MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2008
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 33
CAMPUS
Professor assures students' jobs will still exist
BY RYAN MCGEENEY
rmcqeeney@kansan.com
The day after the Dow Jones suffered a 20 percent drop — its largest one-day decline in the market's history — Paul Koch, the O. Maurice Joy Professor of Business, had at least one thing he wanted to make clear to students in his "Futures and Options" class.
"The sky isn't falling." Koch said.
"You're all going to get jobs."
The class, which teaches students in the School of Business how to navigate a dizzying array of financial formulas that predict and guide actual business transactions, often begins with a 10- to 20-minute discussion period in which current world events are examined through the lens of the economic theories and principles taught by Koch and other professors in Summerfield Hall.
The discussions have increasingly shifted focus from broad generalities to specific events that seem to change the economic forecast for the country and the world from one day to the next. Many of the students in the course are nearing graduation, and every hint of a financial downturn and possible recession can appear as a bad omen to students about to enter the job market.
"You guys are going to get jobs, and you're going to start investing in your 401ks." Koch told the class "Don't you want to buy stocks now, when they're low? Isn't this good for you? You're not retiring tomorrow."
Koch recently garnered a modicum of media attention as a signatory to a letter addressed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the current president pro tempore of the Senate. The letter, signed by more than 200 economists from 100 universities around the nation and read on the floor of the House of Representatives, urged caution in approving the $700 bil-
lon Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
Both chambers of Congress have since passed the bill and President Bush signed it into law on Oct. 3. The letter cited three major causes for concern: the question of the legislation's fairness, its lack of transparency and oversight and the potential for long-term, unintended consequences.
"I view the last several weeks as a short-term liquidity crisis, and as the result of some past behavior in the financial markets, particularly the real estate markets," said Koch, who described the letter as a plea to Congress, the U.S. Treasury and other leaders to simply not be hasty. He emphasized
that his primary concern was the ambiguous nature of some portions of the proposed legislation, rather than the dollar amount.
"I don't like the term 'bailout," Koch said. "It's really a $700 billion line of credit. I think that's actually a good idea. The liquidity crisis reflects the engine of the economy coming to a stop. We need to grease the engine of the economy to get it going again, and credit is the grease that makes the economic engine work."
Koch's students aren't the only ones in the School of Business finding themselves engaged in discussions revolving around
ROTC teaches life-long skills
Jerrv Wano / KANSAN
Aaron Hunter, Topeka sophomore, informs his squad of the plan to ambush an enemy bunker during the ROTC training held Saturday morning. Cadets took turns leading their squads as part of a leadership exercise.
SEE ECONOMY ON PAGE 3A
Cadets understand war protests are not aimed at them but at the war itself
BY HALEY JONES hjones@kansan.com
The sound of gunshots echoed through the woods of Fort Riley Saturday as KU Army ROTC cadets neared the enemy's
bunker on a field training exercise. But the enemy was only fellow ROTC, the guns were filled with blanks and the grenades were tennis balls.
Aaron Hunter,
Topeka sophomore,
led his squad of eight
cadets to the ridge
across from the ene-
up. Hunter had enough cover to cross the stream and approach the bunker from the side, right in the enemy's blind spot. Covered by his squad firing guns, Hunter dropped to a crawl to get closer to the spray-painted black bun-
"We use this training because we want everyone to be a good soldier and it's a good way to put in pressure situations ..."
my's bunker. The only thing stopping them from completing their mission was a small stream — and the pounding inside their chests from the uncertainty of what could happen.
ker. When he had reached the outer edge, he reached his arm around the front of the bunker and tossed in a tennis ball.
Thick smoke from a smoke bomb appeared in the streambed and wafted
JOHN BASSO
Battalion commander
About 90 Army ROTC cadets gathered at Fort Riley on Friday afternoon for their most intensive field training exercise, FTX, of the semester. The three-day-long FTX puts the Army ROTC underclassmen in real-life situations where they learn critical problem
"Grenade int!" he shouted. The two enemy forces dropped their heads to the ground, signaling defeat.
solving and improve their leadership skills from soldiers who have actually served overseas. The ROTC is divided into seven different lanes that funnel into a central location, where the main campsite and base are. Each lane press-
ents the ROTC with different missions that encourage the development of basic skills and actions, like blocking and tackling.
Colonel John Basso is the battalion commander for the KU Army ROTC. He said the situational training in lanes was a weekly exercise for
ers — but still hands-on stuff," Basso said. "We use this training because we want everyone to be a good soldier and it's a good way to put people in pressure situations and see how they respond."
the KU Army ROTC. Throughout the semester, the cadets spend two hours a week running through smaller lanes on the University's West Campus and one hour a week in class.
"We're defending their freedom so they have the right to say that. If that's what they're going to do, then that's their choice."
JOHN IRVINE Leavenworth senior
The simulated combat at Fort Riley
"We do labs — not with Bunsen burn.
ubat at Fort Riley is a reminder for the cadets of the reality of a war they could fight in after being commissioned as officers. Brian Mills, Leavenworth freshman, said drilling was the only real way to learn how to accomplish a mission and learn common tasks a soldier would face in combat.
"When bullets start flying and people start taking hits, you can't think," Mills said. "You've just got to have it ingrained in you so you can do what you need
SEE ROTC ON PAGE 3A
AWARD
Journalism alum's story wins writing competition
Spring 2008 KU graduate Thor Nystrom won first place in Rolling Stone magazine's College Journalism Competition and is featured in the October issue of the magazine, which came out on Friday.
He won for his first-person feature story about mental illness, becoming the first KU student to win the contest in any category.
FULL STORY PAGE 6A
EMPLOYMENT
University offers help finding jobs
Getting jobs in town or on campus is not always an easy task. On-campus job offerings at places such as the Student Recreation Fitness Center and the libraries often have too many applications. KUCareerHawk.com will try to help students find jobs.
Postings by companies looking for employees nearly doubled during the last year.
FULL STORY PAGE 6A
RESEARCH
Lecturer's work focuses on food in the suburbs
A history lecturer hopes to publish a book on food history of postwar America in the suburbs.
He studied the cultural and social issues from the late 1940s to the early 1960s and their influences on popular food such as barbecue.
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
Classifieds. 3B Opinion. 5A
Crossword. 4A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 4A Sudoku. 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2008 The University Daily Kansan
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FEY AGAIN NAILS PALIN IMPRESSION
'SNL' spoofs vice presidential candidates Palin and Biden's debate. ENTERTAINMENT | 4A
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