Recently by Paige Hendrick

Graphic By: Paige Hendrick
Logo Courtesy: Yacht Club

"Get your pencils ready!" DJ Jared, a man dressed in a referee's costume says, as the clock approaches nine p.m.. He begins to slow down his speech. He speaks in a sports announcer like tone, " It is now time for Xtreme... Team... Trivia! Are you ready?"  The lights dim, the TV's are all changed to channel 101, paper ballots are passed out.

           John O'Neal and his team, Team Boob Job, have been gathering at the Yacht club off of sixth and Wisconsin since about 8 p.m. to guarantee a large enough table for his group, and an ice-cold beer tower.  

          "My team started coming about 5 weeks ago and we have been every week since", O'Neal said. "It not only gives us an excuse to go out on a Wednesday, but it also makes my group of friends a little bit closer".

         The Yacht Club started trivia with the intention of boosting revenue, but soon realized this game could do more for them than make money. With team names like Just the tip, Fuzzy Blumpkins, and Boom goes the dynamite it's easy to see how the game became so popular among young adults here in Lawrence.

         For trivia you don't have to be 21 to play, just 21 to drink. Allowing people who are not 21 to be involved is something that makes this successful according to Yacht Club manager Sadie Kursh. That way, trivia has the opportunity to bring together groups of students and doesn't exclude underclassmen. Though an age is not specified, the evening is clearly aimed more toward adults. From it's questions, to it's team names this evening would easily be "R" rated. 

         "I am a junior, but i think I am the youngest junior I know", Team Boob Job member Daniel Cuevas said. "I don't turn 21 till August of next year so at least I know I can go out with my friends on Wednesdays."

        The atmosphere of the Yacht Club allows for dinner, drinks, and conversation. Much different from that of the infamous Hawk or Cadillac Ranch.That fact alone could add to the trivia's appeal. 

      "People in Lawrence focus a lot of what they do during the night on alcohol." O'Neal said. "Yeah there's alcohol at trivia, but we're there to play and win. Well try to win. At any other bar all we would be thinking is, what shot should we order next?" 

        The Yacht Club first began hosting Xtreme Team Trivia about three months ago.  Since the first round, the Yacht club has seen a slight increase in profits, but it's not the profits that have the manager planning another 10 weeks of trivia for the spring.

       "We've always had a large turn out on Wednesday's just because of our drink and wing specials", Kursh said. "We've just seen a huge increase in the number of regulars since the trivia started. When you have regulars, you know you are doing something right."

       Xtreme Team Trivia is a company that was started by Mike Shortino and is used to help boost business at bars or restaurants. Xtreme Team Trivia costs around five hundred dollars per ten weeks of trivia.  Each ten round game lasts any where from two to three hours. At the end of ten weeks there is a championship round between Xtreme Team Trivia players from all over the Kansas City, Lawrence, and Topeka area.

       In the championship, players are given the opportunity to compete for a one thousand dollar cash prize. Kristin Petrick is a member of team Carney Cats, who is going to the championship round in Topeka this upcoming weekend.

Scores and Chart from: Xtremeteamtrivia.com

       "To be honest, we do it because it's free" Petrick said. "We're in college and none of us have a lot of money so it's nice for a bar to do something like this for us. Even if they do get us to buy a few extra beer towers. It's worth it."

       As Petrick's team heads to the finals, O'Neal and his team, team Boob Job will remain in Lawrence hoping for another chance next time around.

       "I said we went every week, I didn't say we ever won" O'Neal said. "We might be out of the championship this time, but in the spring, it's on."

Ricardo Aguilar worked for months to get to this day. The day that he knew he could make a change. The day that many American's decide whether or not to exercise their rights as citizens of this country. A day that Aguilar will never forget.

"It's hard being in the Air Force knowing that you don't have a say in who our next president will be" Aguilar said. "But now I do!"

Jose Ricardo Solis Aguilar
Graphic by: Paige Hendrick

Election day fell on the four-month anniversary of the day Aguilar became an American citizen. On July 4, 2008 Aguilar raised his right hand in front of 2000 fellow airman to pledge his dedication to this country, this time as an American citizen. 

"When I joined the air force I had to raise my arm and say a lot of the same stuff", he said. " This just wasn't the same."

 Growing up in Chiapas Mexico, Aguilar only saw America as a place that was out of his reach. His mother decided to move to America in search of better opportunities, much like many other immigrants. When Aguilar was only eight years old his mother left him, along with his two little brothers to live with their grandmother. 

