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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
TALK TO US: Contact Leita Walker, Jay Krall or Kyle Ramsey at (785) 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
FRIDAY
FEBRUARY 22, 2002
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ISSUE 99 VOLUME 112
Foreign grads face troubles in job market
By Leah Shaffer Kansan staff writer
A weak U.S. economy has made it harder for international students to stay in the country after they graduate.
Marianne Hovgaard, Veije, Denmark, senior, came to the United States on a student visa. She said coming to the United States to pursue a degree was not the problem, but finding a job after graduation was.
Joe Potts, director of International Student Services, said that, according to U.S. immigration laws, students who wanted to stay in the country after graduation could get an additional 12-month visa to work if they had a student visa, called an F-1, or 18 months if they had a J-1, which is generally given to students who receive scholarships from outside sources. F-1 students pay for their education.
Potts said a company needed to show that it searched for U.S. citizens that met minimum qualifications for the job. If it didn't find a qualified U.S. citizen, hiring a foreign citizen would be justified.
But Potts said in most cases, proving that the company could not find a U.S.
citizen for the job wasn't an easy task
Hovgaard said in today's economy it was easier for business owners not to hire people from other countries.
"Sponsoring...work visas costs them money," she said. Hovgaard said today's job market made it even harder for international students to stay in the United States.
"There are limited options unless you choose grad school,"she said. "It's kind of rough, and if you don't find a job, you've got to leave. That adds pressure."
Federico Carranza-Kopper, San Jose, Costa Rica, senior, has a J-1 visa. Carranza-Kopper said that his goal was to get some experience in international business and finance in the United States and then return to his country after 18 months of training. He said if he could not find a job, he would return to Costa Rica without the experience. Carranza-Kopper said he was satisfied with the work visa policy, but he thought the U.S. authorities should create more options for students who wanted to stay in the country.
Contact Shafer at Ishaffer@kansan.com.
This story was edited by Jenna Goepfert.
Documentary profiles minority live in 60s
Academy Award nominated film shows life, culture and history of Asian Americans
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
As a child, Renee Tajima-Pena traveled with her parents across America. Tajima-Pena, an Asian American, remembered the profound feeling of loneliness she felt during those trips.
"You'd cross five, six states and never see another Asian face. I think we were the attraction even though we were out looking for the sites," she said about people staring at her family.
MICHAEL LEONARD/KANSAN
"Kids who grow up now don't experience as much overt racism and cultural misunderstanding."
Renee
Tajima-Pena
director
About 20 students were able to view the movie Tajima-Pena, an Academy Award nominee, made based on those experiences last night at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Tajima-Pena said the movie, My America: or Honk if You Love Buddha, was about how the Asian-American experience in America had changed since her childhood.
"When I was growing up, Asian Americans were a really tiny, tiny minority and we all had a similar family history," she said.
"But then there is this new generation of immigrants who came during the 1960s, 70s and 80s who came from many different places and who have had a totally different experience."
She said those changes had affected
Renee Tejima-Pena, director of My America, Honk if You Love Buddha, speaks to students about her film career.
"Kids who grow up now don't experience as much overt racism and cultural misunderstanding," she said.
"Back when I was taking those vacations with my parents you would never have seen an Asian living in Kansas," she said. "The fact that there you are even able to hold an Asian Festival here shows how far we've come."
American culture. Asian-American identity and the process of growing up Asian in the United States.
The movie was shown as a part of Asian Festival, the annual event sponsored by Asian American Student Union.
One of the biggest changes for Asians in America, Tajima-Pena said, was where they lived.
Tajima-Pena was nominated for an Academy Award in 1989 for her movie Who Killed Vincent Chen? a film about a Detroit hate crime.
Contact Koerth at mkoerth@kansan.com.
This story was edited by Kyle Ramsey.
Professor studies food people's eating habits
Assistant professor of geography Barbara Shortridge studies how food is related to geography in the United States. Shortridge sat in her office amongst food memorabilia yesterday.
