Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY Kansan
Published daily since 1912
4A
Lindsay Henry, *Editor*
Marc Harrell, *Business manager*
Dave Morantz, *Managing editor*
Kristie Blasi, *Managing editor*
Dan Simon, *Sales and marketing adviser*
Tom Eblen, *General manager*, news adviser
Justin Knupp, *Technology coordinator*
Thursday, Jan. 22, 1998
Sighe/ PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
Editorials
Students should be aware of what government is doing at all levels
Will the Lawrence City Commission create a public bus system? Will Student Senate help create a University-wide recycling program? Will the Legislature dole out money for technology?
These are questions that affect most students at the University of Kansas. However, at times it seems that students do not care about the issues that affect them at campus, city, or state levels.
Last spring a KU professor and a KU graduate student ran for City Commission. This did not seem to interest many students in the campaign. Although statistics are not available, city elections have traditionally had a low turnout of KU students. Allen Field House has often been used as a polling site because of its proximity to the Daisy Hill residence halls and other student housing, both on-campus and off. However, last year the city stopped using it for local elections because of the low number of voters that used the polling site. It was simply a waste of the workers' time.
More political involvement is needed in Student Senate, City Commission, the Legislature
As a state-funded institution the University is affected by our state legislature as well. Students should make an effort to learn what is happening there. The Student Legislative Awareness Board is a campus organization that dedicates its time to looking out for students' interests and to keep students aware of what is happening in our capital.
Despite this group, many students don't seem to know what important
legislation may be coming up, or how it may effect them. SLAB has a web page and a listserv that students may sign up for through the office.
KU students seem to care most about campus politics. Involved students are not only in Student Senate, but may be members of one of the five Senate committees. More than 150 students are on these committees.
However, other students often are not nearly as interested in what Senate is doing. During a typical meeting, there may be about 10 non-senator students attending the meeting. There may be 25 to 30 students when that night's legislation effects a particular group or organization.
Considering that the University has 25,108 students, few get involved. Students need to be aware of what their elected representatives are doing at all levels of government.
Plug in to the Jayhawk Connection
Paul Eakins for the editorial board
College is an exciting time in our lives. We are given the freedom and independence to do just about anything we desire. Many opportunities surround us.
Yet students do not always take advantage of these opportunities. The University of Kansas has many social, political, academic and athletic organizations that foster a variety of interests. Students should explore these opportunities.
In the real world, employers and graduate schools will be looking for students
These organizations allow students to interact with others who have similar interests and give students good experience.
There are many organizations and opportunities available at the University.
who have excelled both inside and outside of the classroom. Your university experience must prepare you for the next level.
University.
One organization that helps students get involved is the Jayhawk Connection. Its volunteers represent a wide variety of majors, interests and backgrounds. The organization works by using more experienced students to help those new to the
The volunteers may help students by advising them about classes to take, helping them get involved in campus organizations, helping them discover internship and career-related opportunities, and helping them to adjust to the University.
Information about the organization is available at most KU living organizations, such as residence halls, scholarship halls, sororities and fraternities.
Students should use all resources available at the University to get as much from their college experience as possible.
Kansan staff
Aroop Pal for the editorial board
Paul Eakins . . . Editorial
Andy Obermueller . . Editorial
Andrea Albright . . News
Jodie Chester . . News
Julie King . . News
Charity Jeffries . . Online
Eric Weslander . . Sports
Harley Rattifl . . Associate sports
Ryan Koerner . . Campus
Mike Perryman . . Campus
Bryan Volk . . Features
Tim Harrington . . Associate features
Steve Puppe . . Photo
Angie Kuhn . . Design, graphics
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Corrie Moore . . Wire
Gwen Olson . . Special sections
Lachelie Rhoades . . News clerk
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Brett Cliffon . Regional
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“Being a politician is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game but dumb enough to think it's important.”
Eugene McCarthy
How to submit letters and guest columns
Letters: Should be double-spaced typed and fewer than 200 words. Letters must include the author's signature, name, address and telephone number plus class and home-town if a University student. Faculty or staff must identify their positions.
Guest columnms Should be double-
spaced typed with fewer than 700 words. The writer must be willing to be photographed for the column to run.
All letters and guest columns should be submitted to the Kansan newsroom, 11 Staufer-Flint Hall. The Kansan reserves the right to edit, cut to length or reject all submissions. For any questions, call Paul Eakins (eakins@kansan.com) or Andy Obermueller (andyo@kansan.com) at 864-4810. If you have general questions or comments, e-mail the page staff [opinion@kansan.com] or call 864-4810.
Perspective
Proposal would give students a needed break
B y now, you've probably read at least one of the news stories or columns about fall break.
It may be surprising that this talk is not new. Other schools work on this.
Other Schools such as Oklahoma State University, the University of North Carolina and even the University of Kansas Medical Center already have fall breaks. Wichita State University and Kansas State University are investigating the possibility of such a break.
Even at the University of Kansas, the possibility has been discussed but never completed. As a member of this year's Calendar Committee, I've been pursuing
Jason Fizell opinion@kansan.com
the idea and will not allow the complexity of the task deter me from helping to create a workable plan.
Altering the University calendar is not a simple task. Every sector of the University is interrelated. Many areas ultimately could be affected—student housing, enrollment and athletics, to name three. But the effects are not necessarily negative. For example, many other schools with fall breaks have begun scheduling football games away from home during the break to enable students to take road trips to see the games.
There also is the ever-present aversion to change that many people express when new ideas are suggested. Too often people already have made up their minds about an issue before they are familiar with the specifics. It's easier to be a cynic and dismiss something because of perceived difficulties than it is to work hard to overcome these same difficulties.
