University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, February 6, 1990
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Report shows state needs special education teachers
Officials view ways to attract more students
By Sandra Moran
Kansan staff writer
Students graduating in May from the School of Education with special education degrees will be greeted with an abundance of job opportunities.
This was the finding in an annual report presented last week to the Legislature by Emporia State University educators.
Tess Mehring, assistant dean of the Teachers College at Emporia State, said the study this year showed a scarcity of special education teachers.
She said part of the problem was that about 15 percent of special education teachers statewide did not return to their positions last year because of emotional exhaustion and unhappiness with their location.
Jerry Chaffin, chairman of the KU special education department,
agreed. He said that special education enrollment at KU had remained steady but that the graduates of the program did not remain in the field.
Richard Whelen, associate dean of graduate studies, said that about 250 people were enrolled in the program. The faculty are already employed as teachers.
Kirsten McBride, admissions officer for the department, said there had been an increase of 40 students admitted to the program in the past year.
Jack Skilllett, author of the report and dean of the Emporie State Teachers College, wrote that 162 teachers in positions in Kansas were not filled.
Whelan said that about 100 students were certified each year from the KU program, which is only for graduate students.
"The main problem is distribution." Whelan said of the shortage. "They aren't in the places they need to be."
There is no program specifically for undergraduate at KU.
Chaffin said the school was preparing a proposal that would offer students an undergraduate minor degree in special education within
"We need to think of more creative ways to get people in the program," Whelan said.
the school.
One solution being considered by the University is offering scholarship programs to students who earn special education degrees.
Whelan said that another alternative would be to suspend payment of student loans if students agreed to teach special education in rural areas for a minimum period after graduation.
He said that the problem probably would continue because more children were being identified as having disabilities.
Don Herbel, director of special services in the Lawrence school district, said that this year he was unable to fill the gifted educator position. This had happened only twice before.
Herbel said the schools that had the most trouble finding special education teachers were schools in rural districts.
"Most unfilled vacancies occur in critical areas and in rural parts of the state." Herbel said.
Business expands downtown Former KU students become entrepreneurs, open own store
Keith Thorpe/KANSAN
By Chris Siron
Kansas staff writer
Kansan staff writer
During the past four months, at least three new businesses have opened on Massachusetts Street, two of which are owned by former KU students.
Two weeks ago, Kory Wills and Jay "Zippy" Hester opened Love Garden, 936 I/2 Massachusetts St. The store sells new and used records, tapes and compact discs. It also calls out protesters.
Willis and Hester were KU graduate students last fall.
Hester said they were or were leave of absence upon graduation.
Either said they were or gave of absence this semester.
Hester said they opened the store because Lawrence had no used-record stores. They were not concerned with earning a profit.
Willis said business had been "better than we expected, so far."
The store's main attraction is its "elevated listening lounge." Hester said. The listening lounge is a sofa and chairs on a riser about 2 feet off the ground.
Willis said they leased the 5,300-square-foot store so they could sponsor concerts by musicians that "Lawrence is starving for, like the Flaming Lips." He said city codes prohibited the shows since the store had no restroom accessible to handicapped patrons.
Wills said they hoped to find a way to accommodate the codes.
About two blocks from Love Garden, two other former KU students have opened a T-shirt design shop.
Kevin Dixon and Schuyler Lister opened Creation Station, 730 Massachusetts St., in November. The shop sells shirts that Dixon and Lister design and print.
Dixon said that about five local artists brought designs to the shop to be printed and that the shop invited other artists.
He said they "wanted the store to be an outlet for local artists."
The shop also prints shirts for organizations and sells jewelry made by local artists. Dixon said
"There's no better exposure than a walking billboard." Dixon said.
Overall business has been good, particularly through the holiday season, he said.
Dixon said the shop planned to offer a variation on spin art, called "goop art."
The store also lets customers design their own "spin-art!" T-shirts. Spin art is made by placing a shirt on a spinning board and squirting different-colored ink on the shirt.
Afternoon practice
Scott Jones, Castle Rock, Colo., freshman, works on his catching skills with the KU lacrosse team at Shenk Complex on West Campus.
Amelia Earhart's scarf will fly aboard space shuttle Discovery
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two generations of aviation history will link April 19 when a scarf once worn by Amelia Earlah rockets into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery, Purdue University officials said.
the Pacific.
The Associated Press
The brown, gold and orange silk scarf is part of a collection of Earlart memorabilia at Purdue, where students are invited to female students from 1955-37.
The scarf was presented Saturday to astronauts Jerry L. Ross and Donald E. Williams, both Purdue alumni. Earhart trained at Purdue for the 1937 around-the-world flight during which she disappeared over
Ross and Williams will take the scarf to the Johnson Space Center in Houston and give it to fellow astronaut and Purdue alumnus Loren Shriver, who will command the shuttle mission.
The shuttle flight's mission will deploy the Hubble space telescope.
Police say automobile burglaries increasing
By Curtis Knapp
Kansan staff writer
"I had to take it to work that day." Moon said, "and it was snowing."
When Greg Moon got up Saturday morning, he noticed something different about his car. The driver's wheel broke and broken and his $200 stereo was gone.
Moon, Lawrence graduate student,
is just one of a number of Lawrence
residents whose cars have recently
been burglarized.
According to Lawrence and KU police reports, there have been more than 23 incidents of car burglaries in the last three weeks. In 12 of the cases, a car window was smashed to gain entry. More than $8,072 of property has been stolen, and more than $4,725 in property has been damaged.
Chris Mulvenon, Lawrence police spokesman, said vehicle burglaries were a common problem in university parking lots. At least three of the victims in the majority of cases.
"It is a given that in a college town, people will know students have nice radios and CDs in their cars," Mulvenon said.
Auto burglarus usually go to concealed areas where they can easily burglarize four or five cars at one time, Mulvenon said.
He said common sense was the only thing people could use in avoiding vehicle burglaries. People should keep their doors locked, their windows rolled up and not leave valuables in the car.
Mulvenon said it was difficult for the police department to prevent car theft.
"Unless there is a pattern established and unless we have the manpower to set up and watch any given area, it's almost impossible," Mulvenon said. "You have to be there at the right time and place."
He said he wasn't aware of any pattern in the burglaries, but if one was established, then police officers in an area of frequent problems in an area of frequent problems.
Moon said he had told people in Colony Woods Apartments, 1301 W. 24th St., where he lives, about his car burglary.
"All the people in my complex here are looking out," Moon said.
PIZZ!
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18 & up admitted
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50¢ Draws
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$1.99 Long Islands
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25¢ DRAWS
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Obtain Practical Business Experience.
V. T, Inc. (The Nation's largest retailer of automobiles)
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Monday, Feb.12 6:30-7:30 501 Summerfield
For persons interested in interviewing for full time,and summer internships. *Business degree preferred, but not required
Call Julie Beasley at 864-5591at the Business School Placement Office.
*Positions available in: Marketing, Accounting, Business Management, & Personnel
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