Multimedia Reporting (Adler-Noland-Utsler)

It’s a Thursday night at Conroy’s Pub. The patrons are filtering in like any other night. They come in, order their drinks and head towards some tables at the back of the bar.
Tonight, they are intent on playing poker for free. The Poker Pub is a company in Lawrence that hosts free poker tournaments for prizes on different nights of the week.
“It was an alternative, similar to karaoke at bars,” Melissa Nagy, Kansas City representative for The Poker Pub, said.
Nagy said the Poker Pub offered people who didn’t necessarily want to waste money at a casino an alternative, and it was an event were people could meet, chat and be social.
Scott Hamill, Lawrence resident, said he enjoyed it for that reason. Hamill said it was an enjoyable time, being able to be drinking with other players and being social.
According to their website, www.thepokerpub.com, the Poker Pub was founded in Lawrence in 2004 and business grew quickly as it become one of the fastest growing poker companies in the country.
Nagy said the business makes money by charging the bars to rent out their buildings for the tournaments. The tournaments themselves are completely free and they give out prizes to the winners, and Nagy said the players could also stockpile points for bigger prizes like Ipods and television sets.
Nagy said that the poker pub doesn’t necessarily card its members though. For larger tournaments, Nagy said, it is required to be 21, but in the smaller, local tournaments she said the business did not necessarily keep out players under 21.
“The under 21 market is a double-edged sword for us,” Nagy said.
Ryan Abberly, poker host for Poker Pub in Lawrence, said that he did not card, but he saw players under 21 participating in the tournaments as a problem.
Abberly said problems would arise, especially if a lot of players under 21 started participating, then he said there would be a problem with giving out the prizes to under-aged participants and them just being in the bar in general.
Abberly also noted that the numbers of players have generally being going down for the Poker Pub in Lawrence. He said that a year ago they would’ve had four to five tables for the tournaments at The Pool Room, but now they only set up two to three tables.
“When they first started this, three or four years ago, they were typically getting 13 to 14 tables at this venue, five to eight at other venues, and they were running it seven nights a week,” Abberly said

Abberly said that he thinks the attendance for tournaments at The Pool Room has gone done because there is another business that hosts free poker tournaments on that night. He also added that, in general, he thought the hype behind poker was going away.
“Now that the poker phase has kind of slowed down I think that helped add to the decreasing numbers,” Abberly said.
Nagy mirrored that sentiment. “I’d say that some of the glitz has gone away from poker itself,” Nagy said.
After a big growth in business, it can be assumed any growth will eventually slow down, but maybe poker, as a business, is losing some of it’s glamour. According to www.worldseriesofpoker.com, Jamie Gold won 12 million dollars when he won the Main Event in 2006, but the following year, Jerry Yang won only 8.25 million dollars. The poker boom is usually attributed to Chris Moneymaker’s Main Event victory in 2003. Now, the glam of poker does seem to be wearing off. Abberly and Nagy could be right. If they are, it could mean business would be slow, but they still have a good business idea and people will be drawn to a social event they can compete in for free and win prizes. Don’t give up on poker just yet.

Students returning to the University of Kansas this winter might have noticed a change in the university’s dairy products. In place of the brightly colored logos picturing a farm that belongs to Roberts Dairy, students will now see the simple designs of AE, Anderson-Erickson Dairy.

The change in dairy producers results from the university’s use of state contracts. Roberts Dairy and Anderson-Erickson Dairy have been bidding against each other for years for a contract with the University of Kansas.

Nona Golledge, Director of KU Dining Services, said that although the university independently contracts with most vendors it still uses state contracts for some items such as dairy products. She said using the contracts gets them much lower prices and in return helps students to save money. Contracts usually run from January to December and must be renewed each year. The different companies place bids, and the university recommends one company to the state, Golledge said. KU Dining Services then contracts for a year with the winning company, usually the one with the lowest bid.

“Sometimes it happens that it’s the same company,” Golledge said.

Roberts Dairy has the most recent history with the university. Roberts won the 2005, 2006 and 2007 contract. Anderson-Erickson Dairy is no stranger to KU, however. Before winning this year’s contract, Anderson-Erickson held contracts with the university in 2002 and 2004.

Anderson-Erickson Dairy works with other schools and universities as well. Bob Seidl, Director of Accounting, said that the company works with a number of small and large universities, especially in Iowa, the company’s home state. Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, two of the major colleges it works with in Iowa, generate roughly the same amount of profit as Anderson-Erickson makes from its contract with the University of Kansas, Seidl said.

The addition of KU to its business doesn’t seem to be an important move for Anderson-Erickson Dairy. Seidl described the contract with KU as average-sized and said that the company makes roughly the same profit from KU as it does from its major Iowa universities. Seidl also said that the majority of Anderson-Erickson’s business doesn’t come from contracts but through sales from stores such as Hy-Vee and Dillon’s.

A representative from Roberts Dairy was unavailable to comment on how the loss of the contract with KU would affect the business.
Student reactions to Anderson-Erickson’s products vary. Some students barely noticed the change.

“I haven’t noticed too much of a difference,” said Heidi Johnson, Overland Park senior.

Other students don’t like the new products as much Roberts’.

“I hate the yogurt,” said Allie Krukowski, Algonquin, Ill., sophomore. “I started eating it and then I looked at the nutrition facts and I wanted to vomit all of it.” Krukowski stopped eating the new yogurt because it contained 30 grams of sugar.

Even though she hates the yogurt, Krukowski does like some aspects of the new dairy. She said she likes the chocolate milk and the bigger amounts of orange juice.

The building is packed with donated goods stacked on top of each other, with shelves so crowded that the materials overflow onto the floor. For store manager Katherine Harris, the employees and the volunteers, finding space to place materials is becoming difficult.

“There are times we can’t even walk there is so much stuff,” Harris said.

Harris, known as KH to some, keeps the non-profit, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, at 800 Comet Lane, operational as part of a solution to get families out of substandardized housing.

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore, accepts donations of reusable housing materials and then resells them to the community at discounted prices. A customer does not have to be living in low-income housing or involved with Habitat for Humanity; anyone is welcome to shop here. The money ReStore generates from purchases helps fund construction costs to build Habitat for Humanity homes. The ReStore also acts as an affiliate storage for the volunteer organization. The construction side of Habitat for Humanity picks up supplies from the ReStore to help build housing.

The ReStore has run out of space in its current 9,000-square-foot building with hundreds of tons of donations crowded into its retail space of 6,000 square feet. The ReStore needs more customers and volunteers if it hopes to relocate to a larger building with a better location. If the ReStore can fulfill these needs and move into a new 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot building, it can bring in more donations and customer traffic enabling more profit that in return will help more families get out of inadequate housing.

“The faster we make a profit, the faster we get people out of substandardized housing,” Harris said.

The ReStore needs more customers. It has already tripled its customer count in two years. When first opening in September 2005, it brought in 200 customers a month and now it is bringing in 500 customers. The ReStore operates on a fiscal year from July to June. Its busiest sales season runs from May to September, with sales dropping off during the winter months. If ReStore did relocate into a 20,000-square-foot building it would be projected to triple their customer count.

Along with the need for customers, the ReStore needs volunteers to help load and unload donations and to price and showcase them in the store. Harris said the ReStore could use about 30 different volunteers each week that could preferably work four-hour shifts. She said that volunteering at the ReStore is a good way for student organizations to achieve their community service hours.

“We have so few volunteers that we will take whoever for however long they want to work,” Harris said.

With more customer traffic the ReStore could increase its sales income. The ReStore has already increased its monthly sales by nearly 50 percent during 2007. Now ReStore is about to sell its 500th ton of material. When the retailer first opened in September 2005 its monthly sales were $2,500 and now it brings in about $15,000 in monthly sales, which is about six times more than it had during its opening months. The ReStore is still not generating a profit due to an interest-free loan borrowed from the Habitat organization that must be paid off. However, in order to even consider relocation the ReStore must break even this year, pay off its debt and start generating a profit next year.

For regular customer, Clifford Lafrenze, shopping at Restore an average of two to three times a month is not unusual. “I like it,” Lafrenze said. “ It’s a chance to get some stuff cheaper than you would normally from somewhere else and it’s good stuff,” He said that he and his wife, Margie, buy a little bit of everything from the ReStore, from sinks, light fixtures, stoves and refrigerators to trim boards and even tile. “I hate to throw things away that still have good use left in them,” Lafrenze said. “Plus it saves on the landfill.”

Habitat for Humanity homeowner Serenity Walters picked out the majority of her home’s materials from the ReStore. Walters is a senior administrative associate in human resources at KU. Before becoming a Habitat for Humanity homeowner, Walters and her now 13-year-old son, Kainen Spooner, lived in low-income housing in Lawrence. One condition that applied to her eligibility for a Habitat home was a 200-hour sweat equity, meaning she had to either build on someone else’s home or volunteer at the ReStore for 50 hours and then build on her own home for 150 hours. Walters chose to volunteer her first 50 hours at the ReStore.

While Walters helped to build her own home, she visited the ReStore frequently to purchase items such as light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, sinks and faucets. “You pick everything out from the ReStore,” Walters said. “I love it. You get to decide how you want you house to look!”

In addition to ReStore’s already discounted prices, Habitat for Humanity homeowners receive a 30-percent discount on their purchases from the ReStore. Walters said knowing that she can afford to replace broken household material is reassuring. “I think ReStore is the best thing to ever happen to Habitat for Humanity,” Walters said.

For local business donors like, Electric Supply Lighting, it makes contributions to the ReStore. It schedules donation pick-ups a minimum of twice a year ranging anywhere from three to 11 pallets of materials that are old, slightly scratched or dented, overstocked or otherwise unmarketable. This business also donates by giving a larger discount to the ReStore than it would to builders on its materials. Since the ReStore opened its doors, Electric Supply has donated thousands of dollars in material goods. It also helps ReStore with pricing and recommendations. “We do this because ReStore is helping serve our community that we live in and support,” said Michelle Mailand, store manager.

For now, Harris concentrates primarily on getting more customers through the door and hopes that if the ReStore can generate enough profit to relocate that it would be large enough to make a Habitat compound where all Habitat business could be conducted in one location.

“Restore hopes to increase all the parts that make us run: donations of material, customers to buy the material, and volunteers to help get the materials ready to buy,” Harris said.

As a junior at the University of Kansas, Miranda Unruh has plenty to worry about with grades, rent and the cost of tuition. Until this year, she had no idea that she would have to add the price of birth control to her list of worries.

Unruh is one of the 39 percent of undergraduate college coeds nationwide who use birth control pills, according to the American College Health Association. She is also one of the millions of college students this year who have seen the cost of birth control nearly double.

“I pay $18 a month now, and that’s generic,” Unruh said. “When I first came to KU they were like $10. I think the price jump is way too excessive.”

Kathy Guth, a nurse practitioner in the gynecology department at Watkins Memorial Health Center, also said the rising prices are effecting college students. “Hopefully some lobbyist in Washington will help get the pricing under control,” Guth said. “It is hard for some of our students to pay.”

Like Unruh, female students at the University of Kansas and nearby universities such as Kansas State University and Emporia State University are feeling the effects of the price increase in their pocketbooks. The price increase is hindering campus health center pharmacies, increasing traffic at the local county heath departments and causing women to choose between risky sex and thinner wallets.

These women are seeing the price of their pills skyrocket by as much as 327 percent because of a bill passed in Congress.

In 2005 Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which made it impossible for college health centers to purchase contraceptives at a discounted price from pharmaceutical companies as they had been able to do in the past. The result was a rise in the cost of birth control. Name brands such as Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and the NuvaRing all showed price increases of more than $30 per refill. The act went into effect in 2007 and health centers are only now seeing the effect it is having on students.

“Prices went up last calendar year,” said Cathy Thrasher, the pharmacy supervisor at Watkins. “Preference pricing ended Jan. 1, 2007, and some of the prices are still continuing to go up.”

Women at universities around the country are having to rethink whether they can stretch their monthly budgets.

