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thursday, september 29, 2011

Volume 111, issue 029

DAILY NEBRASKAN dailyNebraskaN.com

Health center offers students free flu shots

COMMON FLU SYMPTOMS

S T O RY B Y C O N O R D U N N | A R T B Y N E I L O R I A N S

High fever HeadacheCOMMON FLU SYMPTOMS Excessive tiredness Cough High fever Sore throat Headache Body aches Excessive tiredness Diarrhea and vomiting Cough SOURCE: UNL HEALTH CENTER WEBSITE Sore throat Body aches Diarrhea and vomiting SOURCE: UNL HEALTH CENTER WEBSITE

COMMON FLU MYTHS THE MYTH:

The flu shot can give you the flu.

No, the virus contained in a vaccine is dead flu material that cannotCOMMON cause infection.

FLU MYTHS

THE TRUTH:

THE MYTH: MYTH: The The flu swine comes pigs.

THE shotflucan give from you the flu.

THE TRUTH: TRUTH: No, Experts reportcontained that you cannot get the THE the virus in a vaccine is dead

flu material by eatingthat pork. flu cannot cause infection.

THE MYTH: MYTH: The Coldswine weather causesfrom the flu.

THE flu comes pigs.

THE TRUTH: TRUTH: Experts Flu viruses spread airborne THE report that though you cannot get the

transmission, not changes in temperature. flu by eating pork.

THE MYTH: MYTH: Cold Antibiotics fight the flu.

THE weather causes the flu.

THE TRUTH: TRUTH: Flu Antibiotics offthough bacterial infections, THE viruses fight spread airborne

flu viruses. not changes in temperature. transmission,

not

THE MYTH: MYTH: Antibiotics The flu is only dangerous THE fight the flu. for elderly people.

THE TRUTH: TRUTH: Antibiotics Anyone, babies, college students and elderly THE fight off bacterial infections, not

people alike, should get the flu shot. flu viruses.

Vaccinating more than once will give you The flu is only dangerous for elderly people. added immunity toward the flu.

THE TRUTH: Anyone, babies, college students and elderly THE MYTH: MYTH: THE

THE people TRUTH: Doctors do notget recommend getting alike, should the flu shot.

vaccinated twice. It won’t make you sick, but it won’t make you THE MYTH: Vaccinating more than once will give you any healthier either.

added immunity toward the flu.

THE MYTH: It’s too late to get the flu shot THE TRUTH: Doctors do not recommend getting

vaccinated November. twice.past It won’t make you sick, but it won’t make you THE any TRUTH: No. Vaccination healthier either. can still be beneficial as long as influenza viruses are circulating.

THE MYTH:

It’s too late to get the flu shot SOURCE: WEBMD.COM AND FLU.GOV past November.

With flu season creeping around the corner, the University Health Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is working hard to make sure students get their influenza vaccinations.

Beginning last week, the health center started offering free flu shots to all students who pay health center fees. The flu shot is available through walkin visits to the University Health Center and the East Campus Union.

The flu clinic at the h e a l t h center began giving vaccinations from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. last Wednesday and Thursday. This process will continue every Wednesday and Thursday at the same time until Oct. 20. The clinic at the East Campus Union will offer the shot on the Tuesdays of Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. If a patient isn’t able to make it to the scheduled times, he or she can simply call the health center and schedule an appointment.

“We decided to offer the vaccine for free as a service to students to encourage them to get vaccinated, particularly since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend all people get a flu vaccine this year. Think of it as a benefit for paying student fees,” said Jennifer Snyder, marketing coordinator for the University Health Center.

The influenza virus, commonly known as “the flu,” is a highly contagious viral infection that travels through the respiratory system causing high fevers, severe aching and other potentially life-threatening symptoms. “This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending that everyone above six months of age get a flu shot,” Snyder said.

Symptoms tend to last for a week to 10 days, Snyder said.

“The flu vaccine contains viral particles in chicken embryos that are replicated in suspension causing the immune system to fight off infection,” said Dr. Daniel Garrett of the University Health Center. “We haven’t seen any flu cases at this point this semester, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there.”

Snyder said she believes the flu is worse in the winter because everyone is inside and in close, tight spaces.

“Everyone is inside and not in open spaces, so it’s easier for the flu to travel around,” she said. “The CDC picks and chooses which strains go in to a flu vaccination for the year. They guess off of what strains were most troublesome for people the previous year, so it’s basically a big guessing game.”

Students can substitute the injection for vaccination nasal spray. However, an appointment must be scheduled, and unlike the injection, the nasal-spray will cost $30 for students and other patients alike.

“Personally, I would rather have a shot any day,” Snyder said. “The time I had the nasal mist I was miserable. I don’t like things going up my nose.”

Garrett says there is no difference between the injection and the nasal spray, other than there being dead flu material in the injection and live flu material in the nasal-spray. Both vaccines have the same effect on the body, although the nasal spray isn’t indicated for pregnant

women.

“The flu shot doesn’t give you the flu — that’s a misconception,” Garrett said.

“It’s like the flu itself, but the immune system revs up in response to the vaccine and will only cause temporary tiredness and body aches.”

Last flu season, from Oct. 1, 2010, thru April 1, 2011, there were 618 patients who came in to the health center presenting flu-like symptoms. Snyder said it’s very difficult to tell whether a patient has the flu or is just suffering a very bad cold.

“We don’t test everyone for the flu,” Snyder said. “If you have flu-like symptoms, we’ll treat it for the flu, but we don’t usually do a lot of the actual flu testing. This is because it is normally too late to treat it by the time you’d get your results.”

At Penn State University, 750 cases of influenza-like illness were presented in students over the course of the school year, according to Shelley Haffner, an infection control nurse for the University Health Services at PSU. “We had three different flu strains circulating on campus so some students became ill with more than one strain or may have gotten the flu more than once,” Haffner said.

Ohio State University, on the other hand, had only 145 flu-like diagnoses from last Nov. thru June, according to Roger Miller, a medical doctor in Preventive Medicine for Student Health Services at OSU. “This number likely under-represents the influenza burden on students as not everyone goes to the doctor for the flu and some students receive treatment elsewhere, which would not be picked up in our stats,” Miller said.

Other schools such as the University

germs: SEE PAGE 3

No. Vaccination can still be beneficial as long as influenza viruses are circulating.

THE TRUTH:

Rec center votes may be denied Lincoln creates SOURCE: WEBMD.COM AND FLU.GOV

Frannie SprouLS daily nebraskan

A slight hiccup occurred with the “YES 2 Better Rec Centers” campaign that University of Nebraska-Lincoln students voted for in 2010.

The Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE) will recommend a legislative committee Thursday to not approve bonds for the Outdoor Adventures Center, but to continue remodeling the City Campus Rec Center. CCPE acts as an advisory body regarding the policies of state and community colleges in Nebraska.

“It is something that caught us off guard,” said Senator LJ McElravy, a graduate student and Student Services Committee chair. “We were not expecting this.”

The commission will also recommend that the elevated track and a gymnasium with rubberized flooring not be included in the East Campus Recreation Center project. UNL students specifically voted on having the track and gymnasium in the referendum that was passed in 2010.

McElravy heard about the recommendations Tuesday.

Not including the track and gymnasium raised a red flag, said ASUN president Lane Carr.

McElravy and Carr, a senior political science and history double major, are more concerned about the possibility

KANTACK PAGE 4

ASUN

of the Outdoor Adventures Center not being recommended. Without an Outdoor Adventures Center, the City Campus Rec Center’s remodeling cannot continue. The space that Outdoor Adventures is currently occupying will become a strength and conditioning center.

“By canceling that, they have hurt us in the way that we can’t meet the needs for students,” McElravy said.

In the committee draft for the meeting, it states that the CCPE believes increasing student fees will likely have a significant impact on middle and lower income families and their ability to send students to UNL. The draft also states there is no data available to back up this conclusion.

Both Carr and McElravy stressed that “YES 2 Better Rec Centers” was an all-student initiative.

“Student voice on campus has traditionally been a strong one when students vote to spend their fees on a program,” McElravy said. “The commission reports we have seen so far did not weigh the student voice appropriately.”

A different referendum had been given to students two years before the one in 2010

incentives to plant more trees

ouTDoor aDvenTureS propoSiTion the proposed outdoor adventures center, a glasswalled facility designed as part of the university of nebraska-lincoln’s “yes 2 better rec centers” campaign, met resistance wednesday night as the coordinating commission for postsecondary education recommended legislation not approve its construction.

JorDan marTin daily nebraskan

Fall is the perfect season to tailgate, play outdoor sports and even study for midterms.

According to Nebraska Sen. Danielle Conrad, “fall is a good time to plant trees.”

Conrad works with the Lincoln Parks Foundation, which is part of a coalition of

if completed, the outdoor adventures Center would feature: • a new, larger climbing and bouldering structure • Bike shop and gear rentals • Classrooms • lEEd Silver or better certification (rating for energy sustainability) • help to keep outdoor rec programs centralized on City Campus • Expanded cardio and strength areas in addition to the City Campus rec Center • possibility for future expansion

PERFORMING ARTS PAGE 5

After students voted “yes to better rec centers,” the referendum went through the UNL planning process and on to the Board of Regents, who voted unanimously for the initiative. From the Board of Regents, the plans are sent to the CCPE and recommendations are given.

Once the CCPE votes on its recommendations, it will move onto the state legislature to be voted on. Some senators were concerned with how the recommendations

asun: SEE PAGE 2

Lincoln Parks & Recreation launched Tree Week in an effort to restore the urban forest in Lincoln. The city is offering special benefits to those who wish to plant a tree during the event Sept. 26 through Oct. 1. The department’s website states that only one in five removed trees in the city have been replaced.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to cashing in on the benefits offered during Tree Week and to planting a tree.

1. If planting on city property, obtain a no-fee permit from the Forestry department. Call Forestry with questions: 402-441-7035.

PE

RM

IT

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2. Visit Lincoln Parks & Recreation department to see what trees work — they will assess what kind of tree is suitable for your area.

3. Take information to Finke Gardens and Nursery.

4. Get $100 toward a tree, if eligible, from Lincoln 100 Parks & Recreation and the Lincoln Parks 100 Foundation during Tree Week.

5. Get free planting services by Finke Gardens during the month of October if done with money from Parks Department and the Parks Foundation.

bea huFF | daily nebraskan

FOOTBALL PAGE 10

WEATHER | WINDY

Yes, we Cain!

