CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, April 22, 1997
3A
Personalities, colors decorate tables
Displays encourage University diversity
By Umut Bayramoglu Kansan staff writer
DIVERSITY. GET TO KNOW IT
Magnus Nasmark destroys inanimate objects when he is angry; doesn't like babies much; and hates violence.
Nasmark, Ostersund, Sweden, senior, is one of 12 KU students whose self-descriptions and photographs have been a topic of discussion during
lunch hours in campus cafeterias since the beginning of April.
As a part of its publicity campaign, the group responsible for the KU Blueprint for Diversity placed tents in the Kansas and Burge Unions, Wesco Terrace and Ekdahl Dining Commons.
"One way to bring diversity is being more visual," she said.
Ann Weick, dean of social welfare and head of the publicity committee, said that the group was focused on recruiting more faculty and students of color.
Weick said that students needed to be curious about people who were different from them.
"We hope that the table tents will stimulate lively discussion on campus," she said. "Students need to talk more and share more, and table tents are one way to start those kind of conversations."
A group of design students, calling themselves the Arts, was responsible for finding and interviewing students as well as designing the tents for the project.
"We tried to bring out what diversity means to us and make the word diversity sound not so scary," said Krista McGlohon, Topeka senior and leader of the Arts group.
McGlohon said that the Arts group looked for a diversity not only in race, but in majors, personalities, and interests when they interviewed students.
"We tried to show that you can never judge a book by its cover," she said. "When you get to know people you start to see the similarities in them."
McGlohon said that during the interviews students were given a blank sheet of paper to write down what made them an individual.
"This project was meant to show that
differences are cool and we don't need to be a clone," she said.
Nasmark said that he enjoyed being a subject for the table tents.
"There is a lot of under the surface racism on campus," he said. "I think this is an important project to overcome that."
destroys inanimate objects when angry
Nasmark said that diversity was not just having people from different backgrounds on campus.
"You need to have interest in other people's cultures," he said.
Days of civil disobedience, protest wavering on American campuses
Penn State group may represent trend
The Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — In the havoc of the 1960s — and even in the quiet times of the 1970s and 1880s — Penn State's Black Caucus was right there, staging sit-ins, making demands.
The 1990s have been a different story.
At the group's March meeting, only one of 350 members showed up. And two weeks later, when a deadline passed without a single candidate for president, the leadership laid down an ultimatum: If one stepped forward to lead Black Caucus, it would be dissolved.
"We made the stakes high," president Nikitra Bailey said. "It's the only way to get people to listen."
"A lot of students now believe that the whole struggle is over, the notion that we shall overcome. They believe they have arrived," said Walter Kimbrough, director of student activities and leadership at Old Dominion.
Apathy has set in at Black umbrella organizations that had been known for their militancy — not only at Penn State, but at campuses across the country.
"Black students are getting
involved in mainstream culture, and they don't see the need for those groups," he said.
The Black Caucus and other groups like it grew out of a need for representation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the success of the civil rights movement came an influx of Black students to predominately White institutions.
"It was relatively easy to form the group," said Larry Young, director of the Robeson Cultural Center at Penn State and a longtime adviser to the caucus. "There was a tangible need. Students could look around and see the problems that they faced collectively and that was stimulus."
Students demanded classes on Black culture and history, taught by Black professors, with students on Black scholarships attending. In reply, universities created African studies programs and built cultural centers for Black students, said Deborah Atwater, head of the department of African and African-American studies at Penn State.
Through the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Black students on American campuses increased, and so did their power. Slowly they began to make their mark in mainstream student government associations.
"They may be a victim of their own success," said James Stewart, vice provost for educational equity at Penn State.
"When you do a good job and are able to make improvements, some people may think you don't have to work to keep those gains in place. They become complacent. There's no perceived crisis, no burning issue."
At the University of Wisconsin, Arshella Burns, treasurer of the Black Student Union, worries that apathy may kill her organization, too.
"People just don't feel there's a need for unity anymore," said Burns, a junior from Cleveland. "It's like they wonder what we're doing. It makes us feel that we are falling at what we are doing."
Today's Black student,some say,is more interested in getting an education and getting out in four years than in pressing for change.
"They don't see lynch in the trees anymore," said Johnne Collins, a Penn State junior and member of the Black Caucus. "It takes something drastic to get people together."
