THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904 ad all but the aid he aff-thee get at theoring aid. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN quote "But haven't years. it that midt WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 26. 2005 VOL.116 ISSUE 48 WWW.KANSAN.COM SPEAKER Storm stories Lawyer gives account of hurricane BY MALINDA OSBORNE mosborne@kansan.com KANSH STAFF WRITER Rick Jones is a man with a mission: to tell people about the real stories behind Hurricane Katrina. Jones, a criminal lawyer, is traveling the country to speak about the time he spent volunteering to help refugees in Houston and Dallas in the aftermath of the hurricane. He came Tuesday night to the Multicultural Resource Center to speak about his experience. The Vietnamese Student Association, Black Student Union, Asian-American Student Association and Hispanic American Leadership Organization jointly sponsored "Underrepresented Populations and the Law after Hurricane Katrina." Jones spoke on the detrimental effects caused by government bureaucracy to hurricane victims and the untold story of Asian Americans living along the Gulf Coast. He also emphasized that action, not blame, should be the long-term focus in the aftermath. "There enough blame to go around, but really a lot of situations are not anyone's fault," Jones said. "Right now, we need to focus on solutions." Jones told stories of seeing thousands of people who had nothing to eat and were wearing the same clothes for days. Trucks arrived with supplies but were turned away at the Astrodome because the local government had to approve the donations first. He said if it were not for local churches and community organizations, many would have continued to go without basic necessities. "People were ready to kill each other over food, and the FEMA people were tripping over their own feet," he said. Jones said another problem he noticed was the neglected Asian-American population along the Gulf Coast region, which he estimated at about 35,000 to 40,000. He said language barriers and cultural incompetency among aid organizations plagued this demographic the most in the wake of the storm. Suong Nguyen, Wichita senior and president of VSA, said she thought the speech was educational. "I was surprised to know that there was such a large population but no attention was paid by the media," she said. In addition, Jones said he worried about those who lost their jobs because of the loss of casinos in Biloxi, Miss. SEE SPEAKER ON PAGE 5A Rick Jones discusses under-representation of minorities in the media after Hurricane Katrina Tuesday night at the Multicultural Research Center. Jones is going across the country to give his first-person account of the effects of the storm on the Asian-American community in Biloxi, Miss. Taylor Miller/KANSAN STUDENT SENATE Punished for absences Senators face suspension for not attending meetings BY JOHN JORDAN jfordan@kansan.com KANSAN STAFF WRITER Student Senate suspended three out of 14 senators cited for missing meetings. The suspended senators were Cole Smart, John Connor and Mike Barry, all Colleges of Liberal Arts and Science representatives. Senate granted appeals to the other 11 senators. The suspended senators could appeal again by today, but if they don't, they will be suspended for the remainder of the year and Senate will place ads for replacements on Monday. Jason Boots, chairman of the committee that reviewed the suspended senators, said there has been a closer watch on absences this semester than there had been in the past. The Plano, Texas, senior said this led to the high number of people getting suspensions. Nolan Jones, Pittsburg junior and Senate communications director, said whenever senators missed two meetings with unexcused absences, they had to go before the Student Executive Committee to explain missed meetings. SEE SUSPENSIONS ON PAGE 5A ADMISSIONS Entrance exam to change Focus of GRE will reallocate BY FRANK TANKARD ftankard@kansan.com KANSAN STAFF WRITER The Graduate Record Exam, the graduate school entrance exam akin to the undergraduate SAT and ACT tests, will be overhauled and lengthened to better reflect skills learned in college, as of next October. The GRE General Test, taken by 500,000 people worldwide each year, will be lengthened from two and a half hours to four, and each of its three sections - verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing - will be revamped. Michael Mosser, assistant dean of the Graduate School and international programs, welcomed the change. He said the GRE, in its current form, mainly measured a student's ability to take tests, a common criticism of standardized tests. The new test will do a better job of gauging what students learn in college, he said. "The whole point is to make it more reflective of the real world," he said. The new test