UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, November 8, 1996
3A
Veterans appreciated, honored on campus
ROTC students to guard vigil
By Stephanie Fite
Kansan staff writer
The silent 14-minute ceremony was as efficient as the military itself.
Veteran Appreciation Day, celebrated yesterday in front of Strong Hall, honored U.S. veterans, prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. The ceremony was sponsored by the Arnold Air Force Society, a fraternal organization open to all Air Force cadets.
"This allows us to recognize all of the fallen soldiers" said Capt. Dan Staagenborg, Commandant of Cadets for the ROTC Air Force. "When cadets participate, they learn the heritage and tradition of the military, and the importance of citizenship and participation. We stress that feeling of commitment."
About 35 cadets and officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines participated in the ceremony which included a group prayer, a candle light vigil, and the raising of a Kansas, U.S. and POW flag.
The Air Force sponsors the ceremony in front of Strong Hall annually to honor veterans and to gain student recognition, Staagenborg said.
"Historically, we have a ceremony to honor veterans before Veterans Day to provide an opportunity for students to see and appreciate what is going on," he said.
Bryan Meek, an Air Force ROTC cadet, watched as his colleagues participated in the ceremony.
"This is a great opportunity to appreciate what the military does for our country," he said. "It is important for all four branches to participate because no one branch can go without the other. It is important to show our support and appreciation."
When the ceremony ended, two cadets lit a candle and carried it to the Vietnam Memorial on Memorial Drive. Cadets from each military service will guard the candle two at a time for an hour each until noon today.
Travis Grosser, Los Angeles,
sophomore, is one of 48 cadets who
will stand in front of the Vietnam
Memorial this evening.
The candle symbolizes recognition and appreciation for U.S. soldiers, said Donn Dunkle, assistant Marine Officer Instructor and Staff Sergeant for the ROTC Marines.
Grosser stood in front of the memorial last year and said his participation was a good way to show his appreciation to all of the men and women who had served in the military.
"I would like to see the community to take an interest in what we are doing and think about what happened," he said.
"We pay our respect for 24 hours because we do not have the capacity to do it 364 days a year," he said. "It is important to show unity. We honor the MIAs and POWs as one unit because they are in all services."
ARMY ROTC cadet Matthew Drake, Lansing freshman and Naval ROTC cadet Beth Mulvenun, Lenexa freshman prepare to raise flags during a ceremony in front of Strong Hall. The ceremony, sponsored by The Arnold Air Society, was held yesterday to honor all POW/MIA veterans and included participation from the Air Force, Army and Naval ROTC programs.
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
New group to help gamblers cash in
By Dave Breitenstein
Kansan staff writer
Some students just can't say no. Not to drugs—but to something just as addicting; gambling. Those students can now find help on campus.
Gamblers Anonymous will hold its first meeting on the KU campus tonight in the second floor conference room at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
"The main reason we're starting a chapter on campus is because I saw a story in the Kansan about a student with a gambling problem," said Ron, a member of Gamblers Anonymous. "It just made me sick hearing about that student's gambling problem."
Ron, who did not reveal his last name because he follows the Gamblers Anonymous policy of anonymity, said certain statistics caught his eye, such as the statistic that states 25 percent of college men and 8 percent of college women have some gambling problems. These numbers indicated the need for a program, he said.
Ron said he went to the Chancellor's Office to get approval to form a group. He said he thought administration was fully supportive of the cause.
Mary Burg, executive assistant to the chancellor, said it was a good idea to start a KU program and that
the chancellor supported the program.
"The chancellor will always be supportive of anything that will help students," she said. "If if there are just a few interested students, it will be worth having the meetings."
While the group is just now expanding to campus, Gamblers Anonymous has been a resource for addicted gamblers since 1957. The group helps members to admit that they have a problem and offers a 12-step program designed to eliminate compulsive gambling.
Gamblers Anonymous defines gambling as an illness that can never be cured. The characteristics of a compulsive gambler are the inability to accept reality, emotional insecurity and immaturity, according to a Gamblers Anonymous pamphlet.
