THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2008
CAMPUS
Staff members at McCollum Hall had a scare Thursday night when a resident entered the building carrying what looked like a rifle.
CAMPUS Plastic rifle causes false alarm Thursday at McCollum Hall
A University employee spotted the resident entering the building just before 10 p.m. and notified police, who quickly determined that the student was a member of the ROTC who was moving back into the dorms and that the rifle was actually a plastic parade rifle.
Todd Cohen, director of University Relations, said that resident assistants were ready to go door-to-door notifying students but that the issue was resolved quickly.
"There was no threat," he said, adding that the incident should remind students to be careful of their actions.
Kansan Staff Reports
TRANSPORTATION SafeRide goes green with hybrids
Greener pastures, or at least greener air, have come to the University. SafeRide recently obtained Prius hybrid cars to achieve a cleaner transportation on campus.
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 78
FULL STORY PAGE SA
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PATRIOTS CHARGERS FACE OFF
New England linebacker Junior Seau hopes to continue his team's streak FULL AP STORY PAGE 6B
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SPOTLIGHT
Professor engages students
Craig Martin, professor and chair of ecoloqv and evolutionary bioloqv, displays his 2007 HOPE Award in Haworth Hall on Tuesday. It is the second HOPE Award Martin has received. His first was during the 2002 school year.
Martin showcases unique learning, brings 'performance to education'
BY RUSTIN DODD
dodd@kansan.com
dodd@kansan.com
Craig Martin, professor of biology, doesn't allow video cameras in his classroom. He said it distracts his students. It's not because Martin hasn't had requests to film his lectures. He's had plenty. And if he finally did let someone lag a video camera into his Budig 120 classroom, the camera might capture something that looks more like a rock concert than a biology lecture.
"For professors, this is the only award selected by students, and it's just the senior class," said Ryan Northup, Edmond, Okla., senior and president of the senior advisory board.
Kasey Bowden, Topeka junior, has known Martin since taking his class during her freshman year. In 2006, she was a teacher's assistant in his "Principles of Biology" class.
"There's always somebody that will say, I brought my mom because the lectures are so much fun," Martin said. "I think there has to be an element of performance. Some professors hate that word."
Martin, who has taught at the University of Kansas since 1980, must be doing something right: He's won two HOPE Awards. The award, which stands for Honor for an Outstanding Progressive Educator, is given to one professor each fall after a nomination and interview process. Martin shared the award this year with Edward McBride, lecturer in civil, environmental and architectural engineering.
which has nearly 1,000 students.
"He's so motivational, and he has such a passion and desire for teaching, more than any person I've ever met before," Bowden said. "He helped me get through my first three years of college."
She's seen all of Martin's unique teaching methods, and she's heard the heavy metal music he plays before class.
"I've always been interested in music" Martin said. "Always edgier stuff, real angst ridden."
She's also been witness his daily demos: a practice where Martin pulls an object out of his small green daily demo knapsack and relates it to the lecture.
"The most random things you could imagine," Bowden said.
TEXTBOOK TEACHING
"Whenever I go out to eat, I meet a waiter or waitress who had me in class," he said jokingly.
One of his favorite stories isn't about his teaching methods but about textbooks.
"That's a lot of money for a publisher when you have a class of 1,000," Martin said.
Martin has seen thousands of students come through his classroom.
Martin said one year his class textbook cost $100.
So Martin called a rival textbook publisher and said he would switch to them if they lower their price to $80. Once they agreed, Martin said he called the other publisher back and told them he would stay with them if they would drop their prices. Just like that, Martin continued to negotiate.
"I got the price down to 49 bucks, 49 bucks from 100. It was hilarious," he said. Martin has testified before a national committee on textbook prices. "Concern for students, after all, that's why were here," he said.
CELL PHONES AND BRAIN CELLS
Martin doesn't know how to use a cell phone. He's never had a reason to have one.
"I don't know how to answer this," he said, as he tried to answer a call. "Oh, I think I'm on the Web now."
That changed one day in November. Martin said he went to his "Principles of Biology" class in the morning, just like usual. Later that day, at 5 p.m., Martin sat at his desk and felt something was wrong.
"What's weird is that day I had lectured in my big class about why cells would die when they don't get oxygen," Martin said. "Little did I know, I would be sitting here at about 5 p.m. and a patch of my brain cells didn't get oxygen, and they died."
"I remember sitting in the hospital bed one day wondering, how much brain damage am I going to have? Am I going to be permanently paralyzed? What about the intellectual part of my brain? That was the most
Martin said he had a stroke and suffered temporary paralysis in his left side. He spent two months in the hospital undergoing testing and rehab.
horrific part, not knowing the damage."
Martin, a son of a military man who never thought he would go into education, said he missed his first lecture in 30 years. The man who earned his undergraduate degree from University of California-Santa Barbara and his doctorate from Duke University had to relearn how to walk and use his left arm.
"I remember sitting there thinking, I have lecture tomorrow." Martin said.
His health is steadily improving, Martin said, and the outpouring from students has affected him greatly. Martin received more than 400 letters from students.
"The nurse and I stayed up one night sharing a box of Kleenex," he said. "They were so heartfelt."
Martin is spending time in his office again, and now he has his second HOPE Award to hang next to his first one.
"I've been meaning to do that," he said.
But when Martin starts teaching again, he still won't allow cameras into his classroom. He keeps the students focused.
"If I could get around that little hang $u_{f}$ of mine, I'd want someone to come in to my lecture in my big class, the Biology 100 class, and film me in action" Martin said. "Because that kind of epitomizes all the work and the appreciation of students. The work I put into my teaching and the appreciation when you look into the audience and most of the students look like they're engaged."
— Edited by Russell Davies
POLITICS
Campaign manager remains optimistic
It's only 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, and Thompson for President campaign manager Bill Lacy already received word that Mitt Romney won the Republican primary election in Michigan.
The press didn't report this information to members of the public for hours.
Although he misses being director of the Dole Institute of Politics, Lacy is enjoying being involved in his sixth presidential campaign.
"You know everything that is going on before everyone else," Lacy said.
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HEALTH
New fitness start for new year
Students planning to exercise more as part of their New Year's resolutions should follow a few simple rules.
Dr. Joseph Donnelly, director of KU's Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management, gave KU students his advice for getting healthy and making resolutions stick.
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PARKING
Spaces open for students
A parking program began Thursday to make it easier for students who live on campus who don't have a yellow pass and Park and Ride users to work out at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center during the day. Before the program, the only spaces available for these students were metered spots.
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