4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29. 2007
CAMPUS SPEAKER
Friendly neighborhood stuntman
BY MATT LINDBERG mlintberg@kansan.com
Tobey Maguire might be the face of the world's favorite web-slinger in all these "Sprider"
in three Spider-
Man" films, but
Chris Daniels is
the man responsible
for executing
Spider-
Man's famous
moments.
Daniels
Daniels, a professional stunt
man, is best known for his work as Tobey Maguire's stunt double in the "Spider-Man" trilogy. He will speak at 7 tonight in Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Daniels plans to show clips from the "Spider-Man" films, and show
certain items from the prop bag he uses on film sets. He will perform some of his famous stunts for the audience.
Student Union Activities is sponsoring the event.
A stunt show will take place on Wescoe Beach around noon to promote the event.
Ann Vangsnes, Grand Forks, N.D., sophomore and SUA films coordinator, said Daniels' agency contacted SUA with an e-mail flyer. "If agencies are trying to promote an act they think will do well, we try to bring that act to KU. This was really appealing and a chance for us to expand on just screening films," she said.
"It's going to be interesting to hear about his experiences on the film and his background," Vangsnes
said. "He's the guy who's in the background doing amazing things, maybe hanging out with Tobey Maguire." She said the talk will give students a chance to hear aspects of a film set they normally don't hear about.
Shawn Bowers, Overland Park senior and SUA public relations director, said Daniels' talk goes alongside the Movie on the Hill showing of "Spider-Man 3" during Hawk Week.
Besides working as a double for Maguire, Daniels worked stunts for the villain in the 2003 film "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." Daniels also did stunt work for the 2006 film "Just My Luck." He has appeared on the television shows "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."
In 2005, he won the stunt man's
Taurus Award for best stunt in the 2004's film "Spider-man 2." The stunt that earned him the award featured Peter Parker attempting to jump from building to building. He failed mid-jump, falling into clothes lines, crashing into the sides of buildings, and landing on the roof of a car below, according to www.taurusworldstumtawards.com
Collin Cick, Wichita senior, said he planned to attend Daniels' talk.
"It's something off the beaten path," Click said. "I will probably go because it's cool and really interesting to me."
All tickets to the event are free with a valid KUID.
Edited by Rachael Gray
University dean to speak on learning, memory
SCIENCE
BY JEFF DETERS
jdeters@kansan.com
Joseph Steinmetz, dean of liberal arts and sciences, developed an interest in the field of neuroscience as an undergraduate at Indiana University. That interest has remained strong since then. Steinmetz will give a lecture entitled "How is the Brain Involved in Learning and Memory?" at noon today in the Ecumenical Christian Ministries Center.
"What we're interested in is how neurons inside the brain change during learning and memory," Steinmetz said. "And I think one of the biggest things that have come out of the field
the last several years is that the brain doesn't have one memory system, one learning system. It has many."
Steinmetz's research focuses on two kinds of memory: procedural and declarative. Procedural memory is learning and remembering procedures and motor skills, and declarative memory is associated with remembering facts.
Over the past 10 years much of his work has been concentrated on clinical populations to better understand disorders like autism, fetal alcohol syndrome and schizophrenia. Steinmetz said his speech would look at the history of the field of neuroscience and also where it could go
in the future. But Steinmetz said that the people who develop learning skills earlier are at an advantage.
"The younger that you participate and go through learning, the easier it is to learn things," he said. "And that's because the brain is still changing in young people."
Steinmetz's speech is part of the ECM's University Forums, which feature guest speakers Wednesdays throughout the semester. Thad Holcombe, director of University Forums, said the purpose of the weekly forums had changed over the years.
faculty, and it has evolved and still continues to do that, but now they try to speak more to the students," Holcombe said.
"The original goal was for faculty to present topics of research to
Holcombe said Steinmetz was chosen because of his reputation in the field of neuroscience.
"I think the whole area of the brain is becoming more and more of an issue for people as they look at learning and memory." Holcombe said. "He's going to be great."
The forums are free and open to the public. Steinmentz's lecture will last about an hour.
—Edited by Luke Morris
》CAMPUS
KU, Haskell grant winners to be honored
Research programs encourage diversity
BY SARAH NEFF
sneff@kansan.com
The Office for Diversity in Science Training will host its first welcome reception today for students from Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas who are
Talia Martin, Fort Hall, Idaho. graduate student, began the Bridge program in 2002 during her freshman year at Haskell. She said the program helped her prepare for future challenges and gave her direction.
receiving grants supported by the National Institute of Health.