Janine Gracy, coordinator of health promotions and education, said support groups such as Gamblers Anonymous have been successful in the past on campus because they provide assistance for people to discuss their problems.
"We've had successful programs in the past, like Alcoholics Anonymous, and we hope this will be the same," Gracy said. "The goal of support groups is so you feel like you're not the only one with a problem. You support each other by sharing similar experiences."
Logging on eases job search stress
By Bradley Brooks Kansan staff writer
Searching for a job is typically a tedious task: preparing a resume, mailing it to prospective employees and waiting for that magic phone call. But with the advent of online job searches, the process can be quick, easy and painless.
"They're very useful, and so much easier because you can just send your resume by email," said Hafid Saba, Fort Scott junior. "It is more efficient."
One of these online job sites is GradQuest, a service provided by Decisive Quest, Inc., a Richardson, Texas-based company specializing in online recruiting.
Rick Donnelli, founder of the company, said he began GradQuest after realizing the lack of the service for college students.
"We've developed the methodology to accentuate someone's skills and help them connect with an employer," Donnelli said.
Connecting with that future employer is easy at the site.
as credentials, experience interests and preferences of job and location.
Applicants fill out a template with relevant information such
Once this information is received by GradQuest, a list of the companies that matches the applicant is generated, and the list is sent to a user via e-mail.
"It is totally confidential," Donnelli said. "We have designed this for the candidates."
Applicants then give GradQuest permission to release their resume to the companies of their choice.
The service costs $25, but if a person is hired by a company through the search, that money will be refunded.
"There is a wide array of jobs available," Donnelli said. "We market to companies and can connect people with someone from accounting to zoology."
Saba said that while GradQuest may provide job-seekers with an array of companies, most of the online job searches he has explored are not as encompassing.
"The places I have looked at are very specific; extremely specific about what they're after," Saba said.
The .site address is
http://www.gradquest.com/
Teaching award given
Research grant honors deceased art professor
By Stephanie Fite Kansan staff writer
Michael E. Ott is the posthumous recipient of the first Gretchen Van Bloom Budig Teaching Professorship at the University of Kansas.
Ott was a faculty member in the art department at the University from 1969 until his death on July 17 following a fall from the roof of his Lawrence home. Art and design faculty unanimously chose Ott as the recipient in June.
Former Chancellor Gene A. Budig donated $5,000 for the award in June, which is named in honor his wife, Gretchen Van Bloom Budig. The Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, Mo., matched the award with an additional $5,000. The $10,000 yearly award will pay for faculty nominated from the music, design and dance departments to research abroad. The art department already has enough research money included in its budget.
Ott's award money will be divided among the design, music and dance departments.
"Of the many outstanding faculty in the School of Fine Arts, no one could be a more appropriate choice for this recognition of excellence," said Peter Thompson, dean of the School of Fine Arts. "This recommendation by his faculty colleagues is most gratifying and would have pleased Mike very much."
The professorship was created to recognize and honor instructors at the University whose contributions in teaching, research and service to the department were unparalleled, Thompson said.
"It is most appropriate that Professor Ott be named the first recipient because he did so much for so many over the years at the University of Kansas," Budig said in a press release. "One of his paintings hangs in our living room in Princeton. It reminds us of KU and one of its finest people. He will be missed."
Ott, professor of art, was an instructor of painting and sculpture. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1972, to associate professor in 1976 and to full professor in 1986.
Ott served as acting chairman of the art department from 1975 to 1977. He was an exchange professor from 1991 to 1992 at the School of Art and Design at Coventry Polytechnic in Coventry, England. When he returned, Ott became acting graduate director in the art and design department in Fall 1993. Ottr spent 26 years at the University.
Ott's watercolor works are a part of more than 40 public and private collections, including the collection of the crown prince of Brunei.
Genna Ott, research assistant in the School of Business, said her husband would have been pleased to accept the professorship.
"Mike thoroughly enjoyed teaching," she said. "He enjoyed working with students from all backgrounds and artistic orientations. This is such a great honor and so bittersweet that he isn't here to accept it."
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