THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2008
NEWS
STATE
3A
University in danger of a drought in public funding
The Board of Regents has requested an increase to keep up with inflation; without it, more budget cuts could follow
BY HALEY JONES hjones@kansan.com
Federal financial aid awarded to students in the state of Kansas may be threatened if the Kansas Board of Regents doesn't receive an increase in state funding.
The Regents requested a 3.9 percent increase in state funding, totaling $33 million for the next fiscal year, in order to keep up with inflation costs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation rose by 2.8 percent from 2006 to 2007. That number outpaced the annual average of 2 percent, according to the United Nations Data Retrieval Web site.
The Regents recommended the funding increase on Sept. 17 so they could continue to provide the same quality of education, services and amount of financial aid to students as it did this year.
Three percent of the funding request was designated to fund state student financial assistance. Last year, the state spent
$25,297,041 on student financial aid. The 2010 increase would increase that budget by $747,697. Without that, the Regents might not be able to provide the same amount of funding to state universities and colleges.
If the University experienced a decrease in funding, there could be a decrease in the amount of funding it was able to provide to students, teachers and researchers.
Zach Zarda, Shawnee freshman, received a $4,500-per-year Summerfield scholarship and said that's why he chose the University rather than Baylor University. He said the academic scholarship made the cost of attending the University less than Baylor, even though Baylor offered him an academic and athletic scholarship.
"It made a big impact because they were offering more, but it was still cheaper to come here because of the academic scholarship KU gave me," Zarda said.
Lynn Bretz, director of University communications, said the University would not know if it would receive the state funding until January when the state legislature meets.
Bretz said if state budget projections, scheduled to be made in November, estimated state revenue to be low, there would be a much larger chance of budget cuts in the state legislature this January.
Joe Sicilian, associate professor of economics, is a member of the consensus estimating group, which projects what the state's revenue will be based on taxes and other payments the state receives. Sicilian said the uncertainty about the state's economy during the next few years was influenced by concern about the national economy.
"That implies uncertainty about what tax revenues will be," Sicilian said.
budget by the numbers
Kansas Board of Regents 2010 higher education budget request for state funds
Student Financial Assistance
2009 amount: $25,297,041
2010 3 percent increase requested: $747,697
Other Postsecondary Education Programs
2010 0.1 percent increase requested: $5,000
The Regents' request for the bump up in state funding came a few weeks after Gov. Kathleen Sebelius asked the Regents to find ways to lower its budget by the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2009.
Office Operations
2009 amount: $40,715,318
2010 1.8 percent increase requested: $752,697
2009 amount: $9,258,971
Grand Total: $847,540,677
Fiscal 2010 3.9 percent
increase: $33,025,711
Bretz said the Regents recommended the increase in funding to continue its current operations. The universities and colleges in Kansas would have to find other ways to compensate for the effect of inflation if the Regents didn't receive more funding, she said.
Source: The Kansas Board of Regents
Edited by Kelsey Hayes
Jewish students celebrate High Holidays, New Year
RELIGION
Nebraska state law lets caregivers abandon kids without prosecution
Officials estimate that at least 16 children, from infants to teens, have been left at hospitals since the law passed
BY BETSY CUTCLIFF
bcutcliff@kansan.com
Chabad and students come together to commemorate Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
NATION
"Regardless of how religious you are, if you're Jewish, you celebrate Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur," he said. "They just sort of define who we are."
Even Jews who don't define themselves as avidly religious celebrate the two holidays, according to Goldberg. He said that these people are called High Holiday Jews, because they only practice during the holiday.
In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year." According to Jewish tradition, the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the time when God decides the fortune of the world for the next year. The Jewish calendar runs on a lunar model, and Monday evening will mark the beginning of the Jewish year 5769. Rosh Hashanah also marks the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, according to the book of Genesis in the Jewish Torah.
Charles Goldberg, Chicago senior and recruiting coordinator for KU's Chabad Jewish Student Group, said the holiday dinner and traditions weren't just about religion, but were celebrated by secular Jews as well.
Rosh Hashana, one of the two most important Jewish holidays,
encompasses the first two days of the Jewish New Year and marks the start of the High Holidays — the ten-day period of penitence and repentance before Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
This Monday Jewish students will ring in the Jewish New year with horns and food at a celebration dinner hosted by KU's Chabad group.
to Chabad's Executive Director, Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, every part of the celebration, from the food to the music, is symbolic. One of the unique customs is blowing a ram's horn, called a shofar.
"The horn produces a pure cry, a simple sound calling out to God." Teichtel said.
The holiday is rich in tradition and symbolism. According
Jews throughout history have sounded this horn to usher in new years, new moons and also to announce war.
Another tradition is sharing a meal containing special foods, such as apples dipped in honey, and traditional Jewish foods, such as round challah bread. Teichtel said the purpose behind the honey was to symbolize the hope for a sweet year. Practitioners spend most of the holiday in prayer at either a synagogue or with a group under the direction of Rabbi.
This year the KU chapter of the Chabad Jewish Student Group is hosting services during the holiday and the traditional New Year's Eve meal because many students couldn't take time off in the middle of the week to go home.
"This is a time where Jews all over the world travel to spend time with their families," Tiechtel said, "so we host a meal with traditional foods to give the holiday a homey feel."
"We stand by each other and stick together," Oruch said. "We
Gathering as a community has been an important Jewish tradition since Judaism's founding, according to Jason Oruch, Plano. Texas senior and vice president of KU's Hillel group.
Holiday Delight
Honey Cookies
Yield: About 3 dozen
1 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
6 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cream the margarine and sugar with an electric mixer.
Add eggs, honey, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add the flour and baking soda and mix into a thick dough.
Chill until firm.
Pull off small pieces and roll into 1" balls. Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350°F degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Source: Food Network
always have."
The schedule of services can be found at www.lewishku.com. The New Year's evening meal will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29 in the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union. All students, regardless of their religion, are welcome to attend, Tiechtel said.
Edited by Brieun Scott
BY TIMBERLY ROSS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OMAHA, Neb. — Nine siblings are among 11 children as old as 17 who were left at Omaha hospitals Wednesday under Nebraska's unique and new safe haven law, which allows caregivers to abandon babies and teenagers alike at hospitals without fear of prosecution.
The law, originally intended to protect infants, was expanded in a legislative compromise to protect any "child." Some have interpreted that to mean anyone under 19.
Gov. Dave Heineman, who signed the law, and some other former supporters are among those now saying changes are needed.
"People are leaving them off just because they can't control them," state Sen. Arnie Stuthman, who introduced the original bill, said Thursday. "They're probably in no
real danger, so it's an easy way out for the caretaker.
The nine siblings — five boys and four girls ages 1 to 17 — were left by their father, who was not identified, at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Unrelated boys ages 11 and 15 also were surrendered Wednesday at Immanuel Medical Center.
At least 16 children have been abandoned since the law took effect in July, the state agency said.
Todd Landry, director of the state division of Children and Family Services, said that in nearly every case, the parents who left their children felt overwhelmed and had decided they didn't want to be parents anymore. None of the kids dropped off so far have been in danger, he said.
SATURDAY, OCT. 4
HOLCOM PARK
www.lprd.org • Matt Cook (randy78@ku.edu)
Lawrence, Kansas
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, September 27 Lawrence Public Library 707 Vermont
Workshops for all ages!
Keynote speaker: Thomas Frank, author of "The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule," 5 p.m., Dole Institute of Politics
More than 45 authors!
Mystery. History. Biography. Memoir. Novels. Poetry.