Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Volek)

Most adults will experience back problems at some point in their lives. KUJH-TV's Elizabeth Cattell tells us how a mechanical spine model could help treat back pain.

A KU professor’s 2006 study gives new insight into children’s academic success and their family structure. KUJH-TV’s Jessica Sain-Baird has more on the story.

Fish could help prevent postpartum depression in new moms. The nutrients you receive from fish and plant oils contribute to the cell membranes in your brain. KUJH-TV's Peyton Baldwin explains the
effects fish can have on your brain.

A psychology study has shown that the intensity of happiness is directly related to the importance of events detracting from it. KUJH-TV's Chris Bell has the details.

Don’t turn down the loud music yet. The sounds that harm your ears could be good for your brain. KUJH-TV’s Mark Dent tells us how music can improve your attention.

The affects of global warming have drawn many concerns across the globe. Three species of frogs in the Andes Mountains are feeling these affects. KUJH-TV's Camden Deringer explains how these concerns might have an affect close to home.

Anorexics may have more to worry about than what they are eating. A new study suggests anorexics have problems with memory and learning. KUJH-TV's Allie Wilmes reports.

A recent study shows that American dads are playing a bigger role in the lives of their children than in past generations. KUJH’s Luke Morris finds out what new responsibilities fathers are taking on.

Interviewees:
Jean Ann Summers, Associate Research Professor

Erik Fish, Lawrence Father

KUJH-TV's Caleb Sommerville explores an article published by Professor David Frayer regarding the discovery of evidence of ancient dentistry.

KUJH-TV's Caleb Sommerville explores an article published by Professor David Frayer regarding the discovery of evidence of ancient dentistry.

According to a new study done by Watkins Health Center, don’t expect to see many smokers working out at the Rec. KUJH’s B.J. Rains tells us why.

Insect songs may be more complex than you think. Research on grasshopper song reveals that only the best singers will attract a mate. KUJH-TV's Kaitlyn Syring tells us about these specialized singers.


Double click on this picture to see a video of drosophila courtship.
Courtesy of Dr. Jennifer Gleason

Click the following names to listen to grasshopper songs:
Acridid Grasshopper
Pallid-Winged Grasshopper
Red-Winged Grasshopper

Click here to listen to the song of one type of fly, Drosophila robusta.

Stacy Watson says she hates the dark circles under her eyes, the clear signs that she had a sleepless night.

“It happened last night,” Watson said. “Every time it happens, I sleep horribly the rest of the night.”

The Topeka senior is one of the millions of people who jerk awake during the night or right before falling asleep. This jerking motion, called a hypnic or hypnagogic jerk, occurs in 60 to 70 percent of the population, according to a Web site maintained by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The latest research on hypnic jerks reveals a number of causes, from anxiety to caffeine.

The Causes:

Most people who experience these jerking motions want to know two things: What causes it, and what can I do about it?

Barbara Heinz is a technician in the Sleep Disorders Center at the KU Medical Center. Heinz said the exact cause is not clear, but hypnic jerks, also called sleep starts, most likely happen when a person is preparing to fall asleep.

“Sleep starts occur when a person’s body transitions from wakefulness to sleep,” Heinz said. During this time someone may experience a sensation of falling. She said that this jerking motion can be caused by the muscles of the body trying to relax before sleep and the brain misinterpreting that.

Heinz said such twitching while dozing off is a phenomenon that just seems to accompany the natural sleep process. But when it happens during a deep sleep the causes are different.

“Any series of things could cause that,” she said. “Snoring, breathing problems, teeth-grinding, leg cramps and even nightmares could cause a person to jerk during deep sleep.”

Dr. Lida Osbern of Lawrence Memorial Sleep Disorders Center said sleep anxiety or fatigue may also cause hypnic jerks. The occurrence of hypnic jerks can be cyclical.

If you lose sleep because you constantly jerk awake, you will become fatigued and may develop anxiety or worry about falling asleep. The more worried and tired you are, the more likely you are to jerk awake. The more you jerk awake, the more sleep you lose. Then you are even more tired and more anxious.

Osbern said this process makes it even harder for the brain to distinguish between whether the body is relaxing for sleep or falling down.

“When you have sleep anxiety, the muscles continually attempt to relax and shut down for rest, while your brain remains awake,” Osbern said. “This creates continued misinterpretations of falling or loss of balance.”
Hypnic jerks can also occur when a person has had a lot of caffeine or completes strenuous activities in the evening, according to the American Academy for Sleep Medicine. Both make it harder for your body to move through the natural motions of falling asleep.

The Academy also lists emotional stress as a cause. If you are stressed about school or work or your social life, it is more difficult to doze. You lie in bed feeling like your brain is refusing to shut off. The chances of having a hypnic jerk increase if this goes on too long. Emotional stress functions much like sleep anxiety as a cause for hypnic jerks.

Stacy Watson thinks she jerks awake more often when she is stressed about completing her school work or when she has been sleeping poorly.

“When I have a huge project to do or when I’ve had a lot of late nights, that’s when I seem to jerk myself awake a lot,” Watson said. “It’s so frustrating because I struggle to fall asleep again. I just lay there and think more about that project.”

