Thursday

December 2, 2004

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THE KENTUCKY

Kernel

Celebrating 33 years of independence

 

Cats sustained too many
injuries for success

Page3

 

Rev. Horton Heat comes
to The Dame tomorrow

Pages

SG removes restrictions to number of initiatives

By Tricia McKenny

mi «mulch mm

After much debate and many
questions, 80 passed an amend-
ment to the Initiative and Referen-
dum Act by a large majority last
night.

The initiative and Referendum
Act. originally passed Nov. 10. im-
plemented rules and regulations for
the placement of referen-
dums and initiatives on the
ballot before they could be
voted on by the student
body

Last night‘s amendment
to the act. presented to the
full Senate by Senators At-
Large Adam Stigall and
Michelle Bishop and Col-
lege of Engineering Sen.
Josh Odoi. eliminated a cap
setting a limit of three ref-
erendums or initiatives to
be placed on each year's ballot.

Prior to the amendment. only
the first three referendums and ini-
tiatives received each year could be
placed on the ballot.

The limits were placed original-
ly because of senators‘ concerns
about a limited amount of space on

“Restricting
the number
(of initia-

tives) is not
democracy." to

the ballot.

“Why are we restricting referene
dums and initiatives when we do
not limit the number of candi»
dates?" Bishop asked senators
when presenting the amendment.

She said the Senate would be re—
sponsible for making room on the
ballot if a large number of candi‘
dates entered the senate races. so it
should also take on that
responsibility if a large
number of referendums
or initiatives are pre-
sented.

“Restricting the
number is not a democ-
racy. We are trying to
give (students) a chance
participate." said
Odoi.

“Student Govern
ment is for the students.
Just because another
person puts theirs in a minute be-
fore you doesn't mean you should-
n’t have yours on the ballot." he
told senators before they voted last
night.

Senators passed the initiative
and Referendum Act and last
night‘s amendment in response to

Josh Odoi

SG senator-at-iarge

Referendum One, a referendum ap-
proved by students Iast spring that
was met with much debate and con-
troversy

“The Senate made the right
choice (in passing the amend-
mentl." said 80 President Rachel
Watts.

“Who knows how many hot is-
sues will be presented by students?
it is not right to limit it if several
students do the same amount of
work." she said.

The Senate considered four pro
posed amendments before approv-
ing the amendment eliminating the
cap and then approving a motion
not to vote on the other proposed
amendments.

All three of the other proposed
amendments left the cap in place.

One of the proposed amend-
ments set up a specific time period
for students to submit referendums
or initiatives. while the others
called for the Senate to determine
which referendums and initiatives
are placed on the ballot or how
many can be placed on the ballot
each year.

These proposals were dismissed
without going to a vote.

mum-II sun

Senators Michelle Bishop and Josh Odoi discuss the referendum before presenting their
versron of the amendment to the Senate last night at the Student Government meeting.

Referendums and initiatives can
be presented by any UK student up
to two weeks before the election.
and they require 1.000 signatures
and an explanation of intent.

“It is a great chance for students
to speak their own voice.“ Stigail
said. “There is no need for a cap be—
cause the students work so hard to

get 1,000 signatures."

“i would hate to see (the referen-
dum process) limited." said Matt
martin. the College of Pharmacy
senator. “It is really the only oppor-
tunity for students themselves to
put issues on the ballot."

E-mail tmckennyrgkykernelcom

 

State’s first flu case

By helissarSm‘itthaIIery
THE moum KERNEL

The UK Theatre Depart-
ment presents two new per»
formance pieces this week:
Everyman and Rara.’

Both plays originated as
class projects. and students
were involved in every as-
pect of production. from
writing the script and de-
signing the set to playing
the parts.

Everyman is a medieval
morality play. but students
in Acting I (’I‘A 126) and
Fundamentals of Design
and Production (TA 150)
have rewritten and modem
ized the script to maximize
its relevancy.

Director Nancy Jones
describes the adaptation as
a show that has ideas perti-
nent to today's world
ideas to which college stu-
dents can particularly re-
late.

The stage is framed in
television screens. with one
giant projection screen at
the back of the stage. Stu-
dents can certainly relate to

 

the omnipresence of the
media it‘s strange not to
have a television in your
dorm room to watch the lat
est episode of “The DC." or
a computer to chat with a
person three doors down
about Adam Brody's hot—
ness.

Theatre freshmen take
both TA 126 and TA 1:30.
Freshmen are rarely in-
volved so heavily in a main-
stage production. but I'Irery
man has given rookies a
chance to get hands-on ex-
perience in their first year.

“Sometimes students
feel like being in plays is
the most important part of
the theatre program." Jones
said.

Whereas the redone
E1 'eryman addresses aspects
of Western culture. Topics
in Theatre (TA 350) students
are bringing the rituals and
customs of Haiti to the
(iuignoi stage in Ram.’

A typical boy-meets girl
story is the base of the plot
of Ram]. which the class
wrote. Director John Hol

Ioway said he first became
interested in Haitian cul-
ture while watching the
History Channel. and in an
effort to dispel stereotypes
of vodou much like
those of exorcism in
(‘athoiicism Holloway
and his students have tried
to remain as faithful to the
actual practices as possible.

