Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Volek)

Taking a class on job search strategies paid off for senior Teresa Lo. The history major will spend this semester interning at the Late Show with David Letterman.

Lo learned about the internship through the class listserv the day before applications were due. She said the skills she learned in the class made it easy to compile her application on short notice.

"The stuff on my resume was good, but the class helped me polish it and it taught us how to write cover letters," Lo said. "If I didn't take that class I don't really think I'd be here in New York."

Lo said the class also taught her interviewing skills, which proved helpful when she was invited to an interview in New York during fall break. She was one of 11 students from across the U.S. chosen for the internship.

Lo began her internship Jan. 2 and works doing research in the CBS Library to find articles on guests who will appear on the show. She is also in charge of picking up items, such as CDs or DVDs, associated with each guest.

Lo said her hands-on experience has allowed her to view aspects of show business from a new perspective.

"I had to go to Marc Jacobs to pick up a t-shirt with Julianne Moore on it, not the store but where they make designs. I've gotten to see things that are behind all the glamour so it really helps me learn what the industry is really about and what I need to know," Lo said.

Ann Hartley, associate director of the University Career Center, taught the job search class Lo was in. The class, which focuses on lifelong job search skills, is one credit hour and is offered every semester.

Hartley said Lo is one of many students who has secured a competitive internship after taking the class.

"I had one student e-mail me to tell me they got their dream job. She had pursued an internship with Liz Claiborne and now she has a fulltime job for the company designing leather goods," Hartley said. "It's important to know opportunities exist and it's very possible for a lot of students to find success."

Lo said that even though her internship has just begun, she has already gained unique experiences that will help her in the future. She's even gotten to meet Letterman himself.

"I was walking to the copy machine with a huge stack of files and I saw him coming around the corner," Lo said. "He smiled and said 'hello' and I just said 'hi' all quiet and walked away. He was really friendly and I was just awkward."

A semester abroad to many students means a semester full of weekend excursions to exotic locations. However, with the weakness of the American dollar in Europe many students are finding it hard to make ends meet.

Study abroad fees at the University of Kansas include tuition, room and board, orientation, and emergency medical evacuation. Students are responsible for the purchase of airfare, passport and visa fees, books, supplies, and personal expenses. According to the KU Office of Financial Aid, students can apply federal loans to study abroad programs just as they can to KU coursework. Students can also receive scholarships from the Office of Study Abroad.

"I had a scholarship for $600, which helped, but more money would have been nice," said Drew Fowler, Derby, Kan., junior, who spent the fall semester in Norwich, England.

Fowler said that the daily cost of living in Norwich was the most expensive part of his trip rather than the constant traveling. He said that being abroad and dealing with currency conversions was an excellent way to learn money management skills.

"Traveling wasn't the issue. It was studying in England and going out for a beer or two every afternoon. That's their social life. They don't drink coffee, they drink beer," said Fowler.

With the value of the dollar weakening against the pound and the Euro, students are finding it harder to pay for living expenses and travel. Alexandre Skiba, Assistant Professor of Economics at KU says that the fluctuation of the dollar against foreign currency should not affect the everyday lives of students studying abroad.

"The foreign travel industry will definitely be affected by a weaker dollar," said Skiba, "but the U.S. travel industry should benefit from stronger foreign currency. For students abroad it shouldn't really be an issue."

The University of Kansas' textbook buyback process has a textbook adoption cycle that begins with the faculty and not when a student takes a book in for cash.

The faculty decides what books to use for their classes. The professors also decide if the book to be utilized during the next semester is the same as the one used for the current semester. If a text is reused then the book has been "readopted."

According to Tim Norris, bookstore director, a readopted book results in a higher price for the student bringing the book back. If a book has been readopted and the bookstore does not already have too many of those books on-hand, a student will receive 50 percent of the retail price back when he/she sells the book to the bookstore.

If the bookstore does not know if the book is going to be readopted then the price of the buyback would go down. "The faculty creates the market," Norris said.

The bookstore asks professors to have the list of books they will be using turned in by a certain date. Those due dates are, March 15 for summer, April 15 for fall and Oct. 15 for spring. If a list is not turned in, the bookstore cannot give a student the highest percentage back on the book. Norris said there are instances where a student sells their book on stop day and only receives a couple of dollars for it but another student with the same book sells his/her book a week later and gets the 50 percent of the retail price because a list was in place.