The need for reed

Second half surges

GROWiNG NUMBER OF VOTERS GET ON BOARD THE CAiN TRAiN

UNL OBOE PROFESSOR TO PERFORM UNiQUE, MODERNiST PiECES

HUSKER OFFENSE STRUGGLiNG TO PUT POiNTS UP EARLY

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

trees: SEE PAGE 2

DN GUIDE TO: PLANTING A TREE DURING TREE WEEK

source: http://www.Facebook.com/betterreccenters

passed, but students hadn’t approved it. When students voted on the referendum in 2010, it was the highest turnout on record with 21 percent of students voting and 72 percent approving the referendum.

“Students don’t just willynilly vote for stuff,” Carr said.

“We actually look at what we vote for, and we take ourselves seriously.”

The process to get bond money for the campus rec center projects is a system of checks and balances, which is an amazing and a bit cumbersome process, according to Carr.

public and private organizations putting on a week-long event called Tree Week in Lincoln. With a reception and tree planting demonstration Tuesday and a tree-planting event on Saturday, Tree Week is part of an effort on behalf

74°40°

2

thursday, september 29, 2011

daily NebraskaN

huMaN traffiCKiNg

University hosts conference for human rights daN holtMEyEr

if you go

daily nebraskan

A human life is worth $90.

That’s the average selling price in the global economy of slavery, according to international non-profit Free the Slaves. It’s a system that treats humans as the integral piece to a billion-dollar business model, a cold analysis of cost and profit.

The University of NebraskaLincoln’s third annual Human Trafficking Conference kicks off today at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, and according to its organizers, within the supply and demand that supports slavery lies the key to fighting it.

“It is a marketing system,” said Ron Hampton, an associate professor emeritus of marketing who has applied his expertise to the problem of human trafficking and exploitation for the past six years. He and other UNL professors created the conference as a way for experts from around the world to share their research and inspire more, he said. “Our goal is to disrupt, destroy or dismantle this system.”

It is estimated that between 27 million and 29 million people around the world work without pay under the threat of violence, and the first step to any approach: spreading the word.

“The biggest issue in trafficking is there’s no research done,” said Sriyani Tidball, an advertising lecturer who worked with Hampton at the conference’s beginning.

To that end, the conference will bring together more than 100 experts and speakers — including several UNL professors — representing a variety of fields, including sociology,

unl’s human trafficking conference what: Event featuring 40 presentations from 100 experts from around the country on the global issue of modernday slavery where: Cornhusker Marriott Hotel, 333 S. 13th St. in Lincoln when: Today: Registration from 3 p.m. - 8 p.m., with a welcome reception at 6:30 p.m.

FrIday: 8 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., in four sessions with three presentations each. “Sex & Money” free showing at Nebraska Union auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

SatUrday: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., again in four sessions.

ron hampton

sriyani tidball

siddarth kara

journalism, business and international affairs.

“There’s a richness to coming together,” Hampton said.

“We want to engage the entire community.”

And the presentations are intended for an audience just as diverse as the speakers, he said.

“Anyone who has an interest in the human condition should come,” Hampton said. “Anyone who is looking for more information on how they can help and get involved should come.”

The conference begins with a welcome reception at 6:30 p.m. today at the hotel. Siddharth Kara, Harvard fellow and author of “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery,” will give the keynote speech 8 a.m. Friday.

“That slavery still exists may surprise some readers, but the practice of violently coerced labor continues to thrive in every corner of the globe,” he wrote in the book’s preface.

He continued, “Approximately 1.2 million of these 28.4 million slaves are young women and children, who were deceived, abducted, seduced or sold by families to be prostituted.”

Phone calls to Kara weren’t

returned by press time.

The rest of the day and Saturday will then include presentations on topics such as public action, legislation and law enforcement, and local and regional trafficking issues.

Anyone interested in attending can sign up and find a full schedule at humantrafficking. unl.edu. The film “Sex & Money: A National Search for Human Worth,” documents sex trafficking in the United States, and will be shown for free in the Nebraska Union auditorium 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Both Hampton and Tidball are also presenting their own research. Hampton has been working with five other professors from Nebraska and Wisconsin on digging through the stories of 154 former slaves, looking for patterns in how they’re recruited, moved and how they escaped.

“These victims were found by the International Organization of Migration,” he said, and include men, women and children from all walks of life.

And that sample is just the beginning, with an analysis of the stories of 10,000 victims planned.

Those stories include children who run away and are then

kidnapped by kindly strangers, or adults living in poverty. They can be forcefully sent to agriculture, construction or domestic work, and often face abuse and torture from their handlers.

“More often, it’s a promise of work. That’s the hook,” Hampton said. “When we have a personal story … then we can design methods to prevent that kind of recruitment.”

Tidball, whose family lives in Sri Lanka, focused her work on women who leave that country to work in the Middle East.

A fifth of the 600,000 women who make the journey each year face abuse at their new jobs, Tidball said, and when she heard their stories, she started collecting them.

UNL students are also contributing to the conference, and to the wider efforts against human trafficking.

“It’s something very easy to ignore,” said Paige Cornwell, a junior journalism major and treasurer for Nebraska University Students Against ModernDay Slavery, the organization sponsoring the showing of “Sex & Money.” She saw slavery firsthand when she traveled with Tidball to Cambodia two years ago.

“I actually saw the young

trees: FROM 1

blair englund | daily nebraskan

girls and the transactions being made,” Cornwell said. The openness of the subjugation of the children shocked her most.

“They were younger than me.

There was nothing in their faces.”

Scenes like that can create a sense of helplessness, but the university student organization can work as a bridge to the local, national and worldwide organizations directly fighting the

problem, Cornwell said, and many members already work with non-profits, like Tiny Hands International and Love 146. They also work to build local awareness of the problem of slavery, which reaches even into Nebraska.

“When you take off those rose-colored glasses, it’s happening,” Cornwell said. danholtmeyer@ dailynebraskan.com

asun: FROM 1 Student voice on campus has traditionally been a strong one when students vote to spend their fees on a program.”

LJ MCELRAVY

STUDENT SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIR

kaylee everly daily nebraskan

Jack Stewart takes a tree tour at finke gardens tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011 in lincoln, Nebraska. finke gardens has partnered with the parks and recreation department and the parks foundation to help citizens of lincoln replant the street trees that were lost during the 2011 summer storms. of Lincoln Parks & Recreation, the urban forest. So far, only two-thirds of the cost of buying Finke Gardens and Lincoln one in five public trees are a new tree, Finke said.

Parks Foundation to recover being replaced, she said.

In addition, Finke Gardens from the storm damage over This is where Tree Week is offering free installation of the past summer. comes in. these new trees, a service that Conrad said these storms Luann Finke of Finke Gar- can usually be as high as $75. had a significant impact on dens and Nursery said the Conrad said tree planting core neighborhoods and es- purpose of Tree Week is to can be more than just a time pecially on trees in those recognize that tree-planting to restore the beauty of trees. neighborhoods. As a result, “is a community-wide effort She said it’s a good activity for Conrad said “We (the three and not just a city or individ- individuals and groups to get organizations) got together to ual effort.” involved in, and that tree planttry to figure out how to reFinke said that during Tree ing has a lot of fun and positive plant the trees.”

Week, eligible participants aspects to it.

However, replanting trees would receive a $50 street tree Conrad said it’s all worth it isn’t as easy as it sounds. voucher from the Lincoln Parks because “you get to see the Conrad said the recent bud- Department along with $50 fruits of your labor.” jordanmartin@ get cuts prevented tree-plant- from the Lincoln Parks Foundailynebraskan.com ing programs from rebuilding dation. This would alleviate

would impact the legislature’s decision.

McElravy did not have an answer, but he told senators that those on the CCPE were appointed by the governor and approved by a majority of the legislature. For him, it seemed that could be an influence of the recommendations.

The CCPE is meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday in Omaha at Grace University. Carr, Senator Eric Kamler and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Rec Director Stan Campbell, are attending the meeting to provide the student voice and explain the importance of the issue.

“The students have spoken and they need to understand that,” Carr said.

There is a possibility that the Outdoor Adventures Center will not be recommended, but McElravy said he will cross that bridge when it comes because he is not willing to give up.

“At this point, it’s not a ‘yes’ to better rec centers,” Carr said. “It’s a ‘maybe’ to better rec centers.”

aSuN MEEtiNg, SEpt. 28 BillS government Bill #5 : Native american day

Bylaw E - aSuN Bylaw amendment - Cfa appointments

Bylaw d - aSuN Bylaw amendment - graduate Student association

Senate resolution #4 : Supporting Campus recreation Center Student needs

iSSueS This resolution recognizes Columbus day as Native american day on oct. 10 and support the university of Nebraska inter-tribal Exchange and the activities they have. uNitE will be passing out native american tacos and informing students about the educational aspects of both Columbus and Native american day. a small change is being made to the Cfa appointment section of the bylaws. the bylaw does not make a direct reference to include graduate students on CFa appointments and a change was made to reflect that graduate students could fill the position.

a new subsection will be added to the graduate Student association sectionaSuN Bylaws and Special rules, stating that aSuN will be in regular contact with the gSa chairperson and the dean of graduate studies.

This resolution states that aSuN encourages the CCpe to approve the outdoor adventures Center and City Campus rec Center proposals and to encourage students, Campus recreation Staff, unL administrators and any interested to attend the CCpE meeting to communicate the needs of students.

voTeS Bill: passed Bylaw d: information only; vote next week

Bylaw E: information only; vote next week resolution: passed

Franniesprouls@ dailynebraskan.com

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thursday, september 29, 2011

Daily Nebraskan

3

Students get help preparing for Career Fair Lorena Carmona daily nebraskan

Phil Martin doesn’t expect much.

“We want students to be prepared,” said Martin, a talent acquisition specialist for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. “Every single career fair I have been to, I have seen people not as prepared as they should be.”

Martin has been coming to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the last eight years looking to recruit at the spring and fall semester career fairs.

Martin will be among six employers on the panel discussing common preparation techniques at the UNL Career Services Career Prep Night on Sept. 29 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Regency Room in the Nebraska Union. The actual Career Fair runs Oct. 4 to 6.

The Enterprise Rent-a-Car representative said he wants

students engaged and active at the career fair. With the Career Prep Night, students have a chance to fix their preparation flaws before they meet employers.

