THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 110
CULTURAL CROSSROADS
Ending fear between estranged nations
BY STEPHANIE SCHULTZ
SSCHULTZ@KANSAN.COM
The moment Goran Sabah Ghafour stepped off the plane in America, ideas were already filling his head. He immediately began to observe, interact and question people with the intent to write a book to try to break stereotypes between Middle Eastern and American people.
"The Kurdistan region really needs faculty, especially in the field of media," Ghafour said. "Media in that part of Iraq is really kind of unprofessional."
Ghafour, a graduate student from Kurdistan, Iraq, came to America to study international standards of media with plans of returning to Kurdistan after graduation to teach others what he learned.
While living in America, Ghafour wrote a book titled "Iraiqi Fulbrighter: Removing Fear and Hatred Between American and Middle Eastern People," which aimed to correct wrong stereotypes about Middle Eastern and American people. Ghafour's 21-chapter book uses true stories
to try to tell Middle Eastern and American people how to understand each other, approach each other, live together and accept tolerance.
"Middle Eastern people think that in American culture they don't have the idea of marriage, or the idea of marriage has faded away," Ghafour said. "And for Americans, they think that Middle Eastern people may have a connection with terrorists."
Geri Lamer, program coordinator at the Applied English Center, likes hearing Ghafour's stories.
"The stories he tells and the things that he sees that I don't are just very interesting," she said. "He just has a way of seeing things and being interested in everything and everywhere and in everyone."
The book was finished in about five months, but dealing with such a complicated subject made the book difficult to finish so quickly. Ghafour said.
Aaron Huterer, program assistant at the Applied English Center, was impressed with Ghafour's drive
"It it just shows how motivated he was just to get this down and to show it to people who could read it," Huerter said.
to finish the book in such a short amount of time.
The book is available on www.publishamerica.net and will be available in the KU bookstore soon, Ghafour said. There will also be a book signing in the KU Bookstore in the Kansas Union on April 7.
-Edited by Amanda Sorell
For more coverage of this story, check out KUJH's newcastday at 4 p.m.
Artem Bagiev/KANSAN
Goran Ghafour, a journalism graduate student from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, sits in Anschutz Library. Fulbright student Ghafour recently published his book, which tries to reconcile American and Middle Eastern people and break stereotypes about each culture.
CAMPUS
Health strategies help sustain a disease-free day care
BY JAY INGBER
JINGBER@KANSAN.COM
Students and staff at KU's Edna A. Hill Child Development Center (CDC) are using disease prevention strategies to help teach more than 60 children enrolled in the program ways to sustain a healthy lifestyle that's free of disease. Last month, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department confirmed seven cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in children from Lawrence day care facilities.
According to Ashley Kingsley, program coordinator, the CDC has not reported any cases of the disease yet this year.
"Because we require proper health forms from all of our teachers and immunizations for our children, it's not really something that has come up." Kingsley said.
Pertussis is a contagious, bacterial, respiratory disease that's spread by coughing or sneezing in close contact with others. While immunization is enforced by the state of Kansas and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, Kingsley is confident that CDC staff will make smart and mindful decisions when working with children.
"I think it comes down to using good judgment and recognizing what the safety and health standards are and making sure to always follow those," Kingsley said.
Jen Berman, a junior from Dallas, works with toddlers at the Hilltop Child Development Center, another child care facility on the KU campus. According to its website, Hilltop provides students interested in working with children the opportunity to
SEE HEALTH ON PAGE 2A
The rain keeps children at the Edna A. Hill Child Development center from playing outside Tuesday. The daycare center is trying to keep employees and children healthy during the winter months.
Megan Singer/KANSAN
MUSEUM | 3A
KU Museum to add exhibits
The sixth floor of the KU Natural History Museum will be closed for a year to make renovations and add space for new exhibits.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 10A
Jayhawks grind Buffaloes
In a decisive 71-45 game, Kansas beat Colorado in the first Big 12 round. Kansas faces Baylor today at 11 a.m.
Applications for 2011 summer study abroad programs are up
More students seeking study overseas
Last year saw a small drop in the overall number of students who participated in summer study abroad programs, possibly because of the recession. The Office of Study Abroad reports that applications this year surpass the numbers of students who studied abroad in summer 2009, suggesting that more students will go on programs this summer than last. However, the OSA also noted that this number will go up and down as students send in late applications and others drop out of programs. The exact number won't be available until the end of summer.
CAMPUS
Ireland and the United Kingdom
The four most popular programs this summer are located in Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
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