4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY BABY KANSAN
THURSDAY,OCTOBER 5,2006
TEACHERS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
countries through the fourth grape, after which there was a significant drop-off. He said data showed a lack of teachers as the cause of that drop.
Lariviere said he didn't yet know how to produce more teachers. He compared the situation to the nursing shortage in Kansas and said the state needed to recognize this problem similarly.
"We have to address the shortage as a society," Lariviere said. "It is a problem that can be remedied."
As for action from the School of Education, Sally Roberts, associate dean for teacher education, said programs had been implemented to
math and science teachers.
Jim Ellis, professor of education, who teaches classes in science education, said other measures were being taken to encourage students to pursue teaching math and science. Among those measures are a proposed math and science section of introductory teaching classes, plans to provide students with more information on math and
encourage teacher training, especially in urban areas.
"There is a crisis on our hands now — it's no longer looming
One of these programs, "Transition to Teaching," gives on-the-job training to people with math and science degrees by giving them teaching jobs in innery schools. People in the program earn their teaching degrees while they work.
Roberts said getting teachers to inner-city and rural schools was as big a problem as training more
in specific fields like science and math where there's not enough teachers to meet the demand."
RICHARD LARIVIERE
Provost
science careers and continued offers of scholarships for students who pursue such careers
"We're hoping that through additional incentives and support we can get more people interested in a career teaching math and science," Ellis said.
Still, Ellis said his experience
teaching science education classes did not bode well for the future of the shortage.
"The students in my classes are very enthusiastic about what they're doing," Ellis said. "But I'm seeing a decline in applicants."
Kansan staff writer Danny Lupino can be contacted at duplino@kansan.com.
— Edited by Natalie Johnson
RETIREES (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Vince Barker, associate professor of journalism, said by 2017 recent KU graduates could also face an increasing burden to support retired baby boomers. That's when Social Security could start running a deficit, becoming an emergency issue for tens of millions of seniors.
"Nobody in the federal government seems to have the political
guts to do anything about the situation," Barker said. "It's a no-win scenario where the cure is likely to cause political fall-out."
Kansan staff writer David Linhardt can be contacted at dlinhardt@kansan.com.
- Edited by Derek Korte
Madonna to adopt African child, build orphanage
CELEBRITY ACTIVISM
BY RAPHAEL TENTHANI ASSOCIATED PRESS
ing children orphaned by Aids thru the Raising Malawi organization. She has not adopted a baby despite reports that she has," Rosenberg told Us Weekly.
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Madonna plans to adopt a child in Malawi, government officials said Wednesday, as the pop star arrived in the southern African nation on a mission to help AIDS orphans.
"She told us she is looking for a baby boy," said Andrina Mchiela, a senior official with Malawi's ministry for Gender and Chile Welfare. "Her team has identified a few, but the choice is hers."
Mchiela also said the pop star planned to launch six projects to help underprivileged children during her stay.
Madonna's publicist, Liz Rosenberg, confirmed that the singer was in Malawi on a private visit and said she had not adopted a baby.
"She is building an orphanage and child care center and is involved in other initiatives geared toward help-
Rosenberg did not immediately return e-mails from the AP asking about the reported adoption plans.
Mchiela told The Associated Press that Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, would be subject to a probation period required of all prospective adoptive parents.
"After her husband and her fill in the papers, we'll allow them to take him away, not as adoptive parents but foster parents until after the 18-24 months when the government of Malawi will assess whether they are a suitable family," she said. "This is a legal requirement that cannot be fast-tracked."
Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, 5, and the singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, 9.
Benston Kilimbe, director of
social welfare in the government, said Madonna was expected to file the adoption papers on Thursday.
The 48-year-old star joins a growing list of entertainer-activists who have focused on Africa.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, whose child was born in Namibia earlier this year, recently announced they would donate $1 million each to two humanitarian organizations active on the continent. They also have two adopted children one from Ethiopia and one from
— one from Ethiopia and one from Cambodia.
Actor and director George Clooney also has campaigned passionately for the victims of the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Madonna and her entourage landed on a private plane in the capital, Lilongwe, on Wednesday morning. Mchuela said.