“People spend more time preparing to tailgate for a Husker game than they do to prepare themselves for a job fair,” Martin said.

Prep Night will feature two segments aimed at avoiding preparation nightmares: a panel discussion and a resume critique.

Christina Fielder, assistant director of Career Services, said the panel discussion helps students hear what employers want and learn how to make a good impression at the fair.

“Students should come, listen and learn,” Fielder said.

“We want students to represent themselves in the best way.”

A good first impression is

always on students’ minds, she said.

“I think career fairs can be intimidating and we get that, so this is a way for students to prepare themselves,” Fielder said.

Preparation and a good first impression come in three parts, Martin said. Students should have a resume, wear professional attire, know a little bit about companies that are at the fair and come with questions in mind, he said.

“We are seeing students who are doing little to no research beforehand,” he said.

“This is most concerning to recruiters.”

Martin said he sees students who take career fairs too casual and not serious enough. He said he doesn’t understand when students just go and check it out with no knowledge of what they are getting themselves into.

“There are hundreds of

opinion

‘Moneyball’ sabermetrics reflect limited understanding

David Logan There are lies, there are damned lies and finally, there are statistics.

Last Friday, I went to see “Moneyball,” Bennett Miller’s adaptation of the Michael Lewis book of the same name. “Moneyball,” for those who don’t know, is the story of the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their general manager Billy Beane, who turned one of the lowest payrolls in baseball into a winner with the help of a statistical technique called “sabermetrics.” Developed by numbercruncher, Bill James, sabermetrics eschew the value of conventional baseball statistics like batting average and stolen bases in favor of more complex methods for evaluating performance.

This column, or even 100 columns, is not enough to explore all the innovative aspects of sabermetrics. However, despite their interesting nature, I’m surprised sabermetrics have been embraced by baseball in light of the obvious evidence against their efficacy.

What is this evidence?

First, Oakland’s success since 2002 has been — to put it mildly — lukewarm, though they presumably still place great value on sabermetrics. Second, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who apparently used sabermetric analysis during their famous run to the title, aren’t evidence for the efficacy of sabermetrics. The 2004 Red Sox are evidence still for the value of an enormous payroll that can buy the best players in baseball, like Curt Shilling, after they’ve proven themselves by more conventional indices of performance.

Also importantly, there hasn’t been a significant disruption in baseball’s oligarchy since 2002, and this year is no exception: The Yankees and Red Sox are contenders while Oakland and Seattle languish 20 games behind first place.

Finally, some small-market winners since 2002 (e.g. the Florida Marlins) had success prior to the popularity of sabermetrics (the Marlins were the champs in 1997.)

This is not, of course, to say everything in baseball is just luck or there’s no value in analysis of any sort. It takes thoughtful planning and quantifiable skills to do anything in life, whether “anything” means running a ballclub, writing a novel or opening a business. My only point is that an element of the unquantifiable will always remain in every human endeavor, over and above

planning and skills.

If a formula existed for how to win the World Series, how to make millions or how to become the next Justin Bieber, then everyone would use it.

However, while the influence of statistics is relatively benign when confined to professional sports and baseball message boards, it can be detrimental in areas like economics and finance.

In economics, the principal-agent problem is a situation in which corporate CEOs have a conflict of interest with the shareholders who own their company. For instance, shareholders might bear the consequences of risky decisions a CEO makes in self-interest. In our day, the principal-agent problem is particularly sticky. As we’ve learned from recent history, the reckless idiocy of a few corporate leaders becomes the responsibility not only of shareholders but the public, who supplied funds in the egregious 2008 bailout of the mortgage industry.

Unfortunately, as noted by philosopher Nassim Taleb, statistics often serve as the veneer that covers the stupidity of reckless corporate leaders. As Taleb says, statistical models like “mean variance analysis” are often used to back up the risks made by CEOs (e.g. the infamous collateralized debt obligations).

With the blessing of mean variance and “portfolio theory,” Taleb says, CEOs can take risks of unthinkable proportion as long as those risks are licensed by complicated formulas. And in the mortgage bubble, the commodities bubble or any other bubble, the riskassessment metrics lurk, licensing the explosion.

A dinosaur like me remembers Bill Callahan and his “No. 1 recruiting class,” which included supposed wunderkind Harrison Beck, who rode the pine for a year at Nebraska before transferring to North Carolina State and finally Northern Alabama. Part of the justification for the frightening Callahan era was his high recruiting class ratings by a system that, as far as I can tell, is not even as thoughtful as sabermetrics or mean variance analysis.

Fortunately, as history has shown, we can fire the Bill Callahans of the world, and maybe someday the baseball establishment.

However, as Taleb again mentions, the principalagent problem in economics and the reliance on statistical methods in finance are as pervasive as ever. Mathematical models, for instance, currently inform the public of how our trillion-dollar debt will evolve, although it might change among a number of pathways dependent on millions of factors. And whether policies ought to be enacted on the basis of these models rather than a more conservative approach is yet to be seen.

I don’t really care if general managers and non-Husker coaches justify themselves with ratings and statistical methods. But we ought to be careful when the justification for economic and political risks are backed by statistics of any sort.

Sabermetrics are interesting and harmless, but they’re symptomatic of a larger problem: the irreducible limit on human knowledge.

David Logan is a non-degree seeking postgraduate student. Reach him at davidlogan@ dailynebraskan.com.

employers in one room all there to find you,” Martin said.

He compared it to other choices in life such as going to the movies or finding a spouse. People don’t take those things lightly; they figure out what they are looking for and do it, so students should have the same dedication and knowledge when looking for a job, he said.

Martin said he looks for students who come prepared to ask questions. He said his most frequently asked question is how students should approach employers at the career fair.

He said if a student comes up to him and asks him a question like “What do you do?” he builds a negative impression about the person.

That impression, he said, is hard to overcome.

“When students ask specific questions then there can be an engaging conversation happening,” he said.

The second half of the night will be dedicated to critiquing resumes and helping students fix them, she said.

Fielder said it’s hard to examine everyone’s resume in the Career Services office so the prep night is a chance for students to get their resumes looked over by employers and Career Service staff members. Students should bring a completed resume to the prep night, she said.

If students have a good

if you go Career Fair when: Oct. 4-6 what: Day 1: Engineering where:10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Nebraska Union (98 employers) day 2: Business, Services, Government, Liberal Arts, Sciences 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Nebraska Union (113 employers) day 3: Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. East Union (67 employers)

resume, dress professional, research several companies and feel good about those things, Martin said he thinks they will gain confidence for a good experience at the career fair.

“By preparing yourself, you are putting yourself in a position to get a career you want and not just any job,” he said.

Caitlin Stoos, a freshmen athletic training major, said she knows the basics when it comes to looking for a career.

“When you prepare yourself, it gives you an advantage over everyone else,” Stoos said.

She said it’s unfortunate people take opportunities like this so casually. It’s a way to get your foot in the door, she said.

“Everyone has to find a job sometime,” she said. “Prepare yourself for society before you get thrown into the workforce.” lorenacarmona@ dailynebraskan.com

if you go Career Prep Night when: Sept. 29, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

What: The first hour will include an employer panel discussion The rest of the evening will focus on resume review to prep students for the Career Fair on Oct. 4 where: Regency Room in Nebraska Union who: Employer panelists include Phil Martin of Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Rebecca Hamilton of Verizon Wireless, Ruth Liedle of the Nebraska Department of Labor, John Oestreich of Waddell & Reed financial planning firm, Corey Poulosky of Ameritas Financial and Jessica Diekmann of Boystown

germs: from 1 of Iowa and University of Wisconsin-Madison said they do not keep track of the number of confirmed flu cases. “Exact numbers are not recorded because most students with influenza illness are not tested,” said Craig Roberts, an epidemiologist for University Health Services at UW, “so any number is a gross underestimate

and largely meaningless.”

The University Health Center wants to make sure students aren’t taking the flu lightly, especially if you have diabetes, asthma or some other chronic illness, Snyder said. The CDC reported that in 2009, the H1N1 virus was defined as a pandemic in the United States.

“The CDC still puts the H1N1

strain in to each flu vaccination,” Garrett said. “It is important to constantly be immunizing against the deadliest strains of the flu virus. This is why we are trying our best to boost our number of patients getting their flu shot each year.”

conordunn@ dailynebraskan.com

Opinion DAILY NEBRASKAN

dailynebraskan.com

page 4

thursday, september 29, 2011

DAILY NEBRASKAN ed i tor i al board members ZACH SMITH

IAN SACKS editor-in-chief ANDREW MCCLURE

opinion editor

copy chief

RHIANNON ROOT

HAILEY KONNATH

assistant opinion editor

news assignment editor

our view

Outdoors center vote should be acknowledged bon lausten | daily nebraskan

In March 2011, students at the University of NebraskaLincoln voted “yes” for better recreation centers. The “YES 2 Better Rec Centers” campaign included major renovations for the City Campus Recreation Center and the East Campus Recreation Center, as well as the creation of a new, glasswalled Outdoor Adventures Center on City Campus.

Now the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE), which oversees and advises on policies for all Nebraska state and community colleges, has turned that “yes” into a “no.” The commission advised legislation Tuesday night to not approve the Outdoor Adventures Center. The Daily Nebraskan disagrees and hopes construction on this unique addition to campus recreation can begin.

If constructed, the center would feature new rock-climbing equipment, a LEED Silver energy sustainability rating, biking facilities and more cardio equipment. It would also act as a hub for the university’s current Outdoor Adventures programs — physical activities coordinated outside the normal facility — helping to centralize UNL recreation on City Campus.

There are several reasons to get excited for the proposed Outdoor Adventures Center, including the great publicity the sleek building will provide UNL and the results of the March 2011 vote. Students want this center. The University could use it. The DN hopes that it will be approved.

opinion@dailynebraskan.com

STAFF: recommendation against outdoor adventures

editorial policy The editorial above contains the opinion of the fall 2011 Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its student body or the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author; a cartoon is solely the opinion of its artist. The Board of Regents acts as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of Daily Nebraskan employees.

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

Irvine 11 case shows injustice

T

his whole double-standardsfor-Muslims thing is getting old.

It’s en vogue like Jim Crow, hip as Joe McCarthy and the Hollywood Blacklist. It’s the civil rights struggle of an era that strived to be devoid of one, the grave social injustice of our age.

