Volume 126 Issue 32
kansan.com
Monday, October 21, 2013
ARTSY FARTSY
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Liz Ramirez, a 2012 graduate, works at Van Go through AmeriCorps, a nonprofit organization focused on tackling community issues across America. Van Go began in 1996 and helps at-risk youths 13 and older gain job skills
MADDIE FARBER
mfarber@kansan.com
Among the thousands of plain office chairs and wooden benches that provide seating in buildings across campus, a dozen vibrantly painted benches scatter splashes of color against neutral walls.
The facility at Van Go Inc. provides its "art apprentices" with the tools to create works like the colorful benches around campus
These benches are creations of Van Go, Inc. "art apprentices." Van Go is a local art-based social service agency that provides year-round job training to high-need youth in Douglas County. Every semester, three to five University students work in the Van Go studios to direct student projects.
amount of time to make sure I choose the best people."
"It's really good for the soul," Reid said. "I am getting to help
Lauren Reid, a fifth-year senior from Wesley Chapel. Fla. is one of those students. Right now, she and her students are making jewelry out of fused glass and dice out of wood blocks.
Through Visual Arts Department Chair Mary Anne Jordan's Art 500 class, these visual arts majors devote more than 100 hours a week to the program and its art apprentices.
"I interview all students interested in taking the course," Jordan said. "Van Go counts on them to be responsible, so I spend a great
"We see a lot of kids come here with low self-esteem or troubled socially, then they break out of their shell."
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
LIZ RAMIREZ
2012 fine arts graduate
of Van Go, started the program in 1996. She combined her social work background and experiences with art to use art as a tool to reach youth 13 years and older in need.
"Our program is individualized. Van Go really creates in-depth life changing experiences," Green said
Lynne Green, executive director
these kids in the littlest ways and that's important. I try to give them as much as I've learned in my art classes."
The unique program provides at-risk youth with both job and life experiences through artwork.
socially, then they transform and break out of their shell."
Van Go has not only made a notable difference in the lives of its art apprentices, but in the Lawrence and University communities as well. The program was the recipient of the 2013 Outstanding
"We take a holistic approach when serving kids here, understanding that being a successful future employee is more than just a paycheck," Van Go Social Worker Jeff Stolz said.
"Seeing the transformation in the kids is incredible," Ramirez said. "We see a lot of kids come here with low self-esteem or troubled
Campus and Community Collaboration Award by Kansas Campus Compact.
Students who worked with Van Go through the Art 500 class have kept creating art with kids. Liz Ramirez, a 2012 fine arts graduate, now works at Van Go through AmeriCorps.
"Art is a tool to reach kids," Ramirez said. "It's not our intention to create artists. It's a vessel for expression. It isn't about the quality of the art, but how that
practice is benefiting the youth." Students can find some of the Van Go benches in the chancellor's office, the School of Social Welfare, the Lied Center and the Kansas Union.
— Edited by Casey Hutchins
MFN'S BASKETBALL
Players sign fan memorabilia
LMAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
An exuberant cheer burst from the crowd when Andrew Wiggins stuck his head out of the locker room door after the Saturday scrimmage.
Joel Francis, a 2001 graduate of the University and one of an estimated 10,000 fans to attend the scrimimage Saturday morning at Allen Fieldhouse, left his seat early and got a front-row spot to have his issue of the Sports Illustrated Wiggins cover autographed.
Slowly, Wiggins followed his teammates down the line of fans cloaked in red and blue, signing posters, magazines and basketballs, smiling and posing for pictures.
Next to Francis was Pancho Freeman, a freshman at Shawnee Heights High School. Freeman was lucky enough to catch a shoe
The fans at the scrimmage ranged from those who were left outside of the Fieldhouse for Late Night in the Phog, those who couldn't be there and those who just wanted another preseason look at the lavahaws.
Two weeks after attending Late Night, Freeman noticed some improvements in the Jayhawks at the scrimmage.
that Andrew White III played in, signed and then threw into the crowd.
Freeman left with a complete package of memorabilia — the game-used shoe, a Wiggins-signed Sports Illustrated and a poster signed by the rest of the team.
Edited by Paige Lytle
"They actually played defense," Freeman said.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
aex CLASSIFIEDS 9 CRYPTOQUIPS 5 SPORTS 10
CROSSWORD 5 OPINION 4 SUDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
Freshman forward Andrew Wiggins smiles at fans during Saturday's scrimmage at Allen Fieldhouse. He signed fan memorabilia afterwards.
Last year, more than 400 students participated in the undergraduate research experience program.
Campus celebrates Open Access Week
Not only faculty and graduate students engage in research, undergraduates contribute as well.
research -- it's something the University is known for.
"You come to a place like KU because it's a research university, and as students, they can get involved with research and understand how knowledge is created," said John Augusto, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research.
YU KYUNG LEE
ylee@kansan.com
RESEARCH
The University has also been a global leader in the international movement for open access, aiming to make its peer-reviewed academic research available to the public. This week the University will be hosting an Open Access Week to
"People are really interested in how we are doing this in Kansas," said Ada Emmett, head of Scholarly Communication and Copyright Office. KU Libraries spearhead the open access movement at the University as the center of scholarship coming in and out.
Former Provost David Shulenburger began talking about the issue back in the late 1990s. Since then, many champions of open access emerged from the University, including the Dean of Libraries Lorraine Haricombe, Provost Jeffrey Vitter, and the Office of Scholarly Communication and the Copyright Office of KU Libraries.
"Other schools like Harvard and MIT have significant success with
educate students.
Don't forget
Enrollment starts this week!
SEE ACCESS PAGE 2
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Cloudy with a chance of awesome
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