TODAY'S WEATHER: Partly cloudy with a high of 56.
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SPORTS: Jayhawks to head east to see Paul Pierce.
THE UNIVERSITY DAJLY
KANSAN
TALK TO US: Contact Kursten Phelps or Leita Schultes at (785) 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 11,2001
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ISSUE 71 VOLUME 112
CLAS ceremony to recognize fall,summer graduates
By Jeremy Clarkson Kansan staff writer
For the sixth year, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will honor its summer and fall graduates with a formal ceremony this month.
Karen Huettenmueller, assistant director of CLAS undergraduate services, said about half of the 500 CLAS graduates would participate in the ceremony. The event will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Lied Center.
Before 1995, CLAS graduates in the summer and fall were not honored until the following spring ceremony. When CLAS first began having a ceremony in December, it was in Murphy Hall. But because of increasing attendance, it moved to the Lied Center in 1998.
Huettennueller said the number of students who graduated had not significantly increased, but more students were participating in the ceremonies. This also led to larger audiences.
"I think it's something like anything you do that's new, it just takes time for it to take off," she said.
Huettennueller said the Lied Center last year was filled with people who wanted to attend the ceremony. Because of the number of people expected to attend this year, each student was given
seven tickets to ensure the building did not exceed capacity.
"Because of fire safety reasons, the Lied Center asked us to," Huettenmeller said about the tickets.
Huettenmueller said if students weren't going to use all of their allotted tickets, they should return the tickets so students who needed more could invite other people.
Amy Karr, Santa Cruz, Calif., senior, said although she understood why students were allowed to invite only seven people to the ceremony, she was a little disappointed.
"I didn't feel it was enough," she said. "I had a lot of family who wanted to fly in from California."
Karr said the ceremony was special because she received her General Education Development (GED) diploma when she was 16 years old. She said because she never had a ceremony then, her family was excited to see her graduate. She said she was pleased about completing school.
"It's been very challenging, but I have stuck with it," Karr said.
Contact Clarkson at 864-4810
KEEPING FINGERS BACK
JAKE TEITELBAUM/KANSAN
Shane Adreon, Kearney, Mo., junior, carefully maneuvers a piece of wood through a jigsaw at the Art and Design Common Shop. He is working on a detail for his furniture design project. "Hopefully, I can finish my project on time without losing any fingers," Adreon said.
Creditpolicy debated
Increase could keep future freshmen in school longer some argue
A policy passed by the Board of Regents that might keep future KU freshmen in school longer may not stand, some University officials say.
By Paul Smith Kansan staff writer
During the Regents' meeting in November, the board raised the minimum requirement for upperdivision credit hours from 40 to 54, a policy that would take effect in 2003. Critics of the policy say future students may have to stay in
college longer to fulfill the requirement.
Some University officials say the board may revise the policy, or even revoke it.
"There been all kinds of speculation," said Jim Carothers, associate provost and the administrator in charge of researching the policy's effects.
Provost David Shulenburger does not agree with the Regents' policy.
"It does have adverse effects on a large number of students," Shuilenburger said. "I think it will be revised somehow."
Employees at the Board of Regents said no discussion of the new credit hour policy was scheduled for the December meeting.
Pam Houston, director of
undergraduates service for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the Regents policy was unnecessary and would limit students' educational opportunities.
"The more we require of students, the fewer options they have." Houston said.
Carothers agreed that a fouryear college education would be complicated by the policy.
"It would require extremely careful planning and advising to get that done in four years." Carothers said.
Amanda Golbec, vice president of academic affairs for the Regents, said that the regular process for any policy implementation would proceed for the 54-credit hour requirement.
"I'm expecting that the universi
ties will be expected to put together an implementation plan." Golbeck said, adding that the plans would need to detail necessary changes for each institution in order to comply with the policy.
The Regents oversee all 56 higher educational institutions in the state, and the policy would apply to them all.
Golbeck said the Regents passed the policy as a part of their effort to establish the minimal standards to earn the degrees available from higher education institutions in the state.
Golbeck said there was no precedent within the state for the 54-credit hour policy.
Contact Smith at 864-4810
Since Sept.11,followers of Allah have received a few more stares and a few more questions. But by explaining their religion,a few local believers take a shot at...
Demystifying Muslims
STORY BY RYAN MALASHOCK
Asma Rehman is conspicuous as she walks along Jayhawk Boulevard through a throng of KU students dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Her head is wrapped in silky, white linen embroidered with light blue flowers and a dark blue border. The rest of Rehman's body is hidden by a loose-fitting, ankle-length dress, leaving only her bronze face and hands uncovered.
As some students stare at her Islamic dress, her stomach — empty and hungry from day-long Ramadan fasting — is a constant reminder of her own religion.
Rehman, Kansas City, Mo., junior, and other KU Muslims, both American- and foreign-born, have become even more visible since the Sept. 11 attacks by Islamic extremists. Although Muslims number more than one billion worldwide, they are a distinct and misunderstood minority in Lawrence. More than 250 Muslim students attend the University of Kansas and more than 100 Muslim families reside in Lawrence. They say trying to maintain and explain their eastern religion and culture in a western, Judeo-Christian country has become even more difficult since Sept. 11.
Struggling with terror
Rehman said the attacks would test the ability of Americans to put aside prejudices and stereotypes and see Islam for what it truly was: a peaceful religion.
Mariam Syeda, Karachi, Pakistan, graduate student, said she had spent the last two months defending her religion.
Rehman will never forget the morning of Sept. 11 when she turned on the TV to check the weather and instead saw the horrifying pictures of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. She remembers her first, dreadful instinct that the attacks would be blamed on Muslims.
"I remember that I called my mom right away, and I said 'I'm afraid that we are going to get blamed for this.'" Rehman said.
"It's portrayed in a negative way toward war," she said. "The teachings of Jihad tell Muslims to protect their property and families, but they do not promote killings. You're not allowed to even cut down someone else's tree because of Jihad. To call the World Trade Center Jihad is completely false."
When Osama bin Laden and his network of terrorists claimed the actions were in the 'name of Islam,' Rehman — and Muslims worldwide felt that it was necessary to explain why Islam could not be a foundation for such violence.
"Those people do not truly believe in Islam, and its horrible that we are all classified by their actions," Rehman said.
According to Muslims, the main misrepresentation concerns the false interpretation of the word Jihad to mean 'holy war.' While this is one use of Iihad , it is not the main meaning of the word.
Beverly Mack, associate professor of African-American studies who has taught a Women in Islam class, explained that Jihad is any kind of struggle in life.
"People think
the weirdest things. and
the weirdest things, and I've been having to explain everything about our religion," Syeda said
everything Rehman said nothing drastic had happened to her since Sept. 11,but she sometimes noticed people glaring at her in public places. However, some of her friends have not been as lucky.
Rehman said one of her Muslim friends was driving down the street
INSIDETODAY
SEE MUSLIMS PAGE 3A
WORLD NEWS ...2A
HOROSCOPES ...2B
WEATHER ...4B
CROSSWORD ...4B
COMING IN TOMORROW'S KANSAN
JEFFERSON COMMONS: The apartment complex has told tenants they cannot hang flags on buildings.
CREDIT CARDS: An indepth look at students who own them and solicitation on campus
11
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 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 StaFFlent Hall.