a PDF of UNO Magazine, Spring 2011

magazine
spr ing 2011
vol. 2, no. 1
Letters to/ from the Editor
spring 2011
www.unoalumni.org/unomag
From one leader to another
Methodist Health System celebrates the strength and leadership abilities of women.
Leading the way in our commitment to your health, we built the first and only medical
CREDITS
Managing Editor
Anthony Flott
Jennifer Arnold, Tim Kaldahl
art direction
Emspace Group
comprehensive program for sexual assault survivors. And we’re the only health system in the
Contributors
to caring for you as you continue to influence and inspire. www.bestcare.org
Dave Ahlers, Leo Biga, Bryce Bridges,
Becky Bohan Brown, Nancy Castilow,
Erin Dyer, John Fey, Tim Fitzgerald,
Colleen Kenney Fleischer, Eric Francis,
Warren Francke, Mary Kenny, Tom Kerr,
Don Kohler, Greg Kozol, Tom McMahon,
Michael J. O’Hara, Nate Pohlen, Lori
Rice, Bonnie Ryan, Megan Schmitz,
Scott Stewart, Terry Stickels, Alan
G. Thorson, Meghan Townley, Wendy
Townley, Les Valentine, Kevin Warneke,
Jenna Zeorian.
UNO Magazine is published three times
a year by the University of Nebraska at
Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association
and the NU Foundation.
Methodist Women’s Hospital
192nd and West Dodge Road
14
18
10 Philanthropy
Direct editorial inquiries to
Managing Editor
UNO Alumni Association
6705 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182-0010
Phone: (402) 554-2444
Toll-free: UNO-MAV-ALUM
Fax: (402) 554-3787
Email: aflott@unoalumni.org
The Colleges
©2010 Methodist Health System
Athletics
21 Get to Know
Hacking Away
24
Getting Personal
Piracy Patrol
27
Courts,
schools and
the workplace are
turning more
and more
to Victim
Offender
Mediation.
28
Crime Time News
34
Restoring
Order
37 Neighborly
What’s showing on TV
news isn’t always
what’s happening
on the streets.
30
Advice
The Wrong
Prescription
38 Ounce of
Prevention
40
Send all changes of address to
attention of Records or visit
www.unoalumni.org/records
CSI : UNO
Better Safe Than Sorry
CLASS
NOT E S
Views expressed within this magazine do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the University of Nebraska at
Omaha, the UNO Alumni Association or the NU Foundation.
Letter from the Chancellor
22
Matters
cover illustration
Kelly Kennedy
Women®, a national organization that actively supports wellness for women. We’re devoted
9 Partners
5
associate Editors
campus and hospital dedicated solely to the care of women. We have the area’s only
metro area that embraces the educational initiatives and health-related activities of Spirit of
6 Alumni Association
4
43
54
Safety Happens
46 Taking Sides
48 Just For You
50 Bookmarks
44
52 Sights & Sounds
57
Retrospect
58
For Fun
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 FROM THE EDITOR
21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
FROM THE CHANCELLOR
Sure, it was a girl’s bike. But it
was my first set of wheels, and it got
me wherever I was going as a 7-yearold roaming Omaha’s Karen Western
neighborhood.
as snacks to employees. Eating them at work was OK; taking
them to school and selling them at lunch wasn’t. I’ve gotten into
fist fights, committed various traffic violations, and perpetrated
numerous injustices big and small against others. I’m not proud
of any of it.
And then it was stolen.
We’ll always live in a world where bad happens. That was driven
home most tragically Jan. 5 when a troubled student shot two
Millard South High School administrators, killing one, UNO
graduate Vicki Kaspar. The student then shot himself to death.
As best as I can recall, that was my first
encounter with crime — and it put me
through an emotional ringer. First I was
sad, then angry. That got me to walk
the streets in search of it. Just a few
blocks away, I found my bike leaning
up against some other kid’s house. All I
had to do was go up and take it back.
But then I got scared. If someone could steal from me, of what
else might they be capable?
Funny thing is, I can’t remember if I ever got my bike back — or
if so, how I got it back. All I remember is it being stolen and how
that made me feel.
As we built this issue of UNO Magazine, that theft and other
crime-, safety- and justice-related issues in my life came back to
me on occasion: a man who had an auto accident with my wife
started harassing us with abusive phone calls; my wallet was
stolen — at work; during a manhunt, a police officer ran through
our backyard with his gun drawn.
Some of the times, I’ve been the one at fault. In high school, a
bakery I worked at fired me for taking pastries they provided
Such tragedies occur everywhere and all too frequently. But we
compound those tragedies if we just throw up our hands and
do nothing.
That’s not the case at UNO. As you’ll discover in the following
pages, UNO faculty, staff and students are actively working on
various fronts to make Omaha and beyond a safer, more just
world. They’re helping prisoners walk the straight and narrow,
pushing back against gangs, protecting us against cybercrimes,
and assisting local and federal law enforcement agencies.
You’ll be proud of these and other efforts — and perhaps you’ll even
learn a thing or two about making your own world a better place.
Enjoy the read,
Anthony Flott
Managing Editor
Letters to the Editor
Reader feedback is key to making UNO Magazine among the best university publications in the country. Write us about
the magazine, the university, or suggest a story. Letters must include the writer’s first and last names, address and
phone number and may be edited for taste, accuracy, clarity and length.
www.unoalumni.org/unomag-led
m ag a z i n e
On Fall 2010
being useful
Thank you for your good work on the magazine. I’ve been quite impressed with the past few
issues and want to say thanks to you and everyone else who is helping to make the magazine
an informative and enjoyable tool for keeping up with what is happening on campus.
J. Patrick Anderson (’72)
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cramp
Bone
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Butt sto
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Ap
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’s
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Bask
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A
DISAPPOINTED
I was disappointed in the Fall 2010 UNO Magazine. I did not like to see that it was promoting
yoga, hypnosis, and an article showing both sides of the legalization of marijuana!
Deb Virgl (’84)
READ IT ALL
I have read the entire … marvelous … issue! Loved it, loved it. Loved the
idea of following a theme, health, with the huge variety of articles. We have
already had the marijuana discourse at our lunch table.
Dorothy Rasgorshek (’58)
5 STARS
Wow! Loved the Fall 2010 UNO Magazine issue! It’s full of interesting, fun,
relevant and helpful articles and received my 5-out-of-5 star rating! Go Mavs.
Vincent J. Leinen (’79)
LIKIN’ THE LOOK
David and I have had many comments regarding the article and our daughter,
a 2005 grad, commented on the “look” of the magazine in a very positive way.
We appreciate your work!
Josie Metal-Corbin, M.Ed.
UNO Professor, School of HPER
GOOD HUMOR
Congratulations on another outstanding edition of UNO Magazine. I love the
humor of the cover, and your team has done a great job with the scope of the
theme. I’m going back to read many of the articles I’ve just skimmed through
so far. This new magazine represents UNO so positively!
Amy Risch Rodie, Ph.D., PCM
UNO Associate Professor of Marketing
STILL DRAWING HEAT
We were disappointed to see how the issue of global climate change was
addressed in your Point/Counterpoint column (Summer 2010). The media
has been criticized by both scientists and journalists for giving equal space
to two experts who hold opposing viewpoints on the validity or severity of
climate change (e.g., Trahant 2005, Boykoff 2008, Ward 2009). This approach
implies there is a debate as to whether or not climate change is occurring
and on its significance to society. In fact, the world’s largest and most
respected scientific societies have released consensus statements stating
that climate change is occurring, humans are contributing to it, and it will
have widespread adverse impacts on human health, the global economy, and
the environment (e.g., CAETS 2007, WHO 2008, National Academies 2009).
In the fall of 2009, the leaders of 18 scientific societies in the United States
… wrote an open letter to the U.S. Senate saying greenhouse gases must be
dramatically reduced in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate
change. The [UNO Magazine] column was especially misleading because the
faculty member who rejects the scientific consensus is a chemistry professor
while the faculty member who represents the scientific consensus does not
have a science background. A journalist should mention if a professional’s
opinion deviates substantially from the consensus opinion in his or her field,
but there was no mention of this. We applaud UNO Magazine for covering one
of the most important issues facing our society. However, we would like to
see the magazine interview a UNO science professor who is active in climate
change research rather than an article that frames this topic as a debate.
Kristine Nemec (1999, 2003)
Melanie Trecek-King (1998, 2003)
Dear Alumni
and Friends:
In today’s society, issues
of crime prevention and
safety, cybersecurity, gang
violence and the criminal
justice system dominate
the headlines. Heightened
security at airports, identity
theft, drug manufacturing,
distribution and abuse, once
relatively removed from the
nation’s heartland, now plague
cities large and small across
the nation.
Even the way crime is
scientifically investigated and reported in the news has
undergone rapid change over the past few years.
In this edition, UNO Magazine takes up the timely issues
of Crime, Safety and Justice for All. You’ll learn more about
UNO faculty and student research into the problems of gangs,
airline security and identity theft. You’ll read how UNO’s
Nebraska University Consortium on Information Assurance
(NUCIA) has risen to become one of America’s top training
grounds for cybersecurity. And you’ll gain useful tips on how
to protect you and your family from criminals, how to hire
an attorney, and how to stay safe in a host of other ways.
Equally important, you’ll gain insight into how UNO is
partnering with the FBI and local law enforcement to keep
our campus and community safe. And what UNO alumni,
like business leader and philanthropist John Morgan, are
doing to help Nebraska inmates turn their lives around
following incarceration. You also won’t want to miss alum
Dave Krajicek’s national perspective on crime reporting in
the Bookmarks section, as well as a local view on crime and
the media in “Crime Time.”
I hope you’ll take the time to read this fascinating edition
cover to cover and that you’ll come away with a greater
understanding of UNO’s role in keeping our communities,
states and the nation safer. As chancellor, I am extremely
proud of our alumni, students, faculty, and staff who make
extraordinary contributions, every day, to our understanding
of criminology, justice, public safety, cybersecurity, and
inmate rehabilitation.
We have a great story to tell and, as usual, UNO Magazine
covers the topic from multiple angles. Enjoy!
Until next time,
Chancellor John E. Christensen
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59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
UNO Magazine, Association events honored
at CASE Conference
Furniture
Mart’s Batt
Receives
Citation
The UNO Alumni Association bestowed its Citation for Alumni
Achievement upon UNO graduate Robert Batt during the university’s winter commencement Dec. 17 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
The Citation, inaugurated in 1949, is presented at each UNO commencement. The association’s highest honor, it encompasses career achievement, community service, involvement in business
and professional associations, and fidelity to the university. UNO
Alumni Association Chairman of the Board Kevin Munro presented
the award to Batt, who is the 153rd Citation recipient (Batt is pictured
with Chancellor John Christensen, left, and Munro).
An Omaha native, Batt is executive vice president of Nebraska
Furniture Mart (NFM). He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in
business from UNO in 1976.
Born in Omaha, Batt is the grandson of Rose Blumkin, who
founded Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1937. He began working at the
company at 14. He graduated from Omaha Central High School in
1966 then attended UNO. His mother, Frances Batt, attended thenOmaha University in the mid-1930s.
The UNO Alumni Association received five
institutional awards during the CASE VI Conference
held in Kansas City in January.
CASE — the Council for Advancement and Support
of Education — is the professional organization for
advancement professionals who work in alumni
relations, communications and
marketing, fundraising and other
areas. Case VI is one of eight
regional districts and is comprised
of institutions from Colorado, Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
UNO Magazine, edited by Anthony
Flott, received two awards at the
conference. Also honored were three
Alumni Association outreach programs
directed by Association Programs
Coordinator Elizabeth Kraemer.
Batt, 62, has been active in civic and community organizations
at the local, state and national levels. He currently serves on the
three-member Nebraska Liquor Commission. He also is a member
of the Sarpy County Sports Commission and the Salvation Army
Advisory Board.
Previously, Batt served on the State Comprehensive Capital
Facilities Planning Committee. He also served as chairman of the
Omaha Personnel Board from 1998 to 2003. His service has extended beyond Nebraska, too. After fires in 1988 ravaged Yellowstone
National Park, Batt served as a charter member for the U.S. Concert
Committee for Yellowstone to help raise money to restore the park.
Batt has maintained involvement with UNO. Recently, he assisted with the collaboration on a joint project between NFM’s
Information Technology Department and UNO’s College of
Information Science & Technology. The partnership helped develop
and build NFM’s information technology platform. Batt also has
served as an honorary UNO Hockey Coach.
31st Scholarship Swing
TEE OFF Sept. 12, TIBURON
THE UNO Alumni Association will tee off for scholarships on Monday,
Sept. 12, with the 31st annual Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing at Tiburon Golf Club. The association’s
biggest single fundraiser each year, the Swing last year raised $44,000, pushing the total to nearly
$600,000 raised since the association began hosting the tournament 16 years ago.
The money raised supports various Association-sponsored student scholarships. Letters have been
sent to businesses and individuals seeking their participation in the tournament as sponsors.
To participate, or for more information, contact Elizabeth Kraemer at (402) 554-4802 or email
ekraemer@unoalumni.org
“This is great news for UNO to learn that so many of our alumni programs are
recognized as being among the best around,” says Alumni Association President
Lee Denker.
The magazine received a gold award for Publications Program Improvement. The UNO
Alumni Association in 2009 ceased publishing the UNO Alum magazine, recasting it
as UNO Magazine in 2010 as a joint venture with the University and the University of
Nebraska Foundation. The magazine is designed by Omaha’s Emspace Group.
The Fall 2010 issue “Whole Health: Mind, Body and Soul” received a gold award
for a Cover of Four or More Colors. Flott, managing editor, produces UNO Magazine
in cooperation with assistant editors Tim Kaldahl (UNO University Relations) and
Jennifer Arnold (NU Foundation).
The association programs honored involved input from staff members
and volunteers.
“Popping In” received a silver award for Institutional Relations Project. The program
took a unique approach to building a collaborative spirit between the Alumni
Association and the many campus departments it works with each year. In August,
alumni staff surprised more than two dozen departments with the delivery of
Maverick-branded popcorn tins. It also provided an opportunity for numerous UNO
employees to meet association staffers whom they previously might only have dealt
with by phone or email.
The UNO Chancellor’s Scholarship Swing (pictured) received a bronze award in
Student Advancement Programming. The annual golf tourney raised $44,000 with
participation from 160 golfers and 42 sponsors.
The UNO Graduation Fair in May received a bronze award for Special Groups
Programming. The Association organized a welcome for graduates as they picked up
their caps and gowns prior to commencement. Various campus groups provided the
students with information, gifts and prizes.
Kraemer also made a presentation at the conference on the successful graduation
fairs the association has implemented. She also led a roundtable discussion on how
to engage young alumni.
Denker was elected district secretary as a member of the CASE VI Board of Directors.
He also presented alumni awards at the conference, led a roundtable on “Measuring
Alumni Success” and moderated two sessions for advancement leaders.
Additional information can be seen at www.unoalumni.org/caseawards
UNO Partnership PROGRAMS
CREDIT
INSURANCE
TRAVEL
The UNO Alumni Association has
begun a new corporate partnership to
bring alumni exclusive credit
offers with a Mav-branded credit
card! Each account benefits the
university through the association.
Information is being mailed to all UNO
alumni soon. For more information,
visit www.unoalumni.org/credit
Are you covered? If you have
insurance needs, visit the
association website at
www.unoalumni.org/insurance to
see the discounted offers available
to UNO graduates for health, life,
auto and long-term care insurance.
Join fellow alumni aboard a
“Legendary Danube” cruise
Sept. 17-28 with stops in Prague,
Nuremberg, Regensburg, Salzburg
and elsewhere. For more information,
visit www.unoalumni.org/travel.
To receive a brochure, call the
association toll-free at
UNO-MAV-ALUM (866-628-2586).
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59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Last November, you may have answered a call
that not only benefited the UNO Alumni Association
Annual Fund, but a number of UNO student organizations, too.
The UNO Alumni Association welcomes
Gina Ray, CDM, CFPP, as its director of
Alumni Facilities. Ray will be responsible for
supervising and managing the William H.
& Dorothy Thompson Alumni Center, one of
Omaha’s most popular banquet facilities and
conference centers.
Between Nov. 1 and 19, more than 92 UNO student
volunteers representing seven organizations took to
the phones to raise funds for the UNO Annual Fund.
In recognition of their efforts, each organization
received a stipend based on the number of members
who volunteered and the amount of time they devoted
to calling. The majority of the groups will use these
funds for student development activities, such as to
attend national conferences.
Ray has extensive customer service experience, particularly in catering and
food service management. She most recently was a team leader and director of
food service for Methodist Hospital and Women’s Hospital, where she had been
employed since April 2007. Prior to Methodist Ray spent five years as director
of operations for Brandeis Catering. Brandeis has been the Thompson Center’s
exclusive catering partner since 1999.
Ray also has catering, event and retail experience through previous employment
with Sodexo Corporate Services (at Mutual of Omaha), Harvey’s Casino & Hotel
(now Harrah’s) and Brandeis Food Management at Aksarben.
“I am excited to join the Thompson Center and look forward to future relationships,
both within the University and with new outside clientele,” Ray said. “I love
the business of event planning and management, especially participating in
memorable, once-in-a-lifetime events.”
Annual Board Meeting
The UNO Alumni Association will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday,
May 24, at 4 p.m. at the Thompson Alumni Center. New board members
and officers will be elected and service awards will be presented.
Contact Julie Kaminski at 402-554-4887 or jkaminski@unoalumni.org
for more information.
27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Higher Ed
Helping the Feds
New director hired for
Thompson Center
“Gina brings relevant experience and a fresh perspective to the Thompson
Center operation to ensure that the business runs efficiently, and that our growth
potential is maximized,” said UNO Alumni Association President Lee Denker.
29 PARTNERS
Welcome
Aboard
Ray will provide meeting, planning and support services to Thompson Center
clientele, including corporate, private and university groups. She also will oversee
marketing efforts, manage building maintenance and coordinate with contractors
and other vendors. She began her duties Jan. 3.
31 “The phonathon allowed student organizations a great
alternative to some of the more traditional fundraisers,”
says Barb Treadway, director of Student Organizations
and Leadership Programs. Typically, students raise
money though activities such as bake sales, magazine
sales, raffles and car washes. The volunteer groups included the Chinese Students and Scholars Association,
the PanHellenic Council, the African American
Organization, Alpha Kappa Psi, Colleges Against
Cancer, Sigma Lambda Gamma and The Rock.
Students began each phonathon with pizza, followed
by a training session and three hours of calling. The
students contacted more than 1,200 alumni, resulting
in nearly $22,000 in pledges to the UNO Annual Fund.
The Annual Fund supports students, faculty, academic
programs, and alumni programming and communications, including UNO Magazine.
UNO and the Omaha FBI office
have forged relationships across campus
The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha Division
knows about the importance of academia and academics.
Both his parents were professors, after all.
“They were, frankly, horrified when I told them I wanted to join
the FBI,” says Weysan Dun, who has been assigned to Nebraska
multiple times during an eventful career. “That’s not what they
expected.”
His parents, immigrants from China who had taught neurophysiology and geography, came to support Dun’s career choice. But their
son still has close ties to higher education, relying especially on
UNO in a number of ways.
“We greatly respect and cherish the idea of academic freedom,” Dun
says. “And we also view the academic community in many ways
— because it’s the incubator of knowledge, the incubator of new
ideas — as one of the key components to ensuring that we have the
freedoms that we so enjoy.”
Dun says one of the most important outreach programs the
bureau has focuses on colleges and universities. The program, the
Academic Alliance, requires each of the 56 FBI field offices to be in
contact with the major institutions of higher learning in its area. In
Omaha, the more informal relationships that have grown not only
get agents into UNO classrooms and recruiters to campus career
events, but they also foster an exchange of ideas and information.
Alumni who made a donation of any size received the
official UNO Alumni Card. The card provides campus
discounts, Criss Library access, two-for-one tickets to
select hockey games, and the opportunity to purchase
a membership to the newly renovated Health, Physical
Education and Recreation (HPER) building.
For instance, experts in information assurance from the College of
Information Science and Technology have become “go-to” resources
for agents working on computer-based crime. The relationship goes
back at least 10 years, says Stephen Nugen, assistant director of the
Nebraska University Center for Information Assurance (NUCIA).
In 2000, Nugen (before he came to UNO) and NUCIA’s former
director, Blaine Burnham, helped establish the Nebraska chapter of
InfraGard, a national private non-profit organization that serves as
a public-private partnership between businesses, academics
and the FBI.
Amanda Gonzales, a member of the faith-based organization, The Rock, said the group plans to attend a
conference and the stipend they earned will be divided for scholarships among members who can’t afford
the attendance fees. She said her group “had a blast”
working the phonathon, enjoying the interaction with
each other and the alumni. “I know The Rock would
definitely participate again,” she said.
“There was a lot of concern at first about letting academics into
the program,” Nugen says. InfraGard is a “safe space” where
information security people from the government, private
companies and others discuss issues and, often, sensitive problems.
Professors talking about a company’s security structure or problems in a class or with colleagues was an initial fear. But it hasn’t
been an issue, and the exchange of information has become critical
as cybercriminals keep getting better.
With the support from alumni and enthusiasm from
the students, the possibilities are unlimited.
“And that’s the challenge that we have. We try to get better at what
we do,” Dun says, adding that universities are very much part of
— Erin Dyer
that process of continuous improvement with cybercrime, which
ranges from fraudsters phishing for bank or credit card information
to child pornography on the Internet.
The FBI’s involvement with cybercrime has been important, Nugen
says, and the FBI’s connection to campus is important. “I’d like to
see it even get stronger.”
Special agents also have consulted for years with UNO’s
International Studies and Programs for their expertise, especially
since 9/11. The university’s Center for Afghanistan Studies,
Dun says, remains a nationally known resource. The international
cultural and political insights UNO experts have are invaluable,
Dun says.
Dun also stresses that UNO students can explore the FBI as a career
option, and not just the criminology and criminal justice career
majors. The bureau needs a wide gamut of expertise — people who
can speak languages and have an international outlook, technology
wizards, and majors from the hard sciences. “We literally have a
place for people of any background, ” he says.
