting real drunk and sloppy.

It was a really warm atmosphere, where people were just having fun.

And we were learning. I learned so many things with just listening to other people speak. It kind of blew up, piece by piece.

DN: Why is slam poetry popular in college audiences?

X: I think that, one, it’s an art form. So another way I could

phrase that question is: why is basketball so popular around the globe? Because it’s something that everyone can kind of get into and do themselves. So I think a lot of people when they write in their journals, they write poetry.

So when you see somebody who expresses themselves kind of like you do, you can gravitate towards that. So I think, a lot of college students, you know, young adolescents, growing into adulthood … there’s a lot of changes that come around, and spoken word poetry is all about expressing your emotions and expressing changes that are going on not necessarily with yourself but with the world. You know when students go to college, they learn about different cultures, they

learn about not just people from the community, but the meet people from all across the world. There’s a lot of like dogmas and ideals that clash, and with spoken word poetry that’s what it’s all about. Different ideas and people expressing their ideas. Trying not only to be a catharsis for themselves, like a self healing therapeutic type of thing, but also other people get healing from it as well.

DN: What is your inspiration?

X: I get it from various places.

But my daughter is a big inspiration. She’s very funny sometimes, and just being around her sparks a poem. I get inspired by my friends.

I write a lot of poems just based off

xplicit: see page 7

6

dailynebraskan.com

tuesday, february 18, 2014

Granddaughter of The New Yorker art critic to speak at Sheldon Jack Forey Dn In the early 1900s, a young man from Kansas set out for New York with hopes of reporting on and spreading awareness of the makers of modern art and their struggles.

That’s the story of Murdock Pemberton, the first art critic for The New Yorker. His granddaughter Sally Pemberton will give a lecture on his life and career at the Sheldon Museum of Art on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Murdock Pemberton’s unique distinction as the first art critic for The New Yorker puts him in a time and place in which many great artists lived and worked.

This makes Murdock’s journalism on these people especially valu-

nect with an array of contemporaries. able. Ann Gradwohl, public rela“Murdock received several wontions and marketing manager at the Sheldon, said “by sharing stories derful letters from artists thanking him for his support,” Sally Pemberand correspondence of the artists who ton said. “Since the job of were contemporaries of art critic has disappeared her grandfather, includfrom so many newspaing Arthur Dove, Marspers and magazines toden Hartley, Georgia day, I am not sure how O’Keeffe, Isamu Noguchi much feedback artists and Alexander Calder, actually get today from Sally helps us connect critics.” further with their works Sally Pemberton disin the Sheldon colleccovered a large stash of tion.” most of her grandfather’s Sally Pemberton will work in her mother’s atbe sharing stories about tic in 2009. Hidden in a the many people her grandfather encountered Pemberton few old suitcases, this stash included 94 years’ in his life as an art critic. worth of exhibition cataMurdock was involved in logs, columns, playbills, letters (one literature, art and show business cirfrom Alfred Stieglitz) and photocles and built up a wide, diverse circle graphs, along with a manuscript and around himself, allowing him to con-

Murdock received several wonderful letters from artists thanking him for his support.” sally pemberton

granddaughter of murdock pemberton

an unfinished memoir.

Despite hardly knowing her grandfather, this discovery inspired Sally Pemberton to track down more work by her grandfather, as well as the writings of his contemporaries. She has compiled them all together in the book “Portrait of Murdock Pemberton: The New Yorker ’s First Art Critic.”

“I think I have inherited Murdock’s journalism gene,” Pember-

ton said. “Completing this book took an incredible amount of detective work and research. I had to reconstruct his life as an art critic and how he knew all of the artists and dealers he wrote about. In many cases, I was able to track down their living heirs and collaborate with them to piece the stories together.

Murdock had left many of the clues in the papers in his suitcases that he left behind, but since I was not fa-

miliar with most of the people I had to research who they were and how they might have been connected to him and to each other.”

“I also think I have inherited his spirit of fighting for the little guy and questioning ‘the system,’” Pemberton added.

In addition to her lecture at the Sheldon on Tuesday, Sally Pemberton will visit a class in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications where she will share Murdock’s background and childhood experiences and how each influenced his writing. Pemberton also hopes to teach them a few tricks of the trade, including research methods she used while compiling the book about her grandfather. arts@ dailynebraskan.com

Folk duo to perform intimate show Robert Specht DN Folk duo The Bird and the Bear will be performing at Crescent Moon Coffee in Lincoln on Wednesday.

The Nashville-based group consists of Garry Wood and Mirthe Bolhuis, who both sing and play guitar. Wood was born in Saratoga, Wyo., and Bolhuis was born in Groningen, the Netherlands. Both were educated in music before moving to Nashville, where they met at a music hostel in 2011.

“Nashville was a logical destination,” Bolhuis said.

The two entered a relationship in 2011 and began writing music shortly after. The band was named after personal nicknames: Wood being “The Bear” and Bolhuis being “The Bird.”

The band found inspiration from many classic folk and Americana artists, as well as contemporary folk duos.

“When we began playing practically our whole set was Civil Wars covers,” Wood said. “We’re also really into Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.”

The band also draws inspiration from its musician friends in Nashville.

“Living in Nashville, it’s impossible to avoid it,” Bolhuis said.

“There are so many great musicians here.”

Their first EP, Breathe, was released in spring 2012. Because Bolhuis was returning to the Netherlands shortly after they wrote it, they had to record quickly and inexpensively.

“We released ‘Breathe’ on a paper-thin budget,” Wood said. “We recorded the whole thing live in 3 hours.”

Having members from different countries has had some advan-

courtesy photo

Based out of Nashvillve, the Bird and the Bear has ties all over the globe. Member Garry Wood was born in Saratoga, Wyo., and Mirthe Bolhuis was born in Groningen, Netherlands. tages when booking live shows. The band has already performed across the United States as well as in UK and the Netherlands.

“We have two or three places to base ourselves out of,” Wood said.

“We try to use the different places to our advantage.”

The band has noted differences in audience between the U.S., where live music markets are often saturated with new and upcoming artists, and the Netherlands.

“Everyone plays music (in the United States), and in Holland it’s

more spread out,” Bolhuis said.

“They also pay a lot more for a gig in Holland, that’s for sure.”

“In the Netherlands, they really appreciate the performance more,” Wood said. “The captive audience is much more apparent. Americans tend to get spoiled on live music because there’s so much.”

They released a new single, “Sleep Alone,” late last year and intend on recording and releasing more material this year.

“We’ll definitely release an EP, and this one’ll be louder than

‘Breathe,’” Wood said. “The new stuff we’re recording — we’re fleshing out the arrangements, focusing on the drums and adding electric guitar parts.”

The two have gone back and forth from Nashville to the Netherlands since the group formed, and the duo are returning to Europe soon.

While there, the plan to write a full album’s worth of material, as well as release a split EP. “We’re still discovering the collaborative process,” Wood said.

