Section A · Page 2
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, December 5, 1997
Borders bookstore to open tomorrow
By Ann Premer
apremer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
More than two years have passed since Borders started its quest to open a store in Lawrence. After jumping many hurdles, the store at 700 New Hampshire St. will open tomorrow.
Susan De Prenger, community relations coordinator for the Lawrence store, said the company was excited to finally open up shop.
"It think that all along the company has tried to be flexible," De Prenger said. "I don't think they ever lost sight of wanting to come."
Borders faced several obstacles including location, construction and Lawrence's fear of big business.
The initial building plan for the store was under fire throughout last fall semester. The original plan called for the demolition of a 98-year-old livery stable at the corner of Seventh and New Hammshire Streets.
The plan was changed to leave the facade of the livery stable intact on the north and west sides.
A split vote of Lawrence's Historic Resources Commission on whether to accept Borders' proposed location sent the decision to the state.
A state historical official decided that the proposed plan for the incorporation of the liv
ery stable was acceptable. In addition, the official decided that Borders would not damage the environs of the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St., which is on the national historic register.
Besides building issues, Borders also faced criticism from supporters of mom-and-pop stores.
Two locally-owned bookstores,
Adventure and Terra Nova,
closed when they got wind of
Borders' opening.
Pat Kehde, co-owner of the Raven Bookstore, 8 E. Seventh St., said her store would compete with Borders but knew the consumer market would become smaller.
"There are only so many slices to the pie." Kehde said.
De Prenger said Borders, which had nearly 200 stores nationwide, co-existed in many college towns with independent bookstores.
"We feel that there is a huge appetite for books in this community." De Prenger said.
Nate Copt, Borders employee and Lawrence senior, said Border was a good fit for downtown.
He said the store's atmosphere was laid-back and encouraged browsing just as many of the downtown stores do.
Along with books, the store will offer videos and music. In-store appearances by national and local authors and musicians are also scheduled.
Diversity requirement debated
Student pushes idea at meeting with groups
Students and faculty discuss a proposed diversity requirement in the curriculum last night at the Multicultural Resource Center. Many groups shared their questions on the class and its logistics. Photo by Marg Shank/KANSAN
By Sarah Chadwick
schadwick@kansan.com
Kansas stuff writer
Diversity education may reach the campus, but some students question the exact definition of the proposed class.
The University of Kansas could take steps toward adding a diversity course as a graduation requirement in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as early as the end of this academic year, said Rochelle Votaw, co-chair of the Ad Hoc Committee for the U.S. Cultural Diversity Requirement at a meeting last night.
The committee met with members of the Black Student Union, Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Asian-American Student Union and Native American Student Association at the Multicultural Resource Center to address concerns about the requirement.
One concern was an extra requirement added onto already
Votaw, Lawrence senior explained the proposed requirement and fielded questions from the 15 people who attended in an attempt to inform and build support for the requirement.
booked schedules. Votaw said.
"An additional three hours would be tacked on, but if a student plans and has proper advising, they won't have to add another class," she said.
The diversity courses offered probably would fulfill other requirements and serve a dual purpose, she said.
Others were concerned about the course because of linear tuition.
what the course would specifically include. Votaw said the courses would focus on race, gender, sexuality, age and ability in the United States.
Another question addressed was
"It's about anything that would classify a culture separate from the dominant culture," she said. "Having the requirement would benefit recruitment and make campus a friendlier environment."
The requirement would not be one particular class that everyone
must take, but a series of courses that students can choose from to fulfill the requirement, Votaw said.
"The purpose was to bring together the four minority groups," said Julius Williams, assistant director of the office of minority affairs. "Luckily all groups were represented, so we can be more intelligent in our responses about this to the community and take this information back to our groups."
Fraternity's future housed in its roots
By Sarah McWilliams
smcwilliams@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Drawing on their past to add to their futures, members of the KU chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity are commemorating their chapter's 80th anniversary this month.