I’ve certainly grown tired of documenting my plight as a practicing Muslim who also writes for whichever paper will publish his incoherent drivel. But in that capacity, I’d like to think that society itself is tired of seeing this kind of thing happen.

I’m referring to the monumental failure of the California legal system that found 10 of the “Irvine 11” guilty on two counts of conspiracy for basically acting as college students have for centuries. Because that’s exactly what 11 members of the University of California, Irvine’s Muslim Students Union (MSU) were doing: in taking a vocal stand against a man whom they perceived to be promoting an illegal military and economic occupation.

A college protest was certainly in order against the occupation of Palestine. The United Nations Human Rights Council has routinely condemned it since 2006. And by that token, it seems perfectly reasonable that a small group of 11 would peacefully protest Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s February 2010 speech to UC Irvine using their own planned phrases to disrupt it in an act of civil disobedience.

But it looks like someone took the “words are like bullets” episode of South Park a little too seriously. UC Irvine’s response to the heckling was anything but peaceful and more closely resembled the disproportionate retaliation the Israeli military has long been accused of conducting.

The students were promptly arrested, the MSU was handed a quarter-long suspension and one year of probation along with a 50-hour increase in its community service requirement.

In reprimanding the union, the university struck with a black pen the record of an organization that has actively promoted charity and morality for the past 20 years.

They tarnished a reputation of nonviolence and activism with unsubstantiated cries of foul play. And despite claims that the 11 students were acting on their own accord, the larger whole was punished for something that Al-Jazeera columnist Kristen Ess Schurr called “a lack of courtesy.” The entire MSU was deemed guilty by association of a crime that didn’t actually exist.

Sound familiar? Sure it does.

Unsubstantiated cries of foul play were the basis for a blacklist that affected

faiz siddiqui hundreds of people just a short 50-mile drive from Irvine. It was an era of fear and paranoia, of bomb shelters and Cold War conflict. The Hollywood Blacklist put hundreds of screenwriters, actors, directors and musicians out of work on the basis of political and moral beliefs, whether real or purported. Those suspected of being communists or loyal to the Soviet cause in any way were censured, leaving them unemployable.

By criminalizing these charges, adding misdemeanor conspiracy to the students’ records, an Orange County jury has effectively blacklisted a group of 10 in the same region where, some six decades earlier, the Hollywood Ten were suddenly dismissed from their jobs.

This not only puts the students in an awkward spot as Muslims with criminal records at a time of great fear, of political and religious division. It also puts employers in a quandary. It forces them to either overlook the students’ reputations as Muslim conspirators, sacrificing their own in the process and hire them; or simply forgo the trouble and trash the applications.

Forget qualifications.

Even worse, the students were found guilty of two misdemeanors to conspire and disrupt a February 2010 speech at UC Irvine, a charge that bleeds ambiguity at the core, let alone the red flags — in the minds of employers unfamiliar with the case, this will raise images of red wires and detonators.

But for 10 UC-Irvine students who acted disrespectfully toward a foreign ambassador, that’s life. Sure, the students’ blatant defiance of authority was immediately apparent, unlike that suspected of those on the blacklist. The Irvine 11 overtly disrupted a public event.

But that simple act surely doesn’t make them criminals, or unemployable, or a societal threat any more than a U.S. Representative who heckles the President like Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., did in 2009. He compromised decorum and interrupted a 2009 presidential address, exclaiming “You

lie!” yet faced no criminal charges for his actions. He was even allowed to remain seated for the rest of the speech.

The fact that the Irvine 11 complied when they were forcefully removed from Oren’s speech makes them no guiltier of a crime than Wilson. Perhaps they’re even as innocent as a Jewish group, which in November 2010 engaged in the exact same behavior on an even larger stage. A February 2011 article in the Jerusalem Post includes shocking testimony from Cecilie Surasky, Jewish Voice for Peace deputy director, who reveals the duplicitous nature of this particular case.

“A team of young Jews from the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Young Leadership Institute similarly interrupted a speech by (Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu at the Jewish Federations General Assembly (in New Orleans) in November,” Surasky said. “Like the students at Irvine, they were protesting Israeli policies that violate international law, and like the Muslim students, they offered no resistance when being escorted out of the room.

The parallels immediately evident, Surasky proceeds to describe the consequences each student group faced.

“They received international news coverage and were hailed as heroes by many Jewish editorial writers,” Suarksy said. “In stark contrast, these Muslim students, who heckled the ambassador in a much smaller venue, are being criminally charged and could potentially face prison time.”

Needless to say, the double standard is as alive as ever.

Muslims are no stranger to deplorable acts of injustice like this one. For them, the trial began on Sept. 11, 2001, when social lives and private interactions were subjected to hatred, fear and mass paranoia.

And so, it was only fitting that eight of the Irvine 11 stood before the court 10 years later on Sept. 11, 2011, facing charges for speaking out against something they saw as illegal, as discrimination, as an abuse of human rights. It was then that an Orange County courtroom found itself afflicted, not by terrorism or violence of any sort, but rather by a storm of irony.

And 12 days later, on Sept. 23, jurors in a region notorious for establishing trends of the day set a precedent that made peaceful protest punishable by law.

On that fateful day, an Orange County jury effectively declared McCarthyism en vogue once again.

faiz siddiqui is a freshman news-editorial major. follow him on twitter at @faizsaysthis and reach him at faizsiddiqui@ dailynebraskan.com.

Cain’s Florida victory proves he’s a contender

T

he 2012 Republican primary competition is already a two-man race.

That’s what many mainstream media voices want you to believe.

Technically, 13 candidates and almost 11 months are still left in the primary. Yet all eyes are on Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The rest of the candidates have been reduced to a “sideshow” according to Bloomberg political correspondent Peter Cook.

So when Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, won the Florida straw poll with more votes than Rick Perry and Mitt Romney combined, it caught the media by surprise.

But Herman Cain’s sudden and decisive victory in Florida shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Cain, a native of Georgia, has made his presence felt several times in the South. After the first Republican debate in Greenville, S.C., last June, Fox News declared Cain the winner when he won over almost its entire focus group. At the CNN Tea Party debate in Tampa, Fla., Cain drew applause after applause for his answers. Most recently, in Orlando, Fla., the audience was cheering Cain’s “9-9-9” tax reform plan — 9

percent sales tax, 9 percent business income tax, and a 9 percent individual income tax — even before he had a chance to say a word about it.

Despite his recent achievements, many people still believe Herman Cain only has a candle’s chance in a cyclone of winning the primary.

Debate moderators don’t believe in Herman Cain, allowing the debates to revolve around the frontrunners.

Las Vegas doesn’t believe in Herman Cain. Intrade.com, a leading political bettors’ site, gives Cain a 5.5 percent chance of winning the nomination against 48 percent for Romney and 26.4 percent for Perry as of Wednesday evening. Politico.com suspects that even Herman Cain doesn’t believe in Herman Cain and is running simply to become a GOP elder.

But last Friday, the straw poll voters believed in Herman Cain, and theirs was the only voice that mattered.

When Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced Cain’s victory, the auditorium erupted into cheers. For a fleeting moment, the spell was broken and the media contemplated a primary race that wouldn’t be dominated by Perry and Romney. Then Mitt Romney won the Michigan straw poll and the same old two-man race was back.

Ben Kantack

Perhaps this is a good sign of the media’s willingness to forgive and forget. They forgive each one of Rick Perry’s blustering and stumbling debate performances just in time for the next debate. They forget that Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2008 came to a screeching halt after a dismal showing in the Super Tuesday primaries that no one has been able to explain.

As long as the media can hold onto their two frontrunners, they’ll continue to forgive their missteps and forget their opponents, including Herman Cain.

To his credit, Cain hasn’t seemed to mind being labeled part of the sideshow. Unlike other candidates, Cain has never felt the need to interrupt someone else during the debates to increase his TV time. While most of the field virulently attacks others’

records, Cain quietly sticks to promoting his own successes, rarely engaging other candidates directly unless the moderators ask him to. Yet somehow, Cain turned a debate performance where he only answered seven questions and spoke for about six minutes into a resounding 37 percent straw poll win.

What’s the secret to Herman Cain’s success? It’s his ability to stand out from the crowd. As a businessman and talk show host, he’s the only candidate on the debate stage without a political career, and he makes the most of being a “problem-solver” rather than a politician. While Mitt Romney offers an absurdly large 59-point plan for economic prosperity, Cain keeps things simple with his catchy “9-9-9” tax reform. While other candidates provide elaborate rhetoric and wordy answers, Cain draws on his experience as a Baptist minister to deliver concise yet powerful messages.

This powerful simplicity has resonated with voters. When asked why he was running against Mitt Romney when he supported him in 2008, Cain laughed and said, “(B)ecause he did not win.” In describing his leadership potential, Cain drew audience

approval by saying “Ronald Reagan was the one who said that we are a shining city on a hill ... Americans want somebody who’s going to lead them back up to the top of that hill.”

The Florida straw poll showed that a growing number of voters are willing to entrust a non-politician with the highest political office in the United States. Straw poll victories won’t directly help Herman Cain secure the nomination. But it’s hard to ignore that, in its three previous straw polls, Florida picked a candidate who went on to win the Republican nomination.

In Cain’s own words, “The media (are) still in denial that there are more than two people in the Republican primary election. They are still stuck on the old model that you have to have been a governor or a senator.”

The Republican National Convention is still a while from now, but Herman Cain is already doing whatever he can to change that model. And people are listening.

benjamin kantack is a senior political science and spanish major. follow him on twitter at @benjaminkantack and reach him at benjaminkantack@ dailynebraskan.com.

performingarts DAILY NEBRASKAN

dailynebraskan.com

thursday, september 29, 2011

pagE 5

the need for UNL Oboist to perform unique, modernist pieces

reed

Morgan Spiehs|Daily Nebraskan

Scott Herr and Megan Higgins play Torvald and Nora Helmer during a rehearsal at the Haymarket Theatre on September 27th. Their rendition of Henrik Ibsen’s play ‘A Doll’s House’ will open on Thursday, Sept. 29th.

Haymarket to stage 1800s family critique Tom Helberg Daily Nebraskan

stor y by kassi nelson | photo by anna reed

I

f one reed is good, then two must be better.

As a part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty recitals held each year, William McMullen, a professor of oboe, will give a recital at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Kimball Recital Hall.

