FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 8
A SNACK AFTER FASTING
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Ibrahim Alanqar, Gaza Strip junior and treasurer of the KU Muslim Student Association, prepares to break his fast Thursday evening at the Lawrence Islamic Center as part of the Islamic traditions associated with Ramadan. Alanqar, along with other Muslims, will fast everyday from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, which lasts 30 days. The fast is broken at sunset with a small meal of dates and milk, followed by prayer, and then a large meal.
Ramadan provides growth for students
djohnson@kansan.com
BY DANIEL JOHNSON diohnson@kansan.com
Maria Beg wakes up at 5 a.m. to drink a glass of water and pray. She's not hungry so she does not eat. Soon she will be back in bed, resting before a full day of class and work. She will not eat or drink again for nearly 15 hours.
She feels great.
"Fasting is not a burden," Beg said. "It's about finding a state of purity."
Beg. St. Louis senior, is nearly a week into her daily fasting ritual for the Islamic month of Ramadan. For 30 days, Muslims on campus and around the world are enduring a trying month of sun-up to sun-down fasting. Beg said the fasting helps Muslims practice patience, humility and self-control to celebrate their relationship with God.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and celebrates the revealing of the Koran to the prophet Mohammad. This year
Ramadan goes from Aug. 22 until Sept. 20. In addition to fasting by all the physically able, Muslims are expected to retrain from anything ill natured, including smoking, sexual thoughts and foul language, among others.
Marwa Ghazali, graduate instructor of Humanities and Western Civilization, said teaching became more challenging during Ramadan. The long days without food or water require extra effort to be enthusiastic while leading
discussions, she said.
"Normally I like to drink water while I teach," Ghazali said. "It's more challenging, but I have a responsibility to present the information just as well as when I not fasting."
Ghazali said the challenges were what made the month rewarding. She said hardships helped her think about what people in poverty go through on a daily basis, an essential lesson of Ramadan.
"People who don't have food and
water have things they have to do too," Ghazali said. "I can't just sit there like a useless human being."
Ibrahim Alanqar, treasurer of the Muslim Student Association, said fasting gave him a heightened sense of self-control. He said he used this heightened awareness to make himself both a better student and a better person.
"Food is one of the many desires," Alanqar said. "By controlling one desire I am more prepared to
SEE RAMADAN ON PAGE 8A
IN MEMORY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dole Institute of Politics honors Sen. Edward Kennedy in an exhibit that showcases the senator's career. Kennedy spent 47 years stint in politics.
Exhibit displays senators' friendship
BY BETH BEAVERS bbeavers@kansan.com
It's hard to imagine a senator from Massachusetts having many ties to Kansas, but a special exhibit at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics honoring Sen. Edward Kennedy shows otherwise.
FLU WATCH
Sen. Kennedy died last Tuesday from brain cancer.
The exhibit features a timeline of Kennedy's life as well as photos and documents from the Dole Institute's archives that showcase Kennedy's 47-year career. The exhibit focuses on how senators Kennedy and Robert Dole, a Republican from Kansas, worked together across party lines and forged an unlikely friendship.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, administrators at the University of Kansas reported 243 cases of suspected H1N1 flu among students. That number is up from 191 cases on Thursday. The University and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department said they were unable to perform the tests to confirm these cases and were
"Obviously, they did not agree on everything," Morgan Davis, senior archivist for the Dole Institute, said. "But they were key
not keeping track of confirmed H1N1 flu cases. However, Lisa Horn, communications coordinator for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said it was rare for other types of flu to be reported during this time of year.
SEE KENNEDY ON PAGE 8A
ENVIRONMENT
Campus Garden will throw party to reflect on donating
BY ALY VAN DYKE
avandyke@kansan.com
In just two seasons, the University's Campus Garden has donated more than 100 pounds of produce to community members in need.
Students and members of the community can stop by the garden party for a tour anytime from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. It is located off of Louisiana Street between 13th and 14th Streets.
painting, sign making and treats from produce grown right in the garden, said Margaret Tran. Derby senior and Campus Garden coordinator with Environmental Action to Revitalize the Heartland, or EARTH. In 2007, EARTH and its student volunteers took over the garden, which was originally founded in 2005 by a KU student.
In light of the milestone and the start of a new semester, volunteers at the garden are hosting a garden party open to the public to celebrate.
Tran said that walking through the garden Sunday, students will see a field lined with marigolds and geraniums and rows of produce including peppers, squash, cucumbers and carrots.
She said the garden could grow at least 50 varieties of produce in one season, ranging from tomatoes and cauliflower to strawberries
WHAT: Campus Garden Party, featuring free food from the garden, live music and arts and crafts
HOST: EARTH student volunteers
WHEN: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 30
WHERE: Campus Garden, off Louisiana Street between 13th and 14th streets
SEE GARDEN ON PAGE 8A
Jenny Terrell/KANSAN
Margaret Tran, Derby senior, and Cindy
Vu, Wichita sophomore, pick carrots in
the Campus Garden Thursday afternoon. Vu
and Tran are both coordinators of the EARTH
Garden Party which will be held on Sunday.
index
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Horoscopes...4A
Opinion. 5A
Sports. 1B
Sudoku. 4A
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Discovery space shuttle launch
After delays due to weather and equipment malfunctions, shuttle set to takeoff. NASA| 8A
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