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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ACADEMICS
WGSS department debuts human sexuality major
BETH FENTRESS
@ElizaFentress
The University recently added a new major to its course catalog, one that will tackle issues such as human trafficking, domestic violence and health discrimination in contemporary society: human sexuality.
KU is of only a handful of universities in the nation to offer this degree. Alesha Doan, department chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, said the degree will be beneficial to students seeking careers in advocacy and policy.
"Students who are interested in acquiring cross-cultural and interdisciplinary skills that are designed to find solutions to vexing social inequalities would want to pursue a major in human sexuality," Doan said.
Danny Anderson, dean of
the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, believes human sexuality provides a unique lens to view current issues. The 2014-15 academic year will mark the first year of the human sexuality major's availability to KU students.
"Departments in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences constantly assess degree offerings to ensure students will graduate KU prepared to make an impact," Anderson said. "The new major in human sexuality provides a crucial perspective to address many of the biggest issues of our time, such as human trafficking."
the level of support for a human sexuality major. The results showed high approval. However, the proposed major still had to survive an arduous approval process.
The WGSS department began offering a human sexuality minor in 2008. Eventually, in the 2011-12 school year, a human sexuality student petitioned to create a major for the subject. In response, a survey was administered in February 2012 to evaluate
"The process of creating a new major is extensive,"
"The new major in human sexuality provides a crucial perspective to address many of the biggest issues of our time, such as human trafficking."
DANNY ANDERSON Dean of College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Doan said. "It requires a commitment from the department proposing the major, the college and the University, which WGSS has
been fortunate to receive throughout this process. Additionally, WGSS is an interdisciplinary department that collaborates with many other departments at KU. Therefore, we also needed to establish a commitment from other departments to assist WGSS in delivering a new major."
To create the new major, a formal proposal was drafted that explained the necessity of the degree, the positive effects of the degree, and the resources required for carrying out the degree. The proposal was then reviewed, revised and resubmitted. After it was approved from all sides, it was passed on to the Board of Regents for final approval.
When a new major is created, defining the major is a complex task. Human sexuality majors will study the trauma of domestic abuse,
modern-day slavery and unfair health standards.
But what is human sexuality? Which subjects can be categorized as human sexuality, and which fall into another field of study? Doan provided a definition of her own.
"This field investigates the ways in which sexuality is shaped by other social differences such as race, gender,
class, disability, religion, nationality and ethnicity" Doan said. "Studying these significant issues of inequality requires an exploration of the historical, political, biological, cultural, sociological, educational, legal, health, aesthetic and psychological contexts of human sexuality."
Edited by Sarah Kramer
Potential careers for human sexuality majors
ACADEMICS
- Sexual and reproductive health
- Family and youth health/services
- Sexual and domestic violence prevention
- Community and social justice advocacy
- Law enforcement
- Graduate study in human sexuality
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Accelerated program to offer IT degree in 3 years
DALTON KINGERY
@DaltonKingeryNews
In a collaborative effort between the Blue Valley School District, Olathe School District, Johnson County Community College and the University of Kansas Edwards Campus, students will now be able to obtain a bachelor's degree in information technology in only three years.
The "Degree in 3" program, which began in 2013, allows students in the Blue Valley and Olathe school districts to accelerate their academic timetable by taking advanced placement and dual credit classes in high school. After graduating from high school, students in the program enroll in JCCC to finish the remainder of their general education courses. Upon completion of all the necessary coursework, students then transfer to the University's Edwards Campus to complete their bachelor's degree.
“It's an interesting collaboration between KU, Johnson County and the local school districts,” said Steve Case, director of the center for STEM learning and K-12 liaison for the Edwards
Campus. "For some students, it's a better learning model. Students aren't just learning theories, but they're applying them in practical ways."
The accelerated nature of the program helps students financially by reducing the number of years spent in school and getting them into the workforce of an industry with available jobs. Many of the students also participate in paid internships and work on entrepreneurial projects while in the program further enhancing the program's financial appeal.
"It's an interesting collaboration between KU, Johnson County and the local school districts."
STEVE CASE Director of center for STEM learning
"Students are able to move forward and get into their careers quicker," said Lauren McEnaney, an information technology advisor. "I definitely don't see it as a substitute for the traditional
college experience, because this program isn't for everyone. But the traditional college experience isn't for everyone either."
With a "Degree in 3" pathway for obtaining a degree in exercise science, McEnaney sees room for growth and envisions a wider variety of pathways being created to fill needs in the workforce.
"IT opens up a lot of career options," said Gerardo Echeverria, a sophomore from Topeka majoring in Information Systems Technology. "I think it's actually really cool that they are willing to make things easier and faster for their students."
The program is generating positive buzz amongst students as well.
The program is an enticing option for many, and Case stressed its focused nature.
"This isn't the option for everybody; there is no silver bullet. But this is more focused," Case said. "At the end of the day, it gives students more options for their education, and that's what is important."
Edited by Sarah Kramer
CAMPUS POLITICS
Student Senate prepares for upcoming semester
MIRANDA DAVIS
@MirandaDavisUDK
Student Senate spent the summer session getting adjusted to office while planning for the upcoming year and tackling unexpected issues.
For the past few weeks, the senate has focused on the decision and reversal of the new hours policy that took effect July 29 and caused concern with undergraduate students, who had no prior knowledge of the change in policy. The policy stated that students could work no more than 20 hours for on-campus jobs, but the decision was quickly reversed.
Morgan Said, student body president, said she worked closely with the University's human resources department. Said that she was happy to accomplish an early victory for students.
"That was a really fun win, I think, for the student population, coming into the school year," Said said.
Said also said that the fall concert platform previously supported by the senate was too ambitious with too little turnaround time to start this fall, and they are currently looking at dates in the
Said said that her staff worked alongside administration to get the reversal. She said the process involved many meetings and email exchanges, and a lot of work specifically with the HR department.
spring instead.
Student Body Vice President Miranda Wagner and Chief of Staff Mitchell Cota have been working on drafting the legislation for hiring a Social Equity director that would serve on the Student Senate. They plan on putting the legislation through the first senate cycle and to begin hiring for the position at the time if the bill passes.
"Our goal for the year is to get everyone at the University to see things through a student lens."
MORGAN SAID Student body president
They also held an open forum about the position that was open to students and administrators to give feedback and help shape what the position would look like.
"This is someone who is going to be working to advocate for marginalized students and multicultural groups,working closely with the Office of Multicultural Affairs but also the new Vice Provost of Diversity and Equity," Wagner said.
Wagner said the new vice provost, Nate Thomas, has already offered to be the advisor for the Social Equity Director, if the bill should pass.
Cota rewrote the Senate Rules and Regulations to have it ready for the start of the school year.
Cota and Waener are also working to prepare for the first legislative cycle and the senate training session.
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"Since the majority of our senators this year are probably going to be pretty brand new, or maybe they've only gone to committee before, it's going to be really important that it's thorough," Wagner said.
The three also agreed that more new senators can be a positive change.
"New senators are more likely to challenge the status quo and I think that's something we're looking forward to," Cota said.
Cota said there were 104 seats to be filled but that many of those are by appointment through student groups on campus who are guaranteed representation in Senate. They plan to start the committee to get replacement senators during legislative training, so they can have some seats filled by the first cycle.
The main idea the senate exec wants to emphasize this year is bringing student voices back into the conversation on campus.
"Our goal for the year is to get everyone at the University to see things through a student lens," Said said.
Edited by Sarah Kramer
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