“Right now we’re arranging and finding our style.”

Though the band’s future material is fuller and louder than its previous releases, The Bird and the Bear plan on staying with a stripped-down sound for live performances.

“For now, we’re trying to create two different experiences with what’s on record and what we can bring to the live show,” Wood said. “Though we’d love to tour with a full band and play with other people. It’s economically difficult; we’re currently touring in a small Toyota hatchback.”

The band has been noted for its passionate, intimate live performance.

“There’s a chemistry on stage,” Wood said. “Our personal relationship started before our musical one.

We’re married now, and all of the difficulties we face, we just let it all out on stage. It’s intimate — cathartic — controlled.”

This is the band’s first time performing in Nebraska. They were scheduled to perform at the Zoo Bar in Lincoln in 2013, but had to cancel because of inclement weather.

“We got snowed in in Colorado for three days last year,” Wood said. “We’re excited to finally play in Nebraska.” arts@ dailynebraskan.com

courtesy photo

‘The Lego Movie’ features an all-star cast, and a storyline that appeals to broad audiences.

‘The Lego Movie’ appeals to all movie lovers Jack Forey DN You’ve probably heard by now that “The Lego Movie” is awesome.

It is, indeed, quite awesome.

Surprisingly, “The Lego Movie” is not only one of the best animated movies to be released in a while, it’s also a sharp-minded comedy and a nearly perfect family film sure to appeal to movie lovers of all ages. It gets so many things so right, it’s unreal.

Imagine a city where all the citizens, each one a smiley, plastic Lego figurine, work and live in perfect harmony, as they destroy and rebuild large sections of the city every day, all according to the instructions laid out

by President Business, who is played to maniacal pitch perfection by Will Ferrell. The opening scenes of the movie have unsettling dystopic undertones – that’s what the older audience will be laughing at – all while keeping with an upbeat and creative spirit.

This is all in the first few minutes, before things really get going, and the movie takes us through the rest of the Lego Universe, where anything and everything is possible.

Our hero is an average, everyday, completely un-special construction worker named Emmet (Chris Pratt), who one day finds himself caught up in an ancient prophecy that declares him

the most important, interesting, extraordinary person in the universe. He’s taken up by the Master Builders Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) and Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), who guide him on a quest through the Lego Universe to stop President Business from gluing everything together.

The resulting adventure is a flurry of inspired visual effects and pure imagination in a world with virtually no limits on size, shape, time or space. The characters rush from one fantasy setting to the next, “Wreck-It Ralph” style, with all the heart and strong characterization of a film such as “Toy Story.” It also strikes a decent balance of pop culture references, which are all over the place, but don’t slow the story down or weigh down the script. Batman (Will Arnett) isn’t just there to be Batman; he’s actively and hilariously characterized. Dozens of recognizable figures show up in the Lego universe. Even Shaquille O’Neal makes a brief appearance in a priceless gag involving a catapult.

The movie also boasts a team of interesting original characters.

There’s Metalbeard (Nick Offerman), the giant, bombastic robot pirate who lost his body and his crew trying to take down Present Business, Princess Unikitty (Alison Brie), a sickeningly adorable cat-creature with a horn, Benny (Charlie Day), a 1980’s-era astronaut obsessed with building spaceships, and more. The script deftly balances the personalities

and comic timing of each of these characters brilliantly.

This is a movie so full of interesting environmental effects, it could only ever have been done with computer animation. The iconic square blocks are used in fluid and creative ways, creating the dust from doors being busted open, ocean waves, lava, smoke from a train and clouds in the sky.

Its color palette is suitably bright and vivid, but not muddled or visually confusing. The computergenerated plastic that each character is made of is oddly more lively and physical than the rounded characters in most computer animated children’s films.

This is a movie that takes us from the big city to the Old West, then to medieval times, space and beyond, all while involving us with well-realized characters and making us laugh, often. “The Lego Movie” is a celebration of pure imagination and a brilliant cinematic balancing act, combining broad humor and classic archetypes with commercial properties, a pitch perfect cast and clever pop culture references.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have brought comedic inspiration to commercial properties before in “21 Jump Street.” With “The Lego Movie,” they have surpassed themselves, proving that they can direct both R-rated adult comedies and fun, lively family films like this one and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” which they also directed.

THE LEGO MOVIE STARRING

Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks

DIRECTED BY

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

It’s difficult to find something really wrong with this movie, and I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend it to. Just about everything in “The Lego Movie” is awesome. arts@ dailynebraskan.com

courtesy photo

“12 Years A Slave” won best picture at the BAFTA awards, but didn’t pick up the number of awards it was expected to.

BAFTA awards recognizes films from all countries can realistically claim any of these films as exclusively their own.

In addition to these films, vince two of the pictures nominated moran for Best Film that weren’t noted in the Best British Film category were headed by British directors.

This includes “Captain Phillips,” directed by Paul Greengrass, and the winner of Best Film, “12 Years a Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen. Though “12 Years a Slave” Nominees such as may seem like an entirely Ameri‘Rush,’ ‘Gravity,’ can film, it was not only made by an English director, but also fea‘Saving Mr. Banks’ tures British actors Chiwetel Ejioshow international for and Michael Fassbender in the two lead roles. filmmaking Though Hollywood is seen as primarily American, it is clear that it is drawing in talented filmStudying abroad in England this makers from across the globe. The semester, I got the opportunity to BAFTAs also highlight talent both behind and in front of the camera watch the BAFTA (British Acadin the English-speaking film inemy of Film and Television Arts) Awards live for the first time with dustry, inside and outside of Hollywood, gifted directors, writers, my British flat mates – yes, they actors, special effects artists lendsay flat mates instead of rooming their talents to the art form of mates. film.

While still not as prestigious Brits weren’t the only ones as the Academy Awards, which taking home statues Sunday are coming up in fewer than two night. The voting body showed weeks, it was enjoyable to take part in the collective viewing surprising support for the very American, even in title, “Ameriof another country’s attempt to honor the best in film with shiny, can Hustle,” awarding Jennifer important statues. It was equally Lawrence Best Supporting Actress enjoyable to join my new native over the favored Lupita Nyong’o.

Australian Cate Blanchett was British friends in professing comgiven her umpteenth statue for mon love and admiration for our her mesmerizing performance in favorite British figures including “Blue Jasmine” and seems to have host Stephen Fry, BAFTA fellowsealed her second Oscar win with ship recipient Helen Mirren, prea touching acceptance speech senter Tom Hardy, Best Adapted dedicated to the late great Philip Screenplay winner Steve Coogan Seymour Hoffman, while at the and nominees Judi Dench and same time distracting attention Emma Thompson.