Prevention:

The America Academy for Sleep Medicine has several suggestions about what you can do to prevent jerking awake. All these factors contribute to better “sleep hygiene,” or a healthier, more effective sleeping routine. Here are a few:

•Make sure you have at least eight hours to devote to sleeping each night.
•Get up at about the same time each morning.
•Avoid exercising six hours before going to bed.
•Set aside time to wind down and relax before sleeping. Take a warm bath or read.
•Avoid drinking soda, coffee or other caffeinated beverages before going to bed.
•Avoid smoking right before bed.
•Try to rid yourself of stressful thoughts or activities in the afternoon.

A Good Night’s Rest:

Watson rubs her eyes and says she plans on adjusting her routine before bed, especially with finals week approaching.

“I’m going to make time to relax in the evening,” she said. “If it helps me get a better night’s rest, I will definitely commit to it. I think I deserve a bubble bath tonight.”

Sleep technicians monitor a patient throughout the night. They read a print-out of the patient's brain and muscle activity, called an epoch, to determine which stage of sleep the patient is in and what the patient is experiencing during that stage. Here is a video example of how a technician evalutates an epoch.

Click here to evaluate how sleep affects your daily activites.
Click here to quiz your knowledge about sleep.

A dramatically under-maintained field remains hidden off a winding road near Clinton Lake dam. This simple field is without substantial portions of grass in sections and flags to designate the corners. The field means more than its maintenance would indicate. It is one of the comforts of home, even if home is a thousand miles away for a handful of University of Kansas international students.

The Lawrence Adult Soccer League has 18 teams, but one of the teams is very different from the rest. The team named Real Latino is full of international students trying to make Lawrence seem more like home. The name comes directly for the popular European club, Real Madrid, a favorite of some of the players.

Real Latino was started a couple seasons ago as a way for some of the students to play together. Today the team has eight international students ranging from freshmen to graduate students. There are members from Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela Peru, and Columbia on the team.

“It’s definitely exciting to bring part of our culture here to the states,” junior, Oswaldo Bravo said. Bravo joined the team last summer and said that the games were something he looks forward to after class. He also described a sense of community among all the Hispanic students.

To feel more at home, Bravo focuses on his degree on Civil and Environmental Engineering and how he could use that back in his hometown of Lima, Peru. Other students share Bravo’s feelings on the importance of playing.

“Playing of the weekends helps me refocus,” sophomore, Gonzalo Valdez said. Being 1,000 miles from hometown of Lima, Peru, it helps to do something that he loves, he said. Valdez doesn’t only play soccer to feel more at home. He said that going out with people, international students or not always helps. He also likes to cook food from home with other international students.

“As far as I know, it (the team) helps the younger students, “ Valdez said.

One of the newest additions to the squad is Carlos Hernandez, a freshman from the island of Margarita off Venezuela. He said he’s met a lot of new people through the team, which he has only played on for a few months. All the Latin people know about the team he said. Speaking Spanish helps the team communicate better, Hernandez said.

“I haven’t been homesick yet,” Hernandez said, but he did admit there were a couple things from back home that he does miss. That list of things he misses is topped by the beach and dance clubs that don’t close until 4 in the morning.

Playing on the weekends does give him the chance to relax. “You play sports and free your mind afterward,” Hernandez said.

As of this spring there are 1,613 international students. There are more than 150 students at K.U. from China, India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Associate Director of International Student and Scholar Services, Daphne Johnston, said students are more often from these countries than the South American countries.

“South America is not as heavily represented here,” Johnston said.

Junior Carlos Perez Beltran is one of those South Americans that are not so well represented here. He came the K.U. in the Spring of 2005 from Caracas, Venezuela.

“I came from a five-million-person city to a 80,000-person town.” The biggest difference that he had to deal with living in Kansas was the “slower pace of life.”

Coping with the fact that you don’t have your family there with you was another thing that made adapting necessary. He also said that living in the scholarship halls for the last couple years has helped. There are 50 people living there that you can hang out with, he said.

The International Student Ambassador Program is another group that helped Perez Beltran out when he got to K.U. They are group of international students who talk to you about home and took you around town to help you become adapted, he said. You get to meet other international students that have the same concerns as you, he said.

The majority of international students (60%) are graduates. To get into K.U. as a graduate the student has to meet the admission requirements that vary from department to department. For undergraduate international students to get into K.U., the students need to have completed high school and also finished some sort of college prep. work. The application process has its differences as well for international students. The students aren’t always required to supply ACT or SAT scores. International students also need to apply through the International and Scholar Services rather than the K.U. admissions office. Finally, potential international students need to provide proof of their financial resources to pay for the first year of school in order to get a visa.

The office of International Student and Scholar Services is also responsible for helping international students adapt to life and school in Kansas. Students come to K.U. early and attend a special international student orientation. To help students adapt I.S.S.S. provides programs that match international students with a American students or with a host family.

“We do a lot to support their being here,” Johnston said.

The uniqueness of the team, Real Latino, and the bonds among the members of team is something that many of the opposing competitors have come to appreciate.

The all mesh together,” Barrington, Ill., sophomore, Jon Hartner said. “They have more of a team kind of bond to them,” he said. “They play hard and they encourage each other.”