There is not a single adopted method for informing faculty members of the textbook adoption cycle, though. The bookstore sends out an e-mail to department assistants, Norris said. The assistants act as gatekeepers. Many departments are unable to assign this function, which causes the bookstore staff to go through a list of faculty and contact them individually.

"With such a patchwork system, there will be faculty who are not contacted, or who assume someone else is handling this. We hope to convince the university administration to allow us to send out a general email to all faculty, but we do not yet have this solution in place. The textbook taskforce committee that is working on these issues for university governance is looking into this issue," Norris said.

After an adoption list is created, Norris and his staff must have these books on-hand for students. For a typical fall semester, there are over 4,000 adoptions, which can result in over 24,000 titles to research, Norris said. David Watts, textbook manager, said during the Dec. buyback, over 7,000 transactions took place and students were paid almost $400,000 in buybacks.

Students can access the bookstore Web site and find the list of books required for their classes. A textbook buyback site is also available where students can enter the ISBN on the book and find out what price the bookstore will give them.

Student-run radio station KJKJ will begin to digitize all of its music collection this semester after having received a $15,000 anonymous donation for the project in December of 2006.

KJHK is well-known for its collection of rare and older music, but recently some of their vinyl records and compact discs have been becoming too scratched to use. Sometimes the station must also deal with lost or stolen music.

"This will be a great way to preserve our music when the CDs or vinyl records get to old to use," said Nick Dormer, archiving director of KJHK and head of the digitization project. KJHK plans to use iTunes or a similar program to organize their music. They would like to use a program that would allow them to write reviews of the music.

"We are buying a 200 disk spindle to convert compact disks to digital form," said Dormer. KJHK is also in the process of buying hard drives to store the music.

Currently the project has ten volunteers that spend five hours each week converting the music. They have approximately 30,000 compact disks that they will convert to digital form by June of 2007. They plan to start converting the station's vinyl records after they finish with the compact disks.

"Some people are afraid the quality of sound will go down with the digital copies, but it is really just a backup plan," said Dormer. "We will continue to use the hard copies as long as we can, and this way we can run a show digitally if a DJ cannot make a show."

Music is a big part of the lives of KJHK DJs. "They are doing this so that they won't lose any of the music that is so important to the station," said Andy Green, a KJHK DJ.

"Eventually we would like to be able to record the shows we do with the new equipment we are buying," said Dormer. "It is a way to give back to the community." The shows would be accessible on the KJHK website at anytime.

KJHK Website
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With the closing of the Olive Art Supply and Gallery on Feb. 28, artists will find themselves starved of cutting-edge local art. Leslie vonHolten, Lawrence.com art blogger, hopes to bring back the sense of artist community in Lawrence.

Since 2003, The Olive, 15 E. Eighth Street, has provided goods, supplies and a venue for Lawrence art exhibitions. Now, without the Olive, local artists lack a meeting and showing space.

VonHolten and local muralist Dave Lowenstein have started SEED, a monthly artist lecture series. The programs, free to the public, offer a display and short lecture on a different Thursday each month at 411 Ninth Street.

SEED represents the beginning of a new art space and scene, vonHolten said.

“We really want to germinate a tighter-knit art community,” she said. VonHolten noticed that local artists do not often have a chance to view each other’s work, especially with the closing of the Olive.

The first SEED meeting, Jan. 18, featured local artist Kendra Herring. Thirty-eight people attended, and vonHolten projects that the number will grow.

VonHolten wants to attract interest from KU students. She plans to push SEED with fliers and talks on campus. Students are important to the local art scene, vonHolten said. They tend to take more risks with art, she said.

“In school, taking classes stimulates the brain in different ways than doing art alone. They can incorporate inspiration from other classes and make the importance of art resonate through different aspects of education,” vonHolten said.

Hong Zhang, Lawrence, will be the next featured artist at SEED on Feb. 22 from 7-9 p.m. Her signature work includes pencil and paper drawings of hair correlating to ethnicity.

For more information, contact Leslie vonHolten at leslie@lawrence.com or call 749-1923.

Environmentalist David Orr will be coming to the University of Kansas to speak on Jan. 31. Orr comes to speak on the topic of environmental sustainability as the possibility of coal plants in Western Kansas becomes more real.

