MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 13, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Chris Miller/KANSAN
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Proud to be an American citizen
A naturalization ceremony was held Friday at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, west of Lied Center. One-hundred forty-two people became U.S. citizens, marking the end of a process that included English and civics tests.
142 people from 49 countries named citizens
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BY STEPHANIE FARLEY
sfarley@kansan.com
KANSAN SKAY WINTER
Usually people are sworn in as citizens of the United States in a courtroom, but last Friday 142 people became U.S. citizens at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas.
The 142 people included one graduate of the University, one current student and two students at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The newly named citizens represented 49 countries at the second such event hosted by the Dole Institute.
"I've been to one in a courtroom and they're really great, moving and meaningful ceremonies. But somehow here with the high ceilings and the stained-glass flag it really just works," said Jonathan Earle, associate director for programming at the Dole Institute.
The ceremony marked the end of a process of naturalization, which included an English and civics test, that can take up to 180 days after the applicants are granted an interview.
University graduate Jon Carnell said he was happy and excited about becoming a U.S. citizen. Carnell, who is from Coney Weston, a village about 80 miles north of London, said he was looking forward to being able to vote. Carnell moved to the United States about seven years ago and said he is in the process of applying to medical school.
Adewale Muhammed Sanni, a third-year medical student, is from Nigeria. Sanni said he was excited about becoming a U.S. citizen and hoped to go back to Nigeria and practice medicine after he finished school.
"I've been waiting for this," Sanni said.
The ceremony began with the audience rising for John W.
Lungstrum, U.S. District Court Judge, and Carlos Murguia, Kansas City, Kan., U.S. District Judge, Judge Lungstrum, a 1970 University graduate, presided over the ceremony. Lungstrum said he was delighted he could be at the ceremony. The Dole Institute of Politics is a fitting place to have the ceremony because it represents so much of what the country stands for, Lungstrum said.
Judge Murguia, who also spoke at the ceremony, said his sister became a U.S. citizen because she was tired of being separated from the rest of the family at the border. Murguia's family would be in the citizen line and his sister would have to go through the non-citizen line. Murguia said he thought becoming a U.S. citizen provided people with more opportunities and freedoms, especially in education.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said it was a great privilege to be able to have the ceremony at the University. As Hemenway spoke to the inductees, he related an episode of The West Wing to them. Hemenway said a naturalization ceremony had to be moved to the White House and the president, played by Martin Sheen, was to greet the future citizens. Hemenway said that as the president entered the room, his face of full of anguish from the toils of the day, but all of that washed away from his face as soon as he saw these people who had come to the United States to become citizens.
Applicants took an oath consisting of two parts. In the first part, applicants renounced allegiance to all other countries and pledged allegiance to the United States. For the second part of the oath, applicants promised to support and uphold the U.S. Constitution.
newly sworn-in citizens walked out of the Institute — some with their families — to a table with lemonade and cookies and possibly toward a different life in their new country.
The ceremony included Sarah L. Young, a lecturer in the University's English department singing the national anthem and a presentation of colors by the Kansas Wing of the Civil Air Force Patrol. Tami Anthony sang America the Beautiful.
Earle said that the United States provided many images to people abroad and one of those images was that it was a land if you worked hard and played by the rules, then you could get ahead and your children could have almost limitless opportunities. Earle said, however, there was also an image of arrogance or a of a country that places military might ahead of diplomacy.
"But I don't think it's possible to dim what you heard people from Russia, Azerbaijan, India, Vietnam, Nigeria and Laos saying that they still believe in that first image and that's what I think is important." Earle said.
As the ceremony ended, the
Earle said that the people were not leaving their heritage, ethnicity or religion behind, but just changing their nationality.
- Edited by Steve Schmidt
By Ross Fitch
rfitch@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Yesterday marked the one-year date of the death of Eric Wellhausen, a freshman who fell off his seventh floor sunscreen ledge at Oliver Hall. Since then, the Department of Student Housing has introduced several new safety measures, including stickers on residence hall windows and a new alcohol sanction program at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
"We only had two removed last year." Stoner said.
Before Wellhausen's death, Student Housing had discussed the possibility of placing stickers on windows and screens, but decided not to, said Ken Stoner, director of Student Housing. After Wellhausen's death, however, the decision was reversed and two stickers were placed on each residence hall room window and screen. The stickers don't actually prevent students from opening their windows, but the $125 cost for removing the stickers has kept the windows closed.
Students living in the residence halls said the stickers have been effective.
"They definitely instill fear with $125 stickers," said Andy Crosson, a Leavenworth freshman living in McCollum Hall. "I don't want to pay $250 to lean out my window."
Alcohol was also a major issue surrounding Wellhausen's death. Stoner said alcohol was not allowed in the residence halls. He said students caught with alcohol faced disciplinary actions with the possibility of eviction.
The new alcohol program is divided into two parts, an online and a classroom course, said Rae Anderson, Overland Park senior and alcohol education coordinator at Watkins.
Anderson said the program
used a harm-reduction approach that aimed at educating students about alcohol issues as opposed to merely punishing them for their actions.
"It's giving them the tools to live a healthier lifestyle if they choose to," Anderson said.
Kyle Carter, Lawrence freshman, took the online course this semester. He said he and his roommates had some empty beer cans in their room, and when their resident assistant saw the beer cans, they were written up.
Carter said he thought a lot of the information in the course was redundant and common knowledge. He said the course really didn't change his mind about alcohol.
"It seems more like a punishment than something that's going to help me." Carter said.
Anderson said she realized college kids were more than likely going to drink. She said the program was designed to help students decide when to drink and how much to drink. She said one way the classroom course did this was by teaching students how to know their blood-alcohol content level.
Overall, most students said they felt safe and understood the rules.
Brighid O'Malley said staff and security ensured that students obeyed all the rules.
"You can't really get away with that much here," said O'Malley, Omaha. Neb, freshman.
Stoner said Student Housing always had a safety conscience and most of the policies were common sense. He said ensuring safety and preventing tragedies in the residence halls would always be a partnership between the staff and the residents.
"It's never easy to lose a student," Stoner said. "If we have good cooperation from students, we can avoid incidents."
Edited by Ashley Bechard