MONDAY, MARCH 11.2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
By Maggie Koerth
Kansan staff writer
Religious studies majors struggle with saintly stereotypes
Galen Turner doesn't want to be a priest. But the Lawrence senior often has a hard time convincing people of that when they find out his major is religious studies.
"People have no idea what religious studies is. They think you're going to be a priest or you are trying to debunk religion," he said. "They don't realize it's taught academically."
Both students and faculty of religious studies agreed the major
was often misunderstood.
Tim Miller, chair of the department, said between 40 and 50 students were religious studies majors. He said people usually became involved with the major after they were already in school.
"They take a class and it interests them," he said. "It isn't usually something that people come to college knowing they want to do."
Turner agreed. He said he became interested in religious studies after he took Religion 124, Understanding the Bible.
However, Turner said he didn't know exactly what he would do with his degree when he graduated. Miller said this was common, but that there were actually many things a graduate could go on to do.
"Really it's just like any humanities or social science major," he said. "There aren't a lot of professional jobs directly related to it but you can go on to grad school or professional school. None of our majors end up homeless."
Miller said he knew of a graduate who was a computer programmer and another one who was a social worker. Sarah Knoll, Topeka junior, however, plans to have a career in religion. Knoll said she plans to go to seminary to become an Episcopal priest after she graduates. Knoll said she still felt people misunderstood her major.
"They automatically assume I am going into the priesthood and they think I am learning theology, but that's not what religious studies is." she said.
She said she enjoyed learning
about what people think and how they view the divine.
However, Miller said not everyone likes the academic approach to spirituality.
"We end up speaking with a lot of people — not just students and faculty — who are believers and expect us to be focused on theology or to be a campus ministry and that is just something we are not," he said.
Miller said students sometimes dropped the major when they found this out, though he said this seldom happened.
Seth Duell, Fayetteville, Ark. senior, is a religious studies minor who said he was also personally religious. Duell said he had no issues with the way religious studies was taught at the University, but he could understand how some people might get upset.
"Some people come in with certain expectations and they might get upset when those aren't filled," he said
Contact Koerth at mkoerth@
Contact Koerth at mkoerth@ kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Warren.
Local bands to get MTV-style exposure
By Jessica Tims Kansan staff reporter
Channel 6 will mimic MTV with a local flair when a new local music show, Beneath the Surface, makes its debut.
Matt Toplikar, the show's cocreator and Lawrence sophomore, said the idea for the show stemmed from a conversation last year with his roommate, cocreator Micah Bailey, Lawrence sophomore.
"We were throwing around some ideas," Toplikar said. "We were dissatisfied with MTV and the music. We started talking about if we had a channel what we would do with it."
Toplikar said he approached the production staff of Channel 6 with the idea of a public access show that featured local music videos and interviews with local musicians.
He also began looking for bands to record videos. The first band to record a video for Beneath the Surface was Lawrence-based Windsor Medium.
MattCox, guitarist and vocalist of Windsor Medium, said
although the video took three days to shoot, the project stretched over a month and a half because the band and crew had difficulty finding time to get together.
"It will be a while before the show airs," Toplikar said. "But there is no doubt it will happen."
Each episode of Beneath the Surface will feature four to five videos from local bands and commentary from local musicians, Toplikar said. He said the show may also venture to Massachusetts street to ask pedestrians their opinions about music.
Toplikar said any local bands interested in filming a video for Beneath the Surface can contact him at mutiny_ink@hotmail.com.
Toplikar said he planned to air four or five episodes of Beneath the Surface as soon as enough videos were made to fill the shows. Windsor Medium's video is the only one completed so far.
contact Chris at jtims@kansan.com. This story was edited by Andy Gassaway.
Audio-Reader Network adds bilingual program
By Meredith Carr Kansan staff writer
KANU's Audio-Reader Network has a new program for bilingual users.
Linda Gaumnitz, coordinator of volunteers, said she received the paper at Borders Books, Music and Cafe, 700 New Hampshire, where she was attending a Spanish conversation group. She then gave the publication to Jeremy Dewey, telephone reader/listener liaison, and he started the program.
The program, servicing the blind and visually impaired,
started reading Dos Muñdos, a bilingual weekly newspaper out of the Kansas City area on Monday Feb. 25.
Janet Campbell, director of KANU, said two staff members and one student volunteer read Dos Muñdos
currently. She does not plan to add volunteers as of now. She said the staff members were proficient in Spanish and the student was fluent.
Campbell said she thought the program was a good idea for bilingual listeners, but she didn't know how many bilingual listeners used the network.
Campbell said Dos Mundos was the only Spanish publication read on the station and that no decision had been made on whether the bilingual program will expand.
"People are accessing the program, so as of now, this will stay as part of our current programming." Campbell said.
The paper is part of the Audio-Reader Network's Telephone Reader system. The listener can't access the program through a radio, but can call the system at (800) 772-8898 and listen over the phone.
The Audio-Reader program is only available to the blind or visually impaired. Documentation of the sight disability has to be recorded before someone can access the Audio-Reader program, Gaumnitz said.
Contact Carr at mcarr@ kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Guenley.
DELTA FORCE KICK-OFF
KIMBERLY THOMPSON/KANSAN
Delta Force's Kit Brauer, vice presidential candidate, and Karen Keith, presidential candidate, rock out to the band Proudentall. Delta Force's kick-off party was Thursday night at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire.
1)
C