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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2009
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 68
CAMPUS
Photo illustration by Weston White/KANSAN
Students and professors are looking for ways to make a textbook rental program available to students. Rented books could cost a quarter of their original prices.
FEEL THE RHYTHM
Textbook rental may be possible
BY JESSE BROWN
jbrown@kansan.com
Bob Antonio remembers teaching "Sociology: The Economy" like it was yesterday. Antonio, a sociology professor lived by one book for the class, "The Making of Economic Society" Antonio
praised the author and the book for its simplicity and effectiveness.
"One of these textbooks I really liked, soft cover, no pictures and no special spoonfeeding kinds of things,"
"Very straightforward and easy to read."
"I look up the book because I'm going to start teaching the course again and I see $62. I said, 'This can't be right..."
More importantly, he said, the 200-page book was less than $20 when he taught the class in the '80s. He said he taught the class again in the mid-'90s and the book was between $25 and $30. When Antonio taught the class again about five years ago, the cost had more than doubled.
going to start teaching the course again and I see $62", Antonio said. "I said, 'This can't be right and it must be a hardback."
"I look up the book because I'm
BOB ANTONIO
Sociology professor
Although Antonio said he
praised the content of the book, he said the steep price incline was a rip off. So when discussions of a textbook rental program started to surface this semester, Antonio said he was ready for a change
Earlier this month, Student Senate voted in support of creating a textbook rental program that would allow students to rent textbooks for larger, introductory courses.
Student Senator Michael Wade Smith, Goodland junior, is leading the charge to create the program.
"We want to start working with the bookstore and different classes and departments to
SEE TEXT BOOKS ON PAGE 3A
Ensemble brings big beats
The African Drum Ensemble draws from traditions
BY ALY VAN DYKE avandyke@kansan.com
Every Monday in a cramped room on the bottom floor of Murphy Hall, five people sit in a semi-circle, hugging three-foot drums between their thighs. With eyes cast down in concentration, their hands skip across the surface of the drums like lightning, producing a rhythmic thunder that rumbles through the building.
The members of the African Drum Ensemble at KU have practiced the rhythms enough that the tones, basses and slaps on the Diembe drum come automatically.
"Once you get in rhythm for 20 minutes, all you think about is the drumming." Lindsay Ryan, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore and vice president of ADEKU, said. "Everything kind of goes away."
Through the sounds of their beats, Ryan and her companions are carried to a time of oral tradition and harvest rituals in West Africa, when music wasn't merely something to listen to — it was the life, the sweat and the heart of the community.
"Once you get going, it's like a heartbeat, it's like an erratic heart-beat," Ryan said. "Once everything is in unison, all you hear is just one beat."
The drum ensemble started in the Spring 2007 at the suggestion of Khalid El Hassan, former associate director of the Kansas African Studies Resource Center, and with the support of former Chancellor Robert Hemenway. The group is directed by Dylan Bassett, a local percussion instructor, and is mostly funded by performance fees and
SEE DRUMS ON PAGE 3A
Taylor Babb, Garden City sophomore, provides a beat on the Malinke bass drums Nov. 23 at Murphy Hall. Babb is a member of the African Drum Ensemble at KU, a student organization that meets every Monday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN
Q&A
Chancellor Gray-Little discusses budget concerns with The Kansan
BY JESSE RANGEL University in light of recent budget shortfalls.
BY JESSE RANGEL
jrangel@kansan.com
Editor's note: The Chancellor's Office scheduled a sit-down interview with The University Daily Kansan well ahead of the announcement of a budget press conference by Gov. Mark Parkinson last Monday. The interview was conducted an hour before the
Tenor's announcement to cut 32 million from the board of Regents, so Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little did not answer specific questions regarding the budget.
Since taking office in August, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little has been crossing the state from Kansas City to Parsons to Pittsburg meeting with alumni, media, members of the community and honor students. She also attends monthly Board of Regents meetings in Topeka and spends one day a week at the Kansas University Medical Center. The University Daily Kansan caught up with her just before Thanksgiving break to take a look at how her first several months have gone and to discuss her views on the future of the
Kansan: You mentioned recruitment as one of the concerns you've heard with your travels across the state. What are some of the other things that you've learned in your travels across the state that surprise or concern you?
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little:
I don't know if there were big surprises.
With recruitment there were a number of people that I met in different places who said essentially the same thing; that the University needed to raise its profile of recruitment in those areas and be seen as a more welcoming place.
Another thing that I learned — not particularly surprised — is that people all over the state see KU as an institution in the state, and that wherever I've
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little:
"... The level of commitment to KU, and their loyalty to KU is outstanding."
gone there's been a wish to have a connection with KU and to see KU in their communities. And that's been a pretty consistent message.
in that way?
How important was it to start off your time at the University by starting to travel the state and to learn about the people of Kansas and our institutions across Kansas
BERNADETTE GRAY-LITTLE
Chancellor
It was very important to me. And one thing that I did learn is that it was also important to people in similar places that I visited. While they didn't expect that I would be there, a number of them commented on the fact I had come out so early in my time at the University.
which they interpreted as a sign of my interest in actually finding out about the people.
What are people saving about KU?
So, wanted to make sure that we're competitive, both competitive for students and for faculty, and the other thing that is impressive to me is the level of commitment to KU, and their loyalty to KU is outstanding. And that's very impressive when you meet so many people that are
index
committed and have dedicated so much time and are willing to dedicate so much time to the University.
Adam Buhler/KANSAN
How does the budget crunch affect your stated goals in terms of short-term implementation with the task forces.
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SEE Q&A ON PAGE 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
Four Washington officers killed in shooting ambush
Authorities say they are looking for the gunman, who fled the scene after opening fire in a coffee house on Saturday morning. CRIME | 5A
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