WIXLIB

101 0Daub's criticism unwelcomeMayor Daub is perhaps the most observed individual in the city. Hisopinions on issues and decisions for the city are intently covered by thepress and watched by the citizens of Omaha. As in the case of most publicofficials, Daub has a responsibility to be discrete in his words, understanding that what he says in public will be listened to no matter how meaningless. Mayor Daub has been in office for only 2 112 months, and in thattime he has made regretful decisions in the way of public speaking. Wellpublicized comments DilUb made regarding the gambling practices of aneighboring state were clearly inappropriate, but what is just as troublingis Daub' s attention to and misplaced comments about issues concerningpublic education and area school systems.On Tuesday, March 7, Omaha Public Schools and many other areaschools closed due to weather conditions. According to the Omaha WorldHerald, OPS Superintendent Norbert Schuerman based his decision to keepthe schools closed on the city's street maintenance crew's prediction thatonly 30 percent of the streets would be cleared by 7 a.m. Tuesday morningMayor Daub said he felt that the streets were, in his words, "open andpassable."The Omaha city charter states, "the Mayor shall be responsible for theproper exercise of his executive and administrative powers." Please notethe word "proper." Publicly voicing his opinions about whether or not heagrees with the superintendents' decision to close schools is not the properexercise of thc mayor's powers. Actually, in this circumstance, it is aninappropriate use of influence. The mayor has no control over the decisions of the city school system nor should he feel inclined to comment onthem . These powers are designated to the superintendent of schools. Thesuperintendent answers to the School Board as well as every parent in hisdistrict. He should not have to defend his decisions to the mayor. Issuesof educational importance should not be the subject matter of politicalfocus. The superintendent is elected by the School Board so as to avoidthe influence of politics in the school system. Clearly, the mayor shouldnot publicly criticize the decisions of school superintendents, nor shouldhe feel his opinions in these matters are of public importance.During a press conference on Wednesday, March IS, the mayor revealed aspects of his new law enforcement strategy. Included in his planis the possibility of using police patrol dogs to visit area schools and checklockers for illegal substances. As reported by Omaha World Herald writers, Daub said he had discussed the idea with area school superintendentsand felt that they looked favorably on the idea. However, when questioned, the superintendents from OPS, Ralston and District 66 said theyhad not talked to the mayor about the searching dogs proposal. Dr.Schuerman said he could not form an opinion on the ideaof drug-sniffingdogs because the Mayor did not discuss the idea with him.Forty-three thousand five hundred seventy-seven students in 77 schoolsare under Dr. Schuerman's authority, and the Mayor failed to discuss withhim an idea, which could have great significance on issues under thesuperintendent's control, before announcing the idea to the public. If theMayor feels that area schools figure in his law enforcement strategy, it isonly logical that he communicates his ideas to the individuals who wouldknow if the ideas would work, the superintendents.In the future, Daub should remember that our education is not open forpolitical interference. If Mayor Daub wants to make a positive impact onthe education in Omaha, he will communicate directly with the superintendents and not thoughtlessly make his opinions know through the press.Fundi g hanges,a hungry mistake.Congress Is.trymg hard to cut unnecessary costs and excessive spendmg. The American people expect the government to cut spending anddownsize but not at the expense of children and their well-being. A planpresented by Congress to give states control of three federally-funded nutrition programs puts children at ri sk.The creator's of the proposed legi slation estimate that their plan willsave 6.7 billion over the next five years by cutting administrative costs.They plan to do this by giving individual states control of a system ofgrants that provide funding for school lunches, daycare nutrition programsand Women, Infants, Children (WTC). WIC is a program that providessupplements for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five .The Federal School Lunch Program began with the National SchoolLunch Act passed in 1946. The Federal School Lunch Program enables14 milli on children to eat nutriti onal lunches at free or reduced prices. InNebraska a total o f 62.6 18 children eat lunch free and 24. 