“They are using a lot more generics because the prices of their old prescriptions have probably doubled,” said Mark Brown-Barnett, director of the pharmacy at Kansas State University. “Our biggest change was the NuvaRing. We were selling it for $11. Now the same package is $47. The other big change was Ortho Tri-Cyclen. We sold the pills for $9.50 before, [but] now we have to sell the generic, and that is still high at $19.50.”

At Emporia State University, Mary McDaniel, a nurse and assistant director of the student health center, said that her school’s pharmacy doesn’t carry name-brand birth control after the price increase. She said that one name brand, Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, jumped from the $10 to $15 range to $50, and the students couldn’t afford it.

McDaniel also said that more students are purchasing their birth control at local pharmacies, where they use their insurance rather than at the student health center.

“That has caused decreased revenue for the health center because all we can do is try to sell generics for a reasonable price,” McDaniel said. “The total volume of sales in our pharmacy has decreased.”

Traffic at local health departments is also rising.

Brown-Barnett of Kansas State said fewer students were using the university health center to buy their birth control so they had to go somewhere else.

Susan McDaneld, a nurse practitioner at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said the number of college students coming in for birth control had slightly increased. A health department 2008 budget memorandum projects a $4,500 increase in the revenue for family planning services from 2007 to 2008.

Victoria Pickering, the grassroots organizer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said that the increase in birth control prices could lead to riskier sex and the issue should be treated as a top priority.

“Naturally, if students or any other women are unable to purchase their birth control due to the increase in price, this will result in a higher risk of unintended pregnancy,” Pickering said. “Any barrier that compromises women's access to contraception causes a great increase in risk.”

“I left my small town to get away,” said Miranda Unruh, the KU junior. “If I had a child I would probably have to go back. That would be like setting myself back in life. My birth control prevents that but if prices keep going up, girls like me that pay for school by themselves will have to decide between paying more and taking a chance.”

Hannah Nusz, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, spent six weeks in Uganda last summer researching and volunteering with an AIDS clinic and a school program for first and second graders.

She chose to spend her summer vacation on a service project to help prepare her for the possibility of an international career in the future.

“I wanted to get the experience to back up my dreams,” Nusz said.
Nusz is one of a growing number of students across the United States interested in volunteering internationally rather than taking what may be considered a traditional vacation. Travel agencies that specialize in volunteer trips are facing the challenge of marketing alternative travel, but have seen an increase in the number of both young and old internationally aware customers.

According to Tim Davey, branch manager of STA Travel at the University of Kansas, the number of students who have taken service trips is difficult to determine. He said there was most likely a few students that have booked through his branch this year.

“Interest has definitely spiked though as we’re getting more and more requests for information on such vacations,” Davey said.

STA Travel offers students the opportunity to take international service vacations through partnerships with Global Vision International and the U.K. based travel company i-to-i.

Bruce Haxton, operations director for i-to-i, said interest in international travel with a service component has become increasingly popular in the Untied States over the last three years.

“It’s a massively growing area but it’s still in the early days,” Haxton said.
According to Haxton, about 60 percent of volunteer travelers are 18-24 years old. Other travelers include people in their late twenties looking for a break between careers and older adults interested in giving back to society.

Haxton said a greater number of young people are interested in taking international service trips because they feel they have the time.

Students are also becoming increasingly aware of what is going on internationally. Haxton said the growing media coverage of world events helps give students the motivation to make a difference.

“Young people in North America are actually pretty passionate about helping people around the world,” Haxton said.

Marketing international service trips can be challenging. Haxton said i-to-i uses the Internet, along with college fairs, travel expos and partnerships with STA Travel on college campuses to inform the public about travel opportunities.

Haxton said the rate for i-to-i vacations generally starts at around $895 for short-term trips and does not include airfare. Davey said volunteer travel could be less expensive than traditional vacations because of the amount of support provided in securing accommodations and food.

“It’s not more expensive by any means,” Davey said.

Haxton said the atmosphere at i-to-i represents a different feel than that found at other companies.

“It’s quite a vibrant, fast moving business,” Haxton said. “It’s not all about suits and ties. It’s far more modern and fluid.”

Haxton said the goals of companies such as i-to-i differ from those of traditional travel agencies. Last year, i-to-i participants contributed over a million hours of service worldwide.

“What we’re born out of is a desire not only to afford people amazing travel experiences but also to contribute,” Haxton said.

A challenge to volunteer travel is that college students are often attracted to traditional vacations that include drinking and partying, Haxton said. International service trips present a fresh option with an added benefit.

“We’re offering an alternative to that,” Haxton said. “We’re trying to educate people at the same time. That’s challenging.”

Nusz said her experience volunteering internationally provided insight into the magnitude of the problems faced by people across the world.

She said she would recommend the trip for students interested in experiencing other cultures, but said it is important to realize that not all problems can be solved immediately.

“If [students] were open and willing to hear from the people and learn from them, then yeah,” Nusz said.

International service travel is a growing trend within the United States. New travel agencies are working to give both students like Nusz and the general public the opportunity to experience the world while making a difference in the lives of the people they encounter.

Ryan Collette realizes his jeans have gotten a little tighter from his collegiate late-night eating habits. His habits are fattening the wallets of local businesses, too. And he’s not the only one.
“It just kind of seems like the thing to do when you’re in college, whether you’ve had a night on the town or if you’ve been up late studying,” Collette, a Panama City, Fla., junior, said. “Some nights the line at Taco Bell is so long we have to wait 30 minutes.”
National chains like Taco Bell are capitalizing on the 3 a.m. crowd – they even went so far as to coin the term ‘Fourth Meal’ to help market to late-night eaters. And that message is paying off – according to the Taco Bell web site, more than two billion tacos and a billion burritos of all varieties are served each year.
But, as Collette recognized, some Lawrence businesses are profiting nicely from staying open late – regardless of some of the risks it might pose.
According to the Lawrence Journal-World, Jimmy John’s is just one of 14 Lawrence restaurants that stay open past one a.m. Jimmy John’s corporate culture dictates it as a late-night eatery. Since the company’s inception in 1983, the restaurants have been known to stay open as late as three a.m. The Lawrence restaurant’s location on Massachusetts Street – amidst the city’s entertainment district – provides the perfect opportunity to cash in on the hungry bar crowd.
“We do a lot of business at night,” Manager Ben Manley said. “Because of our location and proximity to bar traffic, we stay open an hour later than the bars.”
Manley said the late-night crowd has been a relatively safe one. He could not think of any specific instances that caused them to think twice about their hours of operation. “We love the crowd, and it’s definitely worth it to our bottom line,” Manley said.
Other Lawrence businesses stand behind closed doors when the sun goes down.
One such establishment that closes early is Panera Bread Co. Panera, in Lawrence, stays open until eight p.m. on weekdays. On Sundays, however, the restaurant is only open until seven p.m., leaving some Lawrence residents’ stomachs empty.
“Typically on Sundays when we go to lock up the door, there are still customers trying to come in because they are not used to Panera closing so early,” Manager Jamie Freel said. “On Sundays, I would say that our profit drops five to seven percent, even when we close just one hour early.”
The local restaurant’s business hours were not set without some proper market research. In the past they have tried staying open an hour later to see if it would impact their profits. Freel said some customers took advantage of the later hours, but it was probably not likely they would be asked to stay open later in the evening in the near future.
Chipotle, another Massachusetts Street eatery, is only open until 10 p.m. during the week. While some students such as Collette think Chipotle would be a delicious late-night snack, they will have to continue their wait – Chipotle’s corporate office makes the decision for the establishment to close early. And because Chipotle caters to more than just students, Manager Taylor White said they have to keep the business as a quality family atmosphere.
“It would not be worth it for us to stay open late,” White said. “If we were to stay open late we would probably be busy until about 10 o’clock and then dead until two a.m. The company is paying ‘x amount’ for labor and you have to compare that to sales. That’s like five hours of dead time. You really have to weigh your cost of product verse overhead and match that with labor – and we just haven’t found staying open late to be a part of that profitable mix.”
Lawrence restaurants which cater to night owls’ night growls should continue to reap a heavy profit from University of Kansas students. “College just wouldn’t be the same without a late night pizza or taco every now and then,” Collette said. “My wallet may be thinner, but my belly sure is happy so I’m thankful for the Burrito Kings and Jimmy John's of the world.”

At lunchtime, mobs of people flood in and out of The Underground at Wescoe Hall. People gather around Sushi, a vendor that offers various selections of sushi dishes, taking their pick at pre-assembled selections or waiting for specially placed orders.
Forget Ugg boots and The North Face coats for a minute. A new trend is surfacing at KU and it doesn’t involve the latest fashion.
Sushi, a Japanese food, has sky-rocketed in popularity since first being introduced to KU. According to owner Aung Shwe, the first Sushi franchise opened in 2003 at The Market, a dining facility in the Kansas Union. When the business was first established, Sushi had sold about 200 boxes of sushi a day throughout campus, and now it sells an average of 500 boxes every day around campus, said Jin Latt, who is a chef for Sushi in The Underground. That’s a 150 percent increase from the five years ago.
Sushi is produced daily from scratch at The Market and The Underground. About 60 boxes of sushi are prepared daily at The Underground for delivery to the Crimson Café and Hawk Food Stops, Latt said.
He also said Sushi in The Market sells between 110 and 130 boxes of sushi daily, and in The Underground it sells about 300 boxes per day.
“If we make more, we’ve got more money,” Latt said.
The Sushi franchises on campus are owned by Advanced Fresh Concepts Corp. Shwe’s business receives 64 percent of the profits, and the AFC receives 34 percent of the profits, Latt said.

Assistant Director of Retail Dining Services Alecia Stultz said KU is not affiliated with the AFC, but that KU Dining Services allows the corporation to sell its products in its retail dining facilities. KU Dining Services then receive 25 percent of Sushi’s sales, she said. Jason Arnett, manager of The Underground, said during the Fall 2006 semester, retail dining locations sold between 27,000 and 32,000 boxes of sushi. That number has since increased. During the Fall 2007 semester, between 30,000 and 38,000 boxes of sushi were sold throughout campus, said Arnett. He also said sushi makes between four and eight percent of retail dining sales, depending on where it is sold. Overall, sushi ranks among the top five products sold in retail dining facilities, he said. “It’s significant for us. We enjoy having them here very much, since it’s basically free money…for us,” Arnett said. Sushi’s popularity on campus has increased so significantly that Latt said there are times when they cannot make as much sushi as they want since they are busy making customers’ special orders. Taryn Gilbert, Newton, Kan. sophomore, said she eats sushi three to fours times a week and that it’s “addictive.” If Sushi doesn’t have what she wants, she places a special order. Last month, The New York Times reported that 20 places in Manhattan, N.Y. supplied sushi with high levels of mercury, which could be harmful to eat. Latt said the fish sent to Sushi is inspected before it is delivered to ensure nothing is wrong with it. Once the fish is delivered to Sushi, it is inspected again, and if anything is found wrong with the shipment, it is not used, he said. “We found that nothing that we carry here has any kind of dangerous levels of any of the chemicals,” Stultz said. Andy McDowell, Kansas City, Mo. sophomore, said mercury poisoning from Sushi’s products isn’t a concern for him. One reason he eats sushi is because he has spent summers in the Bahamas. “It’s a healthy alternative to all the fast food in The Underground,” he said. Latt said he thinks sushi is popular at KU because people don’t have to wait in long lines to get their food, and it’s healthy for a person’s diet. For the foreseeable future, sushi will not be a menu option in the residencies’ cafeterias, because it’s too expensive to supply, said Stultz. However, it has been discussed to possibly bring sushi to The Studio at Hashinger Hall, she said.