will include more reading passages instead of analogies, real-life scenario quantitative questions instead of geometry, and a reduced reliance on memorized materials. Alan Dibos, a Lenexa senior who took the GRE on Saturday, compared the test to the SAT in stressing memorization rather than content-based questions. "When you get to college you work on critical thinking and detailed reasoning problems," Dibos, a physics major, said. "College is supposed to get you to think criti- **Verbal Reasoning:** * Two 40-minute sections instead of one 30-minute section * Wider selection of reading passages * Less dependence on vocabulary Quantitative Reasoning: - Two 40-minute sections instead of one 45-minute section * More real-life scenarios and data interpretation questions * Fewer geometry questions * On-screen, flow-function calculator will be used Analytical Writing: ill be used during test - 15 minutes shorter * More argument and issue section * More file declarations cally, and I don't think that's a main concern on the exam." The Educational Testing Service, which writes and administers the test, is also making changes to how the test is administered because of past cheating. Under the current format, test questions are re-used, giving students the opportunity to memorize questions and pass them along to other students. Source: Educational Testing Service In 2002, students in China, Taiwan and South Korea were caught for cheating on the test. Starting next October, individual versions of the test will be administered on 29 set dates worldwide. The version used on each testing date will not be repeated. At the University, the test is required for many graduate programs. Individual programs determine whether they require the test. — Edited by Kellis Robinett STUDENT HOUSING Renovations continued behind Hashinger Hall yesterday. While the hall has closed for the year, housing employees have created a Home Away from Hash floor in McColum Hall to replicate the ambiance of Hashinger. Taylor Miller/KANSAN Home sweet Hash Residents move Hashinger spirit to McCollum Hall BY LOUIS MORA lmora@kansan.com KANSA STAFF WRITE Julie Bayliff enjoys the performing arts and wanted to be around that environment her freshman year. But with Hashinger Hall closed this year, she decided to find the comfort and environment of Hashinger in McCollum Hall's Home Away From Hash. Home Away From Hash, located on the second and third floors of McCollum, combines former residents from Hashinger with freshmen who enjoy the performing arts to provide an artistic and welcoming atmosphere. "It's a lot more colorful," said Bayliff, Lenexa freshman. "Everyone is so creative." Residents of Home Away From Hash are trying to transplant the atmosphere and traditions from Hashinger into McCollum. The group has carried on with Hashinger traditions such as Open Mic Night, Elevator Music and next week's Hash-O-Ween. Steve Rold, Elk Horn, Iowa, senior, said residents from Hashinger had a strong sense of pride toward the hall. He said that Home Away From Hash provided a rally point for those who wanted to live around the same people. Nick Tevebaugh, Lenexa freshman, lived in Hashinger last semester and wanted to stay around the Hashinger environment. He said there was a difference in community atmosphere, as Home Away from Hash floors' residents kept their doors open. He said residents of Home Away from Hash go to dinner as a group and hang out together, with activities such as grade-school night, when residents colored pictures and ate snacks. Ian McCloud, Newton sopho It' s definitely not Hash, but at least we have some guys from old Hash to keep the traditions." Ian McCloud Newton sophomore more, said he tried to explain to the freshmen of Home Away From Hashinger the atmosphere and traditions at Hashinger Hall, because they can't experience it first-hand until next year. "It's definitely not Hash, but at least we have some guys from old Hash to keep the traditions," he said. He said that what he missed most was the porch outside Hashinger where he and his friends would play music. Campus Lutherans and Episcopals split up After the Episcopal Diocese decided to change its campus ministry approach, the Lutheran Campus Ministry moved to a new location. PAGE 4A More than bonjour While French and Spanish are two of the most popular languages taught on campus, there are other languages. Students enjoy learning the languages of Africa and South America. PAGE 8A SEE HASHINGER ON PAGE 5A 1. Set the record Senior forward Caroline Smith has broken nine KU soccer records including the one set by Hilla Rantala nearly five years ago. But both players have more talent than the statistics show. PAGE 1B Index Comics...4B Classifieds...5B Crossword...4B Horoscopes...4B Opinion...7A Sports...1B All contents, unless stated otherwise © 2005 The University Daly Kansan