CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, January 26, 1994
3
Red tape limits day care centers
Area parents seek services
By Angelina Lopez
Kansan staff writer
The chance to have cheap before- and after-school day care housed in public schools may seem like a golden opportunity for many parents.
But the hassle involved in acquiring such care often overshadows the glow.
in the spring of 1993, the Lawrence
School Board, USD 497, approved a policy that allows commercial day care centers to provide their services in Lawrence public schools. Parent groups are responsible for contracting the day care centers. The schools provide only the space in which the centers operate.
But almost a year has passed, and only two elementary schools — Kennedy and Broken Arrow — have opened day care centers, both on Jan. 3. The red tape involved with providing day care services is the problem.
"The school administration said they didn't want to be associated with baby-sitting," said Susan Wolfe-Shirk, former president of Lawrence School
Area Councils, a group that represented parents who were interested in bringing day care centers to schools.
The school board placed the responsibility of finding and contracting the day care providers in the hands of parent groups. But Marla Adkins-Heljson, a research associate at the University of Kansas and a member of the council, said that the people involved were volunteers and changed every year.
Broken Arrow, 2704 Louisiana St., ran into this problem when its organized parent group decided that it did not want to take on the responsibility, said Bob Taylor, assistant superintendent. However, another parent group formed and was able to bring child-care services to the school, he said.
Where to put the day care centers within the schools also has brought up many difficulties.
"For teachers, it's an inconvenience to have strangers in their rooms because things can get rearranged," said Wolfe-Shirk.
Willie Amison, principal of
Taylor said another impediment was that the space used for child care could not be used for regular afterschool activities. This limited some schools from being able to provide space, he said.
Kennedy, 1605 Davis Road, said the school's child-care provider, Children's World Learning Center, was doing an excellent job.
"The day care service provides good child care, a structured environment for the children and relief to parents who are concerned about the quality of child care," he said.
The service is $25 a week or $7 a day,
Amison said.
Wolfe-Shirk said everyone should support this program even if they did not have children involved.
"Children can't provide for themselves, and they need the community to do it for them," she said.
Indian group aids transition
By Denise Nell
Kansan staff writer
When Raku Patel, a native of India from Nairobi, Kenya, came to the University of Kansas, he found himself struggling to adjust to a strange culture.
"I came from a place where I was alone here," he said. "There was nobody here like me."
But Raku Patel, a
sophomore, said things had changed for the better when he had discovered the KU Cultural India Club.
"I just kept going to the meetings, and I got engrossed," he said. "I was relieved to see someone else from my culture here."
Priyesh Patel, the club's vice president, said the group had been formed about five years ago by a group of graduate students who had wanted to set up a network of support for Indian students.
The club now has at least 300 members. Most are undergraduates, said Priyesh Patel, junior and a native of India who also is from Kenya.
"When they come from India, they usually have a language barrier," he said. "We try to aid them in getting set, tled down."
Priyesh Patel said members of the club helped new students from India find housing, guided them through fee payment and orientation and helped them with their studies.
The members also gave money to the Red Cross to help victims of the earthquake in India this fall. The earthquake Oct 12, 1983 struck southern India killing 9,748 people
"We are part of the country," Priyesh Patel said. "It's in our blood."
The club sponsors events that celebrate Indian culture throughout the year. Diwali, a festival of lights in October, includes traditional dancers and Indian food. During Holi, a festival of colors held in February or March, students paint their faces with powdered colors to celebrate the season.
The club will sponsor a movie 7 p.m. Friday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Priyesh Patel said he hoped that the movie, "Darr," would have English subtitles so all students could attend. He described the movie as India's version of "Fatal Attraction."
Priyesh Patel said the club hoped to sponsor more cultural events and shows in cooperation with other clubs such as the Vietnamese, Pakistan and Bangladesh student organizations. However, Priyesh Patel said the club's $1,400 budget from Student Senate for the year was not enough to cover the costs of putting on such events.
Other goals of the group include getting an office in the Union with other student groups and involving graduate students in the group.
The main goal, however, is to continue to make Indian students feel welcome at the University.
"Indian society is much more conservative," Priesh Patel said. "When they come here, they're kind of scared to get involved with other students. They come in contact with American students who speak good English and develop an inferiority complex. We try to show them they don't have to feel inferior."
John Gamble / KANSAN
Brushing up
Rachel Owens, Lake Lotawana, Mo., senior, paints a lawn mower blue in the Art and Design Building. Owens was working on her untitled found-object sculpture for a class project.
Cheating policies questioned
Various sanctions create confusion
By Jamie Munn
Kansan staffwriter
From hiding cheat sheets to bribing a professor, increasing academic misconduct has sparked discussion of new penalties.
David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, said that he was concerned about the University's academic integrity and that he thought that the current policies needed revision.
"What we'd like to do is minimize academic misconduct by all the parts of the University." he said.
