Monday, March 19, 1962 University Daily Kansan
Tape
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KU Peace Corps to Go to Costa Rica
By Ron Gallagher
Peace Corps volunteers selected for the secondary education project in Costa Rica will be the first Americans ever to be in continuous contact with the people of the area the program will operate in, according to Thomas Gale, assistant professor of history.
Prof. Gale recently returned from a two week trip to Costa Rica which took him to 13 of the 15 towns where Peace Corps volunteers will establish programs. He is working with George R. Waggoner, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and John P. Augelli, professor of geography and chairman of the Latin American area studies, to set up a Peace Corps plan which will be under KU's direction.
"Americans don't come to these towns." Prof. Gale said in reference to the communities that the program will be set up in. "These towns would be, without exception, extremely interesting places to live in."
HE EXPLAINED that the only Americans that ever appear in these areas are usually businessmen who come in for a day or two then leave after their business has been transacted.
Prof. Gale said that the volunteers will live, "modestly but without
John Augelli, chairman of the Latin American area studies and professor of geography said at the Current Events Forum Friday that KU is the best equipped university in the U.S. to carry on a Peace Corps program in Costa Rica.
Teachers Needed In Costa Rica
The forum discussion centered on a short-term Costa Rican program designed to increase the capacities for secondary school teachers, improve the English program, and aid in the improvement of the teaching methods in that area.
Thomas Gale, professor of history, will direct the program to begin in October. He and Professor Augelli expressed their interest in obtaining as many KU seniors and alumni as possible to fill the 30 to 35 openings.
The newly established program has been developed by KU with the help of the University of Costa Rica and the ministry of education.
Professor Gale explained that the dropout rate in the Costa Rican secondary schools is rapidly increasing. The people feel that their high schools are slowly deteriorating. It will be the job of volunteers to help stop this deterioration.
Peace Corps volunteers should be prepared to teach English, the basic sciences, or assist in counseling and guidance. All will need to possess a knowledge of the Spanish language.
Accepted applicants will serve for two years. At the end of the first term, they will be transferred to another school in the area. Two or three volunteers will be assigned to each of the 15 schools, all relatively isolated from the central capital. Approximately 200 to 600 students attend the individual schools.
Pool-Beach Meeting Set for Wichita
For the first time in seven years the University of Kansas Pool and Beach conference will not be held on the KU campus. Instead it will be in Wichita March 23-24 at the Central YMCA.
The conference is sponsored by the Kansas Swimming Pool Association. The Kansas State Board of Health. The University of Kansas Department of Physical Education and Recreation and the University of Kansas Extension.
Topics to be discussed are a practical approach to state regulation, life guard behavior, new chemicals for disinfection, operation and maintenance of mechanical equipment, records and reports, replacement of personnel and safety.
dangerous hardships." He mentioned that hot water will probably not be available and that it will be necessary to go without some of the other conveniences found in most American homes.
He said that the experience of the KU exchange program with Costa Rica has shown that Americans can easily adapt to the living conditions found there.
Prof. Gale said that the Costa Ricans are anxious for the start of the Peace Corps program. He said the success of the KU exchange program in Costa Rica has made the Peace Corps plan easy to sell.
PROF. GALE is enthusiastic about the success of the KU exchange program with Costa Rica and is convinced that the Peace Corps can be
just as successful. Almost everyone living in the capital city of San Jose and some of the other larger cities of Costa Rica is aware of the KU exchange program, he said.
There is not a bus driver who does not know about the program, he said. "In fact, there is one bus driver who never collects fares from KU people."
He described the Costa Ricans as friendly people who are eager to meet and talk with Americans. Costa Ricans are impressed and very helpful when an American attempts to communicate with them in their own language, he said.
Dean Waggoner made the initial steps toward the establishment of the Peace Corps program which will be directed by KU. When he was in
Costa Rica last summer he talked with Costa Rican officials to see if such a plan was wanted and to find out what kind of program would be most useful.
THE LAST fall, Prof. Gale did the leg work necessary to find out what type of program the Costa Ricans preferred. Upon his return to the United States he worked with Dean Waggoner and Prof. Augelli to outline the basic program for presentation to the Peace Corps.
versity thought up and decided the Costa Ricans should have." Prof. Gale said. It is essentially a plan that the Costa Ricans think is good.
"This is not a plan that the Uni-
"We think we can run a very successful program because of the excellent language program that we have and the large number of faculty members who are acquainted with Costa Rica. This is the kind of a program that will reach a lot of people," he commented.
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