FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Professor,film headed to Sundance festival
By Kelley Weiss
kweiss@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Matt Jacobson boarded a Greyhound bus at 9 a.m. yesterday for the 24-hour, one-way trip to Utah to see a movie he helped produce.
Ketley Weiss/Kansan
Jacobson, assistant professor of theatre and film, will watch Bukowski: Born into This for the first time on the big screen at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
Matt Jacobson, assistant professor of theater and film, worked as a cinematographer on the film Bukowski: Born into This. Jacobson said he never expected the film to make it to Sundance and is honored to be invited.
Jacobson worked on the film during the last four years.
"When I started working on this, I had no idea when it would be finished, where it would be screened or who would pick it up," Jacobson said. "And now I am on my way to Sundance."
Kevin Willmott, assistant professor of theatre and film, just finished working on a film with Jacobson called Confederate States of America. Jacobson worked as Willmott's cinematographer.
hear that a film Matt had worked on is being shown at Sundance," Willmott said, "He has a tremendous ability to find the right work and has worked on a wide variety of films."
Jacobson did not know the film had been selected for Sundance until he checked a movie Web site.
"It really didn't surprise me to
Jacobson said he was the first cinematographer hired for the project on Charles Bukowski.
Jacobson said Bukowski was an alcoholic, blue-collar worker who wrote poetry about his life in a strong voice. When he started working on the film, the plan was to focus on the last year of Bukowski's life when he had cancer. Jacobson said Bukowski couldn't drink during his last year and was treated for his cancer with chemotherapy. Without alcohol, Bukowski was a different person, Jacobson said.
As the project progressed, the focus shifted from the last year of Bukowski's life to his life as a poet
and artist. Jacobson said he was impressed with Bukowski's work and the way he was able to convey his life.
"It struck me how accurate yet lovingly Bukowski was able to show his life," Jacobson said. "There is a real inherent beauty in his work. The work he did as a poet and with prose is incredibly moving, emotional and raw. He has a real edge to his work."
Jacobson said he identified with the importance Bukowski put on perseverance and creating art under any circumstance. More than a year ago, he put Bukowski's poem "Air and Light and Time and Space" on his door to encourage his film students to make films even if they are not considered perfect.
— Edited by Amber Byarlay
Lawrence schools adopt no-resuscitate policy
Officials say plan wouldn't work in University setting
By JJ Hensley
jhensley@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
When a KU student suffers a severe medical trauma on campus, the University of Kansas' standard response is to call 911 and apply basic life support until medical help arrives.
But a recent decision by the Lawrence school board makes sure that response is not standard for all of the district's students.
The board's recently approved do-not-resuscitate policy was
designed to give students, particularly those with terminal illnesses, and their families the option of allowing students to die as they wish in the case of a severe medical emergency.
"Families go through a difficult enough time as it is," said Bruce Passman, executive director of the district's special services division.
Passman helped the district develop the policy.
"The board here has been very enlightened and supportive of it," Passman said. "It's an emotional topic and people tend to get very polarized about their beliefs."
The polarizing nature of the issue isn't what keeps University officials from considering a similar policy. It's logistics.
At Lawrence Public Schools, the student and family wishing to file the do-not-resuscitate request must file paperwork with the district signed by parents, physicians and a qualified witness with no financial ties to the student. Then the nurse, family and designated teachers and administrators meet to determine the course of action in a medical emergency.
Passman said he thought KU's sprawling campus would make it hard to establish a similar policy.
"I think it would be very, very difficult to administer in an organization that size," Passman said. "I think it would be nearly impossible to administer in a university setting."
Ann Eversole, associate dean of student life, said there wasn't any single office capable of housing and distributing the paperwork.
"That's the nature of the University," Eversole said. "It's not a centralized place."
Lt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said KU students who did not want to be resuscitated should carry evidence of that request on themselves, either with a medical bracelet or necklace.
"The students are individuals," Bailey said. "We have to respect what those individuals want."
Edited by Michelle Burhenn
For Kansas alumnae, life in the public eye flourishes in all forms
By Eddie Yang
eyang@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Within the past year, the University of Kansas has produced four Playboy models — and had two former alumnae occupy the Office of Governor.
With the inauguration of Kathleen Sebelius as Kansas' new governor on Jan. 13, Sebelius became only the 23rd woman to have been elected governor. Kansas is one of three states to have elected two women as governor. Kansas' first female governor was Joan Finney, elected to one term in 1990.
Burdett Loomis, KU professor in government, said Kansas was receptive to having women as elected politicians.
"Sandy Praeger, Joan Finney, Nancy Kassebaum and Sebelius are pretty moderate and it works well for a woman to be seen as a sensible person who can work with a lot of folks," Loomis said. "Within Kansas, moderate seems to be the name of the game."
Kansas is in the top 10 for states with the highest percentage of female state legislators at 32.1 percent.
"The number of women in the House of Representatives have been rising pretty steady," he said. "In the Senate you have a pretty substantial increase of women, going from very few to 13 or 14."
Loomis said that, although women have been making strides in politics, they were still
considerably short in the numbers in comparison to men.
Loomis said Hillary Rodham Clinton could be a favorite for the Democratic candidate for president in 2008.
"She has the most name recognition and if Bush wins another term with Cheney as his Vice President, in 2008 there would be no incumbent and Cheney would be too old to run." Loomis said. "Women can possibly be in the mix for the next presidential race."
With Sebelius as Kansas' new governor, KU joins Harvard as the only universities with two alumnae elected governor. Arizona governor Jane Dee Hull received a bachelor's degree in elementary education at KU in 1957, while Sebelius earned a master's degree in public administration at KU in 1977.
While Sebelius may never find her way into the pages of *Playboy*, Kristin Black, Jennifer Whalen, Carey Oroke and former *Kansan* sex columnist Meghan Bainum were pictured there during the last year.
But what's more important
— having four girls in Playboy or two alumnae elected as governor?
Cameron Haddad, Overland Park senior, said the governors were more important.
"The governors give KU some positive publicity." Haddad said, "while the Playboy girls will be forgotten when the Playboy's 'Girls of the Big 12' comes out next year."
Edited by Ryan Wood