Jayplay INSIDE
WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NEXT YEAR?
Explore your options with the Kansan's apartment guide. INSIDE
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 107
Left to right: Gullermo Rodriguez de San Miguel, Lyla Beckingham, Toshita Bavre, Anna Rosenblum and Emmalyn Beckingham watch as KI students Holly Simpson and Courtney Bell, playing the role of plates in "And the Plate Ran Away with the Spoon." are glued back together. The students participate in the class "Children and Drama."
Fairy tale education
Theater course offers college and elementary students opportunity to act, play, teach each other
BY JENNIFERTORLINE
jtorline@kansan.com
Fairy tales and nursery rhymes come to life Thursday afternoon in a basement room at Murphy Hall. Children transform into cats playing fiddles and cows jumping over moons, and KU
students become dishes running away with spoons as they act out children's books.
The classroom exercise is called story drama, and it's part of a "Children and Drama" class directed by Jeanne Klein; associate professor of theatre and film.
Illustrations by Gatherer Coquillette/KANSAN
Eighteen KU students are taking the spring semester course, which helps them learn how to teach drama to local children in first through sixth grade. The children in first through third grade work with children's books, while fourth through sixth
graders create their own stories, which often dealing with more serious topics.
But the students find themselves learning from the children as well.
"They are the most imaginative people you could meet," said Melissa Arnold, Mundelein, Ill., junior and education major. "Learning from their ideas and having them direct us is really fun."
"It almost feels like the kids become your peers on the Thursday classes," said Rachael Beaumont, Lawrence senior and theater major.
On Tuesdays, the students meet for discussion and on Thursdays they are joined by the children.
Beaumont has a unique perspective on the class because
she's been on both sides. As a child, she participated every semester from first to sixth grade.
Beaumont and the other KU students spend the first half of the semester working on improvisational skills with children in first through third grades by re-enacting children's books.
run away, and all the nursery rhyme characters have to find them.
"Everybody works together to make the whole thing run
SEE THEATER ON PAGE 6A
LAWRENCE
Meeting to provide tips on how to save energy
BY KAYLA REGAN
kregan@kansan.com
Students can save 2 percent on their heating costs for every degree they set their thermostat back. Using a microwave to cook food uses one-third the amount of energy a conventional oven would use. Students can learn about these, and other energy saving tips, at 7 tonight during the Oread Neighborhood Association meeting at Plymouth Congregational Church.
Laura Lutz, Westar account manager in consumer services, will provide information about ways to cut energy use, such as exposing south-facing windows to the sun to help heat a room. Lutz said she would also discuss inexpensive ways to maximize energy efficiency, such as buying power surge protectors.
"We'll be talking about ways that people can use energy more wisely, like buying compact fluorescent light bulbs and the benefits of heat pumps," Lutz said.
"Really, just any little changes people can make around their home."
Juliana Tran, Dallas senior and president of Environs, an organization dedicated to promoting environmental awareness, said every bulb in her house was a compact fluorescent bulb.
"Now it's getting more popular because people are realizing they come with economic benefits, as well as help the environment," Tran said.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, which last an average of five to 10 years, could affect anyone's energy bill, Lutz said. Last September, Lutz said Westar gave residents of Colwich six compact fluorescent lightbulbs per household as part of a yearlong pilot project. In the first three months, the town of 1,271 people reduced its energy consumption by 6 percent, Lutz said.
"If the first three months are any indication we can really reduce energy consumption overall." Lutz said. "We did the project just to show that by
SEE WESTAR ON PAGE 6A
STUDY ABROAD
Experiences set students up for future success
BY MICOLE ARONOWITZ
maronowitz@kansan.com
Florez, Topeka senior and German major, spent the past academic year studying abroad in Germany, his second time studying in the country.
Teaching the English language to children in Germany helped Pantaleon Florez find his life's calling.
"I know that I want to go back to Germany to work later on because I had a really good working experience when I was over there," Florez said. "It put me on the path that I am on right now"
Study abroad participation totals stayed consistent in 2008-2009 as compared to last year's figures, according to Robert Lopez, outreach coordinator for the Office of Study Abroad.
The deadline to apply for study abroad programs during the summer and fall of 2009 and the full 2009-2010 academic year is March 1.
There are 50 short-term study
Sue Lorenz, interim director of the Office of Study Abroad, said the benefits of studying in another country included fostering independence, becoming familiar with another culture and making connections for future endeavors. She said studying abroad helped students
abroad programs that provide opportunities during spring, winter and summer breaks. There are also 60 programs in which students spend an entire semester or academic year abroad.
create a sense of self, and it was also advantageous when looking for a job or applying to graduate school.
"It suggests a willingness to explore new situations and take on challenges," Lorenz said.
Dorrie Young, Wichita senior and art history major, is primarily interested in Asian art. To help her knowledge become more comprehensive, she spent last summer in Japan studying, visiting art muse-
SEE STUDY ABROAD ON PAGE 6A
top study abroad programs
Long-term programs:
- Australia
- San Jose, Costa Rica
- Humanities and Western Civilization program in Florence, Italy, and Paris, France
Short-term programs:
Classifieds...3B Opinion...5A
Crossword...4A Sports...1B
Horoscopes...4A Sudoku...4A
index
- British Summer Institute in the humanities
- Summer Language and Culture Institute in Florence, Italy
- Architecture in Asia program over winter break
Source: Robert Lopez, outreach coordinator of the Office of Study Abroad
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
FALLON TAKES ON LATE NIGHT SHOW
Jimmy Fallon will replace Conan O'Brien on NBC's "Late Night" talk show starting Monday. ENTERTAINMENT I 4A
weather
TODAY
63 26
Scattered t-storms
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
AM clouds/ PM sur
38 15
Snow shower