— Tim Kaldahl
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59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 PHILANTHROPY MATTERS
23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
PHILANTHROPY MATTERS
Now housed at the Community Corrections Center, Jeremy Lukowski is
hoping to be released in March and begin attending Metropolitan Community
College. He’s grateful for the help UNO graduate John Morgan provided
through the Transformation Project. “Once you make that first mistake, a lot
of people in society are just ready to do away with you.”
Helping Hand
Transformation Project
founder John Morgan is
helping those from his old
neighborhood, and others
From Within
UNO’s Transformation
Project is helping
inmates discover
that staying out must
come from inside
Convicted thief Jeremy Lukowski
first read the words of Malcolm X
while alone in “the hole” at the Omaha
Correctional Center (OCC).
Solitary confinement.
That was three years ago. He was sent there
for mouthing off to an OCC staff member
after a basketball game.
“I’ve had an authority problem,”
Lukowski says.
Like Malcolm X.
By Colleen Kenney Fleischer
Lukowski, 30, has been in prison the past
six years, most of them at the OCC. He
grew up in North Omaha just blocks from
the birthplace of Malcolm X, but he didn’t
know it. He didn’t know much at all about
Malcolm X; only that he’d been a powerful African-American in his time and
had been through struggles himself.
Lukowski didn’t know that Malcolm X
had educated himself in prison as a young
man about his age. Or that he’d copied pages from the dictionary to improve his
vocabulary. Or that he’d transformed his
life from street thug and thief to a man
with a mission, a minister of the Muslim
faith and civil-rights leader whose words
live on today.
While in the hole, Lukowski did pushups
and read a paperback version of “The
Autobiography of Malcolm X.” It blew
him away. When he got out of the hole,
he started reading the dictionary and
biographies of other great black men. He
took college courses.
He wanted to transform himself like
Malcolm X.
In fact, once he is motivated, no one
can change more completely than the
man who has been at the bottom. I
call myself the best example of that.
From The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Photo by Eric Francis
4 Transformation Project founder John Morgan
grew up in North Omaha at a time when most
white people — including his parents — were
prejudiced against blacks.
Morgan lived near blacks. He became friends
with some, and they were among the most loyal
he’s ever had. Loyal almost to a fault. Morgan
always felt as if those friends had his back.
Says Morgan: “I thought, ‘Boy, if we could
somehow or other spark that intensity and that
desire and get people who are incarcerated this
motivation from Malcolm X to change their life,
that would really be a good thing.’”
The inmate population, he says, doesn’t get a lot
of attention from philanthropists.
It’s expensive to incarcerate these men, he says.
But you don’t have to have many inmates who go
through the Transformation Project achieve some
degree of success in order to justify its cost.
Transformation Project
He saw them struggle with racism.
Lukowski was motivated. He had a son,
born while he was behind bars. He didn’t
want his son to end up in prison like him.
(He’d robbed an Omaha bar in 2003. Why?
“I was just being greedy and stupid. I liked
raising hell. That was what I seen. That was
cool to me.”)
“I knew that was wrong,” he says.
But wanting to change and knowing how to
change, he says, are totally different things.
He decided to give back to his old neighborhood,
to African-Americans and to his alma mater.
In 2009, Lukowski saw a sign at the OCC
about a new class for inmates — a program
developed by UNO with a goal to help
inmates return to the community rather
than to prison. UNO created the program
and all of its materials. It was called the
Transformation Project.
But how?
And, to his surprise, it was based on the life
example of Malcolm X.
UNO graduate John Morgan (’69) serves on the UNO Campaign Committee for the University of Nebraska
Foundation’s Campaign for Nebraska: Unlimited Possibilities and is a foundation trustee. In 2007, he
gave $1 million to UNO to create the Transformation Project, a re-entry program for inmates based on the
life experiences of Omaha native Malcolm X.
The prison was administering the program
with the UNO College of Arts and Sciences
continued page 12
Morgan graduated from Omaha North High
School then, in 1969, from UNO. He entered the
computer field, working at first with IBM. He now
lives and works in Minneapolis and is CEO of
Winmark Corp., the parent company of stores like
Play It Again Sports and Plato’s Closet.
One day, driving around in his old neighborhood,
he decided to look for the birthplace of Malcolm
X. He started reading about Malcolm X, and he
realized that this was a man who’d gone through
some tremendous transformation in his life and
come out much stronger.
And it’s worth it to him, he says, if it can “save
even a few souls.”
Robert Houston, director of the Nebraska
Department of Correctional Services, is
impressed with Morgan’s generosity and with
how he understands the importance of helping
inmates change from within.
“He rose out of the same neighborhood as many
of them,” Houston says. “But I think he realized
that not everybody is so fortunate. He’s directing
the benefits of his success to people that just
need help.
“He gets it.”
— Colleen Kenney Fleischer
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 PHILANTHROPY MATTERS
25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
PHILANTHROPY MATTERS
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA
Transformation Project
staff and partners pose
with the graduating class
of December 2009. Jeremy
Lukowski is in the front row,
second from the right.
under the direction of Chris Rodgers. The
program was in collaboration with UNO’s
College of Public Affairs and Community
Service, the College of Communication,
Fine Arts and Media, and the Nebraska
Department of Correctional Services.
From Within
Lukowski signed on. But his expectations
were low.
The Transformation Project, he says, taught
him to be real with himself.
During the 12-week class, the program’s
facilitators taught him and about two dozen
other inmates in that first class how to write
resumes and budget their money. They had
each inmate create an “action plan,” setting
goals to accomplish in the real world and the
steps they needed to take to reach those goals.
He’d thought he was going to study business
management. But in thinking through the
steps to get a job in that field, he realized his
background was too shaky. What business
would hire him as a manager?
They also had each inmate create a “relapse”
plan — what to do if he fell back to his old ways.
The action plans were related to six areas — “stability domains” — proven to be necessary for inmates to succeed on the outside:
education, housing, positive social networks (the people in your life), mental and
physical health, substance abuse issues and
employment.
For example, in the section on “Malcolm
X and Employment,” they reflected on the
words of Malcolm X:
Only by being two people could I have
worked harder.” Was the work that
Malcolm X did purely physical (doing
daily job tasks) or do you think he
had to mentally work (managing his
thoughts) at maintaining his employment? How will
you have to work at managing your thoughts to
maintain employment?
Lukowski graduated from the program in
December 2009.
The thing about the Transformation Project,
Lukowski says, is that no one is telling you
what to do or how to do it. You have to come
to the conclusions yourself. You have to
change yourself — from within.
The class also made him think about what
he really liked to do (“messing with cars”)
and to think through whether it was possible to get a job in that area, given his skills
and background.
“I figured out, for my background, they’re
more likely to accept a felon in the automotive
industry. So my ultimate goal now is to create
my own auto detailing and accessory shop.”
“I told him that I thought it was cool that
somebody would think about the less fortunate, you know what I mean? Because a
lot of people in society, once you make that
first mistake, a lot of people in society are
just ready to do away with you.”
The Transformation Project is on its third
class. The hope is that it will become a model for re-entry programs across the nation.
It appears to be working so far, says Nicole
Kennedy, the project’s manager.
Some of the graduates of that first class are
back in the community and doing well.
They’re working. Staff members see them
in Wal-Mart and elsewhere with their kids.
When Kennedy sees them, she asks how
their lives are going.
“I’ll get a phone call every now and then
from a participant — ‘Hey, I’m just calling to
tell you that I got a promotion at work.’ So
we have some anecdotal stuff coming in,”
she says.
$112,963,307
$0
91%
new funds have been established
during the campaign to support UNO.
UNO CAMPAIGN
PRIORITIES
• Building the educated
work force of tomorrow
• Engaging our community
of UNO campaign gifts are from Nebraska households/organizations.
• Enriching campus and
community life
44% 8,061
of new funds to the
UNO campaign support
student scholarships.
individuals have made donations
to UNO during the campaign.
3 out of 4
students at UNO apply for
financial assistance.
The Campaign for Nebraska
is a four-campus fundraising
campaign benefiting the
University of Nebraska.
campaignfornebraska.org
All statistics as of November 30, 2010. The Campaign for Nebraska began in July 2005 and will conclude December 2014.
Lukowski feels prepared for the struggles
he’ll face on the outside.
To reach that goal, he will take classes in
auto detailing at Metropolitan
Community College when he gets reTo have once been a criminal is no disgrace.
leased, which he expects to happen
To remain a criminal is the disgrace.
this March.
Malcolm X.
As of January Lukowski was being
“I think if it wasn’t for that class, it might
housed at the Community Corrections
have
been an idea in my head for a few days
Center, just north of OCC. He praised the
or
a
few
months, and my first little incident
Transformation Project and the man who
when
I
was
wronged, I’d probably just say,
made it possible, John Morgan, a Minneapolis
‘Forget
it.’”
businessman and UNO alum who, like
Lukowski, had grown up in north Omaha.
He feels ready to transform.
He thought it was amazing that Morgan had
given $1 million of his own money to fund
it. The two met last spring at a news conference announcing the project.
367
$150 M
“I’ve seen the struggle that they explained
about Malcolm X and I’m like, ‘Damn, if he
can do it, you know — I ain’t too much different from him.’”
Attracting the best to be the best
Faculty are a College of Communication, Fine Arts,
and Media campaign priority.
Students in the UNO College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media
(CFAM) are learning every day from award-winning musicians and
designers, professional actors and directors and accomplished artists,
authors and journalists. These educators are providing students top quality
academic experiences through dynamic teaching and creative activity.
For CFAM to remain the best, it must have the best faculty. Through the
Campaign for Nebraska CFAM seeks to create endowed faculty chairs and
professorships in each academic area. This support will strengthen the
college’s ability to attract or keep the very best faculty. And with the best,
the possibilities are endless. To learn more contact Renee Reding at
402-502-4119 or rreding@nufoundation.org.
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 the colleges
23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
the colleges
A Fashionable Statement
Photo by Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations
UNO student supports MADD by organizing Fashion Victim event
Ganging up on Gangs
UNO researchers
work extensively with
law enforcement
and community groups
to help curb ‘an
emerging problem’
Three members of UNO’s academic
community who research and work on
metro and Nebraska-focused gang issues
talk common sense.
And, yes, gang activity can be found beyond Omaha and Lincoln. Columbus, Crete,
Lexington and other smaller communities
have growing problems. Gangs exist, the
faculty members say, because gangs offer
something — belonging, safety, an income
and more — to people who have few options.
They also say that Omaha and other areas
of the state need to continue to work on
ways to reduce gang violence and influence.
“There’s a lot of different factors that go
into creating the problem of gun violence,
but one of the things we know nationwide
is that gangs play a large role in terms of
increasing the amount of gun violence in
cities across the country,” says Associate
Professor Pete Simi, who does research on
youth and adult street gangs in the School of
Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Also in the school, Professor John Crank
focuses on gang issues but with a greater
focus on the law enforcement side. Each
community with a gang presence deals with
its own particular issues. In some areas the
problem is violence. In others, it’s drug
distribution or other criminal activity.
“Tentatively, we can say Omaha has what’s
called an emerging gang problem,” Simi
says. In places where gangs are decades
older and established, like Chicago or
Los Angeles, they are more likely to have
vertical, hierarchical organizations.
Omaha gangs, even though they date
back to the 1980s, remain more horizontal
and decentralized.
Crank says that the metro area law
enforcement has a listing of more than
3,500 gang members and associates. “But
it’s not too hard to get on that list, either,”
he says. Of those, about 300 would be the
hardest core members.
Both professors and Hank Robinson,
director of UNO’s Consortium for Criminal
Justice Research (CCJR), agree that a young
person who joins a gang does so to gain
something they don’t have — and that gain
is not necessarily connected to crime or
drug money.
“Kids don’t join gangs to become some
kind of hardcore, tattooed, drug-running,
gun-running thug,” Robinson says. His
CCJR works in partnership with Columbus,
Nebraska’s T4C (Time for Change), a
relatively new organization that aims to
limit and reduce gang activity and
involvement throughout that community.
For many, gangs offer a group of peers and
friends and security, he says. Sometimes it’s
as basic as food.
Gangs in Omaha are often thought of as
being primarily present in the city’s
African-American and Hispanic communities on the north and south sides, but
they have a citywide presence. For years,
there was a large and significant gang west
of 72nd Street — the 95th Street Crips. In
places like Columbus and other central and
western Nebraska towns and cities, gangs
have tended to be Hispanic and tied to
immigration. That pattern has roots in
earlier eras, Simi says, giving the example
of the children of Irish and Italian
immigrants of the last century.
“It was that second generation. The kids
that were kind of caught between the
parent culture, the old ways, the traditions
and trying to kind of assimilate,” he says.
Feeling marginalized, especially now with
the state’s ongoing immigration debate, is a
contributing factor for joining a gang.
Whatever the location, Crank describes
gang life as “a nightmare.” He says his work
with the police and community groups does
not have an impact on tactics that law
enforcement uses, but that the university
can raise public awareness and help
evaluate the success of anti-gang efforts.
“It’s not like we can go out there with a
bunch of answers because those answers
don’t exist,” he says. “We’ve got some
interesting ideas. We have some pretty good
ideas about what works somewhat and
some things that don’t work.”
Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray sees
UNO’s involvement on the gang issue
as critically important. Omaha had 34
homicides in 2010. People from community organizations and agencies, churches,
business people, academic experts, law enforcement and concerned citizens from the
Omaha community come together weekly
to discuss violence intervention strategies at
meetings coordinated by Empower Omaha.
Gray says that kind of global effort is needed.
Like the UNO faculty members, he says
trying to lock people up does not address
the economic and social issues that give
gangs a foothold. Robinson says he sees a
community’s efforts — whether it’s safe
after-school activities, job opportunities or
training, or counseling and mentoring — as the real way to “out-recruit” gangs.
“It’s a competition,” Robinson says.
Says Simi: “One of the things we do know
pretty clearly about gangs is that they
thrive in pockets where there’s high levels of
poverty and social disorder and just a lot of
social instability.”
Gray agrees with that, and adds that while
he’s not sure the gang issue in the city is
getting better or worse, he does feel that the
ongoing discussions have greatly improved
the relationship between the community and
the police. He also says he believes Omaha
will get a better handle on issues of violence,
and points to the fact that there were no
murders on the north side of Omaha between May and October.
“My personal belief is that the answers are
through reinvestment and rebuilding,” Crank
says. “They lie in the economic sphere.”
— Tim Kaldahl, assistant editor
UNO senior Amy
Wieczorek was
left heartbroken,
devastated and
looking for answers
after losing two
friends to a drunk
driver in 2007 — Morgan Hohnbaum
and Josh Milana, both
of Grand Island, Neb.
“Burying my friends was the hardest thing I have
ever done,” Wieczorek says.
Sadness and sorrow transformed into action
and awareness in 2009 when Wieczorek, a
community health major, devoted her efforts to
organizing Fashion Victim, an annual fashion
show to raise funds for MADD (Mothers Against
Drunk Driving) in Nebraska.
A part-time model and busy undergraduate at
UNO, Wieczorek recruited friends, community
members and Eta Sigma Gamma, a health
education honorary organization at UNO, to help
with what quickly became a very personal cause.
The first Fashion Victim event in August 2009,
held in UNO’s College of Public Affairs and
Community Service Collaborating Commons,
featured remarks from Sally Ganem, the First
Lady of Nebraska; Matt Davison, a former
Nebraska Cornhusker who supports drinking and
driving education; Justin Reese, a UNO student
who was seriously injured when struck by a drunk
driver in 2008; and Chuck Elley, a Nebraska
State Trooper.
Local retailers and fashion designers loaned
clothes for the runway show, which featured
more than 30 UNO student models.
As the Miss Nebraska ANTSO (American National
Teenager Scholarship Organization) titleholder,
drinking and driving prevention and awareness is
Wieczorek’s platform. Since the death of her two
friends, Wieczorek has been determined to make
a difference. At ANTSO Nationals in July 2010,
Wieczorek was the first Miss Nebraska titleholder
to place in the Top 10 based on her platform.
“I want to be a role model before a fashion
model,” Wieczorek says.
In 2010, the annual fundraiser brought in $6,000
in cash and in-kind donations, with all proceeds
given to MADD Nebraska in honor of Hohnbaum
and Milana. The annual fundraiser is free to
attend, but donations are accepted at the door.
In 2010, the event outgrew its original home
at UNO and moved to the former Holiday Inn
Convention Center at 72nd and Grover Streets
in Omaha.
Nate Bock, a counselor with the UNO Counseling
Center, says student engagement is a positive
byproduct of the annual Fashion Victim event.
“We always like to see our students get involved
in prevention activities surrounding the issues
they struggle with and face,” Bock says. “Amy
has had the vision to address this topic as an
ongoing event each year. Making the event
an annual one only adds to the strength of
the message it sends and is important when
considering the effectiveness of prevention.”
— Wendy Townley, University Relations
Graffiti-be-gone
UNO’s Association of Latino American Students
(ALAS) again partnered with the Neighborhood
Center for its annual Graffiti Abatement on
Oct. 30 in south Omaha. Each year, participants
clean walls, fences and street signs that have
been vandalized with graffiti.
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 the colleges
Lifting the veil of
darkness on White
Power Movements
Professor’s American Swastika
explores Skinheads, Neo-Nazis
and others
Toss any stereotypes about what you think a Skinhead might look like out the
window. Because a Skinhead — or, more appropriately, a White Supremacist — could
be your neighbor, classmate, coworker or church member, says American Swastika
author Dr. Pete Simi.
Simi, an associate professor in UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice,
wrote American Swastika with Dr. Robert Futrell, a sociology professor at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The two draw on more than a decade of research
and interviews, from the infamous Hayden Lake Aryan compound in Northern Idaho to
private homes in Los Angeles to hate music concerts around the country.
“They’re constantly vilified and getting the short end of the stick,” Simi says. “So, I
wanted to get their perspective.”
His most interesting encounter, he says, was witnessing a white power baby shower.
In the book, the authors explain the history of the movement and describe the several
different clans operating in the United States, including the KKK, the Aryan Nation,
Skinheads and others. At gatherings, there is always an attempt to try to unify
different branches of the Neo-Nazi movement.
They also discuss ways White Supremacists cultivate, maintain and spread their
beliefs — largely under the radar of most Americans. Yet if you want to learn about
them, they’re accessible.
“They’re very open to having outsiders attend because it is an opportunity to get the
word out,” Simi says. “White and willing to listen — their assumption is they can
convert you.”
California has the most active Neo-Nazi scene in the United States. During the
summer of 2004, Simi spent five-weeks with a Neo-Nazi family in Southern
California.
Simi says white supremacist prison and street clans have grown recently. Public
Enemy No. 1 — or PEN1 — has more than 21,000 members. They’re activities revolve
around organized crime like meth trafficking and counterfeiting.
The book was a long time in the making. Simi started doing fieldwork on the Neo-Nazi
movement in 1997. He gained close looks at the everyday activities of the white
power movement, even spending five-weeks living in a white power home and
attending Neo-Nazi events in the Southwest.
This has led to growth in the Neo-Nazi white power music scene via the Internet. Simi
and Futrell take readers through the hate music scene, from underground bars to
massive rallies, examining how the Internet has shaped communication and created
disturbing new virtual communities.
“I thought it was really important from the beginning to make firsthand contact with
folks,” Simi says. “Most of us have familiarity with these groups based on movies,
TV shows and newspaper articles — things of that nature. But I didn’t really have
first-hand contact with members of these types of groups.” White supremacy has been more visible recently in at least two instances. Simi points
to news of a wife who killed her Neo-Nazi husband. Police found that he had a type of
biological weapon in his possession. There also have been connections between NeoNazis and the Tea Party. Simi wrote about that in American Swastika’s preface.
Through descriptive case studies, Simi and Futrell examine hate in the home, talking
with parents who aim to raise “little Hitlers” and discussing the impact home
schooling and cultural isolation can have on children. The authors also describe
Aryan crash pads, Bible studies and rituals.
“Neo-Nazi’s are making efforts to infiltrate the Tea Party movement,” Simi says.
“Most involved with the Tea Party are not Neo-Nazi’s; however, there is some degree
of overlap. It’s an indisputable fact that this is happening. Some Tea Party members
don’t appreciate that, but it is what it is.”
— Becky Bohan Brown, University Relations
21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
London Bridges
“Their [White Supremacists’] strategy is not to conform or declare war on the
system,” he says. “Within the last 10 years a key leadership vacuum has left the
movement very decentralized.”
Helping
with
Hope
23 the colleges
The book is getting good press. In November American Swastika was named CHOICE
magazine’s Outstanding Academic Title of the Year for 2010.
“Observing their events, spending time with people in their homes and observing
how they raise their kids and what they do on a daily basis in their lives,” Simi says.
“What their lives look like. You don’t get that from reading their propaganda.”
25 — Becky Bohan Brown, University Relations
For more information on the topic, email Simi at psimi@unomaha.edu
UNO students partner with
the Hope Center for Kids to
assist at-risk youth
Some say location is everything. Considering that,
the Hope Center for Kids couldn’t have picked a
better spot.
Located at 2200 N. 20th Street in Omaha, the Hope
Center for Kids for 10 years has been fulfilling its
mission by changing “the tide of hopelessness” for
Omaha’s inner-city youth. The center offers a safe
place to stay after school, a daily hot meal program,
educational support, mentoring, social skills training,
Bible studies, job creation and economic development.
Even a weekend skate adventure.
More than 1,000 youth ages 5 to 19 are served, and
the Hope Center’s impact is significant. Of the high
school seniors it assists, 92 percent graduate from
high school — nearly twice the statewide 47-percent
graduation rate for African-American youth. Of the high
school graduates, 69 percent go on to college.
UNO is among the Hope Center’s key partners. The UNO
Service-Learning Academy and the Hope Center began
collaborating through a semester-long project that
A UNO Criminal Justice program is still going strong after four decades
Mind the gap. The tube. Blimey. Lift.