The lecture is called Rumors of Unfathomable Things: Climate Change and the Human Prospect. The lecture is free and will take place form 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm in the Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

Associate Professor of Architecture, Stacey White said he’s one the leading minds on campus sustainability issues. He’s done more than any single person that she’s aware of on the issue of sustainability, she said.

“Every person says he’s a fantastic speaker,” White said. The topic is something that will affect all of us, and she said she was interested in hearing what he had to say about it.

Brian Sifton joined with some of the students in the K.U. Environs student group and saw Dr. Orr speak at Salina’s Prairie Fest last October. The Environs are an environmentally conscious group on campus. There Orr gave a speech entitled “The Last 30 Years,” outlining the most important concerns that climatologists, economists, business leaders, and politicians face, Sifton said.

“Orr had an uncanny ability to explain connections between the scientific, political, social and economic factors leading to the relative impasse America is at, in its collective response to climate change,” Sifton said.

“For those of us not current on all the climate change literature being produced by scientists, he provides a comprehensible snapshot of where we are in our understanding, what brought us here, and where we are likely going,” Sifton said.

The University and students have already recognized sustainability as an important issue. K.U. recently added an Office of Sustainability to offer undergraduate research opportunities into things the University could change to make to decrease its impact on the environment and human health, Sifton said.

“This issue will affect us greatly,” Junior, Sonia Marcinkowki said. With the prospect of the coal plants to be built in Western Kansas, “people need to educate themselves,” she said.

“I heard about the lecture through the Environs listserv.” Marcinkowski said. She said that it’s an issue that students are interested in because “K.U. students petitioned for a sustainability center on campus and it was passed by the in the fall.”

Orr is a Professor at Oberlin College, where he is the chair of the Environmental Studies program.

Orr was awarded the Lyndhurst Award from the Lyndhurst foundation. An award given to “recognize educational, cultural, and charitable activities of particular individuals of exceptional talent, character, and moral vision,” according to the Oberlin College website. Orr also received a National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation according to the Oberlin College website.

The Graduate Program in Urban Planning, the Environmental Studies Program, Student Senate and the Environmental Stewardship Program are all sponsoring the event.

Seventeen students take off their shoes and walk onto the green mats in the Robinson gym. Bowing to their sensei Andrew Tsubaki, they repeat in Japanese, “Let’s have a good class.”

Adorned in white martial arts uniforms and others in street clothes, the students gather into groups of two ready for the first class of Aikido taught in Japanese.

These groups aren’t kicking, punching or yelling the traditional “hi-yah” known in judo or tae-kwon-do, but rather, they are relaxing their bodies and mind showing self-discipline.

“Aikido isn’t emphasizing the physical part of kicking and punching, but rather it looks at what’s going on inside the man, the mind and the body,” Andrew said. “It’s about recognizing that mind always leads the body and to unify them together makes any action over any person stronger and meaningful.”

According to Aikido Today Magazine, Aikido is considered an art of self-transformation and sometimes isn’t mentioned as a martial art.

First time participant Thomas Cox, Shawnee junior, said he enrolled in Aikido because of Tsubaki’s knowledge and skill and the useful principles that it provides.

“It isn’t something you learn in everyday life,” Thomas said. “You learn such simple things like relaxing the body and controlling your ki (energy).”

Funded by the Center of East Asian Studies, this Aikido class is held every Wednesday until Feb. 21 and is taught in advanced Japanese. However, students don’t need to know the Japanese language to take the class.

“These are very beginning type sessions,” Andrew said. “We’re trying to apply the (Japanese) language outside of typical educational study.”

At the end of class, the group gathers and kneels on the mats. They bow towards the ground to a picture of “ki” written in Japanese and bow once more to their sensei. They repeat in Japanese, “Thank you for your help on having a good class.”

To register, go to the Center for East Asian Studies web site.

The Applied English Center provides many activities for the international students to help them learn more about American culture and society.

Many schools such as Kansas State University require international students to know English to a certain proficiency to be a student. KU operates differently. KU international students apply to the center before they can enter into the other schools at KU. The center operates as its own school where they get credit for the courses they take to improve their English and understanding of America.

“At the center we understand that the learning of American culture can’t only take place in a classroom. We take them on field trips and organize parties so the students have a chance to practice their English. In class they focus mainly on reading and writing, we want them to practice implementing what they have learned outside of the class,” said director Charlie Seibel.

