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When a Lewis Hall resident rifled through her desk in early April, she noticed something was missing: a ring, valued at $550. Perhaps more unnerving was that the culprit has yet to be found, and was able to steal the ring simply by entering her room and taking it.

In an effort to curb crimes such as this, some are taking steps to boost student security in on-campus residences.

Last week, the Department of Student Housing completed the installation of a card access system to Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall. The system requires residents to swipe their KUID card in order to enter the building. Three scholarship halls remain without card access, and are slated to have the system installed by the beginning of next semester.

The department sees the full use of card access in campus residences as a huge step to ensuring student protection.

The installation of the card system across the entire department began in the residence halls in 2007, said Jennifer Wamelink, Associate Director for Residence Life. Before the card system, the residence halls were open 24 hours and unlocked for anyone to enter.

After card access was implemented on Daisy Hill, the system was put in Jayhawk Towers before installation in the scholarship hall community.

The widespread use of the card access system is one of many steps that the University has taken to ensure student safety. In addition, security is provided at the residence halls from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and all Student Housing guests are required to be escorted by a resident.

"KU is a safe place, but of course in a community as large as we are, things still happen," Wamelink said. "Given the changes in climate, we knew could provide a safer environment for students."

After one full year of card access in the residence halls, Student Housing has not yet seen much of an improvement.

By far the most common type of crime on campus is theft. According to KU public safety office statistics, there were 152 reported cases of theft in campus buildings in 2008, a jump from 124 the year before.

"Most theft is unattended property," said Sergeant James Anguiano with the KU Office of Public Safety. "If you leave the door unlocked, it only takes a couple minutes for someone to get in and out."

Burglary in campus buildings also increased, from 65 cases in 2007 to 82 in 2008.

Even with this evidence, on-campus residents still feel that the card access system contributes to safety.

"I wouldn't feel as comfortable if just anyone could walk into the dorms," said Meghan Park, Overland Park freshman, who lives in Templin Hall. "Sure the cards are annoying to deal with but they're not unreasonable."

Those in the handful of scholarship halls that have yet to get the system are also in favor of card access.

"I would feel safer with it," said Kristen Menz, Kinderhook, Ill. freshman, who lives in Rieger Scholarship Hall. "Some girls don't exactly follow our guest policy and it's creepy when random guys are walking around by themselves."

Currently Rieger has a door code which has to be typed in to gain entry.

"With the code someone lets it slip and a non-resident uses it to get in to see a friend and then we have to change it," Menz said.

Even with things like the card system designed to reduce crime, KU officials still warn students to take precautions whenever possible. Both the Public Safety Office and the Department of Student Housing emphasize personal student responsibility.

Wamelink says the best thing students can do to protect themselves is to simply lock their door - both when they are in their room and out of the building.

"I would encourage students to lock the door, be aware of surroundings, and make good choices about who to bring in the building," she said.

"It's very rare to have an incident occur to a student that is unknown to them."

Wamelink's attitude echoes the sentiments of the Public Safety Office.

"You may know your neighbors," Anguiano said. "But not every student comes from a good background."

While theft will continue to occur, simple steps like locking doors and hiding valuables can alleviate many of the problems with people having things stolen right from their own room.

"We obviously can't stop all theft," Anguano said. "But if we can curb it that would be satisfactory.

"We just try to re-educate young people. You are living on your own now; you are responsible for your stuff."

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            For some teenagers, adopting a new pair of siblings can be troubling. But for Kelsey Simpson, Spring Hill sophomore, it signaled something much more significant.

            When she was 12, Kelsey's parents adopted two children from a drug-addicted 14-year-old mother: 2-month-old Emie and 14-month-old Trey.

            "It gave me the opportunity to be really interactive with kids," Kelsey said. "I was more of an adult and there was that age gap, and that love just kind of formed."

            These kids had a huge impact on her teenage years.

            "She was very hands-on when Emie and Trey were young and she did a lot with them when they were very little," said her mother Vicki Simpson.

"Kelsey's always had a very caring nature about herself," said her father Rick Simpson. "She just likes to help other people."

            As a young child, Kelsey wanted to be a veterinarian. But her new younger siblings led her to change her mind and focus on a future involving others.

            "I just thought my skills were better used toward people," she said.

            Kelsey worked in a day care in high school, and it only cemented her desire to help others. She even visited on days she wasn't working.

            "She wanted to change the world in some way," said Vicki.

            Fast-forward six years, and Kelsey came to the University of Kansas to study biochemistry and Spanish with plans to attend medical school.

            "I've always wanted to make a difference in someone else's life, and sciences and math just come naturally," she said. "I thought that it was a good way to put the two together."