Just a few British terms that have become familiar to UNO students
over the last 39 years. Thanks to Jim Kane and a phone call.
In 1972, Kane, a professor in UNO’s Criminal Justice program, took
a group of 10 UNO students to London to study the British criminal
justice system. Kane, who passed away in 1991, had no itinerary
arranged for the students. But he did have the phone number of
London police officer Anthony Moore.
Moore came through with arrangements for the students — as he has
every year since. During that time, more than 2,000 students from
UNO, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Chadron State College
have attended UNO’s London Study Tour. It’s not just criminal justice majors making the trek, either. In recent years political science
and communication students also have hopped the pond.
Bill Wakefield, a longtime professor in UNO’s criminal justice
program, led his first London trip in 1978. He became director of
the London Study Tour and made more than 30 trips there. He
stepped aside as director of the program in 2008. Wakefield, whose
wife, Ellen, is from England,
will make his last trip to London
It’s this kind of
this spring.
Brennan has numerous UK
connections, most notably
working as former Prime
Minister Blair’s intern.
The London Study Tour is
the culmination of a semester-long comparative criminal justice class taught each
spring. About 100 students will attend this year’s tour May 8-22.
“This is such a great experience for the students,” Brennan says She
says many students have never traveled like this before and they
get to see criminal justice sites such as the British courts, a police
training academy, a working police station and the prison system.
Brennan is one of several faculty members from UNO, UNL and
Chadron State who administer and accompany the students on the
trip. She says cooperation is a key to the success of the London program. A lot of this cooperation is due to the long-standing relationships and extensive follow-up UNO has with British agencies.
experience
that students will talk about
for the rest of their lives.
“The students are still young
people wanting to explore and
experience another culture
and people,” Wakefield says. “We make every effort to help them
expand their knowledge and we encourage a lot of independent
exploring to such locales as Paris, Ireland and Scotland.”
Students have seen popular London tourist sites and much more.
That includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street and of Buckingham Palace to watch the
changing of the guard ceremony.
In 2008, Dr. Pauline Brennan took over as London Study Tour director. An associate professor of criminology and criminal justice,
charged UNO students with building a curriculum at
the Hope Center. Today, kids and teens from the center
volunteer alongside UNO students for service projects
in the community.
“We’re long-term partners with the Hope Center for
Kids,” says Dr. Kathe Oleson Lyons, assistant director
of UNO’s Service-Learning Academy. “At different
points we’ve come together and partnered with them on
service-learning projects.”
One such project includes service-learning classes that
designed specific projects to help develop the Hope
Center’s business plans to benefit North Omaha youth.
In 2008, shortly after he retired as an inspector
with the London Metropolitan Police, Moore was
presented with a Founders Award by the criminal
justice department.
Wakefield and Moore may not play the parts they
once did, but the tour remains in good hands.
“I work on the following year’s trip while I’m in London and other
relationships have been established by Bill and maintained over
the years,” Brennan says. “The UNO students are fortunate that this
university supports this kind of program. The academic component
is absolutely important, but it’s more than that.
“It’s a perfect marriage … learning in an academic setting and
through an amazing experience. I wish all classes could merge the
academic setting with the experience of a trip like this.”
In order to continue to fund these projects, UNO
students write grants and engage local business to
support the programs.
“Seventy-five percent of incoming students indicate that
they want to be involved in the community while at UNO,”
Oleson Lyons says. “UNO students get an opportunity
to see the vitality that sustains a nonprofit because it’s
part of their coursework.”
UNO also has used the Hope Center for Kids’ facility and
partnered on volunteer projects such as MLK Day and a
cleanup during the Service-Learning Academy’s Three
Days of Service. Some of the record-757 volunteers who
— Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations
assisted in the 2010 Three Days of Service came from
the Hope Center.
Oleson Lyons says UNO students gain just as much as
those they are assisting.
“Students from classes are overwhelmed at the
beginning,” Oleson Lyons says. “Each student
is serving and learning how it can become an
impressionable-transformational experience. Each
one [student] leaves an imprint on your heart knowing
you’ve created an opportunity to learn, grow and
transform their way of thinking about service learning.
To learn more about the Hope Center for Kids,
visit http://hopec.cfwebtools.com
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 ATHLETICS
Fight-Free
College hockey is leading
the way in banishing fisticuffs
— Dave Ahlers, UNO Athletic Media Relations
Anyone who follows sports has heard the
old joke — “I went to a boxing match, and a
hockey game broke out.”
But the author of that joke will need to do
some editing for the 21st century game. Long
a refuge for spontaneous pugilism and other
bad behaviors, hockey gradually is changing its
image to one that emphasizes the speed and skill
of the players.
That, in the end, gives fans what they really want
to see — goals.
Currently, fighting is permitted at the sport’s
highest level, the National Hockey League,
but even there, it’s becoming rare. It’s also
allowed in major junior hockey and in U.S. junior
hockey, which acts as a feeder for American
college programs.
College hockey in the United States, though, does
not allow fighting. Players who do are suspended.
UNO hockey Head Coach Dean Blais, who
played at the University of Minnesota and in
the professional Central Hockey League, says
the days of fighting’s prominence in hockey are
swiftly coming to an end.
“Hockey now is getting to be more of a finesse
game, less of an intimidator game,” Blais says.
“Quite frankly, the players that can’t play in the
NHL that can’t fight have to hone their skills to
play a little bit because the referees don’t like it.
They think it’s no part of the game.
“No matter what the fans think and want, it’s not
part of the game anymore.”
Blais says that back when he played
professionally, the attitude was much different.
The rules
Any college player who fights in a
game gets a 5-minute major penalty for
fighting and a game disqualification.
That means he is ejected from that game
and disqualified from playing in the
next one. If his conduct is bad enough,
he can get multiple disqualifications for
the same offense. With each subsequent
disqualification comes another game
missed. If he were to fight in backto-back games, his second DQ would
net him a two-game disqualification,
meaning he’d miss his team’s next two
games (and so forth for each new DQ).
“Twenty-five years ago, you either fought in the
minors or you didn’t make it. You were considered
soft or not dedicated enough. Back then, you did
have to fight. It was a big part of the game.
“You think of the Broad Street Bullies, the
Philadelphia Flyers, and hockey people at that
time thought that’s why they won two Stanley
Cups. Right now, it’s a thing of the past.”
Disconnect
Dr. Bill Wakefield, a professor in the School of
Criminology and Criminal Justice and UNO’s
faculty athletic representative (FAR) to the NCAA,
says that in his role as FAR, he’s attended many
meetings with college hockey referees and head
coaches and found that none think the college
game is any lesser by not allowing fighting.
39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
ATHLETICS
“We would have some of these informal
discussions, and they’re quite happy that it
does take that direction,” Wakefield says. “You
might imagine that a coach, being a former
hockey player, would like to be a little bit more
liberal toward the fighting. The ones that I’ve run
across, and these are big names in the field, I
never got that impression from them.”
As a professor who has hockey players in his
classes, Wakefield says he can’t imagine a
greater disconnect than having a player as a
student and simultaneously cheering for him in
a fight.
“I want to cheer them on because of their skills
and training and discipline and all of the things
they work so hard at as college student-athletes
to achieve,” Wakefield says. “I would hate to see
that come to a halt because of fighting on the ice
or getting hurt when they have that whole future
ahead of them.”
Hurts the games — and players
Blais agrees, noting that the size and strength
of today’s hockey player makes injuries from
fighting more likely.
“I’ve seen guys get career-ending injuries from
a fight — not necessarily from the punch that
was delivered but from the fall afterward … the
separated shoulder, the blown-out knees from
one player falling on another player.
“Certainly, there have been concussions, lost
teeth, broken noses and eye injuries off fights.
Hockey’s violent enough with the speed of players
skating over 30 miles an hour, pucks traveling
over 100 miles an hour. We don’t need fighting.
I think we have a good game now, although the
fans like to see a good fight now and then, it’s
certainly a thing of the past.”
While there will always exist a faction of hockey
fans who go to the rink simply to see two players
drop the gloves, their legion are dwindling.
Nowhere is the benefit of fighting’s absence
more evident than in college hockey. UNO ranked
fourth in the country last season in attendance,
drawing an average of nearly 6,900 to Qwest
Center Omaha. UNO fans and those of teams
ahead of them in the rankings — Wisconsin
(15,048), North Dakota (11,654) and Minnesota
(9,881), all members of the WCHA — are
demonstrating that most hockey fans would
rather see a good game than a good fight.
Large Gift
to Benefit
Mav Hockey
The UNO hockey program
recently received the largest
gift in its history — a gift that
will be used to enhance its
future.
The gift (UNO Athletics did not release its amount)
was made by Ron and Connie Brasel of Omaha
through the University of Nebraska Foundation. The
lifelong hockey fans have supported the Maverick
hockey team since the program’s inception.
“When UNO’s program began we wanted to see
what the college hockey experience was like,” says
Ron. “We absolutely fell in love with the college
game. We’ve been hooked on UNO hockey since
day one at the Civic Auditorium.”
UNO played its first hockey game in October 1997
and now is in its 14th season.
It was not only their love of the game that
motivated the Brasels to give, though. Ron says
that they’ve had the opportunity to meet studentathletes (“an incredible bunch of kids”) as well as
UNO Athletics staff and hockey coaches. He says it
was upon meeting them that he and Connie “really
saw the fire and passion for the program.”
Coach Tim Nelson: Golf Nut
Golf Coach Tim Nelson has the Mavs
aiming for a third straight MIAA title
Only a true golf nut could look out the window
in Nebraska in winter and envision a round of golf on a
local course. So, you’re either one of those nuts or you’re
Tim Nelson (’80), UNO’s golf coach. Nelson has been at
the helm of UNO golf since its fourth year, 2003-04, and
since then has had more than his share of success.
Nelson has led the Mavs to four conference titles and
three first-place finishes in the NCAA Regionals. UNO is
the two-time defending champion in the Mid-America
Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
“I enjoy everything about this job,” Nelson says. “As a teacher and a coach, I enjoy
seeing the players grow and improve.”
The Omaha native and graduate of Central High School came to coaching golf in a
roundabout way. He played football and baseball at Central and later was drafted
in 1966, serving four years in the Air Force at Offutt Air Force base. While there, he
worked at the base course and later became assistant pro at Happy Hollow Country
Club after serving his tour.
Nelson became a Class A member of the PGA in 1972 and today is one of the few
PGA pros coaching Division II college golf in the region. He started as a volunteer
coach at Creighton and was the head coach at the College of St. Mary the year prior
to taking the UNO job.
UNO won four of its six fall tournaments, and Nelson now has his team preparing
for the spring season, including a run at a third straight MIAA title.
“It ultimately was the passion at UNO for hockey
that inspired us to make the gift,” Ron says.
UNO hockey Coach Dean Blais says the Brasels
have been “tremendously” generous to Maverick
hockey over the years.
“It’s because of supporters like the Brasels that our
program continues to grow on the national scene,”
Blais says. “We cannot thank the Brasels enough for
their ongoing commitment to UNO hockey.”
Trev Alberts, UNO athletic director, says the
Brasel’s gift will benefit the hockey program in
many ways.
“Because their gift is directed toward enhancing
the future of Maverick hockey, our program will
be enhanced today and in the seasons to come,”
Alberts says.
Ron believes the gift will enable Maverick hockey
to become a top-tiered program.
“We are extremely proud of what UNO has become
and very pleased to be in a position to help,” he says.
Want to support Maverick Athletics?
The One Fund has been established
to benefit all UNO teams. To support
your favorite Mav sport, call Terry
Hanna at (402) 502-4106 or email
thanna@nufoundation.org. See more
at www.OmahasTeam.com
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 athletics
29 27 UNO’s Heather Pohl is scoring points on and off the court
“The great thing about basketball is that
it allows me to concentrate and focus on
school work when I have free time,
because I know I can’t be putting things
off,” Pohl says.
“When I don’t have basketball or school,
that’s crunch time for me. That’s when I
know I have to be productive, and I work
pretty well under pressure.”
Off the court, Pohl is a two-time MIAA
Academic Honor Roll member. After
she graduates with her degree in speech
pathology she would like to work in a
23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
GET TO KNOW
A Class Act
Crunch time applies to more than
just basketball for Heather Pohl. The
junior forward and leading scorer for the
UNO women’s basketball team not only
thrives when the game is on the line,
but also when it’s time to crack down on
school work.
25 he answered
we asked
hospital and possibly at a school
later in life.
THE BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED
Pointing at a section of library books, my dissertation director advised, “Choose wisely. That’s how many books you can read
in a lifetime.”
David J. Boocker
“I really enjoy working with kids,”
Pohl says. “There is a huge variety of
options with speech pathology, so I’ll
keep my options open.”
Dean, College of College of
Arts & Sciences
MY FAVORITE WEEKEND HANGOUT:
My couch.
She does just that on the court. She entered
conference play averaging 14.5 points per game
and scored a career-high 24 points against
Missouri S&T Nov. 18.
THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS IS:
Watching children grow up. Also the secret to gray hair.
MY FIRST JOB:
Convenient store clerk at 7-Eleven.
Playing on a Maverick team that has only one
senior and three juniors — two of whom are
transfers — Pohl has served as a leader for the
young Mavs this year.
“I always like coming into a leadership spot,” the
Millard West graduate says. “I’ve been here for
two years now. I know the system and the coaches. I just try to give as much help as possible.”
Which superhero crime fighter would you
like to be and why?
Spider Man. I relate to a nerdy high school student
transformed by a radioactive spider bite.
we asked
Which superhero crime fighter would you like to be and why?
— Bonnie Ryan
Brothers (Up) in Arms
UNO’s Torrian Harris
jump-started a special
senior season when he took on
his brother and nationally ranked
Michigan State
It didn’t take long for UNO basketball
player Torrian Harris to make himself a
memorable senior season. In fact, the goodtime memories began before the season
officially started.
Harris, a guard from Saginaw, Mich., is
among the Mavericks’ leaders, averaging
13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists
per game in January. He emerged as a veteran force early in the 2010-11 season, registering his first career double-double with 20
points and 10 rebounds against Rockhurst.
But one of the most exciting moments of
Harris’ career came in an exhibition game
Nov. 8 when UNO traveled to Michigan
State. For some, the game was a chance to
play against a Final Four contender at East
Lansing’s storied Breslin Center.
For Harris, it had a special twist — the opportunity to play against his half-brother,
MSU’s Draymond Green.
I would choose to be part of a
team of superheroes, like the
Fantastic Four or the Justice
League. Even if I had my own superpowers, it would be much more
enjoyable to work with other superheroes to accomplish a goal.
Harris and Green last took the court together as teammates at Saginaw High School,
after which Harris went on to Lansing
Community College. This time, they lined
up for tipoff, the 6-foot-6 Green going
against his 6-1 brother (with a 41.5-inch
vertical jump).
answered
Patty Patton-Shearer
UNO Women’s
Basketball Coach
Michigan State won 102-72, but Harris
made a major contribution with 13 points,
five rebounds, three assists and a block.
The Mavericks have leaned heavily on
Harris as a starter this season as they pursue a second straight MIAA championship.
He’s joined by fellow seniors Tyler Bullock,
Jeff Martin, Aaron Terry and Matt Starks.
Harris had a hand in the Mavs’ 2010
conference crown, scoring 26 points with
nine rebounds in the opening round.
“Torrian played well down the stretch
and in the MIAA Tournament as a junior,
which built his confidence,” Head Coach
Derrin Hansen says. “That parlayed into
the consistency and success he has shown
this season.
“His athleticism allows him to guard all the
perimeter positions, and he can attack the
basket with his jump. He’s just a player who
finds ways to get things done for our squad.”
— Bonnie Ryan
I would be Batman because he has
lots of cool toys. He also gets to be
a normal guy by day and an anonymous crime fighter by night. The
other advantage is Batman wears
a mask. I never understood how
Superman’s identity remained
hidden by just wearing glasses.
answered
Chris Bober (’00)
Businessman,
former NFL
player, president
of Building Blocks
Foundation
The superheroes that were most
popular when I was a child spring
to mind first: Superman, Batman,
Shazam. All of these characters
have a special place in my heart
because of the ways they could
transport me to different parts of
the world doing noble things. As a
child it was all about the special
powers they had but now I appreciate these characters for their
ability to help those in need.
I was a huge Batman fan as a kid. Not only did
Batman keep Gotham safe from crooked villains
but Bruce Wayne was a ladies man, billionaire
and philanthropist. He was really just a regular
guy who made a difference in a really big way.
Oh, and it’d be awesome to roll up to places in
the Bat Mobile!
answered
Juan Casas
Associate professor,
psychology
Batman because Batman is Bruce
Wayne. He is a very smart and
successful businessman. Bruce is
not content to be wealthy, but
unselfishly risks his life as
Batman to protect his city and its
citizens. It would also be cool to
be Bruce because of his innovative use of technology in his
pursuit of the bad guys. From the
Bat Suit, to the Bat Mobile to the
Bat Plane, Bruce has awesome
equipment that helps keep the
citizens of Gotham safe.
answered
Kevin Munro (’86)
Chairman of the
Board, UNO Alumni
Association
answered
Keith Fix
Student and co-founder, DailyMav.com
Text, photos by Jenna Zeorian
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 Hacking Away
41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Information a
ssurance is a
highly
dynamic spa
ce. Keeping
up w
trends, techn
iques and me ith security
thodologies is
a must, and U
NO’s profess
ors, curriculu
and resource
m
s have prove
n crucial
toward doing
so.
It’s 4 o’clock
in the mornin
g.
Do you know where your data is?
— Derek Pecka,
senior
information assu
rance major
By John Fey
Take, for example, the recent confident
ial
cables relea sed by Wik iLea ks. After
that, suspected Wik iLea ks sympath
izers
comprom ised websites belonging to
Visa,
MasterCard and PayPal in a campaig
n
dubbed “Operation: Payback.” All of
it could
put individuals — including U.S. mili
tary
personnel — in danger.
Helping fight such computer thievery
is the UNO -based Nebraska Universit
y
Consortiu m on Information Assu ranc
e — NUCI A (pronounced “new-sha”). Form
ed in
2001 and adm inistered by the Colle
ge of
Information Science & Tech nology,
it has
an inter national presence. But, as NUCI
A’s
recently retired founding director note
s,
dista nces don’t mea n what they once
did.
“Once you’re connected to the Internet,
there
is no distance,” says Dr. Blaine Burnham
.
“It’s somethi ng people don’t understan
d.
“Somebody stea ls your car, you notic
e that.
But if somebody stea ls your data, you
don’t
know it’s gone.”
With much more to replace than a set
of
new wheels. McA fee, the world’s large
st
dedicated security technology company
,
estimates that lost intellectual property
and
expenditures for repairing the damage
costs
businesses as much as $1 trillion glob
ally.
Photo by Bryce Bridges
Har ry the Hacker does, and he’s
armed with the know-how to stea l a
company ’s secrets and assets with the
click
of a mou se. If he’s successfu l, the dam
age
to a company, government agency or
mun icipa lity could be incredible.
Cyberhacking is grow ing at an alar min
g
rate, and no busi ness, individual or
country
is immune.
And more than money is at play. Man
y of
the nation’s waterworks and elec tric
grid
computer networks are outdated, and
the
resources to protect them are lack ing.
Terrorists could para lyze a city if they
tapped such systems.
With so much at stake, it’s no wonder
that hack ing has gone from the “just
havi ng-fu n” teen personified by Matt
hew
Broderick in “Wa rGames” to career
crim inals and cartels.
“It’s not the pimply faced boy behi nd
this,”
Burn ham says. “The Russians decided
to
make a busi ness out of this. The Russ
ians
in particula r are in it for the money
and are
doing fine, than k you very much.”
China also is a major player in cybe
r
crim inal activ ity, Burn ham says.
“The Russians are after money,” he says
.
“The Chinese are after intel lectual capi
tal
that they can turn into their own reso
urces.
The identity thef t numbers are stag gerin
g.”
When, Not If
Threats materialize as soon as a conn
ection
to the Inter net is made, says NUCI A’s
new
director, Dr. Will iam Mahoney.
“If you’re a company that has a web
presence, someone will have attempted
to hack into your machines — period
,”
Mahoney says. “You can put a new com
puter
on the Inter net, and someone will be
ping ing it or poki ng it or prodding it
in a
half hour, if that.”
He points to two factors at play.
“One is that the web pages and softw
are
that hand les them keeps getti ng mor
e
complicated. More complicated equa
ls more
bugs,” Mahoney says. “Second is just
the
rise in the number of companies with
some
presence on the web.”
The first factor is analogou s to coun
terfeiting. As counterfeiters adva nce in skill
,
governments change the notes to mak
e
them harder to copy. Then the coun
terfeiters
get better.
Dr. William Mahoney
Dr. Blaine Burnham
“Advances in hack ing sometimes are
adva ncing faster than the defense,”
Mahoney says.
And they ’re after whatever information
is
avai lable, he adds. “Credit card acco
unts
with names is an obvious cand idate
.”
Into the Fray
NUCI A-tra ined counter-c yberhackers
are
on the frontlines of such combat in the
serv ice of governmenta l and corporate
entities. NUCI A graduates have land
ed
key Inter net secu rity positions with
the
Trea sury Department, the Inter nal Reve
nue
Serv ice, the Department of Com mer
ce and
military branches. Loca lly, UNO alum
ni
and students in the field work for Con
Agra
and other major companies.
“What we do here in the college is educ
ate
people in information assu rance and
send them off into the real world to
solve
problems or attempt to solve problems
,”
Mahoney says.
He defines information assu rance usin
g the
acronym CIA — confidentia lity, integ
rity
and avai labil ity.
Ten years ago the prog ram didn’t even
exist. But times have changed. Mah
oney
cites the tran sformation of med ical
records from paper to elec tron ic as an
example. Patients want records to rem
ain
confidential while being completely
accu rate and insta ntly avai lable.
“It was no big deal unti l we started
mov ing a lot of stuff like assets in this
envi ronment,” Burn ham says. “When
you
started to convert game icon s and gam
e
context into a com mod ity that can be
sold
into the marketplace, it changes the
rules.”
