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Lawrence Police Department will have a DUI check lane on Saturday
MCKENNA HARFORD @McKennaHarford
The Lawrence Police Department will conduct a DUI check lane on Halloween this Saturday from midnight until 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location.
Sgt. Trent McKinley, a spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department, said in a news release that more pedestrians could be hit by cars on Halloween because more people are out all night.
Mckinley said drivers should watch out for people and children crossing the street, obey speed limits and be prepared to stop suddenly. He also said people planning to drink should have a designated driver or other transportation options.
Pedestrians should make sure drivers will be able to see them, McKinley said. He suggested avoiding masks that are difficult to see out of, or to take them off when crossing the street. He also encouraged traveling in groups.
"These people with headdress made out of fake eagle feathers are just spilling beer all over them and doing things that we wouldn't do. You have to do something really honorable to wear a headdress," Swimmer said.
"They get offended because they really don't know much about it, and we are calling them out on it," James said. "It's like talking to a brick wall."
Senior Luke Swimmer from Cherokee, North Carolina, said when people dress up as Native Americans for Halloween, they aren't giving sacred items and symbols their property dignity.
Both James and Swimmer try to address people who stereotype their culture, but it isn't always easy.
COSTUMES FROM PAGE 1
Swimmer recalled an experience his sister had one Halloween on campus.
people wear them for fun. I think it becomes hurtful when people do it for Halloween or parties or raves, or just to post a picture on Instagram," James said.
"My sister is very outspoken. She once went to a student bar association party, and there were four people dressed up
as native people, and she confronted them," Swimmer said. "But then someone confronted her and told her she was going to be kicked out because she was causing problems at the party, and everyone else wanted to have fun."
KANSAN.COM/NEWS | THURSDAY, OCT. 29. 2015
"I'm Mexican-American; I'm not from Mexico. My family didn't grow up wearing ponchos and your stereotypical Mexican costume," Mullen said. "I have grown up in America and been subjected to American media for the past 19 years, so consider me desensitized."
Although many people like Swimmer and James feel very strongly about defending their culture, not all share the same
by stereotypical costumes is because she has been desensitized.
"I think it dehumanizes that cultural group ... It's basically taking someone else's culture and reducing it. It's using someone else's culture at your own discretion and using it in an inaccurate way."
"It's part of me; it's who I am," James said. "People who are involved spiritually, physically and emotionally with their cultures are the only ones that understand how costumes can be offensive."
identity that she holds in her heritage.
LANDRI JAMES President, First Nations Student Association
sentiments.
Madeline Mullen, a freshman from Kansas City, said that even though she is Mexican, she doesn't easily get offended when she sees people in stereotypical Mexican Halloween costumes.
Ideally, James said she would like to see comprehensive cultural sensitivity courses integrated into classrooms starting at the elementary level to inform students at a young age about respecting others' heritage.
Despite her own neutral feelings about Halloween costumes, Mullen said she still empathizes with those who do get offended.
"I can understand how it would be offensive, but for me, personally, it's really difficult to offend me." Mullen sai..l
Mullen believes part of the reason why she is unaffected
"However, if I get offended, I feel that I certainly do have the right to tell you to shut up," Mullen said. "The only way to fix the problem would be to make people aware of what is offending me."
For students like James, a big part of the issue is the personal
Until then, James said it's up to individuals to be responsible and take action when it comes to respecting the dignity of different cultures.
"Students, especially college students, deserve both historical and contemporary truths in their entirety. Especially when it comes to mandatory history classes," james said.
"It's just been happening for so long," James said. "It's time for us to speak up for ourselves."
- Edited by Minami Levonowich
Some professors start using "trigger warnings" in class
CONNER MITCHELL
@connermitchell0
Trigger warnings have become the subject of national debate, but how are they being used at the University?
As "trigger warnings," or messages that alert people that they are about to see, read or hear potentially disturbing material, become more prevalent, some professors are accommodating students.
If a professor is presented with a student who has legitimate concerns about the subject matter of a course, Psychology Department Chair Ruth Ann Atchley said the best course of action is to find alternative assignments that meet the same learning objectives other students in the course are completing.
What are "trigger warnings," and how do they relate to education?
Trigger warnings were once used only for graphic television and movies. However, the American Psychological Association has recently said warnings about violent and graphic content are now making their way into classrooms across the country.
Jane Conoley, who has held various leadership positions with the American Psychological Association and is currently dean of the School of Education at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said it is becoming more commonplace to give students advanced notice of mature content that will be addressed in the classroom. She believes it is fair to alert students to potentially upsetting content so they can develop the skills needed to conquer their fears and anxieties about certain topics. However, warning students of explicit content does not mean allowing students to avoid particular content.
