Section A · Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, April 3, 2001
KU Baha'is say others don't understand their faith
By Dawn North Special to the Kansan
Talk of Easter egg hunts, new spring clothes and marshmallow Peeps flows alongside more serious discussions of religious themes this time of year.
Christians resolve what they will give up for Lent, Muslims celebrate Haji and Jews prepare for Passover.
But there is one religion that students might not hear about this spring — the Baha'i faith.
Justin Herrmann, Topeka junior and president of the KU Baha'I Club, said that many people had never heard of the religion.
"Most people think Baha'i is one syllable and has something to do with sexual orientation," he said with a slight grin. "But it's two syllables and is pronounced 'buhi.'"
The Baha'i faith is an international religion with 6.5 million followers worldwide, 140,000 of whom reside in the United States, said Pamela Barrett, representative for the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Ill. But the faith
is virtually unknown to most Americans.
Herrmann said the religion worshipped the same god as Christianity, Judaism and Islam but followed a different prophet. Baha'u'llah.
Herrmann said that even though he didn't celebrate the same holidays as the other kids in his neighborhood, he didn't really feel left out. He said that his extended family were all Christians, so at Christmas they would exchange gifts with them.
"Unity of races and unity of genders are major principles of Baba'i, so anything that would cause arguments or conflict is avoided," he said.
The Baha'a religion was founded by Baha'u'lallah, a nobleman from Iran, in 1841 when he received a revelation from God. Larry Sliker, a member of the local spiritual assembly of the Lawrence Baha'a Community, said that this manifestation did not replace the messages of earlier prophets, but enhanced their teachings.
Baha's is call this the principle of progressive revelation. As they progress
through life, more and more new things are revealed to them.
Ahdieh Khoshasabeghhe, Tehran,
Iran, junior, compared her faith to
learning math in elementary school.
She said one learned a little more every
year, until one day "you just get it."
Although there are Baha'i followers in at least 188 different countries, the largest concentration of believers is in India and Iran. However, Khoshsabegheh said she fled Iran in 1997 because Baha'is were not allowed to attend college or to speak of their religion except to other Baha'is.
Kevin Hinegardner, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, doesn't have as dramatic a tale to tell, but he, too, said he had been on a spiritual journey.
He was baptized a Methodist, and when he was 14, his father converted to the Baha'i faith. Hinegardner said he had gone to a few services with his dad, but had no real support group.
He said that it felt right to become closer to God in the ways Baha'u'lah talked about.
Herrmann said that one of the most
The KU Bahei'i Club meets at 7 p.m. Mondays at the Regionalist Room in Kansas Union.
KU BAHA'1 CLUB
Worship services are at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at the Ecumenical Christian
Church.
For more info, contact gusm
Herrmann at
Herrmann@eecs.ukans.edu
Minisite, 1043 Great Ave.
For more info, contact Justin
Herrmann at
Herrmann@eecs.ukans.edu
lawrence.org, www.us.bahoi.org
distinctive aspects of the faith is its unity.
"The religion has not broken into sects or sub-groups," he said.
Baha'is, like those in many other religions, are not only concerned with the 70 or 80 years lived on earth, he said. Herrmann said that his faith determined how he lived his life.
"Our purpose is to develop our souls, because when our bodies die, our souls live on," he said.
Edited by Melinda Weaver
Bill Ecomiak, an Inuit storyteller from northwest Canada, shares his knowledge of the Baha'i faith, a religion that warships the Christian God but follows a different prophet. He spoke to the KU Bahai'i club last night in the Kansas Union. Photo by E. M. Hedinger/ KANSAN
Dancers cover up for drinkers
By Erin Adamson
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Bada Bing is trading fully nude dancers for a liquor license.
The City Commission approved a liquor license at last Tuesday's meeting for the club at 913 North Second St. in North Lawrence.
Dave Corliss, assistant city manager, said one condition for Bada Bing receiving the license was that the dancers could no longer be completely nude. Under Lawrence law, a drinking establishment license prohibits nudity.
Some students who patronize the club may be willing to accept the trade-off.
Justin Montag, Olathe senior, said he would prefer alcohol to nude dancers and that changing the club to a bar atmosphere would be more appealing.