The star was to travel Thursday to Mphandula, a village about 30 miles from the capital, where she wants to set up a center for children
orphaned by the AIDS epidemic.
Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world, trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of hunger and disease. Just over 14 percent of the 12 million population are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and an estimated 1 million children have been orphaned.
In villages like Mphandula, many orphans are cared for either by siblings or grandparents, who struggle to find food for the extended family. The village has no electricity and the inhabitants live in mud and thatched huts.
Televisions are nonexistent and radios are rare, meaning that most of the villagers have never even heard Madonna sing.
Madonna's project, called Raising Malawi, aims to set up an orphan care center to provide food, education and shelter for up to 4,000 children. It will have projects based on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism that has gained popularity in recent years.
PITTS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Judy Smith, Pitts' assistant, said people had a wide variety of responses to his columns.
"There are a lot of people who say 'you said exactly what I think,' and a lot of people who say 'I couldn't disagree with you more,' in not such a nice way." Smith said.
Pitts gets an average of 100 to 150 e-mails per day in response to his columns.
His visit is funded by the English Department, the School of
Journalism and the Dole Institute of Politics. The English department asked the School of Journalism to split the $5,000 cost to bring Pitts to campus. The School of Journalism then asked Pitts to speak to students in classes. During the following negotiations, $500 was added to the fee.
William J. Harris, professor of English, said that Pitts was initially invited to speak at the University because of his writing
talent, but that the lecture should appeal to a broad spectrum of students because of the issues about which Pitts routinely writes. "He's able to speak to an incredible cross-section of people about challenging issues," Harris said. "It's for people who care what's happening in our country now."
David Guth, associate dean of journalism, said the chance to have one of the nation's leading columnists visit the school was "too good
an opportunity to let slip away." He said it was important for students to listen to "a diversity of opinions on today's critical issues"
"That's the essence of free expression," Guth said. "Something our school values."
Kansan staff writer Darla Slipke can be contacted at dslipke@ kansan.com.
Edited by Travis Robinett
GONZALEZ (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Gonzalez always brought a laidback, good-natured attitude to the workplace. Duane Boor, foreman for Quality Electric, worked with
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Wolford said Gonzalez was very family-orientated. He lived alone but had seven siblings. Gonzalez's family did not wish to speak for this story, choosing instead to pass the anniversary privately.
The men said Gonzalez enjoyed life and his work, which always showed in his attitude.
We see it as one of 130 million cell phones that will be thrown away this year containing lead, cadmium and mercury, which threaten our heath and environmental if not disposed of properly.
Boor agreed that things weren't the same without Gonzalez. When he died, "a part of the soul of the company went with him," Boor said.
You know it as the old Nokia 5165 you carried 'only for emergencies' and will soon be replaced.
Recycle your old technology!
Source: www.recyclemellphone.org
Wolford said morale among the workers declined and the atmosphere of the workplace was somber after Gonzalez's death.
Recycling Tip #201
"We lost a big part of our company when he was taken in the fire because of his personality," Wolford said. "Everybody still talks about him today."
Take a study break, go recycle Visit www.LawrenceRecycles.org
shirt off his back if that's what it took."
LAWRENCE
WASTE
REDUCTION
RECYCLING
Kansan staff writer Darla Slipke can be contacted at dsllpke@kansan.com.
"Working with him was like working with a friend," Boor said. "It made the day better."
They miss their friend who brightened their days each morning with a simple "Hello."
Gonzalez for eight months and also spent time with Gonzalez outside of work. The two used to go out for a couple beers and to shoot pool.
One time after work, Boor had trouble with his vehicle and needed to pick his daughter up from the babysitter. Gonzalez went with Boor to get his daughter's car seat from his car and drove Boor to the sitter, despite being in a hurry.
"If you needed something, hed do everything he could to help you out," Boor said. "Hed give you the
Edited by Derek Korte
City of Lawrence
832-3030
ENGLISH ALTERNATIVE THEATRE
Tickets (785) 843-2787. $6 Students, $8 Seniors, $10 Others. This production is participating entry in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.