160 children paya reduced pri ce. Thc total. cost of the Fcderal School Lunch Program toU.S. tax payers IS 4.5 hili Ion a ycar. Schoo l districts th at rc ly heavil y on the subsidies for lunc h programswill be espec iall y hurt by thi s legislati on. Conni e Stefkovi c, administratorat utrit on . er:ices e xpressed concerns abour a decrease in programavailability If thiS legi slation IS passed because some di stricts will not beable to pay more for the same program . As availability decreases, theamount of children that go hun gry will increase.Curre ntly in Nebras ka, every school meal receives a .35 subsidy . Ifthe proposed leg islati on IS passed then all school meal prices will increaseby at least .35 . If a student pays 1 .35 a day or 6.57 a week for lunchnow, then under the new legislation. that student can expect to pay at least 1.70 a day or 8.50 a wee k. Over the course of the school year that is a 70 Increase. H wever . most families have more than one school-agedchild . For some famil ies on a res tricted budget a 70 increase is diffi cultbut possible, howeve r an increase well over 100 is may not be possibl e.Continued on Page 3.,.'.',L 1 1tl8("ByStender0.1'This issue: The cost of summer schoolAs you may recall, no funds were allocated for remedialsummer school at the secondary level when the budget forthe 1994-95 school year was adopted last August. The OmahaSchool Board is justified in its decision last year to increasethe cost of secondary remedial summer school to 75 acourse. I applaud the School Board's decision and see itonly fit.Public education gives every student the opportunity tolearn and to be challenged to the fullest. The student's education is paid for by tax-paying citizens. In return, thesestudents help fund education for the next generation of students, and the cycle perpetually revolves.If a student chooses not to take advantage of the educational opportunity presented to him, why should tax-payershave to pay for his second, third or possibly fourth chance atit? The tax-payers did not let the opportunity pass them byand, rightfully, should not have to pay it.Opponents of the School Board's decision have no rightto complain. The School Board is simply cutting off freemoney for free loaders who can, but do not attempt to pass.No budgetary reductions were made at the elementary levelor for secondary students enrolled in ESL or special education classes.In fact, students taking summer school should be thanking the School Board for keeping the cost of classes so low.Finally, I find it rather ironic that these students won'tthink twice about spending 75 at the mall, but they'll complain when they have to pay that much for an education thatthey could have had for "free."Vol. 108I am against the 75 fee per class former school. It is ridiculous to assume thatery student who needs to attend summercan afford the fee. Not to mention , thein the city of Omaha pay enough money forcation through taxes.There are students out there who needmer school to graduate the foll owi ngSome of these kids come from householdscan't afford the expense of summer school.School Board is being unfair to theseStudents in this situation can't takeof the opportunity of summer school.opportunity is a sad thing to lose, and theBoard is ensuring it.Taxes are another reason that therebe a fee. People pay taxes year-round. not'during the school year. They shouldn' tpay even more for summer school. Thereother ways the School Board can p3), former school. The city could use the m(lneycigarette or alcohol taxes to pay forschool expenses. If they can't do thaI.has got to be another way to reducc theIf students cannot afford the hi gh fccmer school, where are students going 10make up classes? If they can ' t completelythe fee out, they could reduce the fee 10 anfordable rate.eglster

A Loon A'I' (;J N'I'ltAl:S I'nou)) IIIS'I'onY '1'1IItOlJfm I'AS'I' ImnolUAI.S19?5-.Sp ngfun foiled by semester finalsNow I ,t he time for all good students to hit the books. Yes, fin als are just aro und thecornker and It s lime for every student to settle back an d begin to re view the semester 'swor.f00 I'In g ourse lves by say in g that, "It's too late to., ' . " We all know. that we . a re Juststudy. Even the bnghtest minds need refreshin g.J sthow to g about studyin g for final s is a great puzzler. What should be reviewed '!What IS mportant ? These are Just a few of the ljuestion s students arc as kin g.that Begll1 by co llectlllg all yo ur class notes, stud y guides, and exam in ations. Make sureyou h ve yo ur. textbook, also. Read all of your notes very carefu ll y. Study yo ur pasttes.ts and take special not ce of all errors so that you won ' t make the same mi stakes aga in .Scan your t ex t boo , glVll1g cxtra attention to all words and phrases in bold face type.These are the most Important items.Aft r you have studied .all of these items carefull y, yo u have probabl y done about all I , n 111 the way of studYll1 