+
KANSAN.COM
NEWS
3
4
Jewish Studies will be a major at the University in the spring
MATTHEW GWIN
@MatthewGwinUDK
Jewish Studies is the newest addition to the list of majors students will have to choose from this spring.
Last week, the Kansas Board of Regents unofficially approved the addition of the major. Formal approval from the Regents should come during its October meeting, and the process will be finalized after the Office of the Provost signs off in November.
According to the website, if the major is approved, the department will start issuing major declaration forms for students who have already completed the requirements.
The University will join two other Big 12 institutions in offering a Jewish Studies major Texas and Oklahoma according to the new degree request sent to the Regents.
Jewish Studies has been offered as a minor at the University since 2005, but the creation of a major validates the subject, said John Younger, director of Jewish Studies.
“What I'm really looking forward to is Jewish Studies acting like a department rather than a stepchild of another program,” Younger said.
Younger said he has been advocating a Jewish Studies major for three years. He said the major would give the department an opportunity to exercise more freedom. He said Jewish Studies has operated under both the Religious Studies Department and the Center for Global and International Studies in the past.
"In a sense we've always had to answer to somebody, so it will be rather interesting to be an independent unit
- although still affiliated with this new institute [the Center for Global and International Studies] - and to start acting like an independent unit," Younger said.
Jay Lewis, executive director of Hillel, said he believes the major would help diminish stereotypes of Kansas as unwelcome to minority students.
"This is huge for the University of Kansas," Lewis said. "What it does for students to study and dive into Jewish studies is great, but it also helps break down the stereotypes of Kansas. Not only can we say we have courses [in Jewish Studies], but the fact that there's a Jewish Studies major says a lot about KU."
Younger said he argued for the major in part because the University has about 2.000 lewish students.
"I would never think of KU as a magnet for Jewish Studies, but apparently it is," he said. "A lot of that is due to Hillel — Hillel is very active — but obviously there's something about KU being a jew-friendly campus."
Younger added that the department feels ready to deal with the responsibilities inherent in being a major program.
"Once Jewish Studies is really fully fledged as its own independent major, I think given the interdisciplinary nature of the faculty involved people can look forward to hopefully another stage of Jewish Studies working with other humanities programs on campus." Brody said.
rules different in our daily programs.
"Like any unit, I want to start development with a capital 'D' in a financial sense as well as having contacts," he said.
"Looking down the road, very far down the road, we'll have alumni, and we'll want to nurture those contacts with our alums."
"The idea of any program is having students who you can send out to do study abroad work or internships, so that you feel like you're the hub with spokes going out that have influence," Younger said. "Being able to graduate majors with a BA in Jewish Studies will be another one of those spokes."
Samuel Brody, an assistant professor of religious students, said the department also plans to build strong relationships with other University humanities departments.
In addition to those interdisciplinary connections, Younger said he hopes to expand the program's global connections as a result of having a major.
Edited by Emma LeGault
Students can enroll at KU and JCCC at the same time
2 courses Jewish history and/or culture
2 courses/completion 20O-level courses in Hebrew or Yiddish
MIKE MAICKE
@MJ_Maicke
Capstone Course JWSH 601
According to a news release from JCCC, students can now take their core classes at the community college while taking more degree-specific classes at the University during the same semester.
The University and Johnson County Community College have partnered to allow students to fully enroll at both institutions at the same time.
Under this new partnership students will be able to utilize more academic programs and resources like tutors, counselors and access to research centers.
What does the Jewish Studies major program look like?
"This has been a student-driven process rather than an institution-driven process," said Andy Hyland, an assistant director of strategic communications for the University. "It's about helping students be successful."
Hyland said he believes the institutions working together is vital in helping Johnson County transfer students stay on pace to graduate with a four-year degree at the University.
of their community college credits to transfer are 2.5 times more likely to earn a four-year degree than those who are able to transfer less than half their credit's." Hyland said.
According to the JCCC website, more than 40 percent of students enrolled in courses there say they plan to transfer to another college.
The partnership between schools is attempting to soften the transition in the trend of two years at a community college followed by two years at a larger university.
2 courses Judaism
"Students who get almost all
3 courses Electives
"We listened to students who wanted to take courses at each institution when it's best for them, rather than the traditional and more rigid two-plus-two model." Hyland said.