The center organizes many activities for the students such as touring a pumpkin patch and the annual barn dance sponsored by Japanese students. “They always enjoy Americana themed activities. We try to take them on trips around the region because they are always excited to learn about the Midwest. Before coming to the United States, they think of there being a New York City and Los Angeles, but not anything in between. I constantly get a lot of the same feedback through our activities. The students tell me they have learned that America is really diverse, and there are not many absolutes about Americans, despite what they had thought before,” said conversation leader RaeAnn Anderson.

The center begins classes for their students Monday, Jan. 29. Some upcoming activities for the spring semester are tours of the Russell Stover Factory in Abilene and the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City.

After dining for more than a semester at Gertrude Sellards Pearson, Courtney Rellihan has learned an important lesson: Stay away on Sundays.

“They have days,” the Prairie Village freshman said, “when I just don’t want to eat there.”

Rellihan and other Kansas students could be eating more delectable cafeteria food soon, because KU Dining Services is planning to start a system which would let students share recipes from home with the dining halls.

The program hasn’t been formally implemented yet, but Nona Golledge, KU Dining Services Director, said it is one of the services’ “goals” and will likely be finalized later this semester or in the summer.

When the plan is finished, students would be able to go to the KU Dining Services Web site to submit a recipe. A menu committee would look at all the submissions and decide if it could make the meal. If a student’s dish is chosen, it would be named after him or her.

“The idea gives a bit more engagement and enjoyment for our customers,” Golledge said, “which is what we want to do.”

The Gertrude Sellards Pearson dining hall already asked students to share recipes during a homemade cookie contest earlier this year. Golledge said KU Dining Services has also collected cooking ideas sporadically in the past.

When the dining halls start incorporating students’ recipes into their meal lineup, they will be following the example of other college cafeterias. According to an Associated Press article, universities such as Georgia, Harvard and Connecticut are using the dishes to cure homesickness and create more variety. KU Dining Services’ motive for collecting recipes is to give students more freedom to choose their food.

“Everyone wants to participate and have more input into their meals,” Golledge said. “It gives them more of a connection.”

One possible problem with the proposed plan is that it might not supplement health food programs at KU such as “Better Bites.” Ann Chapman, Coordinator of Nutritional Health at the Wellness Resource Center, said home-cooked meals likely would not be as nutritious as the healthy alternatives the dining halls serve now.

“Some people cook healthy at home; some people don’t,” she said. “The better options in the eating halls are already there.”

Although the home-cooked meals may lack the nutritional value of other available foods, the program could succeed as long as students such as Rellihan enjoy the new dishes.

“If they’re good recipes,” she said, “then it would be great.”

The KU Writing Center has gone online. The Center has an instant messaging (IM) system available for students who want help writing their papers and may not necessarily want to make the trip to the Writing Center located in Wescoe Hall.

If students have access to the Internet and have an AOL, MSN, Yahoo! or ICQ instant messaging account, they can add the Writing Center’s address or screen name, listed on the Writing Center Web site, and communicate with a consultant online any time that the Center is open.

Moira Ozias, interim director of the KU Writing Center, said the Center created the instant messaging system “in order to be able to communicate with students in ways that were... comfortable for them.”

Ozias said that the Center primarily uses IM to answer students’ questions about Center hours, appointments and how to cite sources. She said the most beneficial aspect of the system is the ease with which students can receive writing guidance.

“It’s convenient,” Ozias said. “If they have their laptops on and connected to the internet and have a question for us, they can find the answer right away, without even having to search for their phones in their bags.”

Many students who use the Writing Center have enjoyed the new system. Maggie Taylor, Seneca, Kan. junior, said she liked being able to instant message someone at the Center while she was working on a paper.

“It’s so great,” Taylor said. “I use the Writing Center a lot, and this makes it easier to get help whenever I need it. I can just get online, ask my questions and keep typing up my paper.”

The Writing Center is available for appointments by phone or e-mail. Online appointments and walk-in visits will be available starting Feb. 5.

The KU New Music Ensemble has received waning support in recent years, but two students are attempting to completely transform the program.

Doctoral students Mary Fukushima and Mike Kirkendoll knew the only way to save the ensemble was to completely restructure the group. The arrival of a new director was the perfect opportunity.

Forrest Pierce came to KU in 2006 as assistant professor of composition. He was assigned to direct the New Music Ensemble. Once approached by Fukushima and Kirkendoll, he allowed them to take control of the ensemble. The two took it upon themselves to recruit musicians and select pieces for the group

Under the leadership of the previous director, Charles Hoag, the group only played music from the 20th century.

