University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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I Women rising in business world [ The statistics showing graduates who got jobs in Nebraska are mis- leading, according to Jackie Ro- senlof, KSC Career Planning and Place- ment director. “Nebraska is a state with its head in the sand. All of the companies here hire at less than the national average”. You have to keep in mind when you see the lower wages for women that women haven’t been in the business field for very long,” Rosenlof said. “Women haven't had the time to ad- vance in a corporation like men.” Rosenlof thinks that there isn't as much harassment on the job toward women as there has been. “Women who use the excuse of ‘I’ll never get ahead anyway, why try’ will never get those upper management jobs,” she said. “Let’s get on with the business of growing and getting ahead,” Rosenlof said. “Women shouldn’t be stagnant be- cause of the excuse that their efforts in the corporation wouldn’t be noticed be- cause of male discrimination.” Rosenlof was one of the speakers at the Women’s Issues Symposium. Her presentation was titled, “Professional Behavior of Women - It’s Effect on Their Careers.” To prepare for this presenta- tion, she interviewed 25 women and asked them if they felt harassed on their jobs. “I didn’t find all the discrimination and harassment we always hear about,” she said. “There were very few women who reported harassment.” Rosenlof also interviewed six men who work for women. The men reported that they were not uncomfortable work- ing for a woman. Rosenlof thinks this shows a “team spirit” among male and female co-workers. “This year’s graduates are going to be the real beginning of a side-by-side working relationship between men and women, she said. “The companies that are moving ahead are the companies who are realiz- ing the assets of hiring women,” Rosen- lof said. “Women are bringing a new concept to business, a personal con- cept, because women are by nature more compassionate and inventive.” Jackie Rosenlof, Director of Career Planning and Placement, believes the figures showing em- ployment in Nebraska are misleading. “I don’t want to be categorized as a feminist,” Rosenlof said. “I want to be looked at like I’m a woman who gets the job done.” | Women’s issues course draws interest. | Some people may feel uncomfort- able having an interest in women’s issues, according to Kate Benzel, co-coordinator of the Women’s Issues Symposium. “That’s because of the traditional conservative attitude many Nebraskans have,” Benzel said. “The people in the Nebraska are very family oriented. For a family farm to survive, there are specific roles each member must fulfill. “These roles are slowly changing and that’s hard for the people who de- pend on these family roles to accept,” Benzel said. Benzel said she hoped the sympo- sium would give people an outlet to voice their interest in women’s issues. “There hasn't been a chance for anyone to express themselves because there hasn’t been much on this issue in this geographical region.” Benzel taught a women’s issues course in a Horizons honorary class last year. “What I liked about teaching this class was that I was able to watch stu- dents develop and get a sense of their personality. Students learned to ex- press themselves regarding the feelings they’ve had about women's oppres- sion,” Benzel said. “I’m amazed at the interest women and men students have on this topic.” Benzel’s interest in women’s issues came from her interest in literature. “Virginia Wolfe, who wrote The Female Artist along with other books, helped me understand the dual role women play. In Wolfe's books, women were defiant to patriarch authority on the inside and submissive on the outside. Wolfe deals vith women in a credible way. She isn’t screaming women’s rights,” she said. “My real interest in women’s issues came when I was finished with my grad- uate work and was at Bowling Green University. It was clear to me that wom- en are not as visible in higher education as men. Women in higher education are not outspoken; they are not the policy makers,” Benzel said. Benzel said she feels the potential for women in higher education is great because women deal well with relation- ships and can compromise more easily. “Women are more sensitive to the effects of policy and can deal with other people effectively,” she said. Benzel and Betty Becker-Theye, dean of Fine Arts and Humanities, came up with the idea for a symposium on women’s issues because there aren’t many activities on this campus which deal with this topic. Benzel said, it is possible that inter- est in this symposium could enable KSC to create a minor in women’s studies. Benzel would like the people to learn, as a result of the symposium, that there are professional women working and to show that people do have an in- terest in women’s issues. 17

