Volume 126 Issue 53
kansan.com
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
the student voice since 1904
CAMPUS
FEES FOR PHOTOS
Student initiates petition to change photo lab policy
CODY KUIPER
ckuiper@kansan.com
A change this summer in policy at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning has motivated a University student to take action.
Matt Branham, a junior majoring in ceramics from Kirkwood, Mo., has submitted a petition to several University deans to change a policy that now charges students outside the school to use the photo lab in the Art and Design Building.
"This past summer, I went and they said I would have to set up an appointment on Friday and give them some money," Branham said. "I thought it was a miscommunication, so I told them I was going to be sending them an angry email."
Branham found that it wasn't a miscommunication, though. Under a new rule change, students in the Visual Arts department, as well as other schools, are not able to take photographs of their own artwork free of charge as they previously were. Now, they instead must make a reservation on a Friday for a lab staff member to photograph their work,
and must pay $10 an hour.
After learning of the lab's new policy over the summer, Branham sent a mass email to the approximately 150 Visual Art students in the fall letting them know he was starting a petition to challenge the new rules. He has since collected 127 signatures from those students and submitted them to leaders in the Design Department, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Architecture, Design and Planning and the Office of the Provost.
The photography lab is operated by the School of Architecture, Design and Planning. The Visual Art department and Design department used to both fall under the umbrella of the School of Fine Arts, but, in 2009, the Design department split off into the School of Architecture, Design and Planning and the Visual Arts department moved to the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
Branham said the new policy greatly affects the Visual Arts students because they use the lab to document their artwork and submit it for internships, residencies and graduate school applications. He said being able to photograph one's
own work is vital to the students education, and the alternatives they have to the photo lab just aren't cutting it.
"It's kind of insane, because after undergrad we are not going to be hiring photographers to shoot our work," he said. "Most of us have cameras, but we need the physical studio like the lighting, backdrop and walls to shoot our work. As of this semester, my work has had to be shot off of the free-standing wall in our sculpture area and it's not very presentable, so I wouldn't feel comfortable submitting it to any sort of program."
Chris Burke, a senior from Olathe majoring in ceramics, said he has been using the lab to photograph his work all four years at the University, and that the new change came as a shock to him.
"That's a tool we utilize to prepare our future, and I feel like they're kind of robbing us of that," Burke said. "Without spending a lot of money it's hard to take pictures of your work now, which has become such an important part of the artistic process."
John Gaunt, dean of the School of
Architecture, Design and Planning said the change in the lab's policy is used to cover the cost of expensive technological equipment for students.
"We have a large amount of very sophisticated photographic equipment, so the cost of technology is very high at the University," Gaunt said. "That's the purpose of the technology fees for our courses. So we thought a $10 cost for photography for various students would be modest and a fair cost."
"I'm not anxious to impose any cost on students that I don't think to be absolutely necessary and appropriate," he said. "I think to remove the cost would be unfair to other students as it relates to photography. Every other course in the school has a course fee associated with it, and the whole point is to cover the photographer costs, the photographic equipment and so on."
Gaunt added that he plans to meet with Branham about the issue, but the school has no plans to change the policy as a result of the petition.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
-- Edited by Duncan McHenry
Ceramics major Matt Branham's sculpture "Nest's Awe." Branham created it this year using found metal.
HIGHER EDUCATION
University employees make Kansas top 10 earners list
ASHLEIGH TIDWELL atidwell@kansan.com
The Wichita Eagle recently published a compiled list of the top 10 highest-paid employees at each of the six public universities in Kansas (KU Medical Center was included but considered a separate institution). Of the top 10, eight are from the University of Kansas. The list places Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger in the top spot at the University with a salary
of $450,000, while Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little comes in second at $432,650.
In fact, of all seven institutions, the University is the only one where the president, chancellor or appointive state agency head does not top the list. Including the numbers from the Medical Center, the chancellor is also surpassed by Doug Girod, executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center and the highest-paid university employee in the state,
and Matthew Mayo, chairperson of the Department of Biostatistic
of the Department of Biostatistics.
According to the American Association of University Professors, the average annual pay for a full professor at a public institution is $212,000, and CNN Money marked the average annual pay of university presidents in 2011-12 at $441,392. This essentially puts the University even with the national average.
— Edited by Duncan McHenry
TOP 10 HIGHEST-PAID PROFESSORS IN THE STATE
The Wichita Eagle
K-TAG adds convenience to holiday highway travel
TRANSPORTATION
KAITLYN KLEIN
kklein@kansan.com
Many students will be traveling in the coming months to visit family over Thanksgiving and winter break, which means deciding what route to take when driving from Lawrence to home, or the airport.
The Kansas Turnpike is the only road in Kansas that requires drivers to pay a toll, but it also lets them travel at a higher speed and arrive at their destination faster.
But what about time spent at the toll scrambling to find loose change in a cup holder? Drivers can avoid that hassle and potential traffic by purchasing a K-TAG.
A K-TAG is a decal that drivers put on their window to digitally log how often they use the tumpike. It also allows them to bypass tollbooths and pay a monthly rate for traveling on the highway.
Rachel Bell, communications manager of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, said they are encouraging people to buy K-TAGs because of their efficiency.
"We can move more traffic through the interchange electronically," she said.
It's also cheaper for the KTA and drivers if people use K-TAGS. Bell said drivers save an average of 20 percent with a K-TAG, although it varies slightly depending on which toll checkpoints they use.
The Kansas Turnpike requires tolls because it was funded differently than most roads that are paid for with taxes. The Turnpike was funded by bonds.
Now that the initial costs of the highway have been paid off, drivers continue to pay tolls for its maintenance and upkeep.
Bell said the KTA generally raises toll rates modestly every three years so that, if major projects arise, drivers won't be blinded by a huge increase in toll fees.
"We try to provide the best road that we can so we can keep everybody moving." Bell said.
Another benefit that Bell reminds people of during this time of year: "You don't have to roll your window down to get a ticket or pay - you
Sarah Bowersox, a sophomore from Derby, said taking the Kansas Turnpike saves her a half an hour or more when she goes home.
stay nice and warm."
K-TAGs cost $15 and charge drivers monthly for each time they pass through the toll checkpoints. Drivers who travel frequently on the Turnpike and spend more than $10 on tolls can prepay $40 and save on the price of the K-TAG itself.
Bowersox said she thinks the K-TAG is an investment that's well worth it.
"My step dad seems to think it's worth the money and I certainly do because it saves me a lot of time instead of being caught behind other cars or semis," Bowersox said. Students interested in buying a K-TAG can purchase one at the tollbooth next time they use the Turnpike, go to a Kansas triple-A office or buy one online at ksturnpike.com.
Edited by Duncan McHenry
What is a K-TAG?
A decal that you stick on your windshield so you can drive through tols without stopping to pay a toll (you still pay the toll). It saves you money — an average of 20%.
How much does it cost?
$15 or you can prepare a suggested $40 for those who spend more than $10 a month on tolls.
Where do I buy one?
- At Kansas Triple-A offices
CLASSIFIEDS 9
CROSSWORD 5
- At the toll booth
- Online at ksturnpike.com (actual link: http://www.kstturnpike.com/k-tag/register_apply)
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
SPCRTS 10
SUDOKU 5
—KSturnpike.com
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
Don't today is National Shopping Reminder Day, so forget plan your Black Friday
Today's Weather
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Sunny. North northwest winds at 15 to 25 mph.
It could be worse.
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