Wednesday, November 10, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
False alarms keep police fired up
A fire truck responds to a false alarm at the Dole Human Development Center. There have been several incidents of false fire alarms on campus the past few weeks, such as the alarm at Dole Nov. 3. Police officers have issued a crime alert to help curb further incidents. Photo by Carrie Julian/KANSAN
Officers issue alert to curb problem
By Michael Terry
writer.kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
During the last three weeks, a series of false fire alarms have occurred throughout the University of Kansas, putting the campus on alert.
"Between 11:15 p.m. Oct. 22 and 2:35 a.m. Oct. 30, four pulls stations were activated causing the evacuation of McColum Hall and the dispatch of Lawrence and Douglas County Fire and Medical units." Bailey said.
Lt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said last week that his office issued a crime alert to aid the investigation into the false alarms and uncover possible suspects.
Sgt. Troy Maileen of the KU Public Safety Office said it was standard procedure when a fire alarm was activated to dispatch the fire and medical units to the scene.
Malott Hall had a false alarm Monday evening, and there was another at Dole Human Development Center Nov. 3 at 1:20 p.m.
mann said an unknown individual activated the alarm located on the second floor of Dole for no apparent reason, causing the evacuation of the building for more than 30 minutes. It took 20 minutes for the emergency units to arrive on the scene.
still go and notify our office or the fire department before there will be a response."
"Note is one a handful of buildings on campus that is not directly connected to our department," Mailen said. "So when a fire alarm is activated, a person must
He said that once his office received the call it responded within a couple of minutes and that fire and medical units did a few minutes later.
Lawrence Fire Marshall Richard Barr said responding to false fire alarms came at the expense of community safety.
same time," Barr said. "The closest unit was unable to respond because of the false alarm."
Barr said every time firefighters responded to a call — even with all of their technology — accidents could and did happen at intersections.
"There have been times when we've had a unit responding to a false alarm at one of the residence hall, and one that is serious in nature has occurred at the
"We're not only endangering the safety of the public by responding to false alarms, but the firefighters as well," he said.
"When a high number of false alarms occur in a particular building the people began to disregard and not respond properly. They think 'Oh well it is just another
er false alarm,' and that misperception is when serious accidents can occur."
Mailen said that false alarms were also a problem last year and that the office responded in the same way by issuing a crime alert that helped to curb the problem.
Mailen said all of the cases were still under investigation. There were no suspects at the time.
Anyone with information on possible suspects should call either the KU Public Safety Office at 864-5900 or KU Crime Stoppers at 864-8888, he said.
Edited by Brad Hallier
Some KU students hooked on caffeine highs
By Amber Stuever
By Amber Schoeller
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writers
It's one of college students' favorite drugs.
It's so common, most students do it at least two to three times a day. It can be bought anywhere and campus vendors even have been known to give it out for free. Students may be taking it without even knowing. The drug is caffeine, found in many foods, drinks and non-prescription drugs. Its "high" brings about increased alertness and improvements in motor performance and muscular endurance.
"I if have a big test the next day and I need to stay up studying, I'll make a big cup of coffee and stay up for it," said Luke Bauer, Hutchinson sophomore. "If you drink enough of it, you can get a caffeine buzz and stay awake."
More than 80 percent of Americans consume about 235 milligrams of caffeine each day, the equivalent of 2 to 3 cups of coffee. A 50 to 200 milligram dose results in increased alertness, body temperature and blood pressure, and decrease in appetite. Higher doses can cause nervousness, irritability, diarrhea, difficulty concentrating and insomnia.
Jay Holley, Topeka senior, said he drank about four
CAFFEINE DOSES (MEASURED IN MILLIGRAMS)
Brewed or dripped cup of coffee — 115-175
Instant coffee — 65-100
Tea — 30-70
Cola — 37-54
Dark chocolate (1 oz.) — 20
Nodoz — 100
Vivarin — 200
Cold relief tablet — 30
Source: Watkins Health Promotion and Education Department
cans of Mountain Dew a day and occasionally coffee.
"I usually don't notice anything on soda unless I'm trying to go to sleep, but I can't," Holley said. "I purposely don't drink caffeine anymore before going to bed."