He said one concern was the variety of sanctions faculty members could take against students accused of academic misconduct. The actions could range from a verbal slap on the hand to the dismissal of a student.
"So long as the range is that great, we're not likely to deter any amount of misconduct," Shulenburger said.
He said he was considering a policy used by Rutgers University, where faculty members were able to determine their own sanctions according to the level of the violation. Students may be asked only to retake tests or rewrite papers, but first offenses are noted in case of future violations.
But inconsistencies among departments and faculty also have contributed to a sense of confusion about the policies, Shelton said.
Robert Shelton, University ombudsman, said the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences had one of the clearest policies on campus. Departments in the college notify students of academic misconduct with special forms that are sigmed and returned by the students.
conduct punishment, but others are less likely to do so because of their personalities or the dread of long misconduct hearings.
Part of the confusion may come from the many different possibilities for academic misconduct.
Some faculty members always initiate mis-
"Plagiarism is plainly a concern all through the scholarly world," Shelton said.
Shelton said that the increased use of computers had allowed more students to copy research papers. In one instance, a student had reprinted a paper but had forgotten to put his name on the work.
Students in large classes think that the professor will not recognize a paper twice, he said.
However, a revised policy to clarify procedures may not take effect for some time. Shuilenburger said that it was too late this semester for the Academic Procedures and Policies Committee of University Council to study the matter but that he hoped the committee would look into it in the fall.
Computer inspires marriage
By Susan White
Kansan staff writer
When searching for a soul mate, most people look to the bars, parties, singles ads and dating services, but not one Lawrence woman — she met hers through electronic mail.
Four years ago, Evelyn McPhee,
Lawrence resident, said she signed onto a computer discussion list through Bitnet. a computer network
The lists were made up of different categories with people who shared similar interests. Several people were on the discussion list McPhee chose — including a man named Garnett, her future husband.
"We discovered that we had similar interests that other people on the list wouldn't be interested in," she said. "So we wrote little notes back and forth."
After communicating a few times, they exchanged names and hometowns. McPhee said.
The relationship moved from messages on the discussion list to private notes to letters by mail and then to the telephone, she said.
"It was almost necessary for us to get married because our phone bills were getting too high," McPhee said.
Their relationship progressed along well, so the couple decided to meet in person, she said. For their meeting, Garnett had to travel from his home in Texas to McPhee's home in Lawrence.
During their visit together, the couple discovered that they had a lot in common and that they matched well with each other, McPhee said.
McPhee said that she learned Garnett had reached a point in his job where he was beginning to feel a change would be necessary. He told her they should think about doing something permanent with their relationship.
Garnett had decided that the time had come for his job change, McPhee said. He moved to Lawrence, and the couple got married soon after.
McPhee said that she wanted the theme of the wedding to continue the idea of her and Garnett's relationship by computer. She had a special cake made for the occasion.
"It was a chocolate cake," she said.
"Instead of a bride and groom, there were computers on it and our user IDs were written on it."
Lynn Nelson, professor of medieval history and coordinator of the history department on-line mail service, said that couples meeting through electronic mail and discussion lists was not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, people can get on lists specifically set up for the type of mate they are looking for.
"Some of them met and had long relationships and some got married," he said.
Arthur Thomas, associate director of the counseling and psychological services at Watkins Memorial Hospital, said relationships formed over electronic mail could be just as successful as ordinary relationships.
"Some people meet in strange ways, and find they can make them work," he said. "Others meet in conventional ways, and it doesn't work. It just depends on the people."
SPRING BREAK ALTERNATIVE
IN MEXICO
"Between two views -building on the border"
COST: $100 (room, board) plus incidentals LOCATION: Across border from Eagle Pass Texas in Pedras Negras, Mexico.
Informational meeting on Sunday, January 30, 1:30 pm at the ECM Center (1204 Oread, one block north of Kansas Union).
Sponsored by First Presbyterian Church and Ecumenical Christian Ministries at KU
For.information contact Rev. Thad Holcombe at 843-4933
In response to a charge from SenEx, the University Senate Committee on Libraries has reviewed the KU Libraries' Lending Code. After consultation with the Dean of Libraries and discussion throughout the Fall Semester, the Committee voted to recommend a revised code to University Council and the University administration, pending receipt of comments from faculty, students, and staff.
CALL FOR COMMENTS ON CHANGES PROPOSED IN THE KU LIBRARIES' LENDING CODE
Copies of the full text of the current and proposed Code,as revised by the Senate Committee on Libraries, are available at the circulation desks of the following libraries:
Anschutz Science Library, Art and Architecture Library, Government Documents and Map Library, Music Library, Spahr Engineering Library, Regents Center Library, Watson Library
If you wish to comment on the proposed Code, please:
- attend an open meeting on the Code, scheduled for January27, 1994, at 7:30 pm, Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
and/or
- send written comments to Prof. J. P. Davidson, Chair, Senate Committee on Libraries, 502 Watson Library, by January 27th.