The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
80th Year, No.11
Tuesday, July 14, 1970
Free University expanding
By PHIL BURGERT Kansan Staff Writer
Kansas Free University (KFU) is not a newly organized, pressure influenced offspring of the spring events on the University of Kansas campus and across the nation. But those events may be the stimulus that has brought on the remarkable growth in the Free University this summer.
KFU has grown in size from a catalog of about 10 classes since its beginning to 39 at the present.
A Free University program was introduced to KU during the fall semester of the 1967-68 session by Hamilton Salisch, a former assistant instructor of English. KFU at that time was patterned on a survey by Ralph Keyes which appeared in The Nation magazine.
Keyes contended free universities "call on enthusiasts to debate the real issues of education through their common goals of creating a new learning environment; focusing on more relevant and interesting subjects; improved student-faculty relations; broadening the pool of teacher and students, and developing new subjects and teaching methods.
Two members of the coordinating staff, officed in Canterbury House, 1116 Louisiana, discussed the present program of KFU in the Kansas Union recently.
Since 1967, KFU has undergone several changes of staff and class content.
Both Chuck Hand and Bob Baronowski are active in the present expansion of the KFU.
Although he believes the interest in relevancy has increased, as shown by the growth of KFU, Hand said there were still too many apathetic people.
Hand also said he thought many people were afraid of KFU. They are "afraid you go to class and some long-haired-hipie comes out with no clothes on and throws a bomb at you." Hand said.
As the name "Free University" suggests, classes don't cost anything, enrollment is open to all
and instructors and workers volunteer their services. The only money involved in KFU is used for office supplies and is paid with activity fee allocations from the Student Senate Finance Committee. Office equipment is provided by Canterbury House.
Hand believes KFU has much support in the Student Senate. "Many student senators like the idea," he said.
Courses now are offered in the following areas:
Languages, the concept of love, gravestone rubbings, hydroponics, Baha'a', history of the next ten years, astronomy and cosmology, Bob Dylan, deductive logic, tennis, history of mathematics, cultural change, U.S.A., anarchist theory, folksingers workshop, origami (Japanese paper folding).
Alternate life styles, math, guitar, facts and fiction in helping arts, creative capitalism, nonviolence and revolution, loving worthless people, astrology, Gestalt theory, creative writing sculpture, photography, Christian prophets, Frisbee, BITCH is beautiful (women's liberation), and publication workshop.
If anyone would like to learn a subject not already listed, they have the opportunity to begin a class and teach it, or may ask KFU to draw from its bank of instructors someone to start the course. If an instructor is not available, KFU workers ask around until one is found.
"T-groups" as in "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" may be started through the KFU office. Needless to say, already active T-groups are usually closed to outsiders.
Detailed descriptions of these classes are given in the Kansas Free University Summer Catalog available at the KFU office.
"Anyone who walks in and wants to teach, can," said Hand. "If you came up to me and said you wanted to teach a class in brain surgery, we would give you a time and place."
"However, it would be a good idea to know a little about brain
their reason for working with KFU as a dislike for the apathetic reasoning of many people. The growing Kansas Free University, they say, is a way to curb this apathy.
surgery, if you are planning to teach it."
If interest in a class dies, the class dies also. "You have to be a part of the class for it to survive," Baronowski said.
KFU also works closely with Headquarters, the city drug control center, the KU ecology movement and many other action groups.
Hand and Baronowski gave
McGovern discusses Nixon's motives
WASHINGTON (UPI) — Sen. George S. McGovern (D-S.D.), said recently that President Nixon is determined to keep the Thieu-Ky government in power in South Vietnam because Nixon believes "any kind of a government, no matter how tyrannical, would be better than a Communist government."
McGovern also said the administration is willing to let Thieu keep 10,000 to 15,000 persons in political prisons in South Vietnam.
McGovern, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 and a possible contender in 1972, made his remarks during a television interview.
An interviewer asked McGovern what Nixon's intentions were in Indochina. McGovern answered:
"I think he would love to get out of Vietnam if he could do it with the assurance that we would have an anti-Communist government in power in Saigon that could hold the line.
"Mr. Nixon has really devoted his public career for the last quarter of a century to fighting communism. He thinks that almost any kind of a government, no matter how tyrannical, would be better than a Communist government—even one, I suspect, that had the support of their own people.
"And what I see in the Nixon policy of Vietnamization." McGovern continued, "is a determination to keep General Thieu in power. That's really the touchstone of that policy, and, unless there is some change in the
Nixon strategy as I see it, they're going to do whatever is necessary to keep Mr. Thieu firmly in control in Saigon.
"They're apparently even willing to let him put 10 or 15,000 people in political prisons. We haven't had too much outcyre about the shocking revelations of torture and brutal treatment in these political prison cells off Saigon," McGovern said.
McGovern said the administration "is not prepared at this point to announce reductions that would take our forces below a level of 285,000 men."
McGovern, co-author with Sen Mark O. Hatfield (R-Over.) of an amendment to withdraw all U.S. forces from Vietnam by July 1, 1971, said he doubted Hanoi would engage in any significant negotiations in Paris unless the United States announced a withdrawal deadline.
Photo by Greg Sorber
Bird-and sun-halted in flight
The summer sun slowly rose and then climbed faster as it spread its brilliance over Fraser Hall. Both this photo and the one above were taken from 19th and Iowa Streets with a 500 millimeter telephoto lens.