10A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
ROTC
Competition brings cadets
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
Weston White/KANSAN
Cadet Sgt. Bruce Archambault, Leavenworth junior, practices weapons assembly and disassembly for Saturday's ROTC competition at Clinton Lake.
Long-distance running, grenade throwing and knot tying are among the events Army ROTC cadets will compete in during this weekend's Ranger Buddy Competition.
The annual competition will involve about 100 teams from 18 different universities. Lt. Josh Urban, freshman ROTC instructor, said many cadets looked forward to the event every year.
"its kind of like ROTC's varsity sport," Urban said. "Some schools travel quite a ways to compete."
Urban, who organized the event this year, said cadet teams would compete in seven different challenges designed to test physical and mental endurance. Teams can be male, female or coed.
All the teams compete at the same time, but their times and
Cadet teams will then split into
same time but scores will be separated after the event. The top three male, female and coed teams will receive trophies to take back to their universities.
the march in full uniform and with a
rucksack weighing 35 pounds.
Urban said the competition would kick off with a 6-mile
"It is kind of like ROTC's varsity sport. Some schools travel quite a ways to compete."
JOSH URBAN Freshman ROTC instructor
then split into five groups to complete an obstacle course, knottying competition. M-16 rifle assembly and disassembly, grenade assault course and stretcher-carrying competition.
road march at 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
He said each team would complete
The competition's last event, a
3. 1-mile run, begins at 4 p.m.
Virgil Barnard, Topeka sense is competing in the events with fellow cadet and Leavenworth junior John Irvine.
Barnard said he and Irvine were trying to stay in good shape all semester to be competitive during the buddy competition.
Tyler Abel, Billings, Mont., senior and public affairs officer for Army ROTC, said it was good for the University of Kansas' ROTC program that the Ranger Buddy Competition took place in Lawrence every year.
"It brings people to KU, brings money in and improves morale because we're all doing something together." Abel said.
This year's competition includes teams from the Big 12, such as Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska, as well as teams from the University of Minnesota and the University of Louisville.
WEEKEND TIMES ONLY! * ADULTS $7.50 * $5.50(MATINEE). SENIOR
The Ranger Buddy Competition is free and open to the public.
—Edited by Samuel Lamb
Theatre and film alumni return
》 PERFORMING ARTS
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awjobe@kancan.com
awiebe@kansan.com
Kansas alumnus Harry Parker talks to theater students about "how to be successful" with auditions Thursday at Murphy Hall. Theater alumni are holding workshops and events in Murphy Hall from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today.
This weekend more than 100 department of theatre and film alumni will descend on Murphy Hall as part of the fifth edition of "Alums Come Home."
For some like Sally Shedd, a 1998 graduate, coming back to Lawrence brought back a flood of memories. Shedd said her emotions hit her when she picked out a historic landmark on the horizon while driving to Lawrence.
"The moment I could start to see Fraser Hall I started to cry," Shedd said. "I love to come back. I absolutely love it."
The theme for the four-day reunion is "Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future." The weekend's events include a production of "The Shape of Things" by University Theatre, a play written by KU alumnus and professional playwright Neil LaBute, various workshops and a gala benefit auction and concert featuring singer and songwriter Kelley Hunt.
As a student, Shedd said, she participated in previous "Alums Come Home" events to network and learn about the profession from those in the field. Now a professor of theatre at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, Va., she said it felt different to be back as a one of a "tight-knit alumni group," but that many things about Murphy Hall remained the same, even the distinctive smell.
Gerald Koellsted, a 1970 graduate who is now a health inspector in Auburn, Ala., said returning to old stomping grounds was always rewarding. Koellsted said it wasn't
the first time he had been back, and that it was nice to see the progress the students are making.
“It's always good to return to the haunts of Murphy Hall,” he said.
Jack Wright, professor of theatre and film and director of "The Shape of Things," said the event was an invaluable opportunity for students to develop relationships with alumni that could help when they are searching for work after graduation.
Wright said that although students were disappointed LaBute was forced to miss "Alums Come Home" because of an unexpected commitment in London, they were still thrilled to perform in front of former students, their peers and the Lawrence community.
Although alumni won't be performing this weekend, some can't seem to avoid the lure of being on stage. Kathy Pryor, "Alums Come
performance
The University Theatre production of Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things" is at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Murphy Hall Tickets are on sale in the University Theatre Ticket Office, 864-3982.
Home" director, said she had seen more than one visitor posing for a picture in Murphy Hall's Crafton-Preyer Theatre. She said there were alumni who graduated as recently as two years ago as well as some returning more than 40 years after graduation.
"It is absolutely joyful to watch them walk into the building for the first time," she said.
GOVERNMENT
—Edited by Russell Davies
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Don't call them jihadists any more.
Language new target in war on terror
The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language.
And don't call al-Qaida a movement.
Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too.
The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.
For example, while Americans may understand "jihad" to mean "holy war," it is in fact a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do good, says the guidance prepared for diplomats and other officials tasked with explaining the war on terror to the public. Similarly, "mujahedeen," which means those engaged in jihad, must be seen in its broader context.
U. S. officials may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims," says a Homeland Security report. It's entitled "Terminology to Define the Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims."
"Regarding 'jihad,' even if it is accurate to reference the term, it may not be strategic because it glamorizes terrorism, imbues terrorists with religious authority they do not have and damages relations with Muslims around the world," the report says.
Language is critical in the war on terror, says another document, an internal "official use only" memorandum circulating through Washington entitled "Words that Work and Words that Don't: A Guide for Counterterrorism
Communication."
The memo, originally prepared in March by the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center, was approved for diplomatic use this week by the State Department, which plans to distribute a version to all U.S. embassies, officials said.
"It's not what you say but what they hear," the memo says in bold italic lettering, listing 14 points about how to better present the war on terrorism.
"Don't take the bait," it says, urging officials not to react when Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida affiliates speak. "We should offer only minimal, if any, response to their messages. When we respond loudly, we raise their prestige in the Muslim world."
"Don't compromise our credibility" by using words and phrases that may ascribe benign motives to terrorists.
The memo mirrors advice distributed to British and European Union diplomats last year to better explain the war on terrorism to Muslim communities there.
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