Oswaldo Bravo explained the team’s style of futbol. It as a cooperative system of play that focuses more on sharing the ball than running around, he said. That cooperation is helpful is helpful inmany ways. Even though they’re studying far away from home, for 90 minutes every Sunday where they are at takes a backseat to what they’re doing.

1.) Bogata, Columbia. Hometown of David Robles.
2.) Lima, Peru. Hometown of Gonzalo Valdez and Oswaldo Bravo.
3.) Margarita, Venezuela. Hometown of Carlo Hernandez.
4.) Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico. Hometown of Arturo Paz and Jorge Soberon.

Sources:
Oswaldo Bravo – 550-5728
Carlos Hernandez – 550-3863
Gonzalo Valdez – 550-4286
Daphne Johnston – 864-2616
Jon Hartner – 847-337-1387
Dustin Billings. – 766-5944
Carlos Perez Beltran – 312-4569

Television has taken on an MTV, BET image the last few weeks.

Rapper Cam’ron told everyone to stop snitching on “60 Minutes." Common said all women were princesses on “Oprah.” Snoop Dogg’s explanation of how rapper’s usage of words differs from Don Imus’ played on several network news programs.

Their goal: to restore hip-hop’s image in the wake of recent criticism stemming from Don Imus’ now infamous words about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

But they may be too late.

Long before Imus uttered his “nappy-headed ho” comment, rap, the music part of hip-hop culture, was in a downward spiral. After about 30 years of growth, rap sales nationwide decreased 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. Sales of other kinds of music in the same timeframe only went down 6 percent. Those numbers, from the Recording Industry Association of America, include compact disc and digital sales.

Lawrence rap, which is usually grouped together with Kansas City as one scene because of the cities’ close proximity and large number of venues in Lawrence, has also been affected. Sales have plummeted about 70 percent at one Lawrence music store since 2005 and crowds have decreased where rap artists play.

Theories for the drop off range from the increased prevalence of violence and sex that leaders are speaking against right now, to a lack of quality music, to a cyclical lull in sales.

The style of local rap acts differs from mainstream rap, but violent incidents that have been associated with hip-hop in Lawrence and a national focus on making hit songs, known as singles, rather than quality albums have created problems for the local scene.

“The last few years have been terrible for rap,” said Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, co-founder and CEO of AllHipHop.com, a leading rap Web site.

Pick a Problem

You only need to look at the track listing on a few rap albums to see the presence of misogyny in hip-hop culture.

Jermaine Dupri sang about “Jazzy Hoes.” Ludacris distinguished women as “Ho.” Jay-Z invites people to read the scripture of “Money, Cash, Hoes.”

“The way they talk about women, the way they use the term bitches and hos and stuff, I think is a really sad commentary,” said the Rev. Leo Barbee Jr., pastor of Lawrence’s Victory Bible Church. “God has given us women to be an asset. To talk about them like that is to demean them.”

Imus’ comment may have sparked criticism against hip-hop, but studies and polls show people were tired of its association with violence, sexuality and drugs long before.

A 2006 study by the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation concluded that rap listeners are more likely to abuse drugs and commit violent acts. Half of all people surveyed in a 2006 AOL Black Voices Poll said hip-hop culture hurts American society.

That doesn’t mean rap’s declining popularity can be entirely blamed on some artists’ perceived negative messages.

“If people were sick of that,” said Sean Hunt, also known as Lawrence rapper Approach, “then the radio would stop playing it.”

Jason Agron, co-DJ for KJHK-Lawrence’s “Hip-Hop Hyp” show, said other genres such as country music exploit women and include violent messages too. He doesn’t think rap’s decline will be permanent.

“I think it just goes through phases,” Agron said.

Creekmur credits the decline to increased bootlegging and a lack of creativity in artists. He’s spoken with high school and college students and discovered that “vulgarity” isn’t the problem. He thinks it’s the popular artists’ inability to connect with listeners.

“It’s evident that the state of rap on the commercial level lacks depth and quality,” Creekmur said. “People just aren’t into buying rap music that seems forced or contrived. The consumers are speaking volumes by not spending their money.”

Local Hip-Hop Homicide

A Lawrence jury recently found Rashawn T. Anderson guilty of killing one man and injuring another outside a rap concert at the Granada last year. The two might not be his only victims. Anderson’s actions may have wounded the local hip-hop scene.

“With Lawrence, you have a really small town,” said Laura Watkins, co-DJ with Agron on Hip-Hop Hyp. “Whenever there’s something like the shooting, people are just like, ‘hip-hop, it’s all bad.’ That really damages it.”

Lawrence, which combines with Kansas City to have a strong hip-hop community, is experiencing a decline. Rap sales at the Love Garden, a downtown music store, are down 50 to 70 percent from two years ago. Kief’s Music, also downtown, is selling significantly less, although its owner couldn’t give an exact number. Both stores have large selections of Lawrence and Kansas City rap artists.

The Gaslight Tavern, which sometimes has live rap acts, gets half as many people for rap shows as it did two years ago. The Bottleneck has fewer rap shows than it did two to three years ago and is experiencing a similar decline in attendance. Only about 100 people came to see local rapper Archetype last week, about 1/3 of what the venue can hold.

