Early University interaction with the community was often incidental, partially because the founding of the university was highly criticized. Newspapers fought for the school to be in Omaha rather than Lancaster County, where the land was more populated and developed, but it ended up in Lincoln anyway. Later, students would step out into the community to live, bathe, and cause problems as they caused riots and robbed graves.

Early University interaction with the community was often incidental, partially because the founding of the university was highly criticized. Newspapers fought for the school to be in Omaha rather than Lancaster County, where the land was more populated and developed, but it ended up in Lincoln anyway. Later, students would step out into the community to live, bathe, and cause problems as they caused riots and robbed graves.

When the voting for whether or not women should be given suffrage arose in 1882, students took literal sides over the debate. After long discussion, a near riot broke out when the "antis started to bury a coffin said to contain the remains of Susan B. Anthony." The rowdiness of the event was satisfactory, though, as the students began to have a sense of college spirit. (The University of Nebraska)

Because most students boarded in town rather than living in the dorms, the state of Lincoln was centerfold in their living conditions. There was no pavement, sewer systems, street railways, or electricity. To bathe, students had to visit the public baths at the nearby barber shop. (Prairie University)

Sometime during the 1880s, a medical college gained roots as local physicians held classes and labs. Acquiring bodies for examination became a scandal, as most were grave-robbed. One night an anonymous artist painted "CASH FOR STIFFS" in eleven-foot letters across the roof of University Hall. After the scandal, the college was terminated. (Prairie University)

The founding of the university did not come without criticism. Rumors spread that some of the money that was supposed to go to the university was going to build government officials' houses. (Manley)