Interest in the NUCI A program is grow
ing — there currently are around 50 students
enrolled.
The National Security Agency has nam
ed
NUCI A a Center of Academic Excellenc
e
in Information Assurance Education. The
college doesn’t necessar ily charge for
serv ices rendered, but a student work
ing
on a particula r project for a company
does receive a stipend for time outside
the
classroom . The universit y itsel f even
is a
client, NUCI A on occa sion perform ing
a
secu rity systems audit of UNO.
Opportunities and Advice
Off campus, UNO has been praised
for
its cybersec urity graduates, says NUCI
A
assistant director and senior tech nolo
gy
research fellow Stephen Nugen. It’s
also
been chal lenged to produce more.
The opportun ities are numerou s. “Cyb
ersecu rity extends beyond the busi ness
world,” Nugen says. “It tran scends into
national defense.”
Pecka is compliance manager for Gord
man s
in Oma ha. He oversees operation s relat
ed
to the integ rity of company informa
tion
systems and implementation of all secu
rity
tech nologies.
“As a large, publ icly-traded retai ler, our
networks and appl ications are under
a
constant threat which requ ires care
ful
analysis and protection,” Pecka says
.
The risk is not limited to Fort une 500
companies or large government syste
ms,
either. Fort unately, NUCI A can help
.
Mahoney says sma ller busi nesses that
set
up even a simple website open them
selves
to cyberattacks.
He says it’s most importa nt that a com
pany
update its software, including the lates
t
secu rity patches.
“It always amazes me to see in the new
s
exploits that were ‘old’ a year ago,” he
says.
“The reason they are still around is that
people get lazy and don’t keep their softw
are
up to date, so old bugs are just as good
as new
bugs as far as the bad guys are concerne
d.”
Nugen says busi nesses shou ld consider
them selves as stewards of their cust
omers’
cred it card information. “Because if
you’re
not, and the customers find out, they
’re
going to leave you.”
And after that, even the cyberhackers
won’t care to visit.
Need cybersecurity help? Contact NUCIA today.
Online: http://nucia.ist.unomaha.edu
Email: webadmin@nucia.unomaha.edu
Phone: 402-554-4902
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
Identity theft
is on the rise — and so is the fear
of being a victim
Getting
Personal
By Don Kohler
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Bryce Bridges can certainly get around. An Omaha-based photographer,
Bridges has captured stunning images in cities around the world, including
a stint in Qatar for much of 2010.
About 10 years ago, though, Bridges was getting around and didn’t even
know it. He traveled the United States in a rented U-Haul truck, spent
thousands of dollars along the way in malls across the country, and even
cashed payroll checks from a major oil company.
But while Bryce Bridges was on his spending spree, Bryce
Bridges actually was home safe.
He had become a victim of identity theft — and had to spend six
anxious months piecing his life back together.
“I cannot explain the initial pain and inconvenience and the concern I had for going into serious debt,” Bridges says. “It took me a
long time to convince bank detectives and creditors that this was
not me, and I really did not know who I could turn to and who
would be on my side.”
The Crime of Our Time
A growing number of people have experienced the same financial
discombobulation and emotional pain. According to a 2009 report
by the Federal Trade Commission, 21 percent of the 1.3 million
complaints to the FTC involved identity theft claims, more than
any other category. Identity theft occurs when someone illicitly
uses your personal identifying information — like your name,
Social Security number or credit card number — to commit fraud
or other crimes. The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million
Americans have their identities stolen each year.
In a 2009 Gallup survey about crime, 31 percent of respondents
said they worry frequently about being the victim of identity theft,
tops in a list of a dozen crimes.
“In reality, that number should be 100 percent,” says William
Mahoney, assistant professor for the Nebraska University Center
of Information Assurance (NUCIA). His department, located at the
Kiewit Center, was established in 2001 to research and improve information assurance awareness (see article beginning on page 22).
While NUCIA works more closely with commercial, governmental
and educational institutions on computer information security,
Mahoney says he has monitored the impact that the Internet and
viral media have had on identity theft.
Photo by Bryce Bridges
31 “This may show my age, but I think a problem with the younger
generation growing up in the Internet world is that they do not care
about security,” Mahoney says. “Privacy is not a concern. There
does not seem to be a concern about sharing all of your personal information with everyone else in the world. Like it or not, Facebook
and other mediums are leaving you open to identity theft.”
Mahoney says posting personal information on Facebook or
Twitter, or reading e-mail on an unsecured wireless network, are
common ways people are victimized. “You could be sitting in a
Starbucks reading your e-mail, and someone could be sitting 50
feet away and reading all about you.”
He points to a friend who was victimized by identity theft to the
tune of $70,000 in credit card debt. “It took him 18 months to clear
things out,” he says. “Another problem with this crime is that laws
do not do much other than protect you from creditors, and it is up
to you to prove your innocence and to wipe the slate clean.”
Low Risk, High Reward
Michael Johnson, a research assistant and graduate student in
UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, agrees that the
deck is stacked against victims of identity theft. Johnson’s doctoral
research is focusing on the policing of identity theft, including
documenting what issues law enforcement agencies face with this
crime and what strategies can be taken to combat it. Johnson’s research project included interviews with 25 agencies in a seven-state
region, with emphasis on police departments in urban communities with a population of 100,000 or more people.
“Identity theft is essentially a case that oftentimes is unsolvable for
law enforcement officials,” says Johnson, whose own father was a
victim of the crime. “Police have been moving more toward helping the victim and toward teaching, educating and prevention of
this crime. The problem is that it has become the crime of choice
because it is low risk and high reward, and the punishments are
lower for non-violent crimes.”
Johnson points to three forms of ID theft that often stymie law enforcement officials:
• Current account fraud;
• New account fraud — the opening of a new account; and,
• Reverse identity theft — someone gives a false name when
arrested for a crime.
“Part of the issue with identity theft is that the definition is so
broad,” Johnson says. “There is everything from financial fraud to
stealing someone’s name and making purchases. It is a challenge
for law enforcement.”
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Protection and the Police
Bridges had his ID stolen when his
expired driver’s license was stolen
from a dumpster behind the a department of motor vehicle office. He
later was able to convince a local
investigative news reporter to tackle
his story and bring the crime to the
forefront.
Johnson says there are other ways to
get help if you are a victim of identity theft.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act of
2003 legislated that financial institutions must respond to a victim’s
claim of identity theft or fraud within four days after receiving a police
report. According to the FTC, 27
percent of identity theft victims filed
police reports in 2003. That rose to
63 percent in 2009.
“Prior to 2003, policing agencies
were confused as to who would take
care of identity theft cases,” Johnson
says. “Because of the 2003 legislation, agencies are required to take
reports in cases of identity theft
and that allows the victim to file
promptly with financial agencies.
Every police agency I have interviewed said this reporting process is
on the rise.
“With my research, I hope to take a
good look at policing methods, because there is not much out there for
strategies to combat identity theft,
and the police need help.”
The uptick in this new crime wave
also has driven more students to
Mahoney and the NUCIA program.
Graduates typically enter the field of
computer security management and
have landed jobs with notable agencies such as the National Security
Agency and the Department of
Treasury.
“Computer security has been around
for 30 years, but with the whole ecommerce revolution, this field has
taken off like crazy,” Mahoney says.
Like Bryce Bridges in a U-Haul.
20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
Identity Integrity
Steps you can take to protect your identity — or recover it if stolen
Protecting your identity, say UNO staffers who deal frequently with ID theft, begins with common sense. “There are
some obvious steps that you can take to protect yourself,” says William Mahoney of UNO’s NUCIA department.
Whether obvious to you or not, here’s advice Mahoney and other experts recommend:
Shred It
Firewalls, Software and Patches
“You should take all your mail that comes with your
name and address on it and throw it in a shredder,”
Mahoney says.
Maury Pepper, a UNO graduate (’67) who is co-founder
and a vice president with WorldVistA, an open source
electronic health record company, recommends a trio of
steps to protect against identity theft.
Privatize
Social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn
default to a no-privacy setting. “That is the worst thing
you can do,” says Mahoney. “You
should only be allowing close
friends and family members onto
your private pages.”
“The three most important safeguards are a
firewall, anti-virus software and keeping system
software patches up to date,” Pepper says.
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 UNO grad student Michael Johnson recommends
checking your credit report once a year to monitor
potential identity theft issues.
It didn’t take long for one UNO student to receive a response to
his Facebook status that questioned, “Anyone know where I can
download some free music?”
Within minutes, three of his friends replied, offering websites
to illegally download songs. By the end of the day, he had eight
responses.
“One of the worst things that could happen is to have
someone open a new account in your name, so it is
important to monitor your credit.”
Free credit reports available through a government
service can be accessed at annualcreditreport.com.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends placing
a fraud alert or credit freeze on your credit reports. A
fraud alert requires that potential creditors must either
contact you or use what the law refers to as “reasonable
policies and procedures” to verify your identity before
issuing credit in your name. A credit freeze will prevent
potential creditors and other third parties from
accessing your credit report at all, unless you lift the
freeze or already have a relationship with the company.
When Wireless …
If using a wireless network, says Mahoney, check your
settings and make sure your computer is set on the
encrypted mode to block access to hackers. Change your
password frequently, too.
Forget Phishing
Don’t reply to emails asking for banking information (a
practice called “Phishing”). “They do not come from the
bank,” Mahoney says.
Look for the Lock
Make sure that online sites asking for personal
information are encrypted. Mahoney says to look for the
padlock icon on the top of the browser and that the site
starts with “https” instead of “http.”
Copy, Don’t Click on Links
Don’t click on web links in emails — the URL address
you see might not be the actual site to which you will
be taken. Instead, Mahoney recommends, cut and
paste the link into a browser.
Paying for Protection
What about identity theft prevention products or
services? The FTC on its website advises caution:
“Many people find value and convenience in paying an
outside party to help them exercise their rights and
protect their information,” the FTC website notes. “At
the same time, some rights and protections you have
under federal or state laws can help you protect your
identity and recover from identity theft at no cost.
Knowing and understanding your rights can help you
determine whether — or which — commercial products
or services may be appropriate for you.”
Other ways of minimizing your risk of identity theft,
detecting ID theft, and defending and recovering from
this crime can be seen on the FTC website, www.ftc.gov.
— Don Kohler
35 33 31 29 Piracy
Digital piracy, the unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted
material, which includes downloading music without paying for it,
is nothing new. The crime’s prevalence exploded in 1999 with the
creation of Napster, the first online service to allow public media
file-sharing.
Credit Checks, Alerts & Freezes
37 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Patrol
By Jenna Zeorian
Illegal
downloads
remain a
problem
on and off
campus
Today, there are hundreds of file-sharing websites. People talk about them,
swap links, upload and download. They burn CDs and DVDs and share them with
friends. They post songs and clips to YouTube, ignoring the site’s clearly stated
copyright policies.
These acts are costing the music and movie industry big bucks. The Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports that piracy causes $12.5 billion in
economic losses each year in the music business alone.
These acts also are a violation of federal law — piracy is stealing.
So why do people do it — often blatantly?
“I would guess some people do it because they don’t know any better,” says Robb
Nansel, president of Saddle Creek Records, an Omaha-based independent record
label. “And other people do it because they don’t have the money.”
Lack of awareness and lack of money are characteristics typically assumed of
copyright violators and may be what led the RIAA, in search of such violators,
to go after one specific group of people — college students. In 2007, the RIAA
led a nationwide sting that targeted students on college campuses whose
networks listed highest in association with illegal file downloads. At the time, the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln was No. 3 on its list.
More than 60 UNL students received letters from the RIAA stating they could
either pay a settlement or be sued for illegally downloading music. Students who
settled out of court paid $3,000; those who did not faced minimum damages of
$750 for each copyrighted recording.
Following the sting, many universities across the nation implemented or
increased preventative measures for digital piracy on their campuses.
Steven Lendt, director of information technology infrastructure at UNO, says the
university has taken measures such as monitoring types of network traffic and
allocating small amounts of network bandwidth to deter piracy on campus. The
topic also is covered in new student orientation. Measures such
as these have kept piracy reports low at UNO.
“Our office receives reports of illegal downloads on campus
about once every two months, with one-third of those for digital
copyright violation,” says Lendt.
Copyright violators who are caught by the university for
using its network to download are blocked from access to
the network, informed of the violation and asked to remove
the copyrighted content, says Lendt. Repeat violations are
rare, but if they occur the issue is reported to the university’s
department of academic affairs to determine what action should be taken.
Consumers of pirated products aren’t the only ones who have faced
consequences. Recently, the producers have, too.
In November, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the
Department of Homeland Security, initiated a phase of federal piracy crackdown.
The ICE seized websites that facilitated piracy as well as sites that sold
counterfeit products — 82 in total.
A new bill, the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act, also
was approved by the U.S. Senate in November and is making its way through
Congress. The bill would allow the government to shut down sites that are
“dedicated to infringing activities.”
While the fight against piracy may be picking up, the consequences of years
of unpunished piracy have already taken its toll on artists, employees and
businesses in the media industry.
Nansel says Saddle Creek Records has felt the impact.
“The industry definitely feels like it’s in a state of confusion these days. Filesharing has become so mainstream that it really has negatively impacted our
ability to generate revenue from our releases,” he says. “And while that isn’t
really the point of Saddle Creek, it is essential for us to continue doing what
we do.”
Nansel explains that Saddle Creek can’t “rely on any sort of sales expectations
at this point” and has had to become more conservative with how its marketing
dollars are spent. He remains optimistic, though.
“We are continuing to release records that we enjoy from people that we consider
friends. We hope to still be doing that once the industry has sorted itself out,”
he says. “There are plenty of reasons why people should support the artists they
like. Paying for music is one way to do that.”
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
It’s the old adage, “We’re
getting what we want, but
is it what we need?”
What’s showing on TV news isn’t always what’s happening on the streets.
But is that just what we want?
By Kevin Warneke
Perception vs. Reality
An Omaha man has been shot, and a local television
station leads with the story on its 10 p.m. newscast.
No surprise, says David Krajicek, long-time crime reporter
and author of crime-related books. (see page 50)
As expected, says Dr. Jeremy Lipschultz, an expert in media
and society.
Local broadcast newscasts, they say, tend to focus on violent
crimes. And that can have consequences in the safe confines
of our home — a public that develops a misguided sense of
reality regarding the prevalence of crime in their neighborhoods and communities.
“It’s not just broadcast media, although I find it flagging when
I turn on local news and see four or five or six crime stories
leading a broadcast,” says Krajicek, a UNO graduate who
worked five years at the Omaha World-Herald and has served
as a police bureau chief for the New York Daily News.
During a recent visit to Omaha, Krajicek recalls, he watched
a local news station air a litany of crime stories “with no
context — for example, a note that crime is down.
“Popular culture is awash in crime, from video games to TV,’
Krajicek says. “Crime has become our entertainment.”
Lipschultz, chairman of UNO’s School of Communication,
says he’s willing to give the local media a little leeway when
he discusses why they focus on crime — especially during
weekend news broadcasts. After all, government is shut
down, and many businesses are closed. Traditional news
sources dry up on weekends.
Plus, crime coverage sets local news broadcasts apart, he says.
When local news stations can deliver reports from the latest
crime scene — especially when it’s live — they are delivering a
product with visuals that no one else is providing.
Illustration by Tom Kerr
Crime Time News
But at what cost? Are we becoming a nation of crime-a-phobics?
Perhaps. From a national perspective, Americans believe crime
is on the increase. According to an October 2009 Gallup poll, 51
percent of Americans say there is more crime in their area than
a year ago — up from 44 percent in 2008, but similar to results in
2006 and 2007.
The reality is otherwise. Dr. Candace Batton, director of UNO’s
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, says crime rates
nationwide started to climb in the mid-1960s and peaked in
the 1980s. Violent
crimes — murder, rape,
assault — peaked in
1992, she says. Since
then, there’s been a
drop in violent crime.
According to the
FBI’s Uniform Crime
Reporting Program:
• A n estimated 1.32
Dr. Jeremy Lipschultz
million violent
crimes (murder
and non-negligent
manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault)
occurred nationwide in 2009, a decrease of 5.3 percent from
the 2008 estimate.
• The 2009 estimated violent crime total was 5.2 percent below
the 2005 level and 7.5 percent below the 2000 level.
• There were an estimated 429 violent crimes per 100,000
people in 2009.
It’s a formula that’s been
driven by consultants over
the years. Most important, it
works. It attracts audiences.
Property crime offenses also are on the downswing. According to
FBI statistics, in 2009 there were an estimated 9.3 million property
crime offenses nationwide, down 4.6 percent from 2008. From to
2009 to 2005 there was an 8.4 percent drop in property crime.
So even though a person is nearly nine times more likely to be
victimized by a property crime than a violent crime, the chance of
being a crime victim at all isn’t very high.
“We’re not likely to be victimized by crime,” Batton says, “but we
still worry about it.”
Dr. Russ Smith, professor in UNO’s School of Public Administration,
has studied resident perceptions of crime in northeast Omaha.
Through its Weed and Seed program, the city targeted six hotspots
in the area and monitored crime trends and public perception
there. While drug arrests declined in those areas, Smith says,
residents viewed drugs as more of a problem. While crimes
involving weapons increased in this area, Smith reported,
concern for gun violence remained flat.
One reason for public misperception about crime, Smith
says, is what people see on television. The media may
report an increase in crime in one area of a community,
but residents from another area in the community — where, for
example, that type of crime has decreased — perceive that the
problem is also theirs.
“Some nights it’s ‘Oh my goodness. Can we have something else?”
says Smith, who routinely watches the 10 p.m. newscasts. “Can we
have some other (type of) news?’”
Giving What’s Asked For
Some stations have tried just that. WBBM in Chicago, for example,
tried to focus on other topics, including issues-oriented and public
service coverage.
“The ratings tanked,” Lipschultz says. “People didn’t watch.”
Lipschultz and colleague Dr. Mike Hilt studied the content of local
television newscasts for their book Crime and Local Television News:
Dramatic, Breaking and Live from the Scene.
The authors wrote that crime news, particularly violent crime, “is a
staple for local television news.”
The two cited one study which estimates that 14 percent of local
news coverage focuses on crime, most of which could be considered
of the sensational type. Another study estimates the figure at 18
percent, when the category is crime and law. Their study of 17 news
stations during a week of broadcasts in October 1999 found that
these stations led with crime-related stories 33 percent of the time.
Why?
People prefer the “fast-food” version of television news, Lipschultz
says, where viewers don’t chew on the content for long. Stations are
quick to move on to the next crime story, with little follow-up about
the previous night’s offerings, he adds.
And as important as what local media does is what it doesn’t do.
The local media often fails to tell important stories, Lipschultz
says. He recalls President Clinton once said that the U.S. Senate
vote on arms control during his tenure was the highlight of his
presidency. Lipschultz’ study of news content coincided with
the approval of the agreement. The story led the national news
early evening, but was pushed further into the broadcasts by late
evening. Crime stories replaced the arms control vote in the lead
position, Lipschultz recalls.
“Those stories (arms control) don’t really get told,” Lipschultz says.
“Instead, there’s been a shooting in north Omaha. We go there
because we can. We go there because the crime scene tape is
up. Reporters can stand out there in the dark and tell a story. It’s
happening right now. We can promote that.”
Social media doesn’t make competing any easier for local television
news. Local news must be visual and they must be timely,
Lipschultz says.
“It’s the old adage, ‘We’re getting what we want, but is it what we need?’”
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
Jenna shifts in her chair, eyes downcast,
biting her lower lip. Her body language
shouts “guilt,” and soon the words
confirming just that will follow. So does
an expression of sorrow and a promise to
make things right.
Not long before, the 16-year-old west
Omaha girl and two friends broke into
a classmate’s house and trashed it — a
continuation of bullying activity they had
engaged in for a year.
Restoring
Order
By Tom McMahon
Courts, schools and the workplace are turning more and more to Victim Offender Mediation
Today, the victim and her parents
confront Jenna — about the broken
lamps, broken furniture and a young girl’s
broken psyche.
But they’re not alone. With them is a
mediator from the Concord Center’s Victim
Offender Mediation (VOM) program.
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 It’s a familiar situation to Shereen Bingham (left), a UNO
College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media professor who for
six years has been bringing together victims and their offenders.
She does so through the Concord Center. Her goal is to bring peace
of mind to both parties.
“Mediation is really a misnomer,” Bingham says. “The offender
has already admitted guilt. It is more a conversation than mediation, where we hope to bring healing for the victim and have the
offender take responsibility and provide restitution.”
Rising in Popularity
Unlike the criminal justice system, victim offender mediation focuses on restorative justice rather than retribution. Thirty years ago, restorative justice consisted of a handful of
VOM centers. In fact, the field did not even have a name.
Today, such programs are widely utilized worldwide, not only in criminal justice settings, but also in schools, the workplace and in societal interventions after mass violence.
The Concord Center, the approved center of the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Office of
Dispute Resolution for Douglas and Sarpy counties, coordinates the VOM program in
addition to other mediation efforts.
Cindy Tierney, the center’s executive director, says Heartland Family Service contracts
with her agency to provide the service. Bingham is one of several facilitators the center
uses to conduct the process.
Thus far, all VOM offenders are referred from the juvenile justice system. However,
Tierney says, her office has been approached by adult court about possibly applying the
model to some of its cases.
“It is part of a diversion program where some crime has been committed,” Tierney says.
It can be a powerful healing process and a wake-up call to teens who may be headed
down the wrong path.”
Howard Zehr, a national leader in the restorative justice movement and professor
of restorative justice at Eastern Mennonite University, writes that VOM differs from
other processes — such as alternative dispute resolution — in the participating parties’
moral balance.
He states that in VOM and other restorative justice mediations there is a moral imbalance
that must be acknowledged. “Someone has caused harm and someone has been harmed,
and that fact is placed in the center of the encounter,” he writes on his blog at http://emu.
edu/blog/restorative-justice
By contrast, in alternative dispute resolution mediation, a moral balance between the
two sides is assumed.
