SEPT7

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‘my big fat greek party’

HIGH RISK, HIGH RETURN

All-greek organization party returns to Pershing after long hiatus PAGE 8

Husker volleyball names captains despite lack of on-court play PAGE 12

wednesday, september 7, 2011

volume 111, issue 013

DAILY NEBRASKAN dailynebraskan.com

Enrollment at UNL dips 0.1%; NU rises riley Johnson Daily Nebraskan

The University of NebraskaLincoln’s enrollment shrunk slightly this fall to just under 25,000 students, according to figures released Tuesday by the University of Nebraska. The university-wide census counted 24,593 undergraduate and graduate students at UNL on the sixth day of classes, which is 18 fewer than fall 2010 enrollment. The university’s 0.1 percent decrease in enrollment comes at a time when the other three University of Nebraska campuses increased their enrollments. In all, University of Nebraska system enrollment exceeded 50,000 students this fall for the first time since 1993, according to NU President J.B. Milliken. “I am encouraged that a growing number of students are enrolling at the University of Nebraska, but we will need to pick up the pace to meet our goals,” Milliken said. Those goals include UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman’s vision of having 30,000 students enrolled by 2017. But, as Perlman outlined in his State of the University Address on Sept. 1, the goal of increasing enrollment comes at a time when the in-state recruiting base has decreased. That means UNL will need to recruit more international and non-resident students and maximize the amount of instate students it attracts. “The demographics of Nebraska, with declining

FALL SEMESTER ENROLLMENT-LAST 10 YEARS The university-wide census counted 24,593 students on campus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this fall, according to a University of Nebraska press release. While that number is down 0.1 percent from fall 2010, UNL saw an increase in its freshman class to 4,093 students, up 18 students from the previous fall.

25000

The heart and soul of every class is those students within the state.”

numbers of high school graduates, presents a challenge,” Perlman said in his address. “However, our increasing attractiveness to non-resident students and international students and our Big Ten status presents an opportunity.” Preliminary figures for the 2010-2011 school year show 19,039 students graduated from Nebraska’s public high schools, according to the Nebraska Department of Education. The previous school year, 2009-2010, saw 20,229 students graduate from the state’s public and private high schools. The number of public school graduates that year was 19,298. The Nebraska Department of Education did not have private school graduation figures for the past year, and calls to the Nebraska Coordinating Commission on Postsecondary Education were unanswered. Alan Cerveny, dean of the UNL Office of Admissions, said the state saw a total of 400 fewer high school graduates, 200 of which from Omaha-metropolitan schools. What made this year’s drop different from previous years was the location, he said. Typically the state sees high school graduate numbers drop for rural and central and western Nebraska schools. Still, the UNL freshman class increased by 0.4 percent this fall to 4,093, up from 4,075. Cerveny told the Daily Nebraskan that he thinks UNL Admissions attracted more non-resident and international students, which helped make up for the loss of Nebraska

20000

15000

Alan Cerveny

dean of admissions

high school students. However, exact information on how many incoming freshmen came from out-of-state could not be obtained. Cerveny said he and his staff were surprised and encouraged to learn of the growth. Perlman said he will work to increase the number of Nebraskans graduating from high school by boosting the number eligible to attend college. In addition, he said UNL also needs to see an increase in the number of Nebraska high school graduates pursuing a college degree in an attempt to better their futures. Both Cerveny and Perlman stressed the importance of retaining in-state students, which they see as vital to the state’s only land-grant institution’s student body. “The heart and soul of every class is those students within the state,” Cerveny said. With smaller pools of Nebraska’s graduating high school students, Cerveny said that UNL Admissions will look at attracting more Nebraska transfer students to Lincoln.

10000

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0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

SOURCE: DATA FROM INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND PLANNING

NU 2011 ENROLLMENT: AN 18-YEAR HIGH Enrollment at the five University of Nebraska schools, including the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, eclipsed 50,000 students this fall, according to an NU press release. That 18-year-high represents an almost 1 percent increase in enrollment from fall 2010.

50,352 students UNK 7,100

NCTA 333

enrollment: see page 3

SOURCE: UNL.EDU

stephanie goodman | daily nebraskan

dan holtmeyer

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has had a 48 percent increase in Hispanic student enrollment since 2006. They now make up 4.2 percent of the total student population.

