Section A • Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday. April 23.1999
Fraternities, sororities to step out
Annual show combines dancing, philanthropy
By Jamie Knodel jknodel@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
It's not the easiest thing to describe, but people involved in the National Pan-Hellenic Council's annual step show think that stepping is an experience that people will remember.
Tomorrow night, seven National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities will participate in the fifth-annual "Steppin' Out" production.
Members of the Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi and Iota Phi Theta fraternities and the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Delta Sigma Theta sororites will compete to be the best step group.
Step routines are a combination of dance, tap, R&B and chanting that at times involve the entire crowd.
"Stepping is truly an art form," said Ericka Morris, chairwoman for the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Black Student Union week.
She said that each organization had a unique
technique and method of stepping.
"Stepping involves dancing, precision, skill, tradition and rhythm." Morris said.
Tomorrow night's show will be held at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts st., at 7:30.
Tickets can be purchased at the door starting at 6:30 p.m. and will cost $7 for students and $10 non-students.
Morris said that the event sold out last year and that organizers were anticipating a full house again this year.
"People will drive three hours away just to see a step show," she said.
Tiffani Cunningham, the NPHC first vice president, said that proceeds from the event went to charity organizations each year. She said that this year the Latina Sullivan Scholarship Fund, which is awarded through the NPHC, would benefit from the performance.
Last year, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority were the step competition's winners.
Following the step show, a party will be held in the Kansas Union Ballroom. Brown said that the event was free with a step-show ticket, or $5 at the door.
Tonight the NPHC and BSU will hold and awards ceremony in the Kansas Room of the
NPHC/BSU AWARDS CEREMONY
Where: Kansas Room in the Kansas
Uber.
When: 6:45 p.m.- 9 p.m.
- Tickets: open to BSU and NPHC members only
K11's Stannin' Out 1999 stan show
RU'S Steppin 'Out 1999 step show
with his plate, 642 Massachusetts St.
When: 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $7 students; $10 non-students
Step show after party
■ Tickets: free w/ step show ticket; $5 without
Where: Kansas Union Ballroom
When: 11 p.m.-2 a.m.
Kansas Union at 6:45 p.m.
Erica Hawthorne, NPHC public relations chair, said that this event was important because it recognized the efforts of several different organizations.
Edited by Julie Sachs
"Black organizations on campus are so few,
but our impact is so great," she said. "The impact just increases when we come together as a community."
Study examines role of supervised exercise
By Matt Daugherty
Special to the Kansan
A federally-funded research program being performed by exercise physiology professors offers students the opportunity to earn $2,000 for their participation in a study to find out if dieting is necessary to lose weight.
"We're investigating the effects of useful supervised exercise on body weight and composition," said Dennis Jacobsen, the project's coordinator. "I'm in exercise physiology, and we'd like to think that exercise will do everything. The truth of the matter is that a lot of people lose weight when they begin to exercise, they change their diet as well."
The study takes place throughout a 16-month period, during which participants do a 55-minute workout five days a week. In addition, the researchers perform a dietary analysis to establish what the participant's food intake is, and they also undergo a series of tests to examine changes in their body composition.
“It's a lot of work,” said Charlie Williams, St. Louis senior, who is one of the 51 participants. “I haven't lost a lot of weight, but my body has definitely changed, and I'm in much better cardiovascular shape.”
Workouts can include a variety of activities
such as using treadmills, exercise bikes and orbital skiing machines, or swimming and running on campus. Participants wear a heart-rate monitor, and speed and distance measurements are recorded to establish how hard the body worked.
In addition to the regular workouts, a regimen of tests is performed at certain intervals throughout the study. These tests include one-repetition weight lifting maximaus, oxygen-use tests, a muscle biopsy, body fat analysis, a mid-section CATSCAN, and a 23-hour stay in a calorimeter chamber.