“But it was all of a classical style: music that most students would place along the lines of Beethoven or Chopin,” said Laura Goodenkauf, a Lincoln junior and member of the ensemble. “Eventually, people lost interest and the group was falling apart.”

The orchestra made its official metamorphosis in Fall of 2006 when the title was changed from the New Music Ensemble to the Helianthus Contemporary Ensemble, so named after the scientific name of the Kansas state flower. The group’s sound was changed along with the name.

“We decided to only perform late 20th century music from composers who were either still living or from KU,” said Fukushima.

The group has also taken on a more experimental approach. Whether a bassoonist dresses as Elvis Presley for a piece entitled “Dead Elvis” or the ensemble utilizes audio clips taken from The Jerry Springer Show in an arrangement, Helianthus is straying from its roots.

In December, the ensemble performed at the Spencer Museum of Art. The players were spread throughout the entire museum. Visitors were surrounded by the music as they ambled around, looking at works of art. One composition, written by Frederic Rzewksi, followed a unique pattern that required players to continually return to the beginning of the piece.

“It was difficult to follow and a lot of us lost track,” said Goodenkauf, “but we were encouraged to keep on playing, even if we were on a completely different page.”

The orchestra includes about twenty members. There is no set number because the ensemble consist of a group of people who are asked to perform based on how many musicians are required for the pieces in mind.

“We’re striving for a stronger core group," said Fukushima, “and ultimately, we hope to tour.”

The Helianthus Contemporary Ensemble will be performing again at the Spencer Museum of Art on April 14.

Everyone eats. Mrs. E’s is a staple for students who live on Daisy Hill. No other place on campus sees such a regular flow of students in and out of it every day. So when the normal ceramic plates and metal silverware go missing and are replaced by plastic utensils and paper plates, students notice. The reasons for the frequent change, as well as the implications, are more complicated than short staffing, however.

Students definitely notice the change. David Kohtz, a Hays, Kan. freshman, said he doesn’t really like the replacements. “I think it’s really cheap,” said Kohtz. “Nothing cuts as well as a real knife.”

“I don’t mind,” said Loren Cressler, a Hoxie, Kan. freshman. “It makes it easier on the workers.”

“We really do not ever like to use paper or plasticware at Mrs. E’s,” said Mark Maranell, the general manager of Mrs. E’s. He said they use it when the dishwashing equipment breaks down or when there are staffing shortages in the dish room. Staffing shortages occur mostly at the beginning of each semester for the first two weeks. “We work as hard as we can to get our schedule filled with adequate staff so that we do not have to serve on paper,” said Maranell in an email interview.

The use of paper and plastic utensils has been around since before Maranell was employed at the university.

Cost is also an issue. “It does easily add around $600 to $800 to the cost of meal period,” said Maranell. He also said that resorting to paper and plastic is a better alternative than simply not having as much on the menu, or not having as much staff in other parts of the dining center.

The trade-off is apparent, however. While the dining center saves money while not having to wash dishes or pay wages when paper and plastic are used, the cost of the disposable utensils cancels that out, so “there really is no savings realized,” said Maranell.

For more about all KU dining centers, click here.

Every year, students express frustration when their bookstore of choice refuses to buy back certain used textbooks. Many students have little knowledge of alternative methods for selling these textbooks, though many are available in Lawrence and online.

The textbook buyback process depends on a number of circumstances, including the current availability of each textbook and whether or not professors are using particular textbooks at the time. It all depends on need. Mike Lickteig, textbook manager at University Book Shop, described this in detail.

"Timing is important," Lickteig said. "Sometimes, a book used in the fall won't be used until the next fall." When this happens, students are less likely to be able to sell their books at the end of the fall semester.

Occasionally, when one bookstore won't buy back a certain book, another bookstore might need it. Both the KU Bookstores and Jayhawk Bookstore will buy back books, and are located on campus. University Book Shop and Half Price Books are also available in Lawrence, located on 23rd Street. The websites for the KU Bookstores and University Book Shop also allow you to look up current buyback prices, so students can know what books they can and cannot sell.

Occasionally, students won't be able to sell back their books anywhere in Lawrence. Options are also available online, though some students have no knowledge of them. Ty Davis, Bonner Springs junior, looked to internet services like Amazon and eBay when he tried to sell his books. "I considered selling them online, but that proved to be too difficult," Davis said.