Map of music venues and stores in downtown Lawrence. From Google Maps

An October 2006 incident involving the murder of Anthony Vital, better known as Clacc of the local group Da Bomb Squad, increased the connection between hip-hop and violence that had already intensified because of the Granada shooting. The negative vibes toward rap are evident on the Lawrence Journal World’s Web site. Citizens lit up the message boards with comments on the Granada story and Clacc story that blame rap for the violence.

But not everyone blames the recent violence for local hip-hop’s decline.

Most of the 50 plus rappers listed on lawrencehiphop.com as being from Kansas City or Lawrence local make music that lacks the misogynistic, violent themes common in mainstream songs.

“Our rap is completely the opposite,” Hunt said. “I’m the polar opposite of what would be considered misogyny.”

Local rap’s differences with the mainstream could actually be part of the reason it’s struggling. Rap listeners, Hunt said, have become obsessed with hot singles that have ready-to-sing choruses. The songs are perfect for purchasing on Itunes or for a ringtone. That’s why mobile phone and digital download sales have increased 98 percent and 71 percent respectively since 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The artists and record companies who make those singles, Hunt said, don’t always focus on making quality albums.

“The labels have a one track mind when it comes to rap,” Creekmur said. “They are looking for a smash hit and hope that can be leveraged into other platforms like ringtone sales.”

Local artists don’t have the luxury of heavy radio play that can translate into those sales. All they can do is market albums. So if a local artist makes a quality CD, it’s not likely to sell as much in an industry where popular singles sold as digital downloads attract the most listeners and buyers.

Keys to the Future

Watkins attended a Talib Kweli rap concert at the Granada about a month ago. She enjoyed the music and the atmosphere and never once felt unsafe. The only problem was she could hardly move. The place was packed. It was the second high-profile rap show that’s sold out this year at the Granada.

Was the concert a sign that rap is starting to find favor again in Lawrence?

“If more shows happen the way Kweli went with really positive energy and nothing bad happening,” Watkins said, “it’ll rebuild.”

Perhaps even better for local rap was that Hunt opened for Kweli. A sell-out crowd had a chance to hear him. It’s one of the many ways local rappers try to gain the recognition that can translate to higher sales.

Technology is another way. Area rappers such as Tech N9ne, Reach, Archetype and Hunt have MySpace accounts that feature their music. Some also have free Podcasts on the Internet. Hunt said he expects these steps will help area hip-hop sales increase when several rappers come out with new CD’s in the near future.

“All of us are working hard,” he said. “Over the next eight months, you’ll see what we’re talking about.”

Changes like those could help local sales bounce back, but an improved image for all of hip-hop could be an even greater benefit.

Russell Simmons, CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, responded to the criticism magnified by the Imus situation by calling for recording and broadcasting industries to ban “ho,” “bitch” and “nigger” in clean versions of rap songs. Clean versions of songs are the ones heard on the radio and TV.

That ban’s not enough for some. The targeted epithets are already edited in most clean songs. Barbee said more drastic measures need to be taken to fix hip-hop’s negative effects on society.

“The Imus situation has made it become front page, and I’m glad it has,” Barbee said. “The community needs to rise up. I think if there’s an economic boycott it will make a difference. If there’s no money, they won’t make it anymore.”

Simmons, rapper Common and Kevin Liles, executive vice president of Warner Music Group appeared on “Oprah” two weeks ago to discuss the state of hip-hop. They said artists rapped about what they saw in their neighborhoods. Instead of worrying about fixing music, they said, people need to fix the poverty that influences the music.

Hunt said he’s worried about the apparent dissension between the critics of hip-hop and the members of the hip-hop community. He wants the two sides to come together. Then, rap music can get back to its old status.

“It’ll come back,” Hunt said. “But it’s not going to be one-sided. It’s going to have to be a compromise.”

Downtown Lawrence has about 20 stores that sell women's shoes and clothing. Spectators, 734 Vermont St., and Saffees, 911 Mass St., are the oldest. Envy, 911 Mass St., shares a building with Saffees. The store opened a month ago and joined the competition of downtown boutiques.

Storeowners in downtown Lawrence cite their ability to adapt to trends in order to stay in business. They build personal connections with customers to keep them returning; and they carry a variety of merchandise.

Mark Swanson, co-owner of Spectators, said the biggest key to success is the ability to change.

“If you’re not always changing, if you’re being what you started out to be, you’re going to fail,” he said. “You must be connected to your customer, and those wants and needs are always changing,” he said.

“You can imagine how much downtown Lawrence has changed in 26 years,” he said.

Swanson said not only has downtown changed, but the type of merchandise has also. Spectators started out as a maternity store then starting selling kitchenware. Swanson began selling clothing as the popularity for plates and dishes declined downtown.

Swanson's second store, Hobbs, 700 Mass St., opened in 1997.

Rick Marquez, director of the Downtown Lawrence Inc., said it's not uncommon to have downtown stores opening and closing.

The Casbah, formerly 803 Mass St., closed its doors in the first weeks of 2007. The store’s eclectic style of clothes, jewelry and accessories attracted college students for years. The store even profited from national eBay sales. Owner Terri Flaunce’s sale permit ran out Jan. 18.

“The Casbah had a good four-year run downtown,” Marquez said. “We’ve had stores go under within months, but some like Spectators, have been downtown for 25-plus years,” he said.