"The Bridge program helped
"I think it's important to bring together the students so they know each other and the goals of the
"The Bridge program helped me to improve my laboratory skills as well as my social skills."
TALIA MARTIN Fort Hall, Idaho, graduate student
program," said professor James Orr, director of the office for diversity in science training.
The NIH funds five grant programs for students from Haskell and the University who are interested in attending graduate school and researching biological sciences.
"The grants are for increasing diversity,including ethnic,racial and cultural diversity," Orr said. "The groups that are the most underrepresented in the sciences currently include African Americans,Native Americans and Hispanics."
The first grant, the Bridge program, was established in 2000 and includes opportunities for Haskell students to conduct research in KU faculty laboratories.
me to improve my laboratory skills as well as my social skills," Martin said. "I became a better communicator, but most importantly I became more focused and confident in my undergraduate classes."
POVERTY
Roberta Pokphanh, post-baccalaureate research education program coordinator, said they had always hosted a spring symposium for students to share their projects. She said the program would begin with an introduction and comments from Orr, followed by comments from Provost Richard Lariviere, Joseph Steinmetz, dean of liberal arts and sciences, and Venida Chenault, vice president of academic affairs at Haskell.
The reception will last from 3 to 4:30 this afternoon at the Big 12 room in the Kansas Union.
Edited by Amelia Freidline
Nation sees number of impoverished citizens decrease
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Fewer Americans under poverty level, Census Bureau reports
WASHINGTON — Five years into a national economic recovery, the share of Americans living in poverty finally dropped.
The nation's poverty rate was 12.3 percent in 2006, down from 12.6 percent a year before, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Median household income increased slightly, to $482,000.
The numbers provided some good economic news at a time when financial markets have been rattled by a slumping housing market. But they were tempered by an increase
in the number of Americans without health insurance, from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47 million last year.
Some advocates said the numbers were evidence of an uneven economy that is leaving many Americans behind.
"Too many Americans find themselves still stuck in the deep hole dug by economic policies favoring the wealth," said Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. "Income remains lower than it was six years ago, poverty is higher, and
the number of Americans without health insurance continues to grow"
But Douglas Besharov, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said there is a lot of good news in the numbers.
"We're looking at a situation where unemployment was down, and it was down for single mothers, who make up a substantial portion of the people in poverty," Besharov said. "We need a good economy. That's not all we need, but we should not complain when it helps lower poverty."
The last significant decline in the
poverty rate came in 2000, during the Clinton administration, when it went from 11.9 percent to 11.3 percent.
The poverty rate increased every year for the next four years, peaking at 12.7 percent in 2004. It was 12.6 percent in 2005, but Census officials said that change was statistically insignificant.
The poverty level is the official measure used to decide eligibility for federal health, housing, nutrition and child care benefits. It differs by family size and makeup. For a family of four with two children, for example, the poverty level is $20,444.
Democrats on Capitol Hill said the insurance numbers justify spending more money for a popular government health insurance program for children.
The poverty rate — the percentage of people living below poverty
— helps shape the debate on the health of the nation's economy.
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Two Democrats running for president said the insurance statistics point to various weaknesses in the
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of workers covered by employer-provided health insurance, said David Johnson, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.
"We need a good economy. That's not all we need,but we should not complain when it helps lower poverty."
Both chambers of Congress recently passed bills that would
DOUGLAS BESHAROV American Enterprise Institute
dramatically increase funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP. The Bush administration, however, opposes both measures saying they would result in people abandoning private coverage for public coverage for children.
The share of Americans without health insurance hit 15.8 percent last year, the highest percentage since 1998. In 2005, 15.3 percent of American citizens were without insurance.
The annual increase was fueled mainly by a decline in the share
"These statistics show what most Americans know: tens of millions of our fellow citizens are completely left out of the economic progress enjoyed by the individuals and corpora-
nation's health care system.
tions on the very top," said Democrat John Edwards, who has made eradicating poverty a centerpiece of his campaign. "We need truly universal health care and a national effort to eliminate poverty."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton noted that there were a lot fewer people without health insurance when she first addressed the issue as first lady. In 1993, there were 39.7 million Americans without health insurance, according to the Census Bureau.
"It is an even deeper outrage today," she said.