4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY HAILE KANSAS
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2007
RESIDENCE HALL
Templin revels in'TP"-themed Pride Week
BY KATY BLAIR
Templin Hall is buzzing with activities for its first Pride Week.
The residence hall staff planned events around a toilet paper theme, which made "TP" a necessity for the week.
"We just wanted to do something for the residents," said Laura
assistant complex director.
"To show them that we appreciate them."
Remington said most of the other halls have social events for the residents, so she wanted to start a tradition for Templin, too.
"We thought it would be really interesting to leave something behind from our staff this year."
"We thought it would be really interesting to leave something behind from our staff this year," said Ozzy Bravo, Lima, Peru junior and resident advisor.
"I'm going to try to get to as much as I can this week," Jones said. "But the hot dogs, that sounds like fun."
him was the hot dog eating contest.
Jones said he would definitely participate in the contest, which will start once the fashion show is complete.
Resident advisors spoke with the students on their floor and came up with a list of popular events. The staff then tried to pick a week that was less academically stressful for students.
Wednesday is "Wear Your TP Week T-shirt" day, and Thursday the
OZZY BRAVO Templin Hall resident advisor
The week started with doughnuts, snow cones and a global awareness program on Monday. Students were also able to work with the Career Center to make or improve resumes
residents will enjoy massages by certified masseuses. For Friday night, the staff incorporated Student Union Activities' casino night as the finale for the week's events.
Remington said she was most looking forward to the toilet paper fashion show that will start at 8 tonight.
To help the Lawrence community, the Templin staff is collecting toiletries this week to be given to Lawrence Community Center.
Nathan Jones, Wichita sophomore, said Tuesday's main event for
Residents will also have opportunities to earn goodies throughout the week. Door prizes will be given out and a writing contest will conclude next Sunday.
Students may write a two- to four-page paper on how diversity has impacted their experiences at the University. Remington said the winner would be chosen by next Tuesday. The grand prize is a $200 gift certificate to KU Bookstores.
Kansan staff writer Katy Blair can be contacted at kblair@kansan. com.
— Edited by Joe Caponio
Speaker grades separation of church, state
>> PUBLIC LECTURE
BY KATY BLAIR
The United States got a C+ on its current attempts at separating church and state.
Derek H. Davis announced his final grade for the U.S. Monday evening during his lecture, "Explaining the complexities of religion and state in the United States" Davis lectured about his thoughts on a deteriorating separation between religion and government matters.
"There are lots of conflicts, anomalies and inconsistencies in the whole system," said Davis, dean of the college of humanities at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor in Belton, Texas. "Lots of people think we can't have prayers before athletic events, and yet the U.S. Congress has people who are paid with your tax-payer dollars to stand in front of them every day to lead these sessions with prayers."
Davis said one erosion of the separation idea deals directly with schools.
Private schools have become dependent on government money
to function. Not only does government financial support conflict the idea of religion being independent from government, but it will result in decreasing public duty to support those religious institutions.
J. R. Madill, a Baptist minister in Columbia, Mo., said the separation of church and state was crucial to the success of the nation.
Davis expanded on his point by addressing political issues that combine the church and state in the country. Presidential candidates are
"I think the church relies far too much on the government to do what
reliance on one another will help both prosper.
"There are lots of conflicts anomalies and inconsistencies in the whole system."
DEREK H. DAVIS Dean of the college of humanities at Mary-Hardin Baylor
it was created to do," Madill said. "I think that by allowing the two to be intertwined, we really sort of cheat both."
Madill said that if the U.S. wants to be a secular society by definition, it must exclude specific religious groups from any authoritative leadership roles. The Columbia minister said that interaction rather than
not required to adhere to one religion, but Davis said they were unofficially expected by the public to express their religious beliefs.
some religious practices were accepted in government because they create a national identity.
However, Davis said there was such a thing as "civil religion," where practices were
Civil religion includes the national motto, "In God We Trust," and even the religious symbols on the back of the dollar bill.