For obvious reasons, BAFTA from the recent resurgence of the Woody Allen scandal. tends to lean more British both In the absence of “Dallas Buyin the films it nominates and the ers Club” from the nomination winners it selects. This year there was no shortage of great British ballot in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories, Best talent to choose from, but confusion over nominees such as Actor deservedly went to actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who received “Rush,” “Gravity” and “Saving a standing ovaMr. Banks” in the tion for his percategory Best British Film shows just Brits weren’t formance as the enslaved Solomon how international the only Northup in “12 filmmaking has become. ones taking home Years a Slave.” The biggest and most “Rush” is writsatisfying surprise ten by Peter Mor- statues Sunday of the night came gan, the famous night.” when Barkhad British screen Abdi won Best writer, directed by Supporting Actor for his work in American filmmaker Ron How“Captain Phillips.” While his perard, produced by a mix of both formance may not have been the British and American production companies and stars Chris Hem- best in the field when compared to Fassbender ’s terrifying turn, sworth, an Australian, and Daniel Brühl, a German, in the lead roles. it was impossible not to crack a “Saving Mr. Banks” is similarly smile when the once-upon-a-time directed by American John Lee limo driver took the stage.

Finally, what the BAFTAs Hancock, co-written by English Kelly Marcel and stars American proved was the race for Best PicTom Hanks and English Emma ture at the Academy Awards is no Thompson in a joint production closer than it was last week. With its British actors and director “12 involving America, Great Britain Years a Slave” was expected to do and Australia. much better, and though it won However, perhaps the most Best Film, it failed to win any controversial nominee is the other vital awards with the excepwinner of the award, “Gravity,” tion of Best Actor. “Gravity,” won which is directed by Mexican Alfonso Cuarón, now a resident of every technical award it was up for while adding another statue to London, features American stars Sandra Bullock and George Cloo- Alfonso Cuarón’s trophy case for ney, is produced by Cuarón and Best Director, and, as stated before, “American Hustle” did betDavid Heyman of England, and is ter than expected. distributed by the American proIt’s still a three horse race for duction company Warner Bros. The the main prize, and while “12 explanation continually given for Years a Slave” probably still has certifying “Gravity” as authentically British is the fact that it was the lead, “Gravity” and “Amerifilmed in the groundbreaking vi- can Hustle” could just as easily sual effects company Framestore, be Oscar ’s Best Picture and the Academy’s representative for the based in London. Though any country would love to claim any most exceptional in this truly exceptional year of film. of these films as entirely theirs, in arts@ the current international reality of dailynebraskan.com the film business, no one country

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GIMME

xplicit: from 5 of things that my friends were going through. My relationships. My past experiences, or how I want my future to be. I think that’s important. I believe that you can write yourself into a better future.

A lot of my poetry is very diverse.

You’ll see a lot of different elements in it, from the socially conscious to the relationship aspect, to self betterment and improvement. You’ll see all of that in my poetry.

DN: So exactly how explicit are you?

X: If I say, I rarely say any cuss words at all or any other thing that is sexually explicit like. If I do it, it’s because it needs to be done, you know. It’s not like I just say cuss words, and I don’t say the ‘n word’ in poems or anything like that. I try to keep it PG-13. But if a cuss word needs to be said to amplify the point, then it will be said. You know cuss words can be used at a particular point to make it stick. Not just because it sounds cool. I do church events, I do youth events too, and you can’t curse in either one of those. I’m able to switch up for whatever audience I’m talking to at the time.

DN: What message do you hope UNL receives from tomorrow’s performance?

X: “I hope students walk away first saying that they learned something new. I hope that they walk away with an inspiration to write, to start writing on new experiences, through spoken word poetry. I mean I was in the same shoes not too long ago, and if I would have had an outlet like spoken word when I was in college, whether it was about professors or relationships that I was going through, I would have seen the therapeutic side of poetry. So I hope they take from my experiences from what I share in my poetry, that they are able to get through whatever they are going through with my poetry and my experiences. I hope that they leave inspired to go out there and challenge the world and not just take things for what they see, but actually dig deeper and look for meaning in college beyond what mainstream society gives you, you know. Like actually look for something deeper. And my last message is about self determination and entrepreneurship. Finishing college is important. Getting a job is important. But you can’t just rely on a degree. You have to learn to facilitate your own, whether that is being a business owner, creating a new identity, because that is what I did for myself. I became my own boss in a sense when I started doing spoken word poetry so I hope I can relay that message

FIVE

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New Girl Scout cookie ideas

It might be Girl Scout cookie season. A beloved staff member brought them to his editors tonight, an appropriate sign of respect. As good as these peanut butter sandwiches are, there’s room for improvement.

The Junkies. Two butterscotch wafers surround a cream mixed with concentrated codeine.

The Do-Si-Don’ts. These are made from the bodies of Girl Scouts who were not forgiven for their sins.

The Whoopsies. When you accidentally finish an entire sleeve, you can go to participating chapters of Planned Parenthood and have them forced out.

Li’l Shorties. These cookies were raised in a bad neighborhood and are mad at the world as a result.

Thanks-A-Not. It’s just dirt in a box.

cOURTESY PHOTO

Xplicit’s poems don’t always live up to his name, saying the use of expletives is reserved for situations which need emphasis.

I’m going to teach in every aspect of my life, whether that is on stage or in the classroom, or whether I am just out in public.” xplicit slam poet

you painted in people’s lives. So I hope through poetry and through teaching, volunteering and trying to give my daughter inspiration when she is doing math problems, and she hates me for it, but I know it’s going to make her better in the end. Just things like that. I’m going to teach in every aspect of my life, whether that is on stage or in the classroom, or whether I am just out in public. So, mainly I want to leave that imprint and legacy on people about mentoring themselves and treating other people well. arts@ dailynebraskan.com

to them as well about self determination and going for what you want passionately. When other people see your passion, they will believe more in you and you will see more opportunities open up.”

DN: So what’s your goal with all of this: being a teacher, being a dad and being a spoken word artist?

X: I guess my goal is to leave an imprint and leave a legacy. You know you can’t take your cars with you, and you cant take your clothes or your flat screen TVs when it’s time for you to leave this earth. The only thing you can take with you is that picture

—COMPLIED BY ARTS DESK | ART BY hayley heesack-

BEER & PIZZA: from 5 and again to ask how it tastes. Ramos is unassuming, easy going and tasty.

It has a small-town feel to it. The pub didn’t design its atmosphere – it just happened that way.

Ramos Pizza and Pub doesn’t need to cater to students or anyone else. It’s been open for 30 years and isn’t going anywhere. It is the classic mom-and-pop restaurant with lots of loyal customers and little pomp. Witty one-liners about whining and talking yourself up adorn the walls, and they don’t seem to bother or alienate anyone. Their Facebook page is not run by an army of marketing professionals but still does its job. Most of its content is not pandering or mission statements but pizza memes. This restaurant knows exactly what it is and seems uninterested in changing.

And I hope they don’t, because most pizza joints don’t carry cream cheese as an ingredient. arts@ dailynebraskan.com

jake crandall | DN

Ramos employee Christian Stebbins takes a pizza out of the oven. Ramos offers delivery, carry-out and dine-in options.

