4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY OCTOBER 22,2007
DOLE INSTITUTE
Civil rights leader receives award
BY SASHA ROE
sroe@kansan.com
A driving force of the civil rights movement met with students and told them not to be silent and if they saw something unfair in law. Civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) received the Dole Leadership Prize to honor his civic engagement Sunday.
Congressman Lewis met a standing ovation in the Lied Center as he sat with Dole Institute director Jonathan Earle. Earle said Lewis was evidence that politics could be an honorable profession.
Lewis grew up in Troy, Ala., and witnessed racial discrimination daily. He said even as a young child he wanted to make a change.
"I tasted the bitter fruits of racism," Lewis said. "And I asked whv."
After high school, Lewis said he applied to the all-white Troy State College. He said he never heard back from the college and decided to write Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a letter telling him he needed his support. In March 1958, Lewis boarded the bus to Montgomery to meet King for the first time. Lewis said he still remembered the first words King spoke to him. He said King asked, "Are you the boy from Troy? Are you John Lewis?" Lewis said he answered, "Dr. King, I am John Robert Lewis."
At age 18, Lewis organized sit-in demonstrations at lunch counters in Nashville, Tenn. Lewis said those situations strengthened his dedication to nonviolence. He said people would spit and put out lighted cigarettes on them. Lewis said despite
the treatment he never wanted to turn back." I accepted nonviolence as a way of life," Lewis said.
Lewis also reflected on the march across Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, that came to be known as "Bloody Sunday". Lewis said he and 600 others were marching peacefully when they were met by state troopers. Lewis said the troopers said the march was an unlawful and began to attack the marchers. Lewis was hit in the head by a state trooper.
"I said to myself, 'This is it,'" Lewis said. "I'm going to die here on this bridge."
The event led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis soon became one of the youngest leaders of the civil rights movement and was one of ten speakers at the
March on Washington where King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. Lewis said he still lived by King's quote "Hate is too heavy a burden to bear."
Lewis told students he was inspired at a young age to "get in trouble, but a good trouble," and he encouraged students to speak up for injustice.
Michael Gray, Buhler sophomore, said he remembered when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was Lewis the conscience of the Congress. Gray said he was excited to hear from such a historical leader.
"One gains a special appreciation for history when learned directly from the source," Gray said.
Danielle Marvin/KANSAN
Danielle Marvin/KANSAN Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, right, recalls his days of putting up with racism for Dole Institute director Jonathan Earle, left, and the audience on Sunday. Lewis received the Dole Leadership Prize in the ceremony.
Camille Clark, Black Student Union member and Kansas City, Kan., junior, met the Congressman and said he talked to her about how to make an impact on campus. Clark said meeting Lewis was something she won't forget. She said it was hard to believe she stood next to someone who had done such significant work for the African American community.
"He's right up there with Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks," Clark said.
Derrais Carter, Black Student Union member and Kansas City, Kan., senior, said he was impressed with meeting Lewis. Carter said it meant a lot to him to hear the congressman speak.
"He's a linkage to the past," Carter said. "He's a linkage to our heritage."
Sen. Donald Betts (D-Wichita) said he admired Lewis for what he achieved despite the many trials he experienced.
"He has been a risk taker," Betts said. "When he crossed that bridge in 1965 he was taking a chance. He continued to fight. I think that's a testament to his life."
Edited by Luke Morris
WE DELIVER! 7 DAYS A WEEK
LAWRENCE 1447 W.23RD ST. 922 MASSACHUSETTS ST. 601 KASOLD 785.838.3737 785.841.0011 785.331.2222
"YOUR MOM WANTS YOU TO EAT AT JIMMY JOHN'S!"
©1985, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 JIMMY JOHN'S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. We Reserve The Right To Make Any Menu Changes.
CAMPUS
Events encourage civic engagement Students urged to participate, learn
BY ERIN SOMMER
esommer@kansan.com
"SLAB is going to be more focused on registering voters while the Dole Institute will be hosting a variety of political programs," Treaster said. "Although we will both have our own events throughout the week, the SLAB-Dole Institute partnership has been the driving force behind the development of Civic Engagement Week."
Ballard said that she had worked with several student organizations to give several different groups at the University ownership of the week.
One such group is the Student Legislative Awareness Board, or SLAB. Alex Treaster, Shawnee senior, is director of the legislature.