Davis wasn't aware of some of the other online services available. Websites like BooksIntoCash.com exist for the sole purpose of buying textbooks. At these websites, students can obtain quotes on the textbooks they wish to sell. Students can then mail their books off and receive a check in the mail to match the quote they received. There are also online exchange programs that students can use to connect with other students to buy and sell textbooks. One such program is included on the Kyou portal, and is available to any student with a valid KU online ID.

On a March day in 2004, Andrew Knopp went to the student recreation center planning to play basketball. Instead, the then-Student Body President sat on the sidelines for over an hour as he awaited his chance to get into a game.

Frustrated with the amount of people having to wait for their chance to play, Knopp told Recreation Services Director Mary Chappell that he was going over to the Athletic Department to try and negotiate a deal.

"I had no idea what he was going to try and negotiate," Chappell said. "But he went over there and somehow he got Athletics to trade 1,500 student seats way up at the top of Allen Fieldhouse for some seats that were closer to the court and for the trade, Athletic Director Lew Perkins agreed to pay the students 6.3 million dollars."

The deal Knopp negotiated was under heavy scrutiny in 2004 because the students lost almost 500 seats for home men’s basketball games. Knopp, however, had a plan that most people didn’t know about. He gave all 6.3 million dollars to Chappell and the recreation center to fund a new 50,000 square foot addition that is set to begin construction this March.

The new addition, which will be built completely free of charge to students because of the agreement with the Athletics Department, will be built in the grass area to the north of the current building. It will feature four basketball courts, two of which will be built on a synthetic surface so other sports such as roller hockey and indoor soccer can be played on them.

It will also feature two racquetball courts and over 2,000 feet of additional free-weight space. In addition, the running track will be extended and students will have the option of running the current path or a longer one that stretches around all eight courts and will measure exactly ¼ mile in length.

"By adding that much more, it’s going to be that much more exciting," Chappell said. "We want everyone to be able to feel like they can come in here and participate and have something that suits them that they can do, and we feel like we’re doing that."

In an event to add something fun and unique for the students, Chappell and her staff also plan to install “Full Swing Golf”, a 10 x 10 virtual golf game that will allow students to take full swings and play rounds of golf at courses such as Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.

Though Knopp is now graduated and moved on with his life, his problem of having to wait to play has not moved on. At 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, a count showed 31 players waiting on the sides of the courts to play in a game.

"It’s ridiculous," said KU student Chris Harbor. "We sit around for 30 minutes, get to play in one game for 10 minutes, and then have to sit around and wait again. Something needs to be done."

Something is being done, in the form of the new addition. With the four added courts, all 31 players would have been playing in games and nine spots would have been open for additional players.

"I had no idea," Harbor said, when informed that construction was about to begin on a new addition. "That’s great. It’s about time. Students will be really happy to hear about that because it’s always fun coming to the rec, but its not any fun sitting on the side watching other people play."

Sam Funk and the EyeBowls is not a trendy new Lawrence band. They are employees at a local business, the Lawrence Optometric Clinic, that are bowling to raise money for Douglas County Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“It’s the biggest fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters,” Sam Funk, Holcomb junior, said.
Funk has worked at the Lawrence Optometric Clinic for about a year. He also happens to be a weekly bowler.

“It’s a good way for us to get our name out there and do something really good for the community at the same time,” Funk said. “Also, I’m pretty pumped for the bowling.”

The event is called Bowl for Kids’ Sake and it is the single largest Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraising event, raising about one-third of all of the organization’s funds. Lately, local businesses, like the Optometric Clinic, have discovered the advertising potential of this event.

“Some businesses sponsor us, some donate, some match donations, and others just volunteer,” said Meg Hooper, Public Relations Specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County.

Big Brothers Big Sisters then shows its’ appreciation by putting company logos in the Lawrence Journal-World ads, on the lanes at Royal Crest Lanes where the event takes place, and in the Thank You Sponsorship campaign, Hooper said.

Big Brother Big Sisters makes two annual presentations to local businesses - one about the organization and one about the event itself.

“People really want to get involved because of what we do for the community,” Hooper said.

Bowl for Kids’ Sake has eight different event times from February 16th through February 24th. Teams of five must register with the event and each member must have at least $125 in donations to participate. The goal this year is to raise $200,000, more than double last year’s amount of $80,000.

