2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1. 2005
What do you THINK
BY HALEY TRAVIS
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Should Minors have to tell their parents before getting an abortion?
"No, I don't think they should. That's a tough one. I don't know."
Meghan Monarez, Wichita sophomore
"I think it depends if they are close to their family or not. It all depends on the situation, exactly how old
you are and what the circumstances are."
Mary Johnson, Eudora junior
"No, because some people's families, for, like, religious reasons, would disapprove and if a girl is raped
then she would have a better excuse than her religion to get her abortion."
Ashley Ahrens, Davenport, Iowa, junior
"Yes. They're still in their parents care, so if they're going to get an abortion they should tell their parents.
Their parents are still taking care of them because they're minors."
Scott McGee, Olathe sophomore
Nursing Ph.D. joins move to Internet
ACADEMICS
BY GABY SOUZA
gsouza@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Online classes and programs are becoming more common at the University of Kansas and the School of Nursing is the latest to act on the trend.
The School of Nursing announced its new online Ph.D. program on Nov. 22. Students will be able to enroll in the program for the Summer 2006 semester.
Online classes are becoming more popular because they give nontraditional students the opportunity to continue or begin their education without being present in a classroom. They also give traditional students the means to take classes if the on-campus classes are full.
The nursing Ph.D. program is aimed specifically at students who can't leave their communities to pursue their education, said Rita Clifford, assistant dean for student affairs for the school. Most of these students have families they cannot leave, or they are in the work force, she said.
Online classes are becoming more popular because they give nontraditional students the opportunity to continue or start their education without being present in a classroom. They also give traditional students the means to take classes if the on-campus classes are full.
But nontraditional students are not the focus of all online programs and classes at the University. The university also markets the classes to traditional students who take all of their classes on campus, said Jim Peters, director of marketing for continuing education. The administration is encouraging professors to include more online components in their classes.
Eventually, all distance learning courses will be available online, he said. The distance learning program provides students across the state and the nation an opportunity to earn credit for classes without being in a classroom. Students in the program complete course work through the mail, and classes include some online components.
"It's the beauty of online classes. Anyone can take them anywhere." Peters said.
MORE INFORMATION
+ Caters to working professionals
+ Students with this degree are able to teach at nursing schools and conduct research
+ Will start in Summer 2006
Source: School of Nursing
The independent study program is one such program in which traditional students can take only online classes. It gives students more options and helps them take classes if they cannot enroll in those same classes taught in classrooms, Peters said.
The provost's office is looking into defining what an online class actually is, said Bob Clark, vice chancellor and dean of the KU Edwards campus, and it is deciding what direction online classes and programs will take.
Right now there are different categories of online classes.
One category is purely online classes, such as the ones that will be taught in the nursing school's Ph.D. program. There is no physical classroom and students turn in homework and participate in discussions online. Partial online classes also exist, which are classes taught one-third online and two-thirds in person, Clark said.
But the University has to be selective when it considers what classes to put online because it doesn't want to compromise the quality of the classes for convenience, Clark said.
For example, the biological sciences are difficult to put online because of the classes that require a lab, Clark said. Social sciences are easier written work and lectures are easier to put online. This is not the first program the nursing school has offered online. It also offers a program that allows registered nurses with an associate's degree to complete their bachelor of science degrees online.
Clifford said at first she was worried that students completing online degrees would feel disconnected from the school and their classmates. But she said she had received positive feedback from students who had gotten to know their classmates pretty well.
But online programs are not for everyone, Clifford said. She said she reminds interested students of what the classes will be like and how different they will be from regular classes. Online classes require more time management and self-motivation and lack the one-on-one contact with teachers that some students find beneficial.
"Hopefully, people will know their own learning styles," she said.
Holiday festivities
Edited by Anne Burgard
Kim Andrews/KANSAN
Eliana Seidner, Woodlawn Elementary School first grader, gets her face painted at the annual holiday party at the Kansas Union on Wednesday. Julie Niggle, Overland Park sophomore, was one of many volunteers who helped with the party, which was sponsored by the Center for Community Outreach and Mentors in the Life of Kids.
Crews cleaning up spilled coal
STATE
WaKEENEY - It could take crews a few days to clean up coal a Union Pacific train spilled when it derailed in western Kansas on Tuesday, a spokesman for the railroad said. Twenty-two of the train's 104 cars jumped the tracks near WaKeeney while heading eastTuesday morning. Neither of the train's two crew members were injured, Union Pacific spokesman Joe Arbona said.
A section of track was replaced, and trains were again traveling on the track Wednesday.
Crews also used equipment that worked like a large vacuum to clean up the coal powder, and Arbona said it could be a few more days before that job was done. Arbona said the railroad did not yet know what caused derailment.
It was the second train derailment in Trego County in a month. Forty cars derailed near Ogallah on Nov. 4.
THE ASSOICATED PRESS
Big racks mean big payoffs for poachers
HUTCHINSON — Deer poachers looking for money or bragging rights are killing thousands of deer illegally across the state, Kansas wildlife officials say.
"It's a big issue," said Sam Allred, a natural resources officer with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. "These people want the big racks they can sell or put on the wall and brag about."
Allred said he believed most poachers were in it for the money, given that the biggest deer racks can sell for thousands of dollars.
The Associated Press
Earlier this month, a rural Clay County man was stabbed after he caught poachers with a deer they had killed on his property. And last spring, a Butler County man who was selling deer racks or exchanging them for guns was prosecuted for poaching after wildlife officials found more than 60 deer racks and 100 turkey beards at his home.
Kansas convicted 91 poachers for trespassing while hunting in 2004. But one study estimates that for the 77,000 deer taken legally in Kansas, poachers kill
almost as many illegally.
"For every 20 we find, there are 100 we probably don't know about," said Mark Rankin, assistant director of law enforcement for the wildlife department.
Poachers find willing buyers at sporting goods stores, who resell the deer racks or put them up in their businesses. Others are sold through word of mouth and other markets, including eBay.
Rankin said the department's ability to fight the problem was hampered by limited funds and staffing. The state has only 63 field officers for its 105 counties.
Wildlife officer Phillip Kirkland, of St. John, said part of the problem was that penalties aren't as stiff as in other states, where poachers could be fined thousands of dollars. And sometimes, county attorneys will dismiss cases or file lesser charges.
"The mindset has been these professional deer criminals are just harmless good ole boys poaching a deer or two over the limit — boys being boys," said Dan Ward, executive director of the Kansas Wildlife Federation. "There isn't an awareness that this is a way for organized crime to come into Kansas."
Tell us your news
Contact Austin Casten,
Jonathan Keeling.
At B Winikaie, Jankie Bobel,
Ty Bewinkaie, Karlin at
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editor@kanan.com.
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