Marquez and the staff at Downtown Lawrence Inc. are dedicated to promoting downtown shopping. The non-profit organization coordinates events and efforts to lure shoppers downtown. Downtownlawrence.com lists clothing stores and their Web sites to expose downtown merchandise.

Marquez said that the best strategy a storeowner can have is to pay attention to customer tastes and produce products that tailor to demands.

Steve Mercurio owns Saffees. His second store, Envy, caters to a younger crowd of college and high-school girls. Customers at Saffees tend to be middle-aged to older women.

“The clothing style offered at Envy is different than any other store in town,” Whit Inskeep, store manager said.

Inskeep said the clothing styles are straight out of Los Angeles.

“Sometimes it takes awhile for the hottest trends from the East Coast and West Coast to hit the shelves in Lawrence,” she said. “But it’s important to update merchandise because a lot of college students are from other places around the country and world. These kids are fashion-savvy.”

Inskeep said Envy is for women who want to be ultra-fashionable and look their best without paying outrageous prices.

On the streets of Lawrence she sees many girls wearing the same clothing.

“The clothes at Envy are unique because we only carry six pieces of each item,” she said.

Inskeep said the individuality and the low prices of the merchandise will keep customers coming back.

“That’s the beauty of a good local business: communication between employees and customers.”

Mayumi Mendoza is a staff writer for Powerhomebiz.com. The Web site provides information and tips for business owners and entrepreneurs.

Mendoza said that keeping up with change is key.

“You have to be on your toes to adapt to every little change in the market,” she said.

Mendoza said that 80 percent of retail clothing businesses fail within the first five years because of poor management, tough competition from department stores and poor evaluation of fashion trends.

Mendoza offers ways small businesses can survive in the clothing retail market. The first is to start small. She said not to invest cash in the quantity of inventory, but quality. Her second suggestion is to learn as much about the market as possible.

Next, maintain quality in the merchandise mix.

“By offering a wider selection, you can protect yourself in case another line does not sell as expected,” she said.

Mendoza said to go heavy on service. She said to be sure to know the names of frequent customers.

“You can even call them when you get in a shipment of merchandise just right for them,” she said.

Mendoza said owners should control inventory. She said experts suggest keeping merchandise within three price lines: budget, off-price and moderate.

Owners should listen to the demands of customers, she said.

Finally, she said, owners should cross-market products, market the store and hire the right people.

“The business may appear glamorous, but you must be willing to work long hours,” Mendoza said.

Swanson also said commitment is important. He said people don’t realize how intense running a clothing business is.

“You can’t get into it expecting a pastime. It’s a 24/7 job to run a store,” Swanson said.

He said owners needed to give customers what they want to get them back into the store.

“It’s not a situation where you demand the respect or loyalty of customers,” he said. “You have to prove it.”

To get to Humanities and Western Civilization 204 (known to students as Western Civ. One) you drive to campus, park at the Student Recreation Fitness Center, walk through the lot, climb exactly 146 steps and then attempt three flights of steps before finally arriving, sweaty and breathless, on the third floor of Bailey Hall. This is all performed while wearing a 5- to 10-pound backpack.

This is not a part of your daily fitness training for the 2008 Olympic Games. This is life at the University of Kansas.

It is a fact that to get almost anywhere at KU a student has to climb steps, hills or even trees. (There is a new tree-climbing club on campus.) You start to wonder: exactly how many steps are there on campus? So you go to that repository of knowledge – KU Info.

KU Info doesn’t know. But they do know how many trees there are: 17,900 as of four years ago.

“There are always new steps popping up on campus,” KU Info said.

Well then. The exact number might not be that important. You’re going to have to climb them anyway, but while you’re climbing you might consider whether your daily trek is a good excuse for not going to the recreation center every day with your fit-and-dedicated roommate. Also, does walking up and down Mount Oread makes you more fit than students at a certain flat campus about 90 miles west of Lawrence.

Fitness Coordinator for KU Recreation Services, Amber Long, worked at Kansas State University before coming to KU.

Walking to class up KU’s hills definitely helps students stay fit, Long said.

“If you’re walking 20 minutes, you’re walking a mile,” she said.

As people leave here and get jobs, they find that they become more sedentary and they gain weight, Long said.

So, the recreation center might as well shut its doors, right? Here in Lawrence we walk the hills and everyone stays thin.

Ann Chapman, dietitian for Student Health Services Administration, disagrees.

“The hills don’t aid in stored-fat reduction,” Chapman said. She also says they’re no use in cardiovascular training because heart rate isn’t elevated for long enough to burn calories.

Chapman said that freshmen complaining to her about gaining 20 pounds say, ‘But I walk so much on campus!’

The only thing the hills affect physically, Chapman said, is the size of your calves and thighs.

The hills are the cause behind the “KU calves.”

“You can tell someone’s a senior by the way their calves look,” KU Info’s Chris Morpher said.

Of course, all of this only applies to students who actually walk to class or drive and park at the recreation center or at Memorial Stadium. Taking the bus will not result in bigger calves, and zooming around on a scooter will only mess up your hair.

As to the actual physical benefits of the steps, students tend to take the middle ground.

“It’s an important part of daily activity,” said Becky Kudma, doctoral student in exercise physiology. But it doesn’t cover the 20 minutes of activity on most days of the week recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Paul Lantis, Ottawa senior, walks to campus from either Ninth Street and Emery Road or 14th and Tennessee Streets.

