6A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2002
NEWS
Free class fills void for some students
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
Father John Mack, a minister in the Orthodox Christian Church, felt something was missing from the Western Civilization classes most KU students are required to take. To Mack, the writings of the desert fathers, early Christian monks who lived in the Egyptian desert, are key texts of Western philosophy.
"You can't understand Western history or the development of Western civilization unless you understand the writings of the desert fathers," he said.
In order to fill the gap, Mack decided to teach a class on desert spirituality himself at the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry at the University of Kansas. The class is sponsored by St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology.
Mack said he hoped the University of Kansas would agree to accept three hours of credit for the free class if students fulfilled certain requirements, such as writing a paper.
Tim Miller, chair of the KU religious studies department, said the Office of the Registrar usually made decisions involving credit transfer. He said it would likely depend on whether the academy the class was being given through was accredited.
"If it's being given through a non-accredited seminary the credits wouldn't transfer anywhere." Miller said.
Mack said the Athanasius Academy was accredited for theological education.
Even if the credits can transfer, however, Miller is unsure whether they would fulfill any departmental requirements because of the unusual focus of the class.
During the early centuries of Christianity, monks such as Saint Anthony the Great and Saint Pachomius turned stretches of
dangerous and barren desert between Thebes and the Mediterranean Sea into a destination for spiritual pilgrimage. Monastics came to the desert to fast and pray in the hopes of bringing themselves closer to Christ.
"The Orthodox church was a huge influence on Russia and a good deal of Eastern Europe," Mack said. "It is impossible to understand what happened in Russian history and European history without having an understanding of the how the Orthodox church and the teachings of the desert fathers influenced this."
Mack said a class on the desert fathers was important for anyone who wanted to know more about history, European studies or spirituality.
The desert monks also spent a lot of time writing about the desert and their religious philosophy. This philosophy later became the foundation of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Even so, all but two of the 13 students currently enrolled in the class are Orthodox Christians.
"It's a very interesting subject, I would encourage anyone to take it because it's different from anything they'll get anywhere else," Pierson said.
Leif Pierson, Dallas graduate student, converted to Orthodoxy last year. He decided to take the class to increase his knowledge of his religion and spirituality. He agreed, however, that the class would be useful for students who weren't Orthodox.
Miller agreed desert spirituality was an interesting subject that received little coverage. He said that taking the class through the Orthodox Christian Fellowship was a good way to get the information but that the method of teaching would probably differ from KU religion classes.
"I think it's a legitimate pursuit. Desert spirituality influenced a lot of history and Orthodoxy is a powerful religious tradition," he
"You can't understand Western history or the development of Western civilization unless you understand the writings of the desert fathers." Father John Mack Orthodox Christian Church minister
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
said. "But there is an issue of method. We try to approach religion as a human phenomenon, personal belief doesn't enter into our classes. A seminary class would be more faith-based."
Miller said KU didn't offer any classes on desert spirituality because the religion department hadn't had a demand for it.
James Woelfel, director of the Humanities and Western Civilization program, said the desert fathers weren't included in Western Civilization because the course focused more on Western Europe.
"We have two semesters to read important works from Homer to World War II," he said. "We tend to choose the works that are most obviously important. St. Augustine is the towering spiritual figure for what we think of as the western world."
Father John Mack is a minister for the Orthodox Christian Church. He also teaches a Saturday noncredit class on desert fathers and Orthodox spirituality at the St. Raphael House, 1421 W. 19th St.
Woelfel said the Western Civilization program had no plans to add the desert fathers anytime soon.
Mack's class on desert spirituality is held in the St. Raphael House, 1421 W. 19th Street. Lectures begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and the discussion section is at 8 p.m. on Mondays.
Contact Koerth at
mkoeth@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kristi Henderson
RESOLUTION
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Robinson runs their center well because that is what people want."
"I joined Lawrence Athletic Club this month because I wanted to get into
Some students choose among the various health centers for different reasons.
Jenl Knight, Prairie Village senior, said it was cheaper for him to work out at his apartment complex's facilities than joining a health club.
shape," said Dee Ewart, Cimarron junior. "I would rather go to campus if we had a new rec center, but I don't think the cost of LAC is too high because they have a lot of machines there. I feel that I am getting my money's worth."
Tyler Epp, Lawrence second-year
law student said he recently joined Total Fitness because he thought it offered an affordable alternative than other fitness clubs. He said he had worked out at Robinson in the past.
Spring Break vacations.
"Robinson's hours are terrible," Epp said. "It is always crowded and annoying with different people."
Sells said he thought that many students who joined health clubs in January were trying to get ready for
"They need to stick with it throughout the year though," Sells said about working out. "It is hard to look good for Spring Break in just 90 days because it's nearly impossible to lose a lot of weight in that amount of time."
Contact Lewis at slewis@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jeremy Clarkson.
FITNESS
Cristal Barnes, manager of Body Boutique, 925 Isa St., operates a facility geared toward women. Membership costs $120 for 3 months, $150 for 4 months, or KU students can get a year-long price of $25 per month.
MacPherson, Wichita senior
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Barnes said that many women had trouble adjusting weight machines to their
She said she looked at other clubs but thought Total Fitness had better equipment and cost less.
height.
"If you're under five feet tall, you can't use many of the weight machines found in traditional facilities," Barnes said.
Barnes said that Body Boutique offered better hours than Robinson and had sign-up sheets so club members could be sure they would get to use the equipment.
Robinson was closed yesterday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and no one was available to comment.
- Contact Shuman at mshuman@ kansan.com.This story was edited by Andy Gassaway.
Local fitness centers and hours of operation
Robinson Fitness Center, 1301 Sunnyside Dr. Monday and Wednesday 6-7:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.-midnight. Tuesday and Thursday 6-8 a.m., 6:30 p.m.-midnight. Friday 6 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Burge Union Fitness Center, third level of the Burge Union. Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Body Boutique, 925 Iowa St. Monday-Thursday 5:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
p.m. Weekends 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Lawrence Athletic Center (south location), 2108 W. 27th St. Monday-
Thursday 5 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sunday 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday 5:30 a.M.
Total Fitness Athletic Center, 2339 Iowa St. Monday-Friday 5 a.m.-11
8 a.m., 8 a.m.
RESERVES
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Lawrence Athletic Center (north location), 3201 Mesa Way. Monday Friday 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
ready to go at any time.
"It doesn't matter if you're a student or not," he said. "It's time to go, you go."
Appleby said he had figured out how to take care of everything, including rent, bills and personal matters.
"My Army pay is directly deposited into my account, and I've got it set up so my roommate can write checks for me," he said. "It's cool, because I can actually trust my roommate with stuff like that."
The Army does what it can to make leaving easier, Applebly said.
"The Army has programs that will help you get organized. Once you've gone through those, it's pretty easy," he said. "The other nice thing about the Army is if you do get called, it allows you to opt out of your lease. It's a requirement."
your lease. It is a requirement that Applebly said it was important to be prepared
"The more stuff you have the more complicated it gets," he said. "That's stuff you've just got to take care of, to make sure it's covered."
However, he's not worried about being called to active duty.
"It'd probably be a life-changing experience and an adventure, but until the orders come, I'm not going to sweat it," he said.
Contact Keesee at rkeesee@kansan.com. This story was edited by Joanna Miller.