Thursday, November 18, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 3
Holocaust survivor shares terror
Judy Jacobs tells about her ordeal to honor victims
By Erinn R. Barcomb
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
"You are now in the Bergen-
Belson concentration camp. Not
Lisbon, not freedom."
These words, spoken by a Nazi soldier, were the first sounds then 7-year-old Judy Jacobs heard in 1941 when she got off what she thought was a train to freedom.
Jacobs, a Holocaust survivor, shared her experience with about 50 people at the Burge Union last night.
Jacobs' journey to Bergen-Belson began in her native Hungary. She and her parents thought they were
Jacobs said her experience with the Nazis on the train and at the camp did not involve physical abuse, but verbal assault.
part of a select group of 1,800 Jews who had been given clearance to evacuate to Portugal through a series of bribs and false promises with the Nazis.
Jacobs and the others got their first surprise at the train station when they were not directed to the passenger train they were promised, but to a cattle train.
"We were provided no food, no water, no sanitary facilities," Jacobs said.
Several days later, the train's doors opened, revealing northern Germany instead of Portugal.
Despite living off what her father estimated to be about 350 calories a day, she and her family survived. Once the prisoners were released, they were placed on a passenger train with heating, were fed chocolate and sardines, and were taken to Switzerland.
"Each and every one had a machine gun and the foulest mouths I'd ever heard," she said. "They never touched us, but the verbal abuse was unbearable. We were vermin. We were swine. We
Jacobs and her family eventually immigrated to the United States.
Jacobs said living conditions, which included small buns inhabited by rats and insects, changed the attitudes of the people there.
didn't deserve to live. If you hear this every day for months, it doesn't do much for your self-esteem."
"People who were your best friends resulted to stealing and living," she said.
Jacobs said she gave speeches about her experience because she wanted to honor the victims and also because she wanted historical accuracy.
"Even though I possibly appear
moderately normal, a lot is missing," Jacobs said. "The psychological toll has been devastating."
Leslie Hendrix, Coffeyville junior, said she went to the speech because she was taking a Holocaust literature class. She said the absence of physical abuse in Jacobs' experience was different from the experiences she had read about in her class.
"This was different to get not only a woman's perspective, but a child's, too," she said.
KU Hillel sponsored the event in coordination with the department for multicultural leadership and the Russian and East European studies department.
Michelle Hammer, an Overland Park senior who helped organize the event, said she heard of Jacobs through the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education in Overland Park.
— Edited by Katrina Hull
Smokeout aims to extinguish smoking
Nine million smokers will put out their smokes tomorrow and will participate in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. Photo illustration by Lucas Krupm/KANSAN
By Amber Steuer
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
By Amber Stuever
The American Cancer Society is urging people to stop blowing smoke and make today the first day of their smoke-free lives.
Today is the 23rd annual American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout.
"What they encourage people to do is give up cigarettes for at least one day in hopes of instilling permanent smoking cessation in the smoking population," said Patricia Denning, Watkins Memorial Health Center physician.
The event encourages the 47 million smokers in the United States to kick the habit to try to prevent some of the 430,700 deaths each year caused by the effects of cigarettes. According to the American Cancer Society, one in five deaths is caused by smoking, the top cause of cancer deaths in both men and women.
However, Watkins staff said college smokers were bothered by the more imminent effects of cigarette smoking. Students who quit smoking will see immediate effects such as fewer colds, fewer trips to the doctor, changes in teeth discoloration, skin appearance, bad breath, wrinkles and odor.
Jeff Reed, Kansas City, Mo. junior, is one of the 28.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds who smoke. Tomorrow, however, Reed will join the nine million smokers nationwide who will participate in the smokeout.
"It gives people a reason to quit," Reed said. "A lot of people are looking for a reason to quit, and here's a big one — everyone pulling together."
"If you can stop for just one day, you can stop for the next day and the day after that," Boyer said.
Jen Boyer, El Dorado senior, quit smoking this semester. Already she feels better and her blood pressure has dropped. Boyer said the smokeout was a great start for those trying to quit.
Some smokers, however, don't see the point in quitting for a day.
"It depends on whether or not you plan on really stopping," said Danielle Stubbs, Shawne freshman. "I think if you want to quit, you'll quit. It's a personal choice."
Julie Francis, Watkins health educator, said smokers must decide for themselves when the best time is to extinguish the habit.
"They may not be ready to quit right now," Francis said. "It's just a great time to bring the issue to the forefront."
