THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY,MAY 6,2014
PAGE 3
+
STATE
Social media policy debate continues
MCKENNA HARFORD news@kansan.com
The newest version of the Kansas Board of Regents' social media policy, which was proposed by the Governance Committee, will be discussed at the Committee meeting Tuesday after allowing universities and staff to review the document for about a week.
The Committee's policy is based on revisions made by a workgroup and submitted to the Board in April. However, the workgroup's policy is more of a guideline, whereas the Committee's policy uses punitive language.
"I was pleased to see a preamble that emphasized freedom of speech and academic rights, but I was disappointed that they still used disciplinary language," workgroup member and professor, Charles Epp said.
The policy also adopted fragments of the American Association of University Professors' statement of principles on academic freedom and tenure, which President of the Kansas conference of the AAUP and Associate Professor Dr. Ron Barrett-Gonzalez said is promising.
on Academic Freedom and Tenure]. That way they will be up with academic standards."
"It's encouraging that they ref
Support for the workgroup's policy led to the Committee using a large portion of it, but the parts they changed are not receiving the same level of support. Barrett-Gonzalez said that the policy isn't a good example of a governing docu-
"I fear that faculty and staff will still not be sure which kinds of expression are safe and which are not."
CHARLES EPP Work-group member and professor
erenced the AAUP statement, but they only referenced a fragment of it." Barrett-Gonzalez said. "What they really need to do is incorporate the entire 1940s Statement [of Principles
ment because it is written in legal language, which is hard for those without legal experience to understand.
Other controversy the policy faces is the use of punitive language and not being clear as to what types of expression would merit discipline, which were the main problems of the original policy as well.
"I fear that faculty and staff will still not be sure which kinds of expression are safe and which are not," Epp said.
One possible consequence to passing this policy is damaging the reputation of Kansas' higher education while also impacting students.
"I would hope that the Board of Regents will realize that what they have done and what they may potentially do could very seriously and adversely, and has adversely, impacted the fortunes of the most important resource the state has, and that's our youth," Barrett-Gonzalez said.
Neither Barrett-Gonzalez nor Epp believe that the Board will make any significant changes to the Committee's proposed
policy or go back to the workgroup's policy. The Board will make the final decision about the policy at the May 15-16 meeting.
Edited by Nick Chadbourne
MAJOR ISSUES
The policy uses disciplinary language, even though the workgroup recommended against it and there is widespread opposition.
It is not clear in the policy what kinds of expression would be punishable, which could possibly be stifling to free speech.
Because the policy is restrictive, it impinges on academic freedom.
Have KU graduates always walked down the hill for Commencement? Well, the Campanile has only been in place since the early 1950s, but walking down the hill has been a tradition since 1924.
NATIONAL
Family: Woman stranded after crash will lose feet
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Kristin Hopkins wrote pleas for help on a red-and-white umbrella that she managed to push through a broken window of her crashed car and open, hoping to attract the attention of drivers on a scenic highway above.
Days later, someone spotted the flipped car of the 43-year-old single mother of four children about 80 feet down an embankment in a central Colorado aspen grove.
Authorities say at least one motorist hiked down from Red Hill Pass on U.S. Highway 285
and alerted authorities on Sunday that there was a body inside the car. Rescuers found Hopkins alive, conscious and coherent — but critically injured and extremely dehydrated.
Hopkins was flown by helicopter to St. Anthony Hospital in suburban Denver, Park County undersheriff Monte Gore said. She was in critical condition Monday, said hospital spokeswoman Loralee Sturm. Hopkins' family issued a statement saying she will lose both her feet because of injuries sustained in the crash and is expected to survive.
way near the old mining town of Fairplay sometime after she was last seen on April 27. The accident occurred beneath a spot overlooking the sprawling ranchlands and surrounding mountains of Colorado's South Park area.
Hopkins drove off the road-
Her 2009 Chevrolet Malibu struck multiple trees and rolled several times before landing on its top.
Hopkins had been entered into a statewide police database as a missing person. But since she is an adult and there were no indications of foul play, there was no active search for her.
When rescuers reached the car Sunday, firefighter Jim Cravener asked a colleague to break a window and feel for a pulse.
"He started to break the window and she put her hand up to the window," Cravener said. "At that point, it became a rescue."
Hopkins' notes on the umbrella were hard to make out but appeared to say, "six days, no food, no water; please help me; need a doctor," Cravener said.
"It's really something off that 'Shouldn't Be Alive' show," he said. "She really had a strong will to survive."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo taken on April 21, 2014, two cars and debris litter U.S. highway 101 after a crash that killed three people in Santa Barbara, Calif.
THE KOREAN SCHOOL STUDENT ORGANIZATION
TEACH AND LEARN IN KOREA! (TaLK)
Citizens of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand. South Africa, UK or USA. Undergraduates who completed 2 or more years
Eligibility:
Monthly stipend: $1,350 Round-trip airfare, living accommodations, health insurance Korea Experience Programs on weekends and more!
Benefits:
Online at www.talk.go.kr by May 30,2014
Monthly stipend: $1.350
Application:
Contact:
Talkoffice.chicago@gmail.com
KU contact: Ji-Yeon Lee (jylee9@ku.edu)
For more information about TaLK, please visit www.talk.go.kr
+
+