            It's a story told countless times before: a student whose love for helping others leads to a career in a medical field. But Kelsey is far from your typical student. Much of her free time is not spent on her studies; instead, it is devoted to honing her skills on the Kansas River as a member of the KU rowing team.

            "Rowing is probably one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced in my life, and the most rewarding," she said. "It finds a way to beat you up and bring you down, but in the end you are at a much better place."

            She heard about rowing from a friend of her mother's whose daughter is on the team. Kelsey saw an advertisement for the team during her freshman year, and two weeks of tryouts later, she was on the team.

            Each week, she has 20 hours of practice in addition to school. Kelsey says the lessons she's learned from rowing apply to other areas of her life.

            "It's just taught me never to give up and keep pushing for what I want," she said. "In the end, all my hard work is going to pay off. With school I've just wanted to throw in the towel and change what I want to do because I don't get enough sleep or I may study and not get a good grade. But with rowing, it's become second nature to see the positive outcomes and know I can push through."

            Being on the rowing team seems like an advantage Kelsey has over other students, but she insists that all of the student-athletes she knows are normal students who strive to perform their best both athletically and academically.

            "That's probably the biggest misconception, especially with athletes who get good grades" she said. "Most people don't see how hard we work, and they think it's just all about free stuff and everything's peachy."

            Kelsey has the scars to prove it. She strained muscles in her lower back last semester, and since January has been struggling with a foot injury, leaving her in a walking boot for two months. On March 31, she was able to take the boot off and work out again after cortisone shots.

            Despite all these issues, Kelsey sees rowing as an integral part of her life at KU.

            "Rowing is very different from anything I've ever done," she said. "It's my stress relief. And school is always something that's come first in my life, and the opportunities KU student athletics gives are so great."

            These opportunities include tutoring services, as well as a total mental and physical support staff to overcome the difficulties that come along with the sport.

            "Having this there makes you want to continue being a student athlete," she said.

            Even with such a heavy load from rowing, Kelsey is not losing sight of her goals.

This summer, she plans to work in Eustis, Fla. at Camp Boggy Creek, a summer camp for terminally ill children. She stumbled upon the camp while looking for internships.

"It just pulled on my heartstrings and made me feel like it was something I should do," she said. "What these kids are going through makes me want to make a difference in their lives."

Making a difference is still a priority for Kelsey, and despite such a demanding schedule, she continues to forge ahead with her dream of working with kids as a doctor.

"I just feel like there's a better purpose in life than just goofing around and wasting time. There's nothing else I could see myself doing."

            Lawrence citizens will see more of the familiar flashing red and blue lights of the Lawrence Police Department this summer as the department is currently training a new group of police officers. However, this increase comes at a cost.

            The Citizens' Academy, a 30-hour program designed to teach Lawrence citizens the ins and outs of local police operation is in danger of being canceled this year due to the department's increased focus on training new cadets, said Sergeant Bill Cory. The department's training unit, which is responsible for organizing the program, is running two back-to-back cadet academies to groom new cadets rather than planning for the Citizens' Academy.

"The back-to-back cycles will only get us back to what we are allotted to have," Cory said.

            The department is set up to have 142 full-time officers. Currently, they are 19 short. Cory said that the department is not expanding. The recent staff shortage is simply due to natural cycles of retirement and officers leaving for other reasons.

            Last year's Citizens' Academy was the 18^th time the department has taught the course.

            "We do this to help the community understand better why we do the things that we do," Cory said.

            Throughout the course, the officers go through in detail what the police department does and the protocol it follows, including traffic stops, investigations, and officer safety. The course is for people 18 or older and typically holds no more than 12 people.

"We're here not only to protect but to serve as well," Cory said. "One way to serve is to better inform how we do business. It's good to do that interaction with the public."

            While the Citizens' Academy may not occur in 2009, the department is continuing to work in other ways to continue to be visible in the community.

            Police Camp is a one-week camp during the summer for children to become acquainted with and interact with officers. The camp explains police cars, motorcycles, fingerprinting, and other aspects of the department that children may find interesting. The camp is full for this summer and has always filled up in the past, Cory said.

            Another way the department interacts with area children is in the form of sponsoring a seventh-grade football league. The program is run by Captain Mike Pattrick, and each junior high school in Lawrence has its own team. All of the coaches in the league are volunteer police officers, and they are a huge influence to Lawrence youth.

            Cory and Pattrick believe that the program lets kids see police officers in a different light other than in a uniform, and also helps officers in the future.

            "They come across players later in life," Cory said. "And players remember their coaches."

            School Resource Officers are popular in the community as well. Cory says that the program puts officers in a position to deal with high school kids on a day-to-day basis. Not only do they deal with crime and problems in school, the officers also teach some classes and simply provide an adult that kids can turn to.

