12C
Wednesday Aug, 23, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
KANSAN file photo
Buying books
A student flips through books at the Kansas Union Bookstore trying to find one that meets her approval.
SUA reacts to findings of evaluation with full schedule of KU events
Board's past failures to reach out to students remedied by starting group liaison program
by Travis Butler Kansan staff writer
Student Union Activities has room for improvement, an assessment committee said last March, and the new SUA board is taking steps to bring about that improvement, SUA President David St. Peter said Saturday.
SUA is the sponsor for most activities at the Kansas Union. SUA schedules a film series each semester that includes both classic and contemporary films. SUA also brings
See related story p.15, col. 1
Group members concluded that SUA needed to get in better touch with the rest of the University.
speakers to campus. Last year, SUA brought consumer activist Ralph Nader to KU.
But there is some concern that SUA may not be meeting students' needs.
St. Peter said that the assessment group, advised by Philip Chamberlain of Indiana University, met to assess SUA as a whole. Chamberlain developed a model for evaluating student activity programming boards in universities across the United States. The committee included SUA advisers and student members, the director of the Union, the vice chancellor for student affairs, and the director of organizations and activities.
SUA Adviser and assessment committee member Sue Morrell said, "The organization had become internal. They weren't reaching out to other organizations for co-sponsorship; they weren't reaching out to the Kansan to let people know what they were doing."
St. Peter said, "Our mission is to program for students. But we can't if we don't know what they want. To do this, we've been working on a group liaison program. We want to have somebody with each of the living groups on campus."
A new University Affairs subcommittee has been formed to help carry out the group liaison program. Members of the subcommittee have been assigned to attend meetings of other organizations on campus, including Student Senate and the Association of University Residence Halls.
Morrell said, "We're really hoping that the subcommittee reaches its goal. We've got our structure in place, that's what the important thing is."
St. Peter said, "We also take the Lawrence community into account. Lawrence is lucky to have the University as a cultural center, and we encourage the public in Lawrence to participate in our activities. However, we think the students' interests are still most important.
"If I had to sum up, it's a lot of fun.
It's students programming for students. As long as students like what we're doing, we're doing our job."
Students can still get involved with SUA this semester.
SUA has four officers and eight committees, all made up of students. Each committee has a chairman who sits on the SUA board and about 20 students filling regular committee positions. These positions are open to any KU student enrolled in one credit hour.
Most selections for the coming year's positions were made near the end of the previous year, St. Peter said.
Musicians will fiddle for prizes
Kansan staff writer
"However, we keep spots open on the committees for in-coming freshmen and transfer students," he said. "We run ads in the Kansan when we start accepting applications, which is about the second week of September."
by Julie Mettenburg
This semester, the students also can apply for the Special Events Committee chair because the previous chairman Jim Petterson resigned during the summer. Students do not have to be a previous SUA member to apply.
Applications for the Special Events Committee chair will be taken during the first two weeks of this semester, St. Peter said. Application forms and more information are available at the SUA office, located on level four of the Union. The SUA phone number is 864-3477.
Roy Clark and Buck Owens made a-pickin' and a-grimmin' familiar on TV's "Hee Haw," and folks in Lawrence will be doing just that. He is the State Fiddling and Picking Championships.
"There are lawn chairs and blankets everywhere, kids running around, two stages and stuff to eat," said Jane McMurrer, one of event's coordinators. "It's just a lot of fun."
The championships will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at South Park.
Groups such as the Lawrence Barnstorm Oldtime Cloggers and the Euphoria String Band will perform during the day, and contests will be conducted for fiddle, banjo.
mandolin, flat-pick guitar, mountain du-lucim playing and for ensemble folk singing.
playing an instrument ensemble on singing,
MC students are welcome to participate,
MC faculty members may have an interest in fiddling the "Orange Blossom Special," a category for miscellaneous acoustic instruments has drawn student interest in the past.
McMurrier said accordiants, foreign or ethnic instruments and "any weird instrument as long as it's acoustic" fall into the miscellaneous category.
Contestant registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, and musicians can register up to 15 minutes before each competition.
The contest rules state, "Like the great fiddle contests of yesteryear, the events are open to anyone with the gumption to enter and the $3 dollar entry fee."
First-place winners in each category will receive $50. Additional cash prizes, trophies and certificates also will be awarded.
Mike Rundle, the event's co-producer, estimated 50 to 75 musicians competed last year and expects about 1,000 spectators at this year's contest. Both Rundle and McMurrer said the average contestant's age was about 30.
Bundle said bluegrass enthusiasts became interested in the music for a variety of reasons, including family or community interest in learning to play new instruments.
"Some of them come from classical training and just want to broaden their horizons, although some people may say they are falling to new lows." Rundle said. "It depends on how you view this kind of music, I
guess."
Lawrence resident Lisa Harris is planning to compete in a folk singing ensemble of three women and said the group would be performing two traditional folk songs.
"We expect the day will be festive," Harris said. "It should be a unique combination of low-key atmosphere, because our friends will be there, and a high pressure to do well."
The Fiddling and Picking Championship began in 1976 as a contest for only Douglas County. At the time there was no state competition, so nine years ago the contest was changed to include the entire state. Competitors are not required to be Kansas residents.
"We aspire, in our minds, to have this grow into more of a major event." Rundle said.
McMurrer was equally enthusiastic about the Fiddling and Picking Championship.
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