CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday. April 17, 1995
3A
Astronaut visits KU
Costa Rican native speaks about Challenger disaster
And to say you are not afraid is not human, said Franklin Chang-Diaz, an astronaut from Costa Rica who has flown in the United States space program. Chang-
Flying in space is frightening.
By Teresa Veazey
Kansan staff writer
Diax gave a presentation to about 60 people Friday night in the Kansas Union about his work with the space program.
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One experience he will never forget: Chang-Diaz was just one week short of flying a space mission on the Challenger shuttle, which exploded just a few minutes after its launch in January of 1986. All crew members were
Franklin Chang-Diaz
"The crew that I was on was assigned to fly that mission," he said. "But then there was a reordering of the payloads, and the flight was moved."
killed. Chang-Diaz was almost one of them.
"We never would have escaped from an explosion like that." Chang-Yu said, his voice considerably softer.
Chang-Diaz was shifted to an earlier mission on the Columbia, which departed on Jan. 12. But his friend and fellow astronaut, Mike Smith, was not. Smith, a pilot who came to the space program at the same time as Chang-Diaz, remained assigned to the Challenger crew. Ten days later, the Challenger burst into flames, and Smith was killed.
Although the mission was exciting, space travel takes a toll on the human body, Chang-Diaz said.
Chang-Diaz said his fellow crew members found time to relax on the mission.
"This is a match between Switzerland and Italy," he said as two crew members played a game of volleyball inside the ship.
"We're no longer subject to the pull of gravity," he said. "The skeleton is no longer under pressure, and it makes our bones brittle."
Upon returning to earth from a mission, Chang-Diaz said crew members had to adjust to gravity again.
"Everyone's a little wobbly from getting back," he said. "We have to watch our step and not fall in front of the cameras."
Alexandra Thome, San Jose, Costa Rica sophomore, was excited to hear the presentation by a fellow Costa Rican.
it's really a great honor for us Costa Ricans to speak to him," she said. "Back home, everybody knows about him."
Central America week
These events are scheduled today and tomorrow as part of Central America Week:
Documentaries—"Costa Rica. The Land and its People" and "The Golden Jungle," 2 and 2:30 p.m. today at Room 3 Lippincott Hall.
Panel Discussion—"Cultural Diversity in Central America," 7 tonight at Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave.
Worldview Lecture Series—"Issues of Sustainability in Central America" by Donna Luckey, associate professor of urban planning and environmental studies, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Pine Room in the Kansas Union.
Film—"Under Fire," 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union.
LEFT: Andrew LeBar,
Lawrence senior, leads the KU Ki-Aklido Club in a rhythm exercise before members venture into Clinton Lake. On Saturday morning,
the club had its first river misogi session, a Japanese ritual to cleanse the mind and body.
BELOW: Members of the club chant in the water.
Brian Vandervliet / KANSAN
Japanese ritual purifies mind
By Brian Vandervliet
Kansan staff writer
The purpose of the ritual, known as a river misogi session, is to cleanse the mind and body, said Andrew Tsubaki, professor of theater and film and adviser for the club. Although this was a first for the club, the river misogi has been an annual ritual among Shinto priests in
"To, Ho, Ka, Mi, E, Mi, Ta, Me," the group chanted for a minute before escaping the cold water.
A Japanese ritual was brought to Clinton Lake as a dozen members of a campus martial arts club donned swimsuits and waded into the frigid water early Saturday morning.
About 7:30 a.m., members of the KU Ki-Aklido Club held hands as they slowly waded in. Once the water was up to their waists, the chanting began.
Japan for hundreds of years.
"When you live in this world, you are contaminated by all sorts of things, so you need cleaning." Tuubai said.
By chaning, Ki-Aikido members tried to ignore their physical circumstances. Their chant has no literal translation, but Tusbaki said some believed it meant, "You are what you are."
sank me into his heart. "At first it was really shocking, but I felt exhilarated," he said. "I wish it could have been longer."
Lawrence Jenab, Lawrence graduate student, said he felt renewed by the dip.
