TUESDAY,FEB.19,2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 24
Disclosing atheism can be tough
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
One day while still in high school, Jesse Gruber told his parents his religious views had changed; he had become an atheist.
taught, he had become all alone.
"Ijust told them, there is no God," he said.
I just told them, there is no God," he said. Gruber, Lawrence sophomore, said his parents, who were Zen Buddhists, took the news rather well. Belief in a god is not a necessity for Buddhism, though some Buddhists do, according to the Dzogchen Foundation Web site. www.dzocheng.org.
"They disagree with me, but they respect my beliefs and opinions," he said. "I think they may have known I was atheist before I did."
Atheism means literally "without theism." Atheists believe there is no God, higher power or supernatural activity.
When Kelly Payton, Olympia, Wash., senior, told her parents about her atheist beliefs, she found out not all parents were as accepting as Gruber's.
Payton said she'd never really believed in God, but didn't tell her fundamentalist Christian parents until her junior year of high school.
"They were not delighted," she said.
Mostly because of that disclosure, Payton hasn't spoken with her parents in nearly five years.
"I don't know if we ever will again," she said. "It's been so long, maybe not."
According to a study done at the University of Chicago in 1990, atheism is on the rise in America. At that time, the number of people who described themselves as non-religious was growing at a rate of 110 percent per year.
Aaron Ketchell, graduate teaching assistant in religious studies, said he quoted this study every semester in his Religion in American Society class.
He said it wasn't surprising that religious parents might not be happy about their child becoming atheist.
"By and large, any move toward godlessness will be troublesome from the point of view of someone who believes in God," he said.
John Wade, staff psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services, said while he had not spoken with atheist students specifically, he had dealt with many students who had to tell their parents difficult news.
"I don't encourage or discourage their decision," he said. "But I do try to get them to think about it."
Wade said he tried to get students to reflect on how the news would affect their relationship with their parents, not just at that moment, but later on as well.
He said it was important to try to break the news in the gentlest way possible.
1 recommend that they bring it up when
Three tips for telling your parents you're an atheist:
- Be confident. When you tell your parents, state it in no uncertain terms and in the present tense. Smile, be confident and proud. This is an accomplishment not a shame.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Be compassionate. Understand they love you and honestly believe in their religion.Make sure your parents know they did a good job raising you.
Source: American Atheists Wob site,
www.atheists.org.
there is time to talk, and when their parents are in a good mood," he said.
He also said it was important for students to anticipate their parents' concerns and have answers to help quell their fears.
Payton said despite the rift between herself and her parents she was glad she had told them about her atheist beliefs.
"I would tell people not to be afraid to tell their parents," she said. "Everyone deserves to have their own religious beliefs."
'Actifier' to be tested for medical use
Contact Koeth mkoeht@kansan.com. This story was edited by Angela Cox.
KU researchers plan to help infants with hi-tech pacifiers
OLIVIA SABI KANSAN
The Actifier is a device designed to measure brain activity and detect brain damage in premature babies. Designer Steve Barlow said that electrodes around the pacifier are used to send signals from the mouth to the brainstem and back to measure activity in the brain.
By Summer Lewis Kansan staff writer
A special pacifier, developed at the University of Kansas, that can detect potential brain injuries in newborns will be tested, thanks to a $2 million grant.
A team of researchers led by Steven Barlow, chairman of speech language and hearing at KU, has been working to develop the Actifier — an advanced pacifier that helps improve a newborn baby's ability to perform necessary motor skills such as breathing and swallowing. The National Institutes of Health last month gave the research team a five-year, $2.1 million grant, which will assist the team in testing the Actifier with area infants.
The Actifier detects brain injuries in premature infants and keeps the injuries from causing serious developmental problems, Barlow said. He said that in at least five years the Actifier could be as commonly used as the stethoscope in diagnosing health conditions.
