CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, November 30.1993
3
Group aims to get youth involved
Lead ... or Leave works Washington for this generation
By Tracl Carl Kansan staff writer
Chris Fuller is worried that 76 million Americans between the ages of 12 and 32 are stepping up to a corporate ladder with the bottom rungs removed.
Fuller, 25, is field director for Lead ... or Leave, a nonpartisan campaign based in Washington that is working to give young Americans a boost to those higher rungs by helping them become more involved in politics that will affect their future.
"We don't have the kind of representation we need," he said. "We're getting slammed."
The organization, which has more than 100 chapters and 100,000 members nationwide, is working to organize and educate young people about their economic future, Fuller said. It also aims to educate Congress and the
White House on the problems young Americans face, he said.
"The attitude is students aren't going to vote, students aren't going to care," he said.
But Fuller said young Americans are concerned with the $4.3 trillion federal deficit, which increases more than $1 billion a day.
Its interest payments could be used to create permanent jobs, Fuller said. Two-thirds of all jobs created in 1992 were temporary, which do not usually have benefits.
"They don't have to give us benefits because they know we'll work," he said. "The job market is so competitive."
Retirement also may not be an option in the future. The Social Security Administration projects that the social security fund will be broke by the year 2019, even though young workers pay 20 times more in social security taxes today than their grandparents did 45 years ago.
"What we're fighting for is generational equity," he said. "There's an image of our generation as this MTVwatching, knee-jerk consumer, when many of us are disillusioned.
Lead ... or Leave has three goals to help Washington leaders plan for the future of young Americans:
"A lot of the members of our generation don't want to look ahead."
- Force the federal government to eliminate the budget deficit by 2000.
Lead ... or Leave was formed a year ago when its co-founders, Rob Nelson and Jon Cowan, asked congressional candidates in the 1993 election to promise to halve the federal deficit in four years or not seek re-election. Of the 101 candidates that took the pledge, 18 were elected to office.
Invest in the future by spending on education, job creation, repairing inner cities and cleaning up the environment.
Ensure the equity of U.S. economic policy for all ages. This includes stopping policies that shift wealth from the young to the old.
The campaign does not sponsor a certain politician or party. Fuller said.
"We're not trying to tell anyone how to vote," he said. "We're not trying to tell people how to think. We just want to get young people face to face with our leaders."
Chad Speakar, Cimarron senior.
There is an image of our generation as this MTV-watching,
knee-jerk
--consumer..."
Chris Fuller
Director for Lead ... or Leave
said he did not think young people were being ignored. It is just harder to be heard because so many people have a voice in government, he said.
He concentrates on taking care of himself, he said.
"I vote. I take a stance," he said. "I guess I'm just worried about my own future, rather than the future of my nation."
Talking about our generation
Lead ... or Leave and the University Daily Kansan are co-sponsoring a student survey to assess the level of participation and interest in politics. The results will be published and incorporated into a national report that will be sent to Congress and the White House. Surveys can be dropped in boxes outside the Student Union Activities office in the Kansas Union, the Kansan newsroom in Stauffer-Flint Hall and the lobby of Lewis Hall. The boxes will be collected on Thursday.
Are you worried about getting a job after graduation? YES NO
Will you have student loans to pay after you graduate? YES NO
Do you think it is harder to get a job now than it was when your parents were your age? YES NO
Do you think the U.S. government is doing enough to reduce the nation's
Do you plan on voting in the 1994 Congressional Election? YES NO
Do you feel young people are getting involved in politics? YES NO
Did you vote in the 1992 Presidential Election? YES NO
Do you think the U.S. government is doing enough to reduce the nation's deficit? YES NO
Do you plan on voting in the 1994 Congressional Election? YES NO
Do you feel that the economic future of our generation is in trouble? YES NO
Would you like information about Lead ... or Leave, an organization dedicated to protecting the economic future of young Americans? YES NO
What's your No. 1 political concern?
Those interested in Lead... or Leave may call 1-800-99-CHANGE.
Christmas market offers unusual gifts
Holiday shopping could help needy third-world family
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan staff writer
Kansan staff writer
Instead of the usual boring Christmas gifts of ties, salad shooters and Nerf footballs, students can shop just off campus for something unusual this year.
On the second floor of the Ecumenical Christian Ministries Center, 1204 Oread Ave., there are 18 tables heaped with handcrafted items from countries around the world on sale through Dec. 3 at the Christmas Giving Market.
Place mats and napkins woven in India, ceramic pitchers and mugs from Thailand, stockings from Bangladesh, woven baskets from the Philippines and jewelry from Kenya are a few of the items available.
The crafts are imported by Mennonite and Church of the Brethren agencies.
For the past five years a group of KU campus ministries has co-sponsored the sale. Not only are the gifts original, but the sales of the handcrafted gifts benefit third-world artisans and families in need.
Holcombe said the Christmas market not only benefited third-world artisans financially, but also gave
"This is an ideal way to allow international artisans to sustain themselves independently," he said. "It's a very worthwhile cause, and it stirs up local and global consciousness."
Tad Holcombe, campus pastor for Ecumenical Christian Ministries said there were few markets in third-world countries. He said that when artisans do find a market, many times people take advantage of them by buying their crafts in bulk at low prices and then selling them for high prices.
them hope for the future of their trade.