Jenab said the water had a symbolic meaning for him.
"Water has always been a symbol of purity and the unconscious," he said.
Although the misogi might seem to have spiritual overtones, members said Ki-Aikido was a martial art, not a religion.
"It's a way to clean our minds of both the good and the bad, to get a new perspective," said Owen Livingston, Lawrence senior and vice president of the club. "With the misogi, it's trying to get into a thoughtless state. It's a symbol because it makes you remember how to get rid of impurities. If I can forget them long enough, maybe they won't be there. Then I can focus on positive aspects."
The second part of the misogi took place in Robinson Gymnasium as members gathered together to ring bells. After a period of breathing meditation, members iron bells in unison and chanted for more than 15 minutes.
The point is to go into a trance," Livingston said. "You really get into it. It's kind of like music. You listen to it and try to forget everything else."
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Fire knocks out laundry services at Med Center
Kansan staff report
The fire, which is believed to be arson, was extinguished within an hour. Officials at the Med Center still are assessing the damage, but it is estimated to be $250,000.
The fire is under investigation by the Kansas City, Kan. Fire Department and Med Center police. A KU police officer was treated and released at the Med Center emergency room for smoke inhalation. No patients were injured.
Hemenway visits campus
Kansan staff report
incoming Chancellor Robert Hemenway will be on campus today as part of his move to the University of Kansas. His last day as chancellor at the University of Kentucky was Friday.
Hemenway will not officially become chancellor of KU until June 1. Until then, he will acquaint himself with KU's campuses in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park and Kansas City.
Wednesday and Thursday, Hemenway will be introduced to the Board of
will be introduced to the board of Regents at its monthly meeting in Lawrence.
Robert Hemenway
Regents as his memory rests here. At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Hemenway will address the University Senate in the Spencer Auditorium in the Spencer Museum of Art. The public is invited to attend.
Monday, Hemenway will visit random campus offices to find out the concerns of KU employees.
Dietitian advocates eating well CBS correspondent touts food's magic
By Robert Allen
Kansan staff writer
Eating the right foods can transform the body, and exercise can turn back the clock, said a health expert in a speech Saturday.
Bob Arnot, a medical doctor and CBS Evening News health correspondent, spoke to approximately 50 people at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union about creating a healthier mind, body and soul through nutrition and exercise. Arnot spoke as a part of Mount Oread Medical Arts Centre's grand opening.
"My belief is that much of the public health community has missed the boat in selling the right kind of diet and exercise," he said. "There has been a silent revolution in nutrition and exercise."
Arnot said that some foods contained healing qualities that everyone could take advantage of. He said that with the diets of several areas of the world, including Hawaii and the Mediterranean, people are exceptionally healthy. His message was that, by practicing multicultural eating, people can examine diets from all over the world and incorporate the healthy aspects into their own.
"Ive begun to see that foods are medicine—that they have real medicinal value," he said. "We see that foods are able to engineer. We have to begin to see that foods are magic. Foods have spiritual qualities."
Arnot also stressed the value of exercise in maintaining health. He said that all people, regardless of age or ability, could engage in some form of exercise.
"We need to have sports that we love," he said. "It's important to realize that we each have a niche. We each have something that we can do extremely well."
For those people whose bodies have become stiffer or less agile through age, Arnot suggested taking advantage of new technologies embedded in sports equipment. He said that mountain biking was an exercise that anyone from 8 to 80 could do.
"It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on," he said.
Arnot also recommended weight training as part of everyone's exercise.
"With the technological revolution there has been in weight training, you have the ability to build muscle on anybody," he said. "The technology embedded in these new weight training machines allows us to build those muscles of youth."
Armot concluded by stressing that everyone should build goals and become optimists in reaching them. The importance of this is that many people have given up their dreams, which serve to fuel ambition
"It's visual imagery that allows us to transform ourselves," he said.
Lawrence resident John Hill said he attended the speech after reading Arnot's book, "Turning Back the Clock."
"I'm glad he spoke about nutrition and diets," he said. "That's something I've been thinking about changing in my life."
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