CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, October 19, 1995
3A
Twins make their voices heard
Pam Dishman / KANSAN
Jennifer and Jessica Keith are busy sisters at KU. Jennifer is the first Black lead soprano in an opera series at the University, and Jessica is the president of Black Student Union.
Vocal performance sisters share music,value of family and campus involvement
By Hannah Naughton Kansan staff writer
After an hour and a half of practice, members of the Inspirational Gospel Voices joined hands for prayer. Jennifer Keith's voice flowed into the circle, thanksking God for her performance the night before. She also thanked her sister, Jessica, for supporting her in her major role in the opera "Dido and Aeneas" that was performed Monday night at the Lied Center.
"I went to see her, and I felt like I was on stage," Jessica Keith said. "My heart was pumping. In my mind, I saw that is where she is supposed to be."
Jennifer and Jessica Keith, Kansas City, Kan., juniors, are twin sisters studying vocal performance at the University of Kansas.
Norman Paige has been a professor in the department of music and dance for 26 years. He said that Monday's opera performance was the first he could remember at KU with a Black female in a leading role.
"This may very well be the first female role sung by a person of color in an opera," said Paige, who is the Keith sisters' voice instructor.
Jennifer Keith said she planned to audition for an opera in New York City and to be a major singer in the company.
"I want to have the major role," she said. "I want to be a phenomenal singer."
Although Jessica Keith shares her sister's love for music, she is torn between music and law school, she said.
"I want to go to law school and study criminal law," Jessica Keith said. "My ultimate goal is to be a U.S. senator."
Paige said the sisters were aware of what was going on around them.
"They have lots of imagination," he said. "They see themselves in the world realistically. It wouldn't surprise me if both achieved the goals they set for themselves."
Jessica Keith is in her second year as president of Black Student Union and is a student senator.
Jennifer Keith is an orientation assistant, a resident assistant at Lewis Hall, a Black Student Union representative for her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and was the BSU treasurer last year. Both are on Crimson Crew — a group that works to recruit high school football players — and are the two directors for Inspirational Gospel Voices.
They have been influenced by God and their family. The role model of their family, especially their mother's influence, has given them the confidence to want to build a strong family community and
on campus, they said.
"One reason I've become involved in BSU is to help make it into a family thing, despite the differences that exist
The closest sense of family community comes from their involvement in Inspirational Gospel Voices, Jennifer Keith said.
Melanie Posey, Kansas City, Kan. senior and president of Inspirational Gospel
are so inspirational, and you can see it just by watching their daily walk. It's real."
But with all their similarities, th
similarities, the Keith sisters do have their differences.
Voices, said it was a blessing to know the Keith sisters.
differences.
"She's more organized than me," said Jessica Keith. "I'm more laid back. I won't worry much."
"I'm the mother of the two (of us)," Jennifer Keith said.
Jessica Keith said her sister's propensity to write lists helped to keep her organized as
"You can just see the realness of God in their lives," said Posey, who also knew the Keiths in high school. "They
well.
"The fact is, through our differences we teach each other things." Jessica Keith said. "If we were one person, we'd be excellent."
Fuel: Company promises lower emissions
Continued from Page 1A
regular diesel, can significantly reduce emissions from the buses.
KU on Wheels operates 23 buses that each use almost 30 gallons of fuel a day. Ogle agreed to use two buses for the biodiesel trial, which could run for approximately two weeks on the available fuel.
The problem is that the use of alternative fuel was not feasible beyond a trial period, Ogle said. Biodiesel is about twice as expensive as petroleum diesel, and the Lawrence Bus Co. could not absorb the additional costs.
KU Environs told Ogle and the transportation board that if the trial period went well they would search for funding to continue use of the fuel. Analisa Lee, Kansas City, Mo. junior and a member of KU Environs, said she considered the agreement a victory even if biodiesel could not be used long term.
KU Environs is searching for a company or professor to run emissions tests on the buses involved in the biodiesel trial run, which is planned for the week of October 30.
Tests run by the SoyDiesel Board showed that biodiesel could reduce carbon monoxide by 21 percent and
"The purpose of this is to open up possibilities for change," she said.
and hydrocarbons by 4 percent. But emissions tests given by the Soy-Diesel Board were performed on buses with catalytic converters, which the Lawrence Bus Co. could not afford, Ogle said. Catalytic converters are used to reduce vehicle emissions.
total hydrocarbons by 47 percent.
Ken Peters, assistant director of the SoyDiesel Board, said a catalytic converter was not necessary for the biodiesel to reduce emissions, but that the combination of biodiesel and the catalytic converter was most effective. Peters said bus companies across the country, including ones in St. Louis and Cincinnati, are already using the biodiesel fuel mixture on a regular basis.