2006

2007

2009

2008

mount page 5

2010

2011

Sarah lambert 553

3.2%

595 7.6%

650 9.2%

705 8.5%

750 6.4%

817 8.9%

3.3%

3.5%

3.7%

3.9%

4.2%

daily nebraskan

According to data released yesterday, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is home to more Hispanic students this semester than ever before: 817 undergraduates, including 225 freshmen students, a figure that increased by more than a third from last fall’s enrollment. Hispanic student enrollment at UNL has been growing for years, rising almost 50 percent since 2006. In that time, the percentage of UNL’s undergraduate student body that identifies as Hispanic has also gone up, from 3.2 percent in 2006 to 4.2 percent this year. That growth fits within a larger trend, illustrated by a recently released report, published by the Pew Hispanic Center. The report, based on census data, showed Hispanic college enrollment nationwide jumped by 24 percent between 2009 and 2010.

Cystic fibrosis no large obstacle for determined student

HISPANIC STUDENTS AT UNL, 2006-2011 CATEGORY Number of Hispanic undergrads Percent increase Percent of total undergrads

UNMC 3,614

UNL 24,593

Hispanic students increase to 4.2% Following national trends, enrollment of Hispanics at UNL continues steady rise, add responsibilities to students

UNO 14,712

Daily Nebraskan

SOURCE: 2010-11 UNL FACT BOOK

Bob Al-greene | daily nebraskan

Only part of that increase can be explained by population growth. In the same time period, the population of 18- to 24-year-old Hispanics grew by only 7 percent, according to The New York Times. Some UNL students have happily taken notice of the surge. “Our growth has been huge this year, and it’s been growing constantly,” said Jared Dailey, a senior business administration major and president of the Mexican American Student Association. More than 100 people came to the organization’s first meeting compared to about 60 the year before. “We literally couldn’t fit everyone in the room,” Dailey said. Other students were also

pleased, but had a more sober view as well. “Now we’re setting an example,” said Stephanie Hernandez, a freshman business administration major and first-generation college student. Specifically, she said, she’s setting an example for her younger siblings. “My mom never went to college, so I see how much she struggled getting jobs,” Hernandez said. She credited an increase in the information about college available to students for part of the surge in Hispanic enrollment. For her, part of that came from the Nebraska College Preparatory Academy, a program that identifies gifted, low-income and first-generation students in Grand Island and Omaha at the beginning of their high school careers and sets them

student life page 7

on a path to college. Without such programs, Hernandez said, she wouldn’t be here. Her mother also came from Mexico for her family’s benefit, according to Hernandez, and anything less than using that opportunity was poor repayment. “What are we doing here ... if I’m not going to college?” she asked. Still, she said, the university could do more to encourage a diverse student body. Her younger sister, who just entered eighth grade, recently received a letter from UNL, and Hernandez said communicating with students early on about college was the right strategy. “It would inspire them to

diversity: see page 3

About three times a day 19-year-old Derek Christensen hooks himself to a vest with two long, ridged tubes connected to a vacuum-like machine. The apparatus may look like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but the machine breaks up the mucus that builds up inside his lungs and helps him breathe. Christensen, a sophomore electrical engineering major, was born with cystic fibrosis. However, this process is a more comfortable alternative from when he was young. Before the vest was invented, his parents would spend an hour and a half pounding on his chest trying to help him breathe more easily. “It’s like brushing your teeth,” Christensen said. “It’s something that you have to do every day, whether you like it or not.” Cystic fibrosis is a common genetic disorder that targets the entire body and progressively brings about disability and early death. Today, the life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis is 38 years old.

football page 12

profile: see page 2

Weather | sunny

Lateral bad, vertical good

Portrait of the artist

Class Standards

CellPhone Consumers win and lose in mergers

recent graduate and aspiring director finds art in life

Turner setting high goals for himself, fellow freshmen

@dailyneb | facebook.com/dailynebraskan

Born and raised in Parker, S.D., Christensen grew up with extraordinarily supportive parents and an empathetic sister who also has cystic fibrosis. He and his older sister, April Christensen, became close, and through their shared fight they took on their dreams. “Seeing Derek doing so well pushed me to want to do well and set a good example,” April Christensen said. “We saw how fragile life is and how important it is to chase our dream.” When Christensen was younger, though, he went to an aeronautical camp where he fell in love with planes. He dreamed of getting his pilot’s license, and during his senior year in high school he was required to do a “big project.” This was finally his excuse to get his pilot’s license. However, when the time had come to fly solo, he was required to obtain a medical certificate certifying that he was capable of taking up a plane by himself. “I was in the doctor’s office and he asked me if I was taking any medications,” Christensen

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