Business Story
Katie McMurray
February 22, 2008
The technology in our world is always changing. The music industry is no stranger to all of this change. Every year brings something new into the market. From the records of the 1970s and ‘80s to today’s iPods, the music industry has come a long way in the past two decades. Currently, iPods and mp3 players are the way to go when it comes to music, but the compact disc, the predecessor of both the iPod and the mp3 player, still play a role in the music market, despite digital downloading.
“CDs are just easier to use than iPods. There’s not much to using CDs at all where iPods can be so complicated when it comes to iTunes and all that stuff,” said Holly Peabody, a CD buyer. She is a college student, and she has a collection of CDs that numbers in the hundreds and no plans to get rid of them anytime soon. A lot of other people, however, are turning to digital downloading.
The amount of actual physical sales of music has been decreasing for the past three years. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, or the RIAA, there were no increases anywhere on the chart for physical sales in 2006. For that year, the corporeal sales of CDs were down 12.8 percent to 614.9 million from the previous year’s 705.4 million.

On the other hand, digital sales have only gone up. For 2006, the amount of singles is up nearly 60 percent to 586.4 million from the previous year’s 366.9 million. The statistics are much the same for album downloads. The amount of albums downloaded increased from 135.7 to 275.9 from 2005 to ’06, a total change of 103.3 percent. The market as a whole has decreased in value by some 6.2 percent, but the total number of units given away has increased some 21.6 percent, from 1.3 billion in 2005 to 1.58 billion in 2006.
So how is this affecting sales for individual companies?
“Our new CD sales are down significantly, but our used CD sales are up. There is a great demand for under $10 iPod filling station,” said Gloria Jones, a representative of Hastings Entertainment, Inc. The company has decided to add more trend and seasonal products to offset the decline in new CD sales. Stores in the central states of the United States, like Kansas, don’t have some of the issues that stores in the eastern and western states have.
“The media coverage is making consumers more apprehensive, but Middle America is not impacted significantly and is the beneficiary of the explosion in exports,” said John Marmaduke, the President and CEO of Hastings Entertainment, Inc. According to Marmaduke, most of the central region of the United States is booming as a result of this.
To continue to promote its business and give its CD sales a boost, Hastings publishes a weekly store advertisement that advertises some of the better deals they have running at the current time. The advertisement includes deals not only on CDs, but also on many other products that Hastings carries, such as video games, DVD movies and television shows, and books.
Another company, CD Tradepost, has several promotional programs that they employ to boost sales. One is the all access members customers rewards program. It costs only five dollars to join and get benefits like a five percent store credit bonus on every purchase. They also have promotional programs to bring in new customers and programs to allow customers to try out a product and bring it back if they don’t like it.
“Our goal is to offer products, which we buy from the public, for resale at about half the original retail price, and, of course, to keep our customers happy,” said Duane Waterworth, a representative of CD Tradepost. The CD market is still up and running.

A year ago, Laura Mazur knew she wanted to stay in Lawrence for the summer. With her scholarship hall closing after finals week and no car to commute to a job, the Wichita junior knew that a job on the University of Kansas campus was her only option to stay in town.

When she heard about a conference assistant position with the KU Department of Student Housing, Mazur filled out an employment application right away. After accepting the position, she received free room and board for the summer in McCollum Hall, and worked full-time at the front desk while helping with special projects for summer camps.

“The job let me stay in Lawrence for free and earn some money,” Mazur, a pharmacy practice major, said. “I met a couple of really good friends outside the scholarship halls. It helped me branch out.”

For students such as Mazur, summer on-campus jobs offer valuable employment opportunities. On-campus employers are accepting summer applications from now until the end of the semester, and with jobs such as teaching assistants, residential counselors or orientation assistants, students have multiple employment options. Summer jobs can even help students gain lifelong and practical skills to use after graduation.

Ann Hartley, the associate director of the University Career Center, said it was never too early to apply for a summer job. Students searching for on-campus jobs can find applications on the Employment Opportunities Web site. In January, the University Career Center launched a new Web site, Hawk Student Employment, to help students search for off-campus jobs.

The libraries and dining services on campus have summer job openings, Hartley said. Jobs such as clerical assistants or research assistants are also available for students. On-campus jobs pay a minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour, Hartley said, but $7.50 to $8.50 per hour is typical of most jobs on campus.

Hartley said that last year, both on- and off- campus employers posted 104 jobs in March, 201 in April and 167 jobs in May. In June, the number of job postings dropped to 74, because many employers hired students earlier in the spring.

“Students should take advantage of the summer,” Hartley said. “They should plan ahead and starting to think about applying for jobs now.”

Working as a teaching assistant or a residential counselor with the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) gives students the opportunity to plan ahead, said Mark Nesbitt-Daly, the associate director of the Honors Program. Duke University runs the talent program, which offers gifted junior high and high school students the opportunity to spend part of their summer studying at universities such the University of Kansas.

Nesbitt-Daly said that undergraduate student teaching assistants helped faculty in the classroom while residential counselors lived in the residence halls with the students.

“It’s a nice way to spend the summer out of your parents’ house,” Nesbitt-Daly said. “You can make some money and take some classes.”

The University hires 30 college students as teaching assistants and residential counselors. Nesbitt-Daly said employees receive free room and board and a salary of $1,800 for helping with the two TIP summer sessions, which run from June 10 to July 2, and July 10 to August 2.

Tyler Selby, Lee’s Summit, Mo., senior, worked as a teaching assistant last summer. He enjoyed the job so much that he will be returning this summer.

“It was great to work with the kids,” Selby said. “It is fun to guide them and help them figure out what they want to do later in life.”

Orientation assistants are another job opportunity for students. Every summer, the University hires 20 college students to help more than 6,000 freshmen, transfer students and readmitted students go through two-day orientation sessions for the upcoming year.

Chris Stoppel, the associate director for New Student Orientation, said that the orientation assistants were chosen through a four-step application and interview process. Orientation assistants earn a $9 hourly wage during the summer. The University chose the 20 orientation assistants for the upcoming summer this week.

“Orientation assistants do a lot of peer-to-peer group working and advising,” Stoppel said. “In a two-day program, they are on their feet 90 percent of the time going from place to place.”

Nathan Mack, Lawrence junior, worked as an orientation assistant last summer and will be an assistant again this summer. Mack said he enjoyed providing his perspective on orientation and helping other students prepare for college.

“You get paid decent money and work long hours, but the people you talk to keep you energized,” Mack said.

Although on-campus jobs such orientation assistants or teaching assistants help students earn extra cash, the benefits of a summer job extend beyond graduation, said David Gaston, the director of the University Career Center.

“It’s important for students to have skills that will make them marketable for employers,” Gaston said. “Any type of volunteering or employment during the summer will do that.”

This is the case for Mazur, who used the networking and communication skills she learned as a conference assistant to obtain a pharmacy internship this summer with Walgreen’s in Wichita.

“Over the past summer, I had a lot of interaction with supervisors and with being open with a supervisor,” Mazur said. “It was a learning experience.”

Businesses wave in the customers

Every morning James Conlon prepares to step into a muscle man costume and wave at people in their cars as they drive down the busiest street in Lawrence. Even with wind chills below zero, Conlon continues to stand in front of Pay-Less Furniture wearing an obnoxious costume and ski mask in hopes of attracting more people to the business.

Though the job may seem weird to some people, it actually is a tool for advertising many small businesses are choosing to use.

“You get a lot of reactions from people, but in the future they know they can come in and buy furniture at a good price,” Conlon said.

Funny or not, the wavers in front of stores serve as a form of guerrilla marketing that is the key to success for many entrepreneur businesses. Surveys and observations prove the wavers help bring an increase in traffic during the hours they stand outside in full costume.

Sue Simmons, owner of Liberty Tax Service, said 95 percent of their customers surveyed decided to come in their business because of the wavers. “They are the heart and soul of the business because they bring in the customers and if they aren’t out there we don’t have any traffic,” Simmons said.

Liberty Tax Service started using the wavers when the business began in 1998. John Hewitt, founder of Liberty Tax Service, contributes Liberty’s growth to their guerrilla marketing technique. Priceless is the word he uses to describe the free publicity reaped from the people waving on the street corners. Hewitt says guerrilla marketing continues to be their most formidable weapon because it is hard to ignore. In January 2008, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Liberty Tax Service as number 23 on its Franchise 500 overall list of best franchises.

H&R Block, the tax industry giant, saw the success of Hewitt’s guerrilla marketing technique and started using it themselves in 2005. H&R Block is a billion dollar company that began using a tool started by an entrepreneur business to help attract even more customers.

Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term guerrilla marketing in 1984. Levinson sees guerrilla marketing as different from traditional marketing because it is unconventional, non-traditional, not by-the book and extremely flexible. The guerrilla form of marketing is specifically geared toward small and entrepreneur businesses who don’t have a lot of money to put toward advertising.

Kerry Benson, a lecturer in journalism, thinks the guerrilla marketing approach is culturally effective. “It’s a natural human response to wave and be friendly back, which is interactivity,” Benson said. “Interactivity almost always increases the effectiveness of an advertising or promotional message.” Benson believes the wavers cut through the advertising clutter, particularly when they are used in a topical and timely way.

Brandi Weber, sales associate for Pay-Less Furniture, knows more people walk in the door when the waver stands outside. “There is a lot more foot traffic when we have him out there and a lot of people come in and ask about the sign he is holding,” Weber said. The parking lot fills up during the weekends and the store believes a lot of people remember the costume from earlier in the week and decide to shop at their business.

James Conlon works as a waver for the store seven days a week and he will not have a day off for two months. “A lot of people have different ideas about how to make money and I would rather stand here and make a buffoon out of myself,” Conlon said. The advertising strategy may seem funny, but the man under the costume continues to attract customers to the store using a simple wave of the hand.

As she walked toward the counter she dug in her purse for her wallet. She found it just as the total for her crunchy chicken cheddar wrap and drink blinked on the screen. Carrie Brogan, Leawood junior, handed her KU id card to the cashier and waited for the balance receipt to print off. She looked at the receipt to find she still had $100 on her Beak ‘Em Bucks account.
Brogan has used Beak ‘Em Bucks for six semesters now. She says her parents add a couple hundred dollars every semester.
“ It’s a convenient option for me because I look for places that take Beak ‘Em Bucks so I don’t have to use my own money,” Brogan said.
Brogan isn’t the only student at the University of Kansas who utilizes the optional fee. Students can use their Beak ‘Em Bucks accounts at 19 off campus locations, 10 photo copying centers, four printing locations, eight laundry facilities, and 21 food shops. Yet vendors and students are still deciding if the added fee is worth the money.
The University of Kansas joined four other schools that use the card system. The University of Colorado, University of Texas, Arlington, University of Mississippi, and the Old Dominion University all have a similar card feature. It gives students the option of not carrying cash around.
The KU card website outlines the process of charging a student’s KU card with Beak ‘Em Bucks. The payment option is available on the finance tab through the Kyou portal.
While students can easily access their Beak ‘Em Bucks account, merchants have more of a lengthy procedure. Any off campus merchant interested in adding Beak ‘Em Bucks as a payment method have to contact Nancy Miles, KU card program director. Miles then puts the merchant in contact with the company that sets up the credit card machine.
Liana Davila, assistant manager at Sun Resorts Tanning Salon, said they were able hook up the KU program with their original credit card machine in order to save money. Sun Resorts has been in partnership with Beak ‘Em Bucks since it open a little over a month ago. She says the only thing she doesn’t like about Beak ‘Em Bucks is the fee that is taken out for the credit card processing.
Davila said Beak ‘Em Bucks is added publicity to the new salon and is important to keep since other salons in Lawrence use Beak ‘Em Bucks too.
Pam Scott, owner of Endless Summer Tan, decided to contact Miles in September after employees suggested add Beak ‘Em Bucks to keep up with competition. Scott was not as fortunate as Davila and had to add another credit card machine to the salon. Endless Summer Tan has been in Lawrence for 11 years and Scott can’t decide if Beak ‘Em Bucks has provided her salon with enough benefits.
“It maybe more publicity, but I think more so its just another way of transaction,” Scott said. “We haven’t had it long enough to truly see the results, but if its not significantly changing business than we may decide to stop using it.”
Scott said Endless Summer Tan is currently seeing 100 customers a day, but says it is probably because of the spring break season and not due to Beak ‘Em Bucks. 100 customers is significantly more than what Endless is used to.
Just as merchants might not be seeing benefits, not all students are either. Kelly Potter, Overland Park junior, used Beak ‘Em Bucks one semester and has not since. She said she didn’t use all of the money on her account and can’t get it back until she graduates. The KU card web site details the refund policy stating students’ left over money will transfer to the next semester, but wont be returned until graduation or if a student transfers.
Potter said she doesn’t think Beak ‘Em Bucks is accessible in enough places and doesn’t eat on campus enough to get her moneys worth.
Unlike Potter, Brogan said she would continue to use Beak ‘Em Bucks as long as they’re available. She said she constantly checks to see if new places have been added to the program. A list of all on campus and off campus Beak ‘Em Bucks locations can be found of the KU card center web site.

