CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, February 7, 1995
African-American History Month
3A
African-American leaders' influence still felt
Valerie Crow/
KANSAN
Jacob Gordon, associate professor of African and African-American studies, speaks at the panel discussion about the political and social impact of Frederick Doughlass, W. E. B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington. The panel was conducted last night.
Panel discusses diversity of efforts
By Eduardo A. Molina Kansan staff writer
The contributions of three African-American leaders of the past — Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois — were the subject of a discussion last night at the Kansas Union.
A panel of faculty, administrators and community leaders spoke and fielded questions from a racially diverse audience.
Jacob Gordon, associate professor of African and African-American Studies, said that none of the historic leaders liked each other.
"They had different solutions to the problem of African Americans," Gordon said. "Douglas was an abolitionist, Washington an accommodationist and Du Bois a protagonist. But freedom, justice and equality for African Americans inspired them."
Dorothy Penrington, professor of
African and African-American studies, said Booker T. Washington's idea of self-sufficiency had an application for today's African Americans.
"We have to be productive people, more than consumers," she said. "African Americans have to make a contribution to their own communities."
Jonathan Allen, management assistant for the city of Lawrence, said today's society lacked the leadership of the past. But today's political leadership is more local.
"We are not going to have a national leader," he said. "But today, African-American college students are the biggest role models for their communities."
Lisa Blair, executive director for the Lawrence Alliance, an anti-discrimination group, said despite the leaders' differences, their efforts contributed to today's society.
"The three were visionary leaders," Blair said. "They had different backgrounds and different strategies, but their contributions laid down the foundation of the civil rights movement."
Camille Lafture, Topeka sophomore, said that the most inspirational part of the discussion was the idea that students should apply the leadership skills of Douglass, Washington and Du Bois.
"I thought we needed a new Malcolm X or a new Martin Luther King," she said. "But by being in college, young African Americans can do a lot for their communities."
James Kwofie, Accra, Ghana,
junior, said that W. E. B. Du Bois
deserved more respect in the United
States for his efforts to liberate
Africa.
"He worked for the independence of the whole continent with the Pan-African conferences." Kwofe said.
Kwifoie also defended the ideas of Booker T. Washington. He said that Washington's idea of fitting into white people's economic systems were important in the United States as well as in Africa.
"It makes no sense to have the right to vote but not food," he said. "If you don't have the economic resources, it's nothing."
Student Senate lineup changes
Students leave for exchange programs, cite other responsibilities as reason for leaving
By Ian Ritter Kansan staff writer
Last week, five students were chosen to replace student senators who have left Student Senate.
The new senators are: Tyler Garretson, law senator; Ellen Force, liberal arts and sciences senator; Corey Johnson, Nunemaker senator; Dana Centeno, journalism senator; and Julie Harris, off-campus senator.
The students replaced Todd La Sala, Jackie Flanagan, Jason Kaplan, Shannon Newton and Gordon Ho.
LaSala, Flanagan and Kaplan are studying abroad this semester. LaSala is in London; Flanagan is in Costa Rica, and Kaplan is in Israel.
Newton said that her responsibilities to the Daily Kansan forced her leave Senate. Newton is a copy editor for the Kansan.
Ho no longer lives in Kansas.
Senate. She said she would like to improve the college experience for all KU students. She said also that Senate should be progressive as opposed to gun shy on issues.
The new senators said they would like to improve students' relationships with Senate.
Johnson stressed the importance of carefully spending Senate's budget, which is more than $1 million. Johnson said he wanted to make sure that groups receiving
Dorek King chairman of the selections committee
"I want to build some awareness about Student Senate — the way it runs and what it is that Student Senate does," Centeno said.
Force said student communication with Senate needed to be improved.
"I think there's a huge problem on this campus with apathy and lack of communication," she said. "I'd like to make myself available to students."
Harris, who was a senator last year, wants better relations between students and the
money needed it. After reviewing Senate's budget, Johnson said that some groups that received money in the past seemed undeserving.
"Some of them seem kind of difficult to believe," he said. Johnson did not say which groups did not deserve Senate money.
Garretson was not available for comment.
Derek King, chairman of the selections committee, said he was impressed with the quality of the applicants and the new senators. Forty-two applications for the vacant positions were reviewed by the committee last week.
Some of the new senators said that the application process did not take much time because of the high number of applicants.
"The application wasn't very in-depth, so I was kind of wondering why they chose me," Force said.
"There were a lot of really qualified people who didn't get chosen." he said.
Voilá: five chosen to select student senator replacements
By Ian Ritter
Kansan staff writer
Senate committee members who decide on replacement senators are drawn out of a hat.
Derek King, off-campus senator, was the first name drawn out of a hat early last week, thus becoming chairman of the committee. Last week, the committee chose five new student senators to replace senators who have left Student Senate.
The next four names pulled out of the hat by Laura Bellinger, secretary for Student Senate, were Lucy Ridgway, liberal arts and sciences senator, George Wyatt, Interfraternity Council senator, David Turner, fine arts senator, and Juliane Leeland, Nunemaker senator.
Turner found out about the appointment the day before he was to help interview the applicants for the five positions.
"I got a call the night before informing me that I was to do that." he said.
Applications for the five vacant positions were due Jan 24. The committee received 42 applications before the deadline and interviewed 40 people last Wednesday and Thursday.
Two applicants decided not to become senators. Applicants were asked to list Student Senate and other University activities that they had been involved in, areas of experience that would make them a good senator and the reasons for wanting to be a senator.
"The candidates made the decision difficult," Turner said. "Each of us had our own questions to ask."
"They were sort of open-ended questions to impress us with what they had done," King said. The open positions were advertised in the Kansan.
'Legalize marriage' message bewildering
By Eduardo A. Molina
Kansan staff writer
The message, written in chalk on the sidewalk in front of Wescoe Hall, read, "Pastors and priests fail, 50 percent divorce, courts' job now. Legalize Marriage."
The author? No one seems to know. A biblical reference was recently added: Mark 10: 2-12.
in the passage, Jesus counsels against divorce. Mark 10: 9 reads:
"What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
Different students had different reactions to the message.
Caterina Benalcazar, Topeka freshman, said the biblical reference added to the message changed her first impression.
"The first time I read it, I thought it was about
that one person wrote a first message to support homosexual marriage," he said. "The biblical reference might have been written later by a person opposed to homosexual marriage."
Richard Payne, first-year law student, said Green Hall also had been a target of the chalk messages because legal issues were associated with the School of Law.
"The person who wrote it thinks somebody will read it and do something, but many people don't ever
But the messages seem to be coming from two different people, he said.
chalk message in front of Wescoe Hall
homosexuals," she said. "But now I'm confused. I think people have the right to comment on the immorality of society, but I don't think that marriage can solve those problems."
David Zimmerman, president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, said he was not aware of Christian groups who might be writing the messages.
"I am not sure, but it seems to me
different."
notice it," Payne said.
Last semester, Payne said he thought the message was about homosexuals.
"Some friends and I thought that because marriage is already legal, it was about legalizing marriage for gays," he said. "This semester, the handwriting is the same, but the biblical reference makes it
James Laws, San Francisco graduate student, said the person who wrote the message must have a rigid interpretation of the Bible.
"This person thinks that a rigid application of the law of men, inspired by the law of God, can solve societal problems," he said. "I don't think this graffiti has to do with homosexuality. However, it has some implications if you consider that marriage doesn't exclude any sexual orientation."
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