g. Be certain to get a good ni ght 's sleep the night before the19 9-Centralc; llsfor recycling programsOm aha and many other cilies throughout the United States are making a co mme nd able effort to recycle. Central should join the effort.The c ity h a made a pl an with a company which wi ll sort the city's tras h and recycle.It. Surely th.e c ity would pick up recyclable materi als from sc hoo ls if they wou ld pi ck uprecyclables from homes.Schools have an ab undant suppl y of recyc lable materials . Consideri ng all the paperused and pop cans emptied by studen ts and teachers, Central's contribution wou ld be alarge one. egi n in g a recyc lin g project wou ld not be d ifficult if groups such as the Stu dent Counc il , Nati onal Honor Society or any other clubs we re willin g to spend some tim eorgamzll1g.Recycling alleviates two problem s: where to put tras h, and more lon g- term , how topreserve r sourses. The city offic ials who are researchi ng recycling and actually in stitut I.ng recyclll1 g program s deserve recog niti on and support. Cent ral should do it s best tofollow the city 's lead.""Vou won't be able todo anything else."It is the policy of this newspaper not toprint unsigned letters.Editor,As yo u know, it is difficult for the marketing teachers to discuss "our side of the story"to student privacy issues. We weren ' t prepared to discuss the issue with the pressyour reporter approached us for information. In response, I have prepared a brieflew of the situation.The first issue is the violation of school policy. The second issue is the penalties issued.dstu? nts ade the decision in the first is's ue, and it is the administrators who will makeCC lslons 111 the second issue. These seem to be the facts!In my opinion, a third issue exists; students that take risks by knowingly violating schoolICICS, but not qeing concerned about it until they GET CAUGHT! Then the students, appeal, lie and never admit, "hey, I did violate the policy and now I must serve theuence." It seems to always be someone else's fault that the student made a badGctti n.g caught is an issue. It could have been students on a foreign language hay rackP ss ll1g a bottle of booze around and . getting caught. It could have been students. tendll1g a football or basketball game under the influence of drugs or alcohol, beinghed and . getting caught, It could have bee n a group of athletes celebratin g withand alcoho l after a game and .getting caught. Have the above-mentioned vio latio nsned at some time?-not until someone GETS CAUGHT! Only when someone getsht and other students see how the situ atio n is handled wi ll we know whether or not theIS wo rth GETTING CAUGHT! Not everyo ne gets caught speeding on the hi ghway,, no ner or later it will be you. Is it worth the risk? I hope the consequences of suchtlons will deter students from violating policies that were written to protect students.Vicki Wiles, marketing instructorunding changes, a hungry mistakeJrompage2Hunger and its dangers cannot always be seen from the outside. Studies have provenand time again that hungry children do not do as well in school as their class mates who. adequate nutrition. For example, Tufts University School of Nutrition reported thatI come elementary school students who participate in school breakfast programs showIcant improvements in their school work. School officials have noted over the yearsckchildren who do not eat breakfast or' receive the proper nutrition often tire quickly, get. eaSily and have trouble concentrating. A decrease' in the availability of free or reducedSc hool lunch programs and other nutrition services will cause an increase in malnourchildren who are not capable of succeeding because they are hungry.In a perfect world there would be. no hunger. Every individual would have adequatetntlo n. We do not live in a perfect world . Hunger exists and is a reality for many children . lunch programs, daycare nutrition programs and WIC help children get a good start inWith proper nutrition . The efforts Congress is taking to cut unnecessary and excess iveng is admi rable. However, the proposed legislation wi ll hurt children who depend onprograms to keep them healthy.T here's an issue that's been bothering me for a while now. Everybody talksabout it, but no one actually stands up anddenounces it, but that's what I'm here for,right? That issue is school po litics.People deny that hi gh school is immi nently political, but those people are usually adults. How can we te ll hi gh school hasthe inner workings comparable to any bureaucracy ? Quite simpl y, look aro und you." If you join us, thi s is all you' ll havetime for all year." How many times haveyou heard that? Myself, I've heard it twice,and to be blunt, it just isn't so .Teachers seem to treat stude nts likecommodities, hoarding them for their ownlife. They believe that their