The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at the University of Kansas celebrates its 80th birthday this month. The chapter was the first Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity established west of the Mississippi River. To celebrate the event, the fraternity invited Reverend Tyrone Crider to speak and held a dinner and fellowship social. Members present in the photo are (from left): Delano Sheffield; Maikl Abdul -Aziz; president; Terrell McYer; Marlon DeRouen; Quincy Garner; Floyd Cline II; and Anthony Hersey. Photo by Marc Kush/Kansan.
The Upsilon chapter of the national fraternity will turn 80 years old on Dec.21.
As part of its Founder's Week, the chapter joined the Black Student Union Wednesday in sponsoring a guest speaker, the Rev. Tyrone Crider, executive director of the Institute for African-American Youth Development in Chicago.
Members also are celebrating the anniversary of the national fraternity, which turned 91 years old yesterday.
The fraternity was founded in 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Robert Page, assistant director of admissions and an Alpha Phi Alpha alumnus from Central Missouri State University, said the fraternity was the first African-American organization founded in the United States.
Some of the founding members were instrumental in forming the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
nity, family and education because it originally was a support and study group for African-American students at the predominantly white university.
Page said the fraternity had always stood for perseverance and commitment to the commu
"They went through a lot of racism to set a precedent," Pag said. "Even at that time the founders were thinking the emphasis would be toward scholarship."
The KU chapter of the fraternity was the first chapter established west of the Mississippi, said Malik Abdul-Aiz, Kansas City, Kan., senior and president of the chapter.
He said he joined the fraternity because of its emphasis on leadership.
"It's important to find people who already have leadership roles in the community and have shown initiative." Abdul-Aziz said.
Anthony Hersey, Kansas City, Mo., junior and member of the fraternity, agreed.
"Most of the people who join the fraternity already know what being a man is and they bring those qualities to it." Hersey said.
The national fraternity has included dozens of well-known leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B. DuBois.
More recent members include David Dinkins, the first African- American mayor of New York City, and writer and producer
Quincy Jones.
Abul-Aziz said the common thread among all of these leaders was their strong commitment to their communities. This commitment permeates all of the fraternity's community service projects, he said.
The projects include "Go to High School, Go to College," in which members encourage high school students to stay in school and plan for college.
Members also participate in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program in Lawrence and in promoting voter education, Abdul-Aziz said.
As members of the chapter look toward the next 80 years, they see the continued challenge of putting the "unity" back in communities around the nation.
"I hope that we go back at the turn of the century and turn to our community," Hersey said.
By Corrie Moore
cmore@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Native American Acoma
Pueblo poet Simon J. Ortiz lectured to more than 50 students yesterday in the Kansas Union.
Ortiz discussed his writing and read two poems from his two recent books, "Woven Stone" and "After and Before the Lightning." The lecture was sponsored by the University of Kansas English department and Haskell Indian Nations University. Ortiz also read some of his work last night at Haskell.
Luci Tapahonso, associate professor of English, introduced Ortiz and explained the influence of the Acoma Pueblo community on his writing. Ortiz is a poet and prose writer and deals with many social, political, economic and environmental issues, Tapahonso said. His work involves family, community and history.
"I don't really exist unless I acknowledge that I am a Acoma Pueblo man," Ortiz said.
Tapahonso said she wanted Ortiz to speak to expose students to an important writer.
"He's able to touch upon a variety of issues that are important to
a lot of people," she said.
Ort:z said language was how people learned about themselves and their history. He said he wrote about personal experiences throughout his life and thought cultures were passed down through generations by stories.
"I've been writing for a number of years, but I've been using language forever," he said.
He explained the main reason for writing poetry and stories was to make people aware of their existence. He said it was important to know about different cultures.
"Recognizing each other is seeing ourselves," Ortiz said. "We see ourselves when we look and learn from someone else."
Ortiz has written 15 books and is currently working with other writers and historians on a narrative text about the establishment of the image of Native Americans through the years. The work stems from the Frank A. Rinehart Indian Collection of photographs at Haskell taken in 1898.
Ortiz's works have been translated into many languages including Italian, German and Russian.