Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Volek)

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.

A small fishing village in Kenya is receiving help from Kyli Maddox, University of Kansas junior.

Maddox’s efforts are part of the Women’s Institute for Secondary Education and Research Project (WISER) with Duke University. Maddox is shooting to raise $10,000 for the project that will become the first model girls’ secondary boarding school and research center for women in Muhuru Bay, Kenya.

Maddox is currently working on planning several fundraisers. So far, fundraising plans include a Bunny Hop with the Greek community, a 5K walk with the Lawrence community, and a concession stand with high school students of Overland Park and Price Chopper, a chain supermarket.

“I’m just doing everything I can to raise as much money as I can,” Maddox said.

Maddox was first inspired for this project while working for Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity in Calcutta, India last summer.

It was in India that Maddox first met Andrew Cunningham, co-founder of WISER. Maddox and Cunningham immediately knew they had one thing in common: a desire to help people in Africa.

“I know it sounds silly, but its just so sad; all the awful things happening there,” Maddox said.

According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, Muhuru Bay, Kenya has the highest percentage of HIV infected people in the country. It is also home to some of the highest malaria infection rates.

According to the Human Rights Watch, Muhuru Bay has some of the lowest rates for girls completion of secondary education.

“In the last 18 years not a single girl who has completed her secondary education in the Muhuru Bay school district has qualified for college entrance,” Cunningham said in an email.

He explained that since these girls aren’t likely to qualify for college, many families prefer not to pay the primary and secondary school fees and instead ensure their girls’ place as a future bride. This gender specific spiral of education deprivation and disease has led to a strong gender disparity. The ripple effects of having sick, poor, uneducated women are enormous.

WISER’s objectives are to achieve gender parity in Kenyan education, create educated and motivated leaders, foster international collaboration between United States and Kenyan students, and enrich the community.

Through the six weeks they spent together in India and a continuous flow of phone calls and emails, Maddox and Cunningham worked together to prepare Maddox for her contributing work to WISER.

Cunningham supports Maddox’s efforts. “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if you raised enough money to build a classroom and have it named after you, your school, your town,” he said.

Since starting her work with WISER, Maddox has found many other supporters including family and friends. Maddox’s mother DeeDee said, “My family has always been involved with local charities. I’m trying to influence them to expand to other regions because what is poor here is rich there.”

Another supporter, Jessica Bell, has joined Maddox in working for WISER. “I feel that the women of South Africa are treated so unfairly. When compared to men they are at a great disadvantage. I love WISER,” said Bell.

According to Cunningham, WISER has received overwhelming support in Muhuru Bay.
“Our teachers always say that, we as girls, are slow learners. This has created a gap between the teachers and the girls, and the teachers [spend] all their time on the [boys],” said Emmaqulate Oders, a community girl, in a letter to Cunningham.

Maddox is optimistic about her efforts. She believes this is her chance to give girls in Muhuru Bay some of the same opportunities she has. “Any amount of money we can raise well be good. Anything will help. From $1,000 to whatever,” Maddox said.

Local businesses are joining shoppers and turning to the Internet. The Internet serves as a new form of revenue for many local businesses. With the click of a mouse, businesses are expanding from Lawrence to New York to California.

Consumers and businesses both reap the benefits of online shopping. Shoppers turned to online shopping for its increased amount of convenience, speed and selection. Businesses are turning to online shopping for a greater customer base, an increase amount of revenue and to create a gateway into their store.

In the business world, online shopping is known as ecommerce, sales of goods or services over an Internet or other online connection.

The ecommerce success of businesses often varies among stores. Some local businesses receive a minimal number of sales online, while others completely turn to online sales to support their business.

Footprints, a shoe store at 1339 Massachusetts St., has offered online shopping since 1998.The store receives catalog orders from its Web site and through the phone. Only one-third of the store’s revenue comes from its in-store retail business according to Karen Luecke, store manager.

Brits at 929 Massachusetts St. sells British Isles items. The store has offered online shopping since 1996. Store assistant Elizabeth Herrman said the store receives five to six online sales a day. They ship to customers from coast to coast. At the end of the year its ecommerce and in-store retail balance out 50/50, Herrman said.