McMullen will be accompanied by Catherine Herbener, an adjunct faculty member at Concorida University, Nebraska, on piano, with whom he plays frequent recitals throughout the United States.

Students who attend the program will be treated to various modern 20th-century pieces. According to Allison Offerman, a

first year masters student who works frequently with McMullen, a few of the pieces might be unsettling for some people due to the lack of atonal bass for the ear to hold onto.

“Most of the time when we listen to classical for non-music majors, there is a sense you’re home and a song is completed,” Offerman said. “But with 20thcentury contemporary music you’re like, ‘Is it done?’ You’re not sure where it’s supposed to stop.”

One piece that stands out to Offerman is a dream-like French composition by Pierre Sancan, “Sonatine for Oboe and

if you go William McMullen Recital when: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. where: Kimball Recital Hall how much: Free Piano.” The song starts off with the piano in what is called parallel chromaticism, where the right and left hand move at the same intervals but a minor third apart, creating an unsteady feeling for the listener.

Mcmullen: see page 6

One of the great theatrical works of the 19th century returns to the stage in Lincoln, and despite its title, this isn’t kid’s stuff.

“A Doll’s House,” written by the famed Henrik Ibsen, opens at the Haymarket Theatre on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

It premiered in Denmark in 1879, the same month it was published and is widely considered by critics to be the first realist play. The play was highly controversial when it was first published, as it criticized normal 19th-century family life.

“He (Ibsen) completely changed the conventions,” said Tom Crew, the director of this Haymarket Theatre production. “The bad guy doesn’t necessarily lose in the end.”

The play focuses on a middle-class family in the late 1800s. The main character, Nora Helmer, lives with her children and husband Torvald.

Torvald treats his wife as one might treat a child, and in turn, Nora acts childish herself. But a secret legal complication

Cameron mount daily nebraskan

The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center has spent most of its eight-year history at the forefront of new technology and it appears the University of Nebraska-Lincoln institution doesn’t intend to fall behind now.

As of the end of August, with the debut of “Another Earth,” the Ross has boasted a brand new, state-of-the-art projector, a digital system that carries an $85,000 price tag.

It was by no means a hasty decision.

“I had been doing some research on it (digital projection) since when we started planning this building,” said Ross Director Danny Lee Ladely. “I was really convinced then and still am that it’s really the wave of the future.”

When the Ross opened in 2003, it was the only

Bethany Schmidt | daily nebraskan

A “Star Trek” preview is run through the newly installed digital projection system at the Ross Theatre on Sept. 27. The new projector made its debut in August. university theater worldwide digital-cinema projection sys- to be a cost-saver, given the equipped with digital projec- tems. That unit was priced at high price and substantial tion and was one of about about $135,000, not including size of standard 35mm prints.

80 commercial theaters. The the cost of a light source and system was developed by server. projector: Barco, a Belgian company at In the long run, however, the forefront of developing the technology has proved see page 6

A Doll’s House when: Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 1, 6, 7 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 2, 9 at 2 p.m. where: Haymarket Theatre, 803 Q. St how much: Students $15, General Admission $18 causes Nora to re-examine her needs and the dynamics of her spousal relationship.

Over time, Ibsen’s play became a landmark work for its depiction of a wife and mother’s feminist awakening. However, the author himself didn’t claim that was the main goal of his work.

“Ibsen said himself it was not a women’s rights play,” said Megan Higgins, who plays Nora. “He said it was a human rights play.”

In Higgins’ mind, the humanist ideas exemplified in Ibsen’s work and other realism plays of the era were starting points, working their way into

doll’s house: see page 6

Cather 9 finds brotherhood in social antics Tyler keown daily nebraskan

Ross buys new digital projector

if you go

War chants during dinner, group serenades to women, competitive games of kickball and maybe a bit of psychology homework: just your average Saturday for a Cather 9 resident.

These unique social characteristics on the floor are the product of a plan that Vincent Chechevi, the resident assistant for Cather 9, implemented to bring the residents together. Chechevi, originally from Togo, spent the summer working as an RA, at which time he started cultivating his plan for floor dynamics.

“It really allowed me to be an RA,” said Chechevi, a sophomore political science and marketing major. “It allowed me to see the guys on the floor and what they should have.”

Cather 9 is composed of 32 residents, 30 of whom are freshmen: the perfect candidates with whom to start a make-shift floor fraternity.

“I enjoy having freshmen,” Chechevi said. “They’re very receptive to my leadership.

They’ve just trusted me, and now we think of ourselves as

a fraternity.”

They’ve taken to calling themselves Cather Nine Omega and even have a philanthropy project in the works.

“It’s really like a brotherhood,” said Paul Felice, a sophomore computer science major. “I had a friend try to get me to move to another building, but I didn’t want to, because the people here are awesome.”

One of the most recognizable characteristics of the floor is the war calls made during group dinners around campus. All manner of chants and sounds have been yelled, from “Who loves short-shorts?

We love short-shorts!” to pure guttural yells. Though the chants didn’t catch on immediately, they’ve mostly served to establish the enthusiastic dynamic of Cather 9.

According to Chechevi, the chants are just a way for the residents to bond, announce their presence with confidence and have a bit of fun.

“I don’t want my residents to be afraid on campus,” he said.

cather 9: see page 6

6

thursday, september 29, 2011

Daily Nebraskan

projector: from 5

cather 9: from 5

nickolai hammar | Daily nebraskan

Residents of the ninth floor in Cather Hall conclude a floor meeting with activities and conversation. Brandon Nguyen, Mark Sayre and Bryce Yancey indulge in a rousing match of Ninja Slap after the self-hosted meeting.

And his residents aren’t. South Dakota town. “I can girlfriend, so I’m not as en- don’t get your residents Many talked about how the knock on anybody’s door thusiastic about that part,” involved in the first week, atmosphere has made their and know that it’ll be cool.” said James Ball, a freshmen you’re not going to get freshmen years easier so far.

Cather 9 is also known general studies major. them involved for the rest “I was kind of nervous for their special treatment But the floor is recog- of the year,” Chechevi said. about living in a big town, of women, singing to them nized best for its sense of “Luckily, my residents are but the floor has helped,” in the dining halls and car- community. Most everyone enthusiastic, and that motisaid Eddie Ryan, a freshmen rying dishes for them after on the floor considers one vates me.” tylerkeown@ pre-veterinary medicine ma- they finish meals. another to be a friend. dailynebraskan.com jor, who hails from a small “I actually have a “My boss told us if you

Thoughtful street art trumps shallow graffiti Katie Nelson

Last week, I was sitting, enjoying the company of a few friends, when suddenly I realized it was almost 5 p.m. and I hadn’t started writing my column, or even thought about it.

Desperately, I asked the people sitting with me for ideas but got more shrugs than responses. Finally one friend piped up, suggesting I write about the graffiti cats that keep popping up across Lincoln.

I’d previously heard about the cats but had never actually seen one. Inevitably the discussion turned into a

semi-break in of a local beer garden to see one of them.

After risking jail and turning to a life of criminality, I have to say I was pretty disappointed by this “mystery cat.”

Basically, it was a darkened stencil, half-washed away. The only truly defining and identifiable quality about it was its tail, which ran off the edge of the windowsill, leading one’s eyes to the pavement.

But, story aside, the cats sparked my curiosity.

Here I’ve been, harping on all of you to go to a museum or a theater or a concert hall to find what I’ve deemed to be “fine art.” But these crazy cats made me think: What about the art that surrounds us every day?

What about the art that isn’t put into museums or theaters or concert halls? (Don’t worry, this won’t be another

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Ke$ha rant, although I maintain that was one of the best nights of my life.)

What about posters? What about dancing or singing with friends or on your own? After all, isn’t art an expression of humanity and our connection with our surroundings?

And what happens when we make our surroundings into art? Street art. Or, as some haters might say, graffiti.

I thought the first and most productive step in this debate would be to define both terms for you.

Wikipedia says the difference between graffiti and street art is that graffiti is considered to be vandalism while street art exists “to question the existing environment with its own language.”

Street artists also go beyond the traditional spray paint media and sometimes use various painting, stenciling techniques or even mosaic tiles.

But is this art? And what does this mean for these mystery kitty-cats?

I’m sure that, as a reader of my columns for the past few weeks, you assume I am going to take some sort of all-accepting hippie stance on street art’s many forms.

I’m not going to act like graffiti is child’s play, partially because it’s very hard to get spray paint to form those pictures and shapes without practice, or at least, talent. Also, graffiti is usually aligned with gang-related activity, and I have enough

A FINER ART

problems as is. I don’t need a gang angry with me, too.

But I’m going to say graffiti isn’t fine art.

Street art employs the principles of art found within museums but on a more accessible level.

Did you ever have one of those teachers that made class fun? They played games, told jokes, and, in the midst of the fun, you actually learned something!

Street art is the same in my opinion.

It can be found anywhere, but it still holds the power to entertain and challenge your mind as you walk past.

Best of all, it’s not the work of some dead guy. Real, live people are creating it and it lives and breathes with the city that encompasses it.

In conclusion to my story, the cat decorating the beer garden was amusing.

But it wasn’t art.

Still, don’t be discouraged from seeking out and appreciating the paintings outside the museums and galleries.

Maybe even contribute to it yourself.

Scratch that. That’s actually illegal.

Katie Nelson is a sophomore journalism major with a particular soft spot for baby sloths.

Christmas is coming around. Put it together.

Reach her at Katienelson@dailynebraskan.com.

Big studios must print 3,000 to 5,000 prints per movie weighing 75 pounds each and shuffle them around the country, often sustaining scratched on the way. With digital projection, studios big and small need only to send a hard drive.

When the Barco engineers came from their Sacramento laboratory to install the system, they promised that the Ross would be able to upgrade the system as technology improved. But as fate would have it, this wasn’t the case.

“I was way ahead of the curve, but as it turned out, I was a little too far ahead of the curve,” Ladely joked. “Just about two or three years after we opened up, we found out that that machine we had bought for $135,000 was obsolete and out of production.”

When the machine quit running about three years ago, the Ross found that digital projection development had moved in an entirely different direction since 2003. Luckily they were able to have the broken motherboard fixed for free by the Omaha company Ballantyne Strong, which has manufactured projection systems nearly since the beginning of film.

While not many regularly scheduled films yet employed the digital projector, the audience for the Ross’s regular Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, which required the technology, was growing quickly.