"My abuela always took really good care of us but it was hard living without mama" Aguilar said "We didn't have the money to call her so when we had a problem and needed her, she couldn't be there."

Aguilar communicated with his mother by letters and rare phone calls for nearly six years. That's how long it took his mother to secure a job and good home for Aguilar and his family. 

"It was hard for me to leave them, but i knew they would understand" Lucita Aguilar, Ricardo's mother, said. . "Maybe not while I was gone but eventually i knew they would".

On November 1, 2002 Aguilar boarded the plane knowing that he may never see his friends or family back in Chiapas again. He also knew he had some family in America already, besides his mother, and that many would attempt to follow in their footsteps in the following months.

"Since I left, I have not seen any of my friends from back home", he said. "A lot of my family recently moved to America and my mama is trying to help them out as much as she can."

He moved to Hardin, Texas where he was able to get a green card and attend public school. His mother re-married a man who was in the army. Upon graduation Aguilar had dreams of college and a lucrative career, all things that he knew would not have been possibilities back in Mexico.  

Aguilar's top five pics on his dream sheet for overseas bases.
A dream sheet is a form submitted with a list of bases that
each airman would like to be assigned to.
Graphic by: Paige Hendrick

His mother could not afford to pay for college so he followed the path of his step-father and decided to join the service. In 2006 Aguilar became a member of the United States Air Force. He was not a citizen, but he was able to enlist as long as he had a valid green card. 

"I knew they would pay for my college and I would get a good career out of this." Aguilar said. "What more could I want?" 

After becoming a member of the USAF Aguilar began to become more and more involved in politics but it wasn't until this election that he really felt the effects of not being a citizen. He knew that he could not vote in this election.

It took eight months to achieve citizenship along with hours of intensely studying US history to prepare for the exam.

"I bet I could name more presidents that you!" Aguilar chuckled. "I could probably even do it backwards if you gave me enough time."

The oath that Aguilar had to read in order to become an American citizen.
Graphic by: Paige Hendrick
Information from: www.uscis.gov

After earning his citizenship and registering to vote Aguilar was ready to make a change. An avid Obama supporter, Aguilar walked up to the voting poll knowing that his vote along with every other vote matters.

"Now I feel like I have the right to criticize what is being done because I helped make it that way by voting", Aguilar said.

Aguilar still loves his home back in Chiapas, but going back is not something he feels he needs to do just yet. America is his home now.

Aguilar said proudly and with a smile, "I guess you can call me a gringo now".

Photo by: Paige Hendrick

As Hannah DeClerk sits at a computer, she slowly types her name into the google subject bar. She has been afraid of what she might see for months now, but she wants to know if the disrespectful post about her being an dis-loyal girlfriend and a promiscuous sorority girl has been removed. The first seven google hits are about her and she sees the one that she has been fearing. 

To her surprise, the post has not been taken down. Despite her countless efforts, even calling a lawyer to contact the website, the post remains for all to see. 

"I don't think that they're really is anything else I can do other than prove the post wrong" Hannah said with a smile. 

Even with Hannah's positive attitude toward this situation, reputations of lives and even schools are feeling the effects of logging. The  athletics department of most schools has been the first to do their part to stop this from getting any worse. 

Blogging has changed drastically since the 90's. What once was known as running conversations called "threads" is now the widely known term of logging.  Recently websites such as juicy campus and facebook have put administrators in a difficult position when controlling their athletes.

How can blogging be controlled? The truth is, there is no clear answer to that question. If someone has a particular problem with a post, they can petition the website to take it down but that is not an easy task, as seen in DeClerk's case. 

YouDiligence is a program that coaches can subscribe to in order to do just that. It is considered a social monitoring service that will scan two of the biggest blogging websites out there.

The program scours the facebook and myspace pages of athletes for key words. Those key words can be programmed by the coaches to search for anything from illegal activity to profanity, if they so choose.

When a word that has been programmed in the "banned" list appears on an athletes web page, the coach is sent an e-mail to warn them.

The program was introduces at the NCAA's annual convention last winter but KU has yet to jump on that band wagon. 

"We do not subscribe to that program as of right now. We trust the athletes to make the right decision but if it gets to out of hand it is a definite possibility", Jim Marchiony, KU Assistant Athletics Director, said. 