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The Daily Nebraskan Advertising Staff is looking for an experienced Graphic Designer to add to their staff. Must have prior experience, and expertise in the Adobe Creative Suites (Photoshop, InDesign, etc.) Weekly logged hours, orgnization, and creativity a must. Begin on comission and will be promoted to part-time comission beginning Fall 2014. Apply online at dailynebraskan.com or in-person at our office located at 20 NE Union, 1400 R St. KITCHEN ASSISTANT Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority 616 North 16thstreet Job Description: Assist with food preparation, dish washing, clean-up of dining room, and clean-up of kitchen.

Location: Sorority on University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus.

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COMPENSATION: $7.50 per hour, plus lunch Monday thru Friday.

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Pay differential for overnight hours. For more information visit: www.centerpointe.org.

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ON-CALL SECURITY AND VISITOR SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE The Sheldon Museum of Art seeks part-time, on-call security and visitor services representatives responsible for the safety of people, facility, and collections while assuring a welcoming and helpful environment. The Sheldon Museum of Art celebrates diversity and fosters an inclusive and supportive climate. Become part of an environment where cultural and civic engagement is a way of life. High school graduation or equivalency required. Send cover letter and resume to Lynn Doser, Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 12th & R Streets, Lincoln, NE 68588-0300. Review of applications will begin February 24, 2014.

Sheldon Museum of Art | University of Nebraska-Lincoln 12th & R Streets | Lincoln, NE 68588-0300 402-472-2461 | Fax 402-472-4258 http://sheldon.unl.edu

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Help Wanted KLKN-TV has an opening for a part-time Production Assistant. Duties related to news/general program production including operation of character generator, editing of video tape, camera operation, and assistance in commercial and station promotion production. Previous experience and/or education preferred but not required. Excellent entryway into the television industry. Please fill out an application at our office located at 3240 So. 10th St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., send your resume to KLKN-TV, Attn.: DNBM, 3240 So. 10th St., Lincoln, NE 68502, e-mail to sanderson@klkntv.com, or call Jeff Swanson, Operations Manager at (402) 436-2238. Equal Opportunity Employer - all qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.

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Any student organization interested in sponThe soring a forum is required to attend a meeting on Wednesday, February 19th at 5:15 pm in the City Union. Room to be posted. If you have questions call the ASUN office at 472-2581 or email asun1@unl.edu

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Crossword

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ACROSS 1 Passion

for life 5 Digital image format 9 Many a Bach composition 14 Butter alternative 15 Multinational currency 16 In harmony 17 Doozy 18 “Don’t move, Bowser!”

19 Closet wood 20 Jackie Gleason’s role in “The Hustler” 23 Common pasta suffix 24 Kyoto currency 25 Rescues from the pound, say 28 “We will ___ undersold!”

30 Fifth tire 33 Lamb’s mother 34 Fabled Arabian bird 36 Mess up

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Miss, as a chance Common sushi orders Disembarked Chest muscle, for short Sweltering Officiate a football game, informally Jumbled Norris of “Walker, Texas Ranger” Lumberjack Noah’s safe haven “There is ___ in team” Cigarette associated with women’s tennis Knightly activity Beach castle material Tribe near the Great Salt Lake Not bashful Against Dole (out)

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE P A C T S

I N U I T

P A R T A

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M O N O T R E M E

A M A R Y L L I S

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D R E A M T A S I A E W O R D N E L W A D I Y I N B E T T I T H I N G I E G O S A W N S I Z E M E D E A O B A Y W R I O S A M

A R B O L P I A N O P O N E S U L G S T S P A P A E F A L L S R E C O A T F I E R C E E S D E E P E T S P A S T D E W A R M A C A R E T L A R G E M E N D E S

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DOWN 1 Get

a closer view, as with a camera 2 Pacific weather phenomenon 3 “Already been to that movie” 4 Shredded 5 Wrestlerturnedgovernor Ventura 6 Hoaxes 7 The “E” of Q.E.D. 8 “The Naked Maja” artist 9 False front 10 Of ___ (helping) 11 1976 Broadway musical with the hit song “Day by Day” 12 A, in Acapulco 13 Poetic adverb 21 “___ the Tiger” (1982 hit) 22 “Charlie’s Angels” actress Fawcett 26 Like Nash’s llama vis-à-vis lama 27 Puts in stitches 29 Londoner, e.g.

31 Small coins for 29-Downs 32 “Exodus” protagonist 35 Handling problems all right 37 Not just one or the other 38 Italian “dear”

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“Jeopardy!” host Trebek Safety item for boaters Tyrannosaurus ___ Ice cubes, slangily Country singer Robbins and others

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Small and delicate Minister, e.g., at weddings Snap out of it Locked lips Baryshnikov’s nickname AM/FM carrier “Oho, dear chap!”

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Certain iPod

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Who, in Québec

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Card game akin to crazy eights

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

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8

dailynebraskan.com

tuesday, february 18, 2014

dn Big ten teleconference Indiana coach Tom Crean

Penn State coach Patrick Chambers

“We’re preparing for a very good Iowa team. One is that is extremely versatile. Not just because of the depth and the consistency of that depth that they have, but the multitude of the skills that they have.”

“Any time that you have a guy or two guys that can get you 30 helps. They have a great defense.

They are playing with great confidence right now. Let’s give Coach Miles credit. He kept his team together and his locker room together. They have a great home-court advantage, and that translates to success.”

On Iowa game this week:

teams then it’s not good. I don’t get into all of that stuff.”

On Nebraska’s latest run:

On Iowa coach Fran McCaffery:

“Fran is not only one of the top coaches in our league, frankly, I think he is one of the best coaches in the country because he does such a great job of going from game to game, doing whatever it takes to win that game.”

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery

On Terran Petteway:

“I really like him. He is every bit of 6-6. He’s talented and can beat you in so many different ways. He can get himself to the foul line, and he is a tough matchup for many teams.”

Purdue coach Matt Painter

On Big Ten competition:

On win against Indiana:

“You can’t bring your B game no matter who you are in this league or else you will be embarrassed.”

On how free throw shooting hasn’t changed:

“I think it’s really simple. The game has changed so much in so many ways. That’s one thing that’s the same as 50 years ago. You step up to the line and take your shot. About the same number of fouls are being committed. It’s something that we emphasize all the time.”

Illinois coach John Groce On previous week:

“I thought we played a little harder. I don’t think we particularly played smart in the first half. In the second half, our guys were making shots, and our defense was doing a good job of getting stops on the other end.”

On control of non-conference schedule:

“The only flexibility you have is your exempt tournament. I don’t think it’s too long. I like it and think it’s good where it is.

I think it’s different because it’s a two-semester sport. It’s great for the kids and great for the experience and the exposure for the institution for recruiting.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo On loss to Nebraska:

“I thought last week we played about 50 minutes of pretty good basketball and about 30 minutes that weren’t so good and then the last 10 minutes against Nebraska. The last 10 minutes were mistakes that we made at both ends of the floor. The same thing happened in the Ohio State game, and that ends up being the difference in a 9-point loss.”

