THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1. 2008
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2008
NEWS
HOUSING
3A
Students pay big on, off campus
BY CALEB SOMMERVILLE
csommerville@kansan.com
Benjamin Franklin once said the only two certain things in life were death and taxes.
Going to college can be rather
But as college students know, he left out tuition, books and housing fees.
expense, but students do have an option when it comes to where to live. Living on and off campus can be expensive, and there are many factors to consider.
"I loved living off campus and having my own place."
The University's tuition Web site estimates, with the new four-year tuition contract, an in-state freshman taking 15 credit hours was expected to pay about $17,946 for the 2007-2008 school year.
This figure includes $6,390 for tuition under the four-year contract, which provides a fixed tuition rate for four years.
$2,020 to $3,290.
LILIYA AZNAUROVA Overland Park medical student
The figure also includes $756 for required campus fees, $6,230 for housing, $750 for books and supplies, $1,638 for transportation, and $2,182 for unspecified personal expenses.
The housing costs can differ,
however. The $6,230 figure is an average and includes both a residence hall charge and a meal plan charge.
Residence halls can range from $3,224 to $4,564. Jayhawk Towers go down to $2,574 for a four-person apartment.
Meal plans at Mrs. E's or Oliver Dining Center cost anywhere from
Scholarship halls cost from $4,288 to $4,504 per year, which includes meals.
Scholarship halls are the cheapest option to live on campus.
If a student lives on campus, they might also want to purchase a parking pass, which costs $160. A Park and Ride permit costs $205.
If a student decides to purchase a bus pass, it will cost $140 for a year
Erin Hurlock,
But students also have the option to live off campus.
taking agent at Meadowbrook Apartments on Bob Billings Parkway, said that the one-bedroom apartment costs between $545 and $580 per month. Cable, trash, sewer, and water bills are paid for by Meadowbrook.
The one-bedroom apartment is Meadowbrook's most common apartment.
Those figures come out to between $6,540 and $6,960 per year. This does not include food.
If other necessities like gas and groceries are added to this cost, it ends up being far more expensive than living on campus.
But that is not without its pluses. Hurlock, who is not a KU student, said that if she were, she would much rather live off campus.
"I like quietness," Hurlock said.
Liliya Aznaurova, University of Kansas Medical Center student, lived in Meadowbrook last year and said she loved it. She preferred the quiet atmosphere and not having a roommate.
"I loved living off campus and having my own place," said Aznaurova in an e-mail.
"I want more space," Cartmill said.
Kristen Cartmill, Overland Park sophomore, said living on campus was "OK." She lives in Templin Hall, but she's moving off campus next year.
She does like the fact that the bus and food is right across the street, and thinks living off campus is more expensive.
There are also "opportunity costs," or things you can't really put a price on. For instance, if a student lives off-campus, the opportunity to eat on campus is lost. The opportunity to walk to class and save money on gas is lost. The opportunity to be a part of the unique social atmosphere is lost.
So, while it may end up being cheaper in the long run to live on campus, it's ultimately up to the student.
Or to the parents.
—Edited by Jared Duncan
cost of living
The yearly costs of
The yearly costs of living on or off campus:
— Residence halls: $3,224 to $4,564
residence halls: $3,22
to $4,564
Jayhawker Towers $2,574 to $4,508
Scholarship halls: $4,288 to $4,504
Meadowbrook
Meadowbrook
Apartments: $6,540 to
$6,960 (for a one-bedroom)
POLITICS
Source: tuition.ku.edu
Professors discuss foreign affairs
BY JESSICA WICKS jwicks@kansan.com
The next U.S. president is going to inherit a big pile of... well, you decide.
The International Law Society met yesterday to discuss the international implications of the 2008 elections.
Thomas Heilke, associate vice provost of international programs, said current economic and domestic situations were only small signs of international turmoil.
"Basically, if I ran my home the way the U.S. goy-
"America is not seen as being willing to play along in the [international] sandbox."
"Will a new president make a difference?" Heilke asked.
ernment runs this country," Heilke said, "I would have been thrown in jail a long time ago."
Heilke said the next president was going to start the term with a war, a recession and a world that despised his or her country.
Heike said the only way the next president could win the world back was with soft power: a concept the current administration rejected.
Soft power is persuading the rest of the world to the United States' side by good will, making it want what the United States wants through respect. The United States uses hard power, Hellike said - violence.
stick". Heilke said. "And the big stick is expensive."