Defining how much caffeine is too much depends on the person, said Ann Chapman, Watkins Memorial Health Center dietitian. Some people can consume a high dose of caffeine and see few symptoms.
"It's a drug, so you develop tolerance to the drug and need larger amounts of it to see an effect," Chapman said.
Although a high caffeine intake may be linked with
diseases such as heart disease, there is no clinical evidence of significant long-term health risks of caffeine consumption.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, caffeine overdose can be very unpleasant. Death is possible if an extreme amount of caffeine, the equivalent of 80 cups of coffee, is consumed.
Caffeine is found in significant doses in coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate. A cup of brewed coffee generally contains 80 to 135 milligrams of caffeine. A 12 oz. can of Mountain Dew has 54 milligrams.
However, Chapman said caffeine could be hidden in other sources. Ben & Jerry's coffee fudge ice cream, for example, contains 80 milligrams of caffeine. A cup of chocolate frozen yogurt contains 40 milligrams.
Many non-prescription drugs are also high in caffeine. Excedrin contains 65 milligrams and Midol contains 33. Vivarin and Dexatrim both have 200 milligrams.
Although a "caffeine addiction" is easy to stop, unlike addiction to other drugs, withdrawal may cause side effects. Caffeine withdrawal may cause headaches or stomach sicknesses.
"The advice of experts is always to wean yourself," Chapman said, recommending people cut their intake in half for a week at a time.
Edited by Julia Nicholson
Media committee may be abolished
By Chris Borniger
writer @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A disputed Student Senate subcommittee could face a legislative guillotine if Senate passes a bill abolishing the Alternative Media subcommittee tonight.
The committee helps registered student organizations receive money from Senate for their publications.
Drew Thompson, Nunemaker senator and legislation sponsor, said the subcommittee originally was created to get money for publications that typically would not be eligible for Senate
would not be eligible for Senate funds.
"If they want to get funded, they should go through the usual processes rather than using some backdoor tactic," Saul said.
That process, he said, would be to go through the line-item allocation process for each fiscal year. Kiosk, a literary magazine at the University of Kansas, goes through several periods.
University of Kansas, goes through this process each year. Thompson said.
year. Holly Krebs, off-campus senator, said she disagreed with restrictions on what media were eligible for Senate money. Moreover, because Senate contributes money to the Kansan, she said, removing the committee would make Senate appear selective in what it approves for money.
approve to money. "In effect, it's like censoring other forms of media," she said. "We should make all forms of media that are student-run eligible for money."
Erin Simpson, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, said the subcommittee gave publications a chance to get off the ground.
"It's a great way for groups without a defined readership to get starter money," she said. "That way, they can get the word out, build a readership and sell advertising."
The subcommittee's origins go back to 1995. It was created after two student publications, *Pinch* and *Who'sinations*, were denied funding. *Pinch*, a satirical magazine, had received funds for six consecutive fiscal years, with allocations ranging from $822 in 1989 to $3,650 in 1994.
STUDENT SENATE
a bill failed in 1995 to allow alternative
In other business, Senate will consider bills to:
consider bits to:
• Amend the University's racial and ethnic harassment policy.
• Require student senators to be enrolled in at least one credit hour on either the University's Lawrence or Edwards campuses.
• Restructure the process through which six student organizations receive money.
• Allocate $2,828 to four student organizations.
media such as Pinch to access money raised from the Student Media fee. Amy Hizer, a former student senator, sponsored the bill to create the Alternative Media subcommittee, giving other publications another route to get the funding they could not raise through advertising and audience support.
But that, Thompson said, was exactly the problem. He said Senate shouldn't spend thousands of dollars on publications such as Pinch if they had a narrow audience and couldn't sell sufficient advertising to support themselves.
Thompson also said the subcommittee had been too inactive. The only publication it helped fund this year was Kaw Valley Independent, which received $4,754.
"The basic premise of alternative media is bogus," Thompson said. "If they're truly student-worthy, they should be able to support themselves."
The meeting will begin at 7 tonight at the cafeteria in Naismith Hall.
— Edited by Brad Hallier
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