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SSUES Growing interest in women’s issues sparks symposium by Paula Geis Issues crucial to understanding A women’s issues symposium held in September was referred to by President William Nester as being crucial to men and women in the under- standing of men’s and women’s roles in America. “Women’s studies have assumed a legitimate role in the universities of the ’70’s and ’80’s” Nester said. “They will provide insights into women’s issues which can only enrich our studies of the human experience. “Women’s studies have everything to do with the humanities of the human experience,” he said. The symposium, “Women’s Work and Women’s Lives: Dialogue of Change,” was coordinated by Betty Becker- Theye, dean of Fine Arts and Humani- ties, and by Kathryn Benzel, English in- structor. Becker-Theye and Benzel said they hoped this gathering would generate a dialogue that would enrich perceptions of sexual equality. The program presented some of the feminist concerns and interests that confront women today. The conference covered topics such as women involved in journalism, the power and progress of women in the workforce, feminism and women’s legal rights, the reinterpretation of American women, and preparing women for car- eers. Other presentations included a slide show and performances by various ar- tists. Becker-Theye and Benzel said they want this mini-symposium to grow to a large women’s issues symposium. “We eventually want to hold women’s issues conferences. This symposium was held so we could get a feel for the interest in the topic of women’s issues.” Kate Benzel, co-coordinator of the symposium, wants people to know that there is a real interest in women’s issues on the campus. 16

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by Mark Bates The Vietnam Conflict — rock ’n roll singers sang about it; college students, public figures and the American public protested it; and politicians debated it. Four men from KSC recall the Vietnam era. • History Professor Michael Share • Lt. Col. Gary Hamilton, com- mander of KSC’s ROTC • Political Science Department Chairman Thomas Magstadt • Political Science Professor Phu Tonthat Curiosity about the Vietnam conflict has arisen at KSC. Thirty-seven stu- dents enrolled in Share’s history course for the fall semester. The course doesn’t go toward credit for the general studies program or a history major. The stu- dents enrolled are genuinely interested in the course, Share said. Share was involved in anti-war or- ganizations including the Student Mobi- lization Committee and Students for Democratic Society during his under- graduate years at Bingington University in N.Y. Many of the activities of student government involved the war. He said these organizations didn’t stop the war but they may have caused public aware- ness which could have led to stopping the war. (C T hings like 'Rambo’ movies misrepresent and create a legend that is bogus in terms of what they are saying. — Share “The role of the anti-war movement has been misunderstood,” he said. “Some claim the anti-war movement had no impact one way or the other, while others felt it had a huge impact on getting us out of Vietnam. I think the truth is somewhere in between.” Al- though Share opposed the war, he plans to teach his course objectively. The publicizing of Vietnam vet- erans, people hearing stories from rela- tives making the war more personal, the Vietnam Vet- erans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the an- niversary cele- bration all con- tribute to the Vietnam curiosi- ty, Share said. Major news magazines have published ar- ticles on the Viet- nam conflict. Books are being Professor Michael Share published on the subject which centers on the question, “What was Vietnam like that would cause people to compare it with the Cen- tral America controversy?” he said. “Parallels drawn to present foreign policy, the fact the war was the first we ever genuinely lost, and the movies about Vietnam have developed an inter- est,” Share said. “Many wanted to ig- nore it after we got out but now people are wanting to know about it.” Share hopes the course will be- come a permanent part of the KSC cur- riculum. The course has been labeled “special topics,” and the history depart- ment is looking to identify students' re- sponse to the course, he said. If the Vietnam course arouses a rea- sonable amount of interest, there’s a good chance it will become a part of the curriculum, Share said. Last year the history department of- fered a mini-course on Vietnam which was successful. Out of that course evolved the ideas for the present Viet- nam course. For three years Share taught a simi- lar course at the University of Wisconsin and Ohio’s Dennison University. Stu- dents at these colleges felt this popular course was the best one they had ever taken in college. He would like to offer the course as a night class. ‘ The next time we offer the course, I may ask for it to be a night class so veterans of Vietnam can be included too,” Share said. “It’s good having vets in the class because they add their own personal experience to it.” Share hopes students will become better informed citizens as a result of the course. “My hope is that they will inquire to what specifically is going on and its implications,” he said. “The United States was drawn into the war step by step and no one knew what was happen- ing until it was too late. “One of the lessons is that we should be more aware of what our gov- ernment is doing. We should be aware of our foreign policy supporting unpopu-