Volume 126 Issue 7
kansan.com
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
Talia Beck, a globally recognized Israeli choreographer and dancer, will teach modern dance to University students this semester.
DIVERSITY IN DANCE
Israeli dancer teaches alternative styles to University students
KATIE MCBRIDE
kmcbride@kansan.com
the KU Department of Dance welcomes an internationally known guest artist this fall for a semester-long residency.
Talia Beck, a celebrated Israeli dancer and choreographer, has arrived to teach her version of modern dance, which will include a culmination of the various techniques and disciplines she accumulated during her years as a dancer.
Beck says she doesn't want to limit her interaction with the students to giving information, and rather hopes that they are able to exchange ideas and figure out their style together.
"In some schools or strict disciplines, we get so obsessed with technique and getting it right, Beck said. "I would like us to share joy in movement, and I think that the dance department at KU has
that; I've seen it in the students. They just enjoy moving, and it's not something I see everywhere."
One of the ways she plans to get students thinking about their
ing on each of their senses. "I'll give them instructions like, 'Feel the taste in your mouth,' or 'Feel the inside of your ears,' and they'll be like, 'What does that
movement is through focusing on each of their senses.
nave to do with movement? But it's part of your body; of course it has to do with movement. That's something I'd like to explore with them," Beck said.
styles of dance they have seen in the past.
"They're open people in general; I think it's something about KU and the community here. People are
Thus far in her classes, Beck says she has found the students very willing and ready to learn, even if some of her techniques are unlike
"Everybody's been talking about how amazing Lawrence is and how KU is such a special place."
She has toured worldwide as a dancer, and her original choreography has been performed around the globe. In 2010, she received the Ministry of Culture Award for Young Choreographer.
just open," Beck said.
Beck brings a unique perspective to the world of dance, and worked for years for the Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company, a notable dance company in Israel.
TALIA BECK Israeli dance artist
Her time at the University is made possible through a residency that is part of the Schusterman
Visiting Israeli Artist Program. The program sends Israeli filmmakers, writers, musicians, choreographers and other artists to cultural organizations and universities across North America.
Beck and nine other visiting artists will be in residences in the United States through this year's program. The hope is that the artists will introduce and educate others about Israeli culture through the interaction within their communities.
Ever since I started telling people I was coming here, everybody's been talking about how amazing Lawrence is and how KU is such a special place. I have to say, I've only been here a few days and I feel it already," Beck said. "I love it here already; I'm really happy and thankful to be here."
— Edited by Kayla Overbey
DC internships lead to jobs for students
NETWORKING
KAITYLN KLEIN
kklein@kansan.com
Washington, D.C., can be an intimidating place to spend a semester, especially while working a full-time internship at C-SPAN, Interpol or the White House. However, with the help of University professors and alumni it can also be a place to build connections that will lead to your first job.
Thirty years ago, Professor Bur dett Loomis created an internship
program in D.C. to help ease the financial burden that students face and give students experience in their respective fields.
Loomis
Students must make their own travel arrangements, pay for credits per hour, spend time with other students in the program and adapt to a different environment.
D.C. or bust
Students are responsible for finding a full-time internship while the program provides housing and weekly seminars to connect students with professionals in D.C.
Loomis said students often believe the stereotype that D.C. only consists of politicians. He said he stresses to students each year that this isn't true.
"Year after year, students find great internships that we never knew existed." Loomis said. "It's a good preparation for finding a job."
"Even though it seems very political, the fact is people with useable skills — whatever they
are, from any major — really are attractive to people in D.C.," Loomis said.
Many internships in D.C. are unpaid. However, students negotiate the parameters of their internship, such as pay and time off.
Building connections
Dustin Morris, senior from Wichita, spent last spring as a paid intern for Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas.
"D.C. wouldn't run without interns," Morris said.
Morris said he spent his internship doing some menial work, like answering phones and giving tours, but he was also able to research foreign policy, a topic of his choosing.
He had lunch with Moran and his wife, went on a tour of the Capitol dome with the senator and served as photographer for Moran at an event.
Unlike many interns in D.C., Morris said he was able to meet and talk with the senator he worked under.
Loomis said that most seniors who go through the program and seek a job are able to find one, whether it's with the organization the student interneed at or through a connection a student made while in D.C.
Through connections Morris made in D.C.,he got a job at a political consulting firm in Kansas City.
"While the senator's time was very valuable, he would make it point to chat with the interns when he arrived to the office in the morning." Morris said.
"People come from all over the country to be in D.C.,but the
Finding a job
Kansas community in D.C. is really strong." Loomis said. "We have lots of alums who are eager to help."
Edited by Allison Kohn
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
ANDY LARKIN/KANSAN
The Spanish & Portuguese Department has doubts that an 18-hour Spanish minor will come to fruition
Limited resources, budget cuts stall minor in Spanish
MARK ARCE
marce@kansan.com
To those crossing their fingers that the University will soon offer a minor in Spanish, don't get your hopes too high.
Although Student Senate passed a resolution that laid out an 18-hour Spanish minor to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences last February, recent state budget cuts to education as well as other concerns like faculty and GTA workloads make the Spanish & Portuguese Department uncertain if the minor can be offered with existing resources.
"Adding a new program to a highly-enrolled department such as Spanish & Portuguese requires careful consideration and planning," said Professor Jorge Perez, the acting Chair of the Spanish & Portuguese Department said in an email. He added that the department is working closely with the Dean's office of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to maintain the quality of classes in the
program and determine required resources.
Despite some progress toward creating a Spanish minor, students have expressed surprise and frustration at the lack of a current offering.
"For a University that prides itself on the amount of languages available to students, a minor of such a critical language in the U.S. seems like something that should be offered," said Joey Hentzler, a junior from Topeka. He decided to pursue a Latin American & Caribbean studies minor because the University didn't offer a Spanish minor.
Codi Ehrlich, a senior from Dodge City, also believes the University should offer a Spanish minor. She said she is majoring in Spanish because she wanted to learn the language, but because she is majoring in biology as well, her graduation plans were affected A minor would have been more convenient.
"Language takes a long time to learn; I'm still learning even with a degree," said James Baker, a graduate student from Coppell, Texas, who graduated in 2012 from the University with Spanish and Latin American studies degrees. He further added that a minor would only be a resume builder and wouldn't indicate language proficiency.
Despite frustration from some that the University doesn't offer
a minor, others think it is for the best.
Professor Perez echoed this point and said that one advantage of the major is more exposure to the subject, which results in better linguistic abilities. Despite the ongoing debate over whether there should be a Spanish minor offered by the University, everyone interviewed shared a passion for the language and its culture.
Hentzler said that learning Spanish has made a new world full of different cultures and literature available to him.
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 5
Edited by Emma McElhaney
CRYPTOQUIPS 5
OPINION 4
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
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