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Volume 126 Issue 66
kansan.com
Monday, January 27, 2014
SECURITY
Kansas universities take steps to make campuses more secure
SECURITY RECAP
Governance Committee has completed three month security review of six state universities in Kansas.
Building-by-building assessment is being made in anticipation of future concealed carry laws.
Universities are more susceptible to violence because of numerous factors.
EMERGENCY BLUE PHONES
There are 78 emergency phones located across campus
Universities in Kansas are taking measures to make students feel safer on campuses. In the wake of recent school shootings, the Kansas State Legislature discussed how concealed carry laws will affect campus security.
The phones were installed in the 1970s, before cell phones existed. At this time, very few night classes were offered so a majority of the buildings were locked after dark. The phones were installed to provide students and faculty with a way to connect to the police in emergency situations.
Campus police receive about 50 calls a year. Most of the calls are just people asking for information, not actual emergencies.
TOM DEHART
news@kansan.com
KU Office of Public Safety
With recent reports of violence taking place on school properties and university campuses across the nation, including Purdue and South Carolina State University last week, parents and students may be worried about on-campus safety and wondering what steps are being made to make campuses in Kansas more secure.
BRENT BURFORD/KANSAN
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, Fred Logan, the Kansas Board of Regents chairman, announced in a press release that the Governance Committee had completed a three-month review of campus security in six campuses across the state. These universities included the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University. Logan stated that he was pleased with the procedures that are taking place at universities across the state and that these safety review presentations will now be held on an annual basis in the future.
The Board of Regents was most impressed with the emphasis placed on "strong security teams, the significant testing, monitoring and training of these teams to handle tough situations, and the significant cooperative relationships all universities have with local law enforcement agencies"
"I think that, without having the ability to compare our state universities in Kansas with other campuses in the nation, the Board of Regents feels that
our campuses are deeply committed to making our campuses safe and secure, and they don't have concern that there is work to be done, or a lack of preparation that needs to be called upon to make students more safe," said Breeze Richardson, the Kansas Board of Regents' associate director of communications and government relations.
One of the main factors that has called for changes in public safety on Kansas universities is
the Kansas Personal and Family Protection Act, which was passed in July 2013. With this act in place, any person with a concealed carry permit can carry a handgun into any state or municipal building unless that building is equipped with adequate security measures to prevent weapons from entering and to ensure that the building is secure. Despite the act being set in place, schools and other buildings have been able to request up to four years
to set these stronger security measures in place.
Richardson said that the next step for the Board of Regents is assessing over 800 buildings at these six universities to determine which buildings should acquire security measures on campus.
"Right now, a building-bybuilding assessment is being made [on these campuses]. There are definitely some facilities in which the presence of guns would be incredibly
dangerous, including places like chemical labs," Richardson said. "Also, buildings with the presence of children, for example, a child care facility, are raising additional concerns as to what the presence of handguns might mean in those facilities."
Though some people think that providing security measures in buildings will be enough to keep students safe, others feel that there shouldn't be concealed carry weapons
allowed on campus altogether. The University's Vice Chancellor of Public Safety, Richard Johnson, is one of those people, and he testified against concealed carry laws on university campuses in Kansas in January 2012.
"Concealed carry on university campuses in Kansas will not increase security and public safety, but will likely
SEE SAFETY PAGE 3
CAMPUS
University student overcomes obesity, loses 500 pounds
EMILY DONOVAN
news@kansan.com
An alarm went off at McCollum Residence Hall one night last winter. Someone was sneaking in a back door.
Brandon Johannes, a desk assistant, bolted up from the security table. He took off running, but he stumbled and fell on the carpet, skimming his elbow.
Three years ago, Johannes, a junior from Leavenworth, was what doctors call "super-obese," weighing nearly 500 pounds. He had liver damage, gout, asthma and Type 2 Diabetes He had high cholesterol and blood pressure. He didn't exercise more than walking from his car up one flight of stairs to his apartment. Every meal he
ate had 3,000 to 5,000 calories.
BRENT BURFORD/KANSAN
"It was my first physically-related injury from being able to get up and move," Johannes said.
He was thrilled.
Now, at 34 years old, after weight loss surgery and a lifestyle change, 6-foot-1 Johannes weighs 250 pounds. He now walks the 0.4 miles from Blake Hall to Summerfield Hall between classes like it's nothing.
By high school he weighed over 300 pounds. His weight made him self-conscious in public places. He was afraid people would bump into him and think, "Oh God, the fat guy
Brandon Johannes, a junior from Leavenworth, struggled with obesity for much of his life. After a weight loss surgery, Johannes manages a healthier lifestyle and experiences life in a new way.
"It's not just made my life better," Johannes said. "It's made my life."
Johannes was always an overweight kid. When he topped 100 pounds in the fourth grade, his mom tried to take measures like limiting how much bread he was allowed to eat in a day. In eighth grade, he hit 200 pounds. His mom always hounded him: "Haven't you had enough?"
just touched me."
"We're treated in a way that we're expected to feel ashamed about it," Johannes said. "And, trust me, we do."
'HAVEN'T YOU HAD ENOUGH?'
On Johanness's drive home from his full-time job, hed always stop at McDonald's and eat a double cheeseburger in the parking lot and two more on the way to his apartment. When he got there hed have a double quarter pounder meal, a Big Mac meal or sometimes both if he was really hungry.
After high school graduation, Johannes attended community college, but dropped out.
"I felt like not only things wouldn't get better, but they couldn't get better," Johannes said. "I felt like I had pretty much reached the end of anything better."
He never cooked — standing for so long was a struggle — and the weight started piling on further.
He was 31 years old and wait
ing to die
WANTING TO COLLAPSE AND DIE
In December 2010, Johannes and his two younger brothers went on a vacation to San Francisco. When he visited ten years earlier, he thought the city had been beautiful. This time, 200 pounds heavier, he wanted to collapse and die.
Johannes spent the entire trip trying to catch his breath.
On tours at Alcatraz Island and Lucasfilm's headquarters, Johannes had to rest while everyone else enjoyed themselves.
When his brothers visited the
That night, the room was quiet and serious. One brother sat on the opposite hotel bed, facing Johannes. "You've got to do something," he said.
Muir Woods National Park, Johannes went to the free buffet breakfast and sat in the hotel room instead.
'THE RIGHT TOOLS"
Johannes knew what he meant. "All right," he said.
Super-obese patients like Johannes have never known what it feels like to be full. They eat until they can't eat any more and are never satisfied.
A restrictive band on Johannes' stomach changed that. A laparoscopic adjustable gastric band slows food digestion. Post-surgery, patients feel satisfied and feel satisfied for longer.
"People who abuse drugs or suffer from any addiction think they have control," Johannes said. "But they do not. I did not."
CLASSIFIEDS 7 CRYPTOQUIPS 5 SPORTS 8
CROSSWORD 5 OPINION 4 SUDOKU 5
"It's always possible to lose weight if you have the right tools," said Dr. Niazy Selim who performed Johanness's surgery
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
SEE HEALTH PAGE 3
It's the last day for 90 percent tuition refund.
Today's Weather
Mainly Sunny. Cold. Wind chills close to -10 F.
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