On Big Ten depth:

“I’m not surprised. I said that at the beginning of the season. I saw that coming with some schools getting transfers and players coming off the bench. I just sensed that the teams that finished in the bottom half last year were going to get significantly better, which would make the league’s depth better.”

Michigan coach John Beilein On recent losses:

“We just got to do a better job of working through adversity, taking our spots offensively and defensively playing with more of a sense of urgency.”

On how college basketball can increase market share:

“All I know is that every Big Ten game is sold out. It’s been two or three years since we (have) played a game that isn’t sold out. I don’t know much about market share, but I know that there is high interest in this league.”

Ohio State coach Thad Matta On atmosphere at Pinnacle Bank Arena:

“I’ll be honest with you. It is now a typical Big Ten road venue.

There is a lot of excitement, and the night we were there it was completely packed. Nebraska is playing very good basketball right now, not only in there but on the road.”

On Nebraska:

“They have really good players. It seems like they are playing with a purpose. Understanding the system, I think when they are playing well, the shots are going in.”

Minnesota coach Richard Pitino

“Coming off a disappointing loss. I got to give Nebraska a lot of credit as I watch the tape over and over. They made a lot of great shots. We just did not play with the intensity that you need to play with in this league. I think that Tim (Miles) did a great job, and they beat us fair and square.”

On win against Northwestern:

“That was our best defensive performance in a game where we had a lot of bad turnovers and missed some big free throws. To win on the road is a testament to our defense.”

On balance of the Big Ten:

On defensive play:

“It’s the best top to bottom since the time that I’ve been here. The two or three teams that you thought were at the bottom of the league for a lot of years are not only playing better but very well.”

“I think when you talk about yesterday, the bigs did a great job of not fouling. It was by far our best performance. The biggest issue has been fouling, and we did a great job of not doing that last night.”

On losses to Michigan State and Minnesota:

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan

Nebraska coach Tim Miles

On importance of free-throw shooting:

“Some shots went down, and I though defensively we did a better job than in the game that we played them before. We got off to a lead, but I’ve seen teams make a charge. Michigan made a heck of a run and we were able to sustain it.”

“We got a big week ahead of us with two teams who have beat us.

You can’t get swept at this point of the year. It’s a really important week for us.”

Northwestern coach Chris Collins

“So much of free-throw shooting is form, repetition and practice. Then being able to make them under pressure when you get into tough venues and the crowd is going nuts. I know it’s a goal for a lot of teams to be at the top of that.”

On Iowa and Wisconsin rivalry:

On preparing team for success:

“It’s two neighboring states and the game of basketball. It’s hard to say that there’s one team that has more of a rivalry when you are situated where Wisconsin is and where Iowa is. If you start being concerned with one or two teams over the other eight or nine

“You can’t keep them away from information. They’ve got every available medium on the Internet whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or bracketology. All we can control is winning games.”

—Compiled by Josh Kelly sports@ dailynebraskan.com

gymnastics: from 10

coach: from 10 Nebraska women’s basketball team, assistant head coach Sunny Smallwood stepped in to coach the remainder of the game.

“As soon as I saw her down, my first reaction was to pull the team together off away from her and get us organized and focused into what was next,” Smallwood said. “I don’t think I necessarily needed to say anything because there is such a great love for her as a leader.”

That’s when the Huskers lived up to their top-25 ranking and took back the lead from their young opponent.

That’s when they pulled ahead by 15 points to walk away with the 76-61 win. That’s when Hooper broke the school record career 3-pointers with

On next two games this week:

On start against Michigan:

“Obviously it was a tough week for us with two losses. It was really hard-fought game against Minnesota, and it was the blueprint for how a lot of our games have gone, which are low-scoring games.”

270, surpassing Kiera Hardy (2004-07), who had 267.

But Hooper’s accomplishment was overshadowed by the departure of her coach.

“Today was a big day, pink day for breast cancer awareness. And then that happens,” said Hooper, who notched six 3-pointers in the game. “So it gives you something else to play for. You play for your coach, you play for breast cancer, and you play for yourselves. I mean it just gave us all a bigger puff of air I guess.”

Nebraska handed Indiana its second straight loss. Before coming to Lincoln, the Hoosiers competed against another top-25 opponent, Penn State.

The Hoosiers lost by a smaller margin

than that of their game against Nebraska with a final score of 71-63.

“That’s back-to-back games now against Penn State and Nebraska, and I thought our young team really competed,” Miller said. “I thought the big difference in the second half was their effort to the glass and their secondchance points and second-chance opportunities. They were inspired. After their leader went down like that, they went on a 26-11 run to end the game and you understand why.”

With only four regular season Big Ten games left on the schedule and six wins in a row, the Huskers head on the road once again to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday. sports@ dailynebraskan.com

men’s basketball: from 10 That puts them at a minimum of 20 wins and a 10-8 conference record to go along with the strong strength of schedule and RPI rankings. Tim Miles and company wouldn’t have to sweat too much on Selection Sunday with a resume like that.

Of course, getting to that point won’t be easy.

The biggest test for Nebraska will be Thursday night against Penn State, a team that beat the Huskers earlier this season.

In the past, whenever Nebraska got any sort of national attention, it faltered in the next game.

That’s why it took two and a half seasons to win back-to-back conference games.

Also, the last time this program knocked off a top-10 opponent and was in the discussion for the NCAA Tournament – 2011 under Doc Sadler – it lost to a mediocre opponent at home.

Remember that?

The Huskers upset No. 2 Texas then lost to Kansas State at home four days later.

Nebraska can’t afford that kind of slip Thursday. The team knows that, too.

The players are focused. They

know what’s at stake, but they are accepting the challenge.

“The NCAA Tournament is always in our mind,” Terran Petteway said Monday. “We know we can’t afford to lose because we lost some bad games at the start of the season. But that’s making us come out with a chip on our shoulder, knowing we have something to prove.”

Well put, Petteway. So let’s see what you’ve got.

Andrew Ward is a senior broadcasting major. You can reach him at sports@ dailynebraskan.com

ON THE BUBBLE

file photo by amber baesler | dn

In 2011, Nebraska upset No. 2 Texas at home to improve to 18-8 and enter the discussion for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. But the Huskers faltered, losing 3 of their last 4 regular-season games before ending the year with losses to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament and Wichita State in the NIT. After beating No. 9 Michigan State on Sunday, Nebraska (14-10, 6-6) is once again on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, garnering a vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Here is what the Huskers face to end their 2014 season, compared with 2011.