For more than 25 years, Ian Naismith stayed at Lawrence biggest hotel and convention center. The convenience of the Holiday Inn Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive, near the highway, allowed him to stay during business travel into town. Naismith preferred staying in rooms with outside access entrance, but those rooms no longer exist.

“They took my favorite rooms out,” Naismith said.

He said the hotel’s reconstruction made an improvement.

The hotel wants many reactions like Naismith, from all guests—old and new. The reconstructed rooms are one of many changes the hotel did to increase revenue and attract customers.

In past years, the hotel experienced a financial drag and struggled to maintain the Holiday Inn name, as well as bring in enough revenue to remodel. Renovations on the 192-room hotel began last year, quickly after Kansas City-based Hulsing Hotel bought the hotel in 2006.

The updates included completely remodeled rooms. The hotel added new beds, drapes, TVs and furniture. They added new countertops in bathrooms, renovated ceilings and the roof.

“It’s completely turned around. It’s not the place it used to be,” said John Schilling, general manager of the Holidome.

He said the renovations brought the hotel to back to that high level of quality it used to have.

Also, the hotel completed renovation to other areas, like the convention halls and restaurants. Schilling said that the convention center bring in a majority of business. He said it’s the hotel’s number one source of revenue.

“The convention center helps us stay connected to the community,” he said. “We want to get the community back involved so we can be a good community corporation.”

Schilling, manager since 2007, said that the renovations are one reason for the increased revenue. The hotel increased approximately 20 percent in revenue from 2006 to 2007. This year, the hotel anticipates an additional 10 percent increase from 2007 to 2008.

The convention center keeps the hotel in competition with others around Lawrence. Its two top competitors, Marriot Spring Hill Suites, 1 Riverfront Dr. and The Eldridge, 701 Massachusetts, both are known for the convenient downtown location.

Amber Lord, front desk clerk at the Holidome, said the hotel offered more than the convention center.

“People stay in places they’re unfamiliar with. Here, they still have that comfort,” Lord said.

She said guest who’ve stayed before are excited about the remodeling. She said it’s new to them and gave them something to look forward to.

Another goal is to increase the Guest Satisfaction Index (GSI) scores. The GSI is a satisfaction system that guest use to rate the hotel based off their stay. Vickie Reed, executive housekeeper since September 2007, said the guests’ opinion determined the quality of the hotel.

Reed said the hotel’s scores improved drastically within a small time. She said the hotel’s scores increased 21 percent, from 59 to 80. She said with the remodeling, she expected the scores to increase and hit the goal 100.

Other hotels said that good customer service played a major role in the business.

Marriot Spring Hill Suites Assistant General Manager Erica Swanson said aside from the convenient location, guests returned because of friendly guest service.

“We pride ourselves on friendliness,” Swanson said. She said that if hotels aren’t on top of guest service, it sets them up for failure.

Assistant Manager Cerelia Battiest of the Best Western Lawrence, 2309 Iowa, said that in addition to cleanliness and good staff, a hotel must keep the guest pleased.

“When the guests are happy, they come back. If they aren’t happy, they don’t come back and that can break us,” Battiest said.

Guest satisfaction and good customer service is one reason that Naismith continued to return to the Holidome.

“I keep coming back because it’s good service,” Naismith said.

Naismith said aside from good service, he’s attached to the property. He said it’s very close to him and he can relate to it.

As the price of gold continues to rise, jewelry stores in Lawrence are noticing its effects.

Recently, the price of gold hit more than $900 USD per ounce. At the time of press, it was $943.10 and continues to fluctuate on a daily—and hourly—basis.

Consumers can most easily see the effects in the fact that most jewelry stores have raised their prices, but jewelry stores have also altered their selections and changed their buying habits to accommodate the high price.

In some cases, jewelry stores are resorting to extreme measures in order to get that last bit of use out of their current supply of gold.

Goldmakers, 723 Massachusetts, sends the bags from its vacuum cleaners to the refinery to salvage the gold dust that settles in the store. They recycle pieces that haven’t sold, as well.

“If something sits too long, it gets melted down,” said Bernadette Zacharias, buyer and manager of Goldmakers.

While the high price of gold hasn’t put a financial strain on the business, they have changed their selection. They’ve started buying more bronze and vermeil, which is sterling silver plated with gold. They’ve also stopped importing gold jewelry from China.

The biggest problem they see, though, is that this spike in prices has led to lower-quality gold jewelry on the market.

“People bring in pieces we can’t fix because they were made so poorly,” Zacharias said.

Kizer Cummings, 833 Massachusetts, had to raise all of its prices in wake of the gold spike. Men’s gold rings that were once $250-$350 are now $650-$750.

“We definitely hear comments of ‘wow, that’s pricey!’” Erin Rosebaugh, manager, said. But she also added that people understand, for the most part. In some ways, the high price of gold might even have fringe benefits.

Rosebaugh noted that for a while men were leaning towards other metals, but now gold is becoming a more popular choice. It could be that because of the cost, gold is becoming more of a luxury metal, a sign of status. But it could be for another reason.

“Maybe [men] are recognizing the tradition in gold jewelry,” Rosebaugh said.

Kizer Cummings has also seen a rise in the number of people selling gold jewelry. Some sell in order to buy a new piece, but others she said just want the check.

Matt Meisinger, manager at Marks Jewelers Inc., has seen it too. He also believes that the price of gold is making it more desirable. The store hasn’t seen a slow down in business just yet.

“It’s kind of uncharted territory,” Meisinger said, referencing the price of precious metals. It’s hard to predict when they will rise, or how high they will go. But he did note that it’s not just the price of gold that’s gone up. He said that platinum rose 10 percent since last Thursday, and even the price of silver has gone up in the past few years. At the time of press, platinum was $2147 USD per ounce. Silver was $17.83.

Consumers who want to make their own jewelry will see a difference in the price and selection available as well. At Prairie Pond Studio & Bead Company, 809 Massachusetts, the price for gold pieces can run almost double the price for an identical silver piece. A hook-and-eye gold clasp for a necklace costs $38.95, but its silver counterpart only $14.95.

“Everything is by weight now; it’s not by piece,” said April Del Campo, owner of Prairie Pond. She’s also noticed the increasing price of silver.

For that reason, Prairie Pond stocks more silver pieces than gold, but they are available for special order. The store sells everything a jewelry maker needs, but also does repairs and creates custom pieces as well.

The end of February is crunch time for students hoping to make an extra buck to fund spring break trips, and while others are picking up extra shifts and shoveling neighbors’ driveways, Wichita senior Taylor McDonald found his spending money by getting out there and donating – plasma, that is.
ZLB (Zentrallaboratorium Blutspendedienst) Plasma Services in Lawrence sees a lot of cases like Taylor’s around February; students who want to earn money for spring break and feel good about making a contribution to others at the same time.
“Its great when students donate plasma because they are enhancing the quality of life for people with rare diseases,” said Christine Kuhinka, corporate communications manager for ZLB Plasma Services under its new name, CSL Behring.
According to Kuhinka, ZLB sees an increase in donations from 18 to 22 year-olds every year around the same time in February, when students like McDonald and Michelle Czerw, Olathe senior, need the extra cash. The process of donating is as easy as giving blood and donors are paid on the spot according to their weight. The added bonus is that the plasma goes into therapeutic remedies that CSL Behring produces for victims of immune deficiencies and blood disorders
Czerw donated once to get money before going on spring break in 2006, while McDonald donated twice a week for two months last year. The 18 to 22 year-old age range is responsible for between 20 and 30 percent of donations, according to Kuhinka, and while actual numbers were not released to the public, she confirmed a spike in donations before lengthy school holidays.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” McDonald said, “students are always looking for easy ways to get money.”
During the donation process, the donor is hooked up to a fluid bag similar to the ones used in blood donations. The technician takes out the blood through I.V., filters out the golden liquid plasma and returns the blood mixed with saline solution back into the donor’s body. According to ZLB’s Web site, side effects include dizziness and chills. Donors are compensated according to weight; McDonald, who weighs 127 lbs. walked out with 20 dollars per visit, but patrons may be paid up to 40. The FDA restricts donation from patrons under 110 lbs. because of an increased risk of cardiac problems.
“I didn’t really have any side effects, but I know that if you don’t eat or if you don’t drink enough water you’ll feel really sick,” McDonald said.
ZLB Plasma Services was established in 2001 as a division of CSL Limited, a pharmaceutical company geared toward treating blood disorders. According to the service’s overview, ZLB harvests and uses approximately three million liters of plasma annually. While all the plasma is donated and donors compensated, all revenue comes from the sale of pharmaceutical products.
ZLB was founded in 1949 as a department of the Swiss Red Cross and found its first blood donors in Switzerland, according to the CSL Behring Web site. It came to the U.S. in 1984 and opened 47 plasma collection centers in 2001. In 2007 ZLB officially changed its name to CSL Behring.
“I’ve worked in the pharmaceutical business for 20 years, and I like working for CSL because it has a very specific area of diseases it treats,” Kuhinka said, “It makes it more meaningful to be closer to the people we help.”
According to the Red Cross Web site, burn victims are particularly in need of plasma donations to prevent bleeding disorders. Plasma is also a necessity in organ transplants. According to the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, a person can donate plasma up to twice in seven days, but no more than that because the body can’t replace it quickly enough.
This year, McDonald won’t be donating because he recently got a tattoo, and according to health restrictions, recent tattoos increase the possibility of infection.
“I wish I could because I need that spring break money,” McDonald said. Kuhinka said she wishes that students would consider the people their plasma helps more than the compensation, but is happy that donating plasma is a win-win situation.

Keeley Crawford, an accounting student, has ample future job prospects. But the 20-year-old junior is concerned about the time between her graduation and her first day on the job.

While students like Crawford are job searching or getting started at a new company, they often do not have health insurance and other benefits. Crawford will lose dependent status under her parent’s insurance coverage when she graduates.

“I’ll have to figure out how to get insurance for that time,” Crawford said.

For this common situation, insurance companies offer independent coverage to recent college graduates. Some graduates may also be able to extend their current coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, known as COBRA. Plans are also aimed at current students who do not have insurance.

Many students who graduate this may will begin full time jobs where they can receive group insurance policies for the first time. Jolene Phillips, assistant director of Business Career Services, works with graduating seniors in the business school. She advises them to pay attention to benefit packages in addition to just looking at salaries, and to take the time to understand how insurance and benefits work.

“It’s a really confusing thing. Ask for the info you need,” Phillips said.

Some students sign a contract without giving enough consideration to benefit packages, according to Karen Schnell, a 1994 graduate who works in human resources at Sprint Nextel.

“Once you’ve accepted…it’s a closed deal,” she said.

A key thing to look for is the amount of time before benefits kick in. Some companies do not start offering insurance coverage until an employee has been with the company for 90 days or longer. Rarely do benefits begin on day one.

“30 to 60 [days] is probably pretty typical,” said Leslie Shea, an MBA student at KU who works in human resources at Perceptive Software in Shawnee, Kan.

Employers also set a period of time before they begin contributing to retirement plans for their new employees, Phillips noted.

So, for the first few weeks or months out of college, students may wish to look to temporary alternatives until they begin receiving the benefits that come with a new job.

Assurant Health offers independent health insurance, mostly to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Sales agent Adam Lemay said recent college graduates could also take advantage of the company’s offerings for temporary health insurance.
The plans are fit for healthy young people who need coverage mainly for catastrophic events, Lemay said. Six months is a typical amount of time that the company will insure its clients.