"It is all about who has the biggest
But the rest of the world hates us, Heilke said, and in the midst of the recession, we are losing its trust as well.
"America is not seen as being willing to play along in the [international] sandbox" Heilke said.
America has a reputation of avoiding international treaties, and its homeland security policies make it difficult for international students to get visas, he said.
THOMAS HEILKE Associate vice provost of international programs
Additionally, the United States' willingness to take out more loans to make temporary
fixes to long-term problems has made it less popular every day, he said.
Bhala said students should look at whether the candidate looks at globalization as an opportunity with few risks or as a threat for job and trade loss.
Raj Bhala, international trade law professor, said the future of America's place in the world was contingent on issues such as the free trade theory, global governance and the role of multilateral institutions.
Bhala suggested every student voter should try to get a general education in economics, because whoever wins will personally affect their financial future.
Phil Schrodt, political science professor, said students needed to get a
Schrodt said to focus on the war not in terms of timetables, but in terms of safety.
well-based understanding in the reality of the war.
"We have been lucky so far," Schrodt said. "The number of possible targets in America is huge."
He said while homeland security was doing well at hurting the world's view of America, homeland security was in no way prepared to deal with a major attack. He said he thought the clock was ticking.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
TRAVEL
U.S. tightens border security
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maggie Flores, left, of El Paso presents her U.S. passport to Henry Martinez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer upon re-entering the country at the Bridge of the Americas on Thursday in El Paso, Texas. Americans found little to no delay crossing into Texas from Mexico on the first day of more restrictive federal identification requirements, even when they didn't all have the proper documents. However, some businesses and lawmakers have criticized the Department of Homeland Security for the more restrictive requirements because of worries that the changes will discourage people from making the trip into the United States.
Passports required for entry into U.S. by 2009
BY DAVID RUNK ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Tougher identification rules went into effect Thursday along the nation's borders, but there appeared to be little added delay as travelers unprepared for the change were in many cases allowed to cross with a warning.
Rather than seeing a bottleneck over the Ambassador Bridge into Detroit, truck driver Paul Kraus said, "It's actually slow today." The 42-year-old regularly crosses the bridge from Windsor, Ontario, and said he always carries required documents.
it. He gave me a reminder slip."
Orvile McFarlane of San Diego had just his driver's license as he returned from a sports betting parlor in Tijuana, Mexico, but was still allowed past San Diego's main border crossing.
U. S. and Canadian citizens entering the country are no longer allowed to simply declare to immigration officers at border crossings that they are citizens. Instead, those 19 and older must show proof of citizenship, such as a passport or a "trusted traveler" card issued to frequent border crossers. Driver's licenses must be accompanied by proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate.
"I was taken aback a little bit" about being asked for a birth certificate, the 36-year-old pharmacy technician said. "I said I didn't have
Customs officials said that delays were minimal across the country and that most motorists had the documentation they needed.
"It's been a very smooth transition," said Thomas Winkowski, assistant commissioner of the Office of Field Operations, Customs and Border Protection. "There have been no issues with wait times."
Officers at the ports had latitude to admit people who are unaware of the changes once their identities were confirmed, and many points were offering a grace period and handing out fliers explaining the changes.
On the U.S. side of the border in Progreso, Texas, those returning from a trip to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, across the Rio Grande carried bags of prescription drugs, cigarettes, liquor and crafts. Bobby and Genice Bogard of Greens Ferry, Ark., crossed so Genice could get a tooth capped.
"He allowed us to pass with a driver's license," Bobby Bogard said of a border agent.
"But next time he said he wouldn't," added Genice Board.
Others were ready for the new rules, or say they've grown accustomed to carrying citizenship documents since security tightened following the Sept. 11 attacks. At the Peace Bridge, officials said most travelers entering Buffalo, N.Y., from Fort Erie, Ontario, had proper documentation.
"I always come across with my passport," said Fred Goetz of Burlington, Ontario.
Smooth travel was reported at many crossings along the northern and southern borders.
The rules eventually will get even tougher for U.S. citizens entering the country from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean because of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which Congress approved in 2004.
The driver's license-birth certificate combination will not be allowed when the law is fully implemented, but that has been delayed at land and sea crossings until June 2009.
Mexican citizens will continue to have to present valid passports and visas. Canadian citizens previously were not required to show a passport but will need one after next year.
Critics, particularly in northern border states, have assailed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff over the changes. Some businesses and lawmakers worry that the new rules — and the costs of getting a passport — would discourage some people from making the trip.
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