Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Slam poet Alix Olson breaks into verse during a poetry writing workshop, put on by Queers and Allies. Olson talked about her experience as a poet, running an after-school program on slam poetry at a gay and lesbian high school in Manhattan, N.Y. She taught the group a few new poetry writing techniques. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Slammin' and jammin'
Kansan staff writer
New York poet's rhythm hits hard during Pride Week
By Danny Phillips
Slam poet Alex Olson doesn't get to Kansas very often.
In fact, this is the first time the lesbian artist has visited Lawrence, which is interesting for her because it's not far from the Rev. Fred Phelps' home.
She said she was intrigued by someone that diligent in his convictions, because she was diligent about her own beliefs.
Olson, who played host to a poetry workshop yesterday as part of Queers & Allies Pride Week, has become nationally recognized.
"He's the oppression star. I want his autograph," Olson said in all seriousness about the Topeka minister infamous for his hatred of homosexuals.
She's a member of the 1998 Nuyorican National Championship Poetry Slam team, and spends four
One student at yesterday's workshop was struck.
"I think she's amazing," Renee Horinek, Topea sophomore, said. "I was in awe."
months each year performing at venues across the country.
Olson said poetry started at a grass-roots level, and the purpose of slam poetry, an often satirical take on political and social issues, was to give ordinary people a voice about their thoughts on art.
"It takes the judgment of art out of the hands of literary critics," Olson said. "It's a mockery of the critique of art."
Judges at slam poetry competitions are picked randomly from the audience, even at the national championship.
"Who gets to judge art? Anyone who shows up," she said.
Olson displayed her spoken-word talents during the workshop with a high-energy recitation of her poem "America's On Sale," a biting political
satire on U.S. culture. But she spent most of her time answering students' questions and leading them through a poetry activity.
She had the workshop participants pair with somebody they didn't know and asked the couples to share one thing in detail they noticed during the day. While one person was talking, the other would write down the details of the story.
Olson then had the students tweak their prose by replacing certain words with images, altering the pattern and adding self-analysis. In the end, the participants had poems that were a mismatch of real and fictional experiences.
Wiccan, Pagan religions often distorted
As for her own poetry, Olson said she hoped it energized people and made them think.
"I say everything I think in my poetry." she said. "I have great faith in one-on-one conversation."
New organization hopes to quell myths
By Sarah Smarsh
—Edited by Jacob Roddy
Theresa Ouderkirk, Desoto sophmore and the group's treasurer, said many people viewed Wiccans and Pagans as shady characters.
"The stereotypes are that Wiccans and Pagans are evil, and that all of them are goths," Ouderkirk said.
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
That's one of the messages the Wiccan-Pagan Alliance hopes to convey.
The group, a campus organization formed two months ago, aims to provide a forum for information on the Wiccan and Pagan religions — and to dispel myths.
Most witches aren't evil.
Ouderkirk pointed out that both religions encompassed a broad range of practices.
"It is an emphasis on the good energies of the world around us," she said. "The Wiccan religion is rarely evil."
"There are many ways to study both of them." she said.
Larissa Rothe, Salina sophomore, is the organization's president and founder. She said during her two years of being a Wiccan other people had mixed reactions to her practice.
Ouderkirk said the organization's secretary was a Mormon, while some members focused on Native American philosophies.
"Most people I meet, their first
Ouderkirk said she did not describe herself as part of either religion, but she knew a lot about Wiccan beliefs, based largely on symbols, seasonal days of celebration and delites from Celtic society.
"The stereotypes are that
Wiccans and Pagans are evil."
Theresa Ouderkirk
Wiccan-Pagan Alliance treasurer
reaction is, 'Do you worship Satan? Do you slaughter animals?" she said with a laugh, adding that most people became very accepting once they understood the religion.
Understanding Wiccans and Pagans can be complicated. Wiccans often consider themselves witches and Pagans, but Pagans are not necessarily Wiccans. The dictionary defines a "pagan" as one who is not Christian, Muslim or Jewish, but current associations with the term are vast. The Wiccan-Pagan Alliance, which includes witches,
animists and druids, aims to clarify those associations.
Jenn Old, vice president of the group, said the organization's weekly meetings of about eight people offered a chance to ask questions, learn about and explore the religions.
Old, Bonner Springs junior,
described the meetings, 8 p.m.
Wednesdays in Hashinger Hall, as
"laid-back." Members do not practice
their religions at the gatherings;
rather, recent meetings have included
informative speeches on herbs,
oils, tarot cards and runes. One member's mother led a discussion on educating family members about Pagan and Wiccan practices, Old said.
Rothe said she hoped the group would expand and continue to meet during the next school year. The Wiccan-Pagan Alliance is still seeking a faculty adviser, she said.
— Edited by Brandy Straw
Racial profiling making slow, steady progress
The Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. — Lawmakers ended a month of hearings on racial profiling with testimony yesterday from police who said only a few officers continued to target drivers on the basis of race.
Past hearings have included testimony from New Jersey Attorney General John J. Farmer Jr., who said profiling was still widely practiced. In testimony earlier this month, Farmer said minorities stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike accounted for nearly three-fourths of all people searched by state troopers last year.
But trooper Ed Lennon, head of the State Police Fraternal Association, said statistics that suggested racial profiling conti-
ues were "secondhand, innuendo
out of context or ancient history."
David Leonardis, director of training for the state police, said only a small percentage of troopers were profiling motorists and sensitivity training was slowly making a difference.
The hearings have led several senators to call for the impeachment of state Supreme Court Justice Peter G. Verniero, who acknowledged the existence of racial profiling in 1999 when he was attorney general, because the recent hearings produced evidence that Verniero gave incomplete or misleading testimony about his knowledge of the practice during his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. He has denied the allegations.
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