HumanaOne also offers short-term insurance. It targets the “young and invincible at heart who want a low-cost plan with a safety net just in case,” Humana spokesperson Ross McLerran said.

COBRA is another option besides independent insurance. COBRA applies to people who have recently lost their previous health coverage. Students who are no longer eligible for coverage under a parent’s insurance after graduation may apply for COBRA. Insurers are required to provide information about COBRA if it applies upon ending insurance coverage.

“The smart thing to do even though it’s expensive would be to elect COBRA coverage,” said Elinor Schroeder, a KU law professor who specializes in employment law.

Jeremy Jones is a senior who pays for independent insurance for himself and his wife.
“It actually isn’t as expensive as most people think,” Jones said. He pays $150 each month, and considers the coverage adequate.

Jones is one of 18 million individuals in the U. S. with independent insurance according to McLerran, the spokesperson for Humana.

When John Scollon moved to Lawrence from Honduras, he was only fourteen years old and immediately fell in love. Since then, Scollon has never had any kind of notion to ever leave.
Scollon, Lawrence resident, is planning on retiring this spring here in Lawrence due to the great location between two metropolitan areas (Topeka and Kansas City), and the reasonable prices of housing.
Scollan has lived in Lawrence since he was a child and loves living here since it is “comfortable”, and “not too crowded”. Scollan also enjoys what Lawrence has to offer including: museums, art galleries, and the cultural activities around town.
“My wife and I are just comfy here, I don’t want to pull up stakes and move somewhere else. We don’t have plans to leave any time soon,” Scollan said.
When recent retirees decide where to live there are several things they should consider before moving to any given location. According to US News there are seven criteria every retiree should consider for any particular location before moving there. These seven criteria include: where it is located in the region, the weather, housing costs, recreational and cultural activities, the social environment, healthcare availability, and the crime rates. These are some things everyone should consider before moving to any location, but when people plan to retire in a specific location they should weigh these criteria and decide which is most important to them, and go from there.
According to US News, there are ten different cities that are the “Best Places to Retire”, by Tim Smart. One of these locations just happens to be Lawrence, Kansas. The median cost of housing in Lawrence is $177,635 which is the second lowest price range. According to the US News website, the population trend in Lawrence has an average of 67.5% increase in population since 2000. Lawrence retiree, Ernest Dyer says that Lawrence is “The best place in the state of Kansas.” Dyer describes Lawrence as a “great place to live and there is not anything that would ever make him want to move”.
For new retiree’s moving into the Lawrence area, the New Generation Society League (NGSL) is a wonderful foundation for senior citizens to get involved with. This is a non-profit organization formed in 1997 that helps seniors continue their education and stay involved in a social network. Alayna Ziegler, intern for NGSL helps this foundation with their funds and make sure they make dues for their philanthropy by the end of the year. Ziegler describes this foundation as “an educational and cultural organization with many seniors. I would encourage all seniors to get involved”. At the end of the year, the money that is left over from fundraising and program dues or member fees are usually donated to Early Childhood Readiness Program sponsored through East Heights Elementary School. They typically donate somewhere between $2500- $7500.
For retiree’s looking for something to do in Lawrence there are several local museums and art galleries they could visit. The Spencer Museum of Art is one popular attraction to many senior citizens located on the University of Kansas campus. Seniors can get an annual membership for a low fee of $35 dollars per year. There are several benefits included in the membership that include exhibit previews, discounts at the museum shop and several other things.
If that museum doesn’t fulfill their wishes, they could visit the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics. This is a building located on the west side of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus. This institute offers several different things for citizens to do. They could listen to speakers talk about politics, join study groups, or just become a donor to help sponsor the speakers who come to visit.
Whether or not seniors decide to get involved in the many different things that are offered in Lawrence, seniors are a part of our society that should be cherished to their fullest potential. “Seniors help keep a balance in Lawrence when it comes to youth vs. older, they are not used like they should or could be,” Dyer says. Seniors are looking into the best places to retire whether it’s back to the town they grew up in, or back to their college roots. Lawrence has a growing population of seniors and they need to be involved in the economy in order to help Lawrence grow as a city.

Anthony Pellettiere

If there is one certainty in life it is this: Print cartridges will run out of ink at the worst possible time.

When this apocalyptic event happens, and it will; a common impulse is to run out and buy a new cartridge. Barry Swanson, Associate Comptroller and director of purchasing for the University of Kansas, does not follow this impulse.

His concern is finding the most efficient, inexpensive way to supply the University with the resources it needs to function, and yes that includes ink cartridges.

“My goal is to get the best quality and price for the departments,” said Swanson.

Swanson and the University of Kansas follow terms set by the “Mandatory State Use Contract.” According to the contract, the University must purchase re manufactured or recycled cartridges from a specified vendor, Cartridge King, which employs the labor of people who are blind or disabled.

The contract allows the University to save a significant amount of money while being involved with a good cause. And money isn’t the only thing “green” about the contract. Using remanufactured and recycled cartridges helps the environment. Much like the University, individual consumers also see savings when buying recycled.

Swanson said that from July 1 to the end of January the University’s purchasing office had already spent $212,634 on toner cartridges alone. In a typical year that number would end at around $550,000. That may sound like a lot of money, but according to Swanson the University saves 30 percent to 50 percent on each cartridge because it buys re manufactured and recycled, instead of new.

While Swanson supports the idea and legislation behind the contract he does admit the system isn’t perfect. He said individual departments choose whether or not they want to deal with the contract’s specified vendors when buying their cartridges. On purchases under $5,000 the Purchasing Department cannot force other departments to buy from vendors like Cartridge King. Some departments choose to buy new or from other sources on such purchases. Swanson commented on the lack of a unanimous decision to buy from Cartridge King, but also said that they were working with the company to improve things.

“The vendor has quality issues, quite frankly, with the re manufactured cartridges,” Swanson said. “So if they were to address those issues, I think there would be a massive switch to the vendor.” The Environmental Stewardship Program is responsible for the collection of used cartridges for the campus said, Celeste Hoins, administrative director for the program. “We coordinate with Cartridge King, they pick up the used ones, and then drop the new ones off,” Hoins said. According to Hoins, the dorms also recycle all ink and toner cartridges used by their residents in the dormitory academic resource centers. The campus wide commitment to recycling and re-using ink cartridges greatly benefits the environment. Tom Fickenworth, sales manager for Cartridge King, said discarded cartridges can have a negative affect on the environment. He said the amount of oil and resources used in the shipping and manufacturing of new cartridges was very high compared to what it takes to remanufacture a used cartridge. It takes 2 1/2 ounces of oil to produce one new toner cartridge, and 3 1/2 quarts to produce a laser cartridge. “When you think about the amount of energy spent to ship a new cartridge from China, the process of recycling is much cheaper for the environment and consumer,” Fickenworth said. Terry Kelly, owner of Cartridge World in Lawrence, shared the saving sentiment. He said that customers could save up to 50 percent on individual cartridges by buying recycled. His business opened in 2003 and specializes in re manufacturing used cartridges. He emphasized the importance of students as customers and proponents for his business. “We get a lot of students,” he said. “We like them.” Whether buying for a large university or a personal printer run dry, buying recycled and re manufactured is a money and environment savior.

Anthony Pellettiere

If there is one certainty in life it is this: Print cartridges will run out of ink at the worst possible time.

When this apocalyptic event happens, and it will; a common impulse is to run out and buy a new cartridge. Barry Swanson, Associate Comptroller and director of purchasing for the University of Kansas, does not follow this impulse.

His concern is finding the most efficient, inexpensive way to supply the University with the resources it needs to function, and yes that includes ink cartridges.

“My goal is to get the best quality and price for the departments,” said Swanson.

Swanson and the University of Kansas follow terms set by the “Mandatory State Use Contract.” According to the contract, the University must purchase remanufactured or recycled cartridges from a specified vendor, Cartridge King, which employs the labor of people who are blind or disabled.

The contract allows the University to save a significant amount of money while being involved with a good cause. And money isn’t the only thing “green” about the contract. Using remanufactured and recycled cartridges helps the environment. Much like the University, individual consumers also see savings when buying recycled.

Swanson said that from July 1 to the end of January the University’s purchasing office had already spent $212,634 on toner cartridges alone. In a typical year that number would end at around $550,000. That may sound like a lot of money, but according to Swanson the University saves 30 percent to 50 percent on each cartridge because it buys remanufactured and recycled, instead of new.

While Swanson supports the idea and legislation behind the contract he does admit the system isn’t perfect. He said individual departments choose whether or not they want to deal with the contract’s specified vendors when buying their cartridges. On purchases under $5,000 the Purchasing Department cannot force other departments to buy from vendors like Cartridge King. Some departments choose to buy new or from other sources on such purchases. Swanson commented on the lack of a unanimous decision to buy from Cartridge King, but also said that they were working with the company to improve things.

“The vendor has quality issues, quite frankly, with the remanufactured cartridges,” Swanson said. “So if they were to address those issues, I think there would be a massive switch to the vendor.”

The Environmental Stewardship Program is responsible for the collection of used cartridges for the campus said, Celeste Hoins, administrative director for the program.

“We coordinate with Cartridge King, they pick up the used ones, and then drop the new ones off,” Hoins said.

According to Hoins, the dorms also recycle all ink and toner cartridges used by their residents in the dormitory academic resource centers. The campus wide commitment to recycling and re-using ink cartridges greatly benefits the environment.

Tom Fickenworth, sales manager for Cartridge King, said discarded cartridges can have a negative affect on the environment. He said the amount of oil and resources used in the shipping and manufacturing of new cartridges was very high compared to what it takes to remanufacture a used cartridge. It takes 2 1/2 ounces of oil to produce one new toner cartridge, and 3 1/2 quarts to produce a laser cartridge.

“When you think about the amount of energy spent to ship a new cartridge from China, the process of recycling is much cheaper for the environment and consumer,” Fickenworth said.

Terry Kelly, owner of Cartridge World in Lawrence, shared the saving sentiment. He said that customers could save up to 50 percent on individual cartridges by buying recycled. His business opened in 2003 and specializes in remanufacturing used cartridges. He emphasized the importance of students as customers and proponents for his business.

“We get a lot of students,” he said. “We like them.”

Whether buying for a large university or a personal printer run dry, buying recycled and remanufactured is a money and environment savior.

The first time Becca Sparling, Burnsville, Minn., junior, stepped inside the Jaybowl in the Kansas Union, it was also her last. She remembers walking into silence there one Friday night during her freshman year. There were no pins falling, no people laughing, nobody enjoying one another’s company. Becca and her three friends were the only people in attendance at the university-owned bowling alley that night.

The problem was not that the freshman students were not having a good time. The problem was simply that they were alone on a Friday night at a large state university.

“It just didn’t seem like a very popular or cool thing to do,” Sparling said.

The University of Kansas has more than 25,000 students enrolled as of the fall 2007 semester. The official Web site of the registrar shows that the number of students enrolled has stayed relatively constant over the last five years. Despite the large numbers, the bowling alley housed in the basement of the Kansas Union still lacks the attention it craves. A proposal to allow beer sales in the Jaybowl and its surrounding area looks to change that.

The proposal, which was reviewed and approved by the Memorial Corporation Board, would bring beer back into the Kansas Union for the first time in 10 years. Members of the Board have already approved the idea, essentially assuring itself that such beverage service is possible with limited risks, the Vice Provost for Student Success, Marlesa Roney, said. The proposal will go before the University Provost next month before gaining official approval. One concern is that allowing alcohol sales in the Kansas Union may conflict with the overall mission of the University, which focuses heavily on academic excellence.

“This, of course, is a complex question and requires input from a broad group of constituents,” Roney said.

The beer being considered for sale in the Kansas Union is 3.2 percent alcohol, weaker than that sold in local liquor stores. Two other universities in the Big 12 Conference currently sell the same 3.2 beer referred to in the Memorial Corporation Board’s proposal. The University of Colorado and Kansas State University annually reap benefits from these beer sales.

