Recently by Adam Samson

By Adam Samson

Within minutes of the KU v. Colorado football game being over, campuscloth.com employee Alex Kane saw a rush of people coming downtown.  After a win for the Jayhawks over Colorado, the Jayhawk faithful remained loyal to the downtown businesses.  Fans filtered through the bars, restaurants and stores giving business to all that were open.

During the football games, the bars and restaurants with TVs broadcasting the game would receive steady business, but stores like campuscloth.com consider it dead time while the game is underway.  As soon as the game is over is when campuscloth.com awaits the stream of customers.  The bars and restaurants also anticipated the rush of fans to pile down to Massachusetts Street.

"We have a lot more business on game days because a lot of people are from Kansas City and Topeka," Kane said.  "Barring the weather, they usually come here to buy gear after a win.  When we beat Colorado was our best weekend for sales."

Students, Lawrence residents and out-of-town visitors poured into Memorial Stadium on Saturdays for home football games and downtown restaurants and stores looked for those fans to pour into their downtown businesses before and after the games.  The city government is even pitching in a few dollars to bring more business to downtown on game days.  One factor that affects some businesses is the start time of the games.

One of the new additions this year that the city provided was a free bus shuttle to Memorial Stadium from downtown.  City Manager David Corliss said the goals for the shuttle system were to bring more people to downtown Lawrence after a game and to reduce neighborhood congestion closer to the stadium by using downtown parking.

"Enhancing our downtown is always a priority policy for City government," Corliss said.  "With large football crowds, we want to increase the opportunity for visitors who may not eat or shop in Lawrence to experience our downtown."

In a Channel 6 newscast earlier this year, they stated that the city spent about $13,000 on the shuttle system to try boosting the revenue for downtown.  Jo Shmo's restaurant and bar owner Josh Mochel doesn't think that having a shuttle bus affected the businesses one way or another.

Mochel said people come downtown to the restaurants and bars no matter what and if new to Lawrence, chances are the people would find their way downtown anyway.

"I think it's a waste of time and money," Mochel said.  "On game days, you need to close off Massachusetts to the bars and have trollies taking people from Free State to the other end of Mass Street."

A trolly system would definitely be unique to downtown Lawrence and create a different downtown atmosphere.

Tim Agnew, general manager at Buffalo Wild Wings, said that it's hard to tell if the bus shuttles brought more people downtown and that it would take a lot of research to tell whether the bus shuttle money could be spent more wisely elsewhere.

The city government is still evaluating the impact of the free bus shuttle to Memorial Stadium.  Corliss said they plan to evaluate the shuttle program after all the bills are paid will look for feedback from the users of the shuttle and downtown businesses.

"Our bus shuttles had fewer riders on the early start games and I know some businesses see more traffic and some see less," Corliss said.  "We will consider its use in the future and we may recommend that riders pay in the future."

By Adam Samson

Frank DeSalvo usually gets up at the same time every morning, does a few exercises or light weights, has breakfast and gets into work. Usually he has an 8 a.m.-5 p.m. workday and he sets aside his lunch break for an hour of swimming at Robinson Pool.

With some structure of a daily schedule, it is surprising at how unanticipated events have affected DeSalvo and his normal routine. If one phrase could sum up DeSalvo, it would be "unexpected change."

"It wasn't like I was directly headed for this position and place," DeSalvo said. "Clearly it was by accident in a lot of ways."

He never thought much about leaving southwestern Pennsylvania, much less living in the middle of America in Kansas.  Four years of high school and DeSalvo didn't have any career direction.  He never had thoughts about his current field and position in the university setting and only stumbled upon his major because it had the most electives available.  It took an injury for him to stumble upon Robinson Pool and take up swimming for his daily exercise.

Growing up Frank DeSalvo hardly ever left his county. The only time he left the county was if he was ill and needed to get health care in the nearest major city.

After 23 years in southwestern Pennsylvania, he left his home state behind to get a masters degree.  Pennsylvania was ancient history. DeSalvo spent two years getting his masters in Knoxville, Tenn., four years in northern Maine, four in Austin, Texas, eight in Fayetteville, Ark., and finally settled in Lawrence nearly 18 years ago.

DeSalvo's parents, and grandparents who were Italian immigrants, always stressed that he had to do well in school.  On top of that, DeSalvo's father was a coal-miner and that meant there was no margin for error.  Education was important to his family and they stressed that education is something no one could take away from him, so he need not screw around.

DeSalvo didn't know what he wanted to do with his life after high school though.

"My dad gave me a choice: I could go to college or I could die," DeSalvo said.  "So I went to college, but my heart wasn't really in it."

While attending St. Francis College (Pa.), DeSalvo chose Sociology for his undergraduate degree.  It was during his senior year that he had a come-to-realization moment.  Out of pure luck, DeSalvo enrolled in a social work class where the teacher made such an impression on him that he decided he wanted to go into the social work and mental health field.

