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Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan / Friday, January 18. 1991
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Calmness urged by university statement
Administration's stance on civil liberty affirmed by gulf war statement
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas established its commitment to protect civil liberties on campus during the gulf war, the University administration said yesterday.
A statement by Chancellor Gene A Budig and Del Shankel, interim executive vice
chancellor, said the University community was an international one and all members of the community should express compassion and understanding for those affected by the Gulf war.
"In this environment, we affirm the principles of filtration." G
statement said. "The rights of all community members must be protected. Any attempt on campus to limit free speech of one another would fly in the face of the values of the University community and the tasks of the men and women serving in the Middle East.
'Any attempt on campus to limit free speech of one another would fly in the face of the values of the University community and the tasks of the men and women serving in the Middle East.'
- Gene A. Budig Chancellor
"Today's events call for stability and calmness in our community; it is a time for rational dialogue, debate and the free exchange of ideas."
Aida Dabbas, Manhattan, Kan., graduate student, left, yells anti-war chants during a peace rally at the gazebo in South Park.
Caryl Smith, dean of student life, said all members of the University should remain sensitive to the unique needs of this time and of these circumstances.
Shankel said there were several reasons for the statement.
KU police Lt. John Mullens that because this was an emotional time for many people, whether for family, political or moral reasons, between opposing viewpoints might be possible.
"want people to be confident that we will protect freedom of speech," he said. "It's a plea for people to act civilly. We want to assure that classes will continue."
Mullens said that the University existed to provide an open forum of debate and that KU police would help ensure that security for debate was maintained.
Both Shankel and Mullens said they did not expect any problems at the University because of the gulf war.
300 protest Desert Storm
But some object to rally, support Bush
By Katie Chipman.
Mark Spencer and Amy Francis
Keeps on work
More than 300 people rallied in South Park at 12:30 p.m. yesterday to protest Operation Desert Storm. The rally was organized by Voice, a campus peace group. Nearly 100 KU students, staff and faculty members participated in the rally.
The group met at Wescoe Hall and marched down Jayhawk Boulevard, ending up at South Park on 15th and Massachusetts streets. They went back to Strawberry Lane and the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice.
A few objectors were present, but most of the people at the rally shared the feelings of the group.
"This is not a war that the American people support," said Deborah Garner, assistant professor of political science. "This is not a war that had to happen."
David Brown, Lawrence resident and member of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice, said that millions of people across the country knew the war was senseless.
"The leaders of our country have ignored peace as an option," Brown said. "We will not stand for it, and in the coming days and the years we will be forced to send a message forth that we will not take it."
The Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice has met every Sunday since November and plans to continue protesting U.S. involvement in the Middle East, Brown said. The KU organization Voice meets every Tuesday and also has planned rallies until the pulk war ends.
Jean Rosenthal, Lawrence resident, said, "I don't feel war is something civilized people do. People have to be able to sit down and solve their problems in a different way."
Anthony Greb, Lawrence High School junior, missed classes to attend the protest.
"My cousin Ron is over there," he said. "My parents and grandparents have always told me they hope I never have to go to war. I don't think I can handle it."
Harold Piehler, Lawrence resident, said, "I'm loyal to my country. I always have been. But I still think we can have peace. You have to stand up for what you believe in."
Although the majority of the people gathered at the park supported the demonstration, there were some observers who said it was wrong to protest the war.
Joe Keating, Lawrence resident, said the protest came too late.
"I don't feel it's right to protest when we have people there." Keating said. "We had our fathers and grandfathers fight for us. What's wrong with us fighting for our own future?"
Nicole Antonopoulos, Lawrence senior listens to a speaker at the peace rally.
Interest up in class due to gulf war
By Mike I. Vargas Kapson staff writer
Kansan staff writer
John Calabrese, instructor in political science, originally was going to close his class, Politics of the Middle East, at 40 students.
Now, Calabrese said he had almost 70 students in a room with the capacity for 50. There are not enough seats in the room.
"I have at least eight to 10 students who chose to sit on the floor," he said. Calabrese said that although the United States had been involved in the 2003 attacks before, nothing of this scale or potential importance ever had occurred.
Because the Persian Gulf crisis began in August, an extraordinary n u m b e r o f students have been interested in courses dealing with the Middle East. Interest has increased even more since the outbreak of war Wednesday. Calabrese said
Many students are trying to get into the class because they have the misconception that the course will be taught by the Persian Gulf crisis, he said.
However Calibrese explained that the course also covered other regional conflicts, including the Iraqi revolution and the Iraq-Iran war.
He said that the Middle East was a vast region and that the different cultures, religions, values and customs were complex.
Even though current events are important in understanding issues in the region, Calabrese said that current events alone could not explain them.
He said the Middle East mocked attempts to squeeze its history in one semester.
Elaine Sharp, chairperson of the political science department, said it was difficult to tell how much interest in the course had increased because most classes were filled during the enrollment process.
Calabrese said the class was one of the few courses in the political science department that focused on the Middle East.
Two other courses in the political science department. Contemporary Issues in World Politics and Introductory Theory will concentrate on the gulf crisis.
Owen DeLong, the graduate teaching assistant who teaches both courses, said that he would cover the gulf war extensively and that many students had expressed interest in the courses.
Students last semester were not as serious as the students this semester. DeLong said. Last semester's students were not as conscious of the Middle Eastern conflict and saw the crisis as an abstract event.
DeLong said, "Now, this is affecting them directly."
Director of study abroad says students in no danger from Middle East
By Eric Nelson
Kansan staff writer
Despite war in the Persian Gulf, the University of Kansas has made no plans to cancel its study abroad programs.
Mary Elizabeth Debicki, director of study abroad, said yesterday in a news release that the program has contacted students worldwide and urged them to continue their daily activities while keeping a low profile. Most study-abroad students are in Western Europe.
More than 600 KU students participate in the program annually in 45 countries and more than 100 cities outside the United States.
"Students, parents, faculty and administration may be assured we are continuously monitoring the situation through our contacts overseas and through state department advisors." she said.
Carrie Fleider, Overland Park junior, returned Tuesday night after
Although Debicki said many study-broad students returned to the United States during midterm break, Ford left early because his final exams were administered early, and he was unable for Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.
being in Israel since mid-October.
Michael Ford, Chicago, IL, senior,
had been studying at Hebrew
University in Jerusalem before
returning home to Chicago on Jan.
11.
"I finished them early in accordance with the new school policies."
Ford said. I also left on my own accord before the State Department approved the plan.
"It is not traditional for Westerners to be welcomed in the past to educational institutions and countries in the Middle East," she said.
Debicik said that Israel, a westernized nation, was generally the only country in the region included in the program.
Debiki said the educational opportunities in Israel were excellent at the two principal schools involved in the exchange, Hebrew University
and Tel Aviv University.
"Every year we have a number of KU students studying in those institutions." she said.
Debicki said students who had studied abroad, including Ford, had said the experience had been memorable. With all students out of the region, the department will continue to study the worldwide situation.
"As the days go on, we will continue to monitor the situation and will keep all those concerned apprised of our decisions." Debicki said.
Ford and Fleider both said they
planned to attend the next semester in Israel begin Feb. 24. Both said they planned to return to Israel, even though it was being attacked by Iran
"I'm sure that Israel will survive." Fleider said.
"At this moment, I am planning to go back unless something drastic happens," he said.
Ford said he would consider a world war, but not last night's bombing of israel, drastic.