If the system were to malfunction again, the theater would be left in the dark, and Ladely knew the Ross had no choice but to upgrade.

This time around, The Ross went with NEC Global for a new system that cost $86,000 and included the projector,

light source, server, accessories and labor costs.

And what happened to the old digital system with the $135,000 price tag?

“We actually traded it in for $10,” Ladely said. “The guy at Midwest (Cinema Service) wanted it just to play with the electronic part. The mechanical parts were no good.”

That piece of the system was turned back over to the university’s inventory department.

Today more than 50 percent of theaters have made the switch to digital projection.

During a demonstration of the new system, the improvements were immediately obvious. The picture was sharp, crisp and bright.

Lynn Rogers, projection manager at the Ross, shared in the excitement in the projector and noted its improvements over the recently outmoded system.

“The thing looks at least twice as bright, to me, than the other DLP projector did,” Rogers said. “The clarity and contrast and everything is so much better.”

The new system also supports 4K content, a reference to the amount of data that can be projected onto the screen at one time. While most films are still released in 2K, this state-of-the-art system will ready the Ross for the best in forthcoming cinema quality.

The plan now, Ladely said, is to provide the same technology for the Ross’ second screen.

“We eventually want to do the same setup in the other theater,” he said. “Because film is on its way out, even the distributors we deal with, including the independents, are converting now to the digital format.”

cameronmount@ dailynebraskan.com

doll’s house: from 5 culture from the theater.

Likewise, Crew believes that the realism found within the play seeped into culture and the art world and that modern television and film were all influenced by said realism.

Landing the role of Nora was a rare opportunity and dream come true for Higgins, who had first read the play in high school.

“I fell in love with Ibsen’s plays,” Higgins said. “I had read it through many times in college.”

Higgins did a lot of character study for the role of Nora and attempted to look deep into the subtext of the work. This is one role she wants to get right and accurately portray the themes Ibsen had in mind.

“It’s a classic, but for whatever reason nobody seems to

do it (in Lincoln),” Crew said.

Crew has wanted to be a part of a “A Doll’s House” production for a long time. He first read the work in college when he was 19 and felt immediately that it was one of the best plays he’d ever read.

This past spring, Crew, who is also the executive director of the Haymarket Theatre, decided it was finally time to bring the play to the stage in Lincoln.

Higgins hopes the play will cause the audience to do some self-reflection.

“Do you treat other people as equals?” asked Higgins, digging into some of the play’s themes. “What do we do to conform to society? How do we follow our societal roles?”

tomhelberg@ dailynebraskan.com

mcmullen: from 5 In defying convention further, McMullen will perform one song with accompaniment from a 99-cent iTunes application. The app will provide the sound of Scottish bagpipe, while the professor plays oboe in a half-digitized duet.

“The piece sounds like someone’s sort of improvising jazz, but it’s sort of a folk piece,” said McMullen, who’s been a professor at UNL for the past 25 years.

Along with works from France and Scotland, the program will also include a lighter, more accessible German song and three operatic Italian pieces.

“A lot of the pieces are standard for an oboe player, ones that many of my students will know or will learn in the future,” McMullen said.

McMullen received his

D.M.A. and M.M. degrees from The Juilliard School, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the world. He is now the principal oboist with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and also plays in the Moran Woodwind Quintet, which is composed of UNL faculty.

But according to Offerman, playing oboe is just one of the things McMullen does well. As one might expect of a higherlevel education veteran, he takes his instruction very seriously.

“He is really great about giving us praise and constructive criticism,” she said. “He is always fabulous about never making us feel bad about our playing.”

Kassinelson@ dailynebraskan.com

Daily Nebraskan

thursday, september 29, 2011

Angels Theatre to host mother-daughter talk Ryan Kopelke daily nebraskan

Our Mothers, Ourselves. How strong is the connection between the two, how does it affect our lives, where do the lines begin to blur between personas?

For University of NebraskaLincoln students, one take on the answer is free courtesy of the Angels Theatre Company.

Founded by actor-turned director Judy Hart, the Angels Theatre Company seeks to empower women through the use of plays with strong female leads and a focus on the lives

of women. In this spirit the Angels Company will be hosting a fundraiser featuring renowned speaker Susan Fee, who will discuss the relationship between mother and daughter Friday at 7 p.m. at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Hart, along with executive director Becky Boesen, has planned numerous other fundraisers for the company, but this one is different. For the first time the event will feature a speaker instead of a performance, allowing the swamped staff of the Angels Company a slight respite in their hectic schedules.

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an effort to spread her message.

“I could see this benefitting a lot of college-aged women,” she said. “They might finally see that turning out like their mother isn’t such a bad thing.”

Ryankopelke@ dailynebraskan.com

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“The people who are going to come are the ones who want to support the Angels Company, but what I want people to leave with is the knowledge that the relationship they have with their mother is something universal,” Hart said.

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with a parent or child. Most importantly, it is a great place to seek answers for the questions involving the relationship between parents and children.”

To the Angels Company, having Fee is the ideal extension of their message, though her connection to the company began by accident.

When Hart was in Massachusetts last summer, she came across Fee giving a speech on how friendship is viewed by young women. Intrigued, Hart began to envision an event paired with her theater company that would explore the relationships among adult females

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Fee will provide an in-depth look at both the strength and the complexity of the motherdaughter relationship, laying it out as a blue print for the rest of the relationships people have. She strives to peel back those multi-faceted layers and reveal what makes the relationship work and the effect that it can have on the rest of our lives.

“This event is a unique opportunity to explore the mother-daughter relationship with an expert,” Boesen said. “It’s a wonderful, thought-provoking way to spend a Friday night and a perfect event to share

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thursday, september 29, 2011

Daily Nebraskan

Seasoned team looking for results zach tegler

have their sights set on making it through doubles qualifying.

“We think that we can,” Sock said.

In McDermott’s mind, this event provides great experience, and he wants his team to soak up as much as they can.

“Hopefully they can win a few matches,” he said.

Lindheim said being wellversed in the ways of college tennis isn’t always an attribute of great teams, but most of the time the top squads are led by a core group of seniors and juniors.

“Everybody knows what you have to do,” Lindheim said. “Everybody has been in those situations.”

Anything the team can learn in the fall tennis season is vital to prepare for the longer, more team-oriented spring schedule.

“We don’t do a lot of team stuff in the fall,” McDermott said. “It’s more individual.”

One thing in particular McDermott wants to see this fall is progress.

“We talk about giving 100 percent day in and day out,” he said.

According to McDermott, practices are going well and have been competitive. The players have been focusing on service returns and aggressiveness returning second serves, two things he noticed in the first event of the year that needed improvement.

“If we can do those things, it will help us definitely,”

daily nebraskan

file photo by kyle bruggeman | daily nebraskan

Stefanie Weistein and the women’s tennis team are relying on focus and discipline as they approach the ITA/Riviera Women’s All-American Championships.

Husker women face best tennis talent in U.S. zach tegler daily nebraskan

This Saturday, the eyes of Nebraska sports fans will be firmly fixated on the football team’s Top 10 battle against Wisconsin.

Over 1,600 miles away from Madison, though, the NU women’s tennis team will begin action in its biggest event of the fall season — a tournament that won’t even end until the Huskers have played Ohio State on the football field Oct. 8.

The ITA/Riviera Women’s All-American Championships in Los Angeles is a tournament that invites the best college tennis players from around the nation.

“It might be the most talented tournament of the whole year,” NU coach Scott Jacobson said.

Husker seniors Mary Weatherholt and Madeleine Geibert, and juniors Stefanie Weinstein and Patricia Veresova will make the trip to California.

“We are all excited because it is the best tournament of the fall,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein and Geibert will play in the doubles part of the tournament, and they are ready to play in an event at this level.

“It is nice to see universities we never get to compete with,” Geibert said. “It is really exciting.”

But for a week-long tournament like the All-American, the mindset has to be different.

“You have to be patient,” Jacobson said. “You can’t always control the outcome, but you can control the effort and attitude.”

The event is representative of the fall season as a whole in that it is focused around individual competition and improvement — a departure from the teamcentered mindset of the

spring. Jacobson has seen things in practice this fall that will translate into success come late January.

“There has been a tremendous amount of discipline,” Jacobson said. “I think that is going to bode well this spring.”

That is still four months away, though. This week, the Huskers are primed to play well in Los Angeles.

“We have to prove we can play with the best players in the country,” Weinstein said. “Our expectation is to go from match to match and play well.”

Not all the players attending the event are automatically in the main draw of the tournament. The players not in the bracket yet need to go through three rounds of pre-qualifying and three rounds of qualifying to earn their way into the primary competition.

“It’s a long road,” Jacobson said. He added, though, that no matter how many matches the players get to compete in, there important things other than winning.

“It’s about improving.

It’s about them having an opportunity to compete against the best competition in the country.”

That doesn’t mean he has any doubts about their play, though.

“I’m sure they will perform very admirably,” Jacobson said.

This weekend, with the focus of Husker fans in the Badger State, the women’s tennis team will look to make some noise of their own. They are confident they can play well.

“I think we are in good shape and we are going to be fine,” Geibert said.

Jacobson has only one expectation for the team.

“Give their best effort,” he said. “That’s all you can really ask for.” zachtegler@ dailynebraskan.com

Albert Einstein said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.”

Luckily for the Nebraska men’s tennis team, experience is all they have.

The Huskers don’t have any freshmen on the roster this year, which makes for a group of players who already know their way around college tennis.

“They expect a little more of themselves at this point,” NU coach Kerry McDermott said.

Still, the more experience, the better.

On Saturday, four NU men will make their season debuts at the ITA Men’s AllAmerican Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Seniors Christopher Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim enter the tournament as the No. 13 NCAA doubles team in the nation.

They will be joined by juniors Eric Sock and Andre Stenger.

Aumueller is the only Husker who has already qualified for the main draw of the tournament in singles.

Sock, Stenger and Lindheim will have to endure five days of qualifying matches in order to make it into the 64-player singles bracket.

“I hope to play good tennis and see what happens,” Lindheim said.

While he and Aumueller have already qualified for the main draw, Sock and Stenger

file photo by kyle bruggeman | daily nebraskan

Senior Benedikt Lindheim and the experienced Husker tennis team are holding themselves to high standards heading into the ITA Men’s All-American Championships.

McDermott said.