Barlow, director of the Communication Neuroscience Laboratories in Waworth Hall, said the instrument consisted of a pacifier attached to a frame the size of an infant's shoe box. The wiring in the frame connects to a high-speed computer that gives real-time analysis of the baby's oral motor skills.
The analysis begins by matching a pacifier to the baby's mouth anatomy and size, Barlow said. The team incorporates eight recording electrodes to sample lip reflexes while premature infants suck on the pacifier. A highly specialized mechanical stimulator built into the shield of the pacifier stimulates sensitive
nerve endings in the baby's face. These nerve endings transmit neural signals to relay nuclei in the brain stem. Thus, the name Actifier, Barlow said.
"We have essentially transformed a passive device, such as a pacifier, into an active test instrument, the Actifier," he said.
Barlow said the integration was hypothesized to serve a crucial role in the formation and modification of centrally patterned brain movements, including sucking, swallowing and coordination with the chest wall during respiration.
"These early appearing motor behaviors will be examined carefully in relation to later appearing motor skills such as babbling and speech production," Barlow said.
He said another advantage of the Actifier was that the nipple could be programmed to change its shape periodically and rapidly, stimulating and prolonging the baby's desire to suck. This allows the baby to adjust his or her suck pattern to match the frequency produced by the Actifier, he said.
The research program began nearly 10 years ago at Indiana University and at that time involved only term babies through the first year of life, Barlow said. The goal was to learn more about the development of facial reflexes. In August of 2000, Barlow brought his research to KU.
Shiva Ponnaboyina, Hyderabad, India, graduate student, who works at the laboratory in Haworth with Barlow, said the Actifier was one of the best research developments at KU.
Mothers and premature babies in the Neonatal intensive care units at either KU Medical Center or Stormont Vail Medical Center in Topeka will be recruited for participation in the study, Barlow said. Approximately 390 babies will be studied from birth through 2 years of life in Kansas.
Contact Lewis at slewis@kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Smarsh.
Contact Lewis at
A MOMENT OF REFLECTION
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
Emmanuelle Watonsi, a freshman from Cameroon, bows her head in prayer during a Night of Inspiration. Former mayor of Kansas City, Mo., Rev. Emanuel Cleaver II was the keynote speaker during last night's events at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Meeting to focus on scholarship hall issues
By Caroline Boyer Kansan staff writer
Tuition increases, campus recycling, elections and a new parking committee will be some of the topics discussed today at the All Scholarship Hall Council town hall meeting for scholarship hall residents.
The council will begin the meeting at 6:15 p.m. at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Josh Boots, council president and Plano, Texas, senior, said the meeting would break up into roundtable discussions.
"We had a town hall meeting in the fall, and the roundtables worked really well, so hopefully they'll generate some good discussions." Boots said.
Boots said the committee hoped to have someone from the Student Legislative Awareness Board to help in the tuition discussions.
Aubrey Montague, Miller Scholarship Hall president and Great Bend sophomore, said she thought students often felt they couldn't participate in regular committee meetings.
"Town halls are just a way to make people feel free to come and participate," Montague said.
Boots said although discussing tearing down three houses on the 1300 block of Ohio to create two new scholarship halls was not on the agenda, he hoped someone would bring up the topic.
"It's never really been talked about in a forum setting," Boots said.
"We had a town hall meeting in the fall, and the roundtables worked really well, so hopefully they'll generate some good discussions."
Josh Boots Plano, Texas, senior and ASHC president
Montague said she didn't think scholarship hall residents had a strong opinion about tearing down the historic houses to create two new scholarship halls.
"If they build two more, we'd like to have them, but then where are we going to park?" Montague said.
Amanda Boyer, Amarillo Texas, freshman and Miller Hall resident, said she hoped the meeting would give her more information on more general topics.
"I'm probably going to go just to learn a little more about tuition, and I'm interested in running for ASHC," Boyer said.
Boots said the council would have door prizes and a prize for the scholarship hall with the largest attendance to encourage people to come.
Contact Boyer at cboyer@kansan.com. This story was edited by Andy Gassaway.
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