TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
Grad student hosts politicians on KJHK talk show
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BY AUSTIN CASTER acaster@kansan.com
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Denver-based talk show host Mike Rosen enraged Robson's father with a rant about how unintelligent teenagers had become.
"I used to call him up," George Naas, Robson's father, said. "I told him my daughter would hand him his lunch in a debate."
Rosen responded to Robson's father's comments by offering to debate her on the talk show.
Robson said she was nervous, but Rosen did not ask any hardball questions and she emerged from the debate unscathed. Rosen was so impressed that he offered Robson, then a high
school sophomore, an internship at KOA 850 AM in Denver. There she began her career in talk radio.
Now 29, Robson stuck with radio and now hosts "Politics with Rachel Robson" on 90.7 KJHK from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays.
Robson, a graduate student in the School of Medicine, plans to discuss issues that are important to her; local Kansas politics.
"I was concerned about elections," Robson said, explaining how she got the idea. "If you were listening to local media you would get an average of 46 seconds on local candidates during the election season."
She plans to tackle a variety of political issues, ranging from the Board of Education to local elections to splits among Kansas Republicans.
Robson spends a few hours
researching topics before each show to prepare for her guests, which include political figures such as U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.).
Like many radio talk shows, Robson also fields questions from from listeners during her show, though some interviews with high profile politicians such as U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) and his Republican opponent in the upcoming race, Kris Kobach, may have to be pre-recorded. (Robson said listeners with questions for those candidates should e-mail them to rachel.robson@gmail.com.)
Robson said she asked guests for a few topics they would like to discuss before the show so she wouldn't dominate the discussions.
"It's basically impossible to remain completely objective," Robson said. "I have strong
opinions."
opinions. Robson made her opinions clear in the column she wrote for The University Daily Kansan while working on her undergraduate degree in biology.
Her previous KJHK program, "Real Alternative Radio," won top awards from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters every year it aired.
Though genetics are her specialty, talk radio and politics will always have a place in her heart.
"My parents, especially my dad, were huge talk-radio junkies," she said.
Her father said he may be biased but had complete faith in his daughter's debating skills
"People like Rush Limbaugh don't always get their facts right," Naas said. "But it's hard to debate with Rachel."
— Edited by Steve Vockrodt
Kit Leffier/KANSAN
Rachel Robson has a political talk show Friday evenings on KJHK. She previously hosted "Real Alternative Radio," which received awards from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters each year it aired.
Jaywalk volunteers to escort students, faculty at night
BY LAURA FRANCOVIGLIA
lfrancoviglia@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Students can rely on JayWalk volunteers to escort them home when walking on campus late at night starting Sept. 12. The program is taking the first three weeks of school to prepare.
JayWalk, a safe-walk program created last year by Student Senate, is in the process of recruiting and training new volunteers. The program has between 30 and 40 volunteers now, but Triston Dewees, JayWalk business manager, said the number of possible volunteers was limitless. And this year, there are incentives. Four $250 scholarships will be awarded to the top volunteers at the end of the semester, Dewees said. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation
performs background checks on all layWalk volunteer applicants.
Dewees, Wichita sophomore, said that because it was the beginning of the school year, and it stayed light outside later, he didn't foresee many students needing the program yet.
But when the program does start up, Dewees said he expected improvements.
Dewes is asking for an additional $5,000 per year to fund
The program will also become an official part of Student Senate, meaning that an advisory committee will oversee it to ensure the program does not fade away. JayWalk has a budget of $10,000 — $5,000 from Student Senate and $5,000 from an Educational Opportunity Fund, a government grant — but Dewees said he thought the program warranted more.
the program, he said. The budget covers phone use at Anschutz Library, publicity, salaries and supplies. He said the additional funds would be needed because he predicted more students would use the program in its second year.
Students can call between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday to have one male and one female volunteer walk them home or to their car or wait with them for their ride. JayWalk volunteers primarily walk students to and from campus locations, but volunteers will walk as far as three blocks off campus with students.
Dewees said students usually waited only 10 minutes for the JayWalk volunteers, and that two teams of students volunteered per night. When students call, the desk clerk for JayWalk will inform them of the volunteers' names and will give them a description of the volunteers for safety reasons.
safety reasons
Lindsay Poe, 2003-2004
JayWalk coordinator and KU
graduate, said an average of 15
to 20 people per month used
the program last year. Poe initiated
the creation of JayWalk last year
with the help of the Campus
Safety Advisory Board.
She saw a need for a safe-walk program after seeing the results from a survey compiled by a Student Senate task force, she said. The survey gave recommendations on how to fulfill women's needs at the University. It found 47 percent of women on campus limited their evening classes because they thought they were unsafe, she said. Because the survey found 27 percent of women thought they were unsafe on campus at night.
Poe said JayWalk was a program meant to combat women's fears.
Steve Munch, student body president, said even if only 100 people per semester used JayWalk, he thought it was still a worthwhile program.
JayWalk is available to female and male students, faculty and staff. Dewees, who is a JayWalk volunteer, said he didn't remember any men using JayWalk
However, Kathy RoseMocky, program director of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, said men shouldn't ignore the program because they could be victims, too.
"Men should feel confident in calling," she said.
Jeff Dunlap, student body vice president, said the program had done its job and students felt safer walking at night because if it. He said that if students perceived they were unsafe walking alone at night, they would feel unsafe, regardless of the statistics.
"It's all about perception, really," said Dunlap, Leawood senior and JayWalk volunteer last year. "Perception becomes reality."
Dunlap said if students thought they were in danger, they would not use the library or other resources on campus as much.
Dewees said another JayWalk desk could be set up in Lewis Hall to have closer access to the Lied Center, where many students park, but he did not know when this would happen.
Dewees said JayWalk benefited students more than just increasing their safety. He said students could meet new people and explore the campus at night.
— Edited by Johanna M. Maska
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
The KU Young Democrats invite you to Come party with Governor Kathleen Sebelius Congressman Dennis Moore Congressional Candidate Nancy Boyda
AUGUST 24, 2004
Big Metal Rooster To kick off the school year and the campaign!
Tuesday, August 31st
8:00 p.m.-Midnight
Liberty Hall 642 Massachusetts Street
To order tickets, email kudems@ku.edu or visit www.ku.edu/~kudems
$5 Students $10 Adults $100 Sponsors
STUDENT
SENATE
PRESENTED BY
★★★
sudden control
Invites you to join us in our first meeting on August 24th at 5:30pm in the Curry Room
slab
Find out more: Info Meetings Sept.1 & 2,6 pm, Walnut Room, Kansas Union
The Commission on the State of Women
student legislative awareness board
COORDINATOR POSITIONS NOW AVAILABLE Pick up applications in the Student Senate office online at www.ku.edu/~slab or email slab@ku.edu
Welcome Back Meeting
engineering
General Meeting August 26th,5:30,p.m. 1131 Learned Hall
Help plan upcoming events and learn about everything that has been going on in the Engineering Building
First committee meeting
Wed., Aug. 25 at 6pm
Kansas Union Ballroom
Make your mark at KU
Your campus group's ad could be here.
Contact John Wilson, communications
director, for advertising info.
Open only to registered student groups receiving senate funding.
Make the Connection Challenge.Educate.Empower.
Connecting You to Community Service
Center for Community Outreach www.ku.edu/~cco
405 Kansas Union
Lawrence, KS 66045
(785) 864-4073
cco@ku.edu