KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 / NEWS
3A
CULTURE
Festival raises awareness for low-income farm workers
BY ROSHNI OOMMEN roommen@kansan.com
Walking by the ECM building Thursday, it would have been hard to resist the two large colorful signs hanging by its entrance, welcoming passersby inside.
Walking into the building would have made it that much harder to leave.
The Latin American Food Festival, hosted by KU Latin American Solidarity and Lawrence Fair Food, a local student group that is fighting for the rights of low-income farm-workers in Immokalee, FLa. was held in the ECM building Thursday, and featured Latin American foods from several local restaurants. live music by Kim Barely Legal and a clown on a unicycle named Circo Express.
People filled rows of tables in
support of Lawrence Fair Food. All proceeds of from the festival went to the group. The money raised will be used to send members of the organization to participate in a freedom march in April with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization of farmworkers in the city of Immokalee, Fla. These workers, who are mostly Hispanic, Haitian or Mayan Indian, work in close to-poverty conditions. Lawrence Fair Food, which is part of the Student/Farmworker Alliance, is working with the CIW to promote awareness and justice for the farm-workers in Florida.
Aaron Stables, president of KU Latin American Solidarity and member of Lawrence Fair Food, helped organize the festival.
"Our aim is not to be incredibly antagonistic," said Stables, a junior
from Derby. "We just want to let our presence be known as members of the community."
Gerardo Reyes, a member of the CIW, spoke at Thursday's event, encouraging the audience to join the work of the CIW. Reyes has been a farmworker since he was a child, and is now a major activist for the group.
Reyes will also speak at a rally this afternoon. Following the rally, attendees will march in the form of a moving tomato vine to Dillons, 1015 W, 23rd St.
The march is part of a nationwide campaign by the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA) against the Kroger company. The SFA is working with the CIW to petition Kroger to sign an agreement, which asks the company to fulfill a list of requests that ensure better working
conditions and wages for the farm- workers who pick its crops.
When contacted, Kroger representatives were unavailable for comment.
"The march will create the pressure that we need in order to demand that Dillons takes action," Reyes said. "Kroger needs to know that people here are not happy with their disregard for the conditions farmworkers face in Florida, and they continue to benefit from the poverty of thousands of farmworkers that make it possible for tomatoes to end up in their supply chain."
The rally will begin this afternoon at 3 p.m. in the Gridiron Room of the Burge Union.
— Edited by Kirsten Hudson
Spencer Walsh/KANSAN
Andrea Siteh, a sophomore from Atchison, enjoys the food at the festival. More than 100 people attended the charity event.
Watch a KUJH-TV video of the Latin American Food Festival at kansan.com/videos
BIKES (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
development by working with the Department of Public Works. It's more likely the changes will be incorporated and it's cheaper than going back and changing things later"
Among those changes is the addition of a new bridge over Iowa Street, near the intersection of 7th and Iowa streets, into Centenial Park. The intersection is particularly inconvenient and dangerous for cyclists commuting to the west side of Lawrence. The proposal does not suggest major changes to existing roads.
The number of reported bicycle accidents has dropped in recent years, falling from 33 accidents in 2006 to 21 in 2009, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation. Though the committee has successfully installed 19 shared-use paths in high-traffic areas, its members are committed to pursuing greater changes.
"I can't even count how many times I've had some level of contact with a car, which is why I think we need bike lanes on major roads where riding along side traffic just isn't safe." Burkemp said.
Any proposed changes to streets and bike paths in Lawrence will be
made in concert with the National Complete Streets Coalition. This national coalition is committed to ensuring that streets are constructed to accommodate all types of road users. Together, they will develop strategies that create more complete streets that are safe and accessible for a commuter class of bicyclists.
"The workshop is only the first step in drafting a policy that will enforce the development of complete roads that all users can take advantage of," Bart Rudolph, transport-
tation planner for Lawrence and Douglas County, said. Rudolph said Lawrence needed to continue to increase bike lane use and improve safety by expanding the number of arterial streets that have bike lanes, shared lane paths and signed routes.
"The more people we have riding, the more awareness the community will gain."
Advisory Committee. "Most cyclists have. It's almost inevitable in Lawrence because there's no network of continuous bike lanes yet."
Longine also said that both cyclists and drivers in the Lawrence community need to become more familiar with how to react to each. He said this is particularly
BECKY MCCLURE
Advisory Committee member
"I've been in two run-ins with cars and can't count how many close calls I've had," said Tyler Longpine, county appointee to the Bicycle
true on roads like 9th Street, where a bike lane exists but suddenly ends. Bike lanes that start and end in the middle of high traffic streets are one of the greatest concerns for the committee because inexperienced riders often
don't know how to properly interact with drivers.
