Humanities Desk

Senator Justin Wayne filed several amendments to his bill regarding punitive damages, including one which would allow an individual to hold political subdivisions or state agencies liable for the sexual assault of a minor by a public employee. The amendment’s language was taken directly from Senator Steve Halloran’s bill, which did not make it out of the Judiciary Committee.

A proposal to change Nebraska’s presidential vote allocation to a winner-take-all system failed in the Nebraska legislature late Wednesday evening. Nebraska is one of two states that awards its electoral votes to Presidential candidates by Congressional District, with the overall state winner receiving an additional two votes. In 2020, President Joe Biden received one electoral vote from Omaha’s 2nd Congressional District, while Donald Trump received the state’s other four votes.

The amount of students participating in dual enrollment across the state has increased since 2016, according to a new report from the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Educational Reporting System, or NSWERS. In dual enrollment courses, students can earn college credits while still in high school.

A Latino advocacy organization will host a virtual summit on the state of voting. They’ll discuss how the growing Latino population will have a significant impact on this election and those in the future.

The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy made his first-ever visit to Nebraska Tuesday. Murthy visited Lincoln North Star High School and Bryan Medical Center, where he spoke to a crowd of several hundred people about the impact of social media on youth mental health.

In a school district that’s population spans 990 square miles, the school is coming together to create a mural representing their community. It's a 4-foot-by-8-foot mural with the word "Tigers," which is the school's mascot, in the middle of the piece.

The city’s latest proposal would grow the South Haymarket Park to more than 8 acres while nixing a previous proposal for a mixed-use development in the area. The expansion also requires the city to purchase two additional properties near 7th and L Streets, adjacent to the planned park location.

Sens. Michaela Cavanaugh and Julie Slama introduced a resolution to censure Halloran after comments during last week’s debate on a bill regarding obscene materials in schools. While quoting testimony which included a passage from a memoir describing the author’s rape, Halloran inserted the name Senator Cavanaugh after a description of a demand for oral sex.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Dave Murman says his bill would require pornography websites to verify the age of its users to ensure they are 18 or older before showing obscene material. The bill’s critics say that kids can still access pornography by using other encrypted methods like virtual private networks.

The Nebraska Department of Education launched the Teacher Apprenticeship Program to help train teachers with more in-classroom experiences. The state Legislature passed the Teacher Apprenticeship Program last year with $1 million slated for the initiative in the first year. The program is starting with three grow-your-own initiatives that were already in effect.