DeSalvo and his wife were ready for change and were both looking for master's degrees in their respective fields.  The choice led them to Tennessee and not too long after they completed their master's degrees, an unexpected life change occurred for DeSalvo.

The death of his father came as he had a sudden heart attack one sudden afternoon.  DeSalvo admired what his father accomplished in life and saw him as a hero.

"He was just a simple coal miner and it wasn't that he made a lot of money or had high status," DeSalvo said.  "But his character, work ethic, and respect for people are standards that I try to aspire to today."

DeSalvo's father never met his two daughters, as his first daughter was born a year after his death.  He always assumed he would have a lot more time with his father.

"His sudden death drove home the idea that every day counts and to treat people well because you never know when you're going to be going out," DeSalvo said.

As soon as he got his Ph.D., from the University of Texas-Austin, he searched for a job on a college campus and landed one at the University of Arkansas.  DeSalvo worked with the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) while at Arkansas for eight years and found himself taking an unexpected move west to Kansas.

"The interesting deal is that I wasn't looking to move at all," DeSalvo said.  "I was quite happy in Arkansas and everything was going great there."

However, one of DeSalvo's colleagues in student affairs at Arkansas secured a job at KU and kept in touch.  DeSalvo opened letters reading about how great a place it was at KU and how KU was a good university.

"I said, I'm happy for ya and all that, but I didn't really worry about it," DeSalvo said.

His colleague then informed him of a position with CAPS similar to the position he had at Arkansas.  The position was uniquely structured and DeSalvo thought it sounded like an interesting opportunity to do it all over again in a different college atmosphere.

"It's like when you're the first one to do something and say, boy if I could do this over again, I'd do this or that," DeSalvo said.  "Well, here was my chance."

So DeSalvo applied and KU selected him for the Director of CAPS position.  Once again, unpredictably, a big change came about.  DeSalvo's transition from Director of CAPS to Associate Vice Provost wasn't planned either.

In 2005, the then Dean of Students left his position in the middle of the year and DeSalvo was asked to serve as the interim Dean of Students for the remaining academic year until they could fill the position.  The Dean of Students position then folded into a department with three Associate Vice Provosts.

After being offered one of the Associate Vice Provost slots when it was unfilled, DeSalvo passed on the opportunity and returned as Director of CAPS.  He was so sure that he wanted to serve on the search committee so that he would be out of the running for the Associate Vice Provost position.  After the position was filled, one of the other two vice provosts got their dream job and vacated the position.

"During that time where I was so forcefully uninterested in the position, my wife died and I needed a big change, an so when I was asked again for kicks, I said actually I would like to talk about it and now I'm here in my position," DeSalvo said.  "Not really planned at all."

In 2005, DeSalvo became one of three Associate Vice Provosts.  That year also marked the death of his wife.  This was another unexpected change for DeSalvo.  Seven years before that, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She had it licked for three and a half years, but it came back.

"Something I never envisioned a position I would be in would be widower and having to deal with the changes that take place when a person fights cancer," DeSalvo said.  "Also to be in a position being the only parent for my two girls is another accident that I never imagined.

In 1991, when DeSalvo arrived on the KU campus, he was physically active and played racquetball often.  One afternoon a group of handball players recruited him to play because they were lacking in numbers.  DeSalvo started playing with these handball players in February and at the end of May, he had blew out hit Achilles Tendon.

That summer DeSalvo was in a cast for 11 weeks and recovered quickly, but the words from the orthopedist were disheartening and relieving in both aspects.

"The orthopedist said 'you're done as far as court sports go' and 'by the way, swimming would be nice rehab for you,'" DeSalvo said.

DeSalvo knew how to swim, but it had been 15-20 years since he had been in the water.  Seventeen years later and DeSalvo is still paddling through the water at Robinson Pool.

Even with DeSalvo's busy schedule, he sees swimming as a priority in his daily routine and has been able to fit in an hour each weekday to exercise.

"The better shape I'm in, the more I can go and the nature of my job, is that there are a lot of days where it requires a lot of activity for a long period of time and I haven't run out of gas," DeSalvo said. "I contribute that to my physical fitness."

Swimming is just one part of DeSalvo's daily routine that remains static and doesn't seem to be taking any unexpected twists in the near future.

By Adam Samson

Before moving into a retirement home, 80-year-old Ruth Kintigh wanted to sell some furniture and other antiques worth several thousand dollars. Kintigh contacted a local consignment shop in Baldwin City and a man, who appeared very professional, took the items she was looking to sell.

Three weeks later and Ruth hadn't heard back from the man. He didn't return her phone calls either. At this point, Kintigh decided to call the district attorney's office to file a complaint against the man from the consignment shop through the Consumer Protection Unit. The man did respond to the call from the district attorney's office. He apologized to Kintigh and returned the items he had not sold and reimbursed her for most of what he had already sold.

