Tuesday, February 1, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 3
Fate of Education Board in question
By Katrina Hull
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
TOPEKA — Heads are yet to roll following the State Board of Education's August decision to de-emphasize the teaching of evolution.
The board's fate lies with Kansas legislators who will begin discussing possible changes to the board's structure
— including abolishment — today in the House Education Committee.
But legislators say that although the evolution issue may arise, it won't factor much into the coming deliberations.
"I hope that discussion will be minimal, because my interest
in the issue doesn't come from evolution," said Rep. Ralph Tanner, R-Baldwin and education committee chairman.
Only a state constitutional amendment can change or abolish the board, which would require a two-thirds vote of the House and the Senate plus approval by the majority of Kansas voters.
Three 1999 proposals to restructure the board do not call for abolishment. But Tanner said a fourth proposal abolishing the board would be introduced this week by himself, House speaker Robin Jennison, R-Healy, and Rep. Henry Helgerson, D-Wichita and education committee rank
ing minority.
The Legislature has approved constitutional amendments twice before that abolished the board, but Kansas voters never have endorsed the idea and Democrats say that's not likely to change.
"In an election year, people don't give up their right to vote and aren't apt to favor a proposal that does," said Rep. Sue Storm, D-Overland Park.
An amendment that abolishes the board undermines local control, said Rep. Troy Findley, D-Lawrence. Findley proposes adding an 11th member and electing board members from single-member districts, instead of the combined four
senatorial districts currently used.
Rep. David Adkins, R-Leawood, also proposes adding an 11th member, but that member would be appointed by the governor and sit in the governor's cabinet.
Another proposal by Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, leaves the board at 10 members but includes a governor-appointed education commissioner to serve as the executive director of the board.
Sloan said that under his proposal, the board would become advisory instead of self-inclusive, a term that means the board currently is mainly accountable to itself.
Tanner said he didn't mind keeping the board in place, but he favored a proposal such as Sloan's that made the board advisory.
Changing the board's function would correct a mistake made by the 1972 Kansas Supreme Court, he said. That decision gave the board general supervision, which translates into a more than an advisory role.
Tanner said that decision went against the original intentions of legislators who controlled the purse strings and wanted a board that only advised.
"The legislative intent is to have the people who pay the bills make the decision," he said.
Healthy snacks available to students
Derise Young, Wichita sophomore, hands out drinks Monday afternoon at E's Express in Hashinger Hall. Many students rely on E's Express for convenient take-out food. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
Busier people prefer quick, sugary foods
By Jessie Meyer writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
With only 10 minutes between classes, grabbing a healthy meal is next to impossible, and finding a healthy, flavorful snack on campus can be just as tricky. However, it can be done.
Because of the time crunch, many students give in to the grab-and-go convenience of candy bars and potato chips. Others ignore their growling stomachs and skip the snack altogether.
"You definitely want to snack between meals," said Ann Chapman, registered dietitian at Watkins Memorial Health Center. "But the worst choice is going to be regular soda pop and candy bars."
Chapman said that eating unhealthy snacks could lead to weight gain and high cholesterol levels and that drinking a lot of caffeinated beverages could lead to dehydration.
were available at Wescoe Terrace, but that students tended to grab things high in calories and fat anyway.
Although the specific number of calories needed each day varies greatly from person to person, she said that the average college student needed between 2,200 and 2,300 calories each day. Chapman said a can of pop and a candy bar would be about 700 calories, or one third of the recommended daily allowance.
"They start out healthy in the morning," Harvey said. "In the afternoon, they want something that will wake them up, so they reach for caffeine and sugar."
Matt Curtis, Tulsa, Okla., freshman, said he chose a bag of Doritos as an afternoon snack on his way to class because he needed something to keep him going through class and work.
Don Harvey, assistant manager of Wesco Terrace, said a wide variety of snack foods
"I eat unhealthy because I am in a hurry." Curtis said.
Although it may seem easier to grab a candy bar, making a healthy choice is no more time consuming. Chapman suggested several nutritional foods that could be substituted to reduce the empty calories that sugar-filled foods contain.
"Yogurt is an excellent choice," Chapman said. "Fresh fruit is always good."
"They start out healthy in the morning. In the afternoon, they want something that will wake them up, so they reach for caffeine and sugar."