It's their party: KJHK turns 20
By Kimberly Crabtree Special to the Kansan
After 20 years, KJIK is still the home of alternative rock.
The difference between now and when the station began broadcasting in Fall 1975 is that alternative rock no longer is an unknown music genre.
"Progressive-alternative-post-modern music has evolved into something more accepted by the mass market," said Jay Berberick, Lawrence senior and student station manager of KJHK. "When it was started, the attitude was that alternative music was just outrageous."
When the FCC changed the rule, KU immediately applied for a license, said Bruce Linton, then-chairman of the radiotelevision-film sequence in the School of Journalism.
KU's student radio station was born in 1973 when the Federal Communications Commission approved low-power FM stations. Before that time, the University of Kansas operated a wired-wireless station, KDGU, from the basement of Hoch Auditorium. The wired-wireless could be transmitted only to certain campus buildings.
To celebrate the birthday, KJHK staff members are having a party wite live bands at Mulligan's, 1016 Massachusetts St., tonight. The station is planning extra giveaways for listeners during the week, and at the city commission meeting on Tuesday night, Bob Moody, Lawrence mayor, declared today "KJHK Day."
But before KJHK became a reality in 1975, University faculty members and administrators had to clear several hurdles.
Finally, after funding was secured and rules were adopted, students could tune their radio dials to 90.7 FM and hear KJHK. The station began broadcasting at 12:25 p.m. on Oct. 15, 1975.
KJHK quickly became known for its role in promoting beginning bands and supporting the local music scene.
"We had to guarantee funding to operate the station, guarantee the power in the transmitter and decide where to put the antenna," Linton said. The roof of Marvin Hall was chosen to hold the antenna.
"For alternative rock, we used to be the
only one in the ballpark until three years ago, when the Lazer started," said Gary Hawke, general manager of KJHK, referring to KLZR-FM, a local commercial radio station.
David Day, Wichita senior and music director of KJH, said the station used to have a reputation for punk rock and music with a hard edge.
"Now all that music and that whole sound is no longer underground," he said. "I get a lot of criticism for why I don't play a lot of heavier stuff, and the answer to that is that they're going to get all their attention from the mainstream. We don't have to concern ourselves with that anymore.
Students apparently like the alternative format.
"If all they would play would be mainstream stuff, then they wouldn't be any different from any other station," said Jack Musick, Garden City freshman. "When I turn it on, it's usually a good song."
Despite the emphasis on alternative music, the original purpose of KJHK, to serve as a laboratory for broadcast journalism students, remains a major focus of the station.
"The most important thing KJHK does is get experience for its staff." Berick said.
In the past year, the most important news at KJHK has been its location on the Internet. Broadcasts of the station can be heard by accessing its World Wide Web site at http://www.cc.ukans.edu/~kiknet.
KJHK and the University of North Carolina's student station, WXYC, are the only college stations to accomplish that feat.
"I still believe we're the only ones doing that 24 hours a day," Hawke said.
KJHK also has e-mail access in the control room, enabling disc jockeys to receive requests from around the world.
Jana Blackburn, Courtland senior and news director of KJHK, said the station and its staff had received national recognition for being on the Internet.
"We've had other stations call us up and ask us how they can do it, too," she said. "When our people get into the working world, maybe they'll be able to say, 'I know how to do that, and I can help us do it.' It keeps us pushing the edge so we can stay ahead."
Kansan staff report
Social welfare associate dean dies
Liane V. Davis, associate dean of the School of Social Welfare, died yesterday of cancer in her Lawrence home. She was 53.
"She was dedicated to fighting for women's rights and protecting women in abusive relationships," said David Brown, Lawrence attorney and Davis' husband.
Davis came to the University of Kansas as a tenured faculty member in 1989 and taught at the masters and doctoral levels. She was named associate dean of the school in 1992 and became a full professor in 1995.
Davis received the 1995 Council on Social Work Education award for distinguished contributions as an educator. This year she also had received an award for her achievements in non-violence from the Mo-Kan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
"Liane's death is a great loss to the school," said Ann Weick, dean of the School of Social Welfare. "She was a caring, smart and strong woman."
A private celebration of Davis' life will be held in her home at 7 p.m. tomorrow
Brown said Davis was a dedicated mother to their two children, a prolific author and a fan of women's basketball.
The School of Social Welfare will hold a public service at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 in the Adams
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Liane Davis and her husband, David Brown
Alumni Center.
Davis is survived by her husband; two children children, Elia Elena Brown-Davis and Anthony Brown-Davis; her mother, Julia Davis of Lake Worth, Fla.; and her sister, Jo Ubogy of Greenwich, Conn.
Contributions in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Liane V. Davis Scholarship Fund, School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan., 66045.
24th & Iowa·PO Box 2·Lawrence, KS 66046