Zehr argues that using terms such as mediator may be inappropriate in VOM.
“Someone who has lost a child through murder and is being invited to meet the person
responsible, may find (this language) offensive,” he writes.
Additionally, in a process like VOM, a facilitator’s stance is “balanced partiality,” according to Zehr. While facilitators must care equally for and support all parties, they cannot
be neutral or impartial about the harm done to the victim.
17 15 13 11 9 7 5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 Emphasis on the Process
Bingham says the process is equally or even more important than the outcome. While realistic and workable agreements are important in restorative
justice conversations, VOM embraces the emotional level, too. Understanding
expression of feelings and telling of stories is critical to the process, she adds.
Proper preparation is critical to a successful conversation, Bingham says.
She and her co-facilitator meet with offender and victim separately prior to a
joint meeting. Often, juveniles’ parents also are included.
Bingham says it is important that the offender admit wrong and take
responsibility.
“If they don’t, we would be re-victimizing the victim.”
If offenders take responsibility in their individual sessions, the facilitators
then brainstorm with them about ways to make the situation right.
In Jenna’s case, the restoration consisted of a verbal and written apology,
replacement of damaged items using money she earned, and a promise to
leave the victim alone.
Following the session with the offender, the facilitators meet the victim
alone. If the person is a juvenile, parents also may be present, although
Bingham says victims usually are adults.
“I have the victim tell their story and ask how the offender’s actions offended
them. I also attempt to gauge how the victim is feeling and to prepare the
offender accordingly. Sometimes the victim is very angry and the offender
needs to be ready for that.”
35 “I am a strong supporter of VOM and I wish we had more funds to adequately
support it statewide,” Gendler says. He advocates for extending the process
to some incarcerated adults as a condition of parole.
“I don’t think it can be overemphasized how important it is for victims to
have this opportunity and for offenders to learn from it.”
27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 That’s the thinking behind a service offered
through UNO’s Neighborhood Center’s
Neighborhood Accountability Boards. NABs are
designed to help non-violent youth offenders find
mentors who can help them turn things around.
That is debatable, but failing to forgive sours one’s soul, according to UNO College of Education
Associate Professor Franklin Thompson. He says refusing to forgive tends to hurt the offended far more
than the offender. Research tends to support his premise.
According to the program’s website, “The idea
is to connect young people and neighborhood
leadership so that the youth have an opportunity
to make restitution to the community they harmed,
while providing the desperately needed manpower
needed by neighborhood associations and
connecting the youth to engage positive adult role
models who can teach them to have a meaningful
impact on their community.”
Lisa Scherer, industrial-organizational psychologist and UNO associate professor, says people who are
unforgiving risk increased physical problems as well as emotional and spiritual upset.
Learn more at www.unomaha.edu/ncenter or call
the Neighborhood Center at 402-561-7582.
Thompson, who is black, is particularly interested in forgiveness as it relates to African-Americans.
The educator and Omaha City Council member says forgiveness has been a missing piece of the race
relations discourse.
“If I am mad and hold a grudge, I may believe I am making the other person suffer,” Thompson says.
“But that is usually not true. The anger is working on you.”
She is studying forgiveness as it relates to workplace discord. Her research and practice have led Scherer
to question whether forgiveness interventions might stem counterproductive workplace behaviors and
enhance employee wellbeing.
“Incivility, sabotage, harassment, bullying, verbal abuse and even physical aggression and violence in
the workplace are spiraling out of control,” Scherer says. “Often these behaviors represent a response to
perceived transgressions and injustices that too often result in retaliatory behavior.”
“We can have all the reparations, social programs and degrees, but until we forgive there will always be
an emotional, mental and spiritual illness.”
While forgiveness may benefit the offended and help promote a more civil society, it is not an easy
process. As Shakespeare wrote, “The quality of mercy is not strained.” You
cannot force negative feelings to go away or twitch your nose and forgive.
Not all VOM referrals have a conversation, she says, generally
because the victim decides not to meet the offender. Facilitators
may also decide the dynamics are such that the victim could
be re-victimized.
VOM has not had a significant impact on Gendler’s court caseload, because it
is not used that often. But when it is used in a case, the impact on that case is
very positive, he says.
29 Is revenge really sweet?
Sarpy County Juvenile Court Judge Lawrence Gendler is a VOM supporter.
He has seen impressive results.
Gendler typically uses VOM when there are significant damages or where
the victim has suffered and a meeting could provide benefits. He has ordered
the process be attempted in motor vehicle homicides and situations where
monetary damages were several thousand dollars.
31 Granting forgiveness might not seem fair, but holding on to a
grudge might do more harm than good
Sometimes, Surprise Endings
Gendler says it is important for offenders to realize how their behavior negatively affected the victim. And it is equally important for victims to know
they were not targeted because of who they are, which is usually the case.
Most acts are random, he adds.
33 Hard to Forgive
A Help to Courts
“Several years ago we had two boys that vandalized a storage facility,”
Gendler says. “They worked off their restitution and did so well the victim
hired them afterwards.”
Interested in Victim Offender Mediation?
See more of what the Concord Center
offers at www.concord-center.com
It Takes a
Neighborhood
37 “About 80 to 90 percent of offenders want to proceed with the
conversation and about 60 percent of the victims,” Bingham
says. If the facilitated meeting does not occur, the case is referred back to juvenile court for some other disposition.
Victim and offender discuss what appropriate restitution
should be. The juvenile offender may get a job in order to pay
the victim. Sometimes the offender performs the victim’s yard
work or some other task. An admission of wrongdoing is always part of the conversation.
“Sometimes the two actually get close. Some of the (adult) victims want to help the offender stay on the right path.”
Gendler says an extreme example of VOMs benefit is demonstrated by a couple whose son was killed by a drunk driver.
As a result of the VOM process and a condition of parole, the
offender and couple traveled the state speaking out against
drunk driving.
“They became so close the parents bankrolled the offender’s
college education.”
“It takes time,” Thompson says. Blowing your top is a natural precursor to
forgiving, he adds.
Scherer notes forgiveness requires an act of
will. It does not deny the wrong committed,
nor does it excuse or condone it. She says
forgiveness is a decision to let go of
resentment and revenge.
Mayo Clinic Chaplain Katherine
Pederman at www.mayoclinic.com
writes that changing the offender is
unnecessary. She suggests thinking
about how forgiving can change your
life — by bringing you more peace,
happiness and emotional and spiritual
healing. Drawing on faith or a higher
power and talking to others who have
forgiven can help.
“Forgiveness takes away the power the
other person continues to wield in your
life,” Pederman writes.
— Tom McMahon
5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 Mike began his quick descent into drug addiction with a conscious choice:
pop prescription pills given to him by a roommate.
After that, however, the choice wasn’t all his.
By Meghan Townley
Prescription Drug
Abuse is on the rise — especially among youth
What followed for
Mike was a sevenyear on-and-off battle with
narcotic painkillers, mainly
oxycontin, but also morphine at
times. He began at 19, his roommate providing prescription drugs
procured from various sources,
mainly other drug addicts selling
the prescriptions to pay for their
own addictions.
Once the physical
dependence starts,
it’s pretty much
game over.
— Mike,
marijuana as the nation’s
most prevalent illegal
drug problem, according
to the ONDCP.
Prescription drugs, notes
the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health
(NSDUH), typically are
a 20-something Midwesterner
acquired illegally from
family and friends. With his connected roommate, says
Mike, drugs were just a phone call away. Doctors also are
a common source, either through forged prescriptions or
“You do it just a couple of times, and before you know it
by “doctor shopping” — going to multiple doctors to obtain
you are doing it every day,” Mike says. “Once you get the
multiple prescriptions. The Internet, drug dealers and
physical dependence, you can’t get out of bed or go to
theft also are ways abusers acquire prescription drugs.
work with out it.”
Illegal prescription drugs became what Mike lived
for — and he’s not alone. During the past 10 years, abuse
of painkillers to get high has increased more than
400 percent, according to the Department of Health
and Human Services. The problem, notes the Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is “increasingly
prevalent among teens and young adults.”
When University of Iowa football star receiver Derrell
Johnson-Koulianos was arrested in December, the seven
drug-related charges included possession of marijuana,
cocaine — and prescription drugs.
Big Business, Big Problem
The legal side of prescription drugs is big business. Sales
generated $300 billion in the United States in 2008-09,
a 5.1 percent jump over the previous year. That figure,
though, doesn’t include black market sales. University
of Michigan studies in 2009 found that about 7 million
people were taking addictive prescription drugs not
prescribed by their doctor. Pain relievers — most notably Vicodin — were the most commonly abused drugs,
followed by tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives.
That puts prescription painkillers second only behind
Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, a faculty member at the
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of
Pharmacy, notes that would-be drug thieves even
target the open houses of homes for sale. They’ll
open cabinets — a perfectly acceptable action during
a home tour — looking for prescription drugs (she recommends homeowners take prescription drugs with
them or hide them).
And who’s on the receiving end of all these drugs?
Often a young adult. The NSDUH study notes that those
aged 18 to 25 are three times more likely than those
26 and older to abuse prescription drugs. Rural teens
are 26 percent more likely to use prescription drugs for
non-medical purposes than their urban counterparts
(according to the JAMA Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine).
Many states, Nebraska not included, have Prescription
Monitoring Programs to help reduce prescription drug
scams. Such programs help monitor the flow of prescriptions to and from pharmacies, though they do not
address the sharing of medications. Officials with the
Nebraska State Patrol hope to establish a Prescription
Monitoring Program by 2012.
9 7 5
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
I needed a support structure, I could
not have gotten through this by myself.
Naltrexone is in a class of medications
called opiate antagonists that work by decreasing the craving for the drug. Opiate
antagonists commonly are used for recovering alcoholics and must be used along with
counseling sessions or an addiction treatment program.
Mike says few people — including his girlfriend — knew he was abusing prescription
drugs. Confessing to it, though, made recovery easier. “I was ashamed, but my family let
me know that they are there for me and there
is nothing to be ashamed of,” Mike says.
Lori Wiles, a 1984 UNO graduate and executive director of Wiles Counseling and
57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Neighborly Advice
Treatment
On a positive note, prescription drug abuse
is easier to treat than addiction to street
drugs such as methamphetamine or heroine, which have higher rates of relapse.
But treatment is not without challenges.
Typically, prescription drug abusers are
prescribed medication such as Naltrexone.
59 Assessment, says patients need to focus on
overall life changes, as well as addressing
the issues that contributed to the abuse
in the first place — past abuse or trauma,
unresolved grief, family or origin issues.
Treatment usually consists of five months of
primary treatment followed by five months
of continuing care. The patient has total
control over whether a friend or family
member accompanies them through treatment, but it is recommended.
Mike no longer associates with people from
his past life and is in a Methadone maintenance program, which includes professional counseling sessions. The regular doses of
Methadone keeps Mike stable and free from
cravings while easing him off his painkiller
addiction. He hopes to taper his Methadone
doses and to be completely free from it one
year from now.
Looking back, he sees that first step to illegally take prescription drugs as the most
dangerous — and advises others against doing the same:
“If you have done it, don’t do it again,” Mike
says. “If you have never done it, don’t even
try it once because you will lose control.”
Proper Disposal of
Prescription Drugs
Prescription drug abusers often illegally acquire
medications from family and friends. Getting rid of
prescription drugs that are no longer needed can
help that problem.
Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson, a faculty member at the
Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy,
recommends that the expiration dates on all
prescription and over-the-counter drugs be checked
at least twice a year.
“If the product is expired, if you can’t find the
expiration date, or if you can’t remember what it
treats, dispose it,” Dering-Anderson says.
Proper drug disposal is simple. Dering-Anderson
recommends these steps:
Get an empty milk or ice cream container.
Add coffee grounds or kitty litter.
Pour the drugs you no longer need or want
into the container.
Recap and throw into the trash.
“Do not pour unwanted drugs down the sink
nor flush them,” Dering-Anderson says. “Water
treatment plants are not designed to handle drugs
in the sewage system.”
— Meghan Townley
Study drugs include Adderall and Ritalin, prescribed for individuals with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD). They are illegally
shared, bought and sold on college campuses to help students stay awake
and focused while cramming for a test or completing a paper at the
midnight hour.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) reported on the phenomenon in
“Nonmedical Use of Prescription Stimulants among College Students:
Associations with ADHD and Polydrug Use.” The study explored nonmedical
use of stimulants among 1,253 first-year college students, comparing nonusers, nonmedical users, and medical users of the prescribed stimulants.
Nearly one-fifth — 18 percent — engaged in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS).
Those most likely to use the stimulants for nonmedical purposes were
male, white and a member of a fraternity. Sorority members also were
likely users. The study found that even prescribed users — those students
who are medicated for ADD/ADHD — abuse their own medication, taking
By Megan Schmitz
It can happen in any neighborhood, really:
unfamiliar cars suspiciously trolling the streets; graffiti
sullying the walls of vacant homes and businesses;
burglaries becoming commonplace.
If those are familiar images in your
neighborhood, perhaps it’s time to fight
back with a neighborhood watch program (NWP), more than 900 of which
are established in metropolitan Omaha.
And not just in areas heavy with crime.
While some might see such watch
groups as “nosy neighbors,” NWPs in
Omaha are making a difference.
“Crime prevention is a community
initiative,” says Theola Cooper, crime
prevention specialist with the Omaha
Police Department. “It’s a community’s
responsibility to be involved.”
For help, many turn not just to police, but
also to UNO and its Neighborhood Center.
Collaborations
Fighting Crime
‘Study Drug’ Use on the Rise
Cramming for tests late into the night has taken on a new meaning in this
new century. For some students, the age-old practice of procrastinators
includes a new twist — cramming “study drugs” for all-night stimulation.
UNO helps neighborhoods keep the streets safe
higher doses to feel an increased effect. Some even crushed and snorted
their medication to get high.
There are legal consequences, of course, for such abuse. But students who
abuse study drugs might not be considering the possibly dire consequences to their health, too.
Dr. Jeffrey Baldwin, professor of Pharmacy Practice and Pediatrics at
Nebraska Medical Center, says that students might be taking medications
to which they are allergic. The dose might also be too much for their height
and weight, or the non-prescribed medication might react adversely with a
prescribed medication being taken.
For an additional high, some students combine study drugs with
alcohol — another no-no, says Baldwin.
“Alcohol can change the way some drugs are broken down in the body,
leading to increased or decreased drug effects,” Baldwin says.
Smoking also can cause unexpected reactions.
“Nicotine in tobacco is a stimulant, so may interact with this increased
stimulation, causing insomnia, irritability, tremors or possibly even
convulsions at very high levels,” Baldwin says.
— Meghan Townley
Administered by UNO’s College of Public
Affairs and Community Service, the
Neighborhood Center is a collaborating
commons open to neighborhood watch
programs, neighborhood associations,
homeowner associations and other nonprofit groups. A “one-stop neighborhood
resource,” the Neighborhood Center can
help establish groups, create bylaws
and offer technical support.
“Neighborhood watch programs clearly diminish crime,” says Ron Abdouch, executive director of the Neighborhood Center.
“And neighbors looking out for each other
is the best way to deter crime.”
UNO became the fiscal and administrative agent of the Neighborhood Center
in 2001. The program has flourished
and soon will become an independent
organization with an amicable separation from the university.
The Omaha Police Department also is a
key player with NWPs.
OPD assigns four non-officer crime
prevention specialists as the primary
contacts and coordinators of Omaha’s
neighborhood watch programs. The
specialists encourage neighbors to get
to know one another, work side-by-side
with community leaders, and help plan
safety awareness and community bonding events. The police department also
helps form and maintain NWPs. Often,
the life of an NWP is in flux.
“Neighborhood watch programs typically form after a crime in a neighborhood
has occurred, prompting neighbors to
take action,” says Bridget Fitzpatrick,
crime prevention specialist of the
Northwest precinct. “It seems once they
have resolved the issue and feel safer,
they get complacent and don’t stay as
diligent or get together as often.
“Then people tend to get uninterested
and the group can fall apart.”
Unfortunately so, since NWPs aren’t
just about stopping crime.
“Neighborhood watch is much more
than reporting criminal activity,” says
Mark Langan, retired police sergeant
and captain of a NWP in northwest
Omaha. “It’s about keeping our
neighborhood safe from all kinds of
dangerous stuff.”
Time for Technology
Like, perhaps, shock-busting potholes. Or
a house on the verge of collapse. That’s
where the Neighborhood Center can help
beyond issues dealing with crime.
The Neighborhood Center offers
numerous programs and services for
neighborhood groups, including assistance with printed communications and
volunteer service projects, help with
mailings, provision of graffiti removal
kits, and more.
Often, technology is at play.
The Neighborhood Center can provide
portable GPS devices to locate and
document areas with problems such as
graffiti and potholes. The data collected
helps the City of Omaha determine
priorities for city improvements.
Neighborhood Scan (pictured) allows
neighborhood leaders to “scan”
properties with a pocket PC in order to
document address or code violations,
infrastructural imperfections and
necessary repairs. Follow-up communication is sent to the property owner with
a catalog of nonprofit organizations
and programs that can help remedy
problems.
The Neighborhood Center also can help
neighborhoods establish and design
websites on established platforms, and
it has a security camera project.
The Omaha Police Department, meanwhile, uses crime-mapping websites
to alert citizens of where crime is
happening, along with Facebook posts
to blast immediate news. Langan alerts
neighbors in his watch program by
email whenever crime or suspicious
activity occurs.
“With our group being 75 families
strong it’s very important to utilize
technology,” Langan says.
And an even better resource — UNO’s
Neighborhood Center.
Starting a
Neighborhood Watch
Program
Forming a group often starts
with an individual. Here are
six steps toward creating a
neighborhood watch program:
1
Call the Community
Resource Center at
402-444-6144 or go to
www.opd.ci.omaha.ne.us,
the Omaha Police
Department website.
2
Define block parameters.
3
Maintain a roster of neighbors’ contact information.
4
Create a telephone tree or
email group.
5
Elect a watch block captain.
6
Schedule regular meetings.
Call UNO’s Neighborhood
Center at 402-561-7582 or
visit unomaha.edu/ncenter
for help establishing bylaws, or with other neighborhood-related assistance.
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
But Wakefield’s expertise in assessing the
effectiveness of drug courts points to the
role of UNO’s School of Criminology and
Criminal Justice in making the streets a little
safer — and prisons a little less crowded.
Preventing Bad Behaviors
It’s not the kind of crime fighting that
makes for riveting primetime TV or a votepandering political sound bite. Yet UNO’s
work has proved essential in helping law
enforcement personnel, prison administrators and social service agencies find ways
to prevent crime and reduce the number of
repeat offenses.
“People are starting to worry that some of
the harsh policies from the 1980s and 1990s
are not feasible,” says UNO criminal justice professor Lisa Sample. One of those is
wholesale incarceration. You can’t support
that many people in prison anymore
As dwindling
resources strain
prison budgets, UNO
professors work to
prevent first-time
and repeat offenders
from living a life
behind bars.
By Greg Kozol
According to U.S. Department of Justice
statistics, state and federal prisons and local jails had custody of some 2.3 million
inmates in June 2009.
It was the kind of conversation that
happens every day: How’s school going?
What are your plans?
Routine campus chit-chat, perhaps, to a
casual observer. To Bill Wakefield, though,
it was much more. A criminal justice professor at UNO, Wakefield was speaking with a
student who had graduated from an Omaha
metro-area drug court — and now was graduating from college.
Without the treatment program, the student very well could have followed an
all-too-familiar cycle of addiction, an everexpanding criminal rap sheet and a life
squandered behind bars.
Instead, the “nice young man,” as Wakefield
calls him, was embarking on the next stage
of his drug- and crime-free life with a sociology degree in hand.
“He kept clean,” Wakefield says. Without the
program, though, “I’m afraid he would have
gone down a pretty bad road.”
To say that one professor was solely
responsible for steering a young offender
from a life of crime ignores the impact of
judges, law enforcement officers and social
workers, not to mention the young man and
his family.
Sample says budget constraints are forcing
policy makers to consider alternatives to
prison. In this environment, UNO professors are evaluating programs aimed at
both preventing crime and reducing
recidivism rates.
Their efforts are winning converts.
Wakefield says drug courts, which offer court-supervised substance abuse treatment rather than prison, initially met with
resistance from prosecutors who feared it
was an “easy way out.”
But it became evident that the crime problem couldn’t be addressed without dealing
with the drug problem. One UNO study
showed that 80 percent of state prison inmates have serious drug or alcohol issues.
Wakefield has worked with drug courts in
three counties to help determine which offenders are best candidates for treatment. He
also examines how to use peer support to prevent relapse and how to deal with the growing problem of methamphetamine addiction.
Sometimes the issue is simple, like how to
use a better method of testing on Mondays
to see if offenders consumed alcohol on
weekends, in violation of drug court rules.
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 “We try to follow and track,” Wakefield says.
“The most common relapse comes in the
first year.”
Other initiatives are broader in scope.
Sample is assessing a program that prepares
inmates for a return to society after prison.
Creston Ashburn, a UNO graduate who
studied under Wakefield and who now is
a Sarpy County Drug Court coordinator,
worked with Wakefield and UNO staffers
from 2005 to 2008. The UNO contingent
reported on observations they made about
the drug court.
Sample says the public doesn’t realize that
the average prison sentence is 18 to 24
months. Only about 10 percent of prisoners
serve a life sentence.
“The information they provide was very
valuable in making the court what it is today,” Ashburn says. “As a criminal justice
community, we are very fortunate to have
such a great program that the School of
Criminology has to offer the different agencies in the Omaha metro area.”
The Avenue of Alternatives
Another UNO professor, Pete Simi, channels an academic interest in the organizational structures of criminal gangs into
practical data for law enforcement and
social service agencies.
Simi is helping track gang activity, allowing
for more efficient use of police resources.
“Assuming you have a gang problem, then
you have to target your efforts,” he says.
I would see our role
as helping prevent
bad behaviors.
