WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
DJ's show features Asian music
John Nowak/Kansan
Hosting a radio show is a dream come true for sophomore Chungkam "Michael" Yeung, who handles the KJHK airwaves from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays with his show, "The Heart of Asia". Yeung said he hoped to become a DJ at a radio station in his native Hong Kong after graduation.
By Caleb Nothwehr
cnothwehr@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
KJHK listeners who tune in Sunday mornings may think the station intercepted a radio signal from the Far East. What they are actually hearing is a taste of Asian pop culture emanating from the student radio station.
Chungkam "Michael" Yeung is the host of KJHK program The Heart of Asia from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays. During his two hour show, Yeung plays popular music from several different countries in Asia, translates some lyrics and gives background about the artists.
For KJHK, the show adds a distinct flavor to the station's alternative lineup. For Yeung, hosting the show is part of a life-long dream.
"When I was a 14 or 15, I used to listen to radio'a lot," Yeung said, "I thought being a DJ would be really cool."
Yeung dreams of becoming a disc jockey at a radio station in Hong Kong.
That dream hit a roadblock when he was not accepted at a radio station there before coming to KU in 2001.
"Radio stations in Hong Kong are really cool," Yeung said. "They are looking for really talented people."
In the meantime, the Hong Kong sophomore in journalism is brushing up on his on-air skills and giving KJHK listeners a dose of his native pop culture.
"I think somehow it creates diversity, and that's what KU emphasizes," he said.
The show also provides an opportunity for Asian international students to get an idea of popular music back home, Yeung said.
"It's nice if they can listen to Asian music other than there own collection of CDs," Yeung said.
Yeung, who chose his American name in second grade after Michael Jackson, said he is not picky in his music taste.
"As long as they are good musicians I like their music," he said.
Student administrators at KJHK say Yeung's program fits in with the station's alternative
style.
"It's probably one of the shows that we're proudest to have," said Richard Gintowt, KJHK music director and Palatine, Ill. senior. "KJHK presents music that doesn't have a forum elsewhere, and Michael plays music that isn't available anywhere in America."
Edited by Jessica Hood
Graduate wins scholarship
By Lindsay Model
hodel@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Mark Bradshaw, a University of Kansas May 2001 graduate, has won the Marshall scholarship, and Christina Warinner, Overland Park senior, is on a reserve list of finalists.
The Marshall scholarship, a prestigious award for graduates demonstrating academic and leadership excellence, provides more than $50,000 for two years of graduate study in Great Britain.
As an undergraduate, Bradshaw won the national Truman and Udall scholarship, which made him the first KU student to win all three awards. He attributed much of his success to the help he received during his two-year-long application process from KU's honor program.
"It is one of the best honor programs in the nation to help students compete for national awards,"he said.
Bradshaw said one of his biggest strengths in the competition was his ability to make connections between his studies and larger environmental problems facing the country.
"I thought a lot about how to take the things I learned in classes and put them into action," he said. "I applied my course work to everything else I was involved in."
In addition to being a student, Bradshaw also helped start GROW,a community gardening project that involves student volunteers. He said this experience served as a basis for his long-term goals of working on environmental issues with a non-profit organization or the government.
"I want to work on agriculture in urban settings," he said. "If we move food production closer to where people are eating it, people will have a closer connection with what they eat. Organic farming would be more of an option, because public support is needed."
Bradshaw plans to work on two master's degrees in geography and environmental programs at either the London School of Economics and Political Science or the University of Durham.
Warinner has an opportunity to receive the Marshall scholarship if any of the 40 selected cannot accept. She wants to become a teacher at a university, and is studying Mayan hieroglyphic writing in Germany this year.
Nine KU graduates have now won the Marshall scholarship. Karl Brooks is assistant professor of history and environmental studies who won the Marshall scholarship as an undergraduate. He said one of the main strengths of KU's environmental studies program is its interdisciplinary approach to environmental issues. He said KU graduates of the program often become environmental lawyers, activists, and scientists.
Edited by Melissa Shuman
Group debates birth date of Jesus
By George Schulz
gschulz@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Christmas is a dominant feature of the holiday season as Christians across the country celebrate what they believe is the birthday of Jesus Christ, Dec. 25.
About 20 people gathered last night at the Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union to discuss the origins of Christmas. The event was sponsored by the Socii-
But not everyone believes Dec. 25 is a historically accurate date to attribute to the birth of Jesus.
ety of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics (SOMA).
Paul Mirecki, chair of the religious studies department, presented a lecture on the topic. He described inconsistencies in the Bible that suggest Dec. 25 is not the actual birthday of Jesus. In Matthew and Luke's stories found in the Bible, said Mirecki, two locations are mentioned as Jesus' birthplace — Bethlehem and Nazareth. No date is mentioned for the birth of Jesus.
"You don't want to talk about the birth of Christ," he said. "You want to talk about the birth of
Jesus. Jesus is a human name."
Mirecki said "Christ" was a term used to describe Jesus after his life, and the date Dec. 25 was not found anywhere until A.D. 336, when the date was used to describe the birth of "Christ" among a list of Roman Christian martyrts.
"Historical knowledge is in the balance of probability," Mirecki said. "There is a high probability he existed, but all that exist in the New Testament are references to Christ and faith."
Edited by Amanda Sears