CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, September 1, 1995
3A
Regent hears concerns from faculty
Building improvement, open admissions discussed
By Josh Yancey Kansan staff writer
Board of Regents chairman John Hiebert spent part of his visit to the University of Kansas yesterday listening to the concerns of faculty and administration.
Hiebert met with some of the deans of KU's schools at Anschutz Science Library, and although no decisions or policies were made, the deans made it clear that they had improvement on their minds.
Old classrooms and substandard science equipment were cited as one hindrance for instructors in providing the best possible undergraduate education at KU. Hiebert agreed, recalling a visit to Malotl Hall he made as a high school student in the mid-1950s.
"I remember looking at corroded sinks and getting a feeling of nausea from sadness," he said. "Today, I get that same feeling."
Hiebert said the $25 million needed for electrical infrastructure improvements was an example of the challenge faced when needs were high and budgets were low.
The deans also discussed KU's open admissions policy, through which any Kansas high school graduate can be admitted to KU. More preparation for elementary and high school students was needed, they said, so students could succeed at KU.
"Every Kansas high school student deserves a chance," Hiebert said. "But we need to demand from them to graduate with the proper preparations for higher education."
Hiebert said that only 18 percent of Kansas high school graduates met the Regents' recommended curriculum standards for college entrance.
Mike Hoeflich, dean of law, said the University needed to remain focused on graduate education while improving undergraduate education.
"When there's this talk of undergraduate education, the graduate and professional students get worried," Hoeflich said. "I don't think we want to get too carried away when talking about one that we forget the other."
REGENT: Board of Regents chairman John Hielbert also met with student leaders yesterday. Page 1A
Attorney general speaks to students
By Brenden Sager Kansan staff writer
Attorney General Carla Stovall explained how her office works to law students in Green Hall yesterday — the same building where she started her ascent to Kansas' highest elected legal office.
Stovall explained various departments of the attorney general's office and new legislation that she says will benefit law-abiding Kansans.
But a more immediate benefit of Stovall's visit for law students was the possible development of an internship program.
Stovall said her office has worked with Washburn University in Topeka to have law student interns serve as legal mediators between businesses and consumers and was considering doing the same with KU.
The program would have two benefits, she said. It would be a cost-effective way for the attorney general's office to handle smaller cases, and law students would receive valuable experience.
Stovall also addressed the attorney general's role in death penalty cases.
"Kansas has the death penalty for
the first time in 22 years," she said. No cases have gone that far yet, "but there have been some phenomenal plea bargains," she said.
Stovall said she intended to support the death penalty for premediated murder cases.
Stovall also said she supported Kansas' sex predator bill.
In some states, criminal sex offenders must be examined by a psychiatrist before they are released. If the psychiatrist thinks the offender is likely to commit sex crimes again, he or she is not released.
A federal district court in Washington state ruled that the system was unconstitutional because it tried offenders for the same crime twice.
"I think it's a very important law," Stovall said. She said she intended to defend the law if it is questioned by federal courts in Kansas.
At the end of the speech, a student asked Stovall if she would consider running for the Senate if Nancy Kassebaum declined to run for reelection. Stovall said she would not.
Jim Davis, Arlington, Va., law student, said that he better understood the nuts and bolts of being attorney general after Stovall's visit.
"As a law student, I learned a lot," Davis said.
Attorney General Carla Stovall speaks to law students in Green Hall. Stovall spoke yesterday about how her office works.
Brenden Saster / KANSAM
Class teaches students to educate peers
By Joann Birk
Kansan staff writer
Before Janine Gracy tackles morbid issues such as HIV and suicide in her HPER 265 class, she lets her students know why it is all worthwhile.
On the first day of class she lays down an overhead that reads: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
The quote, by 20th century anthropologist Margaret Mead, is the basis for Gracy's class.
tion at Watkins Memorial Health Center, teaches Peer Health Adviser Training, or HPER 265. The class originated in 1985 in response to the onset of the AIDS panic and is intended to teach KU students how to educate peers about difficult health issues.
Gracy, coordinator of health educa-
"We realized that we needed to provide students with accurate information so they could pass it on to their friends," she said.
The health advising program continues to equip its students with information to educate others. Students in HPER 265 learn the facts about drunk driving, sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptives, date rape, drugs, suicide and homophobia.
Students spend the last half of the semester developing skits on these issues to present to peers.
Gracy said the presentations, which usually were role-playing scenarios, could get students talking about issues without embarrassing them.
"The main goal is to increase knowledge," Gracy said. "But we also hope to change some attitudes and consequently change some behavior. Peers are very effective in doing that."
The class gives presentations to residence halls, fraternities, sororities
and any other organizations that request them. Some graduates of the class go on to volunteer at the Center for Peer Health Advising in Watkins.
Jama DeFever, Independence, Kan., freshman, heard about the class from a friend and thought it would be a positive way to earn class credit while improving herself and her peers.
"Our peers are more liable to listen to us because they'll feel more at ease," DeFever said.
Organizations that would like a visit from peer health advisors should contact the department of health education at 864-9570.
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