UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, December 5, 1996
5A
Early start to spring semester causes confusion for students
Some students have to adjust return flights
By Lindsey Henry
Kansan staff writer
When Katie O'Hara made her winter break flight plans in September, she assumed University classes didn't start until after the Martin Luther King holiday, like last year.
But this year classes for the spring semester start on Jan.13, a week prior to the holiday.
Now O'Hara, Lawrence sophomore, and some other KU students must decide between paying extra money for a different flight, or missing the first week of classes.
"I thought I saw somewhere that
classes started then," O'Hara said. "You don't just make up a date like that. How would you know, unless you live in the dorms, what is going on?"
Lorna Zimmer, director of the Student Assistant Center, said making the assumption that classes started on a certain day was dangerous.
"Students are responsible to be there and to know what material was covered," Zimmer said. "I don't know how this would get fouled up in the first place. The Registrar makes the calendar three years in advance. But it is certainly not our intention for this to be any kind of a mystery."
Students who might miss the first week of classes should check in the Spring 1997 timetable to see if their absence would cause them to be dropped from any of their classes, Zimmer said.
Mary Lee Hummert, associate professor and basic program coordinator for the communication studies department, said that her department was one that
"I thought I saw somewhere that classes started then; you just don't make up a date like that. How would you know, unless you lived in the dorms, what's going on." Katie O'Hara Lawrence sophomore
would drop students who missed two consecutive classes during the first week of school.
"If they are serious students, they should be there from day one," she said. "But there are always exceptions."
Hummert said the policy was created because of the large number of students who want to enroll in communications classes at the beginning of the semester. Dropping the students absent in the first week could weed out potentially uninterested students.
Students that must miss classes because of emergency situations or situations like O'Hara's can call in advance to alert their professors that they would be attending their classes.
O'Hara said she would try to get her flight from her parents' home in North Carolina changed without an extra fee. If she cannot change her flight, she said she would try to contact her professors.
"I want to let them know that I will be taking their class," she said.
KU students are not reading about world events in local newspapers
Television provides more comprehensive international coverage
By Dave Breitenstein Kansan staff writer
Although KU students can learn about world events and international news through many mediums, including CNN, Headline News, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal, local newspapers aren't usually a source.
"It would be a lot better if newspapers and televisions included more international news," said Chih Pei Gan, Klang, Malaysia, junior. "Every time I read the Kansan, I'll读 the international news, and when I watch TV, I usually watch the news."
Gan said newspapers did not cover stories as well as television because many
newspaper stories were too brief or omitted key components. Although she frequently reads the paper, most of Gan's friends do not.
"Regardless of what newspaper it is, they don't read much information from outside the U.S." she said.
Jennifer Lange, Rockford, Ill., sophomore, said she rarely turned on CNN or read the world news in the newspaper.
"Students don't pay much attention to international news because it doesn't directly affect them," she said. "It doesn't really hit home with students. If students want international news, they can read big papers, but if they want campus news, then they can read the Kansan."
Gerald Harris, director of international student services, said although there were complaints about the Kansan, it was not the newspaper's duty to focus on international affairs.
"International news is totally beyond
the Kansan," he said. "I'm not sure that should be a concern of the Kansan anyway. I think most international groups recognize that it's a local-interest paper anyway."
Sohel Khan, Chittagong, Bangladesh, graduate student, gets his news from national and international newspapers in Watson Library. He said he read numerous papers and that he compared papers to ensure that he knew both sides of the story.
Khan said the belief that students did not read international news was inaccurate.
"Students do read international news when America gets in a conflict with another country," he said.
Harris said that there were only six newspapers in the country with adequate international coverage and that no regional newspapers contained a fair amount of foreign news.
"I doubt many Americans anywhere read a good international newspaper every day," he said. "If there's a crisis going on somewhere, then they'll read about it."
Deborah Gerner, associate professor of political science, said students needed to read about both domestic and foreign affairs to be more knowledgeable about the world. She said the Kansan could include more maps and histories of countries to keep students informed about occurrences in other countries so that students would not feel lost when a crisis occurred.
"Whatever is the hot topic is what's covered in the news," she said. "Papers should make a conscious effort to cover all major countries and regions on a regular basis. The bottom line is no small U.S. publication is going to provide the amount of coverage students from that country would like."
Architecture student loses bid for election
Colorado senior still valuable students say
By Erin Rooney
Kansan staff writer
An architectural student headed to the Big Apple and then to the nation's capital with dreams of becoming the next vice president of a large architectural student organization.
He gave speeches at the convention, delegates voted and David Broz returned home Saturday without a vice presidential title behind his name.
David Broz
Broz, Lisle, Ill. senior, is the former president of the University of Kansas chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students. He had dreams of graduating and moving to Washington, D.C., in May to serve as the international AIAS vice president. After the members of the organization voted on Friday, however, his dreams were crushed.
"It was very humbling in the aftermath," Broz said. "I had a good two dozen people come up to me and say they wished I would have won — that they had
faith in me."
Rachel Ahlat, University of Colorado at Denver senior, was elected vice president.
AIAS promotes excellence in architectural education, training and practice to advance the art and science of architecture. More than 140 colleges and universities have AIAS chapters, and about 950 students attended the convention.
Broz said that he still had learned a lot from his campaigning experience. Chad Boomgaarden, Omaha, Neb., senior, agreed.
"Whether he won or not, he definitely walked away with something," Boomgaarden said.
Boomgaarden, Broz and 15 other KU students attended the convention that began Nov.22 in New York City and concluded last Saturday in Washington, D.C.The convention gave KU students an opportunity to meet with design firms, independent architects, professional organizations and other architecture students.
"From an architectural view, it was a really good experience, both career-wise and educational-wise," Boomgaarden said.
Broz's passion for the organization didn't die when he was not elected vice president. He is helping AIAS design a home page explaining chapter programs and said that if he heads back to graduate school in a couple of years, he might run again.