Thursday, May 6, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 3
Students happy with Watkins
Survey indicates students satisfied with health service
By T.J. Johnson
johnson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
During March, Watkins Memorial Health Center had students fill out questionnaires about every aspect of their visits, from the availability of parking at the health center to the sensitivity with which the health center staff treated them.
The results of that survey were compiled and analyzed by the Student Health Advisory Board, and according the former chair of SHAB, Jordan McKee, the results were very positive.
"This has been the first real comprehensive survey that has been done in the past few years," McKee said. "We had about 330 responses, and for the most part everyone was fairly satisfied."
Jim Boyle, interim director at Watkins, said that he was pleased with the high levels of student satisfaction seen in the survey responses.
"One of our goals is to provide a good service to students, so it is gratifying
to see that we are on the right track." Bovle said.
The questions on the survey were developed by SHAB and other students. They asked students basic questions about the services offered at Watkins, as well as much more specific questions about particular departments and issues at the health center.
Boyle and McKee said the Watkins' staff and administration had no involvement with the survey or its questions.
McKee said that although most students responded positively, some respondents had particular issues that they felt could be improved.
Among the issues students felt needed to be addressed were parking at the health center, the possibility of having campus bus stops at Watkins, and providing more information to students about the services offered there. McKee said.
"There were a lot of suggestions for more information at orientation and more information in the residence halls," McKee said. "There were some things that, out of the 330 respondents, a majority of the people didn't know about a specific service."
kins. He said that there were some possible solutions to the problem being considered.
Boyle said that parking was always a problem that came up when discussing student concerns with Wat-
McKee said he thought that administrators of Watkins would take into account the issues raised in the survey when they began working with next year's SHAB in the fall.
"Usually, Watkins administration is real come to suggestions." McKee said.
He said that one particular issue addressed in the survey questions was whether students were treated differently while at Watkins based on ethnicity or any other personal factor.
"We looked at the demographics to see if there were any differences as far as sexual orientation, race or ethnicity or any other category," McKee said. "We got a real nice cross section."
He said that the survey answers indicated that Watkins had done a good job of treating all patients equally.
Boyle also said that one of the problems sometimes brought up in student surveys of Watkins was the time students had to wait to be treated. He said that the survey results indicated that students who knew about and utilized the health center's appointment times were much more pleased with the amount of time they had to wait.
— Edited by Jason Pearce
City Commission aims for public transportation
By Heather Woodward
hwoodward@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
No. 1 priority — set up a fixed-route citywide bus system.
"One of our action statements was to coordinate a citywide bus system with KU on Wheels," said Commissioner Mike Rundle. "All of us are aware that we need to work with the state legislature to remove the restrictions from the funding possibilities."
The Lawrence City Commission met for two hours yesterday to exchange ideas and establish a unified goal statement. All five commissioners said creating public transportation was one of their objectives for their terms in office.
Student fees pay for KU on Wheels, but a Kansas legal statute does not allow the use of student fees for programs that serve non-students. Commissioners decided to dedicate the first available study session to public transportation and begin discussing a budget in June.
Each commissioner could name three goals as high priority, three as medium priority and three as low priority. Then based on each goal's point total, a priority list was created.
Maintaining a viable downtown, reviewing
zoning regulations, enhancing the livability of neighborhoods and improving the traffic flow were also high-priority goals.
Including the Lawrence Arts Center in the Downtown 2000 project, 900 New Hampshire St., was one of the actions the commission plans to take as part of maintaining a strong downtown district.
Structured maintenance of the brick roads and stone curbs on some Lawrence streets was one of the commission's steps in improving the quality of life in local neighborhoods.
Commissioner David Dunfield said the commission supported preserving the city's history and might create a downtown conservation district.
taking a closer look at commuter bike paths is a goal that Dunfield said he brought up at the meeting.
"The city has done a good job addressing the recreation aspect of biking," Dunfield said. "But we have not bided a good job of looking at commuter bike paths, like for people who ride their bikes to work."
Dunfield was also interested in looking at alternative ways to handle waste water. The commission talked about the possibility of decentralizing the current waste water treatment plant, Black & Veach, and building several smaller plants around town.
Rundle said there was more crossover between commissioners' goals than he had expected.
'April in Akron' examines dark side of male bonding
— Edited by Kelli Raybern
William J. Carpenter, Edison, N.J., graduate student, and Ryan Larkin, sophomore law, rehearse a flight scene for "April in Aknor" by Dan Kulmala. The play is produced by the English Alternative Theater, and opens tonight at the Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 New Hampshire St. Photo by Erin McElhainney/KANSAN
By Ezra Sykes
By Ezra Sykes
eykes@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A bird cage full of stripped Barbies. An empty fish tank full of liquor bottles. A naked mannequin torso adorned with a pink lei.
Where are you at?
In a living room that witnesses two days of booze, sex talk, disco music, insults and deep secrets. The living room where five males learn the truth.
KU graduate student Dan Kulmala takes male bonding to a new level in his play "April in Akron," which will open at 8 tonight at the Lawrence Community Theatre. 1501 New Hampshire St.
The English Alternative Theater is presenting the play and is directed by Paul Lim. associate professor of English.
The play begins with four roommates
and a friend preparing for a wild party in their disheveled apartment. While gathering booze and blowing up balloons, the characters recount sexual experiences in attempt to prepare the youngest roommate for his night's quest — to have sex
The second act takes place the morning after. Among scattered beer cans, a half-eaten box of Kentucky Fried Chicken and a stack of porn magazines, the characters try to recreate the night before.
On the outside, the play has a boys-will-be-boys lightness to it. But as the story unfolds, the darker side of male bonding and manhood emerge.
Dan Kulmala described reactions to a
Looming over the whole play like a ghost is the mysterious fifth roommate, Luke, a recluse living in the attic who is never seen but perhaps plays the biggest role in the play.
staged reading of the play.
"Women were disturbed and shocked—and that's the appropriate response," he said. "The males watching could identify with the male characters but at the same time they felt a lot of shame."
Obscenities and crudeness run rampant throughout the play but Byron Myrick, who plays, J.D., a manipulative roommate, said that was one of the things that made the script strong.
Myrick said homophobia and women bashing as a few of the controversial themes. However, he thought the content could appeal to a wide range of people.
"Nowadays, people who come to see theater should know the pieces are not 'Alice in Wonderland,' " Myrick said. "They are one disaster or human tragedy after the next. People should try to absorb it and take it for what it is—an art piece."
Kulmala, who wrote the play during the course of about a year and a half, said that it was written because of his dissatisfaction with plays that revolved around women and minorities.
"Sometimes these plays weren't addressing the people they needed to — which was the aggressor," he said.
Kulmala has been hanging around the rehearsals since early April and has seen the transformation of his play from paper to the stage.
"Some things I envisioned differently but so far this has been a pleasurable surprise," he said.
"April in Akron" will be presented at 8 tonight, tomorrow and Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Lawrence Community Theatre. Tickets are $5 and can be reserved by calling 864-3642.
Choose The Right Path!
—Edited by Melody Ard
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