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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014
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TWITTER FROM PAGE 1
activism can be most effective sometimes is when it's in response to, I would say, an entity that needs to keep good PR and needs to bring dollars in," Gwynn said.
Since the Huffington Post article, she and other students at KU have pushed for revision to the University's student code, punishments for perpetrators of sexual assaults, and harassment and bystander prevention training for the University. In response, the Chancellor created a sexual assault task force to develop recommendations and is instituting mandatory sexual harassment training and increased attention to the issue. Gwynn said the process to solve the issue will be a long one, but the semester has provided a good start.
Students have also been active in offline events, many of which were organized online, in response to tensions in Ferguson. Clarence Lang, an associate professor of African and African-American Studies who led a discussion on Ferguson at The Commons
in August, said he was concerned students wouldn't go beyond social media. However, he said he saw continued offline conversation throughout the semester.
"I think sometimes people can lull themselves into believing that because they've posted something or they're tweeting something that that is in and of itself political action," Lang said.
At KU, the sexual assault conversation on social media seemed to push the Ferguson conversation off the docker for weeks. However, as the grand jury approached a decision Nov. 24, the conversation started again. After the grand jury failed to indict Officer Darren Wilson, students organized #KansasBlackOut Week, a week of protest activities organized via social media, in coordination with a host of protests nationwide.
"I know that there has been activism, organizing and mobilization occurring in Ferguson since August and here we are ..." Lang said. "I think that people have proven themselves to be resolute on this issue."
— Edited by Jordan Fox
Congress avoids shutdown
ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Time running short, Republicans and Democrats agreed Tuesday on a $1.1 trillion spending bill to avoid a government shutdown and delay a politically-charged struggle over President Barack Obama's new immigration policy until the new year.
In an unexpected move, lawmakers also agreed on legislation expected to be incorporated into the spending measure that will permit a reduction in benefits for current retirees at economically distressed multiemployer pension plans. Supporters said it was part of an effort to prevent a slow-motion collapse of a system that provides retirement income to millions, but critics objected vehemently.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the bill.
At 1,603 pages, the spending bill adheres to strict caps negotiated earlier between the White House and deficit-conscious Republicans, and is also salted with GOP policy proposals. As described by unhappy liberals, one would roll back new regulations that prohibit banks from using federal deposit insurance to cover investments on some complex financial instruments.
Elsewhere, there were trade-offs. Republicans won a $60 million cut at the Environmental Protection Agency, and said the agency's workforce would be reduced to the lowest level since 1989. Democrats emerged with increases for enforcement activities at the Securities
and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
"The federal government's going to run out of money in two days. ... We've been trying to work with Republican leaders to avoid a shutdown," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said at midafernson as final negotiations dragged on.
Speaker John Boehner said he hoped for a vote on the measure on Thursday, and officials expressed confidence they could overcome opposition from tea party-backed Republicans and avoid a government shutdown.
"The federal government's going to run out of money in two days. ... We've been trying to work with Republican leaders to avoid a shutdown."
HARRY REID Senate majority leader
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that said she was hopeful her rank and file could support the bill, but needed to review the final language.
Not only a two-year Congress, but also a political era was drawing to a close as the lights burned late inside the Capitol on a December night.
Senate approval would then be required to send it to Obama — one of the final acts of a two-year Congress far better known for gridlock than for accomplishment.
midterm election, and newly elected GOP senators-elect participated in closed-door strategy sessions during the dav.
For the first time in eight years, Republicans will have a Senate majority in January after their hugely successful
Before time runs out on his majority, Reid said he wanted to assure confirmation of nine more of Obama's judicial nominees and approve the appointment of Vivek Murthy as surgeon general.
Also on Congress' must-do list is legislation to renew a series of expiring tax breaks, and a bill to authorize the Pentagon to train and equip Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State forces in the Middle East.
Proponents of campaign finance reforms decried a provision slipped in at the last minute that would sharply increase limits on the amount that an individual can contribute to various national political party accounts and committees each year from $32,400 to $324,000. That means individuals could give $648,000 per two-year campaign cycle, with a married couple capped at almost $1.3 million for an election cycle.
The compromise spending bill will permit virtually the entire government to operate normally through the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security.
Funds for that one agency will run out again on Feb. 27, when Republicans are expected to try and use the expiration as leverage to force Obama to roll back a decision suspending the threat of deportation for an estimated 4 million immigrants living in the country illegally.
Several schools are doing fall education ceremonies this
graduation ceremonies this weekend, including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Check commencement.ku.edu and click
"Events" to see the schedule.
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