Sam Funk’s page

Big Brothers Big Sisters

When it comes to Dorothy and the yellow brick road, University of Kansas freshmen agree there is no place like home.

With all the new classes, professors, and faces, the first semester of college life can be like a roller coaster. While some students cannot wait to come back for another ride, others discover that KU is not for them.

Regan Mahl, Tulsa freshmen, came to KU against her parents wishes looking for an adventure. Instead, she found herself lost in a crowd. Missing her friends and family, Mahl transferred to Arkansas State for the spring semester. Now only two hours from her parents and a few blocks from her grandparents, Mahl feels right at home.

Like Mahl, Lara Jenswold, another Tulsa freshmen, transferred at semester. Jenswold now attends Tulsa Community College allowing her to be closer to her family and boyfriend.

In fall 2004, 4,193 full time freshmen were enrolled at KU. They maintained a retention rate of 92.7% after one semester and 82.3% after one year. The following 2005 fall semester, another 4,122 full-time freshmen enrolled and withheld a retention rate of 92.2% after one semester.

To help maintain these numbers, the KU office of Student Success offers a number of student aid organizations such as the Academic Achievement and Access Center, the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, and Freshmen Sophomore Advising Center.

Elise Patrick, Administrative Assistant to Vice Provost of Student Success, believes if students will tap into these resources they are more likely to stay in school.

Dr. John Wade of KU Counseling and Psychological Services said "students should have realistic expectations: anticipate any adjustment period will involve increased stress, some feelings of loss, and take some time."

Wade believes students should get a variety of input and not rush into making an important decision.

The number of scholarship hall directors will drop from 11 to six in the 2007-08 school year to give them more roles and student contact. The change will expand the responsibilities and quality of experience for directors, said Sarah Hayner, complex director for the scholarship halls.

All 11 scholarship halls are affected in the change, and each director will supervise two halls instead of one, according to Hayner. They will live in one of their halls and have an office in the other. Rieger Scholarship Hall's director will instead supervise their hall and the paid student desk position at Crawford Community Center.

Graduate students serve as directors and receive free room and board with a biweekly stipend. Pay will not increase with the change, said Hayner. KU will be saving about $7,000 during the next school year because of the change, according to Hayner.

Compared to the other graduate-level housing position, assistant complex directors, scholarship hall directors supervise a smaller number of students. The position is difficult to recruit for this reason and directors have felt their position is looked down upon, said Hayner.

“They get a lot of advising experience and personal contact, but miss out on supervising and judicial experience,” said Hayner. With a high turnover of directors, Hayner worked with Jennifer Wamelink, interim associate director for residence life, to create the change and make the position more desirable.

The change will allow directors to work with more students and become more marketable, said Ashley Kockler, Margaret Amini scholarship hall director. Kockler worries that she won't be as visible to residents as a result, but is looking forward to the experience.

Each hall will have a new student position of food board manager with the change. According to Kockler, residents have complained about directors' food and meal decisions in the halls. Managers will work with residents further on meal issues and receive free room and board.

The change will increase each director's supervision of paid student positions from one to four – with the exception of Rieger – according to Kockler. “I can focus more on academic, personal, and roommate-related issues,” she said.

Sara Holt, Rieger Scholarship Hall resident, does not like the drop in directors because she thinks it is important for residents to be more familiar with their director. Though students may express concern, said Hayner, directors will be available during their set office hours and possess a pager on rotation.

The KU Department of Student Housing hopes that changes to the reapplication process for on-campus living will lure more residents back for another year.

“We based our changes on providing better, faster service to our returning residents,” said Assistant Director for Assignments Tara Vereen.

Vereen said that eliminating intent to return cards will speed up the process.

In previous years, residents would receive an intent to return card in the mail, fill it out indicating where they desired to live next year, receive and fill out a contract, return it to Corbin Hall along with a $300 initial payment, and receive an offer around the start of March at the earliest.

This year students will receive a room offer when they turn their contract and initial payment in.

“We’ll be giving them their actual assignment and hopefully they’ll be happy with it and stay with us for another year,” said Vereen.

On Jan. 19, residents received housing contracts in the mail.

Students wishing to stay in their current room can start returning contracts and fees on Jan. 29. Those wising to stay in the same hall or apartment can return contracts beginning Feb. 5. People wanting to live in a different hall next year can turn in their contracts starting on Feb. 12. Vereen said that these staggered dates help establish priority amongst varying preferences, but the department will accept contracts at any time.