UNO criminal justice professor
Lisa Sample
He also assessed Omaha’s gang problem for
a grant that seeks, among other things, to
keep juveniles from joining a gang. He said
gangs are connected to as much as 70 percent of gun violence, so juvenile intervention enhances public safety over time.
His research found that job training, economic opportunity and family support are
just as important as police enforcement in
limiting the reach of gangs.
“You’ve got to have alternatives,” Simi says.
“With gangs it’s interesting because you’ve
got this organization that is in some ways
like a family. It becomes a pseudo-family.”
Without a focus on re-entry into society, a
revolving door of release, arrest and incarceration becomes likely, she says.
Reality, Practicality
That doesn’t mean every inmate deserves a
second chance. Researchers accept the reality that prison is the best place for some
offenders.
“There are people not interested in staying
out of trouble,” says Hank Robinson, director of the school of criminology’s research
consortium. “The point is to figure out
which ones aren’t the bad apples.”
Sample agrees, recalling an interview with
a juvenile with “no emotion in his eyes”
following a gun crime. “I’m not sure how
you fix that,” she says. “I’m not one of those
bleeding hearts.”
She simply views the problem from a practical standpoint — most prisoners eventually get out and society has to deal with that.
Consider sex offenders, a population that
Sample’s research has found to be no more
likely to re-offend than other prisoners.
Sample is working with one sex offender
who was released after serving 10 years for
first-degree assault of a child.
In many ways, he’s a model ex-prisoner.
He has remained crime-free with the help
of a social support network. He is willing
to share his experiences with law enforcement officers, which helps them learn more
about sex offenders and how to prevent
future assaults.
But, in preventing crime, the real world is
more complex than a TV show. “He will be
the first to tell you his thoughts about children will not go away,” Sample says.
All the studies in the world will never be
able to tell if this particular sex offender
will commit another crime. But Sample believes UNO’s research makes it less likely.
“We’ll see, I guess,” she says.
23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
A Jury
of Their Peers
Teen courts ease strain on
the justice system — without
sacrificing impact on offenders
Landen Weisbeck and his friends aren’t the first teens
to steal a city stop sign. While seeming like a good
idea at the time, he now regrets the decision. His
experience in teen court helped.
“I knew it was wrong,” the 16-year-old PapillionLaVista High School sophomore says. “Someone saw
us and called the cops.” He and his friends received
a ticket and the option to attend teen court and a
decision-making class.
Weisbeck appeared before a jury of teens, whose
role was to administer punishment. A Creighton
University law student acted as judge. Weisbeck’s
defense counsel and prosecutors were other teens who
received special training to act in these roles.
He admitted guilt, which is a prerequisite to appearing
in teen court. Weisbeck spent about 25 minutes on the
stand. He says it was a humbling experience and a
wake-up call to think before he acts.
Nicole Allison, Sarpy County Teen Court coordinator,
says peer feedback can have a powerful effect on
juvenile offenders.
“It can be much more effective than having an adult
lecture them.”
Allison says teen courts target 12- to 17-year-olds
with a minor first offense. The intent is to divert
basically good kids from getting into deeper trouble.
Those who successfully participate and perform their
“sentence” have the crime removed from their record.
In addition to helping the teens, she says, the teen
court also frees the juvenile court system to handle
more serious cases.
While it may be a less intimidating experience than
juvenile court, teens usually feel tense and some fear
when they take the stand. “It is tough to go before
your peers and admit your guilt,” Allison says.
The jury assigned Weisbeck to serve on two teen court
juries as part of his consequence for taking down
the stop sign. He says the decision was fair and the
experience a positive one.
“The whole experience was very interesting. I would
recommend other teens volunteer to serve on the court
to see how our system works.”
— Tom McMahon
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
He may not have any super
powers, but Dana Richter-Egger
does have a super spectrometer.
And with a call for help from the
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
in 2006, he joined the league of
Omaha crime fighters.
With his super spectrometer,
a UNO professor helps bring a
would-be cop killer to justice
by Leo Adam Biga
By day, Richter-Egger is more about busting complex math and
chemical equations than he is about busting bad guys. He’s an assistant professor of chemistry at UNO and director of its Math-Science
Learning Center.
A sophisticated trace element analyzer that enables sensitive measurements in many fields, the ICP-MS is housed in Durham’s Advanced Instrumentation Laboratories. It was purchased in 2004 in part with a $100,000
grant from the National Science Foundation.
Four years ago, though, Christine Gabig, a forensic scientist in the
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, asked for help that only he could
provide. Specifically, Gabig needed assistance determining whether
glass fragments found at the scene of a crime matched shards found in
a suspect’s car.
UNO’s general chemistry students use it to measure area lead contamination levels and to perform drinking water analysis. Gabig, a UNL graduate,
learned of the ICP-MS while taking a quantitative chemical analysis course
at UNO taught by Egger.
The crime occurred on Dec. 5, 2005. An Omaha Police Department undercover officer was in an unmarked vehicle on a north-side street when
a car pulled up parallel to his. The driver then pointed a shotgun at the
officer through an open window. The officer ducked for cover, firing several rounds through his own open driver-side window at the fleeing car.
A suspect in the case emerged when a man sought medical treatment
at a hospital for gunshot and glass wounds. DNA linked him to the car
with shattered windows but prosecutors needed evidence that definitively put him at the scene as the driver.
Photo by Eric Francis
Gabig did initial tests on the glass fragments in her lab, but they were
inconclusive.
“I knew I needed more detailed analysis,” she says, “and I immediately
thought of Dana and ICP-MS.”
The Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer, that is.
The complex machine could help her answer a seemingly simple question — whether the glass fragments came from the same source.
Help in the Haystack
“ICP-MS really provides the best detection limits,” Richter-Egger says. “It’s
going to find the smallest needle in the haystack relative to other techniques available. That provides the ability to look at and compare a great
many more elements. It’s like being able to identify more points on a finger
print to look for the match.”
The more data points tested, the stronger the case.
Gabig’s experience studying under Richter-Egger made her comfortable
with the prospect of collaborating with the professor.
“I really respected his knowledge and I thought the (math-chemistry)
program was fantastic,” she says. “I learned so much that was directly
applicable to what I was doing here at the sheriff’s office. Also, I made
contact with these great chemists who can help me.”
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 Further bolstering her confidence, she says, was the knowledge that ICP-MS
results are “fully accepted in the courts.” The methods were based on
standard procedures provided by the American Society for Testing Materials.
“That went a long ways to helping me feel good about what we were going
to do,” Richter-Egger says. “After all, there’s somebody on the other end of
this thing that is going to be in court and we’ve got to be sure we do our
diligence and do a good job.
“Whatever the data is I want to make sure it is the highest quality possible
so that when that evidence is presented it is accurate and that it helps to
lead to the right decision in the courtroom. That weighed pretty heavily on
my mind as we were considering this.”
Case Closed
In their research, Gabig and Richter-Egger discovered that manufactured
glass in vehicles can be pinpointed to within 100 feet of a production line.
That information, says Richter-Egger, meant that “if we could find there’s
not any difference between these two glasses then that says a lot about
the likelihood they actually came from the same window.”
The glass first was dissolved in acid and added to a controlled solution.
The ICP-MS then required precise calibration. The instrument evaporated
water in an ultra high vacuum and applied electric fields to separate
atoms by mass. The device provided a spreadsheet readout of the
elemental differentiation.
32 34 36 38 Cold Cases
44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
In her report, Gabig concluded that glass fragments from the suspect’s car
and the scene “likely came from the same source” based on ICP-MS test
results and statistical analysis that showed a high probability of a match.
In the end, the suspect took a deal, pleading to one felony assault count
and one terroristic threat charge. Since the case did not go to trial, Gabig
did not testify.
The forensic scientist and the professor collaborated on a slide presentation
for a UNO chemistry department seminar. Gabig has also used the presentation to educate law enforcement agencies about trace evidence analysis.
Might UNO and CSI work together on another case?
“I could envision this happening again,” Gabig says. “Making use of data
analysis at the university is a big benefit.”
Learn more about the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer,
including animations, at http://water.unomaha.edu
And while that might not have been Angela
(Harbison) Moore’s girlhood fantasy, it became just that while attending classes at UNO,
graduating in 2001 with a degree in chemistry.
Today Moore works as a forensic technician for the
Newport News (Va.) Police Department conducting
crime scene evidence analysis. It’s a career choice the
former Goodrich Scholar says was inspired by work she did
with UNO chemistry department faculty.
“We were doing a lot of neat stuff in Dr. Richard Lomneth’s bio
chemistry lab that was applicable to forensic science,” Moore
says. “It really piqued my interest. It was a turning point.”
Dr. Frederic Laquer also was influential. “He taught me how to
be a true chemist, how to document things, and to this day I
still think of him every time I do all the little things properly,”
Moore says. “It’s a great batch of professors at UNO. They’re
very rigorous.”
Photo Kelly Wells, Newport News Police Department,
Forensic Services Unit
42 Richter-Egger says it’s a process whereby “electronics, engineering and
chemistry meet.” After crunching the numbers and consulting UNO statisticians, he and Gabig went back and forth over the data, questioning each
other and crosschecking information.
It’s not every girl who grows up
dreaming of becoming a “bloodstain
pattern specialist.”
Hot on the Trail of
40 Moore later began forensic science graduate studies at
George Washington University, but with her Air Force
husband stationed at Offutt Air Force Base she transferred
to Nebraska Wesleyan. While in grad school she worked as
a chemist at UNO, preparing solutions for use by students
in the Durham Science Center labs.
In 2007 Moore joined the CSI team in Newport News, where
she’s a bloodstain pattern specialist. The unpredictability
of when crime happens means her schedule is forever fluid.
“You can literally be at a scene and be called to another
scene,” she says. It’s a job that demands “intense curiosity
and attention to detail” and the ability to multitask.
Her work entails doing bloodstain analysis at crime scenes
and in the lab, writing reports, assisting with autopsies,
and testifying in court. She works the cold case unit. She
also teaches college courses and makes presentations.
“I like to get into a lot of things,” she says. “I always try to
challenge myself to be the best I can be in life.” Next year
she will attend the National Forensic Science Academy in
Tennessee. “I’m pretty excited about that.”
Nothing is more satisfying then when her work helps solve
a case. She says her bloodstain pattern analysis led to a
man being charged with murder years after the incident. In
another instance she extracted DNA evidence that helped
convict a serial rapist.
Some cases linger with her.
“Once they go to court there’s resolution and I feel better
about them,” she says. “The child ones are really hard to
deal with sometimes. But at the same time I feel like we’re
helping people out.
“When I’m at a scene with a deceased person I feel it’s the
shell of a person left over. Their spirit is someplace else.
The body is to be utilized as another piece of evidence that
can speak for that person.”
— Leo Adam Biga
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 Tweet Discreet
Password Perfect
Prepare the Way
For Fires in the Kitchen
As insignificant as Facebook status
updates or Tweets might seem, they
can reveal critical private information.
For instance, a check-in on foursquare
at Wells Fargo tells the world where
you bank — potentially damaging
information to scammers and thieves.
Change the administrator password on
your wireless router.
Multiple light sources help the aging
eye, and night lamps can help navigate
a house at night. Also remove throw
rugs and clutter to prevent falls. Make
certain handrails, grab bars, etc. are
installed properly. Local agencies on
aging may have therapists or staff
willing to do a home assessment.
Keep a dry chemical extinguisher in
a closet close to the kitchen. Kitchen
fires usually involve hot oil and are
best extinguished by dry chemical
extinguishers, which blanket and
smother the fire with a nonflammable
substance.
Wendy Townley (’02), assistant
director, media relations
GPS
Post emergency telephone numbers by
phones and teach children how and
when to call 911. Take a CPR course.
And don’t put your home address in
your GPS — if it gets stolen from your
car, the thief will know where you live.
Instead, use a nearby gas station,
church, store or elsewhere as your GPS
starting point.
Tom McMahon, (’74; ’83),
Medical Reserve Corps
coordinator, United Way of the
Midlands
Be Credit-Conscious
Check your credit report several times
a year using www.annualcreditreport.
com, a free government service, to
make sure there are no errors and that
no accounts have been opened in your
name without your knowledge. Beware
of similar sites advertised as free but
that have hidden costs.
Mary Lynn Reiser (’93), co-chair,
UNO Center for Economic
Education
Avoid Financial Scams
If something sounds too good to be true,
it probably is. When in doubt check with
family/friends about offers. Never sign
anything without reading the fine print.
If this is not possible, ask someone to
help you. If someone approaches you
to withdraw a large sum of money to
bail out a family member from jail,
win a prize or help catch a thief, check
with your bank branch manager. The
Nebraska Attorney General’s office has
a Senior Anti-Fraud Protection program
within their consumer protection
division. Other resources are at
www.ago.ne.gov/consumer
Julie Masters, professor and
chair, gerontology department
John Fiene (’92; ’01) associate
vice chancellor for technology
Web Safety a Family Affair
Electronic aggression/victimization is
not just a peer-relations problem
among youth — it is a FAMILY issue.
Commonly made suggestions such as
limiting children’s access to electronic
mediums and becoming informed about
the websites they visit are important,
but at the root of safely managing
and monitoring your child’s activities
is establishing good communication
between yourself and your child.
Foster a relationship where children
feel comfortable disclosing to you the
kinds of activities they are engaging in
and the way which they use different
electronic mediums.
Julie Masters, professor and
chair, gerontology department;
Nick Stergiou, director of UNO’s
Nebraska Biomechanics Core
Facility
5
Robert W. Smith, chemistry
professor
Juan F. Casas, director of Social
Development Lab, psychology
department
Sharks on the Street
Don’t text and drive — you are far more
likely to be seriously injured or die in a
car accident driving to the beach than
you are to be bitten by a shark. There
are less than 100 shark attacks per year
worldwide. To add to that safety margin,
avoid swimming at dusk and dawn,
which are peak shark feeding periods.
Andy Dehart (’00), “Shark Week”
advisor and director of biological
programs, National Aquarium,
Washington, D.C.
Get Friendly
At home, I find it integral to know who my
neighbors are, and how to get in touch
with them, in case there is a problem
that needs resolved or I need help.
Janine M. Brooks, staff assistant,
chemistry department
Beware Filthy Filters
Omaha water IS safe to drink. However,
if you use a water filter, change the filter
regularly. Not doing so can actually be
worse for you since filters act like a
sponge, and the chemicals absorbed to
the carbon filter can be re-released from
the filter once it has reached capacity.
Alan S. Kolok, director, Aquatic
Toxicology Laboratory, biology
department
14 Tips from UNO experts
to keep you safe in a
variety of situations
Medicine Measurements
Grill Upwind
The best way to dose liquid medicines
is to use a calibrated medicine dropper,
spoon or syringe. Household teaspoons
can differ by as much as 25 percent.
Where there is smoke, there is fat.
Caution — grill smoke is heavy in
airborne carcinogens, and studies have
indicated that chefs and cooks often die
of respiratory ailments and lung cancer.
Watch the smoke from your grill — and
don’t be downwind from a neighbor with
smoke coming from their grill. Also:
Dr. Ally Dering-Anderson,
College of Pharmacy, Nebraska
Medical Center
From the Flu Guru
During flu and cold season, avoid
putting your hands to your eyes, nose
and mouth — the most common entry
points for viruses. Also, keep your
immune system strong by getting
enough sleep and doing whatever works
for you to control stress — meditation,
cuddling with your dog or cat, or having
a few cups of green tea.
Guoqing Lu, associate professor,
department of biology
• Always use a temperature gauge to
determine if food is cooked to a safe
level; never go by color.
• In preparing meats, fish or poultry,
always follow instructions on
handling, storing and cooking; avoid
cross-contamination.
• When cooking, wash hands with soap
and water for 20 seconds (two verses
of “Happy Birthday”).
Richard Collins (’65), the
Cooking Cardiologist (www.
thecookingcardiologist.com)
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59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
By Lori Rice
“You get on a plane and the pilot says ‘Hello’ and that guy is the face of
safety for that flight,” says McCoy, who graduated in 2003 from UNO’s
Aviation Institute and works as an operation supervisor at Eppley Airfield.
“And, ultimately, he is responsible for the safety of that flight.
“But what most people don’t see is that behind-the-scenes network of
airline, airport and air traffic personnel that are all working in collaboration
to ensure each flight is successful and safe.”
And, thanks to UNO’s Aviation Institute, a large measure of aviation safety
is in the hands of UNO grads. The institute, established in 1990, offers a
professional flight track for pilots and an air transportation administration
track that prepares students for positions that function on land.
“The bulk of people working in aviation
are not out there in aircraft as pilots,”
says Dr. Scott Tarry, director of UNO’s
Aviation Institute.
Ground Forces
Potthoff works at a Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility (TRACON) in
Bellevue where the controllers cover a 110-mile diameter of airspace that
includes Omaha and Lincoln. The airspace is divided into several sectors, with
each air traffic controller assigned a sector to monitor the planes’ altitude,
speed and destination.
Potthoff coordinates landings and take-off efforts with other towers and
controllers and communicates directly with pilots on issues related to weather,
safety alerts and route information.
“You have to be 100-percent focused the whole time,” Potthoff says. “Whether
you are talking to one airplane or 20 airplanes.”
Security Forces
Part of the integrated network of safety systems and checks always has
included the issue of security checkpoints prior to boarding a flight. The recent
introduction of Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) — full body scans — has
made national headlines due to what some perceive as its invasive nature.
The old adage is that
90 percent of aviation
happens on the ground.
Tarry points to operations supervisors who
care for runways, air traffic controllers
who tell pilots what to do, and others who
help control airline efficiency, scheduling and cost.
McCoy and 2009 UNO graduate Joe Rotterdam (both pictured, Rotterdam at left) are
two of six operation supervisors at Eppley. They spend most of their days traversing
the airfields and dealing with anything from tenant relations to airfield inspections.
“We wear so many different hats out there, take on so many different roles
and responsibilities … at times we can be the face of the airport,” McCoy
says. “We do a lot of things in this job, but safety is our core function.”
They handle issues such as making sure the airfield is clear of ice and snow,
monitoring runway conditions, checking on lighting and other infrastructure
that allows the airplanes to operate safely, and identifying possible wildlife
hazards. They also coordinate efforts with on-site establishments, such as
fire and rescue operations, in the event of an aircraft emergency.
“There can be a lot of pressure,” says Rotterdam, who graduated with an air
transport and administration degree. “But you fall back on your training and
everything comes back to you.”
“The airport security manager is going to be
sitting there under fire,” says Patrick O’Neil, a
faculty member in UNO’s Aviation Institute and
a retired U.S. Navy aviator with nearly 27 years
experience. “Airlines complain about potential
delays at security checkpoints; at the same
time the airport is responsible for properly
screening people. It’s tricky. It’s a tough,
tough environment.”
Michael Kudlacz, recently retired federal security director for the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) of Nebraska, says that at the local level,
passengers have been overwhelmingly supportive of the use of AITs. In place
since June, less than 1 percent of passengers going through one of two AIT
machines at Eppley have refused the scan.
“The TSA is always reviewing their procedures based on threats,” says Kudlacz,
a former general with the U.S. Air Force who received his bachelor’s degree
from UNO in 1971. “But when you have people hiding non-metallic explosives
on their bodies, there has to be a way to find that. The AIT gives us the best
opportunity to be thorough and find items like that.”
All of these aviation posts, Terry says, are highly structured and
regulated — and for good reason.
Air Forces
“It’s important to remember that the system is not just the people working for
the airlines, or people working for the FAA, or people working at the airports,”
Tarry says. “It’s all of them and a lot more. What you do in those positions is
critical to the safe and efficient operation of our air transport system.”
Rigorous training also was critical to Jess Potthoff’s career after he
graduated from UNO in 2007 with a degree in aviation administration. He has
spent more than a year training to become an air traffic controller.
O’Neil agrees. “It’s not only the pilot flying the aircraft,” he says, “but this
whole supporting system of people and technology that is helping them get
from point A to point B.”
Photo by Eric Francis
Steve McCoy is not a pilot (a disappointment to some when he tells them
he works in aviation). But — unseen by many —the work he and others do
on the ground is every bit as important to safety in the air as what is done
by those in the cockpit.
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taking sides
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 Tort refers to a non-criminal act that wrongly causes harm to someone and is dealt with
in a civil court. Liability is the state of being
exposed or subjected to some contingency
or reaction. In the case of tort, it is exposure
to an adverse reaction resulting from an
alleged harmful act that we are held
responsible for. We are all liable for such
acts and exposed to such reactions daily.
The acceptable balance between such acts
and subsequent reactions is defined by law
and interpreted by our courts.
Is our tort system adequately meeting
society’s objective to maintain this balance?
Reasonable goals of the tort system for
medical liability might include the appropriate compensation of patients who have
sustained injury, loss or damage as a result
of a health professional’s failure to exercise
an appropriate degree of professional skill
in rendering medical treatment. That compensation should be provided by efficient,
cost effective means.
What really happens? Data from the
Physician Insurers Association of America
31 29 27 25 “Tort reform” proponents would have you
believe that suing for hot coffee is a frivolous lawsuit and that such injured plaintiffs
simply are looking for lottery-like payouts.
Trial lawyers are characterized as evil
moneygrubbers (unlike multi-national
corporations that sell defective products or
their insurance companies).
The same database shows that average
defense costs per claim were $40,649,
ranging from $22,163 among dropped,
dismissed or withdrawn claims to more
than $100,000 for claims going to trial.
Details of proposed reforms are far beyond
the scope of this discussion. However, one
aspect has particular expediency within
the context of health care reform and deserves mention. Evidence-based medical
33 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Professor Michael J. O’Hara, J.D., Ph.D.
(PIAA, 2009) show that in 2008, 65 percent
of medical liability claims were dropped,
dismissed or withdrawn, 25.7 percent
were settled, 4.5 percent were decided
by alternative dispute mechanisms and 5
percent went to trial, where the defendant
prevailed 90 percent of the time.
What’s the bottom line? The current system is costly and matches injured patients
with deserved compensation poorly. Goals
are not being met. We need to identify the
shortcomings and then correct them. It
is time to start the process of reform in a
meaningful way.
