wednesday, april 21, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
3A
Interim journalism dean selected
By Rupal Gor
rgor@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
Provost David Shulenburger announced to faculty members of the University of Kansas School of Journalism yesterday that the journalism dean search is over this year, but will continue next fall.
in Communities Shulenbur hungry named Ann Brill, associate professor of journalism, as the interim dean of the school.
"I felt humble that the provost, faculty, students and staff had
faith in me to do this," Brill said.
Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism and member of the search committee, said he was surprised when he heard the news because it could have been a number of people inside and outside of the school. Frederickson said it was an advantage that the
Brill will be giving up her plans to go to Italy for the journalism study abroad program in the fall, but she said that opportunity would come again down the road.
interim dean was someone who was a part of the school.
Brill
She has been a member of the faculty at the journalism school since 2000 and taught at the University of Missouri at Columbia eight years before that. Brill received her B.A. in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire, her M.A. in journalism at Marquette University and her Ph.D. in mass communications at the University of Minnesota.
James Gentry, current dean of the school, said Brill was a great choice and he had confidence in her. He will continue teaching at the University but will leave his position as dean July 1.
Shulenburger said one of the goals for next year was to get a vigorous dean search going.
— Edited by Paul Kramer
District judge refuses suspected arsonist bail
STATE
A Johnson County district court judge denied a request to lower bail for David Ryan Jay, 23, a former KU student who is suspected of setting fires in Johnson and Douglas Counties in early March.
March. Yesterday's decision may have been related to a decision reached Monday, when the Johnson County district attorney's office charged Jay with 12 more counts of arson.
These are in addition to two charges filed last month.
More charges are expected to be filed against Jay in relation to three fires in Douglas County.
March 8, was in the second-floor stacks of Watson Library
Jay drove to California soon after the last fire was set, turned himself in to
authorities in
San Bernardino County, Calif. and was transported back to Johnson County on March 25.
Appointed student senate seats irk member of Republican group
—Neeley J. Spellmeier
By Jodie Krafft
jkraft@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
About 20 members of the Black Student Union, representatives from College Republicans, student senators and staff from the Office of Multicultural Affairs came together Monday night to discuss an article about appointed senators.
In the first issue of *Pachyderm*, a publication of the KU College Republicans, Thomas Knutzen wrote about the need to abolish appointed senators from Student Senate.
Knutzen, a Minneapolis junior, used the Black Student Union as an example and said African Americans were "disproportionately overrepresented in the student senate."
Bobby Birihay, Houston junior and member of the Black Student Union, said several students thought Knutzen was specifically attacking the organization.
"They were angry that he singled out black students and black senators," said Birhiraya, a junior/senior CLAS student senator.
"It had nothing to do with race and nothing to do with BSU." Thomas Knutzen Minneapolis junior
During the meeting, Tyler Longpine, a junior/senior CLAS student senator, said that the example of the overrepresentation of African-American students in senate was weak.
The greek community enjoys a 20 percent overrepresentation, scholarship halls with 10 percent and African-American students with 7.5 percent, Longpine said.
Knutzen said he randomly chose the Black Student Union as an example, saying the purpose of his article wasn't to attack any specific group.
It was meant to be more philosophical than practical, and he said if elected senators were doing their jobs by fairly representing all students, appointed senators weren't necessary.
Knutzen said.
"It had nothing to do with race and nothing to do with BSU."
Knutzen said.
Knutzen said the greatest part of Monday's discussion was when some of the members of the Black Student Union told him they agreed with his main points and were able to look past him using the organization as an example.
But Birhiray said some students were actually more angry at the end of the forum.
"Members of BSU felt that the College Republicans didn't clarify the use of the BSU as an example, and that failure led them to believe the motive was racism," he said. "They wanted to know why they just didn't talk about appointed senators."
Josh Steward, vice president of College Republicans, said Pachyderm was meant to voice the concerns of the organization and create discourse on campus.
Knutzen said the point of a democracy was to be able to speak freely about anything.
"Discourse is positive," he said. "We need to be talking about everything."
Edited by Meghan Brune
Fantastic females
Dr. Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, senior vice provost for academic affairs, spoke last night at the Women's Recognition Program in the Kansas Union. McCluskey-Fawcett was the keynote speaker of the event, which recognized outstanding women of many different areas of the University of Kansas.
Congratulations