The tennis team has also put a lot of effort into conditioning with the goal of being one of the more fit teams in the country.

“We don’t want to lose because we’re out of shape,” McDermott said.

In Tulsa, that conditioning will be tested; the event will begin Oct. 1 and conclude Oct. 9.

“It’s a huge tournament,” McDermott said.

In many ways, the team

is treating it as it would any other event.

“I hope to play good tennis and see what happens,” Lindheim said.

But in an invitational as long as the All-American Championships, mental strength becomes more important.

“You really have to have your mind prepared,” Sock said. “You’ve got to be strong mentally.”

zachtegler@ dailynebraskan.com

»»cross-country

Improving Huskers off to quick start nedu Izu daily nebraskan

After hosting the Woody Greeno/Nebraska Invitational two weeks ago, the Husker cross country team heads back on the road to race in the South Dakota State Classic.

In their last race, the Nebraska men finished in third-place impressing many people, including their coach Jay Dirksen.

“The guys keep getting better as a team,” Dirksen said.

“They made a lot of improvements since their last meet and I’m really impressed.

“I was especially impressed with Trevor Vidlak today. He ran a good time and competed against really good people.”

Vidlak finished first for the Cornhuskers and fourth overall in the invitational with a time of 24:46.22. It was the junior’s first race of the season, after missing the opener in the Creighton/UNO Classic in Omaha.

At the end of the 2010 season, Vidlak was honored as the Men’s Most Improved Runner. This off-season he was named co-captain and said it motivated him to run faster.

“Since I got voted I really

wanted to perform well for the team,” Vidlak said. “It meant a lot to me and felt great getting that first race under my belt.

It was a pretty fun race having the Nebraska crowd there.

Overall, I think our team did better this meet than we did our first meet. Our coach was happy about that and proud of our guys.”

The Nebraska women had a great finish, too. In fact, theirs was better.

The women placed first and were led by their captain Jessica Furlan. The senior finished third overall and said she was happy with her and the team’s finish.

“The first 2K were great and fast,” Furlan said. “There were two of us out in front so I knew my teammates weren’t too far behind me. It felt good having another girl, Aliphine Tuliamuk from Wichita State, in front of me. I know she’s talented so I tried to stay as close to her as possible. In the last 3K I was just trying to hold keep in the race.

“But I thought it was a good solid effort from everyone and I think we all ran our personal best. That’s always motivating.”

Dirksen agreed.

“I think our women had a

great meet and I was pleasantly surprised by both teams,” the NU coach said. “The times they ran were so much faster than I anticipated and I think we’ll have great teams the rest of the season. I thought almost every person ran better than they ever have.”

The race also marked the first meets of the year for Milena Stoicev and Brad Doering. Stoicev came in 24th for the Huskers with a time of 22:52:4 while Doering finished 10th with a time of 25:10:4.

Dirksen said that although top lady runner Martina Barinova did not race in her last meet, she’ll make her debut this weekend and thinks that his teams are pretty healthy.

His teams have been training the last two weeks and added that they’re ready to race against a Big Ten team.

“Minnesota has a really good team and we’re looking forward to racing against them,” Dirksen said. “They’ve always been a team who was a little better than us. It’ll be a solid meet and good for where we’re at right now. They had a huge meet last week and ran really well.

“It’s just what we need right

now, both our teams will get challenged and will have a chance to be in front.”

The Huskers travel to Brookings, S.D. this Saturday to compete in a race that will host 19 teams including Northern Iowa, North Dakota and No. 20 (men)/No. 21 (women) Minnesota.

“I don’t think people have been expecting our full ability because we haven’t ran in a big meet yet,” Furlan said.

She added that it was nice having two weeks off and is ready for the challenge Minnesota will bring to the now healthy Nebraska team.

“Our entire team is running better than they ever have,” Furlan said. “We’ve been comparing our workouts with our training last year and they’re all a margin better this year. We’ve been underestimated as a team and this weekend we have a chance to prove who we really are.

“It’s not a huge meet in the sense of a lot of people, but the level of competition is high.

Minnesota will a major team competing so it will be good to compete against another big ten team.” neduizu@ dailynebraskan.com

for: from 10 another team, it isn’t much of a rivalry. Realignment will now allow Nebraska to start what will immediately be a heated and more competitive rivalry with a quality football program in Iowa.

Aside from Nebraska, the list of potential rivalries that could form in the future for college athletics is endless.

Imagine the intensity and hatred that could potentially build between Texas A&M

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and teams like LSU and Alabama. In basketball, former Big East powerhouses Syracuse and Pittsburgh will be going up against teams like Duke and North Carolina year in and year out. Five years ago, just the thought of all these potential matchups would make a sports fan’s mouth water, but due to conference realignment, the matchups are now a certainty.

There are also great

academic-related aspects that will come out of conference realignment. In 1958, the Big Ten formed the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC).

The CIC essentially is an academic version of the Big Ten conference that allows schools to collaborate on projects and share resources together rather than individually. According to the CIC’s 2008-09 annual report, the CIC was able

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to bring in over six billion dollars in funded research, save just under six million dollars in purchasing, add six million dollars in library savings and add 19 million dollars in technology savings. As great as those numbers were, by adding Nebraska and potentially four other members to the CIC, the numbers would be bound to increase a great deal.

It’s easy to understand why some people are against conference realignment. Sometimes change isn’t easy to accept or adapt to, even with college athletics. Some traditions will end

and many schools will go through major transitions and changes. With that said, however, eventually people will be thankful for conference realignment occurring.

Scholars will be thrilled with the amount of money schools will gain towards academics and fans will love the great match ups they’ll become accustomed to watching every Saturday.

Most of all though, everyone will rejoice when college football finally has a playoff.

phil scherer is a sophomore broadcasting major. reach him at philscherer@ dailynebraskan.com.

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thursday, september 29, 2011

Husker football delivers after halftime Jeff Packer daily nebraskan

Frustration was noticeable for those in the stands in Laramie, Wyo., last weekend.

The Huskers had finished the first half against the Cowboys with a 14-7 lead, capped by a narrowly missed Brett Maher field goal to end the second quarter.

Those who were worried needed only to stick around for the next half.

The Huskers would hold the Pokes to another seven points, adding 24 points of their own in the last two quarters.

“So far it’s kind of been our M-O,” NU offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “We make some adjustments and come out in the second half and play a little bit better. I thought our guys played well.”

The Huskers have proven themselves a second-half team this season, showing up after the break with an authority on both sides of the ball.

Nebraska has allowed 47 points in the eight quarters they’ve played after half time this season. The Husker offense has scored 100 points in that span.

The Blackshirts have doled out three shut out quarters of football in second halves in 2011. Dominant third quarters against Washington and Wyoming allowed the Huskers to create separation early after halftime. Washington’s 21-point fourth quarter is the only time an opponent has hit doubledigits late in a game.

NU junior linebacker Sean Fisher believes the NU coaches can be given the credit for Nebraska’s stinginess on defense.

file photo by andrew dickinson | daily nebraskan

NU offensive coordinator Tim Beck and co. have used halftime adjustments to put up their best numbers in the second half this season.

“They’ve put so much work in during the week that generally, they’re not major adjustments,” Fisher said of halftime changes. “They’re fine-tuning types of things, so it’s not like we’re restructuring a total defense.”

While the Huskers have only made small tweaks here and there, Fisher knows the changes can mean a great deal.

“The style of defense we play – it’s really eleven-man football,” Fisher said. “You can’t just rely on one or two guys so it’s really relying on the fact that every single guy is in his gap, his responsibility. Those little adjustments, just putting a guy in a different gap or playing a different technique up front can really make all the difference.”

Offensively, the Huskers have put away games through rushing the ball, recording two

130-plus yard rushing efforts in the third quarter against Washington and the fourth quarter against Wyoming. Against the Huskies, Nebraska’s backfield carried the ball for 217 second half yards. After 113 yards on the ground in the first and second quarter against Wyoming, the Huskers pushed for 220 more yards in the last two periods.

“The offensive line loves that because they get into a rhythm and get that confidence and comfortability to really get it going,” NU running back Rex Burkhead said.

Nebraska has scored the majority of its points in the second half in each of its past three games, thanks to changes made in the locker room and on the field.

“The coaches do a real good job of seeing what they’re

doing and we make a lot of even adjustments on the sideline,” NU tight end Kyler Reed said. “That’s why coach Beck is up in the box. So he can see the whole defense, see what they’re trying to do to stop our offense.”

Reed said the lack of updated game film on each opponent this early in the season can hinder coaches and players from knowing exactly what to expect from opposing defenses. Halftime fixes that.

“To be a good offense, you’ve got to make a lot adjustments and in-game stuff that you might not have practiced for a while,” Reed said. “You’ve just got to be able to pull that stuff out. Coaches have done a good job of communicating that to us.” jeffpacker@ dailynebraskan.com

9

PRACTICE NOTES FOOTBALL Rb’s coach Brown expects “bloodbath” with Wisconsin Nebraska assistant coach Ron Brown didn’t mince words in assessing Saturday’s game with No. 7 Wisconsin.

He sees a formidable challenge in the undefeated Badgers, a team he says has many similarities to Nebraska.

“I think there’s a basic foundation in physicality (in both programs),” Brown said.

“This (Nebraska) is a rugged state. Wisconsin is a rugged state, it’s a prairie state. People have been ranchers and farmers and they’re outdoorsmen. And kids grow up in these states, and I’m sure Wisconsin kids grow up thinking ‘I want to put the W on my helmet’. Kids grow up in Nebraska thinking ‘I want to put the N on my helmet’.”

Jumping from sociogeographical analysis to on-the-field match ups, Brown says he sees a tremendous challenge in facing Nebraska’s defensive front seven.

“They play so hard,” Brown said of Wisconsin’s defense. “They play with tremendous aggression and they’re well-coached. They’re going to run around to the football. They play basic, hard, nasty football. And that’s how we are.

“It’s going to be a bloodbath.”

More shifting in the secondary After revealing a new look in the defensive backfield in last weekend’s 3814 win over Wyoming, the Nebraska defense will make adjustments to the starting lineup Saturday in Madison.

First-year secondary coach Corey Raymond told the media after Wednesday’s practice that Daimion Stafford will move from the nickel position back to safety for the Blackshirt defense.