"It gives integrity to the craft and provides self-esteem for the artisans," he said. "It keeps alive a market that can be passed down from generation to generation that might otherwise die out."
Last year, sales from the Christmas market reached $8,800, so the market was expanded this year to the American Baptist Campus Center, 1629 W. 19th St. Holcombe said that on Sunday about $1,000 worth of merchandise was sold at the Christmas markets, but he said there was $11,000 worth of merchandise still available.
KU students, faculty and Lawrence citizens volunteer their time and labor for the Christmas market.
Mary Holzhausen, Topeka sophomore, discovered the Christmas market last year and volunteered to help this year because she knew it was for a worthy cause.
"You don't see stuff like this everyday," Holzhausen said. "I like to just come in and admire everything."
People can donate money and designate it for such items as chicks, pigs, rabbits or fish for hungry third-world families and communities through the Heifer Project International. Money for bricks, concrete and windows also can be donated to help provide decent housing for poverty-stricken families through Lawrence Habitat for Humanity.
For the second year, the Christmas market includes alternative gifts more unusual than the handcrafted items.
"It's a way to capture some of the true meaning of Christmas spirit by giving and helping those less fortunate."
Rod Stafford, pastor of the Peace Mennonite Church, said it took some time for people to catch on to the idea of giving a live animal for a Christmas gift. But he said it was a gift that promoted the true spirit of the holidays.
Valerie Bontrager / KANSAN
The Rev. Joseph S.T. Alford, KU chaplain for the Canterbury House, looks at some baskets from the Philippines. Alford browsed yesterday through handcrafted international gifts at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries building. The ECM has items for sale from around the world through this Saturday.
Black Poets Society encourages expression, education
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas was a turbulent place during the fall of 1990.
But in that time of racial tension and Gulf War protests on campus, a group of students found its voice through verse.
That semester, Lewis said, the verbal harassment of a female African-American pizza deliverer contributed to an atmosphere of tension.
"During any social movement, a lot of people express themselves through poetry," said John Lewis, a founding member of the Black Poets Society.
UNITING TO BE HEARD
Lewis, who graduated in spring of 1991
and now works in Kansas City, Mo., said the group provided an outlet for the frustrations of African-American students.
Although KU has calmed down since then, the Black Poets Society still serves the same purpose, said Curtis Triggs, St. Louis senior and president of the group.
The group's shows — which feature poetry readings by the authors — can be confrontational as well as artistic, Triggs said.
"It was a way for people to vent a lot of things about the Black experience," he said. "Poetry is an excellent vehicle."
"If the poetry is boring, then it's no use," he said. "We get enough boring poetry in classes."
"We don't try to offend," he said. "If you offend someone, you can't really educate them. It's like shouting. You can't educate somebody like that."
Any poetry fan — regardless of race — is welcome to join the group, Triggs said. He said their readings were not attended only by African Americans.
But Triggs said he did not want to force the group's poetry on people.
"We get mixed crowds, but we always get positive feedback," he said.
Triggs said the Black Poets Society often traveled to high schools in St. Louis and the
Kansas City area to read poetry. He said the readings showed potential college students that KU could be fun as well as academic.
In addition, the group wants to provide education for the audience at its shows, he said.
"We want them to walk away with a better appreciation of African-American literature that they probably didn't get in school," Trigssa said.
This year's group is relatively young, Triggs said. He said the group had spent its spring semester reading Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou and other African-American poets. The group's shows will begin next semester, he said.
Former KU director appointed by Finney to finance board
Keith Nitcher was appointed to the Kansas Development Finance Authority board of directors on Wednesday by Gov Joan Finney.
Nitcher retired in August as director of business and fiscal affairs at the University of Kansas. He had been at KU since 1957.
The authority board is a group created by the Legislature to issue bonds and arrange financing for public purposes such as construction and the purchasing of new equipment for state agencies.
Nitcher's appointment was effective immediately.
Nitcher said he was pleased to join the board of directors.
"I have a great deal of respect for the work of the staff," he said.
Justin Garberg, Overland Parksenior, was chosen as business manager. Garberg, an advertising major, is responsible for the Kansan's advertising.
The University Daily Kansan advisory board has chosen the business manager and editor for next semester.
Ben Grove, Davenport, Iowa, senior, was chosen as editor. Grove, a journalism major, is responsible for the Kansan's news content.
The advisory board consists of three faculty members of the School of Journalism, the current Kansan editor and business manager and a representative of Student Senate.
Campus briefs compiled from Kansan staff reports.
ON THE RECORD
A student's purse and its contents, valued together at $273, were taken in the 1600 block of West 25th Street on Nov. 23, Lawrence police reported.
A student's backpack and its contents, valued together at $121, were taken from the first floor of the Kansas Union on Nov. 23, Lawrence police reported.
A student's cellular phone and driver's license, valued together at $206, were taken from a car in the parking lot east of Jayhawker Towers on Wednesday or Thursday, KU police reported.
A student's blender, camera and miscellaneous clothes, valued together at $295, were taken from a residence in the 1700 block of West 19th Street between Wednesday and Saturday, Lawrence police reported.
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