"I think more people would go," he said.
Montag thought The Out House, another local strip club located at 1837
N. 1500 Road, would remain popular with students because customers could bring their own alcohol.
Brock Batten, Overland Park senior, thought Bada Bing could lose customers if it changed its business.
"I think it's a step backwards," he said. "You can go to the Flamingo and get a buffet. You don't get naked girls, but you get a buffet. I can go to The Out House and get naked girls and bring my own booze. At Bada Bing, now it's like you're paying for drinks, no buffet and no naked girls."
Commissioner Erv Hodges said he had reluctantly approved the liquor license last week because the city had no legal reason to deny the license.
"I think there's a hesitancy on my part that we're creating a market for almost unclothed people in a liquor store." he said.
Hodges said the liquor license ordinance described how much clothing dancers must wear — and it wasn't much.
Hodges asked that Bada Bing's license be reviewed three months from the date of issue to review any
Bada Bing exotic dance club, 913 N. Second St., is trading full nudity for a liquor license and will begin to serve alcohol this week. A representative of the club said the decision was "strictly financial." Photo by Aaron Showalter/KANSAN
calls to the police, parking problems or neighborhood disturbances caused by the bar.
Keith McDuff, general manager of Bada Bing, said the club hoped to beginservingalcoholtomorrownight.
He said the club had hired security guards and doormen to accommodate the change in business.
Students to raise money for AIDSRide
Edited by Leita Schuites
By Sarah Smarsh
By Sarah Smarsh
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Three University of Kansas students are bringing music — and money — to the AIDS cause.
The students, with the help of the Lawrence community, will have an AIDS benefit concert at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. Proceeds from the concert will support individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS in the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chicago areas.
The Granada has donated its building for a concert, which will feature Brent Berry and the Secondhands, Space Pocket, Revelry Trio and The Roundups. A short video will also be shown, along with a brief talk aimed at educating attendees about the difference individuals can make in the lives of AIDS victims. The event will also include a raffle.
The concert is part of the commitment of the group, which includes a Lawrence resident and two Kansas City residents, to raise $12,500 before
embarking on a 500-mile, six-day bike ride with the Heartland AIDSRide. The trek, one of five Tanqueray AIDS rides across the country that started in California in 1994, will begin Monday, July 9 in Minnesota's Twin Cities and end in downtown Chicago. The group, TeamSunflower, will ride with more than 1,700 bikers from across the country in an effort to raise more than $5 million.
Sarah Lawton, Overland Park junior, participated in the AIDSRide last year. She said her decision this year to participate stemmed from meeting inspiring people at last year's ride. Entry fees per individual carries requires $2,500 that is sent to HIV/AIDS nonprofit service organizations
"You meet so many people who are living with HIV/AIDS and are so positive," she said.
Lawton said the ride was a supportive—not competitive—event.
She said she hoped the concert and the AIDS ride would spread a message to people in her age group, as half of those diagnosed with HIV annually are younger than 25.
"The college population needs to be aware that they are in a risk group," Lawton said.
David Braham, Houston senior,
initiated the idea for the Granada
concert. Hesaid Team Sunflower also
wrote letters to family and friends in
search of donations, but hoped that
the concert would raise $7,000.
Braham said he was committed to helping dispel myths about HIV/AIDS as a homosexual disease.
The third student participating, Sarah Dehart, Lawrence senior, could not be reached for comment.
"Being a White, heterosexual male and not having AIDS makes me want to help spread that message," he said. "This concert is a chance to spread that awareness through education."
The students are on a team of six individuals who will be riding in the AIDSRide.
Last year, the Tanqueray AIDSRisers raised $5.5 million, making it the largest AIDS fund-raiser in history.
Edited by Jennifer Valadez
The Great Bird Migration
Email from Falcon, Eagle, & KUHUB to Exchange Web sites from Falcon, Eagle, & KUHUB to People
Students
Bye Bye Birdies for student email service and Web sites by
Migrate your email & Web site online at:
www.ku.edu/computing/students/migration.shtml
or
See a demo & get hands-on help: www.ku.edu/acs/training/migration
Faculty/Staff Migration May 2002: www.ku.edu/computing/faculty
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