UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, April 8, 1997
3A
Student involvement essential
Candidates stress increased awareness
By Harumi Kogarimal
Kansan staff writer
All three candidates for student body president agree that increased student involvement is essential to a more informed Student Senate and student body.
Scott Sullivan, Leawood junior and Unite presidential candidate, said there was always a need to encourage student involvement in Senate.
"We want many students to get involved in campus activities," Sullivan said. "We can never say we have enough until 100 percent of the students are involved."
Sullivan said that lack of
student interest in Senate came from not knowing the people who worked in Senate.
To increase student awareness, Sullivan said Unite proposed an outreach program, which would promote communication between Senate and students.
He said people in Senate would talk directly with students.
Sullivan also said that the Senate's upgraded World Wide Web site would keep students informed of issues. The site is at falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~senate/senate.html
Michael Yaghmour, Pittsburg junior and independent presidential candidate, agreed that student involvement should be a major campaign issue.
"By getting more students involved, I think we can make our University a smaller
place." Yaghmour said.
Yaghmour said students had become apathetic to the Senate because of the campaign battle between Delta Force and Unite.
"I think we should run a campaign without spending much money and without hassling or bothering students," Yaghmour said.
The independent group wants to provide a student guide to new freshmen, Yaghmour said. The guide would inform students about how to join campus activities.
Yaghmour also suggested that *The University Daily Kansan run* a one-page synopsis every month about current Senate issues and about those who took charge of the issues.
Jason Fizell, Olathe junior and Delta Force presidential candidate, also said that the
Kansan would be an ideal place to address Senate issues. He said that biweekly columns written by the president would help students learn more about those issues.
Fitzell also said that he had been disappointed with candidates who promised to reach out to students in the previous semester.
He said candidates should realize that Senate had tried before to communicate with students, but it did not always work out.
"The Student Senate did not communicate with the student body," Fizell said. "They did not tell them how important parking and other issues are."
Instead, Fizell said student senators should get out of their offices and talk to students on campus.
.
By Dave Morantz
Kansan staff writer
While the on-campus activities of Student Senate may seem like political posturing for tomorrow's leaders, Senate does play an active role in influencing lawmakers in Topeka about issues concerning higher education.
All three Senate presidential candidates said that involving more students in lobbying activities and groups such as the Student Legislative Awareness Board was important. But the candidates differ on which lobbying methods would have the most effect on lawmakers.
After Student Senate elections, the seven student members of the SLAB advisory board accept applications for the position of legislative director. The board then recommends two applicants to the student body president-elect, who appoints one to direct SLAB and Senate's legislative affairs in Topeka.
The director and SLAB lobby lawmakers on behalf of stu-
Student lobbying makes law-makers listen, said Joe Scranton, chief of staff for Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka.
Michael Yaghmour
Scranton said education was always a top priority for lawmakers.
"The voices of students are heard pretty well at the capitol building," he said.
Michael Yaghmour, independent presidential candidate and Pittsburg junior, said SLAB should concentrate on issues such as improving technological equipment and creating more financial aid for students. As of now, not enough students have access to SLAB, he said.
Scott Sullivan, Unite Coalition
presidential candidate and Leawood junior agreed that improving technological equipment was important. But he said protecting the rights and freedoms
Scott Sullivan
of students and faculties also was a top priority of SLAB.
As an example of issues he would push if elected, Sullivan cited an ethical choice policy that would allow students to not complete class assignments if they objected.
Jason Fizell, Delta Force presidential candidate and Olathe junior, also said the technological equipment issue was important.
"If you can't get access to a computer, your future is sort of up in the air," he said.
But Fizell also would like to see SLAB make its lobbying
resources available to all KU students, not in an office for the use of SLAB members only.
Jason Fizell
Sullivan said he also would like to see more
student involvement, and the best method for that involvement was SLAB.
"Everyone needs a vehicle to get across to the legislators," he said. "SLAB offers the vehicle effectively."
But Kansas lawmakers often ignore education issues in favor of reducing property taxes, making SLAB's job very difficult. Fizell said.
"Obviously, the reality is that Kansas is a very conservative state," Fizell said. "As far as education goes, SLAB has a very big job to do."
Brennan Smith and Dana Hess perform Between Panoch Villa and a Naked Woman. The plays run at 8 p.m. through April 1,2 at Murphy Hall's Inge Theatre.
Latino play at Inge ponders genders
By Amanda Arbuckle
Kansan staff writer
A Mexican revolutionary from the early 1900s straddling a cannon and firing into a woman's bedroom is an unusual sight. But students can see it happen in the Inge Theatre.
Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman, a political comedy written by Mexican playwright Sabina Berman, will be performed tonight at 8 p.m. in the Inge Theatre at Murphy Hall. Performances began April 3 and will continue through April 12.
Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman is the story of a middle-aged woman, Gina, who is in love with an arrogant womanizer, Adrian. Gina breaks from her role as the passive woman when she goes to his home and tells him he wants more than one-night stands; she wants him to be in her life forever. Her philandering lover is unable to commit. When Gina realizes she will never have the life she wants with Adrian, she moves on — much to his annoyance.
Set in present-day Mexico, the play is interspersed with scenes featuring Adrian's war hero, Pancho Villa. Berman's writing depicts Villa as the ultimate chauvinist.
Sally Shed, Ozark, Ark., graduate student who plays the role of Gina, said the play's format was unusual.
