Monday November 11,2002 Vol.113. Issue No.56
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
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Cornhuskers take out Jayhawks Weatherbie in Lincoln p.1B
Top job requires top dollar
Hefty campaign costs, meager pay add up for student body presidents
By Caleb Nothweir
cnothweir@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Students who might want to pursue the office of student body president should first make sure their bank accounts can handle it.
Because of the large costs candidates incur during campaigns and the small salaries presidents receive while in
For his $480 monthly stipend, current Student Body President Jonathan Ng works an average of 40 hours per week. His paycheck breaks down to $3 per hour.
office, the position is not within the budgets of all KU students, past presidents say. Recent students who have shouldered the costs of the presidency said they were able to do so with financial help from parents or scholarships.
"You can't be student body president and lead a regular college life," Ng said.
Ng said his job hadn't allowed him to have a part-time job or take a full class load. He also said he spent 10 hours a day on campus, attending between 20 and 24
meetings per week.
University regulations require the student body president, and any other student-salary position, to be enrolled in six credit hours. Ng is enrolled in 12 in order to maintain his merit-based scholarship.
Justin Mills, 2001-02 student body president, made the same salary as Ng and said students who paid for their own education wouldn't be able to take the position.
"For the amount of work, it doesn't cover the bills," Mills said.
Mills, a first-year medical school student, said a pay raise would open the position to more students. Mills said he was able to take on the position because
his parents had set up a college fund for him in advance.
Kevin Yoder, student body president during the 1998-99 school year, was an exception to most presidents, working 10 to 15 hours at his part-time job at Pizza Hut during his term. But Yoder's time in office came at the expense of other college activities.
"It became my life," Yoder said. "Classes and other activities were secondary."
Yoder said he was able to balance his presidency and paying for school with the help of student loans.
SEE PRESIDENT ON PAGE 5A
Students design fun for kids
Day with reStart Inc. included stringing, sewing and painting
Industrial design student Dave Best, Dallas senior, works with 4-year-old Ebony as they brush autumn colors on leaves Saturday afternoon at reStart, Inc. Best, an officer of KJ's chapter of the Industrial Design Society of America, has coordinated a project with his fellow peers to volunteer at the shelter for homeless and low-income families at reStart for the past two years.
By Lindsey Hodel
ihostel@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
John Nowak/Kansan
Industrial design students took a break on Saturday afternoon from designing products to teach children art skills.
Eleven students volunteered an afternoon of their time to help children who are residents of reStart, Inc., a shelter for homeless and low-income families in Kansas City, Mo.
The group sewed braided rugs, strung beaded necklaces and painted wooden leaves with fall colors.
"I like strawberry blood. I want to paint mine with that," said 5-year-old Vincent, a resident at reStart, referring to a color he created Saturday afternoon by mixing orange and red. Vincent then began talking about Halloween as he used his new color to decorate a wooden leaf.
Helping Vincent was Jason Schwartz, Wheeling, Ill., graduate student. While painting his fall leaf, Vincent asked Schwartz what grade he was in.
"I guess I'm in about the 18th grade by now," Schwartz replied after Vincent boasted he was in the 1st, 5th and 8th grade all at the same time.
The most challenging part of the experience was getting into the mind set of the children, Schwartz said.
"When I was growing up, if I wanted to do an art project I did it at my house," he said. "These children don't have that chance. It's something none of us have had to experience."
Both the residents of the shelter and
the students volunteering benefited from the experience, said Linda Kernitzer, a lecturer in the School of Design who facilitated the volunteer project.
"It's really great," she said. "You can just feel the energy floating around in there."
Kemnitzerworks at reStart, Inc., 918 E. Ninth St., two days a week. When she first started, she said she was organizing the children's activities alone and needed help.
"That's when Dave suggested getting
students to help out," she said
"We are pretty insulated in our cam-
For the past two years, Dave Best, an officer of KU's chapter of the Industrial Design Society of America, has helped mobilize students to volunteer for an afternoon with the children at reStart. Inc.The activity helped students gain a perspective of life outside the typical college experience, said Best, a Dallas senior.
