Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, June 24,1998
Minority groups plan orientation for new students
By Both Janos Kansan staff writer
Moving away from home for the first time, making new friends and finding a niche are all things that many new students must deal with when they first come to college. Four campus groups are working to make the transition a little easier for minority students.
Black Student Union, Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Native American Student Association and Asian American Student Union are planning the Minority Student Community Weekend for Aug. 15-16. The program's goal is to help new minority students feel more at home and to meet other minority students.
"The idea is to show parents and students, the minute they pull up to the dorms, that there is a support network for all students," said Airick West, Kansas City, Mo., freshman and the program's coordinator.
Crews will be available at residence halls to help students move in, to give information about organizations and to answer questions from parents and students. Other tentatively scheduled activities include entertainment and an information fair.
The idea was generated during a town hall meeting and a brainstorming session of BSU members last semester.
Julius Williams, assistant director of the Office of Minority Affairs and BSU's adviser said that the program had received encouragement from University faculty.
"The Office of Minority Affairs also is in full support of the program," Williams said. "The thought behind it was what we can do to welcome this increase in the minority population that's occurring on campus."
Williams said that response from new students was positive and that they seemed willing to participate.
"We've talked to several minority students during orientation, and they're excited about the program and being connected with students immediately upon arrival," he said.
Organizers are seeking volunteers for the weekend. Current minority students will receive information about what they can do to help.
"We're trying to build the program with volunteers and the necessary equipment to handle the program," Williams said.
Specific places where events will be held and other details of the program are being planned and are awaiting approval.
James Kitchen, dean of students, said funding for the program probably would be approved after more questions were answered. If approved, $3,000 to $3,400 would be allotted for the activities.
"To get approved, the program has to be representative of the campus community," he said. "With all of the organizations involved, it qualifies to meet our guidelines."
For more information about the program contact Airick West at 864-4351.
Lab accident causes fluorine leak, Malott Hall evacuation
By Jorry Jackson Kansan staff writer
A science-lab accident resulted in a chemical leak and the evacuation of Malott Hall Monday.
Judy Wu, assistant professor of physics, and students triggered a fluorine leak at about 2:20 p.m. Monday at Malott Hall. The KU Office of Public Safety was notified shortly after, and the building was evacuated.
At the scene, Lawrence Fire and Medical Department officials followed hazardous-material procedures and entered the building. After the affected area was cleaned, the building was declared safe at 4:15 p.m.
Three of the four people who were in
the affected lab at the time of the incident were examined by paramedics and transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
The fourth individual, Byeongwon Kang, Lawrence graduate student, left the scene. Repeated attempts by police to reach her by phone were unsuccessful.
dents were attaching a 10 to 15-pound canister to a vent chamber when the valve either failed or was opened improperly.
Mike Russell, director of Environment Health & Safety, told police that the chemical leak occurred in room B078 and that fluorine was involved.
"It's not a very friendly substance,and you don't want to spend much time around it."
Raymond Ammar
Russell told police that Wu and three stu-
Physics and astronomy professor
The vent chamber was working, but the amount of chemical released was too much for the vent chamber to handle.
lab.
KU police officers were concerned that fluorine had come into contact with the skin of the people in the
"We were told fluorine is an extremely dangerous chemical and could cause a
fatality," KU police Sgt.Troy Mallen said.
Wu declined to comment on the cause of the chemical leak. Her supervisor, professor of physics and astronomy Raymond Ammar, said that fluorine's properties were similar to chlorine.
"It's not a very friendly substance, and you don't want to spend much time around it," he said.
In the incident's wake, Ammar has convened a committee to review emergency procedures for chemical leaks and to consider new venting systems.
"We need to look at how to deal with these kind of spills more effectively," Ammar said.
New advising center eases transition
Freshmen and sophomores get focused attention
By Duane Wagler
Kansan staff writer
University of Kansas freshmen and sophomores who are confused about the advising process have a new source of help beginning this summer.
freshman with focused advising, said director Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle.
The Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center was created to provide each
"We really see this process as a joint effort between our faculty and staff advisers and the student," she said. "We certainly don't want to undo any good advising that's already being done."
Nemeth Tuttle said that the office would unite advising efforts for about 3,800 freshmen enrolling this fall.
"It's more a matter of focusing it and bringing it together and being sure that we don't let students drop through the cracks," she said.
The idea for the center came from the 1995 Freshman/Sophomore Academic Experience Committee. The center then was recommended by a 1997 Committee for Improvement of Advising Services for Freshmen and Sophomores.
When freshmen arrive in the fall, they will be assigned to advisers who will work with them through their first year. Nemeth Tuttle said that students also would be required to attend a small group meeting, an individual meeting and a follow-up meeting in the fall.
One of the center's primary services is to advise students who are undecided on their major. Nemeth Tuttle said that the center would provide the
undecided student with help in course, major and career selection.
Ra Willits, pre-social work adviser, works with the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center. She said that the center's emphasis on early advising would smooth students' transition from pre-social work to the School of Social Welfare.
Nemeth Tuttle said that the center expected students to participate in the advising process by attending scheduled meetings.
"The only thing that really works is if the student takes an active role," she said. "It's not us just telling them what courses to take."
Indigenous Nations program names director
Kansan staff writer
By Graham K. Johnson
The brand new Indigenous Nations Studies Program has its first director.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announced last Wednesday the
appointment of Western Michigan University professor of history Donald Fixico to lead the program, effective January 1, 1999. The program, approved last year, will be an interdisciplinary approach intended to train scholars in the whole breadth of Native American studies, said Carl Strikwerda, associate dean of humanities for the college.
Flixico: named new indigenous Nations Studies Programs Director.
It's a task well suited to Fixico, Strikwerda said.
"We wanted to get someone who would attract graduate students, perhaps write a journal and do activities to
make KU one of the real centers of Native American scholarship," Strikwerda said.
He said that the University proposed the creation of the program to the Board of Regents to coordinate the research on indigenous peoples already being done on campus.
Fixico has done extensive research on Native Americans since earning his doctoral degree in history at the University of Oklahoma in 1980. He has published two books, including "Urban Indians" with Chelsea House Publishers, and has two more in progress. Fixico also did a postdoctoral fellowship at the D'Arcy McNickle Center for the American Indian, Newberry Library, in Chicago.
Since 1990 Fixico has taught history at Western Michigan University and has been working on some of the projects he will be developing here at the University, Strikwerda said.
Though Fixico could not be reached for comment, he was quoted in a press release as saying that the new program would enable a better understanding of Indian peoples, ideas and cultures in order to share their perspective with the rest of the world.
program different from others in the nation was that it would include studies of indigenous peoples in Latin America as well as the traditional study of North American native peoples.
Will Holliday, Huntington, W. Va., graduate student, said that the broader scope of the program was important. He said that the program would raise awareness of indigenous issues which are important in Latin America but rarely paid attention to or studied here.
Strikwerda said that what made the
"I'll be very happy to see that program start because it will mean a whole lot more focus on indigenous studies here on campus and more resources for students and the community," Holliday said.
Strikwerda said that Fixico's department would incorporate many of the current indigenous studies classes as well as programs such as the law school's Tribal Law Center and the Anthropology Museum's Amazonian People's Resource Initiative.
The program was developed in cooperation with Haskell Indian Nations University. Fixico has said that cooperation with Haskell was a key factor in his decision.
Venida Chenault, interim director of
"We wanted to get someone who would attract graduate students,perhaps write a journal,and do activities to make KU one of the real centers of Native American scholarship."
Carl Strikwerda Associate Dean of Humanities
American Indian studies at Haskell, said she worked with the University to provide greater opportunity for students interested in native peoples studies. Chenault said that the graduate program would compliment the bachelor's degree program in Native American studies that Haskell is establishing. The programs should strengthen each other, Chenault said.
"The thinking is that the two institutions, together, will become a national center for research on indigenous nations studies," Chenault said.
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