CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, March 4, 1997
3A
Conference to offer worldly advice
Panelists,resources will be available at fair
By Umut Bayramoglu
Kansan staff writer
Many KU students have lived in Kansas all their lives, and some will choose to stay here.
But for those who want to discover the rest of the world, this weekend is an opportunity to find out about studying abroad, working overseas or volunteering for nonprofit organizations.
The Office of International Programs will have more than 30 people with international careers in business, government agencies and humanitarian organizations for a conference Saturday in the Kansas Union.
The deadline for preregistration, including the luncheon and the keynote address, is 5 p.m. today at the International Programs office in 300 Strong Hall.
Anne Merydith-Wolf, a secretary in the Applied English Center, said last year 45 KU students were
turned on the day of the conference because of lack of space.
"I really encourage students to preregister because although this conference is open to high school teachers and students in the area, our main goal is to provide an opportunity for KU students," she said.
The conference starts at 8:15 a.m. and includes four panels that meet twice during the day.
"We just want students to get a good picture of all the international opportunities," Merydith-Wolf said.
Jeff Willis, a KU graduate and managing director of Asia/Pacific for Preco Industries Inc. of Kansas City, Kan., will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon.
Merydith-Wolf said the keynote speech would be about preparing for international job markets and different opportunities in international careers.
A resource room also will be available to participants.
Merydith-Wolf said participants could go to the resource room any time to look through books and brochures and make copies of information they
"We just want students to get a good picture of all the international
opportunities."
Anne Merydith-Wolf
Applied English Center secretary
"Anybody thinking about careers should think internationally," she said.
need.
Throughout the day, Merydith-Wolf said, representatives from various organizations with international purposes will answer questions at the information fair.
"We will have some experienced panelists that are willing to share their experiences and help students find out what they need to do now for an international career later," she said.
"The panelists helped me see what I need to do to focus on my goals," she said.
Kia Flesher, Topeka senior, said the three conferences she had attended in the past helped her to pick a major.
Tesia Hostetler, Topeka sophomore, said she had attended the conference last year and thought it was helpful.
Riesher said the conferences also provided he with a network of people in international careers.
"I was exposed to a lot of options at the previous conferences," she said. "Finally, I decided to add an international studies program to my political science major."
"It's the best way available to meet all the people that have experience in what I want to do in the future." she said.
Preregistration is $12 for KU students.
Late registration on Saturday is $10 and will be on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union.
ABOVE: Machell Collier, Lawrence senior. puts her feet up on the bed
between calls at KU Info, in the Organizations and Activities Office in the Kansas Union. The service originally started as a rumor-control hot line on May 7,1970. RIGHT: Armed with more than 200
reference manuals and thousands of files and Rolodex cards, KU info answers 500 to 600 calls each day. The office answers calls
at 864-3506 from 7 a.m. to 2
a. m. daily.
James Grau / KANSAN
Tree totals and trivia no match for KU Info
By Mark McMaster Kansan staff writer
The University Information Center, more commonly known as KU Info, may not know the answer to every question students can think of, but most of the staffers have memorized one important fact:
There are 17,851 trees on campus.
KU Info staffer Gary Lazarus, New Orleans senior, said it was one of the most commonly asked questions the service answered.
It is not, however, the only bizarre question the staffers have dealt with.
"We get some pretty bad ones sometimes," said staffer Alana Jones, Tulsa, Okla., senior. "Someone called last night and asked if the moon was a planet."
And, of course, there are the drunken callers.
"You can tell from the first second whether someone is drunk or not," said Lazarus, who often works the late shift until KU Info closes at 2 a.m.
Some of the strangest calls he has received comes during those hours,he said.
it makes sense that KU Info should get some unusual questions, considering they receive hundreds of calls each day. On Wednesday, for example, staffers at the service answered 522 calls.
But KU Info's coordinator Susan Elkins, doesn't want students to be shy about asking out-of-the-ordinary questions.
The staffers turn to a variety of references on hand to answer questions, including a series of Rolodexes containing nearly 4,000 cards full of information.
"People shouldn't be afraid to ask any sort of question," she said. "Most people don't know how much we can do."
KU Info staffers provide more than just information — occasionally they give personal advice.
Lazarus said he was asked out on a date on Valentine's Day. He had to decline, however, because KU Info policy prevents
"I got asked about what this guy should pick as a Valentine's Day gift." Jones said.
KU Info
Things to ask KU Info:
Things to ask ROI info:
Information about events in Lawrence and throughout Kansas
Academic calendar dates, such as enrollment times and withdrawal deadlines
Information about KU policies and procedures
- Topeka and Kansas City phone numbers (to avoid long-distance operator charges)
Things not to ask KU Info:
University and Lawrence phone numbers — instead, use the University switchboard or local operators
Help with homework -but they do refer students to tutors
The hours of the Computer Center — just remember, it is open 24 hours a day, say staffers who are tired of answering this frequently asked question
Staffers provide many services for callers.