Participants also undergo a dietary analysis twice a semester for 14 days at a time. During that time, all of the participants' meals are paid for at Ekdahl Dining Commons on Daisy Hill
Jennifer Ferris, research dietitian for the study, said the purpose of the analysis was not to change diet but instead to find out what kind of daily food intake each participant had.
Jacobsen said there never had been a good study to indicate the effects of exercise alone on body weight and composition.
"Many studies have been performed for six months, but this is the first time a study has been performed for 16 months in a supervised environment," he said.
- Edited by Karen Lucas
Dena Oldam, Mission junior, wipes sweat from her face while walking on a treadmill during her 55-minute workout at the Robinson Center. She also is wearing a heart-rate monitor on her right wrist. Odom is one of 51 participants in a study that hopes to determine whether exercising alone leads to weight loss. Photo by Matt J. Daugherty/KANSAN
Education school weaves school safety into classes
Bv Kimberly Erb
Special to the Kansan
As people around the world struggle to understand the tragedy that recently unfolded in Littleton, Colo., school safety is thrust again to the forefront of national attention.
The School of Education recognizes the challenge of preparing its future teachers and administrators for the changing climate in classrooms and factors these elements into its curriculum.
"It is a different world nowadays, and we've got to prepare our teachers for that," said Earle Knowlton, associate dean for teacher education and undergraduate studies.
Knowlton said that the narrow goal of instructing teachers how to teach was no longer adequate for today's society.
"We need teachers who are problem solvers, who are extremely professional and who are better qualified to deal with these things." he said.
The school is now in the process of examining and making changes to its curriculum that will prepare teachers better for such challenges.
"The new program is going to focus on a different kind of teacher — a scholar who knows the literature and who can address different, unexpected situations," he said. "If you go around the schools nowadays, June and Ward Cleaver's kids don't go there anymore."
In his course, Counseling and Consultation Skills for Teachers, Gary Price, professor of psychology and research in education, teaches his students how to recognize at-risk behavior and how to deal with the behavior appropriately.
"Most teachers are very knowledgeable about the curriculum and how to present the curriculum so students will respond to it." Price said. "There needs to be a focus on the person rather than the curriculum."
To be more student-focused, teachers must be vigilant of behavior changes, Price said. These warnings often show in changes of dress, class attendance and grades.
Price said that once these warning signs were identified, teachers must know to make referrals to counselors when needed. They also must be aware of the resources available in their community.
"Teachers are the first line of defense." Price said. "They deal very closely with the
children."
Price said that teachers needed to improve their own listening skills when dealing with troubled children. Teachers often are accustomed to the interview format, where they ask questions and students respond. He encourages teachers to offer an exchange of thoughts and to listen closely to what children are saying.
He said that the teacher education program offered a great developmental model to student teachers because it was designed to put them into the classroom early in their education.
"The kids in the front of the room, the star students and the kids that are acting out all of the time, you notice them," he said. "It's the kids who never say anything that you need to pay attention to."
Steve Lee, professor of psychology and research in education and director of the school psychology training program, said that training teachers to spot dangerous levels of anxiety was crucial in identifying children that might be at risk for a crisis. Anything from divorce to the loss of a part-time job might escalate these levels, he said.
It is also necessary to establish a plan of action when circumstances do escalate, Lee said. A course in classroom management offered by the school's graduate program presents the theories and techniques for handling students who act out in class. It also stresses the need for a plan of action when situations escalate beyond the teacher's control.
"These are things that teachers need to practice regularly in schools like a fire drill." Lee said.
"Planning is the best strategy." he said.
He said that however unlikely, schools now needed to be prepared for violent situations, such as the one in Littleton.
Planning is the best strategy. he said George Crawford, associate professor of teaching and leadership, said his course on principalship stressed techniques to make schools safe as well as to establish a crisis plan. But, he also said that most schools were safe.
"If you want your kid to be as safe as any place in the world, put them in school," he said.
— Edited by Duane Wagler