2011: Last six games L 61-57 vs. Kansas State

Thursday vs. Penn State Sunday vs. Purdue

W 69-58 vs. No. 22 Missouri

Feb. 26 at Illinois

L 53-52 vs. Oklahoma State L 76-49 vs. Wichita State

Of course it’s always a little bit of a stinger to walk away with a loss. But it gives us motivation to work hard and move forward. We saw some decent things on bars.” heather brink

2014: Last six games

L 83-82 in OT at Iowa State

L 67-57 at Colorado

Nebraska junior Jennifer Lauer recorded a score of 9.90 on the uneven bars against Minnesota on Feb. 1 but did not contribute in the event on Friday, when the Huskers fell to Michigan.

March 1 vs. Northwestern March 5 at Indiana March 9 vs. No. 16 Wisconsin

assistant women’s gymnastics coach

as a Husker for her first time.

She posted a score of 9.875.

“Jennie Laeng was able to have a huge impact on the team score,” assistant coach Heather Brink said.

Sophomore Hollie Blanske (9.825) and junior Jessie DeZiel (9.875) came next. Finishing up the rotation was senior Emily Wong, who notched a 9.90 to win her the event title. DeZiel and Laeng tied for the second-place title.

“It was great that some other kids got some opportunities,” Brink said.

Shelby Gies led Michigan with a score of 9.85 on the uneven bars. Austin Sheppard notched a 9.825, and Joanna

Sampson scored a 9.80. Their average team score on bars this season is a 49.138, placing them eighth in the national rankings.

After last Friday’s meet, Nebraska is now ranked 10th nationally for uneven bars, averaging a team score of 49.138. Wong is ranked ninth, and Laeng, after her first performance on uneven bars as a Husker, placed 16th in the national rankings.

Michigan’s highest individual rankings are Natalie Beilstein at 24th and Gies at 30th.

Though they suffered their first loss of the season, Nebraska’s coaches said they are optimistic about this coming week of practices.

“Of course it’s always a little

bit of a stinger to walk away with a loss,” Brink said. “But it gives us motivation to work hard and move forward. We saw some decent things on bars. Now it’s just time to work on the little things and make those little things become habit.”

Kendig said this week of practice will be time to perfect performances and prepare for the coming Masters Classic.

“We’ve got a full week of practice this week,” Kendig said.

“We’ve got the meet on Sunday, so that time gives us an opportunity to get a little break and hopefully be fresh for our next meet.” sports@ dailynebraskan.com

dailynebraskan.com

tuesday, february 18, 2014

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Sophomore steps up to lead for young Huskers that we were going to win,” Hanna said.

Nebraska’s No. 1 Since joining the Huskers last season, Lehmicke has an oversingles player, Maggy all record of 57-37. She came to Lehmicke, takes more Nebraska from Kirkland, Wash., where she was a four-star recruit vocal role, wins with and the No. 74 player in the councourt presence try.

“When I came here, the coaches were so friendly and so different from what I was used to,” Zach Tegler Lehmicke said. “And then the DN team, obviously, I could tell right off the bat that I’d get along so Love-love. well with them.”

Maggy Lehmicke is serving to Her impact on the Huskers, Illinois State’s Phyllis Tigges. She who finished in the Sweet 16 last and teammate Mary Hanna lead season, was immediate. Lehmicke their No. 1 doubles match 5-3, but won her first four matches for Nethey had lost three games in a row braska. to let the Redbirds back into the “I was pumped up about colmatch. lege tennis,” she said. “Everyone “That’s just a typical letthat can play for their university down,” Lehmicke said. “When is pumped up. I was just kind of you’ve won five straight games, on a high, riding high.”

I think sometimes you can almost Lehmicke went 20-9 in spring calm down. The intensity drops a 2013, mostly playing the No. 4 little bit.” and 5 spots behind the four seHanna, a freshman, looks back niors on the roster. She picked up at Lehmicke and some of her court taps her thigh demeanor from with encouragethem, including Her game ment. her reactions after “Let’s go, bad shots. She said has really Maggy.” she used to scream grown.

She’s kind The sophoafter hitting a bad more opens the shot, but now that of a perfectionist game with a fault she’s older, she as well. I don’t but uses a sliced doesn’t take missecond serve to takes as seriously. know if she sees force an error.

“I think a lot it as much as her Fifteen-love. of that was instiAfter Lehmgated by the secoaches do.” icke hits a ground niors last year,” scott jacobson stroke wide, IlLehmicke said. women’s tennis coach linois State hits a “Seeing how Patty volley in the net.

(Patricia Veresova) At 40-15, Lehmand Mary (Weathicke serves to erholt) and those guys handled Tigges, who misses a short lob themselves on the court. Seeing across the net. Hanna puts it away. how they could miss a volley into The Nebraska team wins the next the net and fall and just burst out game at love, with Lehmicke forclaughing.” ing the game-clinching error. Up This season, she is 5-0 playing 7-3, Hanna tries to serve out the at No. 1 singles, and because half match. Lehmicke misses a volley of the Huskers’ lineup is comlong and lets out a chirp, laugh- posed of freshmen, she has been ing at her mistake. The Huskers thrust into a leadership role. come back to win the game and “I think last year was very the match, 8-3. lighthearted for me, and I could “I think we just kind of knew just kind of goof off do whatever,

file photo by cahner olson | dn

Nebraska sophomore Maggy Lehmicke won her singles matches over the weekend by scores of 7-5, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-3. Lehmicke is 5-0 at the No. 1 spot this spring to go with a 4-2 mark in doubles. kind of be one of the more quiet leaders,” Lehmicke said. “And this year I’m much more vocal. And I think playing No. 1, it kind of like

assumes the leadership position that maybe I wasn’t completely prepared for.”

But Nebraska coach Scott Ja-

Dynamic defines tight-knit team Huskers use low turnover, team chemistry to turn individualized sport into team sport Sydny Boyd DN The Nebraska men’s tennis team is a strong and willful team, and the players on the squad are proud of the ‘N’ they wear on their chests, coach Kerry McDermott said.

“Playing Nebraska tennis is a huge,” senior Brandon Videtich said. “It is an honor, and all of us go out and try to do our best representing such a great program.”

Most of the men’s tennis players have been playing the sport from a young age. Senior Tom Blackwell and Videtich both started about the age of 9.

“I used to come to Husker tennis matches with my dad,” Videtich said. “I watched them play and knew I wanted to be a part of the team.”

The team aspect is what draws in most Husker athletes. Skills and court capabilities aside, the men want to play Nebraska tennis because of how important the team is to the program.

“Our team dynamic has always been important,” McDermott said.

This season, the team dynamic is close-knit, Videtich said.

With 13 players, there are only two freshmen. Going from high school to collegiate levels of competition is especially difficult in tennis, he said. But, having gone through it, the seasoned players are able to provide a helping hand.

Blackwell and Videtich are seniors this season, but when they were freshmen they needed to learn what it meant to be a Husker athlete.

“The transition to college tennis is hard,” Videtich said. “I grew up in Lincoln, and the caliber just isn’t that same. I had to work really hard to get on the same level as my teammates.”