Chapman also suggested bagels, pretzels, pudding, fruit juices and hot cocoa as substitutes for doughnuts, potato chips, candy, soda pops and coffee.
Despite similar prices, Harvey said that high-calorie and fattening snacks generally were sold more than the healthier substitutes.
Becky Leipziger, St. Louis freshman, said she tried to eat fairly healthy.
"I usually just get a sandwich and bag of chips." Leipziger said. "There is more junk food offered."
Chapman said the best way to change eating habits was to gradually withdraw certain foods. She said to slowly remove fattening foods, but
Wescoe Terrace assistant manager
still leave some weekly treats in for rewards.
There are several places on campus to grab a quick snack. The Kansas and Burge unions and Wescoe Terrace offer both meals and snacks. For students with student housing contracts who don't have time to eat in one of the three cafeterias, E's Express in Hashinger Hall provides convenient take-out food.
"They have options to chose from that are lighter and not as caloric," said Nona Golledge, assistant director of student housing. "It's great for their on-the-go lifestyles."
Golledge said the items purchased were not paid for individually. Instead, a meal is deducted from the students' meal plans when they purchase a limited number of items.
Cafeteria menu breakdown
item cost fat (g) cal
Snickers $.56 14 280
potato chips $.81 15 230
soda $.60 0 220
cupcakes $.80 12 360
mini doughnuts $.80 18 360
water $1.15 0 0
pretzels $.81 2 220
granola bar $.61 6 180
fruit juice $1.15 0 220
grain bar $.61 3 140
crackers $.61 4 260
yogurt $.79 0 90
bagel $.98 1.5 210
fresh fruit $.65 0 varies
Maggie Curry/KANSAN
Class helps students adjust to college life
oy Ryan Devlin
writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Every semester, the Office of New Student Orientation and the department of psychology and research in education offer incoming freshmen a map for the college maze called Pre 101.
The 16-week course is designed to help incoming freshmen make the transition from high school to college, said Mary Ryan, director of new student orientation.
The course is taught through the School of Education. Students receive two credit hours for the class.
A recent study of the course indicates that it's doing its job.
The course, which has been offered at the University since 1990, touched on everything from critical thinking and studying skills to navigating the campus and diversity training. Ryan said.
She said that an eight-year study of the course determined that students who took the course had an advantage ahead of their peers.
"Our research indicated that students who took the course had higher retention rates, higher graduation rates and sometimes higher GPAs." Rvan said.
Ryan said the content of the course varied depending on the instructor, but that students usually were required to keep a journal of their experiences that they turned in to their instructors.
"The journal writing encourages students to reflect," Ryan said. "It's often more comfortable if a student has a problem to write it in a journal as opposed to raising their hand."
Ryan said journal writing often helped students identify problems they might be having and it helped instructors work with students to find solutions.
In addition to journal writing, students also divide into groups and are instructed to explore different resources on campus. The students then give presentations on what they discovered.
Brandon Winter, Leawood sophomore, took Pre 101 his freshmen year. Winter said he had benefited the most
from exploring different resources.
"You learn a lot about the different organizations that are out there and where to go for specific things." Winter said.
The course is divided into a lecture section and eight discussion sections led by student volunteers.
Kori Green, Great Bend senior and Pre 101 discussion leader, said the discussions offered students a chance to express their thoughts and feelings about an array of different subjects.
"I think it's important for them to realize that there are other students who have been through it and survived." Green said.
Green said the discussion topics dealt with issues such as academic integrity, relationships, leadership and values.
We had an interesting discussion in my class last semester about values," Green said. "We were talking about religion, and the students really got involved. It was interesting to watch their world views expand and realize that they are a lot of different religions out there that all share the same values."
Ryan said that a majority of the instructors who taught Pre 101 did so on a volunteer basis.
"Last semester, 14 of the 18 instructors were volunteers from different departments," Ryan said.
She said that about 10 percent of the freshman class opted to take Pre 101 each semester. The Office of New Student Orientation is considering expanding the class to include special sections for transfer students and non-traditional students, she said.
Winter said that although the course wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, he still enjoyed it.
Rvan agreed.
"I would definitely recommend it," Winter said. "It made things a lot easier and helped me get more involved."
"A lot of students tell me they wish they would have taken the course when they first came to the University," Ryan said. "For me, as director of new student orientation, teaching my section is a great way to see how 20 of the 5,000 or so students who come through this office are getting along."
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