This new system is available to students now, and Hyland said he believes this is a simple and effective way to help students make the most out of transferring.
"It wasn't very difficult for us; [it] just took coordination," he said. "We have a good partnership and are familiar with each other, so it wasn't very hard."
Dining chief: Jay Break to stay closed
— Edited by Maddy Mikinski
HALLIE WILSON
@halliew20
David Mucci, director of KU Dining, answered questions about the closure of the Jay Break Snack Bar in Murphy Hall at Swarthout Recital Hall on Tuesday morning.
Mucci called the event a conversation between him and the students. He began by explaining the reasons behind the Jay Break closure.
Currently, the Jay Break is losing about $5,000 a year, Mucci said.
"While it's not a monumental deficit, it is something to be cognizant of when trying to keep a total food service operational and solvent," Mucci said.
Mucci also said that after looking at the financials and factoring in the opening of the DeBruce Center next semester, KU Dining and other campus officials decided it would be best to close the Murphy location.
Students will be able to use the DeBruce Center for their dining needs, as it will have a
coffee shop, as well as a café and restaurant. Mucci said the proximity of the DeBruce Center and Murphy makes it an accessible location for students.
During the discussion, some students disagreed with Mucci and said they're worried they won't have time to get food at DeBruce between classes.
The DeBruce Center food stops will also have longer hours and more food options than Jay Break, which Mucci said he thought would benefit students.
However, students still hope to find a way to keep Jay Break open.
The DeBruce Center is scheduled to open on March 1, so Mucci said they dining would keep Jay Break open through March to see how revenues compare between it and the DeBruce Center food options.
—Edited by Madeline Umali
ANDREW SIEKER/AP PHOTO
This photo shows a stolen combine on the side of a road near Ellinwood, where it stopped after police in pursuit fired at the fleeing piece of farm equipment to disable it
Man steals combine and slow chase ensues
A 37-year-old Ellinwood man was arrested on suspicion of a
"Since 1981 I've chased a lot of vehicles, but we've never chased a combine," Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said.
BILL DRAPER Associated Press
"We met right at the curve and I swerved out of the way," said Sieker, himself a farmer. "He swerved and hit some guy wires. It was close."
The combine struck several
John Roth figures it was a bullet to the oil filter that killed his old Case IH combine and brought a slow-speed police chase to an otherwise peaceful end.
Bellendir said no administrative action would be taken against the officers, who were deemed justified in disabling the farm implement because of the threat it posed.
The sheriff said the suspect, who owns the vehicle that was found abandoned on the road, was trying to restart the machine when he was taken into custody.
Officers fired 18 rounds into the farm implement, which had been stolen Tuesday night from a cornfield east of Ellinwood in central Kansas. But not before the combine rammed two patrol cars, hit a parked pickup truck and damaged power poles as it attempted to elude officers at speeds approaching 20 mph.
— an eight-row corn head on the front.
When an officer approached, the man put the machine in reverse and rammed the officer's car before fleeing the scene, Bellendir said. During the chase, a deputy pulled in front of the machine to set a roadblock, but it was rammed and dragged. Two officers then opened fire, shooting out the tires and hitting the motor.
power poles and a pickup truck in Ellincoln, ripping the corn head from the implement.
number of charges, but no formal charges had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon. Barton County prosecutor Doug Matthews said he anticipated that would happen soon.
Andrew Sieker slowed down for a curve when he encountered the oncoming implement
Deputies arrived at a county road near Roth's property around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a call about an abandoned vehicle. Soon, a 911 call told of a combine with no lights "weaving from ditch to ditch" east of the 1,200-person town, Bellendir said.
Get easier banking for your world.
As a student, you have a lot to figure out, including your finances. Commerce Bank can help!
- Over 360 ATM and branch locations
- Mobile Banking
- Make deposits from your mobile device*
- Online Banking & Online Bill Pay
- Instant issue debit, credit and pre-paid cards**
Open an account with us today!
Call, click or come by.
785. 865.4799 | commercebank.com
Commerce Bank
*Fees apply. Subject to restrictions and limitations. **Available at participating locations, restrictions may apply
1
+