Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
kansan.com
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Poetry at Potter
Gretchen Snethen, Topeka freshman, writes in her journal as she enjoys the shade under a swaying willow tree at Potter Lake. Snethen, who hasn't decided on a major, said she would like to work with children and poetry. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Health educators push responsibility
By Livi Regenbaum
writer@kansan.com
Kanson staff writer
Samantha Newman hopes to prevent tragedy by educating students on living healthy and responsible lives.
Newman, Olathe senior, is a Peers Reaching Others health educator. As a community health major, being a health educator helped Newman to use her major to influence her peers to make healthy choices.
Bill Smith, health educator at Watkins, said becoming a certified peer educator was a way for students to get involved with the University and to interact with their peers in a helpful way.
The Center For Peer Health Education at Watkins Memorial Health Center hopes to get students involved in becoming certified peer educators in the fall. The certification training program is offered through the class Health, Sports & Exercise Science 265: Peer Health Advising, and also through the health education office at Watkins.
The certified peer education program is a 12-hour course in which students learn listening and communication skills in order to effectively speak to their peers about health issues. The certification is met through student groups BACCHUS and Gamma Peer Education Network. After certification, peer educators go out and speak to campus groups about a variety of health issues such as sex, self-esteem and alcohol.
"In general we tend to go to our friends before we go to a professionals," he said.
"It is a good opportunity for a student to strengthen their presentation and leadership skills."
Tyra Babington Coordinator for peer health education
"It is an opportunity to share information and encourage people to make good choices," he said.
Randall Rock, physician and medical director of health education at Watkins, said the program was a way for students to educate their peers.
Tyra Babington, coordinator for peer health education, said the program was a great way to strengthen one's communication skills.
"It is a good opportunity for a student to strengthen their presentation and leadership skills," she said.
Babington said the health education office was working to revitalize the campus group BACCHUS, a student organization which encourages students to make responsible choices. It is hoping to regain momentum in the fall.
Newman said it was important for students to become peer educators.
"Talk to people, get the word out there, tell them the embarrassing things," she said. "I want to let people know so we don't have to spend so much money on health care."
Americans not as multilingual
For more information on the Certified Peer Educator program, call the health education office at 864-9570.
Edited by Brandy Straw
University international students agree: English is the universal language
By Michelle Ward
writer @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Shung Ling Tan has studied English since preschool while learning Malaysia's traditional language, Malay, and Chinese from her Malaysian friends.
Tan is just one of many international students at the University of Kansas who can speak a number of languages. While they don't
fault American students for their lack of languages, international students say understanding several languages helps them communicate.
But they also said everyone must know English because it had developed into the universal language.
While English has blazed across Europe and the world, it might face a backlash as some countries try to hold onto their traditional languages.
"I think it's an advantage if you know more than one language," said Tan, Klang, Malaysia, junior. "The more languages you know the more you can interact with people."
Majid Ghavami, Overland Park junior, said Americans were brought up expecting everyone to understand English. He said many people would benefit from knowing a second language, to learn about different cultures and maybe find things that interest them.
people are curious," he said.
"They want to learn, but it's hard for them to take the initial step."
Ghavami grew up in America but in a Persian household. His first language was Farsi, and he said he was glad he learned it at an early age. While Farci was the only language spoken at his home, Ghavami had no problem learning English after watching Sesame Street and learning from his friends.
But Norman Yetman, chairman of American Studies, said Americans did not learn more languages because they didn't have to. English has become the international language, Yetman said, and it was a reflection of America's economic, political, military and cultural dominance.
Yetman said he traveled to Denmark 20 years ago and made a diligent effort to learn Danish. He did not want people to think of him as the "ugly American," but he could not get the language down. After he "murdered" a phrase, people would respond to him in perfect English. He said after he apologized for his poor language skills, people would tell him they had to learn English.
"We have a certain arrogance," he said. "We just expect the rest of the world will accept us."
The idea of English domination does not set well with all cultures. European countries are starting to fight back to keep their traditional national languages. France has passed a number of laws to protect the French language, The New York Times reported two weeks ago. French must be used in all advertising, labeling and instruction manuals.
Germans have eased a number of
English words into their language such as "flirt," "clever" and "baby." But more than half of the German people in a recent poll were against the use of English, according to the Times.
But Bettina von Helverson, Erlangen, Germany, graduate student, said she didn't think a full backlash would occur in her country or any other. English is used as the common language among too many people, she said.
While English is the dominate language used by von Helverson, she said Americans tried to speak German with her all the time. She said it was cute, not offensive or annoying, when people spoke in broken German to her.
"It's very important to learn English," von Helverson said. "You need it all the time, and don't think it destroys the purity of the language."
Editor's note: This is the second in a week-long series of stories about the way international students view American culture.
Edited by Melinda Weaver
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Your history Will Be Available In The Not-Too-Distant Future
If you ordered a Jayhawker Yearbook, it will be available May 16, 17 & 18 from noon-5 p.m. in the Kansas Union