Mass Street Music has offered online sales to its customers for the past two years. Employee Kyle Rabe said the store receives one to two sales a week from its Web site. The store’s Web site not only serves as a way to sell merchandise, but to market it as well.

Customers view items on the Web site, but go to the store to buy them. The Web site serves as a gateway into the store. The store’s Web site generates 25% of its sales.

Online shopping is boosting revenue for businesses nationwide. In an emarketer.com study of U.S. broadband users, shopping online influenced 36% of respondents to make a retail purchase. This is compared to the 11% influence created by commercials and the 6% influence created by magazine ads.

J-hood Bookstore, which was located in Lawrence from 1974 to 2000, also changed with the times. In 2000, the store closed its location in Lawrence and began to operate only through ecommerce. The switch from in-store to online doubled the business’ profit. John Hood said the store was able to increase its profits with raid prices and no employees.

As local businesses increase their revenue and customer base to a national level, they also create more work. In addition to assisting customers and running the cash register, stores now need to maintain their Web sites and prepare online orders for shipment.

“We make it a collaborative effort to upkeep our site,” said Elizabeth Herrman, Brits employee. “We also have one employee that comes in on Tuesday and Thursday to do our mail orders.”

Employees of Prairie Patches, a specialty store located at 821 Massachusetts St., also work together to handle the increased workload from online orders. The store has separate Web sites for its greek merchandise and for its flower and balloon gift shop. Lori Lange, store manager, said they have a hard time getting everything done. Recently, they have not been able to maintain their Jayhawk merchandise Web site recently.

Mass Street Music, on the other hand, hired two new employees to help maintain the extra workload from ecommerce business. One fulltime employee deals with information technology. The other part-time employee is in charge of taking pictures, online administration and product descriptions.

In the past, ecommerce has been a small percentage of total retail sales in the U.S., but the percentage is steadily increasing over the years as the amount of Internet users increases.

GoECart, an ecommerce consulting company, reported that online users increased from 68% of the U.S. population in 2005 to 71% of the U.S population in 2006.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated, the U.S. retail total increased 5.8% from 2005 to 2006. However, the U.S. ecommerce increased 23.5% to $108.7 billion from 2005 to 2006. In 2006, ecommerce made up 7.8% of total sales in the U.S.

Lawrence business owners also expect an increase amount of ecommerce in the future.

Waxman Candles started preparing for the increased amount of online sales in the future by improving its current ecommerce situation. It is working to increase the number of products offered and customer communication.

Weavers department store is also recognizing the future of ecommerce. President Joe Flannery said, “Online shopping is more prevalent than ever. Our dilemma is that we are a one-store operation. Its not critical for one location.”

Forrester Research company projects online retail to hit $230 billion by 2008: 10% of the anticipated U.S. sales total.

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Beth Ruhl remembers when she asked Cole Brown to be her date for the senior prom. He was different from most dates.

“Cole Brown had a heart of gold, but was a social outcast because he was born with severe mental retardation,” Ruhl said.

“When I asked his mom for her approval she said, ‘Why would you want to take him?’ I was shocked.”

“This was her son we were talking about. Why wouldn’t I want to take him? He treats me like a queen, isn’t afraid to dance and would just be an all-around great date,” Ruhl said.

This was not Ruhl’s first or last experience helping others. She was the philanthropy chair of her sorority at Kansas State University, volunteered with various Special Olympic events, traveled to Belize for two months during a summer volunteer program and spent two years in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Ruhl currently works at Heart of America United Way in Kansas City as a campaign manager. She‘s an example of the growing number of young-adult and student volunteers. Agencies, universities and organizations note that numbers of young people volunteering has been growing for the past six-years - especially since 9/11.

Ruhl thinks it’s important for students to volunteer. “Everyone has something to offer this world and when you find your special something it creates positive change for everyone else,” she said. We need to spread the volunteer bug down from generation to generation.”

The Numbers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 61.2 million Americans or 26.7 percent of the population volunteered through or with an organization in 2006.

Kansas was ranked fifth among all states for volunteerism in 2006 by the bureau. More than 38 percent of Kansas’s residents volunteered.

