CAMPUS / AREA
Monday, January 27,1992 / University Daily Kansan
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Replacement senators striving to get involved
By Jay Williams Kansan staff writer
One was frustrated. Another was bored.
Whatever their reasons, all six replacement student senators have one thing in common - they want to get involved.
The vacancies occurred when senators either resigned because of conflicts with school or were removed by the Student Senate Executive Committee because of excessive absences at Senate meetings, Troy Radakovich, StudEx chairperson, said.
Six seats were filled last week at Senate's first meeting of the semester. Three seats are still available, two in architecture and one on campusSeat
Megan Shoup, Overland Park junior, filled a vacant business seat. She said her first meeting was interesting.
"I did not realize there was so much politics going on," she said. "I thought people would be working toward a goal. Maybe I was naive to think that."
Shoup, a resident assistant at Ellsworth Hall, said she had no previous experience with Student Senate.
Daron Sinkler. who is a replacement
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, also is co-chairperson of the Ethics Subcommittee. He has been involved in on-going revisions of Senate removal procedures.
"I wanted to be more involved than just writing legislation," he said.
Sinkler transferred to KU this year from the University of Missouri.
*1 asked about how to get involved and people said to first join a committee*
Sinkler said he would like to run in Senate elections later this semester.
Suzanne Steel, also a replacement senator from the college, said she would like to remain a senator. Being a replacement senator is a good start, she said.
"I am using this as a trial run," Steel said.
She said she had been active in student government at Cloud County Community College in Concordia.
Steel said Senate members at KU more readily expressed their opinions.
Marita Renauer, a replacement graduate senator, also has worked with student government at another school. She served as a student senator at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington as an undergraduate.
She said she applied for Senate
because she was bored and wanted to meet other students.
"I was taking a jump from being active as being an undergraduate to doing what graduate students do, and giving a soul at KU," Remauer said.
Steve Campanini, replacement off-campus senator, is in his second year at KU after transferring from Central Missouri State University.
He said that he enjoyed working on the Student Senate Finance Committee, but that part of the reason he applied for the open seat was because he was frustrated that Senate sometimes overturned the committee's recommendations.
Elizabeth Smith, Lawrence senior, also filled a vacant seat as a fine arts senator.
Radakovich said two other Senate seats had been replaced last semester.
"We have seen an increase in the number of senators up for review, but not in the number of removals," Radakovich said. "Most have had valid reasons for raising the meetings."
At the review proceedings, the senators are given the chance to explain their absences. StudEx then votes to decide whether the senators stay.
City panel: Gun use policies of local police need review
Kansan staff writer
A city-appointed panel has recommended that Lawrence police should re-evaluate their policies and the makeup of the force and strengthen communication with the public.
The panel, formed in June after the April homicide of Gregg Sevier drew heavy criticism from Lawrence American-Indian leaders, will formally present its recommendations in a report to the Lawrence City Commission at tomorrow's meeting.
The report, released Friday, recommended that the police annually review their policy on use of force.
The nine-member panel of citizens and police officials from the Kansas City area also requested clearer guidelines in the department's policy about firing a gun and proposed trauma sessions for officers involved in shooting incidents.
Police policies were questioned after the Sevier shooter. He was shot and killed by two Lawrence police officers after they were called to his home by Sevier's parents, who were worried about his behavior.
"The report is a positive step," said Reggie Robinson, KU professor of law and panel member. "It doesn't solve problems between different groups and the police, but it does give a chance to resolve some differences."
The shooting was ruled justifiable by a coroner's inquest.
Although the panel did review material from the Sevieri incident to understand community perceptions and attitudes toward Lawrence police, the panel was not
asked to come to a conclusion about the death
The panel reviewed three areas:
- Police department policies regarding use of force, response time and internal affairs investigations.
Hiring and training of police officers.
Providing public information and handling citizen complaints.
In recruiting police officers, the panel suggested that the department find qualified members of minority groups. It should be the goal of the Lawrence police to prevent discrimination within the Lawrence community," the panel reported.
The 21-page report also urged increased communication with the public.
The department should respond to citizen complaints in writing, issue annual reports to the community about the number of complaints received from the public and develop a program informing citizens of how to make a complaint or suggestion, the panel said.
Robinson said he thought Lawrence police would adhere to the recommendations.
"From what I've seen in the papers, I think that Chief (Ron) Olin welcomes the recommendations," he said.
Mike Wildden, city manager, who recommended the formation of the panel to the city commission, said he thought the report would increase cooperation between police and Lawrence citizens.
"I think a vast majority of the community sees the local police in a positive manner," he said. "The point of the report is to provide more information in handling matters with the public."
