6A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2002
Red Pill Forum challenges intellect
Discussion group comes to KU Leadership program aims to boost students' integrity
By Erin Beatty
Kansan staff writer
A new group at the University of Kansas is trying to help students change their perceptions of the world by introducing the Red Pill Forum.
The forum is a group of students who gather to discuss current controversial topics in a casual atmosphere. It started at the University of California-Berkeley in August 2001 and has spread throughout the United States, as well as Canada, New Zealand and Austria.
"The Red Pill Forum was started so students can examine their own world views," said sophomore Andrew Laffoon, forum coordinator at Berkeley.
Erik Fish. Red Pill Forum moderator at KU, said the group's name is based on the scene from the movie; "The Matrix" when the main character takes a red pill and is released from a false world. Fish said the forum is a good way for
"The discussion is completely informal," Fish said. "There is no predetermined agenda, and anyone can talk about anything. You can support your own ideas, or you can totally bash others' ideas if you want to."
Dian Coke, Moore Haven, Fla. senior and Red Pill Forum president at KU, discovered the forum during a trip to California this summer and thought it would be a good idea to bring to KU.
Each forum "meeting" takes place in a casual living environment such as a dorm or a fraternity house and starts with a short DVD clip that introduces the topic. The clip shows interviews with college students regarding the topic, then poses questions for discussion.
Anyone is welcome to attend the forum discussions, which are led by one of eight trained moderators. Usually about eight to 10 people participate in the discussions.
five forum discussions have taken place at KU, said Coke, who moderated his first forum discussion last week.
Bad News/ Scandal
Capital Punishment
Embarrassment
Extraterrestrials
Genetic Engineering
Genocide Awareness Project
Life After Death
Nuclear Arms
Rock Music
Sexual Ethics
The Devel
The Origin of Man
sources:www.redpillforum.com
Coke said his group received a large response at the Info Fair at the Kansas Union, where at least 70 students signed up for information.
The Red Pill Forum does not have a regularly scheduled time or meeting place. To facilitate a discussion at your residence, call Dan Coke at 812-2160.
For more info. go to www.reddillforum.com.
ebeatty@kansan.com. This story was edited by Ryan Malashock.
Contact Beatty at
By George Schulz
Kansan staff writer
Following recent corporate scandals and the neglect of business ethics by executives, more employers are combing the job market for graduates with leadership skills and integrity, said Rueben Perez, coordinator for leadership programs at the University of Kansas.
"Leadership has always been a part of student activities since day one," said Perez. "But ... with the loss of ethics and integrity, and basically, good people skills, there's been a recommitment to leadership development."
Perez said more companies prefer that their employees have supplemental skills, such as experience with multiculturalism and leadership training, to accompany their degrees.
Perez said in the last couple of years, more universities have begun offering leadership development programs, including most
of the Big 12 schools. The University of Kansas began offering a minor in leadership studies just last year.
Luis Parreira, Sao Paulo, Brazil, junior, said his extracurricular and leadership activities would likely benefit him even more than a strong GPA. Parreira, a leader in numerous international student programs, became involved with leadership development during his sophomore year.
"I believe that having leadership experiences will help me greatly in finding a good job," Parereira said.
Parreira said he was invited by an orientation leader to participate in leadership programs when he came to the University. But, he said, some international students struggle to get involved in student organizations, such as leadership development, because they prefer to stay in a group of people from their own country.
"The first barrier is, of course, the language. Many international students don't get involved
because they are afraid people will not understand them," Parreira said.
Paroreira has been involved with nearly all of the programs offered by leadership development. He is also the president of the International Student Association and an orientation leader for domestic and international student orientations.
Perez said his favorite students are those who do not initially expect to be involved with leadership development when they come to the University, but ultimately benefit from the programs offered.
"We try to emphasize that leadership is a position of action," said Perez. "It's about your ability to cause movement in people."
For more information about the leadership programs go to www.ukans.edu/~oletr/leadership.html.
Contact Schulz at editor@kansan.com. This story was edited by Christine Grubbs.
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