UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday. August 19, 1992
13E
101
Black Student Union sets forth agenda focuses on fund raising and academics
By Richard Mancinelli Special to the Kansan
With three specific goals and many other organizations depending on it, the University of Kansas Black Student Union has a big job this fall.
Helping the smaller groups financially is one of BSU's duties, but the new officers also have specific goals for the BSU. James Baucom, the president of BSU, said the general goal was staying together culturally and socially and outlined other main goals as following:
n producing and cultivating alternative ways of raising funds
n helping students academically n keeping minority affairs at the forefront of the University's responsibilities
BSU, which began in Fall 1968, has been a forum for the ideas of African-American students at KU and a catalyst for change.
The BSU is an umbrella organization for 20 other African-American special interest groups on campus, Baucom said.
The 1991-92 year began with about 644 African-American students, he said.
The BSU has revenue code status, which allows it to receive money from Student Senate for two years at a time, rather than asking for money line by line every year. BSU achieved this status four years ago, Baucom said.
lence halls, Inspirational Gospel
Voices and the Black Men of Today.
Revenue code status enables the BSU to plan ahead and distribute its money to the smaller organizations, such as the Black Caucasus in the res-
Baucum is organizing a project to uncover the major events leading to the formation of the BSU and the incidents illustrating prejudiced attitudes toward African Americans at the time.
Africans Americans did not think their needs and requests were being met thoroughly in 1968 by the University administration, Baucom said. This consensus pressured the administration to create the Office of Urban Affairs, now Office of Minority Affairs, and led to the formation of the BSU.
There are two big events for the BSU in the 1992-93 school year.
The second annual Tomorrow's Leadership Council will expose high school students to opportunities
available in college. The second event, the 17th annual Big Eight Conference on Black Student Government, will be held at KU February 17:20. Baucom said.
The BSU has an office at 425 Kansas Union and met every other Monday this past school year.
The BSU went to the conference at Oklahoma State last year and won the Advisor of the Year and Most Participants awards, he said.
BSU officers for the 1992-1993 year are Elliott Bailey, vice president; Stacia Reed, treasurer; Carin Martin, recording secretary; Leslie Davis, corresponding secretary, and Barbara Foster, parliamentarian.
"If America started with everyone equal, we wouldn't need a Black or a Women's Student Union. It's a way to protect your interests," Baucom said.
KU receives high marks in college guidebook in areas of academics, cost and quality of life
By Randy Rosetta
Special to the Kansan
It's no secret that the University of Kansas' athletic teams have a habit of appearing in national rankings, but new students on Mount Creegd might be reassured to learn that the school had so counted among the nation's elite.
KU has been included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges, a review of about 300 of the country's colleges and universities, since the book was first published in 1983.
The book was written by Edward B. Fiske, a former education writer for The New York Times, and was completed with contributions from administrators and students at the selected schools.
Fiske selected the 300 schools and sent a packet of questionnaires to each to be answered by the school's staff. The bulk cross-section of the student population.
When Fiske received the completed questionnaires, he and his assistants visited each campus and rated each school in three categories: academics, social life and quality of life. KU received four of a possible five stars in all three categories.
**Howard Fiske felt that at KU, a student would receive a very strong public, four-year education," said Sally Bryant, a former director of KU's New Student Orientation who was one of Fiske's guides when he visited the
campus in February of 1990.
Four stars in the academic category indicated that the institution had some particularly distinguishing academic feature, such as especially rich course offerings or an especially seriousthatmosphere, the guide book stated.
"Something he was very impressed with was the strength of our faculty in nearly every program and the way instructors and students interacted," Bryant said.
Fiske noted eight professional or graduate schools as academically strong: architecture and urban design, journalism, allied health, pharmacy, nursing, education, business and engineering. Also recognized were the English, foreign language, chemistry and philosophy programs.
in exploring the social aspects of KU and its quality of life. Fiske described Lawrence as having everything from parlor music and jazz to pizza parors. He also mentioned the city's proximity to Topeka and Kansas City as a plus.
"By falling between two cities, he felt that Lawrence and KU were able to offer anything a student wanted in terms of entertainment, culture and ways to avoid getting bored," Bryant said.
Fiske wrote about social possibilities, noting that KU offered more than 300 organized groups along with the
movies, poetry readings and concerts.
Even Joe's Doughnuts was mentioned as a popular spot for students' late-night food runs.
Fiske also compiled a price index that breaks down public and private schools as inexpensive, moderately priced, expensive and very expensive. KU was one of 21 public schools that fell into the inexpensive category. Fellow Big Eight conference member Iowa State also was listed as inexpensive, but a separate study supports Fiske's assertion that KU stood alone in the region as one of the best buys in public education.
Not only was KU the least expensive in the Big Eight conference, but the University also remained the best buy even when the list was expanded to include the nine public universities in the Bir Ten Conference.
In Student Charges at Public Universities: Annual Survey 1990-91, the price for a full year of tuition, books, and room and board at KU was listed at $4,866 for a state resident and $7,867 for a nonresident.
"I think Mr. Fiske was amazed that the cost of tuition had recently increased, because he felt that KU was already a bargain," Bryant said.
Fiske also included statistics on who applied, got accepted and enrolled at KU. He said that the University received 7,500 applications annually. On the average, 94 percent
of those applicants are accepted, and 51 percent enroll.
The graduation rate in five years for students who chose KU was 47 percent, bolstered by a high number of graduates for their second year. - 80 percent
"The percentage of returning freshmen was a new number that he was adding to his book, and he said that KU's 80 percent was very high for such a large, yet demanding school," Bryant said.
Not all of Fiske's review was favorable. He noted that just 4 percent of the student population was Black and Hispanic combined. He also mentioned some complaints about the University's open admissions policy to state residents that Fiske said had led to higher than usual entrance requirements for out-of-state students as well as an overcrowding problem.
Overall, however, KU received high praise from Fiske, including his closing statements indicating that KU was winning the battle against public school mediocrity.
"This big public university can compete with the more expensive Eastern schools in just about everything — excellent faculty, strength in a variety of programs, school spirit, even the ubiquitous campus parking shortage," Fiske wrote. "KU students are living proof that in Kansas, at least, there's no place like home."
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