35 Tort Reform
Alan G. Thorson, MD, FACS
In a review of closed claims, no injury
occurred in 3 percent. In 37 percent, there
had been no error in medical practice.1
The same review showed that 27 percent
of claims that did involve errors were not
compensated while the same percentage of claims that were compensated did
not involve an error. Earlier research that
matched claim level data with hospital records was similar; only 15 percent of
patients who suffered a negligent injury
filed a claim, while negligence had occurred in only about 15 percent of claims
that were filed.2
37 A Case
Tort Reform
In general, reform results in the
correction of faults, problems or
inefficiencies (shortcomings). When goals
are not met, shortcomings leading to failure
should be identified. When shortcomings
are identified, they should be corrected.
The need for reform can be determined by
the failure to meet goals. The process of
reform is the identification and correction
of root causes for that failure.
39 taking sides
A Case
Tort reform is complex. But, like
many complex problems, can be simplified
by studying individual components.
41 practice has the potential to change health
care reform from a costly expansion of services to a model for savings. To accomplish
this, we must provide a safe harbor for doctors who follow evidence-based guidelines,
leading the way for decreased costs associated with defensive medicine.
Orwellian doublespeak and doublethink permeate much of the discussion of
tort reform. The purpose of doublespeak is
to support and implement doublethink. In
short, vocabulary sculpts thought.
Medical liability can serve as a model to address the broader question of tort reform in
our society. The American Bar Association
asserts a “goal of seeking a broader consensus on how more equitably to compensate
persons injured in our society.” It further
states that, “problems associated with
medical professional liability are common
to all areas of tort law and should be evaluated in the context of their broader implications for the tort system as a whole.” (ABA
Policy on Medical Malpractice, April, 2006)
How so? Think about hot coffee. Does a
“klutz” deserve money after spilling hot
coffee on the “klutz?”
Medical liability reform could play a
leadership role in making our entire tort
system more responsive to the needs of
society as a whole.
Dr. Alan G. Thorson is chair of the Professional Liability Committee, Nebraska Medical Association. He is a clinical professor of surgery for Creighton University School of Medicine and
University of Nebraska College of Medicine
1. Studdert, David M. et al. “Claims, Errors, and Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation.” NEJM. 2006; 354: 2024-2033.
2. Weiler et al. A Measure of Malpractice: Medical Injury, Malpractice Litigation,and Patient Compensation (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993)
The vocabulary of “tort reform” is deliberately chosen to be subliminally persuasive.
Do you think that question exemplifies what
is wrong with tort law? If so, then it’s quite
likely you’ve just experienced Madison
Avenue’s success in sculpting your mind.
Did you know that coffee caused third-degree
burns requiring multiple skin grafts and
months of medical treatment? Is that what happened to you the last time you spilled hot coffee
on you? That coffee was not merely reasonably
hot. It was scalding hot. So hot the seller ought
pay for the hundreds of thousands of dollars of
medical bills caused by the seller’s negligence.
Who’s at fault? The klutz for the spill; and,
the seller for coffee so hot it chars skin.
They play fast-and-free with the truth. You
might even call it jury tampering. Artful
advertising by trade associations a la calls
to talk radio and letters to the editor of
newspapers sculpt the mindset of “the public” so that folks who might be called for
jury duty arrive for service predisposed to
believe particular falsehoods.
Sure, it’s free speech, but is it morally pure?
Legal doesn’t necessarily mean ethical.
Most folks don’t spend much time thinking
about what is an ethical profit. Most folks
get by just fine with profit defined as total
revenue minus total cost. But I am an academic whose education is in the law and in
economics. It’s my job to think about what
is an ethical profit.
Sure, by stealing I can increase my revenues and decrease my costs. An ethical
profit, then, requires a definition of stealing. And defining stealing is the crux of the
question of tort reform.
A tort is a civil wrong — like if I cut off your
arm without your approval and without
using anesthetic (let’s say in a car accident).
Clearly there’s a cost, but who’s to pay — the defendant or plaintiff? And how do we
allocate the ownership of your severed arm?
A lawsuit answers questions of fact. What
was the cause? Who was responsible for
that cause?
Dr. O’Hara is a professor in the College of Business Administration’s Finance, Banking, and Law Department.
These questions of fact are decided by a
jury of your peers. Not the government. Not
the corporations. The People make those
decisions. Are the proponents of “tort
reform” telling a half-truth when they do
not stress that tort reform necessarily
involves a massive loss of liberty via a
massive transfer of power from The
People to the government? Why would
somebody who buys lobbyists by the ton
fail to mention that?
“Tort reform” proponents favor the market
system. These proponents virulently
oppose government price controls on the
things they sell. Is it half-truth hypocrisy
for “tort reform” proponents to demand
government-enforced price controls on the
inputs they purchase, i.e., putting a cap on
liability? Doublespeak.
To them, “a jury of your peers” is just a
bunch of fools who are not to be trusted
with finding facts — like how much pain and
suffering you experienced when I cut off
your arm.
Forewarned is forearmed. An open mind is
the best defense against the doublespeak
of “tort reform” proponents. The originators
of this doublespeak are morally culpable.
They hire Madison Avenue suits to thwart
your ability to express thoughts.
Please, speak carefully and purposefully.
Avoid their buzzwords. Sure, you may at
first be at a loss for words. But that’s good.
Because when you feel that empty vocabulary you also will feel their oppression, and
you will be better able to resist it and hang
onto your liberty.
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JUST FOR YOU
How to
Hire a
Lawyer
A panel of four
alumni attorneys
advises how
to select the
right representation
— pro bono
By Scott Stewart
Most everyone loves a good lawyer
joke — including lawyers. But how does a
person in need of representation avoid
hiring a joke of a lawyer?
Doing just that can have costly ramifications — legal and financial.
Omaha lawyer J. William Gallup, for instance, recalls a foreign doctor he once
defended after that doctor already had
pleaded guilty with another attorney’s
representation. The original lawyer didn’t
even bother to examine the discovery
(evidence) of the case, Gallup recalls, yet
collected a fee.
“This lawyer got $75,000 and all he did
was walk her over to the courthouse and
plead her guilty,” Gallup says. “He didn’t
do a thing.
“She hired us to withdraw her plea.”
Because so much can hinge on the outcome
of a court case, hiring a lawyer can be a
daunting task. To help — just for you — a
panel of four UNO alumni with more than
150 years of collective legal experience
provides some basic guidelines for hiring
a lawyer. The panel’s advice boils down to
four simple rules: assess the situation, do
your homework, check references and be
sure you’re comfortable with your decision.
Assess the situation
The first question to ask is whether you
even need a lawyer. Many people choose
to represent themselves for simple, routine
legal action — especially those looking to
The
Panel
Lou Anne Rinn (’77) is the associate
general counsel for Union Pacific. She
received her law degree from Columbia
University. She specializes in economic
and commercial litigation. She also
is legal counsel for the UNO Alumni
Association Board of Directors.
J. William Gallup
(’57; ’61) is a
criminal defense
attorney who also
has practiced as
a city and federal
prosecutor. He
received bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in education from UNO and earned his J.D.
from Creighton University.
cut costs because of the recession (see sidebar). However, anytime your rights or freedom are on the line, the panel recommends
hiring an educated, experienced attorney to
do the work.
“The smart thing to do is avoid it [selfrepresent] if you can,” Gallup says. “Once
you get to the point of litigate, it’s time to get
lawyers involved.”
Do your homework
As with any major decision, take time to
research your options. Gallup recommends
what he says is the “definitive guide” for
finding a lawyer — Steven Naifeh’s annual
publication “The Best Lawyers in America.”
Another resource is the peer rating service
provided by Martindale-Hubbell. Mike Jones
(’66) a partner in Ellick, Jones, Buelt, Blazek
& Longo, advises to choose lawyers who
receive Martindale-Hubbell’s trademarked
“AV Preeminent” rating. Also, pay close attention to whether fees are reasonable and
responses are timely, Jones says.
Check references
Reputation is critical in the legal community. The best way to start finding a lawyer
is to talk to people who have hired lawyers.
“One of the first things I would suggest you
do is ask your friends who may have had
problems,” says Thomas Hagel (’72), a professor of law at the University of Dayton.
Even lawyers do the same.
Hagel says he hired a divorce lawyer he knew
personally for years. Lou Anne Rinn (’77),
Mike Jones (’66)
is a partner in
Ellick, Jones,
Buelt, Blazek
& Longo. He
received his J.D.
from Creighton.
His primary areas of expertise are estate
planning, probate, corporate law and
taxation. He is a former president of the
UNO Alumni Association Board of Directors.
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
JUST FOR YOU
associate general counsel for Union Pacific,
asked colleagues for input when she hired
divorce and estate planning lawyers.
Adds Jones: “Omaha is not so big of a town.
We mostly do know the other lawyers.”
Be sure you’re comfortable
Hiring a lawyer is similar to hiring other
professionals or technicians, Jones says.
Make sure you will be happy with their
services.
“I’d go in and talk to them, just like you’d
talk to a doctor or a plumber,” Jones says.
“A lot of it is whether you like each other
and understand each other.”
You need to trust your lawyer to handle issues that have a significant impact on your
life, Rinn says. It’s important they provide
practical, disinterested advice — even if it’s
not something you want to hear.
“You need to have somebody who — while
they identify with you and they’re loyal to
your interests — can tell you when you, in
fact, have unreasonable expectations,”
Rinn says.
Yes, there will be bad apples, as Gallup’s
story illustrates. Yet, says Hagel, no other
profession in the United States offers clients as much protection against unethical
practices.
Finding the right lawyer, though, is up to
you — with pro bono help from Gallup,
Jones, Hagel & Rinn.
A down
economy has legal
self-representation
on the rise.
Those who do
should tread
carefully, though,
say experts
Pro Se:
Going it
Alone
Appearing “pro se” (“for yourself”) may sound
intimidating. More and more people, however,
appear to be going it alone based on a primary
consideration — money.
Statistics aren’t reported in Nebraska, but
a 2009 national survey found three-fifths of
judges saw an increase in self-representation
as a result of the recession.
“I do believe a lot of people end up representing themselves because of a lack of funds,”
Thomas Hagel says.
Also, do-it-yourself kits have proliferated in
recent years and could be driving the pro se
traffic. Mike Jones says using them is a judgment call — they can be useful for actions like
an amicable divorce or a protection order. But,
he says, if the situation is at all complicated,
such kits likely are to have significant errors.
Thomas Hagel (’72)
is a professor of
law at the University
of Dayton in Dayton,
Ohio, where he also
practices law and is
a part-time judge.
He received his J.D. from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and specializes in criminal and civil law. He is the brother of former
Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.
By Scott Stewart
hire other lawyers if they’re involved in a part
of the law of which they know little.
“The law itself is very big, very complicated,”
Rinn says. “And it’s getting more complicated
all the time.”
J. William Gallup says most judges dislike
people representing themselves because they
usually want the judge to be their lawyer, which
usually doesn’t end well.
“The judges don’t like it because they’re nursemaids to people who don’t know what they’re
doing,” Gallup says.
Hagel says it’s particularly foolish to self-represent if you’re facing jail or a loss of liberty.
Hagel says he’s always skeptical about
Anytime you represent yourself, you’re taking a
prefabricated forms. For example, he says a fillbig chance. “More often or not, if there’s a lawyer
in-the-blanks divorce form might not request
on the other side, that person who is representing
a legal name change — forcing you to file a
themselves is going to lose,” Hagel says.
distinct action, and pay extra fees, just to get
Those who do choose to represent themselves
your maiden name back.
have resources to guide them through the
“What appears so simple turns out not to be,”
process. The Nebraska Bar Association, for
Hagel says.
example, offers several brochures in English
Lou Anne Rinn says self-representation can end and Spanish. The Nebraska Supreme Court
up costing more in the long run. And is it real- also offers self-help information, and a legal
istic to expect an understanding of a system for self-help desk is located in the Douglas County
which attorneys train for years? Even lawyers
Law Library.
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BOOKMARKS
59 57 55 53 51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 Head-chopping
threats suggest
that some South
O grit might come
in handy. “Yeah,
New York is a ballsy place, and you need some
moxie to succeed,” Krajicek says.
But that’s old news, he reminds. As police bureau
chief during the crack wars that led to a half
dozen murders a day, he wrote in his first book, “I
had grown cynical, abandoning the idealism that
drew me to journalism.”
So he left the newspaper in 1990 to teach at
Columbia University, where he’d earned a master’s degree, regained perspective and wrote that
book, Scooped! Media Miss Real Story on Crime
while Chasing Sex, Sleaze and Celebrities. Now
he’s a freelancer, living in the Catskills next to the
Little Delaware River, where he’s fly-fishing when
he’s not writing or playing gigs as front man, vocalist and trombonist for Blues Maneuver.
And he’s author of a new book, Murder American
Style: 50 Unforgettable True Stories about Love
Gone Wrong. It’s drawn from the Justice Story
columns he’s written twice a month for more than
a decade in the Daily News. His “moral fables” of
arrogant, ignorant but entertaining crimes seem
Photo: Jill Ribich, Catskill Images.
27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
Book American Swastika, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.,
176 pages.
Synopsis Explains the difference between movements such as the
KKK, Aryan Nation, Skinheads and others. Also discusses ways
White Supremacists cultivate, maintain and spread their beliefs,
largely under the radar of most Americans. The authors draw on more
than a decade of research and interviews, from the infamous Hayden
Lake Aryan compound in northern Idaho to private homes in LA
to hate music concerts around the country. American Swastika was
named the CHOICE magazine Outstanding Academic Title of 2010.
“The book’s subject is an important one that I hope more people read
and learn about,” says Simi.
Burly and bearded, he looks the part of a roughand-tumble guy from South Omaha who flipped
burgers in his father’s tavern as a 12-year-old
at St. Peter and Paul grade school, then tended
bar while earning a journalism degree at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 1979, classmates who knew him as a Gateway editor weren’t
surprised when they learned that he covered the
cop shop for the New York Daily News.
My populist blue-collar credentials are
impeccable. I come from a long line of
bartenders and meat-packers.
29 AuthorS PETE SIMI, associate professor in the School of Criminology
and Criminal Justice, and ROBERT FUTRELL, sociology professor at
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Dave Krajicek’s first book criticized media portrayal of crime and the way politicians
respond. But he didn’t want readers thinking he’d
left police reporting to become “a snooty elitist.”
In an article about the incident, Krajicek quoted
that dialect and tagged Junior a “Baby Mobster.”
A handwritten complaint from Mrs. Gotti ignored
that label, but insisted that her honors-graduate
son spoke perfect English.
31 BOOKMARKS
Crime Journalism American Style
That’s where the son of mobster John Gotti pulled up
to Krajicek’s car and warned, “I’m gonna start choppin’ off heads,” if the reporter didn’t quit “comin’
round here bodderin’ my mudder and brudder.”
33 nicely summed up in the “overdue epiphany” of
an aging wife murderer. He finally realized, “You
know, you don’t have to resort to murder.”
A book tour last fall brought Krajicek back to
Omaha for reunions with former colleagues from
the Omaha World-Herald. There, he described
himself as “miscast” as a copy editor until the
police reporter called in sick and night boss Carl
Keith asked him if he could find police headquarters. His byline appeared on three crime stories
the next day.
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campus copies
alumni authors
By now, he’s appeared on Court TV, NBC’s
“Today” and elsewhere as a police-reporting expert whose bylines have topped stories in many
publications.
The new murder book displays the storytelling
that drew him to journalism after starting at UNO
as a business major. But the earlier book found
him thinking more about the consequences of
what he calls “cotton candy crime stories.”
Why should we care? They leave less room for
“legitimate news about justice — sky-high prison
budgets … wrongful convictions … high-tech
gadgets to track citizens,” he says. And they
obscure what he sees as the failures of the “lock
’em up” mentality.
He led the way in fighting those trends when he
co-founded Criminal Justice Journalists and coedits Crime and Justice News to continue focusing
on problems in crime reporting.
The current state of coverage?
“The focus on silly celebrity crime stories has
gone volcanic since I wrote Scooped!”
— Warren Francke
AuthorS HUGH REILLY,
Author SHERRY WRIGHT,
Associate professor of communication and class of 1978 and 1997, and
KEVIN WARNEKE, class of 1994
Class of 1981
Book Father Flanagan of Boys Town:
A Man of Vision, BT Press, 196 pages.
Synopsis Father Flanagan was
ahead of his time. But how did he get
there? Reilly and Warneke recount
how a young Irish shepherd came
to America and spent his life
advocating for troubled youngsters,
no matter race or creed. Thousands
of troubled youngsters came to
Boys Town looking for a home
and left as young men, ready to
contribute to society.
Book Somethin’s in My Water,
iUniverse Publishing, 104
pages.
Synopsis Poetry has been
used as an outlet to express
the inner affections of the
hearts of those in love.
Wright’s poems delve into
relationships, but not just the
romantic. Many of her works
have a variety of meanings,
leaving it to the reader to
interpret each as they choose.
Author LINDA STRNAD
JENSEN,
Class of 1962, MS 1971
Book The Bow Wow Chronicles,
CreateSpace, 268 pages.
Synopsis “The Lucky Few”
is used to describe those born
between 1929 and 1945. Is it
true? Find out in this graduate’s
memoir about growing up
with three rough-and-tumble
brothers in Omaha in the
’40s and ’50s. Provides an
entertaining walk down
memory lane for many, good
historical references for others.
author APRIL L. WHITTEN,
Class of 1994, MA 1997
Book Are We There Yet,
Trailslady Enterprises,
110 pages.
Synopsis In commemoration
of the 150th anniversary of the
California Gold Rush, Whitten
traveled with a wagon train.
The adventure changed her
life. Are We There Yet? conveys
to “children-of-all-ages” what
a journey could have meant
to pioneers, as well as some
lessons learned along the way.
— Megan Schmitz
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 55 53 SIGHTS & SOUNDS
51 49 47 45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
SIGHTS
Operation Holiday Cheer
Scenes on and off campus
UNO’s Detachment 470 Cadets and members
of the UNO Alumni AFROTC chapter were
hard at work Dec. 13 — distributing holiday
cheer. The cadets were at Offutt Air Force base
serving several hundred desserts to enlisted
personnel who live in the dormitories. The
UNO contingent also picked up plates, collected table cloths, stacked chairs and put
away tables.
October
Maverick Motorcade
Homecoming began early Oct. 2 with a parade
through Elmwood Park. Participants then
wound through UNO’s campus, ending up at the
Fieldhouse, where the UNO Alumni Association
provided free lunch to more than 900 UNO
alumni and friends. The UNO football team won
for the 14th time in the last 15 homecoming
games, whipping Emporia State 42-17.
Photos: Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations
8 Photos: Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations
6 November
Salute to Veterans
UNO graduate, veteran and former U.S. Senator
Chuck Hagel was the keynote speaker at UNO’s
Veterans Day Commemoration Nov. 11 in the
College of Public Affairs and Community Service
(CPACS) building. Also on hand was the UNO Air
Force ROTC Color Guard and various UNO military and veteran faculty and student speakers. On the menu:
Service-Learning
With a helping hand from UNO’s ServiceLearning Academy, culinary students at
Omaha’s Blackburn Alternative Program served
Wednesday lunches to senior citizens at Adams
Park Community Center. Students like Keith
Manning and Marteace Mayfield (pictured serving a Thanksgiving meal) also educate those
who attend on nutrition and dietary needs.
December
Caps & Gowns
Photos: Tim Fitzgerald, University Relations
4 More than 950 students received degrees during
UNO’s winter commencement ceremony Dec. 17
at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Kayla Childress
from Pierce, Neb., presented the student commencement address. UNO has issued more than
95,000 degrees since its start in 1908.
Heard on and off campus
SOUNDS
Peer review
Graffiti-be-gone
Those who work with youth have a direct
hand in their treatment and preventative
care. But their peers — more specifically,
their circle of friends — have a lot of
influence. We were surprised by the
evidence. It shows just how important
friends really are to teenagers.”
It’s important to have pride in where
you come from. So by cleaning up
graffiti, we’re trying to help other people
be proud of South Omaha or where they
come from, too.”
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Professor Melissa Tibbits speaking in
December at “Preventing Alcohol Use
and Abuse in Adolescents,” a colloquium
sponsored by UNO’s College of Public Affairs and
Community Service. Reported in Dec. 7 UNO Gateway.
From Korea to the Cubs
In the next two or three
years, I think there will be
some South Korean major
leaguers. They may or may
not be regulars, but they will
make the big league team.
And afterward, we could
have even more.”
Former Mav
baseball player
Sung Min-kyu
(’07), a South
Korean minor league coach for the
Chicago Cubs who works with seven
South Korean players in the Cubs
system. Reported Jan. 6 by Yonhap
News Agency.
Gabriel Gutierrez, president of the
Association of Latino American
Students, which received the
Community Service Outreach Reach
Out Program of the Year from the UNO Student
Organizations and Leadership Programs. Among ALAS
efforts was its annual Graffiti Abatement in South
Omaha. Reported in Dec. 7 UNO Gateway.
Atrophy and assets
The financial crisis led a lot of
advisors to say, ‘I really need
to re-strengthen my marketing
muscles.’ They had allowed
them to atrophy. Now, because
they aren’t bringing in enough
assets from referrals to make
up for the loss from the
recession, they have to get out
and market again.”
Kirk Hulett, 1994 UNO
graduate and senior
vice president of
strategy and practice
management for Omaha-based Securities
America Financial Corp. Reported in
January Research & Research.
First step in long journey
We have a long ways to
go. We’re not ahead of this
thing, but we are making
headway. We’re not doing
this just for something to do.
We’ve got an issue and we
need to deal with it.”
Mike Fleming,
co-chairman of T4C
(Time for Change),
formed to limit gang
activity and involvement throughout
Platte County. T4C is a partnership
among UNO’s School of Criminology
and Criminal Justice, local and
state law enforcement, schools and
community members. Reported in
Dec. 9 Columbus Telegram.
