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NEWS / WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN KANSAN.COM
INTERNATIONAL
Earthquake in Sumatra causes fear, but no deaths
ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A 7.8 earthquake shook Indonesia's northwest island of Sumatra early Wednesday, prompting a brief tsunami warning and sending residents rushing for higher ground
There were no immediate reports of widespread damage.
The quake struck at 5:15 a.m. (2215 GMT) and was centered 125
The quake, which struck as people in the region were preparing for morning prayers, caused panic.
some areas could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents.
miles (205 kilometers) northwest of Sibolga in Sumatra at a depth of 28.6 miles (46 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Fauzi, an official at the meteorology agency's Jakarta office who uses a single name, said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but
The Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning following the quake, but lifted it two hours later. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu also issued a tsunami watch.
Local media reports said the quake, which struck as people in the region were preparing for morning prayers, caused
The center said no tsunami threat existed for other coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, although
panic in North Sumatra's capital of Medan and other cities in the province. Electricity was cut in Medan.
People in some cities along the southeastern coast of Sumatra as well as Sinabang on Simeulue island and Gunung Sitoli on nearby Nias island poured into the streets and rushed to higher ground, reports said.
NATIONAL
Lawmakers repeal decades-old sex law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill Tuesday that would repeal a state law designed to find the causes and cures of homosexuality. The law, written in 1950, classifies homosexuals as "sexual deviants" and requires the state Department of Mental Health to conduct research on "deviations
conducive to sex crimes against children."The research would be used to help identify potential sex offenders.
The bill moved out of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on a 4-0 vote, with one Democrat and two Republican members abstaining from voting. They said the law's reference to homosexuality should be removed.
Associated Press
KU's Swing Society teaches new moves on the dance floor
CAMPUS
BY NANCY WOLENS nwolens@kansan.com
Amber Otto gathers everyone into a circle to begin the warm-up.
Collin Johnson/KANSAN
"Rock-step, kick-step, kick-and-back step," Otto, an alumna from Springhill, yells to the class during the first part of the dance lesson.
"Everyone grab a partner," Otto said. "Now invite your fellow to dance."
The beginners stand in the center of the room for their first lesson in the fundamentals of swing dancing. Meanwhile, advanced dancers line the perimeter, waiting for the moment they can step onto the dance floor.
Every Tuesday the KU Swing Society organizes Swing Night, an event open to the public that teaches a variety of swing styles in the Kansas Union. Swing Society is "dedicated to preserving vintage vernacular Jazz and Blues 'Swing' dances" through communal dance and instruction.
"We saw a lot of regulars and a lot of new faces tonight," Otto said.
Erica Henderson, a junior from Fredonia, has been coming to Swing Night for the past two years and said she loved the atmosphere of the group.
Otto has been dancing for four years and began teaching swing dancing two years ago. She comes to Swing Night every week, even after graduating from the University. She said the 25 or so people that showed up to Tuesday's Swing Night was the average amount she tended to see on a weekly basis.
"Everyone's here just for fun," Henderson said. "They don't care if you know two moves or two hundred moves. Everyone dances
with everyone and it's so much fun"
Lauren Landry, a senior from Plymouth, Minn., and the president of KU Swing Society, has been swing dancing, specifically the Lindy Hop, for about five years.
"I did some East Coast back in high school in Minnesota," Landry said. "But I really got into it my junior year at KU with the Swing Society."
Lindy Hop and East Coast are two of several dances the group rocks to during swing night.
Landry said Lindy Hop was the "granddaddy" of all partner swing dances.
Katie Copy, a sophomore at Baker University, tries to teach her boyfriend, Willee O'Quinn,
a sophomore from Dallas, how to swing dance Tuesday night. A swing group meets every
Tuesday in the Union's Kansas Room for lessons and an open dance. "We just heard about it,
and thought it would be fun," said Copy.
"I hesitate to call it more complicated, but it does involve knowing both six and eight-count steps." Landry said. "We generally work students up to this from East Coast swing."
East Coast swing developed from Lindy Hop and became popular again in the Neo-Swing era. Landry said that when people think of swing, East Coast is normally what they're visualizing.
Some other types of swing dance they do are Lindy Hizzop, a "funkier," more hip-hop version of swing that has more hip movement and foot work. Balboa is another dance that was created in the '40s when the dance floors were really crowded and swingers needed to take up less space. In Balboa, people dance very close to their partners and the footwork is smaller and more intricate, Landry said.
Landry said the group tried to encourage people to learn all the dances during the lessons, which start at 8 p.m and last about an hour.
"We try to play a wide range of music from the 1920s all the way up to contemporary music
to try and meet everyone's tastes"
Landry said.
As the lesson came to a close, eager dancers began to take the floor.
Each free lesson is followed by social dancing until 11 p.m. Landry said it was not necessary to bring a partner because the group tried to rotate partners during the lessons. Along with
the beginners' lessons, the group teaches more developed lessons for people who come every week.
"We want people to enjoy dancing, learn to love the music if they don't already and meet other people who enjoy dancing as well." Landry said.
To learn some basic swing dance steps, visit kansan.com/videos.
Edited by Megan Heacock
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