In Rara.’. vodou is about
the spirits that visit those
in need. through a medium.
These spirits provide thera-
py for the afflicted. as the
medium actually becomes
the spirit. After further re-
search. Holloway said he
decided that the most inter
esting way to portray the
medium's transformation
into the spirits is through
puppetry

“Puppets are cutting»
edge." he said. "Think
about the musicals like The
Lion King and Avenue Q. or
the movie Team America:
World Police."

Most Americans have
grown up surrounded by
puppets. whether on

Above: Theater freshman Kris
Alexander (middle) plays Jesus
in Everyman, which runs
tonight through Sunday. with
performances at 8 tonight, Fri-
day and Saturday, and Sunday
at 2 pm. Everyman is an adap-
tation of a famous medieval
morality play.

Left: Christophe. played by
theater senior Craig Brach.
sits and sulks as the woman he
wants to marry is betrothed

to another man. The play fo|~
lows a festival band that
dances and sings for enter-
tainment, and is paid a fee for
its services. Rara! is shown at
7 pm. Friday and Saturday.

mum! ennui srm

 

 

 

If you go

What: Everyman

When: 8 tonight through Sat-
urday and 2 pm. Sunday

Where: Briggs Theatre, Fine
Arts Building

How rnuch: Tickets cost $5

What Rara!

Whert 7 pm. friday and Sat-
urday

Where: Guignol Theatre. Fine
Arts Building

New muctc Free

For more information about
these productions, visit
wwwulryedu/fineArts.

 

 

“Sesame Street" or in their
own homes with sock pup
pets. Those in Rural. howev-
er. are far more complicated
than a simple sock.

“I just can‘t help but
think of how cool it all is."
Holloway said.

Email
featuresw kykernelcom

marks late arrival

By Elizabeth Troutman
m

Pre-pharmacy freshman
Yahya Ahmed relies on the
flu vaccine every year be-
cause he has asthma. This
year was the first he didn't
get the shot.

“I have a history of respi-
ratory problems. especially
in the winter." he said. “i feel
like the fact that there was a
scarcity is the reason why
people got the flu shot this
year."

Ahmed was one of many
UK students who were left
out of the 1.000 vaccines
available at University
Health Services in October
Health services had antici-
pated receiving 4.000 vac-
cines for student services
this year.

The first confirmed case
of the flu in Northern Ken-
tucky yesterday marked the
late arrival of the state‘s flu
season. Dr. Greg Moore. die
rector of student health. said
cases are usually seen after

the Thanksgiving break.

“It's started quite late in
the country” he said. “Lucki-
ly in New York and Nebraska
there have only been a couple
cases a week."

Moore said flu season al-
ways comes at an inconve-
nient time for students. Be-
sides taking the vaccine. stu-
dents can prevent getting
sick by eating a well-rounded
diet including fruits and veg-
etables and washing their
hands several times a day

Moore said dorm life and
close living environments
can also make students more
likely to catch the virus.

“Certainly living close to
gether is a risk factor." he
said. “The height of the flu
season is the height of finals.
You prevent the flu by doing
all the things your mother
tells you to."

University Health Ser-
vices treated 142 cases of the
flu during the 2003-04 school
year. No cases have been re-

See Flu on page 2

 

Pentagon requests more
troops before Iraqis vote

By Tom Bowman

IHE BALTIMORE SUN

WASHINGTON The
Pentagon is boosting the to-
tal number of US. troops in
Iraq to 150.000. the highest
number deployed since the
war began in March 2003.

Army Brig. Gen. David
Rodriguez told reporters at
the Pentagon yesterday that
the increase from the current
138.000 troops would mainly
provide security for Iraqi
elections scheduled for the
end of January and also
“keep up the pressure on the
insurgency since the Failu-
jah operation."

Gen. George Casey. the
top US. commander in Iraq.
requested the additional
troops. which were approved
by Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld. officials said.

Rodriguez. the operations
director for the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. said officials
planned to reduce the num-
ber of US. forces back to
138.000 by the end of March.
depending on the security
situation. But hopes for re
ducing the number of troops
have been continually
dashed over the past year.
When Baghdad fell in April
2003. some Pentagon officials
were privately estimating
30,000 US. troops on the
ground by the end of that
summer. but the ever-grow-

ing insurgency disrupted
those plans.

With yesterday's an-
nouncement. 10.400 soldiers
and Marines will receive ex-
tensions for as long as two
months. while 1,500 soldiers
from the Army's 82nd Air-
borne Division in coming
weeks will be sent to iraq for
about 120 days to support se
curity efforts during the elec-
tion period. officials said.

The addition of US.
troops to provide security for
the elections was expected.
but the numbers unveiled
Wednesday were higher than
officials had been estimating.
Two weeks ago. Lt. Gen.
Lance Smith. deputy com~
mander of the US. Central
Command. said he expected
a “brigades worth" of troops

— about 5.000 would be
kept in Iraq during the elec-
tion period.

Sen. Jack Reed. D-R.i.. a
former officer in the 82nd
Airborne. said the exten-
sions and additional troops
announced yesterday showed
the Pentagon was finally con-
fronting “the reality of Iraq.”

“You need more troops,
well-trained troops." Reed
said in an interview estimat-
ing that as many as 300.000
US. troops were necessary to
provide security in Iraq.
That figure echoeg the esti-

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