Friday, April 7, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
McCollege Tour comes to University
Films examine college's function
By Brandon Kristzla
writer @ kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Two filmmakers want university students to be aware of who is investing in educational institutions.
The McCollege Tour, which makes a stop on campus tomorrow, showcases two short films, University Inc. and Subtext of Yale Education. Both films focus on the corporate influences at universities.
Tamara Falicov, assistant professor of theatre and film, helped bring the tour to Lawrence. She said she the films had a timely subject as well as positive filmmaking aspects.
"I thought it was important to show students that as much as
there is this idea that is Generation X, there were students taking action about inequalities and corporations coming into universities and seeing students as consumers," she said. "What I like about this tour is that it explores what the function of the university is. Is it simply a labor pool for corporations, or does it challenge students?"
University Inc. was made by Kyle Henry, who graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in August. It centers around the closing of a revered independent movie house at Texas' Student Union. He uses "guerrilla" moviemaking tactics in an attempt to get the administration to explain why they shut down the film house. As he began making the film, Henry said he started to see the creeping corporate interests at Texas.
"I saw the closing of the theater as a paradigm or a model to explore the larger issues of what was going
on on campus," he said. "It was an attempt for me to understand why the University of Texas was such a depressing place. There was such a huge bureaucracy run in a shadowy method from the top down."
The other film, Subtext of Yale Education, was made by Yale graduate Laura Dunn. Her piece examines labor issues at Yale from 1996 to 1998. Henry said that Dunn's film focused more on a college's function.
"It explains that corporations obviously realize that students are at the least consumers, and campuses foster a sense of cost," Henry said. "They are a space where business occurs."
The tour began in the fall and stopped at several campuses including Yale, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the University of California at Berkeley, Boston College, Hampshire College and the University of Arkansas. This
semester its stops included the University of California at San Diego, Rice University, Brown University and Cornell University.
The tour is underwritten by independent filmmakers Richard Linkater, who made Slacker and Dazed and Confused, and Michael Moore, who made Roger and Me, The Big One, T.V. Nation and The Awful Truth.
The screening of the two documentaries will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the auditorium in the Spencer Museum of Art. The films last 85 minutes combined.
Following the showings, Henry will lead a discussion about commercialization.
"Consumerization of students is overwhelming," he said. "A lot of freebies are given out and numerous credit cards along with them. Essentially, the saturation of credit card vendors that give so many cards to college kids is like giving them crack cocaine. The students are so strapped with debt before they even get out of college."
Professors want review of course retake rule change
By Ryan Devlin
writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Some faculty members have thrown up a road block to academic policy amendments that would allow students to retake classes and replace bad grades.
Tim Shaftel and Ron Ash, professors of business, are circulating a petition to have University Senate review three separate amendments to academic policies passed this semester by University Council.
Without the petition, the amendments would be passed after review by the provost and the chancellor.
Shafet said he and Ash had 30 signatures, but needed a total of 50 by 5 p.m. today to require a University Senate review.
The amendment, which originated in Student Senate, would allow students to repeat classes in which they received a grade of D or F. If students receive a grade higher than a D the second time, the second grade would replace the first. Now, students can retake courses, but both grades show up on their transcripts.
The three policies — course repetition, final examinations and credit/no credit — each were amended by the Council this semester. Of the three, Shaftel said the course repetition policy was the one he was most concerned about. But he and Ash also challenged the others because they thought other faculty might have reservations.
"My basic concern and the concern of other faculty members I've talked to is that this would have a negative effect on participation in the classroom." Shaftel said.
he said he was afraid students would not take their classes seriously if they knew they could repeat them for improved grades. He said he also was concerned that the amendment did not prevent students who failed because of academic misconduct from taking the course again.
If it's understanding that this policy would be quite difficult for the registrar's office to monitor," Shaftel said. "I'm not totally against a forgiveness procedure, but there needs to be a formal procedure that will inform the registrar's office of instances of academic misconduct so they may take appropriate action."
But Korb Maxwell, student body president, said that the petition was misguided and that it confused the issue of academic misconduct with the issue of course repetition.
"Faculty are already required to report instances of academic misconduct to the registrar's office," he said. "The problem that the petition raises with regards to academic misconduct can be fixed when it is reviewed by administration."
Maxwell said he and other members of Student Senate already had conducted preliminary discussions with the provost's office about the issue.
sons will take part. If Shaftel and Ash receive 50 signatures, the amendments will go to University Senate, a body of about 1,530 members.
If they collect 100 signatures, one-fifth of University Senate can request a mail-in ballot referendum for University Senate members on the amendments. The ballot also would require one-fifth agreement.
Jim Carothers, Senate Executive Committee chairman, said it was unlikely that University Senate would address the amendments at its April 13 meeting. They likely will be addressed next fall, at the earliest, he said.
Maxwell said such a case would be lamentable: "It would unfortunately postpone an amendment that is very student-friendly for one to two years for no good reason," he said.
Maxwell said such a case would be lamentable.
Ash said he and Shaftel simply were trying to get more input on a complex issue.
"When we're making these kind of amendments, as many people as possible should be involved," he said.
Bob Vila's show to film in town this weekend
Continued from page 1A
Hemenway's favorite author, Zora Neale Hurston, was part of the Harlem Renaissance with Hughes.
"The show tries to find historic ties to the houses it uses," Barrett said. "Langston Hughes is the connection in Lawrence."
Ranney said the crew also would film parts of the show at his store and a cabin near Lone Star Lake, which is southwest of the city.
The building that houses Footprints was built in the late 19th century as a grocery store. Ranney said.
He said he had done work on the storefront and on the inside, too.
"I'm looking forward to the show," he said. "I hope that the store gets some nice publicity from this."
Ranney said he thought the producer was going to film a painter working on a mural in the store, and a man working on wrought iron door knobs and levers shaped like husked corncobs and wheat shucks.
At the cabin, the crew probably will film someone cutting tiles from a slab and firing the pieces in a kiln, going over plans for the bathroom, and another person installing a backsplash on the kitchen counter, he said.
The crew will film at Footprints on tomorrow, and they will go to the cabin on Sunday. Ranney said.
Barrett said the episode would air sometime in June.
Kansas University Sexism & Racism Victims Coalition www.seekneace.com/KUSRVC
Empowerment What Does It Mean To You?
Empowerment means different things to different people. Come share your ideas about the concept, what it means, and how it works.
April 10, 2000
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Refreshments and nominal compensation provided Spaces are limited. If interested in participating, please call Dr. Suzanne Boyd at (785)864-4720 or email us at suzanneb@ukans.edu
Focus Group on EMPOWERMENT
Sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare
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