Davis said civil religion has a place in society, but misuses were a detriment to its success. Davis'
example of such misuse was former President George Bush using religion as a justification for the Gulf War.
He explained that President Bush compared the U.S. to Jesus Christ as the light of the world, representing good. To stamp out the evil, or Iraq, he proposed going to war, hoping the religious representation would spur support.
Rich Morrell, Warrensburg, Mo., resident, said Davis discussed concerns for our nation that were important to address. He added that the separation of church and state was necessary for both to function correctly.
"I think that the separation of church and state has served our nation very well," Morrell said. "When we have this creeping of religion into government, we actually devalue the value of religion."
Kansan staff writer Katy Blair can be contacted at kblair@kansan. com.
>> STUDENT LOANS
Investors buy Sallie Mae amid legal troubles
Edited by Joe Caponio
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A group of investors announced plans Monday to buy Sallie Mae, taking the nation's largest student lender private in a $25 billion deal that comes as some regulators call for tougher standards and lower federal subsidies for the $85 billion college loan industry.
Private-equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. and three other investors will pay $60 per share for the Reston, Va.-based SLM Corp., commonly referred to as Sallie Mae. The sale price represents a nearly 50 percent premium for Sallie Mae's previously sagging stock before takeover rumors emerged last week.
SLM shares traded up more than 17 percent on the New York Stock Exchange after the buyout was announced Monday.
J. C. Flowers and private-equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe will invest $4.4 billion and own 50.2 percent of the company, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase each will invest $2.2 billion and each will own 24.9 percent. The buyers will also provide Sallie Mae with $200 billion in backup financing.
John Oros, a managing director at I.C. Flowers, said the firm was drawn by Sallie Mae's stock price,
which had fallen to around $40 per share before takeover talks began. The investors also weren't deterred by the prospect of a clampdown on the industry by lawmakers.
"We think Sailie Mae is a great company and a great business, and appropriate regulation will sort itself out in a way that will make this an attractive transaction for us," Oros said.
Sallie Mae is by far the largest school lender, originating $23.4 billion in student loans last year, many of them federally subsidized such as widely used Stafford loans. The company has recently expanded into other areas of lending, such
as debt collection and 529 college savings plans.
But it has also been subject to greater attention from lawmakers and regulators currently probing ties between lenders and college officials who guide students toward specific lenders for their loans.
Last week, Sallie Mae setteu with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over the company's business practices, agreeing to pay $2 million to a student loan education fund. It will also no longer pay travel and entertainment expenses for university officials or send its employees to work for free in campus financial aid offices.
and register to win $500 in cash!
You're getting ready to graduate! That means entering the working world. paying bills and making student loan payments.
University Financial Services will be on the KU campus during the week of Monday, April 16th through Friday, April 20th to provide you with free one-on-one student loan consultations. Learn how to save money each month and lower your future student loan payments by up to 50%. Also, find,out about lower in-grace rates, forbearance and deferment rights, and the great incentives that we can offer KU graduates.
FREE Consultations with Financial Specialists for KU students.
Monday April 16 11:00am to 5:30pm
Tuesday April 17 9:30am to 5:30pm
Wednesday April 18 9:30am to 5:30pm
Thursday April 19 9:30am to 5:30pm
Friday April 20 9:30am to 4:30pm
The Jayhawk Bookstore at the top of Naismith Hill.
MULALLY (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
vehicles, which is composed of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent corn. But that technology has problems with the supply of corn.
"If we took all of our farm capacity, we would only satisfy 20 percent of demand," Mulally said.
Other developing technologies include cars that run on hydrogen and electricity, ideally only releasing water out of the tail pipe.
Although these technologies are being developed by the auto industry. Mulally said more had to be done.
"The auto industry only accounts for 15 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, so the whole country needs to work together."
Kansan staff writer Joe Hunt can be contacted at jhunt@ kansan.com.
Edited by Darla Slipke
Michiko Takei/KANSAN
Alan Mullay, president and chief executive of the Ford Motor Company, gives a presentation about his experiences Monday at the Lied Center. Mullay is a lavernite native and KU alumnus.
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