Kintigh, now lives in the retirement home with her husband, where she can feel more at ease and doesn't have to worry about more potential consumer protection issues.

"I'm in a pretty protected situation now, but I can see a lot of elderly people and others being taken advantage of with the economic slump," Kintigh said.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson created the Consumer Protection Unit (CPU) to address consumer needs and handle issues that a private practice attorney may not take. Since the inception in October 2006, the CPU expanded its outreach and has affected the community like Branson hoped. The CPU is also looking to make significant strides with consumer protection in the near future because of difficult economic conditions.

Branson initiated the CPU at the time he was running for office because Douglas County is large enough to have its own agency to help with consumer needs. Before becoming the district attorney, Branson worked in private practice for nine years in Douglas County.

Working in private practice, he realized there was a need for consumers to report impropriety. For instance, if there is a dispute because it may cost $500 to go to a private practice attorney in a situation over something as little as $100. Before Branson started the CPU, the closest agency for consumer help was located in Topeka.

"Knowing that the district attorney office's prior policy was to refer people to Topeka, I thought that was pretty unsatisfying," Branson said. "To me it became a matter of the right thing to do for Douglas County."

Nationally, according to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of consumer protection complaints have gradually increased since the year 2000. In 2000, the number of miscellaneous fraud complaints rested at 75,000.  Seven years later in 2007, the number rose to about 325,000. With the national number increasing, it helps to focus in on the local needs as well.

A specific group that the CPU has had a particular success in helping out is the elderly.

In Douglas County, which has a population of about 110,000, nearly 10 percent of the population are 65 years old and over. Essentially, the CPU keeps businesses honest and protects consumers and people who might be susceptible to consumer fraud.

For the elderly that aren't as aware of new technology and products, it becomes an issue as to whether businesses are honest about products and services. In Kintigh's case, she didn't have the resources to research if the local consignment shop was dependable.

"Consumers rely generally on the suppliers to tell them the truth about products and there's usually not a lot of ways to verify that," Branson said. "The CPU is designed to be a buffer in there to say if you take advantage of folks, then there's going to be some repercussions."

Lawrence resident Katherine Keene, 85, took a small, hand-made, 5x6 rug into Pride Cleaners on Iowa Street to get cleaned. The beige and black rug made from wool yarn with a gold rose woven into it, was given to Keene by her grandmother so the rug had sentimental value. It was the first time she had taken the rug to the cleaners in years, and as the young woman working pulled the rug out after the cycle, the rug was broken up into pieces.

The employee told the manager, but the manager said Pride Cleaners didn't do anything wrong.

"I couldn't write a nasty letter in a lady-like manner so that's when I went to the district attorney's office," Keene said.

Within a month, Keene got a letter from the CPU that said they resolved the complaint with Pride Cleaners and she received a reimbursement check soon after.

"The Consumer Protection Unit is such a great tool because we do need some place like that when we've been taken advantage of," Keene said.

Sometimes all it takes is a notification letter to the supplier asking to resolve the issue immediately or further action will be taken. Sometimes there ends up being factual disputes and the CPU decides how they want to proceed. Typically, the CPU makes the decision that is appropriate to remedy the situation whether it's a refund of money to the consumer, a penalty to the supplier, or a referral to another agency. Unresolved cases can wind up in court.

There was immediate response from the public when Douglas County launched its CPU.

On average, the CPU takes about 10 complaints per month. In 2006, in just three months, there were 45 complaints. Then in 2007, the number of complaints reached 115 and so far for this year, there are 88 complaints.

Since the beginning, the CPU has assisted consumers in recognizing and recovering over $38,000 to date.

"If someone is taking you for $100, that's two or three tanks of gas and I don't know anybody that will say I just won't fill up," Branson said.

With the way the economic times are right now, Branson thinks we will see more consumer protection cases.

"We're going to see more people willing to make a buck off of somebody else," Branson said. "People will try to take advantage of people because the cost of doing business is pretty high and if somebody can make a buck without having to put in the full cost of business, they'll do it."

Branson said that the CPU is going to have to identify how to cope with increased demand. To some extent, the CPU levies some fines and collects some investigative fees that help the office fund the CPU activities. There are no full-time staff members that work solely with the CPU.

One of the ways that the CPU puts out information to consumers is with its Community Alert Network. Branson targeted social service agencies where preventative information on scams and other consumer issues can be distributed. Some of these social service agencies in Douglas County include schools, churches, civic organizations, and neighborhood organizations.

Right now if the CPU sends an alert to everybody in the Community Alert Network, it goes to about 300 different organizations.

"Those 300 organizations reach thousands of people, so it's kind of the old tell five friends principle," Branson said. "If we can do that, we can reach a lot of people."

