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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2003
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
NEWS
Events to observe Women's History Month
By Lauren Airey lairey@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Students on campus wearing T-shirts that read "Ask Me About The F-word," are not advocating the obvious. These students are members of the Commission on the Status of Women and they're hoping students will stop and ask about them about the f-word — feminism.
"Media and society have cast feminism as such a negative term," Fouzia Haq, president of the commission, said. "We truly want to educate the campus about the term feminism. It's the only fight for equality that isn't accepted."
In addition to their T-shirts, the commission will also be handing out more than 1,000 buttons that read "This Is What A Feminist Looks Like" during March to celebrate national Women's History Month.
The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center is celebrating Women's History Month in a more subtle way by honoring women who have influenced the lives of University of Kansas students, faculty and staff with "The Women Who Shape Our Lives." Photographs and brief descriptions of these women were submitted during February and will be on display through the month of March at www.ku.edu/~etwrc.
"Sometimes women who are in very public positions, like politicians and in the media, are the ones who get noticed," Kathy Rose-Mockry, director for the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, said. "This is a chance to think a bit about the place women have in our lives."
The resource center and the University's women's studies department are working with other University organizations to sponsor speakers and events on women's topics including information technology careers, policy research on the status of women and the life of Jane Austen.
Two speakers will make presentations on prospects for women in technology careers. Paula Stephan, an economist from Georgia State University, will discuss the retention of women and minorities in the information technology work force on March 13. Shirley Harkess, a KU associate professor of sociology, will discuss the grounds for optimism for women in high technology careers. Harkess' presentation on March 27 requires registration at pri@ku.edu.
"Women are very under-represented in these fields," RoseMockry said. "Women have somehow gotten message that they are not equipped for these
areas. It's important for women to say I can do that."
A lecture on March 31 by Heidi Hartmann, founder and executive director of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, will replace the February Sisters Forum that was canceled in February because of travel complications, said Carey Scheerer, February Sisters Association co-chairwoman. The institute focuses on social and economic issues of women and publishes reports on the status of women in each state.
Women's History Month began as a weeklong celebration during the week of March 8. In 1987, at the request of women's
organizations, youth leaders and educators, the National Women's History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the weeklong celebrations of women's history to the entire month of March. Since 1992, a presidential proclamation has recognized the national celebration.
"Women have made a lot of progress in a relatively short amount of time," Rose-Mockry said. "Somebody said once that we don't know where we're going unless we know where we've been. That is so on target for Women's History Month."
Freshman broke timidness with help from break dancing
Edited by Leah Shaffer
By Megan Hickerson mhickerson@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Every face in the crowd and every name in the phonebook has a story behind it. Every week, Kansan writer Megan Hickerson tells the story of a randomly selected KU student,
Will Umphrey broke down social barriers with his break dancing skills.
Umphrey, Shawnee freshman, entered Shawnee Mission Northwest High School as a quiet and introverted freshman.
"I was the oddball that got laughed at in the lunchroom Faces in the Crowd
when I was little," Umphrey said.
Uphrey's timid days came to a halt when he began watching break dancing on MTV.
"I recorded the shows and practiced the moves on trampolines and diving boards," Umphrey said.
Umphey's self-taught skills progressed and before he knew it, his social life made a complete turnaround. His break-through performance was during a spirit assembly his sophomore year of high school. Umphey performed handsprings, windmills and back flips in front of 2,500 of his peers.
"It gave people a reason to talk to me," Umphrey said. "I'd hear people say, 'Look, it's the break-dancing kid."
Umphrey wasn't the only one who was surprised by the crowd's reaction. The student energy in the gym amazed John Dunlap, Umphrey's high-school friend.
"Everyone went crazy," Dunlap said. "They were the loudest cheers that I've ever heard during a spirit assembly. It was a huge transition for Will. It was his 15 minutes of fame."
Umphey became notorious in the hallways and at parties for being the break-dancing guy. Although he admits that his skills may have helped him get girls' attention, the fame and popularity wasn't as fulfilling as he had hoped it would be.
"Everywhere I went, people would ask me to do a back flip, I just got tired of it." Umphrey said.
Umphrey no longer flips for fame — he said he was way too out of shape.
"You really have to maintain your strength," Umphrey said. "My college lifestyle is killing me."
Occasionally, he caters to break-dancing requests at his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. Umphrey's shy days are long behind him.
"He's anything but shy," roommate Peter Thornhill, Prairie Village freshman, said. "You can tell he's been break dancing for a while."
- Edited by Jason Elliott
Dan Nelson/Kansan
Will Umphrey, Shawnee freshman, performs a break-dance move in the basement of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house. Umphrey said he had been involved in break dancing since high school.
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