"The way it meshes fantasy and reality
is challenging," Shedd said.
Shedd, who also teaches women's studies at the University, said the play caused people to laugh at the stereotypes of men and women.
"It's a critique on gender roles," Shedd said. "It asks, 'What does it cost to perpetuate gender roles?'"
Between Pancho Villa and a Naked Woman was first produced in 1993 in Mexico City. Berman was on campus last week and was able to see the University's production of her work.
To better understand Berman's play, the actors researched Latin culture, Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution.
Brennan Smith, Hutchinson senior, plays the lead role, Adrian.
"There's an understood attitude — a way of how people relate that differs compared to the American/European culture," Smith said.
The play is a part of the Festival and Symposium on the Theater of Latin America, sponsored by the KU Center of Latin-American Studies and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Elizabeth Kuznesof, director of the Center of Latin American Studies said she hoped the festival had an impact on students.
Wisdom tooth loss:a smart option
By Emily Vrabac
Kansan staff writer
Most students will lose a part of their bodies during their tenure at the University of Kansas. College age is the most common time for wisdom tooth removal, and it is something that many students dread.
Charles Nauman, Lawrence dentist, said wisdom teeth were remnants of a historic time of humanity. Neanderthals had large jaws and needed more teeth to chew rough food.
Through time, the jaw has shrunk because of softer food, but the teeth have stayed the same. Therefore, the wisdom teeth are often too large for the mouth and may need to be removed.
"In most cases, the wisdom teeth are just excess baggage, "Nauman said. "You don't really chew that far back. As far as their function, it's basically nil."
Most wisdom tooth removal procedures take about an hour or an hour and a half, Nauman said, and most people need several days to recover because of pain and inflammation, especially in the lower law.
"The lower jaw is dense bone. It's like concrete." Nauman said. "The
upper jaw is soft, spongy bone.
"When you take them out, due to bone chemistry and lack of blood supply, you have trouble with the lower jaw."
Nauman said the surgery was easier if the patient was able to wait until the teeth broke the surface of the skin, or erupted. But some wisdom teeth do not grow in straight and need to be removed while the teeth are below the surface of the skin, or impacted.
"It's better and easier if they are through the surface," Nauman said. "The only reason you'd go in for an impacted wisdom tooth is if they're causing pressure and pain on other teeth."
Students who go to the dentist regularly will be able to note the progression of their wisdom teeth, Nauman said. The dentists take bitewearing X-rays and even panoramic X-rays to monitor growth of the teeth.
If they are in pain while the teeth are growing in, students can use over-the-counter pain relievers or prescription drugs.
Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said Watkins doctors did not extract teeth, but they could ease students' discomfort caused by the teeth.
"If a wisdom tooth is really causing problems, I would recommend they do something about it during a time when they're in good health, not during finals," Nauman said. "We used to joke when I was in college that it was usually around finals week that the wisdom teeth flared up."
"Sometimes, an impacted wisdom tooth can cause pain and will need to be temporized," Rock said. "We can do that."
Nauman said students should seek a doctor's advice if they were having difficulty with wisdom teeth.
Students can't get a break
By Corrie Moore Special to the Kansan
Take A Break travel company sounded like a great idea for students who wanted a great spring break vacation in Mexico for a low price. But a number of students ended up spending $500 to $700 and were left with no tan line to show for it.
Now those students say they are angry and want their money back. They are filing complaints and have mailed letters to the Boston-based company listing the agreements that they said were broken in their contracts.
Chelsea Leibsohn, Colorado Junior and a college representative at the University for the Take A Break company, organized a seventy trip to Mexico for her and her friends at the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
They discovered a few days before their scheduled departure on March 21 that they would not be leaving until Monday, March 24 and would not be returning until the following Monday. All the women decided to cancel because some of them could not afford to miss classes.
Karl Pigg, Topeka junior, was a part of the group and said the group found reason to seek a refund under its contract with Take A Break. The contract stated that if any major changes occurred, the group had the right to cancel the trip and receive a full refund.
"At the time," Leibsohn said,
"there were so many unanswered questions that we didn't know what to expect."
"We're all just hoping we'll get our money back," she said.
Take A Break is a tour and travel operator that puts packages together for students at a discount. The main office has been in business for several years and has received complaints before, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office.
Faith Weiner, a representative for Take A Break, said the problem started this year when the chartered airline, AV Atlantic, was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration on March 7. The company was forced to find an alternate airline for more than 30,000 students in the United States.
"It was impossible to get all the students to leave on the scheduled
Commons said the company used AV Atlantic airlines last year, and students had experienced delayed flights and had missed classes.
John Lamontagene, a representative for the Attorney General's office in Massachusetts, said the office had received almost 200 complaints against Take A Break this year and 121 complaints in 1994. The office is investigating the complaints and hopes to resolve the situation. "We're very concerned about allegations and recent incidents from Take A Break," Lamontagene said.
"We didn't book any students with Take A Break this year because we had a bad experience with them before." she said.
Anyone who had problems with Take A Break can contact the Attorney General's office in Massachusetts at 1-617-727-8400 to file a complaint.
Vicki Commons, a travel agent for Adventure Travel, 544 Columbia Drive, said this was not the first year Take A Break had problems.
times because we had to hire a new airline during spring break, which is a busy time of the year," Weiner said.
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