Right now, the Community Alert Network is a paper network, but Branson did say he wanted to turn it into an electronic network to speed up the process.

In addition to the information that the CPU provides for the networks, its Web site also provides detailed information on scams and how to fill out a complaint form.

Denver senior Alex Reinhard, who is majoring in Journalism on the Strategic Communications side had the opportunity to intern with Kroenke Sports Enterprises after his freshman year, and then with Genesco Sports Enterprises this past summer.  Reinhard completed a large project with each company and worked out deals with different corporations, coming up with proposals to give to clients. 

The internships helped Reinhard to realize that Sports Marketing is something he truly wants to do, showing him what life would be like after graduation.          

"School can't give you all the knowledge you need before you go into the workplace," Reinhard said.

Companies are putting more time and interest into internships, which gives college students a taste of what is to come in their field of interest.  Additionally, students can see the value of taking internships and strengthening their résumés before applying for full-time jobs.  Various companies turn to their intern pool first when hiring for full-time positions.

Dr. Bernie Kish, Director of Facilities and Sports Management Lecturer, worked at the College Football Hall of Fame for 10 years supervising interns and now sends Sports Management majors to do internships.  Kish has noticed a significant change in internships in the past decade.

"The biggest thing that has changed is that there are more demands being placed on interns," Kish said.  "They're expected to perform from day one, but they're still considered part of the work force so people automatically look for them to know what they're doing."

Honeywell, a technology and manufacturing company, expects a student fresh out of college to have had an internship or prior experience.  Honeywell Lab Manager Eugene Kheyfets said the three months of an internship are essential for both the employer and the student.  The employer looks to see if the interns have enough experience and are ready to take on a full-time position.  The student takes away the experience that comes out of the internship.

"Our company, as well as other companies, is moving to where we won't hire people fresh out of college unless they've had an internship before," Kheyfets said.

The experience that students get out of internships cannot be taught in the classroom out of a book.  It is the real world experience that employers seek when hiring.  Ryan Arnold, Regional Internship Coordinator for College Pro Painters,  experienced the  internship aspect as a summer intern and now works with interns, so he's seen both sides as a student and employer.

"Something I always tell students is on your résumé, your grade point average is one line, and that is important," Arnold said.  "But your experience is going to be the rest of the résumé and the more experience going into a full-time position, the better."

Another aspect of internships that companies are investing their time in is networking.  Kristy Baumgarn, Leadership Programming Advisor for First National Bank said helping the interns with networking skills was important.

"We do a lot of networking events with our interns and give them a lot of professional development opportunities that I don't think a lot of companies do," Baumgarn said.

A major reason students take internships is to make sure that they are cut out for that particular line of work.  Journalism Career Development Coordinator Patty Noland said there are two reasons why internships are important for students:  First to strengthen the resume so that there is something relevant to the interest area to put on the résumé, and the second reason to allow the student to see what the field is like.

"I have students who intern over the summer come back and say Patty, I've done this internship, and I realize that's not the environment I want to be in," Noland said.  "Or conversely, I have students come back and say, I did this internship and I absolutely love it and that's what I want to do when I graduate."

The day-to-day work and the culture of the workplace shows a relationship with what the students look for when searching for full-time positions.  Lindsborg senior Elena Larson, who currently holds an internship with the Kansas City Brigade arena football team, sees internships as an essential part of the academic experience.

"The more experience you can get the better," Larson said.  "Not only do you get to learn from people who have already made it in the business, but the internship looks great on a résumé too."

After completing two summer internships already, Reinhard thinks that his need for practical experience outweighs what the classroom has to offer.  Reinhard said that classes are there to give you a few pointers before heading into an internship, but most of the work done in an internship is more helpful than lessons taught in class.

"When it boils down to it, internships are way more important than actually going to school," Reinhard said.  "In a way, school is just there to help prepare you for an internship."

Both Larson and Reinhard have a better chance of landing a job right out of school with internships under their belts.  When looking to hire recent graduates for full-time work, companies sometimes select from within the group of interns.  Baumgarn of First National Bank said her company takes this approach when hiring for full-time positions.

"We look to our internship pool first when we hire for our management training and executive development associate program," Baumgarn said.  "It's the best way to get an entry level role into First National."

Another company that uses internships as its primary means of hiring for full-time positions is Allstate Insurance Co.  Allstate holds close to a 90% acceptance rate in full-time offers of their interns.  Allstate feels confident that its company is better than any other program in the industry in giving students a taste of internship right before they graduate.

The job opportunities after graduation become available more often than not with successful internships and more experience in the field.  Kish reiterated that internships open so many doors for the future.


"If you do a good job on your internship, number one, you may get hired by that organization and they may create a position for you within the staff," Kish said.  "Number two, if they don't hire, quite often, you do so much networking while interning that it will lead you to a position."