UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, December 5, 1996
3A
Fall cleaning
Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
Keith Krimer and Lynn Landkamer sweep leaves into a vacuum held by Elden Terrell. They were part of a crew working near Fraser Hall yesterday morning. All three work for University landscaping and have spent the past month picking up leaves on campus. Those leaves will be composted and used in landscaping improvements in the future.
Student Senate joins effort to form lobby
Student Senate held an emergency meeting yesterday to examine three issues that needed to be dealt with before the end of the semester.
By Spencer Duncan Kansan staff writer
The first resolution expressed Senate's approval of the creation of a Big 12 Conference lobbying alliance.
The alliance would bring together Student Senate representatives from the Big 12 schools and allow them to form a national lobbying group, said Grey Montgomery, student body president.
"Lobbying at the federal level is disjointed right now," Montgomery said. "A school like Colorado has a hired gun that helps them, but then there is a school like Baylor that really doesn't have much. This could fix those disparities."
Montgomery said the University Senate did not have the money to hire a lobbyist or to send someone to lobby at the federal level for students. Under the resolution, Montgomery said, Senate would benefit and the representation problem could be solved.
"This would help consolidate the Big 12 schools," Montgomery said. "In the future,
this could lead to a true student lobby at the national level and maybe even a hired lobbyist."
The second resolution suggested that new University Daily Kansan distribution boxes include recycling bins.
Kevin Yoder, interfraternity council senator, said the Kansan had a responsibility to promote recycling.
"They are the main, in fact sole, contributor of newspaper waste on campus," Yoder said. "We think they should show recycling is important to them."
Yoder said the newspaper supported the idea.
The resolution, he said, would show that Senate also thought the idea was positive.
The third resolution was a Senate endorsement that a $1 student fee not be implemented by Senate to support the study abroad program. Senate supports study abroad, but the resolution stated that the program should exhaust other financial resources before asking students to pay.
The study abroad program is looking for outside financial support.
It was the last meeting Senate will hold before winter break.
Market permits buyers to give more than receive
By Liz Musser
Kansan staff writer
Buy! Buy! Buy!
The holidays have evolved into a season where the emphasis is on buying. But at the Giving Market this week at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave., the gifts for sale stress the giving part of the holidays.
"We're saying no to the consumption orientation that we've become accustomed to at Christmas," said Thad Holcombe, campus pastor at ECM.
"I figure that for every $1,000
Alarge part of the gift market is hand-crafted, international gifts. The artwork from more than 40 different Third World countries includes baskets from the Phillipines, musical instruments from Kenya and jewelry from Mexico.
we sell, we can support one
artist for a year," Holcombe
said. "Last year we sold
$7,000."
Most of the market's artwork is made in women's artisan cooperatives in Third World countries. The money raised from the crafts is sent to the artists.
Emily Charley, Lawrence sophomore and volunteer at the market, said fair prices were another positive aspect of the market.
"In Third World countries, most people don't have the luxury of buying artwork," Charley said. "We're basically giving the artists a market for their crafts."
The Christmas Giving Market, going on until Dec. 6, is selling unique items from abroad, including these Ayacucho sculptures. The Ayacucho sculptures are made from clay in southern Peru and represent scenes from daily life in the Andes.
Another feature of the market is the alternative gift section, in which customers donate money to a cause in the name of someone for whom they want to buy a gift.
For instance, a person could go to the Giving Market and donate $40 to Habitat for Humanity, Charley said. That person would then give a card to someone saying they had donated the money in their name.
The other two projects that people can donate money to are the Epapaturio Sister City
project and the Heifer project. Both organizations promote community development in the Third World.
Barbara Schaible, director of the El Papaturro project, explained why people would want to give a donation as a present.
"If you're really into a cause
and somebody gives you the gift of a donation in your name, it can be very nice because it's something you may not have been able to spend money on yourself," she said.
The Giving Market will be open today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Students count on field trip
Sixth-graders visit KU math workshop
By Ashlee Roll
Kansan staff writer
Forty students, albeit young ones, will learn the twists and turns of mathematics today.
Kansas. The program teaches young students about college mathematics and gives them experience with computer labs and graphing calculators.
The KU mathematics department is giving a workshop for two sixth-grade classes from Sunset Hill Elementary School.
"They love it without exception," said Ken Ridgon, principal of the school.
Rigdon said that the workshop increased the students' interest in math.
The workshop program began four years ago when Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, KU professor of mathematics, brought her daughter's elementary class to the University of
"It gives insight to kids," she said. "It shows them things that are going on on the college level."
But as every elementary student knows, the best thing about going to a workshop is leaving school for a day.
Some of the elementary students will have a chance to work in the computer lab. Others will attend a special Math 620 class, Mathematical Theory of Statistics. Eight
"It gives them a chance to get out of the classroom and experience college life," said Gloria Prothe, department of mathematics office supervisor. "They get hands-on experience."
KU students will present the elementary students with activities geared toward their math abilities.
"They are from a regular sixth-grade class," Prothe said. "They are very bright kids."
The workshop does not only benefit the children but also the volunteering KU students.
"The students get a kick out of it," Prothe said.
Stephanie Childs, Hutchinson graduate student, worked during the program last year. She said that working with the elementary students was a good opportunity to see kids excited about math.
"It was a chance for me to work with this age group and see them thinking in groups in reasoning activities," Childs said. "And for them, it was a chance to see the applications in which math works in lots of ways."
Grant enables software debugging
By Stephanie Fite
Kansan staff writer
If computer software was bug free, the National Science Foundation would not need Michael Ashley.
Ashley, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, received a $220,000 career grant from the National Science Foundation to debug computer software programs.
"The idea is to modify computer programs, to help you along when you make a mistake," Ashley said. "It is not artificial intelligence. It's sort of like having an assistant who looks over your shoulder and helps you make changes to the program when you make a mistake."
The research project aims to correct human errors in computer software by creating a computer program that corrects errors when they are typed in. The $220,000 grant will provide computer equipment and hire engineering students to help in the basic programming research.
"One part of my job is to do research and disseminate the results. That involves not just publication, but also integrating what I've learned into what I teach students," Ashley said. "Software dies all of the time: And what that is saying is that even after 30 or 40 years, we still don't know how to write bug-free programs. My goal is for students to apply what I've taught them to improve the way we use computers."
Ashley said the research project was an extension of his doctoral work. He decided to focus his research on debugging computer software because he also writes computer software.
"I write programs, and all of the time I
am thinking the computer should be helping me do this cognitive process," he said.
James Roberts, director and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, said Ashley's work could have important ramifications for computer science.
"His research is very important to the University and to the school because improvements he is seeking could change the way computer language is written," Roberts said.
The most tangible outcomes for Ashley, though, are the possible benefits his students will gain from his research.
"The fact is that unless faculty are engaged in research, they are teaching dated material from old notes." Ashley said. "This grant and the research it funds will improve the quality of the education I deliver to students."