Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, February 21, 2000
Fraternity seeks members
Latino group wants to achieve ethnic diversity
When Alexander Morales was a freshman, he wanted to be a part of a group that would embrace diversity, cross cultural barriers and allow him to give back to his community.
By Jessie Meyer
writer @kanson.com
Kansan staff writer
Today, Morales, president of Sigma Lambda Beta colony and Kansas City, Mo., senior, is making that happen through hard work and dedication toward the creation of a fraternity at the University of Kansas.
Sigma Lambda Beta is a historically Latino fraternal organization that welcomes men from all ethnic backgrounds. It is a group that Morales has been trying to bring to the University for almost four years.
"You can't get a more diverse group than this," Morales said. "We really encourage people of all ethnicities to join because it will make us culturally stronger."
Along with cultural diversity, the group, which has a membership fee of $35 per semester, is designed to accommodate men from all
economic backgrounds.
"We try to make it so in income is not a factor," said Irid Ordufa, Sigma Lambda Beta member and Pomona, Calif., junior. "We try to make it a non-issue."
There are 50 Sigma Lambda Beta chapters, including one in Puerto Rico, and 14 colonies. At the University, the organization, which has only four members, is considered a colony rather than a fraternity.
"Colony status is the intermediate stage where the group is recognized by the National Fraternity Council, but has not yet received chapter status," said Robert Rodriguez, the colony's adviser. "We have to have 10 men to achieve chapter status."
But the colony's size doesn't bother its members.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." Morales said. "We may be small, but we've got high goals."
Other than generating interest in the fraternity, the colony's main goals are to promote cultural awareness and community involvement.
Among many other events, the men volunteer at the Battered Women's Group in Kansas City, Mo., twice a month. There, they spend time with children from families of battered women, Morales said.
"It's a social fraternity," Morales said. "But we strive to do much more."
Phil Dark, Sigma Lambda Beta member and Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, said it was the brotherhood that made the colony special.
"You can't get a more diverse group than this. We really encourage people of all ethnicities to join because it will make us culturally stronger."
Alexander Morales Sigma Lambda Beta colony president
"We are all like real brothers," Dark said. "We take care of each other and are a lot closer than people in other fraternities might be."
Like brothers, the men look out for one another — especially academically. The colony insists on academic excellence. The members will not consider anyone for the fraternity who does not meet the 2.25 grade-point average requirement, and it insists on maintaining a group GPA of 2.5 or higher. Morales said.
Michael Rivera, vice president of the Hispanic-American Leadership Organization and Topeka sophomore, said he had been interested in joining the group since he arrived at the University but had not been able to because of low grades.
Morales, Ordúna, Dark and Francisco Chacon, Liberal junior, welcome anyone interested to either join them on Wednesday nights at Alcove B in the Kansas Union or call Morales at 312.2294.
Making his point
Steven Donald,
a senior from Michigan State University,
argues during a debate match yesterday in Wescoe Hall. Various teams came to Lawrence and competed in a debate tournament, which ends today. This debate was to argue whether sanctions against North Korea should be lifted.
Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Club provides forum for GTAs
Bv Karen Lucas
Special to the Kansan
Although Ina Robertson and Heinz Kattenfeld teach in different departments, they exchange ideas about teaching on a regular basis.
Robertson, a graduate teaching assistant in physics and astronomy, and Kattenfeld, a graduate teaching assistant in humanities and Western Civilization, belong to the GTA Breakfast Book Club.
The club, which began last fall, meets the first Wednesday of each month at the Center for Teaching Excellence, 135 Budig Hall, for a discussion of selected chapters from a book that gives teaching tips. The center also provides a continental breakfast.
Robertson praised the club's diverse membership.
"I think it's great we have people from different disciplines," she said. "They might approach a problem from an entirely different angle."
Other GTA participants are from the departments of architectural engineering, Spanish and Portuguese, ecology and evolutionary biology, health, sport and exercise science, and the Applied English Center.
Kattenfeld said the nine club members had found they were dealing with similar problems.
Robertson said she had learned from other GTAs that it would be better to give her students more responsibility in class.
"One of the major goals for everyone is to find ways to increase student participation," he said.
"I could get the students to participate more by letting them make more decisions on their own," she said.
Robertson's efforts to improve her teaching effectiveness have paid off in another way as well. She recently received a letter stating that she had been nominated for a teaching award.
The staff of the Center for Teaching Excellence hopes to sponsor the club in the future, said Judy Eddy, program assistant for the center and club organizer.
"Based on the feedback we've received from the people in this year's group, it seems that it has been a positive experience for them," she said, "and we'd like to offer it for others next year."
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"A lot of people listen to us on their scanners," she said. "You don't want to lose it on the radio."
Floyd Craig, a custodial worker for the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation, has been spouting for 25 years.
Craig said that spotting was fun but that he did it to get the warning out because he knows how destructive tornadoes can be.
"You always want to fear them because they can do some weird stuff." he said. "You never know what they're going to do." So safety training is important, Craig said. Spotters' locations all have an escape route,
and they are taught what to do if they can't get away.
Phil Rankin, KU's assistant director of human resources, knows the risks of spotting. He lost an eye in 1981 after a tornado threw a two-by-six that smashed his car's windshield.
Some spotters called last year lousy because they were called out only a few times. Dimeen said 1983 was a good year because there were a lot of storms.
"We're all a little bit warped," she said.
Antle his fascination with storms was almost a family sickness — his father was a meteorologist for the Navy. Antle, however takes it further. He chases storms for fun.
"I enjoy being out in nature, especially a violent form of nature," he said.
Antle said spotting and chasing were pretty safe if you knew storms — which he did. Antle conducts some of the training for Doulas County spotlers.
Zaras said the amateur storm chasers sometimes provided useful data but that the National Weather Service didn't encourage it.
Untrained tornado chasers are risking their lives, said Mike Akulow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka.
"Chasers need training to be safe, but most are self-taught," he said. "If you get too close, you're dead."
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Most KU students drink moderately or not at all (0-5 drinks) $ ^{*} $ when they party
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*On average, students report drinking (0-5)
1 drink per hour over a five hour period (0-5)
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*Based on survey responses from 1,600 KU students. Survey administered by the Office of Institutional Research & Planning (1999).
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