Chronology of the peer review committee
Tomorrow night, a committee formed in response to the killing of Gregg Sevier will present its report on Lawrence police to the City Commission.
Mav
April 21
Gregg Seveil killed by two Lawrence police officers.
Community forum held in Lawrence, where American Indian leaders express outrage at police department procedures and actions.
June 24 Peer review committee's first meeting July 26 Peer review committee's second meeting
April 1991
Saturday Committee releases final report.
April 30
A coroner's inquest called by the Douglas County District Attorney finds Servier's death was unjustifiable homicide.
City Commission establishes peer review committee to explore Lawrence police procedural policies.
Aug. Jan. 1992
Gerald Hawth, an author from Hawaii, begins six-month research in Lawrence for his book "Hitchitcha," an account Sevier's death.
Jeff Meesey. Daily Kansan
Daron J. Bennett/KANSAN
Time out
Business in downtown Lawrence seems to grind to a halt during KU home basketball games. Todd Kofford, Dodge City senior, passes the time keeping watch on an empty store. Kofford was working Saturday at Kaw River Mercantile Co., 10 E. Ninth St.
Cancer support group fights ignorance, offers education
Kansan staff writer
Most people don't equate cancer with hope.
But the message of one University of Kansas group is that people can still stay in school.
Forming Awareness of Cancer.
Through Students (FACTS) is an educational service and support group that started at KU in Fall 1990.
Ann Southerland, Lancaster, Pa. senior, said she founded FACTS because cancer affected many college students.
About 75 percent of the people in FACTS have had cancer or have a family member with cancer, she said. The group has about 25 members.
"My younger brother had cancer," Southerland said. "People have a tendency to be pretty ignorant until it happens to them."
Her brother has recovered, she said.
Susan said she the group did not
give her permission.
"We stress the concept of sound mind, sound body," she said.
Cancer patients are not necessarily weak or different, Southerland said. The disease can challenge them to fight back.
Mark Heidebrecht, Wichita senior and vice president of FACTS, said he joined the group because he supported health education and preventive medicine. Heidebrecht is one of several members of the group who have had no personal experience with cancer.
He said he thought a lot of people might have the wrong impression of him.
"FACTS has educated me," he said.
"It made me more aware of how cancer
affects."
"We're not a morbid group." Heidebrecht said.
Kim Morgan, Edwarddswilson sophmore and president of FACTS, said the group tried to concentrate on the prevention and cure rate of cancer.
Morgan, whose father died of cancer while she was a high school senior, said 'FACTS had helped her to deal with her ather's death.
"It's been a really good support net,
he she said. A lot of people have been
been the same."
People can have hope when they are faced with cancer. Morgan said.
Kyle Frick, Overland Park senior,
been a member of the group since
November.
Frick, who had bone cancer in high school, said FACTS had given him the opportunity to better understand his experience with cancer.
"For a long time I asked myself, 'Why did I get it?' he said. "Then I realized that it's not just me. It's happening every day to many people."
By Ranjit Arab
Kansan staff writer
"In African society, oral traditions are taken as seriously as Shakespeare and the classics are taken in the Western world," Egdu said to a crowd of about 20 that included instructors from the University of Kansas and Wichita State University and officials from museums in Kansas City.
African studies should emphasize oral traditions, professors say
Romanus Egudu, English professor at the University of Benin in Nigeria and Kwabena Nketia, a KU visiting professor this spring, spoke at the International Room in the department of African and African-American studies.
Undergraduate classes in African studies should place a greater emphasis on oral tradition, two visiting professors told instructors and museum officials Saturday.
Egudu, a published poet who also has written several books about African oral poetry, said undergraduate programs in African studies often overlooked the importance of oral traditions.
Students should be introduced to African oral traditions to better understand African philosophy, he said.
In the long run, a better understanding of African traditions would contribute to world harmony, Egudu said.
"The more you know about a people, the less the bridge is between the two of you," he said.
Nketia used audio-visual materials to demonstrate how oral lessons could be taught. He showed slides of Africa and played a tape of music that illustrated the drum language of the people.
Drayton said KU could benefit from a program similar to one at Pennsylvania State University, where African persecutors have been convicted.
Arthur Drayton, who heads African-American studies, said he agreed that more emphasis on oral traditions was needed. However, he said his department lacked the money to invite artists to perform for students.
Kwabena Nketia
As a result, Nketia recorded a series of oral poems written by mother
Because the stressing of syllables is so important in translating African languages, Nketia said oral lessons were often more accurate than written history.
"I was learning about iambic pentamer, but I was not even sure if I should be poetry poems of my own people." he said.
"In that case, the whole society, not just the department benefits," he said.
Nketia said he first had become aware of the neglect ororal traditions when he was a student in Africa.
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