"When I was growing up, if I wanted to do an art project I did it at my house. These children don't have that chance. It's something none of us have had to experience."
SEE RESTART ON PAGE 5A
Jason Schwartz
Wheeling, Ill., graduate student
Students with bus passes may have to walk a little farther to classes in Joseph R. Pearson Hall, which houses the School of Education. The KU on Wheels Transportation Board will vote Nov. 18 on whether to eliminate the bus route to the building.
Eric Braem/Kansan
Lack of riders could cut trial bus route near JRP
Four students shuffled on to a KU bus after it stopped in front of Joseph R. Pearson Hall and headed back to campus Friday afternoon. But these same students may be using their feet instead next semester.
By Caleb Nothwehr
cnothwehr@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A trial bus route that stops in front of JRP, at the corner of 11th Street and West Campus Road, may be canceled because of the lack of ridership, KU on Wheels officials said.
keep the route at next Monday's board meeting, said Mike Appleby, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels and Lawrence junior. If the board votes to cancel the route, the decision will take effect at the beginning of next semester.
The transportation board will vote on whether to
"Unfortunately it's not working out," Appleby said. "We could use the hours at other places."
The possible decision comes after KU on Wheels researched and observed low ridership on the route.
The route has routinely dropped off 45 students at JRP and picked up 15, Appleby said.
SEE JRP ON PAGE 5A
Hate Out celebrates diversity
By Katie Nelson
knelson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
It's the second year that the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Multicultural Resource Center and other campus organizations are coordinating a week-long celebration of diversity: Hate Out Week.
Hate Out Week 2002 events include:
Today:
"There's so much diversity on our campus, but at the same time there is so much hatred out there that we need to be aware of," said Katie Dilks, Ames, Iowa, senior and coordinator of the Diversity Peer Education Team, one of the organizations sponsoring Hate Out Week. "If we ignore it, that hate, it won't go away. Instead we need to confront it and learn from each other."
Jon Hockman, a Washington, D.C.-based motivational speaker will talk about diversity and the benefits of learning from differences at 7:30 p.m. at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union.
The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center will sponsor a Body Image Discussion at 12:30 p.m. in the MRC classroom. Corrina Beck, a coordinator for the Resource Center is leading the talk.
"I think that bias and stereotypes are a huge part of the world in which we live," Hockman said. "If we realize the true positive power of diversity, using that we can figure out how to build healthier, stronger, more inclusive communities." Hockman owns a company called Dare, Dream, Do that coordinates motivational speaking engagements, plans conferences and facilitates meetings and retreats.
- Buttons, cups and fliers about upcoming Multicultural Resource Center activities will be available at information tables on Wescoe Beach, the Kansas Union and Mrs. E's from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday:
"Student to Student: A Discussion on Diversity" is a seven-student panel and audience discussion about diversity issues such as race, religion and media. Participants will gauge how well the University is preparing them to deal with diversity in the work place, said Aramis Watson, Wichita senior, who is leading the discussion. She is president of the Association of University Residence Halls and coordinator of the event.
Wednesday:
"I think it helps for people to talk, to come into contact with diversity issues because that's when it can hit home with someone and make them think," Watson said.
"There are a thousand different types of women out there but we have a tendency to think about one specific image as an ideal," Beck said. "Broadening the image of our ideal woman will help women have a more realistic idea of what they can expect of themselves, instead of trying to live up to an image that might not ever be possible." Thursday:
Thursday.
The Writing on the Wall project will be torn down at noon Thursday. It's a symbolic event that will represent ridding society of discrimination, injustice and oppression. The 300-cinder-block wall will be built Wednesday morning in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall and until it's torn down, students and faculty are going to be asked to draw, paint and write about discrimination.
Friday through Sunday:
About 50 students will take part in the third annual Colors of KU retreat next weekend. Students have already been selected for this year's retreat at the Tall Oaks campground.
Edited by Lauren Beatty