THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief Trevor Graff
Managing editors Allison Kohn Dylan Lysen
Art Director Katie Kutsko
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NEWS SECTION EDITORS
News editor Tara Bryant
Associate news editor Emily Donovan
Sports editor
Mike Vernon
Copy chiefs
Lauren Armendariz
Hayley Jozwiak
Elise Reuter
Madison Schultz
Entertainment editor Hannah Barling
Associate sports editor Blake Schuster
PAGE 2
Design chief
Trey Conrad
Designers Cole Anneberg Allyson Maturey
Opinion editor Will Webber
Photo editor
George Mullinix
Special sections editor Emma LeGault
ADVISERS
Web editor
Wil Kenney
Media director and content stategist Brett Akagi
Sales and marketing adviser Jon Schlitt
CONTACT US
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www.kansan.com
Newsroom: (785) 766-1491
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Twitter: @KansanNews
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The University Daily Kansan (ISSN 0746-4967) is published daily during the school year except Friday, Saturday, Sunday, fall break, spring break and exams and weekly during the summer session excluding holidays. Annual subscriptions by mail are $250 plus tax. Send address changes to The University Daily Kansan, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue.
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of The Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS., 66045.
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Thursday
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Calendar
Monday, Nov. 11
**What:** Veterans Flag Signing and Information Table
**When:** 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
**Where:** Wescoe Beach
**About:** Flag signing to be sent to deployed University students
Tuesday, Nov. 12
What: Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples
When: 4 to 5.30 p.m.
Where: Kansas Union, Level 2, Jayhawk ink lounge
About: A book talk on "Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples: The Search for Legal Remedies" by Elizabeth A. Kronk Warner
What: LGBT Issues in Russia
When: Noon to 1 p.m.
Where: Bailey Hall, 318
About: A lecture part of International Education Week
What: The Fantastic Flora of South Africa
Africa
When: 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Where: Free State Brewing Company
About: Science on Tap discussion with botanist Mark Mort
Wednesday, Nov. 13
What: Development, Land Use and the Preservation of Community and Neighborhood
When: Noon to 1 p.m.
Where: ECM Center
About: Forum with environmental scientist Laura Routh
What: Internship Fair
When: 2 to 5 p.m.
Where: Adams Alumni Center, 2nd Floor
About: Fair with professionals offering
fall, spring and summer positions
Thursday, Nov. 14
What: What's in a Protest? Trees, Shopping
Malls and Authoritarianism
When: Noon to 1 p.m.
Where: Fraser Hall, 706
About: Lecture on protesting from Turkey to
Syria by professor Elif Andaç
What: Myths & Mayhem Film Series; Jurassic Park
MAN ON THE STREET
When: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Where: Dyche Hall, Panorama
About: Film screening with paleontologist
John David Burnham
Students admit to distractions in classroom
HARRISON DRAKE
hdrake@kansan.com
A recent study suggests that more than 80 percent of students are distracting themselves with their digital devices during class. Bernard "Barney" McCoy, associate professor of broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, conducted this research when realizing that many students in his classroom seemed more interested in their phones than his class.
In fall 2012, McCoy surveyed 777 students at six universities—including the University of Kansas—about their digital device usage in class. The results suggested that more than 86 percent of students text during class and 68 percent admit to using social networking websites. More than a fourth of students who were surveyed admitted that it had affected their class performance.
But are these statistics surprising?
ing?
Edited by Chas Strobel
"They're frustrating statistics ... they're not surprising. I see students on their phones all the time... I can especially imagine in a lecture."
KATYA SOLL Graduate student
"It's college so do as you will. It's your own grades. But there's also the consideration of if you're on the phone with someone in class ... and disrupting everything."
COURT HENSON Freshman
"Professors shouldn't have to change their policies. Texting is a distraction ... and in college the student is paying for their education and if they're texting that's their loss."
RYAN STEELE
Junior
GRAY-LITTLE FROM PAGE 1
Government Shutdown
national review. Considering universities operate across state lines and nationally, it seems to me a somewhat more regional level of accreditation is the way to go."
The shutting down of national monuments and parks got much of the attention during October's federal government shutdown, but the Chancellor said the University took some damage as well. Gray-Little said research at the University was hurt the most by the shutdown, as the review of grant applications no longer received funding. During that time, the University was being reviewed for a higher security clearance for
research areas from the federal government, but that review had to be put on hold.
"Everything just stopped completely," Gray-Little said. "To have it delayed and then have the question of when the process would be back in full swing, it was a disruption. It was certainly a problem for us, and a huge economic hit especially for some regions of the country as well."
Professor Guth Returns
Journalism Professor David Guth was taken off administrative leave three weeks ago at the recommendation of a seven-member committee the Chancellor put together. Guth will not resume teaching duties this semester, however, and will be returning in an administrative role for the
remainder of the semester.
With the buzz surrounding the issue having died down, Gray-Little said she can look back at the decision the University made with confidence.
"I think we did the right thing," Gray-Little said. "Because he was speaking as a citizen at that point, for someone making a comment on a public event, that speech is protected by the first amendment. So it really wasn't appropriate to take punitive action based on that."
The Chancellor added that the response to ending Professor Guth's leave has been mostly negative, with public officials like State Sen. Greg Smith (R-Overland Park) calling for his termination. Gray-Little said she had to weigh multiple issues when
considering bringing Professor Guth back, including the disruption for students and the University as a whole.
"I think most of the reaction from the outside was based on one thing," she said. "People said, 'He said this, he should be fired,' or 'He said this, he has a right, nothing should happen.' Those kind of decisions when we can use one point as a basis for a decision are a luxury, but we did not have that luxury."
Ending the Semester
From a record-setting freshman class to a professor involved in a national controversy, the Chancellor has had to address a wide range of issues in her three interviews this semester with the Kansan.
"A lot of the things we've talked about, I wouldn't have anticipated when we first met," she said.
But as the semester begins to wind down, Gray-Little said she would rather focus on the progress the University made than the headline-break disruptions.
"From the strong enrollment, the great credentials and diversity of the entering students to the new curriculum, these are just a number of things that are great achievements," she said. "If I focus on what we're trying to do, I think we're making great progress, but of course there's some important distractions that come along that tend to get most of the attention."
Edited by Casey Hutchins
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