Wednesday, September 1, 1999
The University Daily Kansas
Section A • Page 3
SenEx enters evolution fray
Resolution tabled until next week
By Nathan Willis writer@kanson.com Kanson staff writer
The University Senate Executive Committee moved yesterday toward officially opposing the Kansas State Board of Education's Aug. 11 decision rendering evolution studies in Kansas public schools optional.
There was no debate among members of the SenEx at its meeting yesterday afternoon about whether the University of Kansas should object to the board's decision. Instead, the focus was on how best to object to it.
In the end, SenEx tabled a vote on the resolution until next week so that it had time to finalize the wording of the resolution. After next week's vote, SenEx will forward the resolution to University Council for approval Sept. 9.
Peter Gegenheimer, the resolution's sponsor and professor of molecular biosciences, said the University should not try to frame the debate as a matter of science vs. religion, but instead as education vs. ignorance.
"This is not a religion-vs.-science type argument," he said. "This is a political argument."
Korb Maxwell, student body president, agreed.
"We are not attacking that faith and reason can go together; that faith and science can go together," he said.
Gegenheimer said the board's decision not only affected the scientific curriculum stripped from state standards — macroevolution and the Big Bang theory of origin of the universe — but also all areas of scientific inquiry because the board placed scientific conclusions on the same plane as personal beliefs.
"If students are told that science means you're free to think anything you want to, then we're all going to hell in a handbasket," Gegenheimer said.
Members of SenEx agreed it was this educational dilemma that the resolution should focus on. The resolution could be sent in the form of a letter to the board or to local school districts across Kansas.
"I think we shouldn't engage in a debate," said Barbara Romzek, professor of public administration and SenEx member. "Instead, we should focus on how it affects the ability of the University to perform its mission, which is to educate generations of students."
That's what SenEx did. They opted to draft a short preliminary resolution that focused on the educational deficiencies caused by not teaching evolution, which, members said, should make it less vulnerable to attack by creationists.
-Edited by Allan Davis
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An organizational chart of the staff is being prepared and should be presented to the Regents at their September 15-16 meeting.
Board of Regents works to define positions after Legislative changes
By Clay McCuision
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The staff members do not yet share the same office space, and their responsibilities are not yet precisely defined.
Until this summer, 17 employees researched and coordinated affairs in the Board of Regents office, across the street from the Statehouse in Topeka. After the Regents were reconstituted by the Legislature July 1, six staff members from the State Department of Education were reclassified as Regents employees.
"We're in the process of looking at how the organization should be structured from a staff point of view," said Barb Conant, communications director of the Regents. "It really does take the state and
The staff of the Board of Regents is adjusting to changing responsibilities, changing regents and six new employees shifted from the Kansas Department of Education.
A Changing Board Kansas Board of Regents 99
"Then we can finalize the position description for each employee and clarify them if need be," he said.
board back to very fundamentals of the organization."
"That's really a staff responsibility, making sure we support them." he said.
The bulk of the Regents' staff is in Topeka's Security Benefit building. The Regents have acquired additional office space in the building, and the staff should be under one roof within the next 60 days.
"We are eager to get over there" said Joe Birmingham, Regents chief of staff. "We look forward to being able to communicate more readily and easily with the rest of the staff."
Kim Wilcox, executive director of the Regents, said the increased duties of the board made their staff's work critical.
The Department of Education staff members previously worked with community colleges and technical schools throughout the state. Regents staff members previously worked only with the six four-year state colleges.
Wilcox said that overall he was pleased with the staff's accomplishments so far.
The entire staff now shares responsibility for all 37 institutions of higher learning in Kansas.
But positive attitudes can't solve everything.
"I'm very impressed with the initiative shown," Birmingham said. "We'd be doing nothing but trying to stop fistfights if people didn't have a positive attitude."
-Edited by Chris Hopkins
Textbook shortages not always in hands of Lawrence bookstores
Continued from page 1A
Erika Dode, Topea junior, said she was having problems finding textbooks for her History 342 class.
"If we don't have the right information, we can't get the books," he said. "They don't magically appear."
Kileman attributed many of the problems with Spanish textbooks at his store to late requisition orders from the Spanish department. He said that the deadline for teachers to order textbooks for the fall semester was April 15, but that by August, many class orders still had not been turned in.
Lammers said that his store was having problems with Math 115 and 116 because a new edition of the textbook was pending.
"We didn't get a lot of used books in, and it was a problem." he said.
"It's a pain to go back and forth to the store to find books," she said. "My goal one semester is to go and get them all on the first try."
Getz said that three of the main publishers were late delivering their books. The group includes Prentice Hall, one of the largest suppliers of books for a variety of classes. He said publishers have had problems shipping and packaging books.
class.
"We monitor the books very closely," he said. "If anything, it's sometimes in reverse. They order more than we need."
But not all classes were hurt by the shortage.
David Holmes, professor of a large Psychology 104 class, said he had not heard of any shortages for his class.
Lammers said the book ordering process would be smoother if teachers submitted requests on time.
—Edited by Julia Nicholson
STUDENT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SENATE
Attention Students!!!
You Are Invited to the 1st Meeting of the Year! Committee Orientation September 8,1999
6:00 p.m.
Kansas Union Ballroom Reminder: You can pick up applications in the Student Senate Office. Applications are due September 3,1999.
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