THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 121
STREET SMARTS
Week inspires local activism
Author Greg Mortenson reads to girls in one of more than 170 schools he's built in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Lied Center
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
SHAUNA BLACKMON
SBLACKMON@KANSAN.COM
This week, students will be taking to the streets, but not for basketball or a downtown parade. Instead, hundreds of students will come together to raise awareness of social issues in the community and help those in need.
Into the Streets Week, hosted by the Center for Community Outreach, is an annual event "dedicated to promote volunteerism and civic engagement on campus and in Lawrence," Megan Watson, co-coordinator of the event, said.
The week kicks off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Lied Center with a lecture from Greg Mentionson, coauthor of New York Times bestseller "Three Cups of Tea." Mortenson's book recounts his failed attempt to climb the world's second-highest mountain, K2 in Pakistan, and how, after becoming weak and lost on his descent and receiving aid from a village in Pakistan, he was inspired to construct more than 170 schools in some of the most remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On his website, Mortenson says he hopes, with this book and his work, to replace guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading and books with bombs. Students can pick up a
free ticket for the lecture in the SUA office in the Kansas Union.
Into the Streets Week is focused on what is called The Big Event, a one-day service project that originated at Texas A&M in 1982 and is new to the University this year. With the help of Student Senate and Student Union Activities, volunteers will meet at the Memorial Stadium at 10 a.m. Thursday to be assigned a volunteer project for the day.
"We want to introduce students to something they wouldn't have
otherwise known about," Watson said. "It's important to give back to the community we are so a part of."
the community we work in.
Amilia Winter, a freshman from Kansas City, Kan., is trying to involve her sorority, Kappa Delta, in different projects throughout the week.
"I think it is great for students to be involved; this is a time when we are growing and really entering society. We are the future of the United States, and in order to be successful we need to understand what is going on around us," Winter said.
Students have multiple opportunities to volunteer throughout the week and most days have multiple events. Some events are smaller and will only take a few hours, like the benefit show at the Jackpot on Friday, where hip-hop artists Ben Kress, Dutch Newman and Soul Servers will perform. Some projects are a little larger, such as the Fast for Change, which will also be on Friday. The students who choose to fast for the day will donate the money they would have otherwise
spent on food to Jubilee Café, which feeds Lawrence's homeless.
"To make a change, one has to start with themselves and the community around them," Winter said. "So as a campus, we students should be aware of our city, not just the campus. We live in Lawrence and make up a lot of the people in this town, so we should help out and take care of it."
Edited by Amanda Sorell
CAMPUS
Work limits GTA union's political involvement
BY JONATHAN SHORMAN
jshorman@kansan.com
Jay LaPrete/ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
While new legislation around the country, from Wisconsin to Kansas, has targeted labor unions, one group at the University of Kansas has reason to pay special attention.
Jay LaPrete/ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Tom Fagan, of Dayton, protests against Senate Bill 5 at the Ohio statehouse yesterday in Columbus, Ohio. The bill would strip public employees of collective bargaining rights.
The Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition (GTAC) acts as a union for all teaching assistants at the University. Teaching assistants at the University have been able to bargain for contracts since 1994. Since then, TAs have gained healthcare, a minimum salary and other benefits.
Melinda Toumi, a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Advancing Medical Applications - a KU program, is the GTAC treasurer. She said that although the union negotiates a contract for all teaching assistants, only a small number actually belong to the union.
cult, Toumi said.
Anti-union sentiment makes organizing at the University diffi-
("Anti-union feeling) is absolutely not from the faculty and its absolutely not from the students," Toumi said. "Kansas is not exactly a right to work state."
Raising awareness and appreciation for labor unions is a challenge to GTAC, Toumi said.
recent legislation, through posts and links on its Facebook page.
"The biggest problem we face at GTAC is that people in academia aren't always familiar with labor unions, and unless you're a history professor, you may not know they've given us the 40-hour work week, overtime, pay and safety regulations, the weekend, all these things that make working not slavery and even enjoyable." Toumi said.
Though Toumi said most members of GTAC had not been politically active regarding recent legislation because of how much work graduate students have, the Kansas Association of Public Employees (KAPE), which is affiliated with GTAC, has pushed back against
In Kansas, a bill moving through the legislature, HB 2130, would prohibit unions from using paycheck deductions from members for political activity. The bill has passed the House and is in the Senate.
Supporters of the bill say it gives workers more choice in how they spend their paycheck.
"While this is a tremendous step toward increasing personal freedom, it also reduces the cost of labor in the state, making Kansas a competitive location for business which in turn results in more Kansas jobs." Rep. Terry Calloway said in a statement.
In Wisconsin, Democratic lawmakers left the state to prevent legislation that will end the ability of public employee unions to bargain for benefits other than wages. The bill eventually passed, though its implementation has been halted by
a restraining order.
Back on campus, Toumi said her main desire was to see fair agreements between teaching assistants and the school.
"What I would like to see is teaching assistants and their employers coming to an agreement that they both can agree upon and have that agreement honored," Toumi said.
CAMPUS
KU on Wheels might add West Clinton Parkway route
Some of the apartment complexes that would benefit with the addition of the new route include: Quail Creek, The Greens at Alvamar, Parkway Commons, Lorimar Townhomes, Legends Place, Remington Square and The Grove.
The finance committee approved the plan last night. It will move to Full Senate on April 6. If the plan passes Full Senate, it will be put on the Student Senate election ballot to be voted on by students April 13-14.
A proposed increase of $7.80 to the campus transportation fee would add a bus route along west Clinton Parkway next school year.
- Edited by Sarah Gregory
—Source: Derek Meier, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels
2,000 students would be served every 20 minutes on a route that covers 9.5 miles, 180,000 times a year.
The plan would require an increase in student fees of $7.80 beginning next school year. The campus transportation fee would rise from $87.30 to $95.10.
Number of students
- By Max Lush
Estimated ridership for the proposed route would make it the third-largest route for KU on Wheels.
Classifieds... 7A
Crossword... 4A
Cryptquips... 4A
Opinion... 5A
Sports... 10A
Sudoku... 4A
Ex-Athletics employees to be sentenced
ATHLETICS | 3A
SENATE | 3A
Student Body President Michael Wade Smith and Senior Sen. Mark Pacey wanted to restore judicial power to the Student Executive Committee.
INDEX
SOFTBALL | 10A
Prosecutors seek prison terms for two of the ex-Athletics employees indicted in the ticket scandal case.
The Jayhawks have an 0-4 record in conference play after a record start. They will try to end that losing streak against the 'Roos today.
Softball faces UMKC
Committee votes to keep Senate Court of Appeals
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WEATHER
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Forecasts by University students. For: a complete detailed forecast for the week, see page 2A
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