"I get nervous driving near bikes because I'm never sure who has the right-of-way or what the protocol is for interacting with them," Stephanie Miller, a junior from St. Barbara, Ca., said.
Becky McClure has been a member of the Bicycle Advisory Committee for five years and said she believed the changes could be
made much more quickly. As an avid bicyclist, she said she refused to let the dangerous conditions stop her from riding alongside busy streets.
"I've gotten bumped before, but I'm experienced so I know how to be careful," McClure said. "Riders will travel to Clinton Lake to find a safe route, but we need to get people out there on the roads. The more people we have riding, the more awareness the community will gain."
The Bicycle Advisory Committee plans to continue the discussion at its next board meeting, open to the public at 5:30 p.m., on Tuesday, March 16 in the Public Works Conference Room on the ground floor of City Hall. At that time they will more directly address when they plan to begin the construction of the new bridge.
Edited by Kelly Gibson
“It's really important to be bike-friendly because it's a sustainable way to commute.” Burkemper said. “But fewer people are going to do it if they're afraid of getting hit by a car.”
PLACES BIKERS SHOULD AVOID
Downtown Massachusetts Street
- Kentucky Street, between 9th and 19th streets
Tennessee Street, between 9th and 19th streets
6th and Wakarusa intersection
Iowa Street
HOW TO AVOID COLLISIONS
Don't ride against traffic
tion
- Slow down when approaching a crosswalk or intersec-
- Don't ride alongside or stop in a car's blind spot
- Don't ride on the sidewalk — When you come off the sidewalk to cross an intersection, motorists are unaware that you are there
Pass vehicles on the left Motorists may make unexpected right-hand turns
Get a rear light
Look over your shoulder before moving left to turn or change lanes
Be aware of the time of day — Avoid riding on busy streets during rush hour, on weekends or near dusk
Don't hug the curb
K-STATE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
keep my loyalties in Kansas even if that means Kansas State"
"We've beat them three times already," Stamerjohn said.
Chris Stamerjohn, a sophomore from Quincy, ill, said he was also willing to cheer for Kansas State. He said he didn't hate Kansas State because he's not from Lawrence. He said he wouldn't mind if Kansas State did well in the tournament.
Stamerjohn isn't the only student using Kansas' record against Kansas State as a reason to support them as they continue in tournament play. Egan said it was easier to pull for a team that Kansas already beat three times on three different courts in one season.
"I hope K-State destroys everybody and wins it all," Egan said. "I think it would be great to reflect back on the season and say, 'Hey, remember when KU beat the national champions three times in one season?'"
Kansas beat the Wildcats at home, in Manhattan and in Kansas City, Mo., to win the Big 12 Tournament. Those three victories are a big part of the reason that these students are willing to graciously cheer for the lavhawks' in-state rival.
Christian Curtis, a senior from Hays, said he was happy for Kansas State.
"As to K-State making it, I say
congratulations, and yeah I'm going to support them," Curtis said.
Other students are not so willing to cheer on the Wildcats. Megan Ketchum, a sophomore from Ottawa, said she would not support Kansas State.
"I was really happy for them when they first got in and they had a No. 2 seed," Ketchum said. "I didn't have any problem with it."
But Ketchum changed her mind after seeing how disrespectful the K-State fans were to other teams when she went to Oklahoma City to watch the games.
"I decided that if a fan base can't be nice to other teams that are in their conference and supposedly make their team look better, then I don't believe they should continue on," Ketchum said. "I believe that other teams should probably win now over them."
No matter what their current feelings are toward Kansas State, KU fans are confident that the Jayhawks would have beat Kansas State again if they had stayed in the tournament.
"I think it's better for them to go on and keep playing in the tournament instead of losing to us a fourth time," Egan said.
— Edited by Cory Bunting
only because the cast and production crew are undergraduates, but also because this play has never been done before.
THEATER (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"Bedside" is one of two plays in the undergraduate series. The other is "4.48 Psychosis" by English playright Sarah Kane and is being directed by Amy Virginia Buchanan, a senior from Stillwater, Okla.
Buchanan said that her experience directing has been exciting and that the actors have been accepting every challenge she has given them. "4.48 Psychosis" was Kane's last work before she committed suicide, an event included in the play.
"Every part of the show is new — it's like the world premiere," Kelly said.
The play is written with no specific characters or place in time. Buchanan said there are a couple of pages of dialogue, but the play can be performed in any way.
"It's really an honor that I was trusted to direct it," Buchanan said.
She proposed to direct "4.48 Psychosis" over a year ago and is excited to see it come to life as her last theatre event at the University.
"It's a nice way for me to go out — being able to implement everything I've learned," Buchanan said.
Edited by Cory Bunting
pipelineproductions.com
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