This week, the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics played to host the fourth annual Civic Engagement Week to encourage active participation in the community.
Ballard said that Civic Engagement Week was part of a national movement started by a relationship between the University, Harvard University and several other institutions throughout the country. Ballard said that other schools had similar weeks to try to promote civic engagement. She also said that once a year she took students to Harvard to meet with other universities to discuss ways to
"It can be a social thing as well as an opportunity to meet other student leaders," Ballard said.
Barbara Ballard, associate director of the Dole Institute and state representative, said that the week would have several opportunities for students to be involved in the civic process. She said she was especially excited for this morning's breakfast for future and current leaders at the Dole Institute.
Ballard said that the main purpose of Civic Engagement Week was to focus on what it meant to be a United States citizen. On this campus, she said, it meant getting involved.
Events occurring during the week include Sustainability Day on Wednesday, which features presentations in the morning and a town hall forum in the afternoon, a showing of the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" on Thursday and volunteering at the Jubilee Café on Tuesday and Friday morning. Students will also be able to register to vote from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day this week at a table on Wescoe Beach.
Ballard said that being engaged in the civic process included meeting other students, volunteering and voting.
"I enjoy working with students and making sure they're involved in where they live," Ballard said. "We look for ways that students could actively participate and not just sit and listen."
promote civic involvement on campus.
Beka Romm, Bennington senior and student outreach coordinator for the Dole Institute, said that Civic Engagement Week was part of the institute's mission.
- Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
week's events
"The mission of the Dole Institute is to educate and engage students," Romm said. "Civic Engagement Week is really about what you are going to do with what you've learned."
Today
Civic Leadership Breakfast for campus leaders and
Register to vote --- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wescoe Beach
Civic Leadership Breakfast for campus leaders and potential leaders — 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Dole Institute of Politics
Tuesday
Jubilee Café — 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont Street
Study group with Jerry Austin"Presidential Politics from the Inside"—4:00 to 5:30 p.m.at the Dole Institute
Register to vote — 11:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wescoe Beach
Wednesday
Sustainability Awareness Day — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Burge Union
Study group with Jennifer Schmidt:"Women in Politics: Career Stories"—4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Dole Institute
Register to vote — 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on Wescoe Beach
Tea time movie screening:
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
— 3 p.m. at the Kansas Union
Saturday
Make a Difference Day
— Groups and individuals throughout Douglas County are encouraged volunteer for the day by creating a service project. Contact the Roger Hill Volunteer Center for more information: (785) 865-5030 or volunteer@rhvc.org
Forum on political parties,
moderated by Bill Kurtz,
former anchor of CBS Morning News — 7:30 p.m. at the Dole Institute
Register to vote — 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on Wescoe Beach
Register to vote — 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m. on Wescoe Beach.
Jubilee Café  — 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont Street
Friday
Source: Dole Institute of Politics
OBITUARY Super Bowl I hero dies after falling from roof
MINNEAPOLIS - Max McGee, the unexpected hero of the first Super Bowl, died Saturday after falling from the roof of his home while blowing leaves, police said. He was 75.
Police were called to the former Green Bay receiver's home in Deephaven around 5:20 p.m., Sgt. Chris Whiteside said. Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
Inserted into Packers' lineup when Boyd Dowler was sidelined by a shoulder injury, McGee went on to catch the first touchdown pass in Super Bowl history in Green Bay's 35-10 victory over Kansas City in January 1967. Still hung over from a night on the town, McGee caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
He was a running back at Tulane and the nation's top kick returner in 1953.
Selected by the Packers in the fifth round of the 1954 draft, he spent two years in the Air Force as a pilot after his rookie year before returning in 1957 to play 11 more seasons. He finished his career with 345 receptions for 6,346 yards — an 18.4-yard average — and scored 51 touchdowns and 306 points.
After retiring from football, he became a major partner in developing the popular Chi-Chi's chain of Mexican restaurants. In 1979, he became an announcer for the Packer Radio Network with Jim Irwin until retiring in 1998.
McGee and his wife, Denise,
founded the Max McGee National Research Center for Juvenile Diabetes at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in 1999
According to the center's Web site, his brother fought diabetes in his lifetime, and the couple's youngest son, Dallas, lives with the disease.
Associated Press