"The science behind getting over stress-related issues is not to ignore or avoid the issues. The way we handle these reactions is to build new cognitive frameworks that allow us to deal with the stress," she said. "This is hard work and can take a lifetime of attention."
Trigger warnings are not meant to be given to excuse students from reading about controversial issues such as homosexuality, a "trigger" Conoley said she heard from other universities. She said professors are generally compassionate regarding legitimate concerns from students about classroom content.
"I think it is good practice to give an overview of the course to students on the first day and through the syllabus. It is up to the professor to decide if alternative activities can count for the ones a student finds objectionable," she said. "A good professor will be understanding and help students consider how just reading about or looking at something objectionable is not an assault on their beliefs; it is just a way for all of us to broaden our understanding."
Conoley said students who are surprised by content shown in the classroom typically have a prior traumatic experience with the subject matter, and not warning those students in advance of showing graphic content can occasionally result in "re-traumatization." However, she said the best course of action for those students was not to avoid their triggers entirely but to work with a professional therapist to become resilient.
"What is seen in the classroom should be a trigger for new learning, for self-reflections and for discomfort," she said. "Building up personal assets in the face of difficulties is a vital life lesson, and avoidance is not healthy. The best thing is to set a goal and develop skills to conquer fears and anxieties."
Psychology department chair Ruth Ann Atchley said students at the University have introduced concerns about classroom content. She said she handles student concerns regarding class content for the psychology department. But she said students are typically more concerned by discussions they have with peers than subject matter introduced by their professors.
What is the University procedure if a student is uncomfortable with what is presented in a classroom?
She said when she's deciding whether or not to give a student an alternative assignment she has to think about how relevant the assignment is to the course and if there's an appropriate alternative.
"One of the things I try to do is judge the degree to which the material that, was being discussed was relevant to the content of the course," she said. "If I have a student who is concerned because we're talking about racial biases, but it is in a course about stereotypes and prejudices, I am not going to be able to help them not be exposed to material of that course."
Atchley said the best course of action for students who are concerned with something covered in a classroom is to have professors find a substitute assignment that meets the same learning outcome.
"When I make a judgement on these situations I ask myself, 'What is the point of the material the students are being exposed to, and is that excusable within the reasonable expectations of that course?' she said. "Choosing to avoid talking about something because it makes folks uncomfortable is disingenuous to a learning environment."
Do University professors offer trigger warnings for the material in their courses?
Political science department chair Don Haider-Markel teaches a course called Extremist Groups and Government Response that occasionally illustrates concepts dealt with in the curriculum in a graphic way, including propaganda videos from terrorist organizations which demonstrate their ability to use violence and broadcast that violence to the public.
Haider-Markel said he tries to give warnings about violent content prior to student viewing but said he does not warn students about strong language or content that is sexual in nature.
"I have recommended that students temporarily leave the classroom or close their eyes if they do not want to see something, but I have never had anyone indicate they were uncomfortable," he said. "Given the material that is widely available both on the internet and in regular programming that students have access to, it seems to me to be humorous that 19-year-old and older students would need to be protected from any kind of content."
In graduate teaching assistant Timothy Lantz's Poetry Writing I course, he said some of the poems covered in the curriculum can be graphic in nature. The class recently finished reading Patricia Lockwood's compilation of poems, "Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals," which includes her famous poem "Rape Joke." The poem, best known for its seriousness within a collection of outwardly humorous writings, contains some strong language and graphic descriptions of rape, according to a New York Times review.
"Sometimes, and only sometimes, do I give prior notice about poems' content. I don't think of this as giving warning, though," he said. "Students are already writing about difficult subjects, rape included."
"I preface the semester with a reminder that literature, including our own writing, needs to cover difficult subjects," he said. "Otherwise, we don't resolve them. Otherwise, we feel that we are the only one with a particular problem."
Prior notice is something Lantz said he uses as more of a teaching tool than something to protect students from particular subject matters. He said he tells students to think about studying graphic ideas as a way to model their own writing on the same subjects.
Lantz said although the content covered in the classroom can be graphic, he only occasionally gives students advanced notice to prepare for graphic content and has never had a student raise concerns about what was being covered.
340 Fraser | 864-4121 www.psych.ku.edu/ psychological_clinic/ COUNSELING SERVICES FOR LAWRENCE & KU
- Edited by Amber Vandegrift
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