6A
Thursday, March 13, 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU band to perform in Japanese park
By Harumi Kogarimal
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas marching band held a rehearsal last night in preparation for their upcoming trip to Japan, which begins Tuesday.
The band played six different songs for about 80 people at West Junior High School, 2700 Harvard Road. The concert included specially choreographed performances, including songs from The Wizard of Oz.
Fifty-five students and four staff members in the band will fly to Japan for the International Marching Band Festival at Huis Ten Bosch Park in Nagasaki. The theme park features a 19th-century Dutch village and seaport.
Robert Foster, band director, said the band would have two 20-minute stage performances in the park, in addition to a marching performance at the park's daily opening.
Foster also said the park would pay for all transportation and accommodation expenses.
Foster said the trip overlapped with the NCAA basketball tournament, but band members decided whether to go to Japan or the tournament. A total of 60 members will perform at the tournament for the KU basketball games.
I faithfully excited about it," said Dena Schlesener,
Peabody sophomore. "We have never been able to do
this before. I want to experience everything I can while I am there."
Atsuke Kamiya, general manager of Office Two-One International, helps with the performances in the park. She said the office had chosen the band because a member of her staff, a KU graduate, had recommended the band.
After seeing a recent performance by the band in Lawrence, Kamiya made the final decision to invite the band to Japan for its annual Tulip Festival.
"There aren't very many marching bands in Japan," Kamiya said.
She also said most Japanese universities did not have bands that supported university athletic teams, which was an idea she would like to introduce to the country.
During the two-week stay, band members will see an active volcano and the atomic bomb museum in
The KU Band practices for an upcoming trip to Japan. Fifty band members, who chose the trip over the NCAA men's Final Four, will take part in the trip.
Nagasaki, Foster said. Students have the freedom to do anything they want between daily performances.
Foster said students would miss some classes, but because the second week overlapped spring break, the classes missed would be minimal.
Minorities see slim chance for opportunities in politics
By Ann Marchand Kansan staff writer
There are no Hispanic members of the Kansas Legislature, and African-American and female Kansans are underrepresented.
rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, said minorities often have had to work harder to be perceived as efficient.
"I think if you are a woman and you are a minority, you learn to do that early," she said.
Ballard has had her share of experiences where she has been in the minority. In 1985, she and one other woman were the first African-American women elected to the Lawrence school board. In 1992, she and Rep. Ruby Gilbert, D-Wichita, was the first African-American women to be elected to the Legislature.
There are five African-American members in the House, which has 35 females in the 125member body.
Two of the Senate's 40 members are AfricanAmerican and 14 of them are women.
Sen.Sandy Praeger, R.Lawrence, said the Legislature was well-balanced with regards to gender, but not ethnicity issues.
Praeger said that does not mean minority interests are trampled.
"Women in the legislature really run the gamut from very liberal to very conservative," she said. "I think we try to bring a balance to the debate."
Julius Williams, assistant director for the Office of Minority Affairs, said many African Americans thought it was difficult to enter politics.
Kansas has had prominent women in leadership positions in the past. When Joan Finney was governor she was one of three female governors in the nation. Kansas and California were the only two states to have two female U.S. Senators serve concurrently last summer.
"If people believe in that person, then they are the right person for the job, whether they're White or not," he said. "But that's the whole challenge of many Blacks, whether you're dealing with politics or getting a job."
Danny Martinez, Shawnee sophomore and former treasurer of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization, said that the absence of Hispanics was largely due to the low interest in the Hispanic community.
"I think it has a hindrance and we need to get more Hispanics as legislators," he said.
Ballard, who is the only African-American representative who does not represent a majority-minority district, said that demographics were not her primary concern as a state legislator.
"I am extremely proud that my district would send me, but they didn't send me because I'm an African-American," she said. "They sent me because I have a history of being a good leader and getting things done."
By Dave Morantz Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas finally may get an extensive recycling program.
Last night, Student Senate passed a resolution calling for the creation of a campus recycling center and for the development of a more extensive campus recycling system.
Now, recyclables, such as aluminum cans and newspapers, are collected and transported to Leavenworth.
"Throwing your UDK in a campus box does not constitute a campuswide program," said Scott Sullivan, Leawood junior and Senate presidential candidate. "There are high schools that have a better recycling program than the University of Kansas."
The Senate plan calls for the administration and Senate to finance the construction of a 4,000-square-foot recycling center at West Campus.
The center would cost about $137,000 and would be financed equally by Senate and the administration.
Senate requests that the administration match the total contributions from the student fee. The fee could be implemented as early as next fall.
The plan calls for a $1 student recycling fee to pay for the collection of recyclables and the center's operating costs.
Jason Fizell, Olathe junior and Senate presidential candidate, said he planned to collect signatures for a petition to bring the $1 student fee to a referendum.
Anhough he said he supported the resolution and the fee, a referendum would allow students to express their views on the proposed program.
Kevin Lafferty, Valley Center senior and Student Senate executive committee chairman, said a recycling center would allow the University to sell recyclable items to companies for a profit.
"With all the aluminum, cardboard and paper that we could sell, the center would be self-supporting," he said.
Fitzell said although profits would be nice, the advantages of a recycling center could not be calculated in dollars and cents.
"I'd say everybody would agree that there is more of a value to recycling than just profit," he said.
Journalism dean prospect to meet students,faculty
By Ryan Koerner Special to the Kansan
The search for a new dean of the School of Journalism has entered its final stage.
James Gentry, the first of two finalists who will visit the University of Kansas, is arriving today.
The other candidate's name will be released next week during that finalist's campus visit, said Tim Bengton, associate professor of journalism and search committee chairman.
Gentry earned a bachelor's degree in history from Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., and master's and doctoral degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri.
"Jimmy Gentry is highly regarded as very faculty- and student-oriented," said Bengtson. "He is an excellent candidate, and we are definitely interested in him."
He then taught journalism at Missouri and directed the business program in the MU journalism school. For the past six years, Gentry has been a facilitator for New Directions for News, an organization housed at the University.
Gentry said he first became acquainted with KU's journalism program because it was close to Missouri.
He said he had a high degree of respect for the program and the constant commitment it received from the University.
Gentry is the dean of the journalism school at the University of Nevada-Reno, where he also teaches a graduate seminar, Media Organizations and Change. The class conducts a study of newsrooms undergoing change as part of a project for the American Press Institute.
"Ihave a great job now," Gentry said. "I'm looking to see what would make the University of Kansas a better opportunity."
During his tenure as dean, the journalism school has received grants from national foundations for recruitment and retention and for summer minority newspaper workshops.
"We were looking for someone who has a proven record as a journalism administrator and as an innovator, and Jimmy Gentry does very well on that," Bengtson said.
Gentry will be in Lawrence until Friday. During his trip, he will meet with the search committee, administrators and University technology personnel. He also will meet with journalism students and faculty.
Bengtson said he would like students to have the opportunity to interact with Gentry and ask any questions they have. Students are invited to meet with Gentry at 2:30 today in room 206 in Stauffer-Flint Hall.
The search for a new dean began after Mike Kautsch, the dean of journalism, announced last August he would resign effective June 30.
Kautsch said he hoped the faculty would get a good feel for Gentry's abilities.
"Its important that the faculty understand how he manages rapid change in journalism and mass communications, particularly in journalism education," Kautsch said.
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