THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009
NEWS
5A
COMPETITION
Sophomore class has the most spirit
BY MICHELLE SPREHE
msprehe@kansan.com
The sophomore class proved to be the most spirited Wednesday at the first class competition hosted by the Board of Class Officers in front of Wescoe Hall.
The class presidents created the event to help promote campus unity.
Students who stopped to participate could compete in a hula hooping contest. Those who hula-hooped the longest won five points for their class. Students could also earn
"There's a lot of pride associated with that and we wanted to bring some unity to campus."
points by solving two riddles and playing a bean bag throwing game. The class with the most points by 2 p.m. won.
Unger said that freshmen and seniors knew their identity as being at the bottom or top of class hierarchy, and she wanted to give all classes an identity.
Kelly Unger, Leawood sophomore, and president of the sophomore class, helped run the event and said she was happy with the turnout for the event even though it was only its first year.
KELLY UNGER Sophomore class president
"There's a lot of pride associated with that and we wanted to bring some unity to campus," Unger said.
Melissa Maksimowicz, Wienna
juniored, stopped the table at
Wesco Hall to participate and received a 2010 class button.
unity."
"Even though you graduate the same year as some people, you don't have all the same classes with them," Maksimowicz said. "I think it's good that they're making an effort to promote
The class officers plan to have the event again next year.
"We have a lot of ideas for next year." Unger said. "We're going to work with the administration and try to get something unique to KU that can be a tradition."
Edited by Heather Melanson
"By having a dialogue it not only strengthens us and what we believe, but it helps other people make an informed decision," Rothbrust, Overland Park junior, said.
ABORTION (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
The walk is just one of the events that is part of "KU Stand Up for LIFE Week," hosted by KU Students for Life. The group has been tabling on Wescoe Beach all week and will be there today and Friday. Tonight, the group is hosting a discussion called "The Morality of Abortion."
"The whole point is to raise awareness about a really big issue." Rothbrust said. "Fundamentally it's about dialogue."
In response to the group's events, the Commission on the Status of Women tabled on Wescoe Beach to offer an opposing viewpoint.
Elise Higgins, Topeka junior, said the purpose for CSW's response was to inform students about the safety and legality of pregnancy terminations, as well as the range of services Planned Parenthood provided. The Lawrence chapter of Planned Parenthood doesn't provide abortion services, but mostly exists to help with family planning and sexual health, said Holly Weatherford, spokesperson for Kansas' Planned Parenthood organizations.
Jennifer Meitl, Outreach Coordinator for the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center said the students would take shifts praying all night outside of Planned
TONIGHT
**WHAT:** "Morality of Abortion" discussion
**WHEN:** 7 tonight
**WHERE:** Big 12 Room, Kansas Union
**COST:** Free
Parenthood.
Sarah Bergkamp, Garden Plain freshman, said she was in charge of coordinating the anti-abortion group and to make sure prayers took place every hour from 7 p.m to 7 a.m.
Bergkamp said the vigil was a peaceful protest that was not meant to get attention or create confrontation. She said everyone was welcome to join the vigil.
"America is supposed to be about freedom for everyone, but we're taking away that right from the unborn," Bergkamp said.
"KU Stand Up for LIFE Week" focused on the organization's antibortion position, and began when KU Students for Life members drew 3,600 chalk hearts on Wescoe Beach to represent the number of abortions that occur each day in the U.S.
"We're not here to shove our views in others' faces," Bergkamp said. "We just want it to end peacefully."
Pete Northcott, member of KU
Caleb Sommerville/KANSAN
Members of KU Students for Life march to the Planned Parenthood building at 27th and Iowa streets as part of the "Stand up for LIFE Week." Tonight the group will host a debate.
Students for Life, said the goal of "Stand Up for LIFE Week" was to help spread a message for those who could not speak for themselves. Northcott, Olathe junior, said that these issues weren't brought up on campus as much as they should be.
"Abortion hurts women and children and we want to show people that there are other options," Northcott said.
Though Higgins said she definitely supported alternatives to abortion, she said making abortion illegal wouldn't take away the risk to women undergoing the procedure. In 2007, Congress reported that prior to the Roe v. Wade decision, an estimated 1,200,000 women each year resorted to illegal abortions. Weatherford said that number
was the best evidence that women would continue the practice despite legality.
"The Morality of Abortion," which begins at 7 p.m. in the Big 12 room in the Kansas Union, will discuss the moral precepts that guide the anti-abortion position. Rothbrust will be a moderator for the discussion. She said that students who were not anti-abortion could come to the discussion to understand the other side's perspective. She said that this issue was morally based and that her participation was like being part of a civil rights movement.
"it's really uplifting to say 'Yeah, I stood up for that.' Rothrubsthat
Edited by Melissa Johnson
DOLE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Doles for more than 20 years. After serving as White House political director to Ronald Reagan, Lacy became the deputy director of Bob Dole's Political Action Committee in 1986.
He said most of the questions that would be asked were personal questions regarding the senator's lives and careers. Some questions will also be drawn from the couple's book, "Unlimited Partners."
Lacy said getting the couple to speak together was actually easier than getting them individually, even though they had done very few joint interviews in their careers.
The Doles said they were looking forward to coming back to the Dole Institute and were excited about the lecture.
"We haven't done it before so we decided to give it a shot," Bob Dole said. "There will be a lot of young people there and they'll have a lot of good questions."
Bob Dole last visited the University on April 8 for the Pickens Plan presentation given by oil executive T. Boone Pickens. The last time he was on campus for a lecture was in 2005.
Elizabeth Dole said that whenever she was on a college campus, she encouraged young people to think about public service as a noble profession.
She said that throughout the years, she and Bob had found public service as an area where they could make a positive difference.
"My mother lived to be 103," Elizabeth Dole said. "When you're up in years and you're looking back over your life, I think the question is, 'What did I stand for?'
The Dole Institute opened in July 2003 after a suggestion from Chancellor Hemenay. After Bob
Dole lost his presidential campaign in 1996, he agreed to have the University build the Dole Institute.
Lacy said the mission of the Dole Institute was to get students and adults more involved in politics and public service in a bipartisan and philosophically balanced way.
The Dole Lecture is held each spring by the Dole Institute and features a prominent figure addressing an aspect of current politics or policy. The idea for the Dole Lecture was to have former presidents, ambassadors and international personalities visit the KU campus.
"I just think it's great that Kansas has a chance to have these history makers here," Earle said.
Earle said that this year was the perfect time to honor Bob and Elizabeth Dole together.
He said deciding who would speak at the annual Dole lecture was a matter of selecting someone with a real world and global perspective. Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Tom Brokaw and Richard Mevers.
"For our lecture series, what we are trying to do is to be timely and give the community access to the wider world of politics," Earle said.
Bob Dole said he was pleased with the Dole Institute and the programs it has put on.
"I'm proud of KU and the people that go there," Dole said. "It's been successful, so coming back makes it even more interesting and exciting because it has succeeded."
Edited by Carly Halvorsom
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