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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2009
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VOLUME 121 ISSUE 34
MOOD MUSIC
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Ryan Agnew, Leavenworth senior, Allyson Smola, Aurora, Colo., senior, and Patina Ammerman, Flower Mound, Texas, senior, perform in front of their "Music Therapy" on Thursday in Murphy Hall. This song was part of a presentation to teach the structure of the human brain to the rest of the class.
Therapy helps tune out stress
BY ABIGAIL BOLIN abolin@kansan.com
One thing can always boost Molly Iler's spirits on a bad day.
Molly her's spirits on a bad day.
"I blast 'Build Me Up Buttercup,'" Iler, Summit, N.J., junior, said. "You can't be in a bad mood when that song is on. It's not possible."
Ier, like many students, listens to music on her way to class. The happy songs, guilty pleasures and pump-up tunes can help her and other students get through the day, but those same melodies may also help lower stress levels. Claire Ghetti, doctoral student in music therapy, said.
Ghetti said that although music therapy usually requires assessment and intervention by a trained music therapist, there are some ways that students can informally use music to reduce stress.
The music-centered approach works to connect "you with your own deepest wisdom as a means to develop greater
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self-awareness, wellness and creativity", Victoria Cagan, a fellow with the Association of Music and Imagery, said.
Cagan, who is also a licensed specialist clinical social worker in Lawrence, said that music therapy could resolve personal, career, health and relationship challenges through this process.
"Students can also use their preferred music to influence their mood, using upbeat, feelgood songs to improve mood and increase energy at key points in their day." Ghetti said.
Ghetti said she recommended students listen to music they find calming for short, five-minute breaks throughout the day. She said practicing deep breathing and basic muscle relaxation exercises while listening to calming music helped relieve stress.
"Having tools to help relieve stress is incredibly beneficial," Emily Berman, Tulsa senior in psychology, said. "When one support system fails, you'll have others to back it up."
The music therapy program at the University was one of the first in the country and is "world renowned." Ghetti said. She said more studies needed to be conducted to see the true success
of music therapy because of the relatively young nature of the program, which is only about 70 years old in the U.S.
Music therapy can help resolve personal conflict when traditional
for", Cagan said. "Many people find guided imagery and music gets to the heart of the problems they are dealing with more quickly."
"Often individuals have tried traditional talk therapy but have not gotten the results they hoped
therapy sessions aren't successful or don't produce the desired results, Cagan said.
Unlike talk therapy, which relies heavily on verbal communication, music therapy uses non-verbal means to achieve a therapeutic outcome. Because the brain processes music differently than speech, therapists can
"Students are under a great deal of pressure to perform."
VICTORIA CAGAN Fellow with the Association of Music and Imagery
use music to elicit different responses than with speech alone, Ghetti said.
"Students are under a great deal of pressure to perform," Cagan said. "Music-centered therapy is the perfect connection to help students
focus, set goals, recognize their full potential and move through the everyday stress of deadlines and degrees."
- Edited by Nick Gerik
STIMULUS
Government gives funds to students
BY JESSE RANGEL
jrangel@kansan.com
Graduate students in math, science and engineering now have an opportunity to get a slice of federal stimulus money — a $50,500 fellowship to start or continue their graduate studies.
The Department of Energy announced Wednesday that $12.5 million of stimulus money would be available for seniors and graduate students who want to pursue select graduate degrees. The Department of Energy is making these fellowships available in graduate training for basic research in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, computer science and environmental sciences. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a news release that the fellowships would be awarded in early 2010 but that students could begin applying now through Nov. 30.
Keith Yehle, director of federal relations for the University, said he notified people such as the deans of engineering and pharmacy about the opportunity. He said that this was a direct—to—student program from the federal government, and that an entrepreneurial student seeking money for graduate school should be interested.
"This would be the chemistry senior this year at KU who wants to go on and get his graduate degree in organic or inorganic chemistry", Yehle said. "This is a pot of money — 12 and a half million dollars — that's sitting out there for students to take."
Adam Cyr, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho graduate student and president of the Graduate Engineering Association, said he had seen students' interest in graduate school increase this past year.
"I think that's either because they're trying to get jobs and they can't," Cyr said. "Or they think they won't be able to, so they're just checking it out. But I think there's definitely more interest by students in the undergraduate level about what graduate school has to offer."
Christine Jensen Sundstrom, director of the Graduate Writing Support Program, said students who could receive money from extra sources such as the federal government for graduate studies had a benefit over other graduate students. She said graduate students typically relied on an adviser or p
TO QUALIFY FOR STIMULUS FUNDS
At the time of applying, you must be:
■ An undergraduate senior majoring in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, environmental sciences or computers sciences; or a first- or second-year graduate student in a qualified research-focused Master's or Ph.D. program at an accredited U.S. college or university
■ Have completed a baccalaureate degree in a field of physics, chemistry biology, mathematics engineering, environmental sciences or computer sciences by July 31.2010.
- Enrolled as a full-time student.
- Have an undergraduate cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or higher.
department with a grant or a GTA program. Sundstrom said it was important for students to make sure they followed all of the instructions when applying, because there would be a lot of applicants.
"I suggest that they write their essay questions first offline," Sundstrom said. "And that they have essay questions read by several people in their field. It's best if they get reference letters from people who have worked with DOE."
Cyr said he thought it was important for students to be aggressive in applying available grants and scholarship money.
CAMPUS
"I think some students come in and sit in the background a little bit and hope things work themselves out," Cyr said. "But I think you need to be active in trying to find that. You need to be active in applying for fellowships, things like this."
Edited by Abby Olcese
Spanish department trades textbooks for online lessons, multimedia
Acceso offers fresh interactive content for 200-level classes
BY RAY SEGEBRECHT
rsegebrecht@kansan.com
Joel Kasten first suspected he had enrolled in a different kind of foreign language class when he went to the bookstore but saw no required texts listed.
For three semesters, he had studied under Spanish instructors who tailored their courses to textbooks.
But when Kasten, Wichita senior,
began Spanish 212 this semester,
every class resource, even every
Approximately 460 students in sections of Spanish 212 have joined Kastein in the switch to the online Accesso curriculum. Amy Rossomondo, assistant professor in the department, said she got the idea for an online program last year after she realized the textbook she had planned to write would not include all of the skills she wanted the course to offer.
With the help of other professors, graduate students and the Ermal Garinger Academic Research Center, the idea developed into the Web site, which includes both text
"More people are willing to pay attention," Kasten said. "It's a lot more recent material."
reading, was replaced with an online database called Accesso.
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"Having images, hearing something — I know from my background all of these things make input more comprehensible," Rossomondo said. "That's how you acquire a language, not filling in verbs in blanks."
and other interactive multimedia elements. Students in the class have the opportunity to rate the content after they experience it as a guide for future classes.
SEE SPANISH ON PAGE 5A
Eda Delgado teaches her Spanish 212 class Wednesday afternoon in Wescoe Hall using the Spanish department's new online curriculum called Acceso. Delgado, like other GATs working with the new database, is responsible for the constant maintenance of its content.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
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