UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, November 1, 1996
3A
Audience to get taste of Tibetan culture
Drums on sticks, 12-foot trumpets to highlight show
By Jeff Ruby
Kansan staff writer
They're so good the Dalai Lama himself gave his seal of approval.
The National Song and Dance Ensemble of Tibet is touring outside of exile for the first time, performing at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Lied Center under the patronage of His Holiness's Council for Religious and Cultural Affairs.
"Interest in Tibet has been growing worldwide and there has been increasing pressure for the company to perform abroad," said Leslie Banker of Tibet House New York, an organization dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture. "Such tours provide a wonderful opportunity to display the richness and variety of Tibetan culture to the international public."
Thirty-six years ago, the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, established the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) while in exile in India to preserve the culture's authentic performing arts. Banker said.
"TIPA helps to keep alive the traditional Tibetan arts in the exiled communities," Banker said.
Jamyang Dorjee, the Tibetan Song and Dance Ensemble's artistic director, said the group's performance helped keep traditional Tibetan artistic expressions from fading away during the years.
"When his holiness the Dalai Lama founded [the troupe] in 1959, he feared the Tibetan culture would be endangered," Dorje told Newsday two weeks ago.
The ensemble, which consists of 55 artists enacting traditional songs, dances and acting methods from the Tibetan community, will be appearing in Martin Scorsese's next film, Kundun, said Karen Lane Christilles, the Lied Center director of public relations.
"The National Song and Dance Ensemble will reenact the Tibetan Opera Festival during which Chinese troupes invaded Tibet in
1958," Christilles said of Scorsese's film, which will trace the early years of the Dalai Lama's life.
The dance ensemble's extravagant stage show features all kinds of instruments that westerners may find bizarre, Christilles said, such as 12-foot-long trumpets, drums on twirling sticks, and cymbals sounding a silvery shiver.
"I'm very excited to see them," Christilles said. "It really is a glimpse into a culture we're not normally able to peek into. It'll be fascinating, and it should appeal to a broad spectrum of people. The cultural significance of what you're going to see adds to the experience."
"They're amazing," said Kyra Borere of Tibet House. "It's absolutely beautiful. They have all sorts of amazing costumes, fantastic masks and colors. The whole thing is lively and beautiful."
Tickets for the show still are available at the Lied Center Box Office, Murphy Hall Box Office and SUA Box Office in the Kansas Union. Seats are $11 and $9 for students and $22 and $18 for the general public.
The National Song and Dance Ensemble of Tibet will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Lied Center. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Lied Center, the Murphy Hall Box Office and the SUA Box Office.
Contributed Photo
Minority enrollment: Sticking around
The chart on the left shows the percentage of the student body composed of minorities. On the right are percentages of minority students who have either graduated or still are continuing at the University 5 years after initial enrollment. Faded areas indicate ranges of figures.
- Andy Rohrback / KANSAN
Senate report will address minority enrollment, retention
By Spencer Duncan Kansan staff report
Bothered by slow progress in the University of Kansas' efforts to improve minority enrollment and retention, a Student Senate committee is stepping in to offer advice.
In two weeks, Ron Chen, chairman of Senate's multicultural affairs committee, will submit a report to the committee offering suggestions on how the University can increase minority enrollment and retention.
"This report will be a good step in helping the University get better at recruiting minorities," Chen said. The report will go from the multicultural affairs com-
sity get better all economic time. The report will go from the multicultural affairs com-
munity to the Record of Agents.
Although the report is not yet finished, Chen outlined some of its ideas.
The report will suggest that a committee of faculty, students and administrators be created to continually study minority recruitment.
say they want an oversight committee to be formed to make sure that things get done and that the problem is always addressed." Chen said.
- adding National Achievement and National Hispanic Scholars to Chancellor Robert Hemenway's
The report also suggests:
recruitment plan
granting students who receive minority scholarships,automatic entry into the honors program
- mass advertising of available opportunities * law enforcement faculty specific training
These and other stipulations can be amended by Senate.
Amanda Martinez, multicultural affairs vice-chairwoman, said the report was created with a variety of campus input.
Although the regents will see the report, nothing in it is binding to the University. However, Chen thinks the work behind the report will pay off.
"We talked to international students, minority affairs, the student assistance center, the multicultural resource center and some administrators," Martinez said.
"If the regents are going to see it, then hopefully that means it will be taken seriously by the University," Chen said.
Student Body President Grey Montgomery said that the report would affect everyone.
"This is going to be an important report that could be seen by a lot of people," Montgomery said. "This is a good initiative for Student Senate, and when it is finished it will have an impact."