In the past, residents had to go to Corbin Hall to turn in their contract, but this year Department of Student Housing employees will set up satellite locations at Hashinger Hall and in the Jayhawk Towers. Workers at satellite locations will accept contracts and give out offers on Jan. 29, Feb. 5, and Feb. 12.

“We want to save everyone a trip and bring our services to them,” said Vereen.

Student Housing also introduced a “bill me” option for paying the $300 initial payment. Selecting “bill me” will charge the fee to the student’s KU account.

The department also added a two-year option to the contract. However the option was not designed to save students money.

“It provides families with a tool to plan how to pay for college,” said Vereen.

The two-year contract parallels the University’s four-year tuition rate introduced in 2006.

Uniontown sophomore Josh Decker doesn’t think that convenience will sway anyone’s decision.

“It’s nice that they’re making it easier for us, but it won’t be more important than your experiences in the dorm,” said Decker who lived in Stephenson Scholarship Hall last year and lives in McCollum Hall this year.

Mound City junior Jesse Vaughn agrees that the changes won’t affect anyone’s decision to live on campus.

“For me it depends what whoever I live with and I decide on doing for living arrangements next semester,” said Vaughn.

Despite others’ doubts Vereen remains optimistic about the changes.

“I hope students appreciate and benefit from the extra services we’ve provided for them,” said Vereen.

The Department of Student Housing will reduce the number of Scholarship Hall Directors, who are live-in graduate students, from 11 to six starting next fall.

The change will put each Hall Director, in charge of two Scholarship Halls, living in one hall and holding an office in the other.

Sarah Hayner, the Complex Director for the Scholarship Halls proposed the change to make the Hall Director position more appealing to prospective job applicants. "The change is being made to provide more quality experience to our graduate students," Hayner said.

The expansion of each hall directorship to include two halls will offer Hall Directors valuable experience from supervising a staff of four and guiding judicial hearings and hall government.

Coupled with the change to the Hall Director position is the addition of a Food Chair position to the halls that have a common kitchen. The Food Chair will manage the cooks and weekly food orders in conjunction with the Hall Director and Proctor positions.

The change will also benefit the Scholarship Hall residents. "I'm hoping it provides more autonomy for the halls," Hayner said. "More hall decisions will go to the students."

Residents, however, have mixed reactions to how the change will affect the halls. "It doesn't seem like having one SHD taking on the responsibility of two halls is a good idea if they can't quite manage one," said Chris Worley, a sophomore at Battenfeld Scholarship Hall. Problems with availability and food ordering that do come up could get worse. "It's not going to be like walk downstairs and talk to your SHD anymore," Worley said.

Other residents are not as concerned about the change. "I think part of it is that people don't like change," said Phillip Wrigley, a junior at Battenfeld. "There are legitimate concerns, but it will work out."

Students can vote next month on whether to raise their fees for new buses and for a system where they won’t need to buy a bus pass.

The Student Senate has proposed two new fees of $20 and $15 per semester. These fees would be paid by all students in addition to the current transportation fee of $18 per semester. The $20 fee would go towards buying new buses for KU on Wheels. The $15 fee would be used to provide a fare free system for all students.

The current cost of a semester bus pass is $75 and a year long pass is $140. According to a report provided by Jessica Mortinger, Transportation Coordinator for the Student Senate, if the $15 fee is accepted by the students, bus passes would no longer be necessary and students would pay $22 less per semester.

The report stated that the buses being used by KU on Wheels today are decades old and require repairs. The proposed fee of $20 would be used to purchase three or more buses per year over the next 10 years. The buses would be outfitted to meet the current standards for emissions and would have the ability to run on B5, a bio-fuel that is used by all diesel vehicles at KU.

The new buses would have exhaust releases on top, said Jason Boots, President of the Student Senate. That means, “No more smoke-in-the-face effect,” he said.

The new buses would be accessible for students with disabilities in compliancy with the Americans with Disabilities Act. KU on Wheels buses are not accessible now.

"All new buses will be wheelchair accessible," said Mortinger

The election will be held online on February 14 and 15. The special election is being held before the annual Student Senate election in April so that the students' votes may be considered during negotiations between KU on Wheels and the City of Lawrence concerning the consolidation of KUOW and the City's transit system.

The vote will only be certified if 10 percent of the student body votes.