“I think that anything that gets people moving is a good thing,” Lantis said. “I consider myself physically fit, but my heart rate still increases.”

Maryna Silchenko, Lawrence graduate student, walks to class from 11th and Ohio Streets but also exercises at the recreation center on a regular basis.

“I think it makes a difference, but it’s only a 15 minute walk,” Silchenko said.

The general consensus is that, to stay truly fit simply walking to class isn’t enough. KU hasn’t had a physical education requirement since the 1930s, said
Jim LaPoint, professor of health, sport, and exercise science. Anyone who is not a physical education major can only take up to three credit hours of an activity and have it count toward the credits needed to graduate.

A new wellness website, Hawk Health, , offers fitness tips that students can work into their busy schedules. Many of them can be implemented just by walking around campus.

One of the fitness programs is called 10,000 steps. It was developed by the Japanese scientist Dr. Yoshiro Hatano. According to the study, people who burned 300 extra calories a day were than their sedentary counterparts. Hatano established 10,000 steps as a benchmark for the 300 calories. According to Sports Medicine people who walk less than 5,000 steps a day are considered "sedentary."

Ten thousand steps is the equivalent of five miles, 2,000 steps equal one mile and walking a mile will burn around 100 calories.

This campus has 2,600 steps. I know. I counted. Walking even a portion of that will go a long way towards keeping you fit.

Until you walk those 2,000 steps from Budig Hall straight to the Wheel.

Dr. Darren Rausch, a veterinarian for Gentle Care Animal Hospital in Lawrence, walked into the patient’s room to deliver some bad news to Rachel Barnes, Hutchinson junior, about her recently-adopted orange tabby cat, C.K., short for Calvin Klein. He tested positive for FIV, or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, the feline version of AIDS.

C.K. is among the average of three to five FIV positive cats adopted out the Lawrence Humane Society every year. Barnes and the few other owners of FIV infected cats can blame funding for this problem.

The Lawrence Humane Society currently has an estimated budget of around $700,000. The city of Lawrence only gives the Humane Society $280,000 annually. That budget doesn’t even include the $525,000 for the 5,000 square-foot extension and necessary annual repairs.

That leaves Midge Grinstead, the Executive Director of the Lawrence Humane Society, responsible for 60% of the budget, just to keep the place running.

“We get some funding from the county; but, for the most part, we have to fundraise ourselves. It’s tough,” Grinstead said.

Because their budget is tight, the shelter’s staff is also affected. Grinstead said that sometimes they are understaffed so they can’t work efficiently.

What does this mean for the Lawrence Humane Society’s cats? Shannon Keithley, a caretaker at the shelter, also known as “cat woman”, says it’s impossible to test every cat.

“We don’t test every cat because of a lack of funds. We only test the ones that get sick and don’t get better. Sometimes we test the tom cats, which are the more aggressive males,” Keithley said.

Cats that test positive for FIV in the shelter’s FIV/Feline Leukemia combo test are usually put down. Under current Kansas Law, animal shelters cannot knowingly adopt out FIV positive cats.

“If we know that a cat is FIV positive, we wouldn’t adopt it out. We do have to do that because of legality issues and to curb the FIV problem. Most shelters outside the state don’t even test for FIV,” Keithley said.

The lack of funding for FIV expands to state and federal levels.

Dr. H.D. Lewis, a veterinarian at Lewis Veterinary Clinic, says the government divides its testing and vaccines for cat diseases into two different categories: core and noncore.

“Several government organizations pay attention to core vaccines and tests, like cat distemperment. FIV is in the noncore category, so tests and vaccines for the virus are put on the backburner. The best thing we can do is to treat the symptoms and hope for the best, if cats do get diagnosed,” Lewis said.

How common is FIV?

FIV currently infects close to three percent of cats in the United States. Although still a serious virus for cats and mimics the human form of AIDS, FIV cannot affect humans.

Dr. Rausch sees hundreds of cats every year, while he only diagnoses a few cats a year with FIV.

“FIV isn’t all that common. I see about one or two cats every year with FIV,” Rausch said.

Rausch said the virus is common in aggressive male cats, like C.K., because cats transmit the virus through biting and scratching each other. It is uncommon for a cat to spread FIV sexually.

Worried about your cat? Get it tested!

There are two types of tests for FIV: the ELISA and the Western blot test. C.K. tested positive on both tests, confirming he had FIV.

The ELISA test runs around $40, but its result, although fast, can sometimes be a false positive. The Western blot test costs close to $200, but is 99.9% accurate. Both tests measure the number of FIV antibodies in the blood stream, which are the body’s defense against the virus.

Testing your cat will help you plan for the rest of your cat’s life. It will also reduce the chance of other cats getting infected.

How does it affect your feline companion?

FIV is similar to HIV because they can both stay dormant for years before being discovered. Veterinarians can usually detect the virus when cats are around five years old: the time when the virus will most likely progress throughout the body through the lymph system.

Sometimes FIV does not progress and the cat just stays a carrier for its entire life, but most of the time it will progress. Signs that the virus has progressed include poor coat condition, a fever, a loss of appetite, inflammation of the gums, recurrent infections, and, in extreme cases, seizures.