            "Unless you were in trouble you didn't really see them," said Alex Chamberlain, Lawrence sophomore and Lawrence Free State High School graduate. "But they were nice and always talked with students."

            A recent addition to the department's community involvement is the creation of two Neighborhood Resource Officers. These officers work with Lawrence communities and neighborhood organizations to deal with basic quality-of-life issues, including graffiti and noise complaints. The department hopes that this program reduces the amount of run-down areas in Lawrence and keeps these concerns from becoming a further problem.

            These programs are all vital parts of the department's five guiding principles laid out by Chief Ronald Olin. These principles include existing to serve the community, having a personal touch, being fair but firm, doing the job professionally, and representing civility and order.

            Sergeant Cory cites the first two as the important principles driving the programs he oversees. He hopes these programs improve the department's service and involvement in the Lawrence community. However, he does see other benefits.

            "I stress crime prevention when we do these events," Cory said. "It's good to get these crime prevention tips out there as much as you can."

            While the Citizens' Academy is popular and one of the best ways to increase police visibility and involvement in the Lawrence public, the department hopes that its other community programs pick up the slack that could be caused by canceling this year's Academy.

            "It's tough because Lawrence is growing," Cory said. "But we believe it's important to have this interaction. The public responds well, and this is something we do that other agencies may not do."

The clanging of free weights at Maximus Fitness and Wellness is a familiar sound to owner Eric Stein. More important, even in a shaky economy it means he still has customers. Unlike other businesses which are suffering nationwide, the clanging is showing no signs of stopping.

            Stein's Lawrence facility is one of six Maximus centers throughout Kansas, making Maximus the largest privately owned health club chain in the state. While many companies are downsizing or closing their doors, business for Maximus is actually growing.

            Stein says Maximus had a 10 percent in-store increase in 2008, and chain-wide numbers for January of this year are on par with last year's. The company plans to build two more facilities in Lawrence and one in Shawnee by the end of the year.

            "Right now the economy hasn't hit us," said Stein "We are one of the very few companies that are lucky to say that we are having this type of growth."

            January was the club's best month to date; the 1,600-member club gained 600 members in the last month, said Operations Manager Sarah Beffort.

            Fitness centers across the area are seeing their numbers increase as well, bucking nationwide business trends.

            Jason Grindel, general manager of Snap Fitness 24/7, notices the same growth.

            "The economy hasn't affected us as much, being just a small neighborhood gym," said Grindel. He said that an affordable membership fee of $35 per month helps keep business consistent.

            The season helps business as well.

            "It's the time of year when people are thinking about getting themselves in shape with their New Year's resolutions," Grindel said. "If anything, we've seen a spike."

            Health clubs are not the only fitness organizations seeing growth. KU Recreation Services and Intramural Sports are seeing steady use from KU students.

            The budget for Intramural Sports, about $95,000 annually, supports operating costs, equipment, and the salaries of 75 to 90 employees, according to Matt Beck, coordinator of intramural sports.

            Even with a sizable budget, cost concerns still arise due to rising costs. Beck is considering staffing cuts in order to continue the current number of programs and considering cutting back hours to reduce energy costs. He hopes to make the department more efficient without having to reduce the level of service to students.

            "We won't see less programs," said Beck. "But we probably won't see any more added either."

            The funds for Intramural Sports come from student fees each year, which helps to ensure that the budget remains steady despite cost issues in times of economic decline.

            "Even with budget cuts, students voted to raise fees," said Beck. "It must mean we are doing something right."

            Programs offered by the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Departments also remain strong.

            LPRD offers over 800 youth and adult recreation programs. The enrollment of the department's programs has increased greatly in recent months.

            "People are taking advantage of us more in difficult times," said Program Supervisor Jo Ellis. "I think our fees are much more reasonable for the same quality of programs that other places have."

            Ellis is constantly monitoring potential changes to her budget. In addition, she relies on other sources of income to supplement her programs, including sponsorships and donations.

Ellis also believes that strong community support for her programs keeps them growing in times of recession. She cites a recent Lawrence city council meeting in which the city was considering closing the Lawrence Nature Center, which is run by LPRD.

            Over 300 residents were present at the meeting to support the center.

She sees this as an example that the role of recreation in Lawrence will continue to grow in the near future.

            "I think we have such a good reputation that people continue to look at us through difficult times," Ellis said.

            While Ellis and others see such constant growth, local fitness and recreation centers are still seeking ways to ensure stability and to continue improving business for the future.

            "Our strategy to fighting a bad economy is just to give better customer service," Stein said. "As long as we really raise the bar on our services, business will continue.

            "We just have to work a little harder, that's all."