2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8. 2006
"Quote of the Day"
"When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won't do to get it, or what he doesn't believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn't believe in freedom."
Malcolm X
F act of the Day
What's the deal with the # symbol? It's known in the United States as the "pound sign", and is sometimes used as a symbol for a pound of weight. The British, who use the libra (£) for a pound of weight, are confused by this. The strangest name for # is "octothorpe", which is said to have been invented in the '60s by an employee of Bell Laboratories in honor of the great American athlete Jim Thorpe.
Source: askoxford.com
KANSAN.COM
The University of Kansas Serving
Wondering what people are talking about? Here's a list of Tuesday's most e-mailed stories from Kansan.com:
1. "Haunted Kitchen" may be demolished despite occupation
2. Awards rain down on Hawks
3. Chavez: Young team brings home great record and will feel right at home in March
4. Editorial Board: Liberal arts students need better advising
5. KU Info will reopen with improvements
BY ERIN CASTANEDA
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Thom Alexander is the executive director of Americana Music Academy at 1419 Massachusetts St. He received a master's degree in social studies education, and is working on a second one in museum studies, Americana Music Academy was recently chosen by the city commissioners to occupy the Carnegie Library on Ninth and New Hampshire streets.
Q: What is the best thing about moving into the Carnegie Library?
A: The Carnegie Library is a totally boss building. It is three times the size of our house now, so we can support enough of a student base to grow for the next 10-20 years without moving.
Also, it gets the building opened up so the community at large can have access to it again.
The original intention of Carnegie Library was for the community to be able to access culture, letters and art. That's why I am so excited because we can do that.
Q: How will your museum studies degree help you?
A: I always planned on doing an archive of folk music history at the academy, and museum studies seemed like the most appropriate program for me to get fundamental rounding for these things. If I've got a degree I'll probably get a lot more support from museum organizations. They look at museums and help them before individual groups, so I have the opportunity to do it right and have connections for foundation money.
Thom Alexander Director of Americana Music Academy
Q: What exactly are you archiving?
A: Primarily guitar, but I also play the bass and mandolin. I started in June of 1963.
A: The regional music roots of the area. All folk music is based on stuff that happened from the time this area was settled until now, and includes rock 'n' roll and more. But I do not want to archive jazz because it has been covered as much as it is ever going to be covered here since this is area is one of the jazz centers of the world. Folk and other music is not as documented.
Q: What instruments do you
play?
Q: What do you think is one of the biggest misconceptions about American Music Academy?
strength in the community?
the biggest misconceptions in Americana Music Academy?
A: Probably that people think we are just some sort of guitar school. Americana has a three-pronged mission. One is the archive. Two is teaching and learning to keep American roots music alive, because it is more than the guitar, it is the mandolin, dulcimer, banjo, country fiddle, bowed saw and more. And three, to increase music therapy for handicapped kids. It is a very good form of help for people with neurological disorders. It helps my son tremendously with his disability. We need to expand music therapy, and I'm going to be the guy to do it.
Q: What is Americana's greatest
strength in the community?
A: It is about making our community stronger through music and being able to help folks who don't have access to any kind of instrumentation. It is self-entertainment, something that people have been doing for thousands of years, even 30-40 years ago the tradition was strong but it's starting to get lost. People just don't pick up an instrument for the enjoyment of it. People are turned into sedentary stuff like iPods, the computer or TV. It is not something that is uniquely out of them.
Q: What is one of the challenges to teaching music?
A: Nothing is really hard as long as the teacher understands the subject matter and knows how to communicate it to people with different learning styles. You have to understand how to communicate, and a lot of people don't.
You don't want to spend a month with someone and feel like you aren't progressing. Learning and teaching comes in little teeny steps ... put them together and soon you have a long road behind you.
Q: If you had one dream day to do anything you wanted what would you do?
A: If I had one dream day I would like to sit and drink beer with Paul McCartney or Jimi Hendrix and just talk music.
Early morning pileup
This aerial view shows rescue crews as they attend to an accident Tuesday, involving 13 tractor-trailers and several cars on a foggy highway near Beille Glade, Fla. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, six people were injured and two critically in the early morning pileup. Authorities believe thick fog led to the pileup on U.S. 27 in south Florida causing a tanker truck to rear-end another from behind, causing it to exploded in flames.
Thomas Cordv/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ON CAMPUS
Ed Quick and Steve Nelson, former Congressional staffers, will share "Stories from Capitol Hill" at noon at the Malott Room in the Kansas Union. Free pizza and soda will be provided.
Mona Mwakalinga, Fulbright graduate student in theatre and film, will give a lecture titled "Globalization and the Film Industry in Tanzania: The Emergence of Video Films" at noon at Alcove G in the Kansas Union. The lecture is sponsored by the Kansas African Studies Center.
Ecumenical Christian Ministries is sponsoring a lecture on the Balkans as part of its University Forum Series at noon in the ECM Center. An optional lunch is offered for $3 for students and $5.50 for others.
Alan Cobb, Dole Fellow, is presenting a seminar titled "Citizens vs. The Man: How One Person Can Make a Difference & How Ballot Campaigns Differ from Political Campaigns" at 4 p.m. in the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.
Jonathan Mayhew, Spanish and Portuguese, is presenting a seminar on "Some Episodes in the Reception of Lorca in the U.S." at 4 p.m. at the Seminar Room in the Hall Center for the Humanities.
Christopher Brown and Gary Richard are giving a lecture entitled "Brazil, the Challenges Ahead" at 6 p.m. at room 305 in the Burge Union.
Student Union Activities is showing the film "Iron Jawed Angels" at 7 p.m. at the Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
- The second annual Women's Transitional Care Services concert is at 9 p.m. at The Jackpot Saloon.The event is 18 to enter, and $5 at the door.
ON THE RECORD
Someone broke the front window of Ray's Liquor Warehouse, 1215 W. 6th St., and stole a neon sign and an unknown amount of liquor between 3:10 and 3:20 a.m. Monday. The damage to the window and theft of the neon light is estimated at $1,000.
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