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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2004
English center honors Martin
Family establishes facility in memory of KU student
By Amanda O'Toole
aotoole@kansan.com
Kansan staffwriter
Staci Wolfe tries to stay positive when she thinks about her sister Shannon Martin.
She would rather think of things that have resulted from Martin's legacy rather than dwell on her brutal murder that occurred more than three years ago in Golfito, Costa Rica.
Since the murder, Martin's family established an applied
Martin
English center in Golfito and a foundation, both of which bear Shannon's name.
The foundation was created in November 2002.
The Shannon Lucile Martin English Center opened Feb.17,2004,and graduated its first class in May.
Wolfe said she and her family chose an
English center because it was something Martin was dedicated to and it's important that Golfito natives know how to speak English because tourism is so important to the economy.
She said a lot of the 28 community members who graduated in May were people chosen by local businesses to learn English to help their companies.
Nineteen coast guard students and a coast guard instructor also graduated.
"I think she'd be really excited about it," Wolfe said. "In some ways I hope she knows."
Jeanette Stauffer, Martin's mother, said the English language is also important in communications between the Costa Rica and United States Coast Guards and their efforts to stop drug traffic from Colombia.
Most of the funds the foundation operates on come from Martin's family and close friends.
Stauffer said she hoped that would change soon.
She is in the process of applying for non-profit status, which would allow donors to write off money given to the foundation.
Stauffer said the Shannon Lucile Martin English Center would not be able to expand until it could afford more software and computers.
and interactive software that is common worldwide and was developed by the U.S. Air Force.
The English center used multimedia
The Air Force's program offers four skill levels. Martin's Center offers only the first level to its students. It will stay that way until more money can be raised.
Stauffer said a single unit of the second level software would cost around $1200.
Wolfe said money was also needed for teacher salaries and adequate computers in Golfito.
No fund-raising plans have been made, but Wolfe said a Brazilian dance or something similar in Lawrence would be likely.
Wolfe said the event, whatever it may be, would probably be scheduled around August when the majority of students return to campus.
"She loved Lawrence. It was her home," Wolfe said.
Wolfe said she hoped that events would help keep her sister's memory alive.
"A lot of people are surprised at what my family has done," she said of the foundation and the English center. "But that's just how this family is. Of course we're going to do these things. Shannon would've done the same thing."
Edited by Jay Senter
WORLD
East African artists, musicians discuss ways to attract patrons
NAIROBI, Kenya — East Africa's artists have agonized for years over their meager incomes while watching their countrymen flock to a stream of foreign movies, novels and musicians.
The latest blow was Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ, which joined a list of foreign films that locally have outdone African productions.
So artists recently gathered in Nairobi to discuss ways to attract more people to local art, music and films. They concluded they need to develop a concert circuit for musicians, change East Africa's school curriculums to favor local artists and hire professional managers.
"One of the biggest problems facing local filmmakers is their inability to market what they are selling," said Anil Kapila, general manager of Fox Theatres (EA) Ltd. "As a result you don't get great output at the box office."
Walter Bgoya, a publisher in Tanzania, says efforts to develop an audience receptive to African arts must begin early — in the classrooms.
Traditional African societies were "very art sensitive," but today people buy the most banal and cheapest of Western art forms, Bgoya said.
The Associated Press