Volume 124 Issue 99
kansan.com
Friday, February 17, 2012
--and, former as- etics director of
s is sentenced
ths in prison
ide more than
the scandal
n prosecutors.
Considering Cohabitation
The number of partners living together has increased, but before signing that lease, there are factors you need to consider. //RACHEL SCHWARTZ
From 2000 to 2011, the number of unmarried people living with their partners increased from roughly 3 million to 6.7 million, a 123 percent increase, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It could be because of the economy. It could be because some people of the current generation place less emphasis on religious morals. It could be because people don't want to get divorced, so they are just living together instead to avoid the messiness associated with it. At least, that is what some think.
"The taboos against living together, primarily religious, have become less powerful. Also, the divorce rate is so high that people want to take their relationships for a test run. Living together is much bigger than just dating, but not as big as marriage," says Johanna Lyman, JOY professor in Wai Koloa, Hawaii.
As a JOY—Just Own Yourself—professor, Lyman teaches people how to create relationships and experiences they want, so they can lead a full life.
Melanie McQuade, Lenexa senior, and Jim Stanton, Overland Park, started dating in October 2010. They have technically been living together since July, but since November 2010, when they each had their own places, they have been staying at the same place. They now live in a house with two other people, which Stanton works out best in terms of finances. Money was not an issue for McQuade, but she did have some things to consider before moving in with Stanton. "If we did split up, what would we do? We could still live in the same house; just not have the same room. Or I could move in with my parents and commute. I had backup plans." McQuade says.
Stanton says that he enjoys living with McQuade and that it is a lot more intimate when people do live together. "I think if you can still just really like a person when they're in their pajamas and just woke up, then that's really something." Stanton says. After McQuade graduates this May, she and Stanton plan on getting a place together in Kansas City, Mo. "My mom always told me you should live with someone before you marry him or her so you can see if you are compatible to spend the rest of your lives together," McQuade says.
But people don't always see cohabitation as a step before marriage, Lyman says. "People, especially women, tend to assume that it's a stepping stone to marriage, so I would be careful with assumptions before you move in with someone," Lyman says. Stanton and McQuade think cohabitation has increased because of both costs and convenience. "People are now more accepting of that kind of living situation. If someone has to move away, the other person doesn't have to follow, and it doesn't result in divorce," McQuade says.
Rose Reynolds, Overland Park senior, and Nathan Hutchcraft, Lenexa senior, have been dating for two and a half years, but do not live together. While some people move in together for financial reasons, these two don't live together for that same reason. Reynolds says the rent would be higher if she just lived with Hutchcraft, so she lives with three other roommates, which is more cost effective. However, Reynolds does stay at Hutchcraft's place so often that some people think she does live there. "One reason I stay at his place is because we share groceries. I'll get off work and we'll eat dinner. And I'm like, 'I could go back to my apartment, or, he has a nice big bed, I could just stay here,'" Reynolds says.
After graduation, Reynolds will work more to make more money, so the two will be able to afford to live together. Reynolds believes that moving in together is the step before marriage. "I've even heard from this Catholic woman, before she divorced, that I should live with my boyfriend before I got married," Reynolds says. Hutchcraft thinks that our generation isn't bound by "unnecessary morals" like the generations before us were, which is why more people cohabit.
However, Meredith Hiller, St. Louis sophomore, believes that the deterioration of these morals shows a disregard for the sanctity of marriage. "It's just become something of convenience. But, if you live together before marriage, it just encourages temptation to have sex. If you live together, what do you have to look forward to when you get married?" Hiller says.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CLAIRE HOWARD
Things to consider before getting married, according to Johanna Iyman JOY professor.
1. Financial arrangement and expectations.
Lyman says money is one of the main factors that break up relationships. You need to see what each other's money mindsets are beforehand.
2. General expectations.
These are general housekeeping things, such as who will cook and clean, and how neat the other person is.
3. How you will spend your time.
When people move in together, they sometimes lose contact with friends, women moreso than men, Lyman says. What times will you carve out to spend time with friends or family? Agree to these times in advance.
