NEWS
MONDAY.MARCH 27.2006
4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Basketball
"If I didn't expect there to be fallout when you don't perform well, I shouldn't have taken the job," Self said. "One thing they should be is they should be proud of this team. If they are not proud of this team they are not Kansas fans."
Other younger players on the team said they felt bad for the seniors, but chose to use the loss as fuel for next season.
"I am really hurt for them more than myself," sophomore center CJ Giles said of the seniors. "I can just use this as motivation and work harder this summer."
The Jayhawks will return their top seven scorers next season and already have commitments from a McDonald's All-American, Chicago's Sherron Collins.
"We want to remember this for this unit, this year and remember this feeling and just
prepare twice as hard," freshman forward Julian Wright said. "It starts with conditioning, weights, individual improvement, everything that helps the team."
Freshman guard Brandon Rush, who was visibly distraught, announced that he would return to Kansas for his sophomore season. Rush lead the team in scoring with 13.5 points.
"I was still undecided at the time of the game and once the game is over I am for sure coming back next year," Rush said. "It's best for the whole team to come back next year and be strong."
Kansas will still be a young team next year, but will be more experienced because freshmen and sophomores played the majority of the team's minutes this season.
"The good thing is these guys have a chance to come back next year and try to make amends, as much as we can," Self said.
Self said that he would still
sit down with Rush in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of him coming back this year. Rush said that he couldn't walk out on his teammates after this year.
"It's kind of sad that we don't have any more basketball left and we just have school to deal with for the rest of the year," Rush said. "That's kind of sad for me because I don't like school."
Self will continue to recruit during the offseason. He said he was primarily looking for another post player or another guard. Kansas is a finalist for high school senior power forward Darrell Arthur. The Dallas native is the top rated player who hasn't committed to a college. He is rated the 19th best high school prospect in the nation, according to rivals.com's Top 150.
"We will still be very young next year, but we will be a more veteran team," Self said.
Blue
— Edited by Lindsey Gold
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
So when Richard Schlesinger, longtime correspondent for 48 Hours and the CBS Evening News, began his research for a story on penmanship, he came across Blue's name and interviewed her over the phone in November.
Schlesinger and a CBS crew came to campus on Feb. 22, and filmed one of Blue's poetry classes. Schlesinger's piece featuring Blue is scheduled to air tonight on the CBS Evening News at 5:30 p.m.
"I'm too old to be in college, but I loved watching her teach. She has an enthusiasm for the subject that draws everyone in." Schlesinger said.
Blue is well-known for having her students write in-class essays. Over the years Blue has seen many essays that were good, bad, ugly and even unreadable. So how are students' penmanship these days?
"Bad. Terrible." Blue said. She blamed it on students' lack
of practice." They don't get graded on penmanship. The schools don't have time."
In the on-going debate about education, Blue said that learning good penmanship doesn't rank with subjects such as history, math and science.
Blue suggested children should start writing early and use the D'Nealian handwriting system, which is a script that is used to make it easier to connect cursive letters. She also suggested that schools should grade on penmanship.
Blue said the English department does not advocate lowering grades for sloppy handwriting, but teachers reserve the right to reject illegible work.
Blue does not lower grades because of bad handwriting, but always keeps a magnifying glass handy for the miniscule print.
"I just fret over it when I can't read students' writing. And since I have them do so much in-class writing, it can be a problem." Blue said.
If students' handwriting doesn't improve, or gets even
worse. Blue said she would continue having her students write in-class essays because they are an important part of learning to write well. Blue discussed the dwindling art of handwriting during her on-camera interview with Schlesinger, who was quite impressed.
"Interviewing her was a blast. She makes her points with a sense of humor and the clarity of someone who is completely comfortable with the subject matter and with her self," Schlesinger said.
Through it all, Blue seemed at ease and unaffected by the CBS hoopla.
"I don't get nervous about such things. When I am teaching, I am totally focused on teaching. When I teach poetry, students' eyes light up and they obviously really, really enjoy it. When I am talking about a subject I am interested in, I am so totally focused on my subject that I almost forget where I am," Blue said.
Edited by Janiece Gatson
IMMIGRATION
Tom Dodge/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Demonstrators rally for immigration reform Sunday outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio
Senate mulling over future of immigrants
BY NEDRA PICKLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Founded by immigrants and praised as a haven for the oppressed, the United States now is struggling to decide the fate of as many as 12 million people living in the country illegally.
The Senate takes up the emotional debate on the heels of weekend rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people protesting attempts to toughen laws against immigrants. Among the ideas that President Bush and members of Congress are considering:
Erecting a fence on the Mexico border to deter illegal immigration.
the country legally as custodians, dish washers, construction workers and other lowpaid employees.
Allowing foreigners to stay in
Treating people who sneak across the border as feiors to be deported.
- Allowing those working in the U.S. a path to citizenship.
Requiring them to get in line behind everyone else back in their home countries who want to become Americans.
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the issue and Bush headlines a naturalization ceremony for 30 new citizens at Constitution Hall. Demonstrations are planned near the Capitol, including a prayer service with immigration advocates and clergy who plan to wear handeuffs to demonstrate the criminalization of immigration violations.
Rice said Sunday it's important that Mexico "recognize the importance of defense of the borders and of American laws."
Bush is going to Mexico this week for a meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Protests raged across the country over the weekend, led by more than 500,000 people who marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday in one of the largest demonstrations for any cause in recent U.S. history. Marchers also took to the streets in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Dallas and Columbus, Ohio.
The president, working hand-in-hand with the business community that relies on cheap labor, is pressuring Congress to allow immigrants to stay in the country legally if they take a job that Americans are unwilling to do.
Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., also supports the idea and has vowed that his committee will advance a bill to the full Senate on Monday, even if they have to work "very, very late into the night."
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