"One father called and asked us to tell his 3-year-old not to eat off the floor because his son wouldn't believe him." Elkins said.
Perhaps the most memorable calls, though, were new parents asking for advice in naming their children.
"We have a baby-naming book right here," Elkins said. "We've named two babies in the last couple of years."
These sorts of questions are very different than those the center answered when it opened in 1970 during a period of student unrest. It started out as a rumor control center to inform students about dangers around campus. As the campus grew peaceful once again, the center began to answer questions about policies and happenings around campus.
Today, KU Info can give information about events throughout Lawrence, Topeka and the Kansas City area. Students can seek answers by calling KUInfo at 864-3506 or by looking on the KU Info web page, http://www.ukans.edu/~kuinfo
Some ask if parking overstaffs for events Ex-employees say game days were slow
By Dave Morantz Kansas staff writer
"I sat in my car for six hours one day without having to stop anyone," said Jeff Jeskie, Wichita senior and a former parking department employee. "We had a joke about how many employees it took to guard a parking lot."
It is early Saturday morning, hours before the basketball game. But the parking department already has set up barricades at lot entrances, and an attendant in a Day-Glo orange jacket tries to keep warm.
The department, which generates revenue from parking permits, meters and fines, claims it needs attendants hours before game time to keep people from illegally parking in areas such as Jayhawker Towers and Stouffer Place lots.
Former employees claim the department wastes money by paying employees to sit in cars.
Forty employees worked Saturday's game against Kansas State to guard 23 parking lots, said Don Kearns, parking department director.
For afternoon tipoffs, employees begin working at 7 or 8 a.m. and stay during the game.
Employee guard lots early in the day because people try to drop off their cars in lots in the morning and then be picked up by someone. Kearns said.
Often employees double up at posts so one person can stand in the cold while the other warms up in the car, he said.
Despite this, Kearns said the department was understaffed.
The department must use temporary employees from Manpower Temporary Services to guard lots on game days.
But Erik Peltzman, San Francisco junior and former parking employee, said too many employees did a job that half as many people could do.
During one game, Peltzman said he sat behind Hoglund-Maupin Stadium, just south of Allen Field House, and checked cars that already had passed two checkpoints.
"I had no reason to be there," Peltzman said. "I basically sat in my car. I was just triple-checking."
Kearns said many employees were needed near the field house and stadium to secure parking areas for emergency equipment.
Jeskie said he had to sit behind the stadium during one game.
No one ever told him anything about guarding emergency parking areas, he said.
"Anyone with half a brain knows they can't park back there," he said.
The large number of employees on game days results from a high rate of employee turnover, said Rita Jordan, field supervisor for the department.
Because most of the employees are students, many leave after a few months or find a higher-paying job, she said.
"There is some downtime, but when you're hiring new employees, you have to give them some training on the job," she said.
"How do you train someone to sit at a lot and keep people from going in?" he said.
Jeskie disagreed.
Funeral services for former dean to be held today
By Mark McMaster
Kansan staff writer
Services will be held today for Thomas Gorton, former dean of the School of Fine Arts, who died on Feb. 25 at 86.
Mr. Gorton's life revolved around music, which he composed, conducted, taught and performed on piano. He shared music not only with his students, but also with his family.
"When I was young, he was my hero," she said. "He was my first music teacher and my dean while I attended KU. His door was always open to me, no matter how busy he was."
ate in music and Mr. Gorton's only child, said her father influenced her in many ways.
Judith Parkinson, a KU gradu
Mr. Gorton served as dean of the School of Fine Arts from 1950 to 1975, and during this time he also served an unprecedented four terms as president
of the National Association of Schools of Music.
The fine arts program doubled in size during these years, as Mr. Gorton founded and conducted the performing group the Little Symphony, established KU's opera program and served as the University's concert manager.
Mr. Gorton also founded the Symposium of Contemporary American Music, which drew leading composers from all across
the country to the University.
During his time at the University, Mr. Gorton composed many works, which have been performed at the University as well as by the San Antonio Symphony and the Oklahoma City Symphony.
Music seems to run in Mr. Gorton's family. He was born in Oneida, New York, on March 12, 1910, the son of Thomas and May Kelley Gorton.
"His dad wasn't a musician,
Mr. Gorton's granddaughter,
Jennifer Parkinson, also fol-
His grandson, Scott Parkinson,
is studying trombone there.
Mr. Gorton attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees.
but he loved music dearly," Parkinson said, remembering the days when her father's family would gather to perform music for each other.
lowed in his footsteps but didn't choose music. Instead, she came to the University, where she now is a graduate teaching assistant in mathematics.
After Mr. Gorton retired, he pursued an interest in genealogy, publishing three books about his family and receiving national attention for his work.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 New Hampshire St.