Stafford, a juco transfer who burst onto the scene early this season with a big hit in the opener against UT-Chattanooga, started against Wyoming at the nickel position. This was after switching positions from safety, a position he started at against Fresno State and Washington, in the middle of last week.

Raymond said the move is largely due to the offense Wisconsin is expected to show NU. “We don’t expect him (Stafford) to play that much nickel against Wisconsin,” Raymond said. “It’s just a call we decided to make as a staff. And it doesn’t matter if we put him in at nickel or at safety, he’ll have to be ready.”

Though Stafford’s role may change slightly, the rest of the secondary isn’t expected to look much different as Raymond said they are going to stick with redshirt freshman Corey Cooper at corner, after he made his positional debut last week.

-COMPILED BY MATT PALU

against: from 10

file photo by nickolai hammar | daily nebraskan

Sophomore forward Stacy Bartels has earned a starting role for the NU women’s soccer team this fall, relying on her technique and hard-working personality.

Winning attitude, skills earn Bartels No. 3 spot on team andrew ward daily nebraskan

Sophomore forward Stacy Bartels clears the defense and now only one defender stands in her path to the goal.

The defender knows what is coming; in fact every one on the field knows what is coming.

Bartels knows that it’s predictable — her teammates tell her it is all the time, but until someone stops it she is going to keep using it.

She steps around the ball, making the defender believe she is going in one direction, but as her opponent reacts she brings her feet back together, touches the ball and spins in the other direction as she bursts passed the defender.

This is the step-over move, Bartels’ go-to play, and the one she uses in every one-on-one situation.

“Whenever she is in a oneon-one type of situation she always uses that move,” senior Molly Thomas said. “We make fun of her for it, but it works every time.”

The move is working for Bartels in 2011 as she is having a career year for the Nebraska women’s soccer squad.

She has already surpassed her goal and point total from a year ago with five and 11 respectively. She ranks third

on the team in both of those categories, trailing only juniors Morgan Marlborough and Jordan Jackson.

Bartels has also made the jump from coming off the bench to a full-time starter this season. That jump though provides more pressure than one might think, according to Bartels.

“A starter’s job is to be consistent for every game and I feel like I could do a better job with that this season,” Bartels said.

Now that Bartels is a starter, it has been the techniques of the game that have been the main focus this season, Thomas said.

Bartels knows that her role has changed from a year ago.

She said that she has been attacking in the center part of the field more this year, which has called for more for adjustment this season.

Other than the step-over move, working hard has been the one other constant in Bartels game, according to Thomas. She said that Bartels made a difference right away as a freshman even though she was redshirted in her first year.

“Stacy would push everyone from the first day she stepped on the practice field,” Thomas said. “She is such a hard worker and a great teammate both on and off the field; she would do anything for any one of us.”

Thomas also said that Bartels will often times sacrifice her body by making a sliding tackle in situations where she really doesn’t need to.

Her team-first attitude is reflected directly to how close she is with her own family, Bartels said.

Bartels, a native of Omaha, is glad that her family is close enough where they can support her when she takes the field for the Huskers.

“I’m super close to my family and I wanted them to be close to me, which is one of the reasons I chose Nebraska,” Bartels said. “Now I have the people that raised me along with my teammates.

“Having two families is great, especially knowing that there will always be someone to talk to if the going gets tough.”

12 would have been a conference dissolved in vain.

Texas would have maintained its Longhorn Network and profited off of match-ups with the same opponents they’d have faced otherwise (and a few new ones). And new, engineered rivalries would have been forged, leaving Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes to roll over in their graves.

And now, for a ninemember (Pending Texas A&M’s SEC acceptance) Big 12 that sports the most deceptive name in the game, the most viable solution for the dysfunctional collection of teams is the Mark Cuban plan: stick it out.

Stick it out and reap the benefits of consistent quality play, which means TV contracts and marketability. The Longhorns are going to get their way regardless of what happens, so the other members of the Big 12 should oblige and reap benefits of their own. For them, it means bigger rivalries when

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of revenue for each Big 12 school.

Maybe he’s otherwise an intolerable loudmouth worthy of several profanities, but Cuban has a ingenious plan for the Big 12, essentially an offer they can’t refuse.

And rightfully so; they shouldn’t.

The idea of a college football Megatron is past us and it doesn’t appear as if it was all that beneficial to begin with. So for the Big 12, for college football in general, the best solution for the instability may just be to stay put.

As for Nebraska? Nebraska may have moved on and attained the respect of Midwestern peers in a conference known for on and off-the-field glory, but let’s remember something.

Football or not, Nebraska’s about as cool and trendy as a pet rock.

And that’s on a good day.

faiz siddiqui is a freshman news-editorial major.

Reach him at FAIZSIDDIQUI@ dailynebraskan.com.

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conference play comes around. The fact that every single team (and fan base) that faces off against the Longhorns will want to absolutely rip them (and their fan base) to shreds will actually help in this regard.

The tight-nit volatile nature of a nine-team conference will make for more nationally-televised conference match ups, and more importantly, more money.

And a smaller Big 12 means more money to market the Big 12. It would mean better stadiums, better recruiting for the schools, anything that draws attention to a collection of nine quality teams.

Super conferences don’t get that.

And a nine-team Big 12 means only eight in-conference games as opposed to a super conference’s nine or more. This gives nine quality teams the opportunity to schedule one more out of conference game, which could mean a TV blockbuster and a huge source

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dailynebraskan.com

thursday, september 29, 2011

two sides of conference realignment

“ What do you mean you’re closed?”

“ See y’all later”

falling

art by gabriel sanchez

into place?

If created, four different 16team conferences could be the start of a playoff plan

Phil Scherer A sports fan can’t avoid hearing about it even if they hate it. Anytime they turn on ESPN, they’re bound to hear analysts discussing conference realignment.

It’s the new hot topic in college sports today and although a lot has already happened, there’s still a lot more to come. There are millions of questions fans want to know. What will happen to the Big 12 and Big East? Who will be the SEC’s 14th team? What will happen to teams like Iowa State and Kansas State if the Big 12 disbands? Yet, the most important question that any fan wants to know is what good will actually come out of all this?

Although it’s messy and confusing now, conference realignment will, in fact, have a lot of positive effects on college athletics.

Without a doubt, the most exciting thing about conference realignment is that it may finally lead to a college football playoff. For years, the BCS system has been an impediment to a playoff and with schools now changing their loyalties left and right, the BCS might have no choice but to have a playoff at the end of the year. The way things look now, the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC could end up forming four “super” conferences by the end of this whole realignment process. Having these super conferences would

immediately have an impact on the BCS bowl tie-ins that conferences originally had, thus forcing the NCAA to change their postseason system.

Changing their postseason system to a playoff would not be that hard to imagine and would also make the most sense.

The four conferences would each have 16 teams split into two divisions, with a league championship in December. The league champion could then go on to have a four-team playoff with the other three conference champions.

It also isn’t out of the question to think that four more teams could be added to the bracket as at-large teams, creating an 8-team playoff that college football fans would drool for. In the first round of the playoffs alone, there could be match ups like Alabama versus Nebraska, or Florida State against USC. For many college football fans, match ups like these with a playoff feel added to it would be a dream come true, but the dream can never become a reality without conference realignment taking place.

One of the main arguments against conference realignment is that it will ruin a great deal of traditions and rivalries that have been around for quite some time. The truth is though that some traditions need to be broken in order for stronger ones to be created. Yes, the Nebraska-Colorado match up on the Friday after Thanksgiving was fun, but any fan of college football knows that when a team is 49-18 against

for: see page 8

teams that have changed conferences since the summer of 2010

Super conferences Could be the end of popular rivalries in college football

JUne 10, 2010 — Colorado accepted as 11th Member of the Pac-10 conference

June 11, 2010 — Announced that Nebraska would become 12th member of Big Ten Conference, effective July 1, 2011.

June 11, 2010 — Mountain West Conference confirms Boise State as its, at the time, 10th member

June 17, 2010 — Pac-10 Conference announces That Utah has accepted invitation to become league’s 12th member

November 29, 2010 — TCU accepts invitation to join Big east Conference, effective july 1, 2012

September 18, 2011 — ACC accepts pittsburgh and Syracuse as league’s 13th and 14th members September 25, 2011 — Sec announces Texas A&M will become league’s 13th member, effective July 2012

Faiz siddiqui In a world that’s quickly turning to blogging, thick plastic-framed eyewear and beards entirely composed of unshaven stubble, Nebraska is a relative nobody.

It’s a corn-producing state with an agricultural heritage and a reputation for being about as avantgarde as Windows 95. Nebraska casually and consistently sports a mullet, a handlebar mustache and denim blue jeans with the elastic waistband, remiss of the ever-changing lifestyle and majestic splendor of a trendsetter’s universe.

Nebraska football, however, is a different story.

With a tradition of relative significance, NU athletics may have just paved the way for the inception of some of the most radical changes and conference re-alignments college football has ever seen.

Make no mistake, it was Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten that was the final straw for the alreadyfloundering Big 12. In their protest of big money and big markets, the provincial Big Red set a big, dangerous trend, a precedent that echoed a resounding “no” to small-market under-appreciation and Longhorn entitlement.

With its departure, Nebraska reduced a conference that was geographically centered in the Dust Bowl to a godforsaken state of uninhabitability.

For NU athletics, it was a statistical slam-dunk.

That’s not to say the Huskers’ former brethren should follow suit.

Before Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott shot down further expansion, the ramifications of a 16-member college football Godzilla budding in the west were looking scarier by the day. Lucrative TV contracts and talent escalation aside, it could have led a sport built on tradition and region-centered rivalry to wholly lose its identity.

No doubt, the formation of a Pac-16 super conference would have been 2,127-mile mistake. That’s how far of a journey University of Washington fans would have had to make to find themselves anywhere near Texas Memorial Stadium. Maybe it’s a trivial concern for a world that runs on fiber-optic cables, where air-travel is ubiquitous, but only a diehard fan (sans profession) would be willing to make the equivalent of a transatlantic journey to watch conference play.

Sure, the proposed pod system which pitted Texas in a sub-conference with Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State would have preserved those oh-so beloved geographic rivalries. But a conference that has to subdivide and then subdivide again in order to secure its existence would sacrifice any identity at all.

Pac-16 teams would have been a product for their pods, meaning the Big 12 powerhouses would have maintained their presence as just that.

And if the Pac-16 did come to fruition, the Big

against: see page 9