Chart By: Paige Hendrick
Info From: www.blogworldexpo.com
Picture From:http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007

The program generally runs about $250 per month, with an additional $500 start-up fee. The cost of this program is by no means cheap. 

"The older kids on the team kind of show the new ones how it is. We know what we shouldn't say ya know. We just gotta trust that everyone watches what they say so we don't have to be watched all of the time" Tang Bacheyie, a KU football player, said. 

The athletic department has done their share in order to help the situation and the Panhellenic society has recently followed in their footsteps as well.

"Juicy Campus has caused so many problems for sororities and it is making us look bad. We're just trying to avoid censoring students" Kimberly Wesphall, KU Panhellinic VP of public relations, said. 

Chart by: Paige Henrick
Info From: Technorati

The website has not been banned from all houses on KU's campus as of yet, but Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta have been the first to block the website from their server. Other sororities urge their members to avoid the site and to use discretion when posting anything on line. 

"I just want to help people because i know how bad it feels to have these things written about you. I know that the person they portray on line is not me i just have to always keep that in mind" DeClerk said. 

Madeline Bailey is just one of the student pet owners in Lawrence trying to work in the cost of a pet to their monthly finances. Bailey has set aside money for the usual necessary items, food, treats, vaccinations, everything an animal should need.

On the morning of June 8th, 2008, Bailey woke up and began her daily chores. She made the bed, put on the coffee, and went to feed her baby, a 13 month old collie mix named Bella. When she went to give Bella her morning attention Bailey noticed that her dog's face was swollen, almost to the point that her eyes could not even stay open.

"I was so scared because i had no idea what was wrong with her. All that was going through my head was where am i going to get her help, its Sunday!", Bailey said.

She searched all over the Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City area for a 24-hour animal hospital that could help Bella. She finally found one and made the 45 minute drive to Overland Park. Come to find out it was a mere allergic reaction to a spider bite. A shot of Benadryl and 200 dollars later, she was back to her usual self within a few hours.

"I was not expecting a 200 dollar vet bill for a shot! It completely threw off my finances and I just can't afford those kinds of things to happen", Bailey said.

Vet bills have gotten more and more elaborate in the past ten years due to all of the technological advancements, but some of these procedures are unattainable to people because the cost is so high. Companies like VPI, Purina Care and about a dozen others have cashed in on this and come out with pet insurance. As helpful as it may sound, is pet insurance really worth all it's cracked up to be? When purchasing pet insurance one must know what animals are eligible, what they cover, and the cost.

The first pet insurance company VPI came about in the 80's. Following that, several companies attempted to cash in on pet insurance but failed due to insufficient funds.

"Thats the problem with these companies, well until recently, they would go out of business", Nicole Snyder, Overland Park Veterinarian, said.

The most important thing to know about pet insurance is that, as of right now, only cats and dogs are eligible.

Almost all of the insurance companies cover the same generic procedures for example accidents, x-rays, and surgeries, but there is a catch. Only two out of the about a dozen Insurance companies in the United States cover pre-existing or hereditary conditions.

VPI and Pet Care both cover hereditary conditions and what separates them from the rest is what happens when the policy expires. With the other companies, when a policy has expired, all conditions the animal had while previously on the same insurance plan are considered pre-existing conditions and are no longer covered.

Kathleen Uhlig, a Pet Protect customer, is unsatisfied with her insurance provider for this very reason. Her nine-year-old Labrador retriever is now experiencing hip dysplasia and is unable to benefit from the so called benefits of pet insurance.

"The company told me that he's not covered because that is an inherited trait that most labs get. Now they won't pay for medication or his surgery!",Uhlig said.

Insurance plans can range in cost anywhere from as low as 50 dollars a month, up to 400 dollars a month. It all depends on the size and health of the animal.

Despite the high cost of pet insurance, popularity is increasing not only nationwide but here in Lawrence as well.

"It's really big in California but i has definitely made it's way here. I generally have a couple of people a week who have insurance but i am always having people asking about it.", Dr. Christi Jarrett, Lawrence Veterinarian, said. 

Unfortunately only one of the animal hospitals here in Lawrence take pet insurance. That doesn't mean that insurance is not an option. Customers just  have to pay in full at the time of visit and submit their bill to their insurance company for a refund.

"Luckily my vet does offer it. I have gotten the brochures and if it turns out to cover what i need, then insurance is definitely a possibility. Just depends on the cost for little Bella", Bailey said.