Mary Covell, Senior Associate Director for Colorado’s University Memorial Center, said beer sales help offset the need for student fee support for the student union. Last year, the UMC brought in approximately $37,000 in beer sales alone. Beer is sold at The Connection, Colorado’s equivalent of the Jaybowl and surrounding area. Under-aged drinking, the main concern for alcohol-selling establishments, is taken seriously at The Connection. Security cameras, hand-held I.D. scanners and well-trained staff allow the union to comply with University laws. Covell said that beer has been sold there without any real problems for many years.

“I really don’t know for sure how long it’s been,” Covell said. “But it was available when I was a student in the early 70s.”

The non-issue of alcohol abuse is a common trend at another Big 12 university as well.

Kansas State University sells 3.2 beer in its campus union. Last year, the school recorded a $64,000 profit from alcohol sales. K-State recreation manager Terri Eddy said the profits go toward the operation of the student union, which is a non-profit organization. Eddy said there have been little to no problems in 13 years of selling beer. The union, which centers on bowling and recreation, is more a primer for drinking than a place to get drunk.

“We card everyone and train everyone,” Eddy said. “People don’t really come to get drunk. If they want to do that, they head out to Aggieville.”

The Memorial Corporation Board is confident that underage drinking will not be a problem at the University of Kansas. Union Director and Board member David Mucci said the service of alcohol would allow non-drinkers to hang out in a non-bar atmosphere with people of legal drinking age. The environment provided would be safe and proper for social interaction, Mucci said.

The approval of the beer proposal next month would bring more money into the Kansas Union, just as it has for other schools in the Big 12. The University of Kansas would impose the same methods used at the other institutions to ensure under-aged drinking would not become a problem. Apart from selling 3.2 beer, the environment created would also attract more University students. Sparling, now of legal age, said she would be much more willing to give the Jaybowl another go.

“I feel like bowling and beer just kind of go hand-in-hand,” she said.

$17.94 billion, $18 billion, $24 billion, $38 billion. There is one thing that more Americans spend more money on each year than video games, makeup, skin care and hair care. That one thing is text messaging.

According to www.cellsigns.com, 79 percent of Americans own a cell phone. Of those, 68.7 million people actively use text messaging. Texting has become popular due to its convenience. It is a quick way to sent a message while in class, at work or with a bad date. Texting is growing at an alarming rate. Each of the past two years it has grown by 250%.
“Text messaging has been one of the most explosive technologies uses that you can find,” said Dr. Corey Carbonara, the director of the Digital Communication Technologies Project at Baylor University, to KWTX-TV ‘s Mike Barger. 

Everything cool also comes with a price. In the case of texting it is a small fee that comes with each little ringing of a message alert. A few texts per day does not seem like a lot. Add those up for a week, a month, a year and texting is a billion dollar market. Cell phone companies are taking advantage of this too. Raising prices and including texting in voice plans, Americans are paying for texting whether they want to or not. Some students text, others do not, and the University is also texting. 
 In June 2007, 28.8 billion texts were sent. Times that time 15 cents, the average flat rate per text, and you have $4.32 billion. Multiply that by 12 for the months in the year. That ends up being $51.84 billion a year spent on texting. It is even more if texts are being sent out of the country, then it is an average of 25 cents per message. It is expected to be even more in coming years. It is estimated that 220 billion texts will be sent in 2008.
When Cingular switched to AT&T, they raised the price of a single text to 20 cents to send and receive a message, up from 15 cents. Just a few years ago it was free to receive a text and just five cents to send one with the company. Verizon gives unlimited to texting to all its customers with a select or premium voice plan, whether they want to text or not. Texting packages range in price from 200 texts a month for $5 to $20 for unlimited. 

These texting plans are good for some students who find texting an easy form of communication. Kevin Nelson, Smithville, Mo. junior, says that he sends about 50 to 100 texts a day and receives about that many.
“The reason I do it is because it is an easy way to talk to my friends while at work or in class,“ he said, “This way you can talk to more than one person at a time.”
Nelson says that he has a texting plan and pays $10 a month. With the extra texts that he sends, it ends up being an extra $50 each month. Which turns into an extra $600 a year. When Nelson asked his dad for unlimited texting his dad just said to tone it down.
“So I said to him that this is the new way of communication and I can’t tone it down. So what does he do? He starts texting me when he wants to talk now. I love how older people evolve,” Nelson said.
But not all students are texting, yet. Emma Ewert, Lawrence junior, says that she does not text because it is not part of her phone plan, not because of cost. She has nothing against texting and thinks that it can be rather convenient.
“Most likely when I renew my phone plan in a year or so, I will include text messaging. I suppose I could add it at anytime, but I don't really feel the need to,” said Ewert.
Not all students see it as a good thing. John Angelo, Olathe junior, does not having texting and does not plan on getting texting. He says that you can not have a real conversation with a person, you have to edit what you say, and you do not say what is on your mind when you text.
“You spend five minutes texting something you could have said in twenty seconds. Plus, it's such an impersonal form of communication,” said Angelo.
KU students are not the only ones spending money on texting. Last spring KU set up an emergency text subscription for students, staff and faculty. According to Donna Liss, associate vice provost for information services, said that for the KU Lawrence and Edwards campus’ it costs $17,000 a year for the text subscription. If the university actually has to send out a text it costs about six cents per message. So far 9,310 students and 4,200 faculty and staff are on the texting list. If a message is sent out, it will cost the university about $81,060.
As the popularity of texting continues to grow and more and more people add texting to their phone plans, more and more money is being spent. If more people are texting, phone companies will continue to raise prices and text messaging could be a trillion dollar market. But for right now, is a billion dollars a year really worth a message that simply says “K?”

For anyone enjoying a leisurely afternoon on Massachusetts St., its many art galleries, studios and exhibits can be a haven of cultural and artistic work provided by local artisans. But for local artisans, it can be a jungle.
Even in a city like Lawrence, which has been nicknamed the “City of the Arts,” there can be a very big difference between being able to make art and being able to sell it.
“It’s a very competitive business,” independent local jeweler Bill Collins said. “It caters to the consumer who is able to purchase luxury items. When the economy is soft or weak consumers will often forgo those luxury items and spend their money on what they deem as necessities.”
It’s important for artists to find the best way of marketing and promoting their work. The most traditional way for artists to sell their work usually involves getting gallery representation. A gallery works as a promoter and agent in order to get the artist they represent into the spotlight. This, in turn, builds up the gallery’s own credibility and revenue.
However, the gallery business in itself can also be very competitive, especially in a town with so many competing venues. The Lawrence art community has witnessed multiple gallery closings over the past several years, including such well-known locales as the Olive Gallery and Art Supply, Grimshaw Gallery, Ad Astra Galleria and the Fields Gallery.
“I’ve found that the gallery business in Lawrence is very competitive for a town this size,” said Diane Horning, owner of Diane’s Artisan Gallery at 801 ½ Mass. St. Horning weaves shawls, stoles and scarves on a loom in her studio space, which doubles as a gallery for local and national artists such as Bernard Katz, Tom Frey and Steven Murphy.
Horning chooses art based on what fits with the style of her gallery and picks works from a mix of local and national artists. She does not believe that artists must necessarily compete for space. However, because there are two other fine craft galleries just down the street, she says competition between the galleries can become a real issue.
“We try not to step on each others toes,” Horning said. “We all carry different artists in different price ranges, but it is very competitive.”
Horning also said that renting gallery space in heavily trafficked areas of Lawrence can be the downfall of many small businesses.
“It’s very difficult to maintain a gallery space in the downtown area,” Horning said. “Prices are very expensive, especially for storefront property.”
The Fields Gallery, which closed in Feb of 2006, now hosts an online website from which patrons can still purchase art. Many artists and galleries are now finding that online websites provide an easy way to get their work to the masses while forgoing expensive store front properties of their own.
“Artists are definitely beginning to realize that they need an online presence,” said Zoe Beach, owner of the Phoenix Gallery at 919 Massachusetts St.
Beach said that while the Phoenix Gallery does not do much of its business over the internet, it’s becoming a growing trend to see artists posting their work online. She said that the use of the internet and how it affects galleries has become a growing topic of discussion within the artistic community.
Shawn Bowers, Overland Park senior, agreed, saying the internet provides a new forum for emerging artists to gain exposure.
“Sometimes you have to use the internet more than the community,” Bowers said. “It’s not so much about the place you’re in than it is about being able to capitalize on the global aspect of the internet at sites like deviantart.com to get your stuff seen. It’s about being very shrewd about self-promotion.”

Troy Goff, Springhill junior, sits hunched over, holding his white and gold bottle of “Purely Divine” tanning lotion. Goff prefers “Purely Divine,” a product by Swedish Beauty, because it’s a white lotion instead of brown. Brown lotion tends to leave streaks even after tanning. An employee calls Goff’s name and he crosses the lobby full of young women to be escorted to his tanning bed.

“I’ve never had people tell me it’s weird that I tan,” Goff said. “I like to stay tan all year round. I feel more confident about myself and I stay the same color all year.”

Several tanning salons in Lawrence have seen increases in their male customers this tanning season. So far, five out of nine salons have noticed increases. Managers consider everything, from tanning lotions, prices and types of beds. When, where and how to place advertisements are also taken into account. More salon owners are finding ways to “beef up” the way they appeal to their male customers. Managers of salons and customers alike are discovering that it’s no longer taboo for men to tan.

Adam Faust, Olathe sophomore, says that society has become more accepting of male tanners. “Before there was kind of a stigma about it, but now people don’t care what other people think.”

Mike and Kathy Byrnes recently purchased SunKissed Tanning salon at 2540 Iowa St. in November 2007. Along with remodeling the building and the way they handle the business, the new owners are also discovering how to appeal to their female and male customers. One aspect of SunKissed that appeals to male customers is its selection of male tanning lotions. The Byrnes’ decided to carry three lotions specifically for males and a few other unisex lotions. “Swinger” costs $28, “Mankind” is $24 and “Hammer” $50 per bottle. Each bottle is geared towards men with the designs, logos and even the shapes used on the product. Mike Byrnes, who said he’d never tanned a day in his life before owning the salon, uses “Hammer,” which is shaped like a men’s cologne bottle and has a similar fragrance.

“Men are more frugal than many women,” Kathy said. “Women are more likely to spend money on themselves than men are any day.”

Kristi Lawrence, manager and owner of Mango Tan at 4000 W. Sixth St. agrees.

“It’s just like how much men will pay for a haircut,” Lawrence said. “Most women will put down $100 for a haircut and not think anything about it. Men aren’t like that.”

Mango Tan has always had a lot of male tanners, according to Lawrence. “Not just college students either,” Lawrence said. “Some are 65-year-old men.”

Unlike SunKissed Tanning however, Lawrence said that she doesn’t stock her salon with male tanning lotions, simply because the prices are too high and men just won’t pay that much for lotion.

“We allow our customers to leave their lotions here,” Lawrence said. “Guys prefer that, especially when the lotion they carry has a corny name like ‘Sex Pot’ or ‘Sex Magnet.’”

According to salon managers in Lawrence, the average percentage of male customers is 10 percent. Currently, Mango Tan’s customers are 15 percent male. Mike Byrnes said in 2006, 15 percent of his customers were also male. This year though, from January to February alone, SunKissed male customers have risen to 20 percent.
Lisa Spangler, regional manager of Celsius Tannery at 4931 W. Sixth St. said that during a normal calendar year the percentage of male tanners is 15 percent at all Celsius salons. Right before spring break, usually the months of January to April, the number jumps to 30 percent.

Spangler said that Celsius carries unisex lotions and that men usually buy the white lotions, which are strictly intensifiers instead of the brown lotions, which are bronzers.

“Guys want something they can slap on real quick,” Spangler said. “With a lotion that’s a bronzer you have to apply it carefully in order to avoid streaking.”

When it comes to beds the Byrnes’ take particular care in recommending the right bed for customers.