Not all educators agree that the Black Caucus is a victim solely of changing times. Atwater, of the Black studies department, argued that participation levels ebb and flow in all student groups. And, she said, apathy among young adults across the country is at an all-time high.
Despite falling short of their ultimatum — two candidates running for each position — the elections will be held.
Continued from Page 1A
PARKING
pay for their permits after enrolling, some students questioned why the department needed to raise prices and if doing so would create more parking spaces for students.
"I figured it would be on there since it's always been on there in the past," said Jeremiah Reed, Olathe sophomore. "As long as they use the money to make more spaces available, especially for students. I guess it's OK."
would not know exactly how many spaces would be designated for students, staff and faculty until Hemenway released the campus access plan.
Hultine said the department
Last year, 1,541 students purchased yellow permits during the enrollment period. Hultine said 451 students purchased residence hall permits in the same period.
In August, Hultine said the parking department would focus most of its manpower on permit sales to reduce the amount of time students, staff and faculty must wait in line to receive their permits. Permits will be sold in the parking department, north of Allen Field House.
File remains open about KU Med's cabinet donation
By Emily Vrabac
Kansan staff writer
The Med Center sent the file cabinet to the Office of Study Abroad for office use, according to the source.
The Office of Study Abroad received a file cabinet from the University of Kansas Medical Center last week that contained old medical records, according to an anonymous tip from an employee at the office.
Sally Van Meter, office receptionist, said the file cabinet came from the State Surplus Property Office in Topeka.
"That's where we get all of our supplies," Van Meter said.
Van Meter said the file cabinet contained a couple of empty, red expandable files.
Van Meter said the files were empty. But the office receptionist had an X-ray on her desk and showed it to the reporter when asked about the file cabinet.
Van Meter said she did not know where the receptionist would have gotten such an X-ray.
Rich Sahfield, director of medical records at the Med Center, said the records could have come from a number of places on the Med Center campus.
"They may not be our official medical records," he said. "They could be from a doctor's office. If they're inpatient records, I'd sure like to know about them."
Sahfeld said the Office of Study Abroad should contact him to determine the records' origins.
The Office of Study Abroad receptionist said the office had thrown away the old files.
Ellen Strubert, office adviser, is on vacation and could not be reached for comment.
Several other employees in the office declined to comment.
Governor vetoes concealed weapons
Bill to be reconsidered by House on April 30
By Ann Marchand Kansan staff writer
Gov. Bill Graves, Republican, exercised his veto power yesterday on the hotly debated concealed-weapon legislation
The legislation would allow licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons.
Legislators predicted that Graves's action did not signal the end of this divisive issue and that the Legislature would attempt to override the governor's veto when the House reconvenes April 30.
In his veto message to the Legislature, the Graves said he thought that passing the legislation would cause more harm than good.
"More guns means more injuries and deaths from accidental shootings," he said.
An issue which crosses partisan lines, concealed weapons was one of the most divisive issues handled this session. Law enforcement officials across the state took opposite sides, and national gun control advocate and former White House press secretary Jim Brady visited Topeka to testify against the measure.
The bill, HB 2158, passed the legislature with a 78-44 margin in the House and a 22-18 margin in the Senate. To override the governor's veto, Kansas statutes require 84 votes in the House and 27 votes in the Senate.
Cindy Luxem, communications director for House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, R-Wichita, predicted that the bill would be reconsidered by the Legislature at the end of the month.
"I'm sure it will be reconsidered," she said. "I'm not sure if the votes will be there to pass it, but I know they'll try."
Graves also said in his veto message that he thought local authorities should have the power to exercise control and that a sweeping statewide measure was not necessary.
"I believe local authorities must be allowed to craft gun ordinances tailored to their communities," he said.
This is the second time that the governor has vetoed a non-budget bill. Last year, he vetoed a bill which would have further restricted abortion rights in Kansas. The Legislature failed to override that veto.
NATURALWAY • NATURAL FIBER CLOTHING
• B202 MASS • B41010W
NATURAL BODY CARE
NATURAL WAY
• 820-823 MASS. • 841-0100 •
Ballroom Dancing
Sponsored by Flamingo & Hideaway Dance Studios in conjunction with the KU Ballroom Dance Club
Live Music Featuring Les Baxter
Kansas Union Ballroom
April 24, 1997 (Thur)
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
For more info. call
(913) 331-2227 or
(913) 897-4622
Admission fee : $7/per person
Dance exhibitions by pros & amateurs Enter the KU Swing Challenge Prizes for top three couples