THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
INSIDE
SPORTS
Congressional candidate Paul Davis visits campus
Marcus Garrett’s contributions on offense
Nearly a decade after graduating, Stephanie Craig found herself running a travel blog out of Bulgaria p. 3
will be key in Kansas basketball success The University Daily Kansan
vol. 137 // iss. 21 Thurs., Nov 1, 2018
SEE GARRETT • PAGE 10
The black student debt crisis
Students of color borrow more money, more often than their white peers
Time isn’t always on Diane Hunter’s side. Hunter, a senior majoring in communications, juggles being a full-time student at the University of Kansas and working 24 hours a week at a hotel. She’s also a newlywed — married in June. Life is stressful, but she knows she has to prepare herself for an unfortunate reality when she graduates in December — $50,000 in student loan debt. Although Hunter said being married is a cushion for helping to pay off her loans, she knows it might
Read more at kansan.com
Have you voted yet? Early voting has started for the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Students registered in Douglas County can cast their ballots early at the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center next to the Kansas Union. Polls are open 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. through Friday, Nov. 2.
“I want to have a say in what’s happening... before I accidentally get too busy before Tuesday.” Reagan Kanter Junior Lawrence, KS
DeAsia Paige/KANSAN Senior Diane Hunter works part-time at Country Inn & Suites to help pay off her student loans. DEASIA PAIGE @deasia_paige
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be a long time before she erases her debt. “Hopefully, I’ll get a job and be able to pay it off in ten years, but I know people who are 60 years old who are still paying off their student loans,” Hunter said. “That’s not what I would like to happen to me, but it could very well happen. I don’t know.” Hunter is a first-generation student from a working class family in Independence, Missouri. She transferred to the University in 2014 after going to community college, but took a two-year break from school shortly after coming to Lawrence.
During her break Hunter quickly learned about the burden of student loan debt. She was $30,000 in debt at the time and was constantly in deferment — a grace period of 12 months for loan payments. As a result, Hunter can no longer defer her loans when she graduates. She said if she were not a first-generation college student, she probably wouldn’t have a lot of student debt. “Most black people are first-generation [college students], and that can play a big part, because if you are first-generation, you don’t really know a lot,” Hunter said. “Your
parents don’t know a lot about the applying to schools and how much it costs, and other races whose parents have went to school are able to tell them to not take out a loan unless they really have to. They get that type of education before coming to school.” With U.S. student loan debt reaching $1.53 trillion, Hunter’s story isn’t surprising. More importantly, it reflects a larger trend of how black students across the nation are disadvantaged in terms of student loan debt.
“I think it’s really important, because this is my future, and I’m finally old enough to do it.” Nicole Weyer Freshman Blue Rapids, KS
“I came here to vote because I want my voice to be heard in the shaping of our state and our country.” Collin Bruey Senior Wichita, KS
SEE LOANS • PAGE 2
Jewish organizations unite after Pittsburgh shooting NICOLE ASBURY @NicoleAsbury It’s been a heartbreaking week for Jewish students at the University of Kansas. An assailant armed with an AR-15 assault weapon and three handguns opened fire on a Pittsburgh synagogue the morning of Oct. 27, shouting anti-Semitic slurs. Eleven people died, and many were wounded. By the end of the day, it was one of the deadliest acts against individuals of the Jewish faith in America’s history. Following the shooting, Jewish people across the country were left shocked and speechless. But since the tragedy, Jewish groups at the University have been working to honor the victims and unite in support for one another. KU Hillel and Chabad of KU — both organizations for Jewish students on campus — invited members of the campus community to come together on Oct. 28 for a gathering at the Kansas Memorial Union. And on Oct. 30, they organized a dinner at Naismith Hall to discuss the events more thoroughly. “We know a number of residents here on campus and at Naismith Hall have been affected by the tragedy in Pittsburgh this weekend,” the Facebook event
said. “It can be difficult to process, and we understand that some of our residents may just need a place to connect with other students.” Spencer Rosenak, the president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, a Jewish fraternity on campus, was with his fraternity brothers when he found out about the shooting. Immediately, a group of freshmen from the fraternity came to the executive board with the idea to repaint the letters in front of their home and add the hashtag #PittsburghStrong. It took about 30 minutes to do, Rosenak said. “The best way for us as a group to channel those feelings was to act,” Rosenak said. Sam Brody, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University, said anti-Semitism often goes through periods in which it becomes prevalent and a public problem, and other periods when it seems to recede. “Anti-Semitism is something that flares up at certain points in history, often when there’s economic crisis because of the historical stereotypes and tropes that go with anti-Semitism are economic in nature,” Brody said. “When you see this kind of issue with nationalism, with globalism for
Emma Pravecek/KANSAN Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi has united in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on Oct. 27. They posted “#PittsburghStrong” on the letters in front of the house on campus. example, being something that is prominent in public rhetoric, you’re likely to see a spike or rise in anti-Semitism.” Over the course of the past five years, anti-Semitism has been on the rise, but spiked within the last two years, Brody said. The most recent attack in Pittsburgh models a classical form of anti-Semitism, Brody said. The Tree of Life synagogue in particular was selected by the assail-
ant due to the synagogue’s work on behalf of an organization that helps immigrants and refugees in the United States. “It wasn’t simply religious bigotry, but in that sense it was a classical anti-Semitic attack because he believed Jews were pulling the strings behind other things he was worried about — like migrants coming to the United States and seeking asylum,” Brody said. The day following the
attack in Pittsburgh, Interim Provost Carl Lejuez and Vice Provost for Diversity and Equity Jennifer Hamer wrote a letter to the Kansan, which directly responded to the events in Pittsburgh. “Engage where you are as an informed citizen and ally. For those we have lost and for those most vulnerable, your understanding, knowledge and action matter,” the letter said in part. While Rosenak has not personally encountered no-
ticeable acts of anti-Semitism on campus, he said it’s important for the campus community to be aware of the events in Pittsburgh. “It’s important for all of us to acknowledge a horrible event like this, Jewish or not,” Rosenak said. “This world is filled with hate, but we can control the culture of this campus. It’s our job to keep this university a place where anyone can feel safe and respected each and every day.”