Playing collegiate tennis, you have to be driven, hard-working and on top of your game, McDermott said.

“I try to play as hard as I can,” Blackwell said.

In tennis, each player is playing for his own personal win, which translates into a team win.

“Tennis is a team sport,” McDermott said. “So it is important to focus on the team.”

The team aspect of tennis is formed both on and off the tennis courts.

“We are really close.” Videtich said. “We laugh and joke around on trips and off the court, but we also encourage and compete while we are on the courts.”

Moving into this season, the Huskers lost two graduating seniors and gained two incoming freshman. Having only two new players helps the team dynamic, Videtich said.

“The team really works together.” Videtich said. “We all have our own personal goals and achievements, but we accomplish those together.”

The men’s tennis program is only growing, which will help aid the team’s accomplishments, Videtich said.

“With McDermott and the new facility and new players, the program is growing and will be even more successful,” Videtich said, “The team and the dynamic of it will help all of that too.”

This season has been Blackwell’s favorite out of his four years.

file photo | dn

“It’s been great,” Blackwell said. “This group of guys are close, and we all work hard. The dynamic is great.”

The Husker tennis team is different from other sports teams at Nebraska, Blackwell said.

“We have to find ways to be a team off the court more than other teams do,” Blackwell said.

“We’re on a team, but we are individual. It’s tough, but it’s great.” sports@ dailynebraskan.com

We’ve carried a lot of experience from last semester into this upcoming season. I think we’re a little bit more comfortable in positions where we have a chance to win. I feel like our attitude right now is one where we’re going to have an even better chance to walk away with a win this season.” steffi neisen senior golfer

Neisen shot a school-record round of 66 and finished tied for seventh.

“I’m looking forward to going back to Mountain View in Arizona,” Neisen said. “It brings back good memories because of my school-record round there my sophomore year, and I haven’t been back since then.”

In April, Nebraska will finish its schedule at the SMU/Dallas Athletic Club Invitational in Dallas, the Ohio State Spring Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, and the Big Ten Championships at the Ross Course in French Lick, Ind. “French Lick is so cool,” Chael said. “Also, I’m really excited to play Ohio State’s course. It has a really good reputation, and obviously Jack Nicklaus went to school

sports brief

Tom Blackwell, one of two seniors on the Nebraska men’s tennis team, is 4-2 in singles matches so far this spring season. He won 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday as NU shut out Creighton.

golf: from 10

that, even as a freshman.”

As Neisen prepares for her final spring season at Nebraska, Chael is ready for her first.

“I’m really excited,” Chael said. “Just having a couple months off – I think it’s three and a half – to really focus on what maybe I can improve on for the spring after the fall. I feel like I made some good use of that time.”

Nebraska’s first meet of the spring season will be the Westbrook Spring Invitational, which begins on Sunday in Peoria, Ariz.

After that, the Huskers will return to Arizona for the Clover Cup on March 14 and the Mountain View Collegiate on March 28.

When Nebraska played the Mountain View Collegiate in 2012,

cobson said Lehmicke has done a good job in her new role. Beyond that, she’s also a much-improved player, he said.

“Her game has really grown,” Jacobson said. “She’s kind of a perfectionist as well. I don’t know if she sees it as much as her coaches do. She’s just one of those kids that has embraced the role of playing No. 1 for our program, elevated her game big-time. And just no matter where she is in a match, you always get the feeling that she’s going to find a way to get it done.”

In her singles match against Illinois State’s Emmie Marx, Lehmicke wins the first game with an ace up the center of the court but is tentative with her ground strokes.

In the fourth game, she finally finds her swing with a cross-court winner.

“That’s a forehand! Come on!”

Later in the match, she tells herself to extend her arm after missing a shot in the net. She pumps her fist after a pair of cross-court winners.

She sporadically shows bursts of emotion but doesn’t let it distract her.

“She’s calm on the outside,” Jacobson said. “She’s not calm on the inside oftentimes.”

The match is tied at 2-2 in the first before Lehmicke seizes control, winning five straight games to take the first set 6-2 and gain a 1-0 lead in the second, which she wins 6-3.

“There kind of comes a point where I just like let myself breathe and not take things so seriously, and then I’m really able to hit out on my shots,” Lehmicke said. “That’s when I just kind of laugh things off and goof off a little bit and realize that I’m here for a reason, and I’m playing for my team, and that it’s not the end of the world if I miss a forehand.

Those kind of things kind of help me loosen up, and then I just play better naturally.

“It’s just kind of like a little war with myself.”

After a close match early, Lehmicke runs away with the momentum and the match, just as she and Hanna did in their doubles victory.

That’s part of the reason Lehmicke’s doubles partner has just one way to describe her.

“Beast,” Hanna said. “That’s the one word.” sports@ dailynebraskan.com

there.”

After finishing sixth at the Big Ten Championships at the end of their first season in the conference, the Huskers finished 11th in 2013.

They are eyeing a much better finish at the end of their 2014 campaign.

“We’ve carried a lot of experience from last semester into this upcoming season,” Neisen said.

“I think we’re a little bit more comfortable in positions where we have a chance to win. I feel like our attitude right now is one where we’re going to have an even better chance to walk away with a win this season.”

The road to French Lick begins on Sunday in Arizona – a state with golf courses that present a

challenge different from the ones Nebraska faced in the fall.

“The style of golf is so different,” Chael said. “We’re going down to Arizona three times this spring, and in the fall we pretty much play in the Midwest.”

The largely indoor preparation also poses a challenge for the Huskers, but as winter warms into spring, they will get to practice and play outdoors more and more.

And that’s just what the team has been looking forward to.

“I love competing. I love tournaments,” Chael said. “I think that’s what you’re supposed to be the most excited for, and I can’t wait to get back out there.” sports@ dailynebraskan.com

file photo by andrew barry | dn

Nebraska sophomore forward Terran Petteway had 16 points and 4 rebounds against Illinois en route to earning Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors on Monday.

Petteway’s performance earns Big Ten award

Nebraska sophomore forward Terran Petteway was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday along with Wisconsin junior center Frank Kaminsky.

Petteway scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in Nebraska’s home victory against Illinois on Wednesday before adding 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal as the Huskers upset No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday. Petteway’s 6-for-14 performance against the Fighting Illini was overshadowed by the performance of sophomore guard Shavon Shields, who went 15 for 15 from the free-throw line en route to 33 points.

Against the Spartans, Petteway did not commit any turnovers for the first time this season and went 4 of 10 from the 3-point line, including a pair of contested 3’s that helped Nebraska maintain its lead late in the second half. He played a season-high 38 minutes in the contest.

Petteway is second in the Big Ten averaging 17.7 points a game. He is Nebraska’s first conference player of the week since the opening week of the season, when Shields collected the honor.

