NEWS
2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2005
TUESDAY top10
BY ESTUARIO DARGIA
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Top 10 Halloween Costumes and Costume Categories
10. Batman Begins
9.Willy Wonka
8.Scooby Doo (Daphne)
7.Plug in Socket
6.Vampires (Gothic Vampire)
5.Wizard of Oz (Wicked Witch, Scare Crow, Dorothy)
4.Disney (Minnie Mouse)
3.Fairy Tale (Alice in Wonderland)
2.Pirates (Pirate's Wench)
1. Super Women Hero costumes (Wonder Woman, Batgirl)
Source:buycostumes.com
ON THE BOULEVARD
DJ spins while district sleeps alone tonight
BY FRANK TANKARD
tankard@kansai.com
KANSAI STAFF WRITER
It's 2 a.m. Monday, and campus is dark, cold and quiet. Most everyone's in bed, except for a few groggy-eyed students studying in the library, and a KJHK DJ, Taylor Ford, playing cuts alone in the lit studio on 11th Street.
"They say people are still listening," the Olathe sophomore said, looking like 3 a.m. with his scruffy beard and messy light brown hair. "I have no idea if they are."
It's the beginning of another Monday for Ford, meaning another night of sacrificed sleep to bring tunes to Lawrence. He's one of student-run radio station 90.7 KJHK's late-night DJs, a role usually delegated to beginners like Ford, who's in his second semester as a DJ.
"Hopefully next year I'll have a show at a more sensible time," he said. "Maybe by then I'll have gathered more clout, I don't know."
Andy Dierks, the station's
general manager and faculty advisor, said there's always someone listening, even during Ford's 2 to 4 a.m. variety music show. Taxi drivers tune in, he said, as well as gas station attendants, students up late and alumni in foreign countries listening on the Internet.
But if they're out there, Ford doesn't usually hear from them. He said he averaged one call from a listener per shift. On some lonely nights, no one calls.
"Last time, I had this drunk guy calling in ..." he said.
Tonight, the phone rings at 2:27. Someone is up, and he requested an electronica song, "Sexy Boy" by Air Ford searches the CD-filled studio but doesn't find it.
Then someone else calls. Lawrence is awake. It's a student in need, who says, "I need you to keep me awake. I've got class at 7:30."
Ford isn't much better off. He has Western Civilization at 8:30. He usually stays up all night on Mondays. Otherwise, he'd sleep all day.
As time passes, he digs
through CDs and plays a strange variety of songs. At one point, he plays a song by R&B singer Al Green followed by "Benjamin" by Burning Star Corps, something that sounds more like silence punctuated by faroff noises than a song.
This is what it's about: playing what you want. There's an attraction in that for Ford. He probably won't have a career as a DJ; he's undecided on his major and doesn't see himself working for a commercial station after he graduates. He simply digs playing music for a college station,
at any time of night.
Frank Tankard/KANSAN
Taylor Ford, Olathe sophomore, invites listeners to call in at 2:45 a.m. Monday during his music show on 90.7 KJHK. Ford works the graveyard shift at the student-run radio station from 2 to 4 a.m. on Mondays.
He receives call number three at 3:11. It's a busy night. It's a gas station attendant who doesn't have a request; he wants to know the phone number of SafeRide for a drunk person at the gas station.
At 3:42, Blake Grossenburg.
Winner, S.D., junior, comes in the door to choose the songs for his 4 to 6 a.m. shift. Ford's night is almost over.
"Two-hour shifts are too short," he said. "Right when I get into the
feeling that I'm playing a vibe or whatever, it'll be time to go."
At 3:56, Ford plays a melancholy song called "Under an Old Umbrella" by Marissa Nadler and puts away the CDs he placed.
Then he walks out into the cold, black night and climbs into his car. As he pulls out of the parking lot, a man in a red Jeep drives by, delivering the morning paper and, perhaps, listening to the radio.
Edited by Theresa Montaño
ENROLLMENT
Web sites move instructor reputations into the digital world
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
TOP OF THE CLASS
Enrollment for the spring semester is fast approaching, and the use of instructor-rating Web sites is one way students choose their courses, but professors have mixed feelings on the sites.
Who knew that physical attractiveness, along with helpfulness and easiness, was an essential part of being a college instructor.
Eva Pottruck, Coral Springs. Fla., sophomore; said she found that her fellow students were helpful when it came to finding the scoop on the University of Kansas' teachers. Going online and viewing their thoughts in various forums was a big factor in her decision in what math class to take.
"I didn't know if I should take 105 or 106," Pottruck said. "I looked on the Internet, and the 106 instructor got amazing
reviews. The class really was good, so I think it was really helpful for me."
Perhaps the most recognized Web site for this purpose is ratemyprofessors.com.
The national site offers students a forum to comment on and rate their instructors on various criteria. They are rated on easiness, helpfulness, clarity, and even "hotness." At the end of the form, students have an opportunity to write a description of what they did or didn't like about the class or the teacher.
Where to find ratings on KU professors:
John Swapceinski, president and founder of the site, said it was helpful for students and was an effective way for them to make sure they are learning in the best possible environment.
"Every semester, thousands of students use the site to help plan their class schedules, and improve the quality of their educations." Swapceinski said in a statement posted on the site. "Ratings grow like wildfire and
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com
♦ KU professors rated: 956
Ratings based on einess, helpfulness, clarity and "hotness." Personal comment space available.
http://www.myspace.com
* Popular site now offers professor reviews in conjunction with ratemyprofessors.com. Can be viewed from a registered user's home page.
http://www.myprofessorsucks.com
KU professors rated: 25
Ratings based on coolness, ease and worth.
Checklist of qualities and a space for personal comment.
http://www.ratingsonline.com
No KU professor ratings.
Users have the ability to post and read ratings. A fee is charged for using the site.
Source: google.com
students really begin to benefit from the information."
A Google search of "professor ratings" revealed several sites that offer students opportunities to read reviews of teachers and make their own opinions heard as well. In addition to ratemyprofessors.com, other sites provide access to reviews of KU professors as well.
Tim Shafet, professor in the school of business, who had received 52 ratings from students in his 200-level accounting class at ratemyprofessors.com, said he didn't have a problem with students using the ratings as long as they took other factors into account when choosing classes.
"The problem would come
if there is no context, such as the level and type of course, for understanding what the ratings mean," he said.
Bias and sample sizes are possible problems. Shaftel said the majority of people who would take the time to do the survey would be dissatisfied or disgruntled students who either didn't like the instructor or the subject. A student who hates math, he said, could write a bad review that would not represent the feelings of a student who loved it. Anonymity could create a comfort zone as well.
Pottruck said she thought sampling size wouldn't create a problem because the people who knew the most about the instructors' abilities were the ones who actually took the class. Some classes are small, and it is not possible to get a large sample base.
myprofessors.com and looked at some of the ratings. She said she didn't think that the site was a useful tool for students who should be looking for the best education possible.
Sandra Zimdars-Swartz, professor in religious studies and humanities and western civilization, said she had visited rate-
"I didn't think the evaluations and comments matched what I know of my colleagues' teaching," she said. "But then I'm a rather old and cranky conservative who isn't into education as a consumer commodity."
Pottruck said the site was important because a bad professor could ruin an otherwise great class and prevent the student from reaching the highest possible level of learning.
Shaftel said he would advise students to talk to their friends who have taken the courses they are thinking of enrolling in. He said they would probably give the best possible advice because they would have common interests and know a person's strengths and weaknesses.
— Edited by Ty Beaver
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