cause is the onlycause and that they shou ldn ' t be forced toshare you .Have your parents carried on as muchas mine have, about the things they did whenthey were in high school ? Truth be told , allour parents were involved in a lot more activities than many of us will ever be, simplybecause teachers will not work together.Let's talk cooperation . Is it that hard fordepartments to get along? Wo uldn ' t it bewise for the departme nt to ask for aid fromany other departments of the school? Canyo u im ag in e how much be tt e r se tbackround s wou ld look when do ne hy ac-tua l arti sts who have ta ken art cl asses'?Couldn't the sc ience, hi story and Engli sh departments coordinate so that all term papersare not due within a week of each other?Shouldn't we avoid giant fi eld trips and midterms falling close to each other? But no,teachers are becoming like little children,refusing to share their new toys .Every department is guilty of thi s tosome extent. Athletics fall s into the sameproblem. One student told me that they weretold "You have no life except for us ." Theyonly want you to participate in their event,nothing else.Does thi s bother any of you the way itbothers me? What happened to "getting a fulland enriching high sc hool experience"?What happened to " taking advantage of allthe opportunities presented to you as a student" ?The sad rea lity is/ th at hi gh school isturn ing into another red -tape theme park ,where you have to stand in line for threehours to get one good ri de, and if somethi nggoes wrong with the ride, yo u're out of luck .Many oflhcse peopl e claim it is becausestudents don't have time 10 do more than o nethin g. My first poin t is that if ou r parentscould do it, why can' t we'? My second pointis that if teachers would coordinate the ir efforts, students would have more than enoughtime for almost anything they wanted to ,sports, journalism, theater, art, debate, etc.So where does that leave you, the student? With two options, neither of them veryenjoyable. Your first choice is to not participate in anything at all, an option that leavesyou out in the dark and not very well off.The second one is what I'd recommend andthe option I took myself, do every thing thatyou want to and take the abuse.Sooner or later, teachers are going to reali ze thaI we as students are not goi ng tostand for thi s treatment anymore. I encourage all of you to enjoy as many opportuni ties as you can and to get around doing on lyone thin g, despite what teachers tell you .Remember, this is yo ur youth, not theirs.

ops in shops' to stop illegal purchase of alcohoo ffi c ers willBy Sarah Danberg.-------------------," WARNINGI Unde r 2i? Ifyo u' re too yo un g to bu y, don' t eve ntry," reads the message on hundred sof posters, sti ckers and buttons being passed aro und the communityrece ntl y. Perhaps yo u have evensee n some at Central. T hi s is theslogan fo r a new campaig n des ignedto stop the illegal purchase of alcohol by minors.T he program, called "Cops inShops," is sponsored by StampedeOmaha: A Century Counc il Coali tio n.The Century Counc il is a national, non-pro lit organi zati on de'iig ned to reduce the number o fdrunk drivers and under-age alcohol consumers. It is supported bymore than 800 brewers, vintners,distillers and wholesalers. The program is also in cooperati on with theOm aha Po lice Departme nt , Nebras ka State Patrol and vari ous retailers.Starting April 13, undercoverp ose as e m pl o yeesinstores that sellalcohol." T h.e s eCop or not?: The new "Cops inShops" program will have police officersposing as employees.places will begrocery stores,co n ve ni e ntmarts, stop andgo places," Mr.Jay Fisher, coo rd i na to r o fSt a mped eOmaha, said .Mr. Fishers aid th at thi spr og ram ,which was esta bli s hed In1991 , is similar.to o ther s uchprograms, "butwith a re-emphasis to tacklethe problem."" The bigthing we want to do IS create adeterrant." he said . If a minor· isc a ug h t. Mr. FIsher also said thatwIll be two offi cers at eachone behind theeus ing aIn 1985, Nebraskafake 1.0.ato neraised its drinkings u c htargeted in a mght.age fronl 18 to 21store, theThe stores will bepolice ofbecause of govern- dom ly picked. "Thefice r willers ha vc hec n verynlent incentives.notify theportiv e . They'remin o r 'slVlost states folhappy to be a partp a r e nt ,Mr. Fisher said. HelowedNebraskainand eitherm ention ed tha tarrest o r1987.stickers and buttonscite th a tbe passed around theminor.munityandwill also heNebraska law reads that minorsstores.atte mpting to purc hase alcohol"We know it won't solvewould be fined up to 500 and serveproblem,but we thin k it willup to 90 days in a juvenile detenheconcluded.tion center.Alcohol-related crashesAdults attempting to purchasethenumber one cau se ofalcohol for a minor could face oneamongteens nationall y.year in jailor a 1 ,000 fine . Theorieofthetest cities forthis Iminor they purchased for will alsobe punished.Ole provides real life experienceBy Angela ParksAre you currently ajunior whostill is unsure o f plans for the future ?Om a h a J o b Cl ea ringh o u se[0lC] he lps students who plan notto atte nd college rece ive real-lifework experience within the ir chosen field of interest."The OJC is a cooperati ve effort between Omaha Public School s,Metropo litan Community Collegeand the G reater O maha Chamber ofCo mm e rce,"sa id Mr. B o bMcMee n, Central job counselor."The goal of the program is toreach out to studen ts who do notplan to go to co llege ."Mr. McMeen also sa id the prog ram is exce llent beca use it"teaches the students jo b- see ki ng, kill s. how to write a resume . complete a Jo b appllcallon and mainta inaJob. "T he program expa nded thi syear by foc usin g on a wide di ve rsestude nt popul atio n which incl udesany student who is unsure of futurecareer and educatio nal plans.Ms. Vic ki e Doug las, co unse lin g and educational coordinator fo rOJC , said that the expansion meansa stude nt may part ic ipate even ifthey later do decide to go to college.Ms . Do uglas said OJC li nk sschools and bUSinesses together tocreate "promi sin g fu tures fo r local t udents and businesses wi thin the, 'linm un ity."Some o f the ad va ntage s forbusinesses and students that Ms .Douglas commented on are :*Allows a business to preview a potential employee's performance*Deve lops an indiv idu al 'sloyalty to an organization*Molds a young person to fita company 's needs*Expands a company 's laborpool by recognizing students whoare many times not conside red fo remploymen t*Provides students a chanceto e xperience the wo rkplace ande xplore entry level pos itio ns in acareer of their choice.*Leads to job oppo rtuni t i e or good refere nces for stude nts.W hen stude nts participate inOJC, they participate in a programcall ed "job shadowi ng." Throughthe "jo b shado w ing" ex pe rie ncehigh school students are introducedto companies in which they have apotenti al career interest.T he stude nts experi ence thecompany's wo rk place thro ugh a series of up to fo ur half-days o f jobshadow in g.Stude nts do not ge t paid fo r Job, hadowing, but they do receive asmall amount o f money for attending a full day of seminars on Saturdays. At the seminars students talkand rece ive he lp on their futureplans."Students are fo llowed closely,have one-to-one instruction and encourage ment from OJC staff," Mr.McMeen said .Ms. Douglas said that OJC willstart coming to the area high schoolsand conduct interviews of juniorswho wish to join the program. Thenthe stude nts wIl l have to atte nd aweek of intenSive semmars in the u mmer ;lnd then . during the sc hoolyear, paruu pate In the job-shadowing pr('t: · '·She al so ; lId that OJC wo rkswith grades 4- 1"2 on their futu replans by havin g work sho ps andclasses.:vIr. McMeen said that Ce ntraljoined the program abo ut three yearsago. There are ap proxi mately Eveac ti ve students in the program atCe ntral.Se nior Nichelle M oten is oneof the participants in OJe. She saidthat she j oined the program becauseshe was unsure about attending college. She did some job shadow ingat First National Bank, Bahner College and Rose's Beauty School.Nlchelle IS now plannin g onattendi ng co llege, but she said thatOJC is a good program and that everyo ne should jO in tt eve n if theirplans to attend co llege are defintte.The annual Metropolitan Science and E ngi neeri ng Fair Conference was held S;ltMarch 18 at Benson High School. Se nior Jim Kovarik . j uni or Lindsay Conn . ,lil t! Ire,Rachel Siosburg competed. Ji m Kovarik received honorable mention, and Rachel Sl .rece ived firs t In her diVision and thi rd overall."The annual Greater Ne braska Science and E ngi neering Fair was held Sat. Marcil .'Nebraska City. Rachel and Jim advanced to state competiti on. achel placed lirst In ell' .me ntal science. and Jim placed fo urt h in physics . Rachel 's displ ay was " Water pun l 'Jim 's project was called "The Analysis of the Frequenc y of SoundInBOilin g:ltcrCentral student named JCL president of stateJUnior Charlie Yi n had the honor to be named Nebraska JUnior ClaSSical Lea)!UC' Ide nt. Each candidate presented a speech a nd the schoo ls would cast their vo te . l"!1;lr llt' Iagainst two other candidates, o ne fro m Creighton Prep and one from North Platte. Lplans to bring great ac hievements to Nebraska. He took over the competition by rccCI\"ln Iout o f 12 votes. Charlie has

The Federal School Lunch Program enables 14 million children to eat nutritional lunches at free or reduced prices. In Nebraska a total of 62.618 children eat lunch free and 24. 160 children pay a reduced price. Thc total. cost of the Fcderal School Lunch Program to U.S. tax payers IS 4.5 hili Ion a ycar. . School districts that rcly heavily .