We are lucky that we have encountered relatively little cynicism so far.
It's not surprising that most KU students desire a fall break. There are many reasons for it. The stretch from Labor Day to Thanksgiving is the longest period of classes without a break.
And in the middle of this stretch is the mother of all stress-causers: midterms. But we don't get time to prepare for or recuperate from these
brain-benders.
Immediately after midterms, we're hit with what psychologists call the winter blahs, a sort of Midwestern, college-kid equivalent of the midlife crisis. Students seem to get crankier as the days get shorter and term papers and finals begin to loom on the horizon.
In short, we just can't seem to win when it comes to the dog days of October — that is, until now.
Here is a draft of the proposal:
Shorten finals to five days (from six), Monday through Friday.
Create a two-day fall break that would be tacked on the end of a two-day weekend (meaning Monday and Tuesday) in mid- to late-October.
Stop Day would fall on a Friday, giving students both this traditional day and the weekend to prepare for finals.
Also, I think the proposal would be positive for students in ways other than creating a fall break. By altering finals week, we are not only falling in step with what most of our peer institutions do, but also we are making it rational. This will cut down on situations in which students have finals on the first and last day of finals with nothing to do in between. In addition, by creating a three-day study block before the beginning of finals, students can study more.
Changes also would have to be made to spring break in order to create parity between the semesters.
The Calendar Committee has taken other concerns into account as well. For instance, we are working with the Department of Student Housing to keep all on-campus residences open during the break.
This proposal is far from a done deal. The University Calendar committee wants to hear from you. Please direct input to me at ifizell@ukans.edu.
I want to create a plan that almost everybody can agree on and benefit from. With your help we can.
Jason Fixell is an Olathe senior in history and a member of the University Calendar Committee.
Math instructors need more than high test scores
I've often wondered exactly how many college students endure the torture of semester- long intermediate math courses each year instructed by overly apprehensive, under-
trained students labeled as "undergraduate teaching assistants." How many unfortunate students such as me have watched their instructor burn up 20 minutes of a 50-minute course anxiously trying to put one student's confusion to rest?
How many students listen in disbelief as their baffled instructor murmurs to the class, "Did I do that right?" How many students shortly afterward think, "How the hell am I supposed to know?"
Tina
Terry
opinion@kansan.com
I would guess that more than a few students have experienced such torment, considering that more than 20 percent of last semester's Math 101 students and 25 percent of Math 002 students failed or dropped out of the classes according to the department of math.
Usually, a student's success in a course depends on how hard the student works. However, some of the weight leans on the instructor. At the University of Kansas, a student who wants to be a math teaching assistant must have high grades through Calculus II. He or she must also go through a rigorous interviewing process with the math department. Undergraduate teaching assistants must also receive recommendations from professors. The math department'
does a great job of making sure that only the best math students become teaching assistants.
However, what they fail to do is effectively teach these top math students how to teach. It's a simple concept: A teacher actually needs teaching skills.
The fact is it takes more than just great math skills to make a math teacher. Teachers must have presence and composure. They must be aware of the students that surround them each day, and they must be expert communicators. It is wonderful if you have the ability to solve an equation in your head, but only a true teacher has the ability to communicate this process to the student.
Now, don't get me wrong. I applaud all ambitious students who take on the challenge of becoming student teaching assistants. The University needs these assistants and it's great practice for those who aspire to become teachers. It's also no secret that math is not the easiest subject to teach or to learn. The Bureau of the Census reports that the average American student, before entering college, attains his or her lowest scores in the English and math sections of the ACT.
The department of math does train its undergraduate instructors in a 2/1/2 day teaching seminar which lasts for several hours each day. However, the department would do well to require its teaching assistants to take a longer course that teaches more instructing skills. It would certainly be worthwhile to the students who find themselves retaking Math 002 and Math 101 each semester.
Terry is a Topeka senior in journalism.
Overheard
The following comments are excerpts of the posting from the Student Senate listserv. To subscribe to the listserv call Senate at 864-3710
Last year the Unite Coalition promised to "establish a thorough and helpful Senate web page. Of course, those of you that have visited Senate's current site realize this is still far from a reality. I would like to point out ...that every single student government from our Regents, peer, and Big 12 institutions has its own institution, and most of them are incredible... I am sure most would rather delegate this task down the line and worry instead about their law school applications or what they would have for lunch that day.
Actually, Matt Bachand and I discussed hiring someone to be
posted by Jason Fizell, calendar committee member
posted by Scott Sullivan Student Body President
the webmaster and help Comms.
Board come up with the ideas behind the page with the webmaster as the executor of those ideas. Comms. has been supposed to be doing this all along.
What on earth? Liar liar pants on fire. Scott has never told me what comms was "supposed to do." Scott is ultimately the one who was supposed to come through with the web page...The fact is that the image of student senate is ultimately Scott's responsibility. Harry Truman had a sign that said "The Buck Stops Here." Scott's sign...might as well say "S---rolls downhill."
posted by Matt Bachand student senator
under our responsibilities of reaching out to students about Senate... But Scott Sullivan decided to take over the project... The Communications Board is now being left out of the project...
At the beginning of the semester, the Comms Board discussed revamping the web page since that seemed to fall
posted by Holly Krebs student senator
The original plan was to have a redesigned webpage running by the first day of the second semester. I have set aside a portion of my discretionary funds to pay for this webpage redesign... In [creating this listserv] we took a bold step that would allow free discussion by anyone with an interest in Senate. However, I believe this listserv has not fulfilled its original purpose and has simply been used to further some individuals political goals and to launch personal attacks which are unfounded.
posted by Scott Sullivan
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