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Volume 126 Issue 88
kansan.com
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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STUDENT SENATE
TOM DEHART
news@kansan.com
The University's Student Union Activities is voicing its opposition to a proposed Student Senate Fee Review that would cut SUA's funding by 10 percent for the upcoming 2014-15 school year.
just because, in order to meet the criteria that Senate has set out for us, we are going to have to make cuts that we
more academic and cultural events. On top of five events that were cut this year, four social events would be cut
The Student Union Activity fee currently sits at $5. The proposed cut that was presented by the Student Senate Fee Review is a cut of 50 cents.
"It's going to cut back on the diversity of things we offer, and events such as the Campus Movie Series, which is something that a lot of people go to."
The Student Senate Finance Committee will discuss the fee at 6 p.m. tonight in the Alderson Auditorium.
SUA currently gets approximately 65 percent, or $225,750, of its funding from student fees.
members of SUA have voiced concerns about having to reduce the number of social events to make room for
CAMDEN BENDER SUA president
completely or partially next year, including the Campus Movie Series and Cosmic Bowling.
"It's going to cut back on the diversity of things we offer, and events such as the Campus Movie Series, which is something that a lot of people go to." SUA president Camden Bender said. "It's something that we've looked at getting rid of completely,
don't want to to expand those areas [academic and cultural events] where they think we are deficient currently."
Bender also said that SUA may have to look at reducing the number of committees currently programming SUA events to six instead of its current eight.
Subha Upadhyayula, SUA's live event coordinator, said the cuts could also affect the
amount of talent fees that the organization is able to offer to entertainers while trying to book acts, musicians and bands downtown or on campus.
"Booking a concert is a lot different when you're looking at how much a concert is, and offering upon a concert and talent fees." Upadhyayula said. "It's completely different. I think the type of talent that we would have to look into is going to be completely different with this budget. We can't get — obviously we still would not be able to get Beyonce — but it just depends. It will be a lot more difficult."
Tyler Childress, the Student Senate's chief of staff declined to comment on the proposed fee values until the legislation has been officially presented to the Finance Committee.
Edited by Stella Liang
KEY POINTS
Student Senate Fee Review proposed a 10 percent cut to Student Union Activities.
Programs to be cut completely next year: Campus Movie Series and Cosmic Bowling.
Programs to be cut partially next year: Tea at Three and Grocery Bingo.
ACADEMICS
The legislation is to be officially introduced today, during the Student Senate Finance Committee meeting at 6 p.m. in Alderson Auditorium.
SUA says the organization will also have to reduce the number of committees to work with the proposed cut.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRENT BURFORD/KANSAN
A Gallup study found that employers are more interested in students' skills and personality traits than what students majored in.
Skill tops major in job searches
CODY KUIPER
news@kansan.com
When whittling down choices for college, many students weigh the academic pros and cons of each school and major they're considering. New data shows those qualifiers might not mean much in the job market.
According to a recent poll from Gallup, business leaders are looking at a job applicant's skills and experience rather than their alma mater or field of study. Only nine percent of business leaders polled said a job applicant's college is a major factor in the hiring process, and 28 percent of them said the candidate's major is a very important factor.
Jake Schmitz, a school leader of the KIPP Endeavor, a Kansas City charter school for inner-city kids that hires many of its teachers fresh out
of college, said employers like him aren't necessarily looking for a specific degree from their applicants. He said he first looks for positive character and behavioral traits when interviewing candidates, in addition to their education and experience, because those are great indicators of potential success.
"We believe that if you have the right mindset and character traits, then we can support you to become a better teacher." Schmitz said.
He added that one of the most important aspects of hiring is making sure the applicant fits into the company's goals on a personal, non-academic level.
"I would put mission alignment above you graduating with a degree in education.
STATE
New social media policy under review
MCKENNA HARFORD
news@kansan.com
The work group created by the Kansas Board of Regents shared a preliminary discussion draft of the social media policy with Kansas universities on Monday.
A major change in the draft policy is the shift from a disciplinary tone to an advisory tone. The current policy gives universities the power to punish or fire faculty for improper use of social media; the new draft gives advice to faculty and is more of a guideline.
"The revision encourages use of social media that serves the mission of the University, as well as reminding faculty and staff that they shouldn't violate the law on social media," said Charles Epp, a professor in the office of Public Affairs and Administration, and co-chair of the work group.
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The group was formed to
make revisions and recommendations to the Board on the social media policy they approved on Dec.18, which was met with much criticism from faculty and administration.
"We had two broad goals: to
ing proper use of social media without infringing on the free speech rights of faculty and staff.
"The draft policy was excellently constructed and a hallmark of concerned colleagues who understand aca-
"Some damage has been done, but if the Regents adopt the policy, it'd be a great step to repair the damage done to the reputation."
meet the charge of the work group, which was to recommend a policy to the regents and to do that in a way that is consistent with the values of academic freedom and the first amendment." Epp said.
RON BARRETT-GONZALEZ aerospace engineering professor
So far the draft has been widely supported as the type of social media policy address-
demic freedom and freedom of speech."Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering and President-Elect of the State of Kansas Conference of the American Association of University Professors Ron Barrett-Gonzalez said.
The shift to an advisory tone helps address many of the
concerns of faculty, such as protecting the free speech of employees. According to Barrett-Gonzalez, another faculty concern was how the policy could damage the degrees students are earning.
"Some damage has been done, but if the Regents adopt the policy, it'd be a great step to repair the damage done to the reputation," Barrett-Gonzalez said. "It's a shame that this wasn't adopted from the start.
Students and faculty can view the draft and add comments on the University Governance web page. The deadline to submit feedback is March 28.
The draft policy will be reviewed at the next work group meeting on April 4, where they will make revisions based on the comments made by the universities. The final draft will be recommended to the Board on April 16.
Edited by Jack Feigh
CRYPTOQUIPS 7A
OPINION 6A
TONE
DIFFERENCES IN THE POLICY
LANGUAGE
MARCH 25
APRIL 16
APRIL 4
EXCLUSIONS
The language is tighter and more consistent with the First Amendment and there are some clarification words, like the word "lawful" in front of a clause that says University employees can't release any confidential information.
There will be a seminar called "What is Free Speech in the Age of Social Media" at the Commons in Spooner Hall on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. to discuss this and other academic freedom issues.
The final draft of the social media policy will be recommended to the Board of regents on April 16.
There is a shift in tone from disciplinary to advisory. The policy "suggests" social media uses instead of restricting them.
IMPORTANT DATES REGARDING THE SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 7A
The next work group meeting will be on April 4 to discuss the comments made on the draft policy.
Don't Forget
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 7A
Happy Hump Day!
The new draft policy creates guidelines that are for the use of social media, excluding any use that is for academic research, scholarly activity, academic instruction, any statements made as a shared governance or anything protected under the law.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
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