6A
Tuesdav. February 21. 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Art exhibition shows struggles and experiences
By Brian Vandervillet Kansan staff writer
Photographer Gordon Parks uses his artwork as a weapon against intolerance and discrimination.
In 1942, Parks photographed an African-American cleaning woman who had struggled all her life after her mother died, and her father was killed by a lynch mob.
The resulting portrait, "American Gothic," is one of 27 collected photographs, etchings, lithographs and acrylic paintings on display in the Spencer Museum of Art through March 19.
The exhibit of African-American works in the museum's permanent collection celebrates the 25th anniversary of African-American studies at the University of Kansas and Black History Month.
"All the works are interesting because they don't show any one particular point of view," said Andrea Norris, director of the museum. "Each are exciting and engaging in their own way."
One example of the exhibit's variety is the work of Faith Ringgold, who used quilts to tell narratives of her experiences in Harlem, which is in New York City. The quilt on display in the museum, titled "Flag Story Quilt," uses words and brightly colored dyes to tell the story of a quadriplegic Vietnam veteran wrongly accused of the rape and murder of a white woman.
Most of the works by African Americans were obtained within the past five years, Norris said. When she arrived as director in 1988, there were five works by four African-American artists. Now, there are 27 works by 14 artists.
But Norris would like to see more.
"A lot of people have been active in promoting African-American artwork," she said. "People are recognizing work that is good, which had been ignored in the past on the basis of race or gender."
Sally Hayden, the museum's public relations director, said the museum would expand its collection with works from a wide range of artists.
"Our focus is on broadening the collection altogether," she said. "Not just African Americans, but artwork done by other minorities as well."
By Virginia Marghelm
Kansan staff writer
English professors get chance for input
Faculty hold symposium
Michael Johnson, chairman of the English department, hopes he can get his colleagues to shut off their email and open their ears today.
From 8:30 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union, the department will sponsor a symposium called "A Day in the Life of the English Department."
Johnson said the symposium would give faculty a chance to find out what their colleagues have been writing. Often, faculty members
become so absorbed in their classes and in communicating with faculty at other universities through e-mail that they don't know what colleagues right across the hall are doing, he said.
But students and faculty from other departments also should see what the department is up to.
"Often, the public doesn't understand what we do when we're not teaching," said Iris Smith, assistant professor of English.
Johnson said the symposium was Smith's idea. Many people in the department present papers at conferences throughout the year, but their KU colleagues are not there, Johnson said. The symposium will give the department the chance to share its material locally.
Johnson said that the competition to present papers was not rigorous because the idea was to find people who were excited about their writing and wanted to share it.
Karen Hellekson, Waconia, Minn., graduate teaching assistant, will be one of the speakers for the symposium. Her presentation, "Poul Anderson, Science Fiction and the Alternate History," is a condensed version of a chapter of her dissertation. Hellekson said it was a good idea to present panelers publicly.
"It's kind of nice to see what people are doing," she said.
The first paper, "F. D. Maurice, Macmillan's Magazine, and Women's Issues of the 1860s" by George Worth, professor of English, will be presented at 8:30 a.m.
Languages becoming extinct
Loss of tradition to blame for decline
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
Almost half of the world's 6,000 languages may become extinct in the next century, linguistic experts say.
And many Native-American languages are at the top of the list, said Robert Rankin, professor of linguistics.
Experts at a Saturday conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Atlanta said satellite television, cellular phones and the Internet were contributing to the extinction of many languages as more people communicated in English.
But other factors are contributing to the high extinction rate of Native American languages.
Rankin, who has studied languages stemming from the Dakota Sioux since 1972, said that government policies discouraging the use of native languages and the desire to leave reservations have forced many languages into extinction or near-extinction.
"Any language we lose,we also
losesome
understanding of man."
Giulia Oliverio graduate teaching assistant
"In many instances, the older generations have not passed on the native language to the younger generation," he said. "A lot of the time, they felt that it was to their kids' advantage to learn English, so they refused to teach them the native languages."
After World War II, when many Native Americans left reservations to work in cities, they stopped speaking their languages. Rankin said.
Now, in many tribes, only the oldest members know the languages, and it is difficult for them to pass it on to younger generations, he said. When the old tribe members die, the language dies with them.
In the 1970s, Rankin did research in communities where only a few of the older members still spoke their native language. Since then, those members have died.
Giulia Oliverio, a graduate teaching assistant who teaches a Native American languages class, said the loss of these languages damaged more than just Native American cultural history.
"It is a very sad and strange feeling to know that of all the people in the universe, I am the one who knows the most about those languages," he said. "And I do not know enough to really teach them to anyone."
Oliverio said Native Americans and linguists were not the only ones who should be involved in making sure these languages do not become extinct.
"People who are involved with anthropology and public administration should get involved in trying to save these languages," she said.
Money is needed for research, teachers and language labs to teach people native tongues.
"Language is a reflection of the way we think," she said. "Any language we lose, we also lose some understanding of man."
State senate proposes more education funds Bill increases per-pupil aid for first time in three years
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — The Senate Education Committee has added more money to school finance than the amount recommended by Gov. Bill Graves.
The committee is expected later today to send the measure to the Senate for debate.
The committee yesterday added $28.3 million to Graves' recommendation for spending on public schools. Those actions came while House Republicans took for ways to remove $100 million from Graves' proposed budget.
"This is a very, very modest request when you look at the need," said Sen. Tim Emert, R-Independence, a former member of the State Board of Education.
"I think we're neglecting the most important part of the government, and we've doing it for three years," he said.
The legislature has not increased the per-pupil aid to schools for three years, since the present school finance law was passed in 1992.
The amended bill would increase basic state aid to public elementary, junior high and high schools from $3,600 per student to $3,700 per student.
Graves has proposed an increase of $30 per pupil, to $3,630. His plan would increase spending on general state aid by $16.2 million.
The bill in committee would increase the amount of money the state gives to schools by another $28.3 million, creating an increase of $44.5 million above what present law provides.
Sen. Barbara Lawrence, R-Wichita, said voters already objected to the amount of money the state spends on schools.
"I don't know that even $30 will fly," added Sen. Nancey Harrington, R-Clearwater.
But supporters of the increase contend that schools need the money to meet the additional demands being placed upon them.
Sen. Christine Downey, D-Newton, an elementary school teacher, said that the state's policy for the past three years had been akin to a city taking a truck away from the fire department and telling it to put out more fires more efficiently.
"Schools can't continue to do the jobs we're asking them to do without more money," Downey said.
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