FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 4. 2005
NEWS
3A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Conference raises global awareness
BY DANI LITT
dlitt@kansan.com
dlitt@kansan.COM
DLITT'S STAFF WRITER
More than 2,000 world leaders in politics, business, entertainment and academia attended the World Economic Forum last week in Davos, Switzerland.
Among them was the University of Kansas' own Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
"The purpose of the conference is to create awareness of global issues that have to be solved to have a successful 21st century." Hemenway said.
The theme of the forum was making tough choices in the global world. The topics discussed including world poverty, Africa and international
"
am going to push stronger for an
international curriculum that prepares students better to enter the global world."
Robert Hemenway Chancellor
health care.
Specifically about health care, Hemenway said there was a lot of discussion about malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis.
Hemenway's invitation to the conference was arranged by KU alumnus Mark Booth, CEO of
NetJets Europe in London.
Though university presidents do attend, it was rare for a chancellor from the Midwest to be invited.
Actor Richard Gere and U2's Bono also attended and gave speeches at the conference about AIDS and Africa, respectively.
"It was an extraordinary experience," he said. "It was so stimulating to be around that I didn't worry about things like eating and sleeping."
Hemenway said the conference encouraged those in attendance to think globally.
Hemenway said the conference made him more aware of how integrated the world had become.
"What happens in Africa affects what happens in the
United States, which affects what happens in Russia, which affects what happens in England, which affects what happens in Iceland," he said.
Hemenway said he would use his experience to educate students more about international affairs.
Hemenway also went to London to meet with KU alumni and other possible donors as an effort for fundraising.
"I am going to push stronger for an international curriculum that prepares students better to enter the global world," he said.
"I am very optimistic we'll be able to create some professorships out of our efforts," he said.
—Edited by Azita Tafreshi
Train cars derail in fiery accident
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WELLSVILLE — A west bound Burlington Northern Sante Fe Corp. train rearended a second westbound train yesterday afternoon, derailing several cars — including one that was engulfed in flames — and injuring one crewman.
Steve Forsberg, a spokesman for Burlington Northern, said a third train, headed east, then stuck some of the derailed cars. Burlington Northern crews were at the scene and working to uncover what happened, he said, and it wasn't immediately
clear from which trains the derailed cars came.
"That's part of the missing piece to the puzzle," he said.
Forsberg said the derailment occurred on the railroad's main line, a set of parallel tracks, about 45 miles south of Burlington Northern's rail yard in Kansas City, Kan. The tracks run along Interstate 35 at that point, about a mile east of Wellsville.
A crewman on the train that rear-ended the westbound train was injured, but Forsberg said that man was walking around and his injuries were not life-threatening.
LOCAL
Universitywelcomes highschool musicians
High school musicians from all over the nation will experience university life this weekend.
The third annual Prairie Wind Festival will attract about 150 band students for a weekend of classes and rehearsals taught by University of Kansas music students and faculty.
In addition to music instruction the festival is also a recruitment tool that has, in the past, attracted about 10 students to the University, said band director John Lynch.
"We think it's important to show the social aspects of KU as well as musical." Lynch said
Visiting students will spend time visiting downtown Lawrence.
The festival is set up as an honor band for all-state music students, said Langston Hemenway, Lexington, Ky., graduate student instructing woodwind sections.
"I really wish I had something like this when I was in high school," he said.
He was a band conductor in Texas for three years before coming to the University.
The students arriving today will practice throughout the weekend until Sunday's performance, he said.
"It's almost how a professional ensemble works with only a few rehearsals before the performance," Hemenway said.
There will be a free concert featuring the high school students at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center. The students will be split into groups, blue and red, and each group will perform.
Lynch said Weiss would lead graduate students in a conducting clinic.
"He is a really talented, engaging personality," Lynch said. "He will help them reach their best level performance."
The department of music and dance is hosting the festival.
Break time
— Neil Mulka
Dani Chu, Makakilo, Hawaii, sophomore, dives into her copy of the latest Sports Illustrated On Campus insert from The University Daily Kansas yesterday. Chu used her free time to catch up on some reading before her "Art History of East Asia" class in Budgall Hall.
Erin Droste/KANSAN
Feb.4th and 5th
7:35 pm
Kansas Expo Center
$1BEERS
Call now for student discount, Joe Green [785]235-9466
1800 SW Exoduster, Topeka