TUESDAY,APRIL2.2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7A
KU Med Center receives $1.5 million for audiology, speech research
By Meredith Carr Kansan staff writer
A $1.5 million gift to the University of Kansas Medical Center will establish a new professorship and help further medical research for the deaf and blind.
The late Jessie Hodges Benton, a writer for the Kansas City Star and Vogue magazine, left the monetary gift to the Med Center because of an interest in speech and audiology. Benton was interested in the two areas because her stepmother became blind late in
John Scarfe, director of communications for the Endowment Association, said Benton did not graduate from the University, but had relatives who had, and that was also a factor in her generous donation.
life, and her brother became deaf as a baby.
About $1 million of the gift will establish the Frank and Jessie McKoin Hodges Memorial Fund for the department of hearing and speech. Of that $1 million, $500,000 will help support the new professorship at the Med Center, and the remaining $500,000 will start the Eunice M. Memorial Fund in
the Department of Ophthalmology
"These gifts from Mrs. Benton's estate are wonderful memorials to her family members," Chancellor Robert Hemenway said in a written statement. "They will support research that benefits both children and adults who face impairment of the precious senses of hearing and sight."
The $1.5 million will help toward reaching the $500 million goal of KU First.
Contact Carr at mcarr@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brandon Stinnett.
Student injured at track meet The Associated Press
WICHITA — A 17-year-old Southeast High School pole vaulter remained in critical condition yesterday after falling and striking his head during a vault at the Wichita East Relays.
Witnesses told paramedics that on Saturday, Samoa Fili fell 12 to 15 feet onto the safety mat, bounced off and hit the back of his head on the ground.
When paramedics arrived, Fili, a senior, was conscious and responsive, Capt. Scott Hadley of Sedgwick County Emergency Services said. But his health deteriorated after he was placed in an ambulance.
Wendy Johnson, a spokeswoman for the school district, said the district would review the incident.
New York is considering a bill before its state Legislature which would require pole vaulters in its high schools and colleges to wear helmets.
That bill was prompted by the death last month of a Penn State pole vaulter Kevin Dare at the Big Ten track and field indoor championships in Minneapolis.
Pedophilia article causes stir
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, MO. Attention paid to the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal has refocused attention on a University of Missouri-Kansas City professor's writings on pedophilia and child pornography.
In 1998-99,political science professor Harris Mirkin suggested that some sex between children and adults was acceptable.
And after the 1999 article was posted recently on WorldNet-Daily, hate mail started coming. On Thursday, Mirkin's voice mail contained a message calling him a pedophile and saying he should die. Another caller said a respected university shouldn't have a "monster" teaching.
Mirkin, who has a doctoral degree from Princeton University and has taught at UMKC for more than 30 years, is trying to defend his writings. He said he believed there needed to be more open discussion of pedophilia and adult-child sex.
In 1999, he wrote in the Journal of Homosexuality that all child molestations should not be lumped in the same category. He argued that "like homosexuality, the concept of child molestation is a culture and class specific modern creation." He pointed out that in Europe before the 17th century, "sex with men and boys was simply considered one variant on sex." He argued that distinctions should have been made between rape and
consensual sex, and acts involving young children and those involving teenagers.
This week, Mirkin said: "I thought there was a difference if a kid was patted on the butt ... or if somebody raped a kid.
"It doesn't mean you have to approve of any of them, but there are differences," he said.
His writings have been criticized by groups that fight child molestation, and pro-family organizations. They say children are immature and vulnerable, no matter what their age, and believe that sexual abuse scars children, no matter what its form.
Mirkin, a father and grandfather who teaches a class called "The Politics of Sex," said he approached pedophilia from an academic viewpoint.
Wichita State officials consider tuition hike
The Associated Press
WICHITA — The state's budget woes have forced Wichita State University President Don Beggs to consider seeking a 9 percent increase in tuition for the next school year.
Last fall, Beggs said he expected the university to have
to raise tuition about 3 percent.
That was before it became known that the state faces a $700 million budget shortfall, which Beggs said could force Wichita State to cut its budget 6.4 percent, or $4.2 million.
If tuition is increased 9 percent for fall, the cost of a credit hour for an in-state student would rise about $6.50 — to
Bridget Elpers, a freshman in psychology, said she would take a tuition increase in stride.
about $78 a credit hour. With fees, the total cost per credit hour is about $100.
"I'd rather get charged $6 or $7 than not be able to take a class" that may be canceled because of budget cuts, she said. "It's understandable."
Liquid calories count toward weight gain
By Summer Lewis Kansan staff writer
Excess calories consumed in beverages could be one of the culprits contributing to weight gain.
According to a study published last month in the International Journal of Obesity, people who drink excess calories do not compensate for it as well as people who consume the extra calories in food.
The study showed that the majority of people who consume extra calories by eating candy decrease their intake of other calories to compensate for the candy. Their total daily calorie consumption was close to what it would have been normally. The majority of people who consume extra calories by drinking calorie filled beverages do not make changes in their regular calorie consumption, so they're HEALTH BEAT
more likely to gain weight.
The study showed that substituting water, diet soda, or unsweetened coffee or tea might be the best approach to maintaining weight.
Peter Beyer, associate professor of dietetics and nutrition at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said that he had always been concerned with the increasing sizes of beverages that lead to increased calorie intake.
Beyer said that today's portions need redefined.
"The portion sizes have gone crazy," he said. "I have a 6-ounce Coke bottle from the 1940s that I bought at an antique store. You can't even buy that size now."
"Bottles went from 6 ounces to 24 ounces, which is not considered a serving," he said. "Fast food outlets encourage you to get super sizes. At ball games, 16 ounces is the smallest size of drink for a kid to order."
"The increase in beverage consumption shows how our diet is changing. If we're going to drink large amounts of beverages, we have to adjust our diet by eating less."
eating less."
Peter Beyer
associate professor of dietics and nutrition
Beyer said that people craved calorie-filled beverages now because they contained a different ingredient.
"High fructose corn syrup is being used now," he said. "It is sweeter than sugar, which causes people to crave sweet drinks."
Beyer said that people might need to change their diets if they continued drinking high-calorie beverages.
"The increase in beverage consumption shows how our diet is changing." he said. "If we're going in drink large amounts of beverages, we have to adjust our diet by eating less."
Danielle Hillix, Camden Point, Mo., freshman, said that she was careful about how many calories she consumed from liquids.
"I just do my best to drink as much water as I can," Hillix said. "Calories are a big part of any normal diet, so I try to avoid excess calories from beverages."
Kyle Ricketts, Olathe sophomore, said that he drank soda every day and did not try to limit the amount.
"I probably have two or three sodas per day," Rickettts said. "I will stop at convenience stores throughout the day and buy fountain drinks."
Contact Lewis at slewis@ kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Smarsh.