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 CLASS
NOT E S
CLASS NOTES
Send your classnotes to www.unoalumni.org/classnotes
Get your class note online — keep your fellow graduates
up to date with a posting on the UNO Alumni Association
Facebook site at www.facebook.com/UNOAlumni
55
JOHN E. MOTZKUS (BA)
and NANCY
CHRISTIANSEN
(BA 1959) celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary in April
2010. They met in Dr. Stanley Trickett’s
English history class in 1958, and
were married in 1960.
nmotzkus@yahoo.com
57
CAROLEE DISNEY
ROBERTS has published
her first novel, The (Former)
Predator and the Widow Next
Door: A Season’s Fantasy. Roberts grew
up in Omaha, graduated from Central
High School and attended the University
of Washington, where she earned her
degree in education and history. While
raising three children, the author
enjoyed a long career as a school
librarian. She lives in Iowa.
69
ALFRED E. POPE, Ph.D.
(BGS) was a proud member
of the Pen and Sword Society
during his time at UNO. Six
months after graduation, he was
assigned to the war in Vietnam. After
spending several years traveling the
world, Pope retired from the Air Force in
1974. He went on to receive a master’s
degree in education administration,
joined General Dynamics Corporation
and worked as the manager of
engineering personnel support/
industrial relations. While with General
Dynamics he received his second
master’s degree and a Ph.D. from
Claremont University in California. In
1992, he retired from General Dynamics,
moved to Florida and developed and
taught a graduate course for the
University of South Florida’s Executive
MBA program, “How to Do Business
with the Government.” Pope is still busy
at age 82, gardening, swimming, biking,
exercising at the YMCA and watching
beautiful sunsets while strolling on the
beach with his wife of 57 years. Pope
says he, “enjoys reading alumni
biographies and is very impressed with
the new buildings that have been built
on campus since his graduation from
UNO. Wishing all my former classmates
the very best and proud of my education
and time spent at UNO.”
71
LINDA PLACZEK (BS, MS
1975) is serving as president
of the Nebraska State
Reading Association for
2010-11. She is also serving as
lieutenant governor for Kiwanis Division
20 in the Metro area. Placzek says, “It’s
impossible to keep a good woman
down.” laplaczek@cox.net
professor in 1979
and served as
department chair
from 1984 to 1995.
He also served as
vice president for
research and dean
of graduate
education at the
University of South Dakota, and was a
fellow on the South Dakota Board of
Regents in 2003-04. Engstrom grew up
in Nebraska and earned his bachelor’s
degree in chemistry from UNO.
78
PATRICIA MAZZUCCA
(BS) worked as a probation
officer for six years in
northern New Jersey after
earning her criminal justice degree from
UNO. In 1984 she earned a master’s
degree in social work, and was a school
social worker in New Jersey for 24 years.
Mazzucca now is retired from that field
of work but is going into business as a
New York City tour guide.
82
BRUCE RAMGE (MBA)
was recently appointed by
Gov. Heinemann as the
Director of the Nebraska
Department of Insurance (DOI). Ramge
has more than 25 years of service with
DOI, starting in 1984 with the
department’s Insurance Market Conduct
J. PATRICK ANDERSON
Division as a market conduct examiner.
(BA) retired as vice president In 1999, he became chief of market
of corporate affairs from
regulation. He spent nine years in the
Stryker Corporation on Sept. role until his appointment as deputy
1. He now is volunteering as the
director in early 2008.
executive vice president of Area 2 for
DIANNE HARROP (BA,
the Boy Scouts of America. Anderson
MS 1995) has worked as both
and his wife, Cynthia, live in Portage,
a scientist and practitioner,
Mich., and would enjoy connecting with
most recently employed in
other UNO grads in that area.
public health with the State of Nebraska
2patanderson@gmail.com
as substance abuse prevention
DAVID C. OGDEN (BS;
manager. She also enjoys teaching
MA 1990) co-edited Fame to various social science courses at a
Infamy: Race, Sport, and the
community college. dlhg0104@aol.com
Fall from Grace published by
SHARIF Z. LIWARU (BA)
the University Press of Mississippi.
was honored as one of the
Ogden is a UNO associate professor of
Omaha Jaycee’s 78th Annual
communication and resides in Pacific
Ten Outstanding Young
Junction, Iowa.
Omahans (TOYO) this year for his
ROYCE ENGSTROM (BS)
extensive work as the School
was named the next
Engagement and Attendance Incentive
president of the University of Program coordinator through UNO and
Montana by the Montana
Building Bright Futures, as well as his
Board of Regents. He began teaching in many leadership roles in the Omaha
the University of South Dakota’s
community. The Jaycees honor 10 men
chemistry department as an assistant
and women each year who have a strong
72
90
74
98
75
devotion to their community and to
personal and professional development.
Liwaru graduated from UNO with a
degree in black studies.
99
JOCELYN NICKERSON
(BGS, MPA 2001) once had
ideas of flying high as a
commercial pilot, according
to an article by the Lincoln Journal Star.
Now, Nebraska’s first state director of
the Humane Society of the United States
gets an uplifting feeling from rescuing
Pomeranian dogs. She got her UNO
undergraduate degree in aviation and
her master’s in public administration,
with a concentration in aviation.
Nickerson was born in Germany to Air
Force parents and moved with them
later to Bellevue.
ANDREA PEREZ (BS) was one of
the educators selected to participate
in this year’s LiftOff 2010 Summer
Institute. 2010 marks the 21st
consecutive year that teachers from
around the country increase their
knowledge of space education through
the program. The workshops provide
teachers the opportunity to spend
a week working with professional
scientists and engineers.
aperez@johnsoncity.txed.net
55 53 51 49 47 Community College in Bloomington,
where she just directed “The Arabian
Nights,” a play by Nebraska-native Mary
Zimmerman.
TRACI HARRISON (BA) is the
director of recruiting at Northwestern
Mutual in Omaha. She has the
opportunity to give back to the
university and recruit energetic
and entrepreneurial students into
Northwestern Mutual’s Top 10
Internship Program. “I am fortunate
to have built wonderful relationships
with past and current professors and
employees at UNO, and continue to work
closely with many classes and clubs
each semester in finding top talent on
campus,” Harrison says.
traci.harrison@nmfn.com
01
LIAM CUNNINGHAM
(MS) graduated from UNO
with a master’s degree in
Urban Studies. Cunningham
belongs to the Northern California
Appraisal Institute Chapter, and was
awarded the George and Alberta Stauss
Scholarship on Nov. 17 to help members
obtain their Member Appraisal Institute
(MAI) designation. Cunningham also is
president of the appraisal firm LNM
Equity Associates.
PAUL R. COATE (BA; MA
2007) is a professional
singer/actor. In January 2011
he made his debut with the
world-famous
Minnesota
Orchestra, singing
the role of
Monostatos in
Mozart’s opera, “The
Magic Flute.” Before
moving to Minnesota
in 2008, Coate
worked for nine years
as a radio announcer and manager at
UNO’s Classical 90.7 KVNO and
performed for many years with Opera
Omaha, the Omaha Symphony and the
Nebraska Shakespeare Festival. He has
performed for many theatres in the Twin
Cities, most recently in Theatre Latte
Da’s production of “Evita” at the
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
in St. Paul, Minn. Coate lives in
Bloomington, Minn., with wife,
KATHLEEN BAGBY COATE (MA 1999),
and their two children, Gena (8) and T.J.
(3). Kathleen is an instructor in the
theatre program at Normandale
43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
CLASS NOTES
liamcunningham07@att.net
00
45 04
CARLA J. O’DONNELLRIZZO (BS; MS 2008) was
a recipient of the Omaha
Jaycee’s 78th Annual Ten
Outstanding Young Omahans this year
for her services as the program
manager for Camp Fire USA Midlands
Council, Inc. She also writes grants and
represents the organization at
community events. O’Donnell-Rizzo
earned her degree in psychology and her
master’s degree in social work.
DAVID KROLL (MBA) is a
project manager for Cargill
Flavor Systems and is
residing in Ohio with wife,
Angie, and family. He and Angie also
assist a friend who’s starting a
business to manufacture board game
cases. Learn more about it at www.
beginnerbusinesswoman.info.
06
dkroll5555@gmail.com
WILLIAM SCOTT (BA) recently
moved his graphic design studio, Scott
Creative, to an office space at 256 N.
115th St. With this new office space
he intends to better serve the needs
of his growing list of small businesses
that call on Scott Creative for the
high-caliber print and web-based
design for which his studio is known.
scottcreativedesign@gmail.com
07
BETH RILEY (BGS)
received the Omaha Jaycee’s
78th Annual Ten Outstanding
Young Omahans Award for
her work as the legacy giving
coordinator at the Child Saving
Institute. She has extensive experience
and dedication to the Junior League of
Omaha, holding positions on their board
of directors and numerous committees.
The annual award is given to men and
women between the ages of 21 and 40
who exude commitment to their
communities. Riley received her
bachelor’s degree in nonprofit
administration at UNO, and is
completing her last year of graduate
school at the University of Minnesota.
AARON CROFT (BS) is a
business process consultant
for CareerBuilder, LLC, a
global leader in human
capital solutions. He works with
organizations at the enterprise level,
filling specialty and high turnover
positions, devising social media and
marketing strategies, and driving
revenue. Croft recently won Rookie of
the Quarter at CareerBuilder. He has
lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., since February
2010. aaron.croft@careerbuilder.com
08
MARIELLA MEDURA (BSG) is
working with Dr. Beth Ritter and other
graduate students on The Fred LeRoy
Collaborative Life History Project.
Medura is awaiting approval to present
her paper at the Society for Applied
Anthropology Conference March 2011.
mmedura@unomaha.edu
AARON ROUSE (MBA) is
working full-time for the
Hastings College Foundation,
based in Omaha. Rouse is
the assistant director of alumni
development.
10
in memoriam
1963 Col. Robert P.
Walker
1966 Raymond E. Cross
1968Raymond Knight
Carter, Jr.
1974 Vicki Kaspar
1982 Michael Joseph
Delaney
2001 Joe Rewolinski
2007 Jonathan Guinn
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
59 57 CLASS NOTES
PAXTON DANGER LEESLEY,
son of Devon and Christy (Barrett,
’01) Leesley of Omaha.
AALIYAH VAISHALI TAYLOR ,
daughter of Nina and Trevor (’08)
Taylor of Glen Burnie, Md.
AUTUMN ELIZABETH PRUNTY, JORDYN LINDA SCHULTE,
daughter of Veleka (Lindner, ’03)
and Ryan (’05) Prunty of Omaha.
ANDREW DAVID MEYER , son of
future ALUM
Submit a birth announcement (within
1 year of birth) and we’ll send you a
certificate and an Ador-A-Bull T-shirt.
Include baby’s name, date of birth,
parents’or grandparents’ names
and graduation year(s).
Mail to UNO Magazine, 67th & Dodge
Streets, Omaha, NE 68182-0010
or online at
www.unoalumni/futurealums
Phillip and Nicole (Hernandez, 98)
Meyer of Omaha and grandson of
Ricardo Hernandez (’98) of Omaha.
daughter of Pam (Kuder, ’07) and
Curt (’94) Schlte of Council Bluffs,
Iowa.
BLAYKE LAUREN REEVES,
daughter of Stephanie (Lewis,
’03) and Joshua (’04) Reeves of
Papillion, Neb.
HARPER ANNELEIGH
KASSUBE, daughter of Lesley and
ALEXANDER JOHN VONDRA ,
son of Paul and Shannon (Van
Emmerik, ’03) of Bennington, Neb.
NOOR ELATTA , son of Khalid and
Sally (’99) Elatta of Omaha.
SARAH MARIE JUNKER ,
KASEY PARKER WILLIAMS,
son of Matthew Hartman and Kaitlyn
Williams (UNO student) of Omaha
and grandson of Joleen Williams
(’01) of Omaha.
SAMUEL WILLIAM RIKLI, son of
daughter of Allison and Wade (’01)
Junker of Omaha.
ELIZABETH ANNE BENSON,
daughter of Jennifer (Patten, ’04)
and Tim (’08) Benson of Omaha.
51 49 1938
1948
Class Year:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
E-mail:
News:
2008
ADAM WEISS (BS) is excited to have his first completed “signature piece” outside UNO’s new business
college, Mammel Hall. The 12-foot-tall sand hills crane
was completed two years after graduating UNO with
his teaching degree. Adam likes traveling the world and
drawing inspiration from nature. From carving marble
in Italy to backpacking the black forest of Germany, he
brings back hidden treasures that Mother Nature has
to offer. Using these experiences, he combines age-old
techniques with modern processes to form one-of-akind inspirational art.
37 35 33 1955
car slams into a hayrack during a Phi Sigma
Phi fraternity hayride near Hummel Park. OU
senior Freddie Freelin is killed and six others
are injured.
1927 OU students face Northwestern
1928 OU students present “The Color
University in a debate on Prohibition. OU
students took the “dry” position.
Line,” a religious play depicting race
prejudice in America.
1928 OU football player Gilbert Edwards
dies and three other players are injured
when their car is struck by a truck from the
Bee-Hive grocery store.
DONOVINNE MICHAEL
ABRAHAM, son of Brandy and
NEVAEH ELISE MILLERWILLIS, daughter of Lennard Miller
1934 A burglar attempting to open a safe
Philip (’07) Abraham of Omaha.
and Sara Willis (’04) of Lincoln, Neb.
What have you been doing since graduating from UNO? Your fellow
alumni would like to know! We welcome personal and professional updates
and photographs for Class Notes. Send your news to Class Notes Editor,
UNO Magazine, 67th & Dodge Streets, Omaha, NE 68182-0010; fax to (402)
554-3787; submit online at www.unoalumni.org/classnote
May we post your
email address in the
next UNO Magazine?
YesNo
31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5
1969
1947 A teenage drunk driver in a speeding
daughter of Richard and Tabitha
(’08) Hightower of Omaha.
Phone:
39 with the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, speaks on
lynchings and race.
of Alicia and Joel (’00) Wilks of
Sherwood, Ore.
Degree:
41 1924 Robert Bagnall, branch director
AVERY RAYNE HIGHTOWER ,
Last name while a student:
43 Over the years
ACE BRADLEY WILKS, son
Name:
45 RETROSPECT
in the OU bursar’s office shoots at OU night
watchman Sam Cornett (he was uninjured).
1938 Night students help Omaha
CLASS
NOTES
47 John (’06) Kassube of Omaha.
of Kari Keller-Lancaster (’04) of
Omaha.
Amy and Andy (’07) Rikli of Omaha.
53 AIDEN GREGORY ELLIOTT, son
of Andrea and Andrew (’08) Elliott
of Omaha.
HENRY WILLIAM STREET,
son of Amy Street (’09) of Council
Bluffs, Iowa.
BRYSON LEE LANCASTER , son
55 firemen put out a fire in the janitor’s room
of Joslyn Hall.
1938 Students use branches from
Hummel Park to help put out a fire at a
campus bus stop.
UNO’s campus has been no stranger to
matters of crime, safety and justice for all.
Following are notable instances on the UNO
campus over the years.
1948 Card playing on campus is prohibited by
the president’s office upon recommendation of
the student council and the faculty committee
on student activities.
1955 OU starts National Safety Week with
“Stay Alive in 1955” slogan
1955 Parking meters — 300 of them — debut on campus.
1955 OU student Carolyn Nevins is
murdered on campus while waiting for a bus
to take her home.
1969 Students stage a sit-in in the
Conyers threatens the safety of AfricanAmerican students attending the Aug. 16
commencement. Commencement is held
without incident.
1980 A state patrolman shoots UNO
student James Powell to death after a highspeed chase.
1983 Firozeh Dehghanpour, a UNO student
2004 The “My Doom e-mail virus” hits
from Iran, is found in Council bluffs, stabbed
to death.
campus, though ITS-installed anti-virus
software limits damage.
1987 A student senator threatens another
student senator with toy pistol during a
student senate meeting.
2008 A student notifies the university
of graffiti in an Arts and Sciences Hall
bathroom that threatens a Valentine’s Day
bomb. No such bomb was found.
1997 An anonymous letter left with
Black Studies Department Chair James
chancellor’s office to protest racism against
black students.
1976 Campus Security reports that a
moneybag containing $53,342 in checks and
cash was “lost or stolen.” It last was seen in
a Fieldhouse file drawer, where the cashiering
department operated during registration week.
To discover more UNO history, visit the Gateway Collection, an
online database of all Gateway student newspapers from 1922 to
the present at http://library.unomaha.edu/research/gateway.php
A look at notable individuals connected
to crime, safety and justice who’ve
visited UNO’s campus.
THEY WERE HERE
Thurman Arnold
Feb. 1, 1942
Arnold, assistant U.S. attorney general, was
introduced by the Gateway newspaper as the
federal government’s “No. 1 trustbuster” prior to
his two days of speeches for the Baxter Memorial
lecture series. He spoke on “Free Enterprise During
the War and After.” (photo 1)
Clay Shaw
Jan. 11, 1949
Shaw, later the only person prosecuted in
connection with the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy (he was found not guilty), spoke
See more than 3,700 university archive
photos on UNO Criss Library’s photostream,
www.flickr.com/photos/unocrisslibrary
1
2
3
at Omaha University’s World Trade Institute. Shaw at the
time of his OU visit was manager of the International Trade
Mart of New Orleans. He was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones
in Oliver Stone’s “JFK.”
Byron “Whizzer” White
Nov. 26, 1957
Then a Denver attorney, Byron “Whizzer” White spoke at
the Omaha University football banquet, a natural tie given
that he was an All-American halfback for the University of
Colorado in 1937 and later played in the NFL. Eventually, he
was appointed a Supreme Court Justice. (2)
Bobby Seale
Nov. 16, 1973
Black Panther Party leader Bobby Seale addressed more
than 800 UNO students, telling them that, “Those who think
they can drop out of the system should try dropping out of
the universe.” (3)
4
Frank Abnagnale
Sept. 5, 1978
A noted con man portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in
“Catch Me If You Can,” Abnagnale spoke in the Peony
Park Ballroom at a seminar hosted by the UNO Nebraska
Business Development Center. His presentation, “You
Catch a Thief,” was aimed at educating business people
in the detection of “hot” checks, forgeries, counterfeit
money and the tactics of con artists. “The man with the
pen steals 10 times what the man with the gun
even dreams of stealing,” Abagnale told the audience.
John Dean
March 7, 1975
Among the central Watergate figures, Dean spoke
at the Civic Auditorium on behalf of UNO’s Student
Programming Organization. “I want to share my bad
judgments and mistakes with the public,” he told
the audience. (4)
Thurman Arnold, Byron White, John Dean photos from U.S. Government
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58
FOR FUN
You know what a degree from the University of Nebraska can do. Now imagine
the possibilities with an advanced degree. Earn yours online at NUonline.com.
Visual
Test your brainpower with these puzzles created by UNO graduate
Terry Stickels (’76). An author, speaker and puzzle maker, Stickels’
FRAME GAMES is published by USA Weekend magazine and in 600
newspapers. For more information on Stickels, or to order any of his
books, visit www.terrystickels.com
If fitted together, the two
sections on top would make
what larger shape below?
Puzzles taken from The Big Brain Puzzle Book created by Terry Stickels
for the Alzheimer’s Association.
A
B
C
D
Logic
One of five brothers ate a plate of cookies his mother had made for a
party. All the brothers denied eating the cookies, but each made two
statements about who did eat the cookies. In each case, one of the
statements was true, one was false. After their mom heard the boys’
statements, she knew immediately who the culprit was.
Puzzles taken from
The Big Brain Puzzle Book,
created by Terry Stickels for
the Alzheimer’s Association
Who was the guilty brother?
Bart:It wasn’t Bruno
Boone:It was Brit.
It was Bret.
It was Bret.
Bret: It wasn’t Brit.
Bruno:It was Boone.
It wasn’t Bruno.
It wasn’t Bart.
Brit:It was Bruno.
It wasn’t Bart.
StickElers
Visual: Figure C.
Now look at Boone’s statements: “It was Brit. It was Bret.” We already know it
wasn’t Bret, so Boone’s second statement is false — making his first statement
true.” Brit is the culprit.
Mathematics
Logic: Brit ate the cookies. Look at Bart’s statements. Let’s say his statement “It was Bret”
is true. That means his statement, “It wasn’t Bruno” is false. That means it was both Bret
and Bruno — a contradiction that cannot be true. This means neither Bret nor Bruno
at the cookies.
Mathematics: Turn both over at the same time. When the three-minute time is done, you have two
minutes left in the five-minute timer. Start to mark your seven minute period from here. The instant
the two minutes run out, flip the five minute timer over again to start another five minutes to add
onto the two minutes for a total of seven minutes.
You have a five-minute timer and a three-minute timer.
They are both of the hourglass variety where sand
filtering from one chamber to another marks the
time. How would you accurately mark the passing
of seven minutes?
Connect to
your potential.
Answers
The Thompson Center at UNO
• Beautiful décor and design with a country club
atmosphere.
• Delicious fare and outstanding service from
Brandeis Catering.
• Landscaped grounds with a canopy of trees
forming an “outdoor cathedral.”
• Professional event staff to make your wedding
day remembered forever.
• Special spaces to meet every wedding need.
Something New Productions
Just Good Photos
Bradley Jensen Photography
Omaha’s most unique setting for outdoor weddings, elegant receptions and memories to last a lifetime
• Affordable rates (discounts available).
The Thompson Center
• Centrally located free parking and easy to find.
67th & Dodge • 554-3368
For more information or to make a reservation, contact:
www.thethompsoncenter.org
Thompson Center Director Gina Ray at (402) 554-3368 or gray@unoalumni.org
UNO Programs Include:
Political Science
Creative Writing
Library Science
Urban Studies
Information Assurance
Non-Profit Management
Public Administration
Information Technology
And More
®
inside
24
Getting Personal
34
The Wrong Prescription
40
Identity theft is on the rise — so is the fear of being a victim
The upsurge of prescription
drug abuse among youth
CSI : UNO
A UNO professor helps bring a
would-be cop killer to justice
www.unoalumni.org/unomag
vol. 2, no. 1
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