“It’s not our intention to get them in here, bake ‘em up and send ‘em out,” Kathy said. “It’s more about what’s best for them and their skin care.” According to Mike, men like to use the stand-up beds at SunKissed. Since the stand-up beds cost higher than the average male college student likes to spend, many men choose the cheaper base beds. Base beds are the simplest form of tanning beds that have the lowest wattage of ultra-violet rays and are generally the cheapest. The same situation applies to other tanning salons. At Mango Tan, Lawrence said she’s even gotten requests from males for stand-up beds.

The managers of SunKissed, Celsius and Mango Tan all set the same standards on deciding how to advertise; they leave sex out of it. Spangler said she tries to use unisex ads, whether they’re in papers or on the radio. Mike and Kathy Byrnes of SunKissed treat their male customers just like everyone else and think that referrals and word of mouth are the best ways to advertise for their salon.

When Goff finishes his tanning session, he grabs a sucker offered by the salon employees before heading out the door. Sometimes Goff will convince a few friends into coming with him to try tanning. Other times he won’t, and that’s fine with him because he’ll be the one that has a tan.

If there is one thing that Weston White has learned during his time spent working as a waiter, it is that getting by on a low salary is never an easy thing to do.
White, a KU sophomore studying business, receives just $2.15 an hour as his payroll wage as a server at Zio’s Restaurant in Olathe. He does, however, take home a considerable amount of cash each night in tips that he receives from gracious customers.
For this reason, he finds it hard to believe that anyone could survive solely on the Kansas state minimum wage of $2.65 an hour, which is the lowest of any state in the United States.
“Almost 100 percent of my pay comes from cash tips. so to think that anyone could live off of only that low of a wage is pretty crazy.” White said.
But this is actually a reality for many workers, including the more than 17,000 Kansans that received less than the federal minimum wage in 2006.
“I can remember during high school trying to live off of $6.25 an hour, and that was when I didn’t even have to pay bills,” White said “I can not imagine trying to live off of $2.65 an hour. I mean that’s not even a gallon of gas.”
Before the Senate Commerce Committee this year is Senate Bill 466, which would increase the state minimum wage to track the federal minimum wage, which will increase from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour later this year, and is due for another increase to $7.25 per hour in 2009.
The state of Kansas has a history of rejecting any bills regarding an increase to its’ state minimum wage, which hasn’t been changed for almost two decades. However, with The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 recently being signed into legislation, public opinion may have changed regarding what exactly is a fair minimum wage.

WHO IS AFFECTED

The Kansas minimum wage of $2.65 per hour applies only to workers that are not protected by the Federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour. This group contains between 17,000-19,000 agriculture and service workers from around the state. This could include many types of workers ranging from childcare providers to restaurant and bar employees, to sale and retail employees.
And while the exact number of Kansans who are paid the $2.65 state minimum wage is unknown, for these people this bill has great consequences. An employee making the Kansas minimum wage and working full-time(40 hours/week) would make barely over $5000 this year before any payroll taxes. But if Senate Bill 466 is passed, this same employee could be seeing major pay increases during the upcoming year, and could find himself making almost $14,000 a year by 2009.

THE SUPPORTERS

Those in favor of the bill often point to the well-being of low-wage workers that make up the 12.5% of Kansans that are below the federal poverty level.
“As of 2004 there were about 300,000 Kansans living in poverty,“ said Heidi Zeller, who is the coordinator of Kansas Action Network's "Raise the Wage Campaign” “Paying people higher wages will enable them to better support themselves and their families.”
They also speak about the report by the non-partisan, not-for-profit Ad Astra Institute that suggests that the economic impact of an increase in the Kansas minimum wage would likely produce positive results for economic development in general and both workers and businesses alike.
“Kansas businesses and industries that are creating jobs aren't creating enough of them, and they typically pay wages far below the income required to meet the Economic Policy Institute's Basic Family Needs Budget.” Zeller said.
History may be on the side of the supporters, too. In a study conducted by The Fiscal Policy Institute, it was discovered that when the Federal minimum wage was increased in 1996, small businesses actually grew faster in states with higher minimum wages verse those in states with a lower minimum wage.

THE OPPONENTS

The opponents of Senate Bill 466, however, are quick to point out that despite some of the possible rewards of an increased minimum wage, there are some possible negative consequences that aren’t being considered.
The NFIB, which is the self-claimed “Voice of Small Business” says that a minimum wage increase in Kansas may result in a variety of negative outcomes that could range from employees having their hours reduced to losing their jobs completely. There could also be negative results regarding increased unemployment and increased prices.
In fact, Arthur Hall, who is an executive director at KU’s School of Business said in submitted testimony that “there is general agreement that these(minimum wage) laws do more harm than good.”
In an interview, Hall explained that raising the wage might have some consequences that aren’t being considered. “There is decades worth of economic research on this topic and the findings show that you actually end up putting these people out of work.”

THE REACTION

Despite the national popularity of increasing the minimum wage, Kansas has repeatedly rejected any such attempt to increase its’ state minimum wage, with the last rejection coming around this time last year.
Kansas remains one of only three states that have a state minimum wage that is less than that of the Federal minimum wage. In fact, thirty states have even gone as far as to set in place a state minimum wage higher than that of the federal minimum.
So why does Kansas repeatedly deny attempts to raise its’ $2.65 per hour minimum wage and chose to be one of the only states with such a low minimum wage?
Heidi Zeller, who supports raising the wage, doesn‘t quite get it. “They assert that ‘no one actually makes the Kansas minimum wage.’” Zeller said “You might ask, ‘why not just raise it then?’”
Arthur Hall thinks there are other options when it comes to helping low-income workers. “These politicians feel like they are trying to help. But the research has shown that this isn’t the right way to do it.” Hall said.
Weston White, the KU student and server who depends primarily on cash tips, thinks that it is time for Kansas to follow the lead of most other states and raise its’ minimum wage already.
“I mean if the Federal government is doing it, and most of the other states in the U.S. are doing it, I think it would be a good thing for the people of Kansas.” White said.

So will Kansas continue to pull up the rear when it comes to state minimum wages in the U.S.? Or will they finally join the majority of other states by making the minimum wage for workers a “fair” one as decided by the federal government?
That choice is up to the Senate now.

Erika Meza-Zerlin spent the summer after her sophomore year at the Johnson Space Center interning for NASA.

Meza-Zerlin, Topeka junior, received the privilege of working in Houston through the MUST program, which stands for Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology. Her work involved contributing to a six-year-long research project dedicated to creating an exercise machine for the international space station.

“I touched stuff that’s actually going to the space station,” Meza-Zerlin said.
Men have traditionally dominated the engineering field. According to the Society of Women Engineers, men made up 94.2 percent of all engineers only 25 years ago. While the number of women in the field remains low (roughly 12 percent now), the University of Kansas encourages young women to complete engineering degrees, and firms actively court graduates.

“In my experience, larger firms and municipalities put an emphasis on hiring qualified women engineers, and are willing to pay premium for them,” said Clayton Hess, KU alumnus and principal engineer at Apex Engineers, Inc., a firm based in Merriam.
Hess said Apex Engineers, Inc. is a small firm with five full-time engineers on staff, led by a woman office manager. He said that the firm was interested in recruiting the most qualified engineers and weren’t necessarily interested in gender.

Carolyn Stone, Olathe junior, said she’d had experiences with recruiters who only seemed interested in her because of her gender and their desire to promote diversity.
“I think they’re afraid of discrimination,” Stone said. “To me, if you’re an engineer, you’re an engineer.”

Stone’s chosen field, petroleum engineering, represents a very small demographic in the overall field. According to SWE, female petroleum engineers make up only .3 percent of all engineers.

Both Stone and Meza-Zerlin credit the School of Engineering at the University of Kansas for making the school inclusive for women.

Stone attended a KU-sponsored weekend event for prospective women engineering undergraduates in high school, and attended the School of Engineering’s Expo. The School of Engineering holds the Engineering Expo, an open house event targeted primarily at K-12 students, to promote both the School and engineering in general.

Meza-Zerlin said she attended the Expo during high school and met Prof. Lisa Friis, who spoke to her about the draws of being a woman in engineering. Meza-Zerlin enjoyed calculus and physics in high school, and chose the area of mechanical engineering. Women in mechanical engineering make up 3.3 percent of the total engineering field, according to SWE.

“Every semester I look to see how many girls there are,” Meza-Zerlin said. “Usually there are six or seven in a class of 80.”

Stone and Meza-Zerlin are both involved in engineering activities, including SWE. Stone is also in charge of publicity for engineering student council.

Stone has completed two engineering internships, one working with the company Web site and intranet at Honeywell while in high school, and the other last summer at En Cana Oil & Gas, a natural gas processing plant where she helped determine vessel sizes for compression stations.

Stone said she faced discrimination while working, but that it came from field workers, not professional engineers.

According to a student-aimed newsletter article published by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, the industry faces a bigger obstacle in retaining women already in the field than it has in recruiting new graduates. Once women are in the field, the article, there is a sense of isolation.

This may explain why the School of Engineering has several women in leadership positions on the Engineering Student Council and why, according to SWE, some engineering programs have 30 percent female enrollment while participation in the field remains low.

Professional societies like SWE exist to help women network and find mentors in their fields, but the isolation and salary may still keep women away. Despite firms’ vigorous recruiting, SWE estimates that women and men with comparable experience still draw inequitable salaries. In 1999, men with less than five years’ experience made a median salary of $67,000, compared with women’s median salary of $58,000.

Meza-Zerlin said that women had a lot to offer the engineering field.

“A big part of engineering is being able to communicate ideas,” she said. “Diversity can give a different perspective of the design process.” She said that women demonstrate strong verbal and organizational skills that would be an asset to firms.

While Stone plans on going into medicine, Meza-Zerlin hopes to work for NASA in its robotics or bioengineering divisions.

Hess said he was optimistic about the growth of women in the engineering field.

“With an increased number of women in the residential construction industry, I would expect that more women will be exposed to the field and may pursue an engineering degree,” Hess said.

Tax season has brought some costumed characters to Iowa Street.

Businesses have hired people to dress up and wave at cars passing by their stores. The wavers bring in more customers and are cheaper than print or television advertising, business owners said.

“Traffic just triples,” said Bob Fyfe, owner of Payless Furniture, 2800 Iowa St.
Sue Simmons, owner of Liberty Tax Service, 810 W. 23 St. and 3010 Iowa St., said wavers bring in 95% of her customers.

Fyfe hires wavers during tax season in hopes they will draw people into the store to spend tax refunds on new furniture. He also hires wavers during the student rush in August. Liberty Tax Service uses wavers from January to April 15. Fun and Games, 1601 W. 23 St., used wavers last year around Halloween to advertise costumes.
Wavers are a less expensive type of advertising. Fyfe said wavers are paid $12 per hour. Sue Simmons, owner of Liberty Tax Service, said all employees are paid $7.50 per hour. Kyle Billings, owner of Fun and Games, said wavers were paid around $7 per hour.

Print and television prices range. A one-time quarter-page ad in the Sunday edition of the Lawrence Journal-World costs $907.20. The cost rises to $1,252.20 if the ad runs in color. A one-time quarter-page ad in the Hawk Sheet costs $95. Color is an additional $10. A one-time, 30-second commercial from Sunflower Broadband costs from $10 to $98.

Fyfe could pay one waver for 75 hours work for the same price as the Journal-World ad.
Simmons said Liberty Tax Service ran an ad in the Hawk Sheet at a special rate of $39 a week for three weeks, and three customers returned coupons from the ad. The ad paid for itself, but wasn’t that effective, she said.

“We do whatever’s cheapest,” Simmons said. She also said that wavers allow her to select her own market because they target people that already drive past the office.
Wavers have been around for a while. Fyfe goose-stepped in army gear outside his store himself when he opened it in the Hillcrest Shopping Center in 1978. Liberty Tax Service has used wavers since they opened in Lawrence three years ago. Fun and Games just started using wavers last Halloween, after moving into a new store in August last year. Billings decided to use wavers because of the large amount of traffic on 23 Street.

