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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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MONDAY, NOV. 9, 2015 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 22
NEWS ROUNDUP »
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MEN AND
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MEN AND MASCULINITIES. Sam Eastes, a programs assistant, will work to start a dialogue on campus about what it means to be masculine News>> PAGE 2
After students tore down a goalpost last week, the issue of CELEBRATORY VANDALISM has surfaced — but is it OK?
Opinion >> PAGE 4
EVAN PLUGRADT
CHEICK DIALLO'S ELIGIBILITY is still up in the air before the start of KU men's basketball's regular season. Sports >> PAGE 12
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ENSEMBLE I will play with Sean Jones, trumpeter and a chair at the Berklee School of Music, on Nov. 11.
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CELEBRATION. See more photos from the Diya event Want to know more? Check out the story to the right.
DIWALI CELEBRATION
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Groups plan for concealed carry at KU
As campuses statewide prepare to potentially allow guns on campus, four organizations are working toward creating a plan for implementation of the law on the University campus.
Guns seized by the police are displayed during a news conference in New York on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
University Senate and Student Senate are working within the organizations and together with the Weapons on Campus Committee (WOCC) to solicit student, faculty and staff feedback to make safety plans for the University.
The work of all the committees will culminate in December when the Kansas Board of Regents passes a new weapons policy to prepare for guns on campus.
The Kansas legislature passed a law to allow concealed carry in public buildings, including university buildings, but universities are exempt from the law until July 1, 2017. To comply with the new law, the Kansas Board of Regents — the governing body of public universities in Kansas — must change its weapons policy.
The WOCC will dedicate its time to looking at the language of the Kansas Board of Regents policy and how it will affect the educational environment and campus climate. It will also look at certain exemptions to the conceal and carry law, such as weapons not being allowed in a science lab, where explosion upon discharge of a firearm is possible.
The Student Advisory Committee distributed an email survey Tuesday to see how students feel about guns on campus. The Student Advisory Committee will then lobby on behalf of the student interests it collects in the survey.
The survey, formulated by the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University, will be open for all students to take until around Nov. 25, Jessie Pringle, student body president, said.
"Our next step is we publicize the survey as much as we can until it closes, and then we wait for the data to be collected by the Docking Institute," Pringle said. "They'll give it to us, then we see how these results could potentially translate into influencing policy."
A similar survey, also formulated by the Docking Institute, should be distributed to faculty and staff by the end of the semester, University Senate President Mike Williams said.
The Student Advisory Committee, composed of all six Board of Regents schools' student body presidents, will show the survey results to the KBOR Board in December, should the data be collected in time.
At its monthly meeting in December, the Kansas Board of Regents will change the current policy on conceal and carry to comply with state law. Currently, the Board of Regents policy does not allow conceal and carry on campus, but the new policy - as proposed - would be changed to allow weapons on campus. The new policy will not be implemented until July 1, 2017 when the exemption that currently prevents concealed carry on campuses expires.
KBOR Communications Director Breeze Richardson said KBOR is working on the new policy now to be prepared for when the university exemption expires in 2017.
"There's nothing happening in
the legislature today that signals there will be an amendment to that law that changes what's already in motion, which is this law exists, and the expiration is on the horizon, and it's going to come and go." Richardson said. "KBOR thought it would be best to plan for implementation now, because the existing policy does not allow those with the legal right to conceal and carry on campus, and it needs to be amended to reflect current law." In the meantime, University Senate is working on a report in response to the new policy the regents wrote in October. The response will be presented at the Nov. 18 Board of Regents meeting and may influence the new weapons policy plan.
people should remember that this policy is strictly about conceal and carry, not open carry.
University Senate was originally planning to give feedback in December, Williams said, which means the November meeting will be a time crunch, but he said he hopes the board will continue to take comments through December as it makes changes to its draft.
"You should not see a handgun while sitting in a class, and people think that there's a possibility of sitting in a big class and there could be some big debate going on and then someone slams down a gun and says, 'My opinion is X.' Richardson said. "That scenario is prohibited. You shouldn't see a gun, and if you do, there should be clear instructions from your University how to react."