The intensity of these symptoms varies from cat to cat, depending on age and general health.

What can you do to help your cat?

FIV is a very difficult disease to treat because you can only treat the symptoms. It cannot be cured. The Cornell Feline Health Center says you can only do a few things for your cat, but they will extend your cat’s life span.

• You need to feed a nutritious diet. Do not give it any uncooked food.
• Do not let your cat outdoors. It will prevent the cat from spreading the disease with other cats and from catching diseases from other animals.
• Alert your veterinarian if your cat’s health changes.
• As a last result, there are some antiviral therapies to treat your cat, but currently there is no evidence to back up these therapies

By B.J. Rains

The deadly shootings at Virginia Tech have prompted many schools, including the University of Kansas, to look at how they would alert students, faculty and staff if a similar event occurred on their campus.

Officials at KU, however, had to do more than look at the school's procedures when a bomb threat was received by a school employee Friday morning. The e-mail threat said four pipe bombs had been placed on or around the campus. After authorities were notified, an e-mail was sent to all students and staff alerting them of the situation.

The only problem was that not all students got the e-mail when it was sent. Junior Chris Harber knew nothing about the threat until a friend called and told him that the school had sent out an e-mail. When he checked his e-mail at about 4 p.m., he had no messages from the school in his in-box. Police Chief Ralph Oliver sent the e-mail at 3:08 p.m., but Harber did not receive it until 4:53 p.m., or more than 90 minutes after it was sent.

“There was a bomb threat on campus and I knew nothing about it,” Harber said. “Luckily it was just a threat and nothing happened because if it had been something more serious, I would have had no idea what was going on.”

KU has stepped up its search for better notification warning systems, and the e-mail delay is just another reason why. Several ideas are being discussed and a few have already been approved, school officials said.

“We have an extensive emergency plan for all types of emergencies, both natural disasters, pandemics, accidents and human behavior,” said Senior Vice Provost Kathleen A. McClusky-Fawcett. “We are currently in the process of updating this plan, but not in response to the Virginia Tech tragedy. We have been working on it for several months.”

KU has contracted through the Union for a service that will begin this fall and will use text messaging to help deliver urgent notices. All students and staff will be asked to provide updated cell phone numbers to the University, who will in turn be able to send out one massive text message to alert them of a dangerous situation on campus. The warning system will be free to students, except for the normal charge that applies from their cell phone carrier when they receive a text message.

The University is also gathering costs on two other communication systems. The first, a reverse 911 system, will allow the school to call each student's dorm room or faculty member's office phone and relay a taped message to the listener. McClusky-Fawcett said that the downside of this plan is that the majority of students live off campus and it's unknown whether they could receive the call as well.

The second system, a more likely scenerio, would wire all 40 campus buildings that have fire alarm speaker systems to the KU police central dispatch headquarters.

“It will enable the police to provide specific instructions to the occupants of any and all of the connected buildings,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere.

Some schools, such as Arizona State, have implemented a siren system that will be used much like tornado sirens. Instead of having one siren, the schools will have three or four sirens that will each mean something different. Students will be educated on the system when they first arrive on campus each year.

KU officials have discussed the siren system but to this point said they do not find it a viable option.

“We judge sirens to be ineffective for those purposes,” Lariviere said.

Schools have gone to the siren system because it was the quickest and easiest to set up, but KU officials believe the text messaging or phone call systems would better alert the students.

“We talked about it,” McClusky-Fawcett said. “But we believe there are other, more effective methods of communication that we can put in place.”

If something similar to the Virginia Tech tragedy were to happen at KU before these systems were implemented, most students have no idea what would happen.

“My friends and I were talking about that when we were watching it all on TV,” said sophomore Molly Brammer. “I honestly have no idea what we would do, or what the school would do. My friend was saying that if she had class at JRP, and a shooting was going on at Frasier, she wouldn’t have any idea that something was wrong. We were all thinking about it and she’s right. We’d be in trouble if something happened.”

Though KU officials claim they were working to update the systems well before the shootings at Virginia Tech, the importance of getting these plans approved and in place has increased. Some say that the majority of the shootings at VT could have been avoided had the school done a better job in alerting the students, something KU hopes won’t happen in the future.

“It’s easy to second guess what they did, but it’s not fair to do so,” McClusky-Fawcett said. “We can’t guarantee that everyone is 100 percent safe from every potential disaster, but I believe with the systems in place and those that will soon be in place, we will be able to handle emergency situations if they arise.”