The Corporation for National and Community Service , the nation’s largest grant maker supporting service and volunteering, is working with other federal agencies, universities and nonprofit organizations to increase volunteerism among college students. The corporation also published a report, College Students Helping America, in October of 2006.

The report said that college students who choose to volunteer increased about 20 percent between 2000 and 2005. The report defined college students as individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 that are enrolled at a post-secondary institution. This increase is nearly double that of adults, whose numbers only increased 9 percent from 2000 to 2005. The number of college student volunteers reached almost 3.3 million in 2005.

The report said 31.5 percent of Kansas college students volunteered in 2005, ranking the state 24th in the nation.

What They’re Doing

The report showed tutoring and mentoring as the most common volunteer activities among college students. About 27 percent of college students who volunteered tutored, and 24 percent mentored in 2005.

Maggie Bixler, Americorps member, said volunteering was good for students no matter what kind of work they did. “Volunteering gives you experience in the field you wouldn’t otherwise have when you graduate,” Bixler said. “ I’ve read studies and articles that say volunteering helps increase your lifespan, makes you healthier and makes you happier.”

KU student Lauren Uhlmansiek volunteered with other KU students in an Alternative Spring Break program organized by the Ecumenical Christian Ministries.

The group of 10 students traveled to New Orleans during the 2007 spring break. Uhlmansiek was assigned to work on a house that belonged to an area resident, Patricia.

Patricia’s house was completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. She used all of the insurance money she had collected to buy a house that was completely gutted. Uhlmansiek and the other students helped rebuild Patricia’s house and worked on projects such as dry walling, mudding and cleaning.

“Patricia is the funniest, most positive and upbeat lady I’ve ever met," Uhlmansiek said. "She is a living example of what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”

Uhlmansiek plans to return to New Orleans and volunteer for two weeks this August.

How to Get Involved

Several local and national organizations provide volunteer opportunities to college students. For example:

The Center for Community Outreach(CCO) at the University of Kansas works to increase meaningful student involvement within the community. It offers service opportunities, community contacts and student organization activities. It has 1,989 registered volunteers for the 2006-2007 school year and has logged 6,162 volunteer hours since August 2005.

The center works with 15 core organizations. Elaine Jardon, co-director of the center, said the CCO has had to create more programs for the greater need over the past few years, but she didn’t have exact numbers. Programs like Alternative Breaks have grown and moved out from under the center’s umbrella, and they now operate on their own.

KU Alternative Breaks offers weekend, spring and winter volunteer trips to university students. Katie Jahnke, co-director of KU Alternative Breaks, said the program has grown since her freshman year.

“You see so much in the world that needs changed everyday,” Jahnke said. “We can really do something and have the energy to do it. That is why alternative breaks is such a good program.”

KU Weekend Breaks was created five years ago to fulfill an increased demand for service learning. Weekend Breaks offers a volunteer trip once a month.

“We try to balance between social and physical activities and cover a variety of issues,” said Elizabeth Cattell, co-director of Weekend Breaks.

The United Way of America is also working to create more programs for college student volunteers. Sheila Consaul, former director of media relations at the United Way of America, said the United Way has about 1.1 million volunteers each year.

The United Way started a new Alternative Spring Break in Spring 2006 to help with hurricane relief for areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Consaul said. The first year the program had about 100 participants and lasted a week. The program ran again in Spring 2007 and expanded to a four-week program and included more than 300 participants.

The United Way also works with programs such as the 10,000 Hour Show and Youth Venture. Consaul said there was a great need for student volunteer programs.

“College volunteers are different from other volunteers,” Consaul said. “College students have different needs and interests. They have more time and more energy, but not a disposable income.”

The Impact

The Corporation for National and Community Service and its partners have set a goal to increase the number of college volunteers to five million by 2010.

As an employee of the United Way, Ruhl hopes to motivate other students to volunteer.

Her inspiration is remembering some of the people she’s helped, like Cole.

When Ruhl asked if Cole could go the prom, his mother’s eyes swelled with tears, and she told Ruhl, “Unless another girl learns from your example, he may never have another experience like this in his life.”

Ruhl said they had a great time at prom.

“Cole was not only the best date," Ruhl said. "But he also taught me that what may seem like the smallest act of kindness could have the biggest impact on others."