SARA SHEPHERD/KANSAN
By Adam Pracht Kansan staff writer
Southerners love grits, northerners are crazy about lutefisk and apple pie is as American as food comes—maybe. Barbara Shortridge, assistant professor of geography, is gathering scientific evidence about regional eating habits to find out what Americans really eat.
Shortridge said food was one way a region identified itself.
"Everybody has to belong to something and brag about something," Shortridge said. "And I think a lot of times, people use food for that."
Shortridge looks for patterns of eating habits across the United States by randomly contacting people in each county
"Everybody
has to belong to something and brag about something. And I think a lot of times, people use food for that."
Barbara Shortridge assistant professor of geography
and asking what they serve for a typical meal. She then plots each item on a map.
She has already created food maps for the Western states and is currently working on the Midwest.
Shortridge said she planned to complete research on the Eastern states and gather all of her results for publication.
Some of the trends Shortridge found matched stereotypes, but others were surprising.
SEE FOOD ON PAGE 5A
Supplement a possible health risk
By Summer Lewis Kansan staff writer
The popular herbal sedative, kava kava, is being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration because it could cause liver damage.
The sedative - advertised as a stress, anxiety and insomnia reliever - has been found in several cases in the United States and Europe to cause medical problems possibly associated with its use.
"Liver toxicity usually occurs with very high doses of kava, but there were also reports of liver toxicity with short-term use of normal doses," said Cathy Thrasher, pharmacist in charge at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
She said most patients have had their liver enzymes return to normal but not all.
The exact dangers are unknown.
Thrasher said the kava kava was banned in Germany and Switzerland.
"Even one company in the U.S.
Kava kava history and facts
Kava kave, a member of the peppen family, has long been used as a ceremonial drink in the South Pacific.
In 2000, sales of kava kava in pill form reached $30 million.
On Feb. 11, the Food and Drug Administration began investigating the safety of kava kava.
Source: WebMD, www.webmd.com
Kabran Chapek, herb buyer at the Community Mercantile Co-Op, 901 Iowa St., said the store would continue to sell kava kava until the FDA banned the herbal supplement.
"It has become very popular because people are taking it for many different reasons and in many different forms," Chapek said.
Roche, has recalled its products with kava," Thrasher said.
INSIDETODAY
Kava kava is grown in Polynesian islands, he said.
LINDSEY KILIANY/KANSAN
Polynesians prepare a drink with the herb by combining the fresh root with water in coconut shells.
Kava kava drinks are sold in bars in Hawaii just as alcohol is sold in pubs and bars in the continental states, he said.
Even in the United States, there have been people pulled over by the police for driving under the influence of kava kava, he said.
"It is so relaxing that the side effects are similar to marijuana or alcohol," Chapek said. "The positive thing is that it is not habit forming or addictive. It is pretty safe here in the forms that the Merc sells it."
"Root powder in capsules is the least potent, then extract powder in capsules, then the spray and extract liquid is the most potent," Chapek said.
"We sell lots of every form of kava kava."
He said the different forms offered different levels of potency.
Lauren Macpherson, Wichita senior,
said she started using kava kava
There are many varieties of kava kava displayed at The Community Mercantile Co-op, 901 Mississippi St.
because her boyfriend used it.
"It is very relaxing and is kind of a dietary supplement because it can give you tons of energy." Macpherson said.
"Actually, the real reason that we used it is because it enhances sexual pleasure."
She said she thought that kava kava helped a person's sex life and that it made men become aroused more quickly.
"I don't know how it does it and what it does,but it is amazing," Macpherson said.
She said even though kava kava was wonderful for sex, she would stop using it if the FDA proved that it was dangerous.
Contact Lewis at slewle@kansan.com.
This story was edited by Kyle Ramsay.
NATION NEWS ... 3A
OLYMPICS ... 7A
WEATHER ... 8A
CROSSWORD ... 8A
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
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