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CLAS releases plan in hopes of increasing diversity
DARBY VANHOUTAN
@darbyvanhoutan
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences approached this academic year with a new goal in mind: improving diversity, equity and inclusion.
At the start of September, the college released a plan titled "Taking Leadership on Who and What Matters: The Plan to Build a Model Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive College of Liberal Arts and Sciences."The plan aims to guide administrators within the college toward inclusive practices that encompass a more diverse campus.
According to Jennifer Hamer, associate dean
of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the issues of diversity, equity,and inclusion on a college campus is too often left up to students.
"As a college we know we have to do something," Hamer said. "We can't leave it all to the campus. We're responsible for our students, faculty and staff, and we will take leadership."
The plan was spearheaded by Hamer. She received input from multiple groups on campus and was significantly influenced by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Group, a previously active group that was established in the spring of 2016.
Carl Lejuez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the plan was put in place to be proactive.
"We always have to be responsive with things that are happening on campus," Lejuez said.
Although the document lays out a five-year plan, Lejuez described it as a "living document" that will continually grow along with the campus.
"Eventually, we want to hear from everyone on campus," Lejuez said. "We want to hear from those who are or aren't vocal and those who maybe feel disenfranchised."
Both Lejuez and
Hamer define the plan as a way to encompass the diversity of the student body through a few priorities: recruitment, curriculum, academic programs and professional development.
The goal of the 'an, as stated in the document, is to "establish our commitment to, and accountability for, a liberal arts and sciences education that adequately prepares all students for work, research, leadership and informed citizenship in an increasingly diverse and global society."
There is still much work to be done concerning diversity, equity and inclusion, Hamer
Dean of CLAS Carl Lejuez.
Contributed Photo
said, but the plan to diversify is a start.
"There's a lot that still needs to change when it comes to treating groups fairly, making sure that different groups have equal access and equal
opportunity for success," Hamer said. "We don't have that at KU. We just simply don't."
-Edited by Christian Hardy
USGS: Earthquake could be result of human activity
TANNER HASSELL
@thassell17
The magnitude 5.6 Oklahoma earthquake felt Saturday morning could be a result of "induced seismicity," or earthquakes caused by human activity, according to United States Geological Survey (USGS) geophysicist John Bellini. The quake, felt in Lawrence and as far away as Chicago, tied the record for the largest in the region.
The epicenter of the quake was near the town of Pawnee, Okla., and is tied with a November 2011 quake near Prague, Okla. for the highest magnitude in the Midwest. The 2011 quake resulted in two injuries and dozens of destroyed homes, according to the USGS website.
Bellini said Saturday's quake caused only minor damage to the exteriorors of buildings.
Rex Buchanan, interim director of the Kansas Geological Survey, said Saturday's quake adds to the increase in seismic activity in Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. The increase, Buchanan said, was not necessarily caused by fracking a process by which oil and gas is forced to the surface by injecting pressurized water deep into Earth.
"There's been a dramatic increase in seismic activity in both Oklahoma and a few counties in south-central Kansas. A lot of that increase has been linked to salt water disposal from oil and gas production," Buchanan said. "I want to be real clear in saying that we're not talking about earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking. The link here is to salt water disposal. When you produce oil in Kansas, you produce a lot more saltwater than you do oil. That salt water has to be disposed of in some fashion."
While Bellini said pinpointing an exact cause for an earthquake is not realistic in the short
term, this particular earthquake happened in an area where USGS studies have observed some induced seismicity.
According to the USGS website, human activity like the damming of water, mining and the injection of fluids into the earth's surface have been known to induce seismic activity.
"What we do know is that there is natural seismicity as well as induced seismicity in the area," Bellini said. "In that part of Oklahoma there has been some increase in seismicity since about 2009, where there's been over 500 earthquakes above a magnitude of 3.0.Most of this increase
is believed to be induced seismicity caused by the injection of wastewater from petroleum exploration."
Buchanan said the salt water is typically put back into subsurface tunnels in the mid-continent, and this has been linked to seismic activity. He also said salt water disposal will be a big topic among geologists during the study of this specific quake.
"In the midcontinent our focus will really shift to some of these critically stressed faults, and it may be that the increased mass from salt water changes the pressure and allows these faults to move," Buchanan said.
Saturday's quake has already produced aftershocks and could produce more, according to Buchanan.
According to the USGS, residents in the area can expect to feel aftershocks, and should be prepared for the possibility of another quake which could cause damage. There is a 12 percent chance another magnitude 5.0 or above quake could occur.
- Edited by Christian Hardy