THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009
CAMPUS
NEWS 3A
Ombuds office reports conflict increase
BY JESSE BROWN
jbrown@kansan.com
The University of Kansas Ombuds Office reported 490 cases in the past year in its annual report. Last year the Ombuds reported 420 cases.
The report released this week covers from March 1, 2008, to June 30 of this year. According to the report, the numbers for this report may be higher than past reports because it covers a year and a half
The Ombuds Office is an office within the University that aids conflict resolution between faculty and students. Students and faculty can file grievances about grades or stress about job security, among other issues. The information never leaves the office to avoid further conflicts. According to the report, "the mission of the University Ombuds Office is to ensure that all members of the university community receive fair and equitable treatment."
instead of a year, as past reports have.
Kellie Harmon, University Ombuds, oversees two professors who serve as faculty ombuds, Maria Orive and Stephen Grabow. An
"It's good to have a place you can go to and not fear retaliation."
gated. the ombuds then suggest options to help ease the conflict.
"The reasons why students mostly come here is usually for grade issues or they have questions about course management issues." Harmon said.
obstruction is someone who deals with grievances but does not work in any department so as to handle the issue objectively and fairly. When the office receives a complaint, the issue is investi-
KELLY HARMON
University Ombuds
Some other common issues students report include academic misconduct, housing issues and
"It's good to have a place you
conflicts with other University units.
Harmon said she stressed to students that this was a safe place to come to with these issues.
retaliation," she said.
Harmon said the office had four main principles that it abided by: confidentiality, informality, impartiality and independence. Everything about the grievance will be kept confidential. Harmon
said. The process is informal, which means no records are kept within the office. Once the report has been covered and resolved, the documents get shredded.
Harmon also said the office was impartial and independent from administrative authorities, which meant its work would not
be interfered with by anyone or any organization.
Harmon said she was working diligently to get the word out to students that there was an office for grievances.
Brooke Martin, Shawnee sophomore, and Kathryn Unruh, Hayes sophomore, said they had never heard about the office but were glad to know there was an office available should they ever need one.
Unruh said she was worried about a grade this semester because she worried her TA was biased. She said she thought students' experiences varied greatly depending on their discussion leaders, so having this option was a good example to represent the individual student.
Edited by Abbey Strusz
"Sometimes teachers just don't have the time to focus on every student," Martin said.
GREEN (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
While Juliana was a teenager attending Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, Giac saw her digging through their trash at home, searching for plastic bottles. She wanted her family to start recycling, and this was her way to send the message.
environmentalist.
"If she have a plan on something and she want to make it, she make it," Giac said in his thick Vietnamese accent.
The Trans came to America as refugees from Vietnam in 1975.
Today, Tran does much more
"We become a very green family," he said. "We recycle everything."
Aysia Wright, one of the two Project Green Search organizers, said she was looking for two main qualifications in the first green "it girl": she has to be authentic, and she has to be relatable to the general public.
than recycle plastic bottles. In her new home, she composts kitchen waste, grows some of her own food and hangs her clothes out to dry in the warm. Austin air. She even purchased carbon credits to offset her flight to L.A.
Ashman said she met Tran last spring through KU Environs, of which Tran was president at the time.
It's that commitment to practicing what she preaches that makes Tran the most qualified for the title, said Lauren Ashman, St. Louis junior.
"She taught me that you don't always have to make these grand
"I hope to find a hybrid between a model and spokesperson and an everyday, average person trying it make everyday decisions to live a more sustainable lifestyle," Wright said.
gestures to make people understand why the environment is important," she said. "She showed me you can make small changes in your life and end up changing other people, too."
Tran said more than winning the title, she wanted to use the opportunity to network with people in the industry and find a job.
If she wins, Tran said shed like to use the title to bolster the environmental movement for generations to come.
"I don't want to see environmentalism become just a trend or a fad," she said. "I want it to be something that everyone incorporates into their lifestyle. It's not just about me, myself and I. It's about everyone else and their futures."
— Edited by Lauren Cunningham
nickname"1-5 Strangler."
Associated Press
San Joaquin County prosecutors didn't pursue the death penalty because of Kibbe's age and the slow pace of executions in the state.
As part of his plea deal, Kibbe agreed to help authorities find the remains of Lou Ellen Burleigh, who disappeared from Walnut Creek in 1977.
other slayings.
Seventy-year-old Roger Reece Klibbe was serving a life sentence for the 1987 strangling of a teen prostitute when he pleaded guilty in September to the six
CRIME Convicted killer sentenced to 6 consecutive life terms
Kibbe's victims were found along Interstate 5, leading to the
killing six women throughout Central California during the 1970s and '80s.
CRIME
STOCKTON, Calif. — A convicted murderer has been sentenced to six consecutive life terms for
Branson.
CRIME
CRIME Man accused in shooting at Hawk pleads no contest
The man accused by prosecutors of firing shots into a crowd last March pleaded no-contest to three felony aggravated assault charges Thursday, said Cheryl Wright, spokeswoman for District Attorney Charles
Police say Joseph A. Muhammad fired shots March 26 in a drive-by shooting at the Hawk, 1340 Ohio St., injuring two University students and a student from out-of-state.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 18th.
"It was really fast-paced and really professional," she said.
"When you're actually on a movie set, you get to learn everything
Muriel Green, Pittsburg senior,
said that life on a film set was hectic,
but that the real-world experience
was invaluable.
"The things that Hollywood won't do — that's what you should do in my opinion," he said. "They won't be political, they won't deal with religion, they won't deal with race: They won't deal with all the tough things in society."
Tickets will cost $8 and hall the proceeds will go to the KU Friends of Film to support future films, events and speakers within the department of film and media studies.
— Jesse Rangel
"We have this communication," he said. "We all know the same language. We all know how we all work together."
Edited by Megan Morriss
Matt Jacobson, who worked as director of photography on the project along with 2004 graduate Jeremy Osbern, said that 60 to 80 students and graduates had worked together on three of Wilmott's films and several smaller projects in the last 10 years. He said the crew had worked together so long that they had become extremely comfortable with each other.
WILLMOTT (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Willmott said the most challenging aspect of the film was to tell a painful story and still make it entertaining. He said he thought the task of the independent filmmaker was to take on social and political issues that mainstream films did not.
hands on.
Since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the film has received awards from the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco and the Cherokee International Film Festival, where it won best film, best director, and best actor for Wes Studi.
The screenplay was written by Thomas Carmody, a Lawrence resident and 1982 graduate, who proposed the film to Willmott in 2007. Carmody used Haskell Indian Nations University, which once served as one of these boarding schools, as a model for the school in the film.
MALOTT (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
buildings were safe.
"This involved a life-threatening situation for a student who at one point had been on campus before he went to the hospital," Bretz said. "Also, we do listen to our students, and they have been very clear in the last year or two since we've had the system that when something happens to a student — on campus especially — they would like to know."
The University has activated
about five text messages since it implemented the system two years ago, mostly for weather closures. Jill Jess, associate director for news and media relations, said about 17,000 people had signed up for the alerts. Students, faculty and staff can sign up for alerts at alerts.ku.edu.
— Edited by Jonathan Hermes