“Sign wavers were probably by far the best for our money and one of the most effective,” Billings said of Fun and Games’ marketing strategies. Billings said that he is also working on a “vehicle wrap” that should be ready within a month. A vehicle wrap is a car that will be entirely covered in a graphic that advertises the business. “It will be eye-catching all year round,” Billing said.

Simmons said Liberty Tax Service uses many “in your face” marketing strategies. Simmons sends marketers wearing Statue of Liberty costumes to businesses around town, in what she calls business to business marketing. They give candy or cookies to the business, and offer to distribute the business’s coupons to other businesses they visit. Eventually, the marketers ask to display some Liberty Tax Service coupons.
“It does take time,” Simmons said, “but it’s proven to be less expensive than other methods.”

Joyce Claterbos, lecturer in the school of business, said cooperative advertising between businesses is an old strategy.

Simmons also has “coupon crews” that distribute 18,000 to 20,000 sticky-note coupons. She said she gets a small percentage of the coupons back, but that a few back every week is enough for the advertising to pay for itself.

Fyfe used to display furniture in front of his store, but a city ordinance prevents him from doing so at his new location because it doesn’t have an awning. He said displaying the furniture is better than the wavers because potential customers see the actual product.

Last November, Erica Tidmore, Houston senior, walked into Sedona Staffing Services, one of eight temp agencies in Lawrence, looking for a second job. Still enrolled in classes, Tidmore searched for a job for additional pay with her current job. Looking into the industry for just a temp job, she found that it was easier for to find one than she thought. Filling out the application, Tidmore, 22, was becoming part of a growing situation college students are turning to recently as the economy turns sour.

“I went there (temp agency) to rack in some additional hours and make some extra money on the side,” said Tidmore.

Over the past 2-3 years, temp agencies are finding their services used more for permanent job placement over temporary positions. Human relations departments for companies are using the temp agencies to test out workers without wasting money on full-time hires. While these relatively new trends are gaining more steam, the prospects over the economic situation creeps towards the possibility of a recession.

Companies who turn to temp agencies for workers are now requiring more background checks and follow-ups on credit history as well as a way to pre-screen temps for possible permanent positions. This ease-in transition known as “temp-to-perm” has
been gaining steam over the year on a national scale.

Irwin Speizer of Workforce Management Magazine wrote back in August that “the number of temporary workers retained as full-time employees is expected to grow by 15 percent this year (2007).” Since then, worry over the economy and the possibility of a recession has the ability to halt this “temporary-to-permanent” trend.

Shirley Martin-Smith, Franchise Owner of Addeco Employment Services in Lawrence, said that companies that use their services are addressing the tight labor market more critically. This trend has benefited the workers who apply as temps because they are getting more attention from the companies looking to hire full-time. However, the workers who may be best for the job are sometimes behind due to this “temp-to-perm” practice.

“I think this limits the possibility to find more qualified people who are out there but just not going through the temp agencies when looking for a full-time job,” Smith said.

Donna Ginther, Associate Professor of Economics at Kansas University, views the temp agency’s role as a direct indicator of the country’s current economic situation.
Simply put, if the economy expands or contracts, temp jobs would be the first to show signs. Although local temp agencies speak of a rising increase in temporary to permanent positions, Ginther still thinks otherwise.

“That may have been 3-6 months ago,” Ginther said. “We are heading into a
recession, which means more people are going to be out of work.

Another local temp agency, Manpower, is a leader in temp industry with an expanded network of services based all around the country. The company’s projections for the first quarter of 2008 project a net outlook employment percentage increase of 18%. Nancy Slabaugh, Manpower Manager, said that while their company has been running business as usual, she has seen a rise in customers requesting more workers for permanent positions than for temporary over this past year.

“The hire requests overall has declined a little just because of the slowing economy and will eventually work itself back to normal when the economy returns to normal as well,” Slabaugh said.

For many area families, driving schools are a great way to instill safe driving habits into their teenagers and receive discounts on their insurance rates but for area driving school owners, the higher prices strike at the heart of their business.
In a recent article, the Kansas City Star reported the possibility of gas prices raising to $ 3.40 per galloon this spring and hitting record highs.
Driving schools owners I spoke to are going to great lengths to prevent the gas price increases from being passed to their customers and taking care of giving their instructors fair wages.

“(Gas prices) Have an affect,” Bill Straeter said. “I have to figure out how we give the students the services they need and not raise prices.”
Straeter is the Owner and President of Buggin’ and Cruisin’, a driving school located in Olathe.
Larry Krull owner of the Midwest Driving School in Lawrence feels it’s important to keep prices steady.
Krull charges a rate of $310 for his course, and has only had one rate increase in the last five years.
“I’m trying to get kids drivers education,” Krull said. “You’re cheating kids out of an education if you raise prices.”
Streater’s prices have fluctuated more, from $375 to $410, but he promises a school that takes care of everything.
“It’s like an all-inclusive resort,” Streater said “You pay more but you worry about less and people are taken care of.”
Regardless of the price of gas, the state of Kansas requires that a driver’s education program contain six hours of behind-the-wheel learning, along with the eight hours of classroom learning, so the amount of gas used for lessons is inflexible for the schools.
Straeter combats this affect by changing the distance he goes to pick-up students.
“We have to change where we drive in relation to the student,” Straeter said. “We can no longer pick up students across town.
Ultimately, both owners that I spoke to intend to sacrifice personal profits from there schools in order to take care of their employees and customers.
“My prices are fixed,” Streater said. “I will absorb the cost, not pass it on to my customers.
According to Krull the gas prices would most affect the amount pays his instructors, who have to fill their own cars. Krull pays his drivers $22 per hour, and he intends to factor gas prices into their pay.
“If prices go up to $3.40” Krull said. “I would have raise instructor fees another $5 per hour.”
While Krull factors gas prices into his wages, Straeter take care of his instructors gas by giving them a business Mastercard to fill up their vehicles.
“I feel I give my employees more responsibility and ownership,” Straeter said.
Both men said that instructors need to be determined and dedicated people.
Instructors face the difficulties of odd hours, less and less schools offering driver instructor programs, and the fact that driving instructors are not going to get rich.
According to lifescript.com, instructor’s must have both skill and patience, and a desire to impart their knowledge and experience to young drivers.
Ultimately, those educating drivers in today’s economic climate must have the same passion for young people that teachers do.
“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Straeter said. “You have to have a passion for young people, be fearless in the car, and have patience.”

Imagine a local waiter trying to pay his bills and put himself through an education at KU while making $2.65 an hour, or about $5,000 a year even if he works full time.

This is no horror story but reality for Garry Stidham, a KU student and waiter at a tavern in DeSoto

“Sure, I make tips,” he said “But I don’t have many wealthy customers. There’s a lot of nights I don’t make more than $4 an hour, tips included.”

But the state minimum wage of Kansas – the lowest in the nation – could double immediately and nearly triple by 2009 to mirror the federal minimum wage if Kansas Senate Bill 466 is passed. Critics of the proposed bill say the wage raise will have little effect, or even be counterproductive to the economy and small businesses, while the bill’s supporters say the state must make sure all of its workers are being treated fairly.

The bill would raise the state minimum wage from $2.65 to match the federal minimum wage at $6.55 in August and $7.25 when it rises in 2009.

Don Sayler, the CEO of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association, spoke for his association and said they were opposed to the minimum wage raise.

“We understand students will be on the lower end of the pay scale, but it’s a natural progression,” he said. “When you start, you’re at the low end of the pay scale. But if you’re a good employee, very soon you move up the pay scale.”

Sayler said his association believed the Kansas minimum wage’s rise would be counterproductive and he said the minimum wage should be repealed instead.

Critics of minimum wages argue that the law limits opportunity for employees, because employers have to pay more for workers so they hire less of them. Critics also say minimum wages usually do not apply to the lower class they were designed to serve.

Half of the people who make the federal minimum wage are under the age of 25 and a quarter of everyone who makes the minimum wage are under 20, according to Ron Caldwell, an assistant professor of economics who is one of the University’s labor economics experts. He also said 75 percent of people who make the minimum wage only work part time. Essentially, most of the people who make the minimum wage are people who aren’t in major economic trouble in the first place.

The Kansas Action Network is working to get the bill passed through grassroots campaigning. In addition to media appearances, they lobbying politicians in Topeka, creating petitions, and commissioning research.

They commissioned the self-described “non-partisan, not-for-profit” Ad Astra Institute to create a report. The report, a 40-page document, found that 17,000 workers in Kansas received less than the federal minimum wage in 2006.

It also found that there is a correlation between minimum wage increases and economic development historically. And, according to the report, there would be no major long-term effects on employers from an increase.

Of course, the fact that the Kansas Action Network, a very opinionated group on the matter of state minimum wages being raised, commissioned the report brings its objectivity into question.

Groups like labor unions say that while the state minimum wage applies to few Kansans, the state should still protect all of its citizens, not just most.

And that is where the question of the bill’s – and the state minimum wage’s – relevance enters into the discussion.

“What would be the point to raise it?” Caldwell said. “It would be more of a political point than anything else, I guess. It’s almost a non-story.

“There’s no reason to get rid of the state minimum wage, either. It’s already effectively dead.”

Sayler, although he supported the raise, did agree it would affect a very small number of people.

Among employers who are exempted from paying their workers the federal minimum wage are those who gross less than $500,000 a year and have no interstate commerce, farmers who use less than 500 person-days of farm labor a year, and employers of students who are employed full time in retail agriculture or service establishments.

But, for students like Stidham, the state minimum wage has a special significance. And students like Stidham will be closely watching the progress of Kansas Senate Bill 466.

A typical college job usually consists of serving tables, flipping burgers, or turning down fake ID’s at the entrance of a popular Lawrence bar. The goal is usually to make enough money to pay for monthly rent and food, so minimal wage careers are more than appropriate. But at a time when most rental properties are in need of renovations, it might take more than the average salary to pay monthly dues.
Jay Haupt, University of Kansas senior, is not worried at all about the price increase of rental properties; he is making more than a pretty penny off of the desperate need for renovations. Haupt is the owner and founder of a local painting business, Jay’s Paints, and has made more money this year than any of the previous five years.

“Real estate agencies are always looking for cheap labor when it comes to rental properties, and my work comes at a fair price,” Haupt said. “I’m pretty much booked from now ‘till August, fixing up some of the beat-up houses in Lawrence.”
Pat Connett, office manager of Eck Real Estate, said that in recent years they have mostly just had to touch up walls here and there unless there is severe damage or someone has obtained residency for more than 3 years, but for the upcoming semester a lot of work will have to be done on many of the houses.
“The cost to paint the outside of a house is quite significant,” Connett said. “It takes a large increase in rent to offset that cost.”
Connett said the price increase can range anywhere from $100 to $200, which she said is a noticeable difference when the price of a rental property goes from $900 per month to $1,100 per month.
Eck Real Estate isn’t the only agency forcing price increase. Tally Houk, office manager of Vintage Management, also said that some of their properties were going to become more expensive because of renovations.
“We just took an older house and completely gutted it,” said Houk. “New cabinets, new kitchen tiles, and rewired the entire thing. Obviously rent had to increase.”
Houk said that Vintage Management is always doing something to the older buildings to keep them interesting, but the price increase in monthly dues isn’t always drastic, sometimes it can be as little as a $25 increase.
Robert McGraw, University of Kansas senior, said he has noticed the poor conditions of several Lawrence rental properties and agrees that many of them do need a lot of work, but not at the expense of the renter.
“I don’t feel that the renter should have to pay more for quality,” McGraw said. “It should be the owner’s obligations to make the house look satisfactory for the renter.”
McGraw worked in construction for two years and said that if more properties switched to siding instead of paint, it would be more cost efficient. Siding can last 25 years before needing any work done, whereas paint needs to be touched up every five years at least, which can become costly for the renter.
“College is an expensive time in most everyone’s lives, and with tuition steadily increasing, the price of books always being a bank breaker, and the economy in a bind, it isn’t the best time for rent to increase at so many locations,” said University of Kansas sophomore Sasha Tkatch. “I wanted to finally get out of the scholarship halls my junior year, but it might not be financially feasible.”