Lower standards disputed
Honors qualifications intended to attract minority students
By Cameron Heeg Kansan staff writer
Giving minority students a break by lowering the honors program requirements might not help increase minority enrollment and retention, said Sherwon Thompson, director of the Office of Minority Affairs.
The Student Senate Multicultural Affairs Committee has suggested that minorities who receive scholarships should be automatically enrolled in the honors program.
But Thompson doesn't think the committee's suggestion will have its intended effect.
"The spirit of bringing attention to minority students is a noble effort." Thompson said. "We always want to try to adjust programs to fit the special needs of students, but lowering
the honors standards will not help out much. The quality of minority students that have been coming to the University has increased, and they are equal with other scholarship students."
Ron Chen, chairman of the Multicultural Affairs Committee said most minority students who qualify for scholarships would meet the honor program requirements.
"Some might not, but if we want to help recruit minorities and improve retention, then we need to offer some help," he said.
Students who don't meet the program's enrollment criteria can still be accepted if they have a strong high school record, are enrolled in advanced college courses and receive a good review from a one-on-one interview with an honors program official, said Sandra Wick, assistant director of the Honors program.
Although Wick said she was interested in getting more minorities into the program, she did not want it to be at the expense of the minority.
Honors Criteria
Students who meet one of the following criteria automatically are accepted into the Honors program: 31 or above on ACT
1340 or above on SAT
National Merit Finalist
Receive a Summerfield or Watkins Burger scholarship Students who don't meet these criteria also can be accepted if they have a 28 to 30 on the ACT, a high school grade point average of 3.5 or above and a strong college schedule of classes.
students' well being.
"I would like to have more direct input into the process of bringing in minorities to the honors program." Wick said. "We first want to get to know as much as we can about the student. I would feel responsible if the minority students didn't fit in and do well or didn't have a good experience in our program."
ON THE RECORD
A KU student's cellular phone and miscellaneous items were stolen between 10:30 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday from a car in the 1400 block of Kentucky Street, Lawrence police said. The items were valued a $1,601.
sippi Street, Lawrence police said. The items were valued at $35.
A KU student's license plate was stolen between 1 and 3 a.m. Saturday from a parked car on Gower Place, Lawrence police said. The plate was valued at $10.
A KU student's day planner, checkbook, credit card and miscellaneous items were stolen between 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday from a business in the 900 block of Missis-
A KU student's door jamb was damaged between 10 a.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday at a house in the 1300 block of Grace Court, Lawrence police said. The damage was estimated at $200.
A KU student's parking permit was stolen between 8 and 9:25 a.m. Oct. 25 from a car in Lot 90 south of Robinson Center, KU police said. The permit was valued at $32.
■ The KU housing department reported a stolen sign between 1 p.m. Sept. 30 and 1 p.m. Oct.
19 from the lawn of Douthart
Scholarship Hall, KU police said. The sign was valued at $100.
A KU student's window was damaged, and a wallet, cash, KUID, driver's license, three credit cards and a paycheck were stolen between 12:50 and 2:23 p.m. Tuesday from a car in Lot 37 north of Haworth Hall, KU police said. The items were valued at $1,226.
A School of Education computer hard drive was stolen between 2 p.m. Sept. 25 and 3:20 p.m. Oct. 29 from Bailey Hall room 6, KU police said. The hard drive was valued at $100.
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KU student I.D. required
Foundations of World Drama: The London Experience
3 credit hours - English 213, 460 or 550/layer 130.
Also available as audit/noncredit.
Instructors: Lois and Jonas Spatz
The University of Missouri-Kansas City and People to People International offer this overseas program on the history and fundamentals of the dramatic arts.
Leave Kansas City on Thursday, Dec. 26, 1996 — Return to Kansas City on Thursday, Jan. 9, 1997 London is the only city in the world where it is possible to see plays from all the principal periods in the history of the theater in the space of a few weeks, from Greek tragedy to the contemporary avant-garde. These plays are performed in an infinite variety of styles — from the elaborate productions of the West End and the National Theater to the small experimental and repertory companies.
This unique journey, led by Professors Jonas and Lois Spatz of the UMKC Department of English, will be enriched by a trip to Stratford-on-Avon, a backstage visit to the National Theatre, a tour of the replica of the original Globe Theatre, and a visit to the Theater Museum at Covent Garden. The cost for the trip is $1,985, which includes lodging, continental breakfasts, theater admission to eight plays, a resident adviser, bus and subway passes, backstage tours, travel to Stratford-on-Avon and a farewell dinner. The fee does not include airfare.