S
2. 2011
Nadia Imafidon
Lawrence has
iment.
community
said. "I am
and our offi-
t and we had
decision and
so as we
NEAL/KANSAM
s, a senior from ment at the
UA
est
A limited budget, a month of rehearsal and a cast and crew comprised completely of students could be a director's worst nightmare. For Jacci Lufkin, it was a dream come true.
"You get a minimal budget, a minimal set so that it's only about your acting and that your directing," Lufkin said. "This is supposed to be about the students that you're directing and what you can get out of them as far as your acting ability."
This year Lukfin, a junior from Melbourne, Fla., was the one student selected by the University Theatre Department to direct a one-act play.
Lufkin was excited about the chance to direct a project since opportunities for aspiring theater directors are often limited. But being in charge of the show isn't easy. Her first task was choosing a one-act play that could be successfully staged with the available
1930s New Orleans, the story focuses on a mother soliciting gossip from her son, who is struggling with a secret. Lukfin was drawn to the one-act play because of its emotional intensity, but also because it required little set design.
The length of the show also allowed Lukkin and her actors, Julie Miller, a senior from Hutchinson, and Alex Roschitz, a junior from Kansas City, Kan., to develop both the comedy and drama of the play. Roschitz said that being a part of a two person cast was something he had never done before, but it gave him an opportunity to explore his character and play off of Miller. Working with a student director instead of a professor or an outside director was also something new.
"It's so raw; it's so easy without anything else," Lufkin said. "You could do this in a park. You could do this in a stairwell."
"It's a totally different experience from anything I had," Roschitz
ee in the final a senior from of the Sports am, said the d fund anion is hosting
"It's so unique for a university to have this kind of opportunity for the students, just to have the group and the performance opportunities." Perez-Abraham said.
After "Auto-da-fe," the recently formed group, Musical Theatre for Kansas, will perform a thirty-minute musical love story. Gil Perez-Abraham, a junior from Wichita, said the group members, like Lufkin, were excited to have a chance to show off skills that aren't always showcased in the theater department.
Edited by Anna Allen
The second performance is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the William Inge Memorial Theatre in Murphy Hall. Tickets are available on the University Theatre website.
personal. Decisions were never 'I'm right, you're wrong.'
The tournament used prison ball rules, which differ slightly from regular dodgeball rules. If you are hit anywhere on the body, including your face or head, you're out. The ball is live until it touches a ceiling, a wall or floors. This means a ball is still live if it bounces off a player, which is different from normal dodgeball, where a ball is only live if it has not touched anything.
Student Union Activities hosted a dodgeball tournament that consisted of 10 teams, and each team had seven players with at least three women on the team. The tournament started out as double-elimination, which means a team must lose twice to be eliminated from the tournament. After half the teams were eliminated, the tournament switched to a round-robin format where all five teams played each other once. The teams with the two best records would face off in a best two out of three series.
asketball tour-
When you're hit you go to "prison",
which is located on the opposing
"Whether it's dodgeball or something else, we would like to see this continue to help student organizations who have smaller budgets."
DAKOTA STRANGE
SUA Spirit Coordinator
CLASSiFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
The Sports Management Club captured first place and the $235.
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 9
SUA opened the tournament up to all students, but it was geared more toward student organizations. The winning team received $225, and second place winners received $150.
of prison ball rules is the "shame ball", which is larger than the rest of the balls. If a teammate catches the shame ball while he or she is in prison, two teammates can get out of prison.
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
Dakota Strange, spirit coordinator in SUA, was happy to see a student organization win first place. The tournament was originally exclusive for student organizations, but because of the lack of teams, SUA opened it up to all students.
nament for the Boys and Girls Club" Marello said. "We are giving the kids free t-shirts, so the money will be put to good use."
Strange said SUA held this tournament to benefit student organizations and to help with its budgets. He also hopes to make this an annual event.
"It was a good showing from student organizations, and we received a lot of positive feedback," Strange said. "We want to continue events like this in the future. Whether its dodgeball or something else, we would like to see this continue to help student organizations who have smaller budgets."
Edited by Corinne Westeman
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
Today's Weather
To learn about "Our Dangerous Universe" with Washburn astronomy professor Brian Thomas at 7:30 p.m. in Malott Hall. Be careful out there.
Beautiful day with sunny skies and light winds between 5-10 mph
9
Good day to wash the Trans Am.