THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2009
NEWS
3A
MULTICULTURAL
Cinco de Mayo event educates children
Latino groups to teach grade schoolers about Mexican culture in honor of the holiday
BY KAYLA REGAN
kregan@kansan.com
Chris Munoz, Topeka senior and vice president of Sigma Lambda Beta Mu, the only Latino-based
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Latino campus groups will entertain and educate about 80 students at Cordley Elementary school, 1837 Vermont St., about the holiday celebrating the Mexican army's defeat of the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The event, held today, will feature sombrero making, basic Spanish lessons, "loteria," or Mexican bingo, and other games.
fraternity on campus, said the event aimed to reverse cultural stereotypes, as well as educate the community.
"We're trying to make sure our younger generations grow up more tolerant and
open minded than in the past," Munoz said.
Lambda Gamma National sorority and the Hispanic American Leadership Organization worked together to host the event.
Latino- and Latina-based groups
Sigma Beta Beta Mt, Mu Sigma
"We're trying to make sure our younger generations grow up more tolerant and open minded."
Ben Fuentes, Satanta sophomore and HALO president, said this was the first year the organization was involved with the event. He said HALO membership was higher than ever, and the organization wanted to get involved.
"We wanted to do more on campus and do more for the community," Fuentes said. "We're filling in incorrect errors and promoting cultural education."
Munoz said the fraternity and sorority were preparing traditional
Latino dances to perform for the elementary school students. This is the third year they've put on the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
CHRIS MUNOZ Topeka senior
STROLLING
bailes populares
Group of people do the same dance in a line movement. Strolling dates back to colonial times when indigenous people were chained together in a line.
SAMBA
STEPPING
"The parents of kids would come in and be happy that we're showing them what we're doing." Munoz
Fusion of Latin and international dance styles. The rhythm and beats created by clapping and other dancer's steps drive dance moves.
said. "Even the principal was really supportive and said if we needed anything he'd help us out."
Munoz said the community
Began in Brazil in the late 1800s. Since then, samba has evolved into a set of dances, including ballroom and club samba.
showed more support than he expected, and they were trying to give back.
"In the past we've had support from the community," Munoz said. "Now, we're having a positive impact on the community."
Besides working with school children, Munoz said the groups were involved with Harvest of Hope, a three-week program that invites 50 to 60 high school-aged students of migrant farmers from Kansas to the University for a chance to
experience college life.
Eric Martinez, Garden City senior and member of the fraternity, said their performances usually required hours of preparation. Martinez said practicing the dances could sometimes be frustrating, but he enjoyed working with the kids.
"When we teach kids, we take a completely different attitude, and it's usually a lot of fun," Martinez said.
— Edited by Susan Melgren
POLITICS
Speaker to discuss health Sebelius' role in reform
Harold Godwin, associate dean of the School of Pharmacy, will speak tomorrow on the future of the health care system at a pizza and politics event for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Godwin, who is also the president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association, will address some of the issues former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
will face as secretary of health and human services.
Chelsea Mertz, Topeka junior and student assistant at the Dole Institute, said that health care would be one of the major issues in Washington during the next year and that students should pay attention to policies that would affect their future.
"Health care is the next big battle that's going to go down," Mertz said.
Mertz said Godwin was chosen to speak on the subject because
of his proximity to the issue.
"He's going to have a lot to do with these people on Capitol Hill." Mertz said.
Sebelius accepted the nomination as the next secretary of health and human services and was sworn into office April 28. In addition to cabinet member and governor, Sebelius has also served as Kansas insurance commissioner.
According to the latest government data and the National Coalition on Health Care, nearly
18 percent of the population under the age of 65 doesn't have health care.
Mertz said the topic was important because the last time the health care system was in the spotlight was in the 1990s during Hilary Clinton's unsuccessful attempt to reform it.
Godwin will speak at 12:30 p.m. in the Centennial Room in the Kansas Union. Free pizza will be provided.
Betsy Cutcliff
BUSINESS
Paul Sakuma /Associated Press
A Sprint Nextel employee works at a store in San Jose, Calif. On May 4, Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest wireless service provider reported a larger first-quarter loss on declining revenue and a charge for job cuts announced in January.
Sprint receives surge of prepaid customers
BY DAVID TWIDDY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Despite a widening net loss, Sprint Nextel Corp. finally got some good news in its long recovery Monday, as a big surge in "prepaid" customers offset another nightmarish drop in valuable subscribers who sign annual contracts.
The Overland Park-based company lost $594 million, or 21 cents per share, during the three months ending March 31, versus a loss of $505 million, or 18 cents per share, a year ago.
The company said it recorded a $327 million charge for severance and other costs connected with its announcement in January that it planned to cut 8,000 more jobs — 14 percent of its work force.
Revenue declined 12 percent to $8.21 billion, below analysts' expectation of $8.28 billion.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday that Sprint was in final discussions to outsource management of its cellular network — and transfer between
5,000 and 7,000 U.S. jobs — to Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King wrote in a research note that shifting the network management to another company could cut Sprint's annual expenses by $1 billion.
Sprint said its number of subscribers fell 182,000, a marked improvement from the company's fourth quarter, when it lost 1.3 million. However, the company said it lost 1.25 million valuable "postpaid" customers who sign contracts, an increase from the loss of 1.1 million contract subscribers in the fourth quarter.
By comparison, AT&T Inc. posted a net increase of 1.2 million subscribers during the quarter while Verizon Wireless reported adding 1.3 million.
Making up most of the difference for Sprint were net gains of 764,000 prepaid customers on its iDEN network and 394,000 wholesale and affiliate subscribers.
Unlike postpaid customers, prepaid subscribers don't sign contracts and generally generate less revenue.
- A variety of scholarships available offering up to $2,000 per trimester.
- Three enrollment dates per year for the Doctor of Chiropractic program and the concurrent Bachelor of Science program.
- Apply now for May and September 2009 classes!
CLEVELAND CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE
Kansas City | Los Angeles
You're invited to
Congratulations Class of 2009!
You're invited to
Grad Grill
5:30-7:30 p.m.·Thurs., May 7 ·Adams Alumni Center
Join us for your first alumni event. Don't miss out on all the great prizes, music, and free food.
Check out www.kualumni.org/classsof2009 for more details. Questions? Call 864-4760 or email saa@ku.edu