Z
COMFORTABLE
Tomorrow's weather
Kansan
Partly cloudy and warmer. High 77, Low 52.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Sports: Senior co-captain Shane Wedd isn't afraid to speak his mind.
SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Six children were shot at Washington's National Zoo yesterday. Police say it may have been gang related.
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2000
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 139
SEE PAGE 8A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Urge, eclectic groups to play on the Hill
By Ryan Devlin
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
St. Louis' funk-ska-rock outfit The Urge will head an eclectic mix of performers for this year's Day on the Hill May 6.
Other performers will include local favorites Proudentall and the Jesse Jackson 5. Kansas City's Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys and The Co-Op also will play. The Co-op was co-winner of this year's KJHK Farmer's Ball.
Alex Kissel, SUA live music coordinator for the 2000 academic year, said that SUA was pleased with this year's bands.
"The Urge was pretty high on our list," Kissel said. "We got a lot of support for them during our planning meetings."
Kissel said he couldn't disclose how much The Urge would be paid for its performance but that is well within SUA's budget of $15,000 for the event.
He also said that SUA wanted a diverse group of bands for this year's event.
"Almost every musical taste is represented," Kissel said.
Kissel said The Urge's music crossed several different genres and was difficult to classify.
"Some people classify them as funk or ska, but to me, they're more alternative or punk," he said.
Kissel described Proudentall as more of an indie-rock trio.
"They're pretty big in the local scene," he said. "We tried this year to incorporate a lot of local favorites and bands who have never played Day on the Hill before."
Kissel said the funk and hiphop stylings of the Jesse Jackson 5 offered another style to the mix.
"They complement the other bands really well, but they also have a real unique sound," he said.
Kissel described Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys as a country-alternative band.
"They're what you might call v'all-tenative." he said.
Kissel said he didn't know much about the Co-Op, other than they are a hip hop duo.
The Urge will join an impressive list of past headliners for the event that has included Pearl Jam, Soul Coughing, They Might Be Giants and Hum.
Charles Henry, Concordia freshman, said he would have to miss the show this year.
"I've never heard of any of the bands," Henry said. "But I'd like to check them out
bands," Henry to check Unfortunately, with finals coming up, there's no way I can make
it."
But Jeff Bransted, Topeka freshman, said this was the first year he planned on going to the event — both to see The Urge and to support local bands. He said he regretted having missed the event in previous years.
"I remember I was listening to the Lazer in '97 the year They Might Be Giants played," Bransted said. "I was mowing my lawn and was totally kicking myself for not going."
Fighting phobias Irrational fears dominate daily lives, consume thoughts of some students story by jessie meyer - illustrations by kyle ramsey
Sickness and death are lurking everywhere: hanging from ceilings, nesting on door handles, creeping from toilet seats, contaminating faucets and infesting the air. Germs and bacteria just wait letoh onto exposed skin
ing to jacch onto exposed skin.
Don't touch anything. Don't even breathe.
is available for her and others who are willing to admit they have problems.
"Bathrooms in my house are fine," Stacie said. "I will use mine and my parents [not the guest bath or her sister's] without a second thought. But whenever I go to someone else's house or a public restroom, the situation changes. I would avoid it at all costs."
She never sits on the toilet seat — not even at her grandma's house — and she doesn't touch anything in strange bathrooms without paper towels in her hands.
Stacie has a full-blown phobia — an irrational, persistent and life-altering fear of a specific object or situation.
David Holmes, professor of psychology, said two issues defined phobias.
"First of all, it has to be an irrational fear, and second of all, it's got to interfere with your life," he said. "It must disrupt your personal, professional or economic aspects of your life."
It's OK to be afraid of some things that pose real dangers, said Linda Keeler, psychiatrist at the Counseling and Psychological Services, who helps some phobic patients.
"For young children, phobias can be a natural part of development," Keeler said. "It's when it perists six months or longer that it's considered to be a problem."
Louise Buck, Lawrence junior,
has lived with her phobia for
four years. She knows how a phobia
can disrupt a person's life. Buck
afraid of driving on the highway,
lly in bed weather.
Stacie and Buck are not alone.
"I start to panic when I am merging with traffic," Buck said. "And bad weather really freaks me out."
is afraid of driving on the highway especially in bad weather.
The National Institute of Medicine estimated that between 5 and 12 percent of Americans suffered from phobias. If these statistics hold true, it translates to between 1,250 and 3,000 KU students suffering from some type of phobia.
"It's a lot higher than what you think because people hide them," he said. "And they learn ways of coping so they don't have to worry about it."
Holmes said the number of phobic students actually might be much higher.
Buck hides her driving phobia with her car.
"I drive a really small car on purpose so when I go out with my friends I don't have to drive," Buck said. "Some of them know why, but a lot could never guess."
Stacie is no different. She said that unless people knew about her bathroom-specific phobia, it would go unnoticed.
See STUDENTS on page 6A
Painting for a cause
Sheila Fields, Lansing junior, paints daisies on a pot during the Earth Awareness Open House yesterday at the Kansas Union. Students could either keep their pots or donate them to a local nursing home.The event was sponsored by Student Union Activities. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Kennedy takes on Earth
Lecture to cover RFK Jr.'s passion for environment
By Ryan Blethen
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Fresh off the heels of Earth Day, Student Union Activities will present a lecture about the environment.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy, will speak tomorrow at the Lied Center. The lecture, "Our Environmental Destiny," is at 7 p.m. and is free. The lecture is part of the KU student lecture series. Nicole Skalla, forums coordinator for SUA and Longmont, Colo., senior, said the lecture would focus on environmental issues and address the way Kennedy thought the environment should be protected. After the
Kennedy has dedicated his career to the environment. He is an environmental lawyer and professor of environmental law at Pace University's School of Law and co-director of Pace environmental litigation clinic.
Robert Glicksman, Wagstaff professor of law, who teaches environmental law classes at the University of Kansas,
In addition, he serves as the chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper Fund and senior attorney for the National Resources Defense Council. He also has brought legal action against governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound.
Skalla said the timing of the lecture, right after Earth Day, was a coincidence.
of
lecture Kennedy will sign his book The Riverkeepers, which was co-authored by fellow environmentalist John Cronin.
4
"Environmental laws are laws to prevent harm to public environmental resources and to facilitate remediation of harm that has already occurred," he said.
said that type of law was important because people needed to protect natural resources.
Environmental laws also are designed to protect natural resources for future generations. Glicksman said.
Skalla said some of RFK, Jr.'s speaker fees were paid by two other sponsors — the KU School of Law and the environmental studies department. She would not disclose how much he would be paid.
Skalla said the idea of the lecture series was to present a topic that the student body could learn from. Past KU student lecturers have ranged from comedian Al Franken to Noble Prize winner Desmond Tutu.
60