As students take the survey from the Docking Institute and the guns on campus conversation continues, Richardson said
Since this topic will be discussed for at least another year and a half, Williams said it is important to be conscious of what is said and how it is interpreted. "It's important that these not be irrational conversations and that they be well thought out." Williams said. "When someone says guns are bad, the second part of that sentence should immediately follow with 'here is why.' It should not be about personal feelings, there have to be some reasons that are supportable with rationality that is more than just passion."
Edited by Scott Chasen
Indian students celebrate Diwali with dance, song and comedy
ALEX ROBINSON/KANSAN
Several guitar players played and sang for the audience at Diya, singing both traditional and modern pieces.
R rhythmic steps and flashing colors flooded the stage Saturday night for Diya, a celebration of the Hindu festival called Diwali.
Diwali, the Hindu celebration of light and energy, is traditionally celebrated with dancing and fireworks.The University's Association of Indian Students hosted the annual event at the Lawrence Art Center Saturday night. Shipra Malhotra, a doctorate student and president of AIS, said that for the Indian community, this kind of celebration is typical for Diwali.
The event began with the light- ing of a traditional Diya candle and prayer before the stage lit up with song, dance and comedy.
"We Indians, we generally dance when we have like festivals and everything, and this is like the most important festival that everyone waits for," Malhotra said.
Diya featured a two-hour series of song and dance numbers, stopping only occasionally for a joke from host Chinmay Rattenarhki, a senior from Pune, a city in western India. As the performers sang, jumped and spun, audience members cheered, laughed and applauded with equal gusto.
The energy took many forms Saturday night as colorful saris and traditional dress collided with modern pop culture. One of the first performances featured two women dressed in vibrant traditional clothing doing a traditional Indian dance. The sound of rhythmic steps mingled with the cheerful ring of bells wrapped around their ankles.
Ratnaparkki said during Diwali, people pray to the Hindu
Ratnaparkhi said the Indian community at the University is diverse, with people coming from many different states and regions. As a result, coming up with a show to please all palates wasn't easy.
While some prefer the traditional dancing with colorful saris and classical movement, others might have preferred the group of young men lip syncing to Brittney Spears" "Hit Me Baby One More Time," dressed in button-ups and ties.
Performances ranged in style from traditional to contemporary. In addition to Bharatanatyam, a classic style of Indian dance, performances included songs by Colbie Caillat, Adele and the Disney musical "Frozen."
goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.
"It is also said that [Lakshmi]
is a form of energy, and energy
can take any form basically, so
arts and any kind of performing
talents are all represented by this
particular energy," Ratnaparkki said.
"So that's why we decided
we're going to put a show together
on the occasion of Diwali."
"Every state has a different culture. The food is different, the clothes they wear in every state are different, the kind of dance forms they perform like the traditional dances are different in each state — so it's really tricky putting all of that together in one show." Ratnaparkhi said. "Sometimes people expect contemporary more than they expect traditional dances, so we tried to get that sort of balance between tradition and modern culture."
For many students, being away from home during Diwali can be difficult because it is the biggest holiday of the year.
"We are starting to get care packages from our homes with all the Diwali sweets and traditional clothes, so it is a time of the year when you actually miss being with your family," Ratnaparkhi said.
"We used to have joint families with all our grandparents and all the siblings of our parents, back in India in the '80s, but recently, families have separated and now in the houses, you only find a mother and father and the children." Ratnaparkhi said. "But during these festivals, everyone gets together and the celebration is always together and we spend some time together these holidays, so that's why we miss our homes."
Some performers touched on homesickness and family. The singer for one quartet, accompanied by a solo acoustic guitar, sang a ballad about the relationship between a mother and her son.
Ratnaparkki said Diwali is an important time for students to gather with extended family and celebrate.
In the past, the Association of Indian Students organized the Diya celebration, but it's now under a different organization name. Ratnaparkhi said it was formerly known as the KU Cultural India Club. The organization underwent structural changes at the beginning of this semester and became the Association of Indian Students.
"It was definitely way better than what we expected, but next year, with a little more preparation I'm sure we can do a much better job," Ratnaparki said.
-Edited by Madeline Umali
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