Daily Nebraskan
The university's student newspaper. Operated almost entirely by students and paid for mostly by advertising revenue in addition to student fees. Independent editorially from university administration.
Dairy Store
A part of the Food Industry Complex building and the food science and technology department on East Campus, the Dairy Store makes its own ice cream and cheeses for sale to the public.
Dalbey-Halleck Farm
A 1,140-acre university farm near Virginia (Neb.), used for beef cow-calf management research.
dash
There are two different types of dashes, a long dash (or ‘em’ dash —) and a short (‘en’ dash - ) as well as a hyphen (-). A long dash, sometimes referred by typographers as an ‘em’ dash — is punctuation intended to create an emphatic pause, an abrupt change of thought or an attribution. An en dash is not equal to a hyphen. When using a dash, a space should exist on both sides of the dash. Because dashes and other punctuation marks do not transfer uniformly in e-mail and electronic media, both dashes may need to be avoided. See the punctuation chapter in the AP Stylebook for more guidelines. A double hyphen (--) may be used in electronic media as a substitute for a long dash, and one hyphen will substitute for an en dash.
Never use a long dash when referring to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The use of a hyphen in "the University of Nebraska-Lincoln," instead of an en dash, is acceptable in news releases, newspaper articles and other communication with media. The en dash is lost in electronic transmission, the standard method for communicating with media, while the hyphen transmits well. Most newspapers will not use the en dash.
dateline
Refers to a common newspaper reporting practice where the name of the city where the story is originating appears at the beginning of the news story, typically in all caps:
LINCOLN, Neb. —
Or
Lincoln, Neb. —
(choose a style, upper or lowercase; be consistent)
Many newspapers continue to use the dateline style, as does Associated Press. News release writers may want to consider implementing a dateline-style approach to their news releases, placing a date of release or publication within the dateline so that the date of the story is prominent.
dates
An exception to AP style: Always give the exact date of an event to ensure clarity, especially in news releases. (A year is not necessary unless the intent is to archive, post on the Web or provide historic detail for an event.)
NOT: The event is Monday in the Nebraska Union.
BUT: The event is Sept. 23 in the Nebraska Union.
NOT: Dean Smith explained the technology behind the SAFER road wall during testing Monday at the airport.
BUT: Dean Smith explained the technology behind the SAFER road wall during testing April 24 at the airport.
NOT: Chancellor Perlman will give his State of the University address Sept. 12, 2005.
BUT: Chancellor Perlman, in his State of the University address in September 2005 said ...
As noted in AP Stylebook, abbreviate these months: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., but not: March, April, May, June, July. Do not abbreviate a month without a date.
If writing about a month and a year, do not place a comma after the month.
NOT: September, 2005
BUT: September 2005
Dead Week
Uppercase. The unofficial name for the traditional week before finals during fall and spring semesters when faculty should not give exams. Replaced by the Faculty Senate in 2005 with “15th Week Policy.” In light of the change of name, Dead Week should be referred to as the 15th Week Policy.
dean’s list/ deans’ list
Lowercase in all uses. Listing of students of high achievement distributed each semester.
All colleges are represented in the deans' list.
Individual colleges provide a dean’s list to the overall deans’ list.
Dentistry, College of
The official name of both the college and the building (on East Campus) housing the college. This college is located on the university campus, but it is run by UNMC.
departments/offices
Capitalize the name of all university colleges, departments and offices when using the proper name:
Department of History
College of Architecture
Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts
Department of Human Resources
Landscape Services
Lowercase when using informal names, except those with proper nouns:
history department
educational
psychology department
English department
human resources department
communications department
Bob Andrews majors in Chicano studies. Paul Petrovich is a textiles and clothing major. Smith works for University Communication at Nebraska. Landscape Services takes care of many perennials on campus.
One exception: Some departments are known with their more informal names, such as Academic Affairs, although the formal name is Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Keep Academic Affairs capitalized when used in this way. Same goes for Landscape Services, International Affairs and Graduate Studies. In short, if the shortened version of the name only drops Office of or Department of, then leave the rest of the name capitalized. Academic departments are left lower case.
disabled
The university is committed to an inclusive environment; all individuals, regardless of physical ability, are valued and the university environment should be entirely inclusive.
Follow guidelines in AP Stylebook, but generally:
Do not describe a person as disabled unless it is relevant to the story.
It is better to be specific about the person than to generally say a person is disabled:Bob Smith is hearing impaired; Karen Jones has a speech impairment; Cindy Nelson has cerebral palsy, etc.
Avoid the words handicapped and crippled.
Avoid the term wheelchair-bound – consider wheelchair user.
A good rule of thumb in all cases: Focus on the person, not the disability. Avoid descriptions that connote pity, such as afflicted with or suffers from.
This Web site has additional guidelines: http://www.lsi.ku.edu/lsi/internal/guidelines.html.
Diversity/Equity access
In its broadest sense, “diversity” refers to the benefit gained by including individuals of all backgrounds. the university's Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance provides leadership to the campus community in developing an inclusive and supportive environment, and enhancing diversity.
The university's non-discrimination statement is sometimes referred to as the "affirmative action statement;" in general, it is best to keep the nondiscrimination statement in mind as the basis for fairness and equal access. Communicators are reminded the official Nebraska nondiscrimination statement is required on publications:
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln does not discriminate based on gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran’s status, national or ethnic origin or sexual orientation.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a public university committed to providing a quality education to a diverse student body. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln not to discriminate based on gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran's status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation. This policy is applicable to all University administered programs including educational programs, financial aid, admission policies and employment policies. This policy is enacted in accordance with University of Nebraska Regent's policy and with various federal and state discrimination laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
doctoral/doctorate
Doctorate is a noun; doctoral is the adjective: You may have a doctorate, or a doctoral degree, but not a doctorate degree.
dorms/dormitories
Avoid these terms. Use “residence halls.” See addendum on buildings for specific listings of residence halls.