Kaminsky helped his Badgers upend No. 15 Michigan with 25 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday.

sports@ dailynebraskan.com

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sports

tuesday, february 18, 2014 dailynebraskan.com @dnsports

Women’s Gymnastics

Huskers excel on bars in 1st defeat Despite suffering 1st loss of season, No. 8 Nebraska finds success on uneven bars Vanessa Daves DN

file photo by andrew barry | dn

Nebraska junior forward Leslee Smith drives against Illinois on Wednesday. The Huskers beat the Fighting Illini 67-58 before upsetting Michigan State on Sunday to get to .500 in Big Ten play. Nebraska is in sixth place in the conference.

TourneyTalk Huskers’ win in East Lansing has them on bubble andrew ward

W

elcome to the NCAA Tournament bubble, Nebraska men’s basketball.

Say hello to St. Johns. Tell West Virginia coach Bob Huggins he’d better beat Baylor on Saturday. Ask Marcus Smart and Oklahoma State if they are feeling the pressure yet.

Sunday’s upset victory at Michigan State helped the Huskers join those three teams and many more on the proverbial tourney bubble, a place that causes more stress for coaches, players

and fans than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Let’s get serious, though. Nebraska has a legitimate shot to make the tournament.

I’m not even reaching when I say it, and I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to this team’s postseason resume. Not because I don’t think the program is heading in the right direction, but because the Huskers had some bad losses early.

Remember UAB and Creighton?

Even after Nebraska knocked off Illinois for its fourth win in five games last Wednesday, I kept shaking my head every time someone brought up the NCAA Tournament.

Too many losses, I said. Not a strong enough resume yet. They have to beat a couple more ranked opponents.

I’m still skeptical. Mainly because Nebraska’s bubble is thin. Make one mistake, and it will burst.

Let me break it down.

The Huskers have six games remaining and

are currently sixth in the Big Ten standings with a 6-6 record. Put that with a 14-10 overall record along with a 22nd-ranked strength of schedule and a No. 52 RPI ranking, and the Huskers’ resume isn’t that great.

Here’s the catch, though.

Nebraska plays four home games (Penn State, Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin) and two on the road (Illinois, Indiana) to finish the season. All of those games are winnable, especially the ones at home where the Huskers have only lost once this season.

And all those teams, except Wisconsin, have a sub-.500 conference record.

For Nebraska to make the tournament, it needs to win at least five of its last six games along with a win in the Big Ten Tournament to make the big dance. I’m allowing the Huskers one hiccup on the road, but they need to win all four home games.

men’s basketball: see page 8

In Nebraska’s most recent meet against Michigan, the Huskers performed one of their top-scoring uneven bar performances this season, earning a 49.225 that mirrored their first team score on bars this season.

Their performance on the uneven bars earned them the event title, even though the Wolverines defeated them overall.

“I think a lot of great things happened, and we struggled on some other things,” coach Dan Kendig said.

Nebraska’s highest score on the uneven bars this season was a 49.325 against Minnesota on Feb. 1. At Penn State, the Huskers scored 49.075, and only once this season have they not broken a 49.00 on the bars.

In Friday’s meet, the Wolverines scored a 49.025, which was one of their lowest bar scores of the season. Their season-best was against Michigan State in their fourth meet of the season, where they earned a 49.475. Like Nebraska, there has only been one meet this season where Michigan didn’t earn a 49.00 or higher on the uneven bars.

When they came to Lincoln to compete against Nebraska, the Wolverines had just competed against Illinois in the first meet this season where they didn’t break 196.00 overall. Nebraska, however, was coming back from a meet where it earned its seasonbest all-around score.

Nebraska’s lineup on uneven bars started with junior Desiré Stephens, who notched a 9.75. Sophomore Madison McConkey suffered a fall, earning a score of a 9.050 that didn’t end up contributing to the team score.

“We had some trouble with our second girl up, but overall I still think bars went well,” Kendig said.

Third in the lineup, freshman Jennie Laeng competed

gymnastics: see page 8

women’s golf

Women’s golf ready to play after long layoff Nearly four months after their last event, Huskers set to open spring slate with three trips to Arizona Zach Tegler DN By the time the Nebraska women’s golf team opens its spring season on Sunday, it will have been 117 cold late fall and winter days since the Huskers last competed.

As February nears an end, the Nebraska soil is beginning to thaw right in time for the team to travel to Arizona for its first meet of 2014.

“We were fortunate to get out and play in January a couple times and this past weekend,” senior Steffi Neisen said. “I’d say it comes back pretty quickly. We work pretty hard in the bays in the indoor facility.”

After opening the fall season with three-round score of 874 and a victory as the host team at the Chip-N Club Invitational, Nebraska did not shoot better than 911 in three-round tournaments for the rest of the fall. The Huskers’ best finish the rest of the way was a tie for sixth.

“We put ourselves in contention a lot,” Neisen said. “I think we were just a little bit uncomfortable with being in a position to win. We had won our home tournament, and after that we had a lot of expectations.”

Neisen led Nebraska with three top-15 finishes in five fall events. Right behind her on the team were sophomore Cassie Deeg, who won the Chip-N Club Invitational, senior Katelyn Wright and freshman Jordan Chael, who finished ninth in her first event as a Husker and had two top-20 finishes in the fall.

“I don’t see any concerns with her in the spring at all,” Neisen said. “I think she’ll keep playing great. She has a certain level of confidence that allows her to do

golf: see page 9

Yori’s departure inspires NU Natasha Rausch DN Maybe seeing their coach leave the game was the inspiration the Huskers needed.

The No. 21 Nebraska women’s basketball team was falling short.

Four inexperienced freshmen led its opponent, unranked Indiana.

Somehow, the Hoosiers (17-7 overall 4-7 Big Ten) were outscoring the Huskers (18-5, 8-3).

Indiana freshman guard Alexis Gassion led the Hoosiers in scoring with 19 points, while freshman guard Larryn Brooks scored 10. Although the Huskers held an 8-point lead early in the first half, Gassion and Brooks helped the Hoosiers pull ahead to gain a 36-32 advantage by halftime.

The Huskers kept their backseat position in the beginning of the second half. Just as they pulled ahead by 2 points, Nebraska coach Connie Yori fainted.

“It was scary to look down and see her lying on the ground,” Indiana coach Curt Miller said. “That’s coming from a coach who had a stroke on the sideline two years ago. I understand the pressures and demands of college coaching, so I’ve been there, and I pray that she is OK.” The 8,000 fans fell completely silent despite the utter eruption that ensued after senior forward Jordan Hooper dropped a layup and got fouled.

Although a stretcher was brought onto the court, Yori walked off under her own volition. As the

jake crandall | dn

When Nebraska coach Connie Yori was escorted off the court in the Huskers’ game against Indiana on Sunday, NU led 52-50. The Huskers ended the game on a 24-11 run in her absence.

Huskers continued to play, their coach was taken to a Lincoln hospital, where they found she was

suffering from an infection and dehydration. She returned home on Sunday evening.

Without Yori at the helm of the

coach: see page 8