The word “muzak” implies some rather unpleasant imagery. Maybe it’s of an elevator going to the third floor of Dillard’s with your grandmother. Maybe it’s of walking through a boring mall hallway, wondering why on earth the mall is empty at three in the afternoon. But it probably doesn’t bring up images of McDonald’s, Home Depot, and the Gap.
But that’s Muzak too.
Muzak is actually a company with long history based in North Carolina that supplies music services via satellite and broadband to many well-known businesses like Arby’s, Home Depot, the Marriot, and even places like Avis Car Rental. And with the advent of huge companies like XM providing satellite radio, Muzak has been changing business to get rid of the elevator music image since 1997.
Beginnings
Muzak’s beginnings go all the way back to the 1920’s. Major General George O. Squier, who graduated from West Point in 1887, actually made more of a difference as an inventor than a General. In 1922, Squier piped music via power lines into “typing pools,” a group of people typing up various things for someone. He found that the instrumental music helped the typists keep up a good steady pace. He then sold the patent rights to a huge utility company called the North American Company.
Skyscrapers came with the 1930s. And along with skyscrapers came the devices that muzak.com calls “seemingly designed to terrify their occupants.” Music was played to calm passengers, and so began elevator music.
In 1934, the name “Muzak” was finally introduced as they opened up a home subscription service. But soon after that, free commercial radio started to take over in popularity, so Muzak got out of the private sector and started to concentrate on businesses. They started with mostly hotels and restaurants in New York City.
1936 saw new music programs being introduced, including “theme” programs, where music by a certain composer or played by a certain orchestra was played all together. Think of it as the first involuntary playlist.
In 1937, Muzak got a big break. S. Wyatt and J.N. Langdon, British industrial psychologists, found in a study that music actually increased efficiency in the workplace.
Warner Brothers then bought Muzak in 1938 and spread the programming to Detroit, Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington D.C.
World War II brought tremendous growth for Muzak with the factory production spike. After the war, a program was launched to fully take advantage of the beneficial effects of music in the workplace called “Stimulus Progression.” Fifteen minutes of music was played, followed by 15 minutes of silence. The music would start out soft and slow, and by the end of the 15 minutes, would be upbeat and fast. The idea was to not distract the workers, but to energize them and then give them a chance to really concentrate.
The oldest remaining subscriber to Muzak also opened in 1946, in Kansas City.
Muzak entered the future in 1954 when they switched from manually-played vinyl records to automated tapes in their central studios. They also started using FM subcarriers, FM signals that required a special receiver to play, to broadcast their programming. Local station KLZR/KLWN was one of those subcarriers. At the time, Muzak was the largest user of phone line networks in the world.
Muzak moved even farther into the future in 1980 after a period of buying and selling the company when they moved all programming to satellite.
Until 1987, Muzak was dedicated to background music alone. The company believed that vocals and unaltered pop songs would distract workers too much. But in 1987 they merged with what was basically the “foreground” version of Muzak; Seattle-based Yesco.
In the past few years, Muzak has continued to develop new technology for retailers, advertisers, drive-thrus, and even on-hold music. They continue to sell equipment along with their music and on-hold services as well.
How It Works
Once a business subscribes to the music service, Muzak sets up a satellite dish and receiver for the company. These set up operations are run out of regional offices like the one in Lenexa. The business than has a choice of 80 or so channels, each designed and organized by beats-per-minute and even style or mood. The programs are also designed to be listened to all day long with very limited repetition of songs, a feature added specially for employees who don’t want to hear “Billie Jean” six times during their night shift. Muzak’s services fun from 35 to 65 dollars per month, depending on the selected service.
New Image
But since its launch in 2001, XM Satellite Radio has also been a contender for the music supply business. Both Muzak and XM provide satellite music services, but XM is aimed more at the private sector, with cars and stereos available with XM hookups.
Muzak is aiming primarily at businesses, and in recent years, has been using new advertising techniques to try to rid itself of the cheesy Beatles-orchestral-remake elevator music label. A flashy website, overly simple modern logo, and hip-looking brochures try to elevate the ancient company to a level it can compete with newcomers to the business like XM. They’re also making sure their

Joe Flannery explains the importance of background music.

Not Just For Elevators
Seth, a manager at the Lawrence Applebee’s who did not give his last name, said that Applebee’s has been using Muzak as their music provider ever since Applebee’s started. “It has a variety of channels to choose from to help keep a family atmosphere,” said Seth.
Michael Moore, the General Manager of the Marriott Springhill Suites in Lawrence, said that they are getting Muzak services installed in August. “It’s part of ‘repositioning’ the brand,” he said. Springhill Suites just one of many Marriott “brands” out there, and is relatively new. Before, the background music consisted of a TV being left on a news channel in the breakfast room and Christmas music being played on a business center computer over the holidays. He’s looking forward to the change.
Not all companies go with Muzak, though. Joe Flannery, the president of Weavers on Massachusetts Street, went with the local company Sound Products because of the kind of music he wanted for his customers and staff. “Well, I like the variety we can select from. We checked out Muzak, and we got sound products because it had more of the background music we wanted,” Flannery said. He didn’t go with XM, however, because it wasn’t available 10 years ago.
Some places that have used Muzak aren’t even businesses. According to Muzak’s website, the astronauts on the Apollo lunar missions listened to Muzak during the trip. President Dwight Eisenhower even had Muzak installed in the White House.
As the audio/visual entertainment world continues to grow rapidly, Muzak is keeping on top. “We started out as the elevator music company,” said Osborne, “and now we’re so much more than that.”

Sources:
http://www.muzak.com
http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-08-05-muzak-cover_x.htm
Joe Flannery, President of Weavers, 785-843-6360
Seth, Manager at Applebee’s, 785-832-8338
Michael Moore, General Manager of Springhill Suites, Marriott, 785-841-2700
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/10/060410fa_fact?currentPage=2
John Osborne, Regional Manager for Colorado, Kansas area, 303-996-6515

Here's a short video about why Background Music is important.