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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015
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Alfred C. Alford became the first KU alum killed in a war 116 years ago this weekend during the Spanish American War. It is Alford who is depicted in the Uncle Jimmy Green statue in front of Lippincott Hall.
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Gay political activist to lead Dole study group
CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler_Boese
This semester, the Dole Institute of Politics will hold a study group that will discuss and learn about the divergence of culture and politics, hosted by a man who has plenty of experience with the subject.
jimmy LaSalvia is a Dole fellow who will lead the group this semester. As a gay conservative political activist, he struggled to figure out how he fit into politics. It took many years of unique experiences for him come to terms with his place in the political world.
LaSalvia was politically
active in college and, shortly afterward, as he was coming to terms with his sexual orientation, took himself out of politics and accepted a job at an opera house.
"I was a gay conservative from a red state," he said. "A traditional path in politics certainly wasn't available to me. I wasn't going to get elected to anything or any high-level management position, so I built a life in Louisville, Ky."
In 2004, LaSalvia re-entered politics in a different role. When Bush's re-election campaign wanted to place anti-gay marriage laws on the state ballots, he became re-engaged in politics.
Upon his re-entry, LaSalvia served in an organization called Log Cabin Republicans as grassroots outreach director, then director of programs and policy.
Soon after, he founded GOProud, an organization that advocates for gay, conservative republicans.
"Being a national voice for gay conservatives and being 'Gay for Mitt' in the last campaign showed me a lot about how politics is impacted by cultural issues and the political realities of it. It also showed me how elections and parties and our politics are impacted by cultural realities," he said. "Political realities
and cultural realities are very intertwined."
"Being a national voice for gay conservatives ... showed me a lot about how politics is impacted by cultural issues and the political realities of it.
JIMMY LASALVIA Dole fellow
Currently, LaSalvia spends his time talking about cultural issues and his views as a conservative gay man. When he's not hosting the Dole study
group, he will be working on a book about his experiences in the political world.
Students, staff and community members can speak with LaSalvia in the Dole study group. "All Politics is Personal—A Gay Conservative Looks at the Culture Wars."
"LaSalvia brings a very unique perspective, not only as a gay conservative activist, but as someone who has had experience on the campaign trails and in elections and a real political climate," said Eric Pahls, a research assistant and study groups coordinator at the Dole Institute.
Starting Feb. 18 and
continuing every Wednesday for the next six weeks, the study group will talk and learn about cultural issues including gay rights, gender, religion, media, partisanship and more.
To give participants a good perspective on each week's issue, LaSalvia will invite guests from in or around the political system who can speak on their experiences.
The group, which will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Dole Institute of Politics, is open to staff, students and community members of all political affiliations.
Anti-Common Core bill hits state Legislature
- Edited by Callie Byrnes
KITTY TANKARD
@kit10tank
A bill proposing to ban the current Common Core teaching standards was reintroduced to the Kansas legislature this session.
The proposed bill raises questions of the standards' effectiveness and the possible repercussions for teachers' education methods. This is the third time a bill fighting Common Core has been introduced in Kansas. Many of the other 43 states that adopted the standards have similar bills regarding the dismantling of Common Core.
The Common Core is defined on the official Common Core Standards Initiative website as "a set of
clear college- and career-ready standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics."
Sen. Forrest Knox (R-Altoona) wants to ban Common Core standards in Kansas, claiming the Common Core grants the federal government too much control in the classroom, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal.
Jim Ellis, associate professor in the School of Education and former president of the Kansas Association of Science Teachers, said there are many misconceptions about Common Core.
The standards do not dictate curriculum, but "are a description of what
we are looking for as far as knowledge and ability," he said.
Ellis said although the Kansas State Department of Education is conducting workshops to assist districts in meeting the standards, local districts and teachers still control what is taught in their classrooms. The new standards are more concerned with the outcome.
"These standards call for a much higher bar than past
Because the standards were adopted in 2010, a majority of the student body at the University graduated from high schools that were in the process of implementing the Common Core, although the students were most likely not aware of it.
standards have, and that's a good thing," he said.
As part of that effort, students in the University's School of Education are given information about the Common Core in their courses. Students are taught how to create units and lessons to develop their future students, Ellis said.
"You get to base curriculum off of (Common Core)," she said. "You get to create it."
Emily Kerr, a junior from Leawood, is a teaching student at the University.
"The teachers said we are
The recent controversy over Common Core standards has not affected the way she has learned to teach, and she doesn't expect it to in the future.
going to be fine," Kerr said. "We have nothing to compare it to, because it's all we've known."
Though teachers and unions have debated the merits of Common Core, Ellis said overall there is not much controversy among teaching professionals.
Lisa Pinamonti Kress, director of Undergraduate Admissions, said the issue has become political because of the different assessments and expectations that are "put out there."
"There's a variety of different ways to teach, and they all accomplish the same goals," she said. "There's more than one way to do it."
Edited by Mackenzie Clark
Free State bridal show Saturday, February 7th 10am-2pm
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