Thursday
February 20, 2003
Vol. 113. Issue No. 101
Today's weather
55°
Tonight: 37°
KANSAN
Tell us your news
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna Goepfert or Justin Henning at 864-4810 or editor kansan.com
From formals to techno raves:
A look at weekend parties. Jayplay
Neon sign bill doesn't pass Senate committee
By Cate Batchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
In a sales pitch to Student Senate committee meetings, Kip Slattery of Luminous Neon Inc. showed Senate members and blinded those who were too close a red and amber electric sign that would be affixed upon Wescoe Hall to advertise campus events.
The bill to fund the $37,000 electric pass signed in University Affairs but failed in the Finance Committee last night.
It's not going to be a ticker tape of stock quotes and basketball games."
Kyle Johnson engineering senator
Student Body President Jonathan Ng and Vice President Loren Malone drafted the bill, which would take money from the reserve account that has been building through the years and is now $450,000 deep.
"I find it very disappointing that members of the Finance Committee are not willing to fund the sign that would clearly benefit the student body." Ng said.
Generally every year,$40,000 rolls over into the reserve account. The rollover comes from unused student organization money that Senate funded,Ng said.
Catherine Bell, Student Executive Committee chairwoman, said Student Senate was stingy with spending reserve money. Bell is in favor of the sign.
"It will bring attendance and membership to the very same things that we spend so many hours debating on whether or not to fund," she said.
Ryan Faulconer, Colorado Springs. Colo., junior, is a Finance Committee member against the sign, which would cost Senate $1,384 a year to maintain.
"I don't know if it's worth $37,000," he said. "$37,000 just doesn't seem right."
Faulkoner also said that visibility was an issue. Even though Wescoe Beach is a high traffic area, he said some students, such as law and engineering students who usually stick to classrooms on 15th Street, wouldn't benefit from the sign.
Kyle Johnson, engineering senator said most of his classroom time was spent
SEE SENATE ON PAGE 10A
GTAC questions dismissal
Provost to review member termination
By Jessica Hood
jhood@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Members of the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition delivered a letter to the Office of the Provost yesterday asking it to review the termination of one of
its members.
GTAC members think Abdel-Rahman Al-Gibaly was unfairly terminated from his teaching assistant position this semester, said Brian Lindaman, grievance chairman for GTAC. Al-Gibaly was a graduate teaching assistant in the department of African and African-American Studies during the Fall 2002 semester.
"We want to bring awareness to this event," Lindaman said. "This behavior
doesn't lead to good teaching."
The letter was hand delivered to Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, senior vice provost for academic affairs, because Provost David Shulenburger was at the Board of Regents meeting in Topeka. The letter was delivered by Lindaman, Dan Carey, GTAC president, and Julie Littlethunder, GTAC member.
The letter, which was only two paragraphs, asked the University of Kansas to pay Al-Gibaly for the spring semester,
reimburse tuition for the spring semester, provide health care and remove any record of the incident from his personnel file, said Lindaman. These items were all included in Al-Gibaly's contract.
Lindaman said the termination of Al-Gibaly had been based on a single evaluation by his immediate supervisor in the department of African and African-American Studies. Al-Gibaly had asked
SEE GTAC ON PAGE 8A
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Nick Weyers, North Platte, Neb., junior,
is training to get his pilot's license. Weyers has been training to be a pilot since October and will take the final check flight with a Federal Aviation Administration examiner Tuesday to receive his license.
'Be A Pilot' for half the price
By JJ Hensley
jhensley@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
It's hard to think about business classes while you are over, not on, campus.
Soaring over Lawrence in a Cessna, classes are the last thing on Billy Short's mind
Instead, the Oxford senior is concentrating on another course he's taking this semester: flying. Short is one of a
handful of KU students who added aviation to their hobbies, and the flight classes he takes at Lawrence Municipal Airport are as challenging as anything offered through the University of Kansas.
"I went with a friend and his dad up to the lake one time and that was pretty much all it took." Short said of his first foray into private aviation. "It's one of those things there's always something new and exciting to challenge yourself with."
A Washington, D.C.-based company is offering other prospective pilots around the country the opportunity to get started in general aviation for less than $50.
The discounted first lesson is part of the Be A Pilot program offered through a group called General Aviation. The program began in 1997 in response to the aviation industry's alarm at the dwindling numbers of private pilots.
A certificate available on the company's Web site offers anyone interested
in flying the possibility to take an initial lesson through their local airport. KU students and Lawrence residents can take lessons at Hetrick Aircraft Inc., for almost half the usual cost.
A private pilot certificate can earn students two or three hours of KU credit through the department of aerospace engineering.
"I think the lesson's a good idea," said Nick Weyers, North Platte, Neb., junior.
SEE PILOTS ON PAGE 8A
Student works to promote, strengthen others' faith
Lawrence sophomore Michael Blanck works 20 hours a week for a Catholic organization that promotes prayer, penance and sacrifice. Blanck said he answered phone calls about the organization and the Catholic faith.
Dan Nelson/Kansan
By Megan Hickerson
mhickerson@hotmail.com
Kansas 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.
The Lawrence sophomore works 20 hours a week answering phone calls for the America Needs Fatima organization in Silver Lake,10 miles northwest of Topeka. The organization
Michael Blanck defends and spreads his faith around the nation.
Faces in the Crowd
comprises Catholics who want to spread the Fatima message, which they believe brings people back to God through prayer, penance and sacrifice.
back to God through prayer Blanck's parents are heavily involved in the Catholic church and raised Blanck in a traditional Catholic upbringing.
Blanck answers phone calls regarding the Catholic faith and Fatima message, and other employees of the organization go into private residences to
spread the Fatima message.
"I guess you could say that I'm in customer service, but this isn't the kind of customer service job that you pop in and fill out a job application," Blanck said. "Although I've never gone to a house to spread my faith, I would certainly go if I were asked to."
The organization is a part of a national group called The American Society for Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. Founded in 1974, the group was formed to resist the liberal, socialist and communist trends of the modern world. The group also affirms what it calls the "positive values" of Catholic tradition, including tradition, family and property. Those who support the Fatima message also believe that both world wars were messages to the world to straighten up.
Francis Slobonik, office manager at the America Needs Fatima Organization, appreciates Blanck's laid-back personality.
"His relaxed personality keeps him from getting all worked up when he answers difficult phone calls," Slobonik said.
Blanck's job has become more challenging with the turmoil that the Catholic Church has experienced with regards to recent allegations of child molestations by Catholic priests. However, he
"I guess you could say that I'm in customer service,but this isn't the kind of customer service job that you pop in and fill out a job application."
Michael Blanck Lawrence sophomore
describes his experiences as a welcomed challenge.
"I was shocked at the allegations," Blanck said. "It's ridiculous that this would happen in a church environment—as moral as the church is supposed to be."
Besides spreading the Fatima message, the organization also organizes frequent protests. The group protested outside Lawrence movie theaters when Doama was released.
"It was a blasphemous movie," Blanck said.
When he leaves work at the end of the day, Blanck said, he feels satisfied.
"I feel like I've done good," he said
— Edited by Brandon Gay
热
A
A