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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2015A1C Deane Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045.
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A. J. Prizzi, a senior architecture student from Syosset, New York, won an Academic Excellence Award for Architecture from the Danish Institute of Study Abroad. Prizzi was chosen for the award out of 98 other students nominated who were studying abroad in Denmark.
Senior studying in Denmark wins award
ALLISON CRIST
@AllisonCristUDK
KIRSTEN SELSTAD/KANSAN
A. J. Prizzi, a senior from Syosset, New York, was recently awarded an Academic Excellence Award for Architecture from the Danish Institute of Study Abroad last month. The DIS gives out awards to students studying abroad in a variety of disciplines, and Prizzi was chosen as the recipient for the architecture accolade.
A group of professors from the University nominated Prizzi and, to his surprise, among 98 other architecture students studying abroad in Denmark, he was awarded the honor.
KANSAN: What were the qualifications for the award?
PRIZZI: Since I didn't do any sort of application, I don't know the specifics, but it wasn't purely academic.
My category focused on not only academics, but more of a general appreciation for Denmark culture and design.
KANSAN: How did you find you won the award?
PRIZZI: I was in a bar in Copenhagen with other architecture and design students for what we knew was an arty awards ceremony. Since I didn't know I was even nominated for anything, I was just as surprised as everyone else when the faculty announced the award.
KANSAN: How long did you study abroad in Denmark?
PRIZZI: I was there from August to December. I lived in the center of Copenhagen, only five minutes away from the school. I also had
an internship, where I would spend my mornings before going to class and doing studio work.
KANSAN: What did you take away from your experience there?
PRIZZI: I think I learned a lot about who I am as a designer and as a person. It's one thing living 16 minutes away from your parents, let alone nearly 6,000 miles. I had to become independent in order to really benefit from the trip, and I definitely did. Working at a firm and in the studio and really getting to see how passionate Danes were about design gave me a whole new perspective on
the field. Now that I've also worked in both Denmark and the U.S., I really get to see how differently things are done.
KANSAN: What made you want to pursue architecture in the first place?
PRIZZI: Growing up, my dad was a construction worker. When I was about 15 or 16, he went back to school to get his degree in architecture. I was able to experience his studio environment and hear about everything he was learning. This planted the seed in me, and once I started studying it myself, I fell in love even more. Also, the way I think of it now, 90 percent of the time, we're inside of buildings. I want to help create better environments everywhere.
KANSAN: What do you specifically like to design?
PRIZZI: Originally, I wanted to go into designing healthcare facilities because about two years ago, I was in the hospital for eight months. I would think to myself, "That light's in the wrong spot," or just analyze the good and bad parts. This last summer, though, I interned at a company where I worked on professional stadiums. I had never worked on such a large scale before, and I loved it. I actually got to have a hand
in designing the Miami Dolphins stadium, and it reminded me of doing a puzzle, which I really enjoyed.
KANSAN: So do you know which of those you want to pursue after graduation?
PRIZZI: I'm not sure yet. I'm in a class now that focuses on health care facilities, so I'll see if that sparks my interest again. I do want to revisit Denmark, though. I can't see myself living there permanently, but it's become sort of a home away from home. The culture and architecture is so unique, I want to keep it in my life.
Edited by Alex Lamb
leaders call to protect gay rights
RICK BOWMNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRADY MCCOMBS
In this April 5, 2014 file photo, people walk past the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City. On Tuesday, Mormon leaders made a national appeal for what they called a "balanced approach" in the clash between gay rights and religious freedom, promising to support some housing and job protections for gays if they back some exemptions for religious objectors to same-sex marriage.
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY — The Mormon church announced a campaign Tuesday for new laws that protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination while somehow also protecting people who assert their religious beliefs.
"We must find ways to show respect for others whose beliefs, values and behaviors differ from ours while never being forced to deny or abandon our own beliefs, values and behaviors in the process," a church elder, Jeffrey R. Holland, said in announcing the church's position.
Mormon leaders did not explain just how it would draw lines between gay rights and religious freedoms, and it's unclear how much common ground the church will gain with this campaign. The church insists it is making no changes in doctrine, and still believes that sex is against the law of God unless it's within a marriage between a man and a woman.
But the new approach could profoundly change political calculations in the Mormon strongholds of Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, where the church and its members play a large civic role.
In Utah, where most state lawmakers are Mormon, the announcement was cheered after years of failed efforts to pass anti-discrimination measures.
"What the LDS (Latter-day Saints) church did today was historic," said Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis, who
The gay-rights group Equality Utah also applauded, saying LGBT rights can co-exist with freedoms of religious individuals.
was raised Mormon and is openly gay. "This was a bold, strong, principled statement ... today we are seeing the fruits of civility and respect."
The Rev. Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention called the Mormon leaders "well-intentioned, but naive" about animosity toward religious exemptions. And Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, called it "deeply flawed." The First Amendment's protection of religious freedom "does not give any of us the right to
But national advocates on both sides were dismissive.
The campaign is the latest example of a shift in tone on gay rights by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counts 15 million members worldwide. They have moved away from harsh rhetoric and are preaching compassion and acceptance of gays and lesbians now that gay marriage is legal in Washington D.C. and 36 states including Utah.
harm others, and that's what it sounds like the proposal from the Mormon church would do - it would allow a doctor to refuse to care for a lesbian because of his religious beliefs, for example," said James Esseks, who directs the LGBT project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
"Accommodating the rights
of all people — including their religious rights — requires wisdom and judgment, compassion and fairness," said Holland, who appeared at a rare news conference with two other apostles from the church's governing Quorum of the Twelve.
"Politically, it certainly requires dedication to the highest level of statesmanship. Nothing is achieved if either side resorts to bullying, political point scoring or accusations of bigotry."
The Mormon church will back laws that protect "vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment
and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants and transportation," said Dallin H. Oaks, another apostle.
Mormon leaders still want to hire and fire workers based on their religious beliefs as well as behavior standards known as honor codes, which require gays and lesbians to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion, or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.
"It is one of today's great ironies that some people who have fought so hard for LGBT rights now try to deny the rights of others to disagree with their public policy proposals," Oaks said.
Accommodations for religious objectors have factored into every state legislative debate over gay rights. But rights advocates have gained leverage as support for same-sex marriage grows. In some states, even business leaders are on their side, saying broad religious exemptions hurt a state's image.
But religious conservatives also mobilized after the U.S. Supreme Court set a broad expansion of gay marriage in motion last year, pressing states to allow some groups, companies and people to refuse some benefits or service for gay spouses. And gay rights groups seeking job and housing protections have faced an uphill battle in the more politically and religiously conservative states.
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