The smokeout aims to increase established smokers' awareness of strategies and reasons to quit. Since 80 percent of those smokers started before they were 18, the American Cancer Society also aims to communicate to children the disadvantages of smoking.
Many sources are available for students wanting to kick the habit. Watkins offers help at the Health Promotions office at 864-9570. The Watkins pharmacy offers nicotine patches, gum and other aids at a discount. The American Cancer Society is also a source of aid at 1-800-ACS-2345.
Edited by Allan Davis
CIGARETTE SMOKING FACTS
Smoking causes 19.5 percent, or one in five deaths in the United States each year.
- Smoking causes emphysema, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, heart disease and strokes.
In 1997, 28.7 percent of college students smoked, up from 22.3 percent in 1993.
Cigarettes are the most heavily advertised products in the United States.
A "hit" of nicotine reaches the brain in seven seconds, twice as fast as heroin injected into a vein.
Smoking costs Americans $97.2 billion or about $276 per person in health care costs and lost productivity each year.
- **Former smokers make up 48 percent of persons who have ever smoked at least 100 cigarettes.**
Source: American Lung Association and the Center for Disease Control
Senate losing steam as legislative cycle fall semester conclude
By Chris Borniger
By Chris Borniger
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
As the fall semester winds down, the relevance of Student Senate bills is suffering, some senators say.
The last legislative cycle of the semester ended last Friday, which means Senate will not consider any new legislation until next semester. This semester's last Senate meeting is Wednesday.
Committees passed two bills to fund student organizations, three bills to amend rules and regulations and one resolution last night. And that, according to Drew Thompson, Nunemaker senator, shows Senate isn't doing enough.
"It seems to me like there's a lack of substantive legislation," he said. "But that's as much my fault as anyone's. It's the responsibility of all senators."
Senate meetings are renowned for lasting several hours; one of the campaign goals of Student Body President Korb Maxwell and Vice President Dede Seibel was to curb their length. Last week's meeting ran for little more than an hour.
Senibel said the lag in legislation probably was because the semester's end was nearing. Nonetheless, she said Senate had worked on some outstanding things
- a course retake policy and a service learning policy, for example. Major cam
plant issues such as integrated citywide transportation and a campus safety master plan should come to fruition next semester, she said.
Since the semester began, eight senators have either resigned their seats or lost them because of excessive absences. Student Executive committee chair Marlon Marshall has said that number was slightly more than it was at the same time last year.
Seibel said some senators dropped out because Senate wasn't for them.
"Ultimately, personal preferences take root," she said. "And for graduate and professional students, it's hard to allocate time and resources when they're in such rigorous programs."
Adam Godderz resigned his seat last Wednesday. Formerly a graduate senator, he is a second-year law student and a graduate student in the School of Business. He said he didn't have enough time to devote to Senate, and that it ranked third on his list of priorities, after work and school.
Still, he said Senate had done a good job of reaching out to students and was productive on several
STUDENT SENATE COMMITTEES:
In other business, committees approved:
Three bills to amend Senate rules and regulations
A bill to allocate $3,925 to KU Filmmarks
A bill to allocate $166.55 to the Course Content subcommittee
A resolution honoring Betty Durbin Greenwood, who recently passed away, Greenwood directed the cultural exchange program between the University of Kansas and the town of Burns.
issues
Aravind Muthukrishnan, Finance committee chairman and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, said students were equally responsible for effecting change in Senate.
"It all depends on what the pressing issues are," he said. "If there's nothing students raise hell about, there's only so much Student Senate can do."
After debating for an hour and suspending rules and regulations,
the Finance committee approved a bill to allocate more than $1,200 to the OAKS, the non-traditional student organization, to purchase a new computer to publish its newsletter. Debate contri-
Debate centered around whether Senate should
pay for one group's computer when several computers in the Office of Organizations and Leadership were outdated.
Erin Simpson, college senator,
said it would be improper to deny
OAKS the money because Senate
used money to buy a new computer
for its office.
"It's absurd to buy ourselves a computer with the same set of funds and deny it to them," she said.
The committee failed an amendment to allocate $5,000 from Senate's reserve account — which contains more than $300,000 — for four computers for the O&L office.
Aaron Quisenberry, O&L director, said the amendment would have been the right thing to pass.
"I'm in favor of giving a lot of groups access to a group of computers," he said. "But money is the bottom line."
Michael Henry, non-traditional senator, said OAKS needed the computer because the newsletter served as the voice of an often-overlooked group of students.
"There's no other way for them to express their views," he said.
Edited by Kelly Clasen