MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Scurvy a threat to students not getting their vitamin C
Bv Nikki Overfelt
By Nikki Overfelt
noverfelt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The next time KU students are shopping in the produce aisle of the grocery store, they might want to stock up on vitamin C-filled fruits and vegetables.
Scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency disease, may be mostly associated with sailors in the 1700s, but college students are gaining more recognition for being at risk for the disease, said Barbara Hermreck, dietitian at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Hermreck published a study in January about research she did
with a college student who got scurvy from eating a junk food diet.
"Scurvy is still relatively rare." Hermreck said. "But there's getting to be a much larger population who's at risk for it."
The disease is related to a monotonous diet of salty meats and the lack of fresh vegetables, fruits and other sources of vitamin C in the diet, according to Stedman's Medical Dictionary.
Hermreck said college students were at risk for the disease because they didn't normally eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, didn't normally eat breakfast and ate a lot of fast food. They also tend to
eat fruits, like apples and bananas, and vegetables, like green beans and potatoes, which aren't high in vitamin C, she said.
Elderly people and alcoholics are especially at high risk for scurvy, Hermreck said.
"It's not a reason to take mega doses of vitamins," Hermreck said.
Even though scurvy can be life-threatening if it's not treated, it doesn't take a large amount of vitamin C to prevent the disease, she said.
Hermreck said the recommended amount of vitamin C per day was 90 milligrams for men, 70 milligrams for women and 200
SYMPTOMS OF SCURVY
Muscle weakness
Lethargy
Spongy, bleeding, irritated nausea
Hemorrhaging of hair follicles Lower serum blood level
Bruising because of bleeding under the skin
The average orange contains 50 milligrams of vitamin C, and eight ounces of orange juice con-
milligrams for smokers. But it only takes five to 10 milligrams per day to prevent scurvy, she said.
tains about enough to fulfill the daily recommendation for a nonsmoker, she said.
"It's one of those deficiencies that we haven't heard about for a long time," Hermreck said. "It had been pretty much eradicated with vitamin C supplementation, and with the realization that it takes such a little amount to prevent it from happening."
Kansas State University sponsored a program in its main dining center for two springs in a row about four years ago to raise scurvy awareness to its students, said Mark Edwards, unit director for Derby Dining Center. The program was a promotion for Sunkist
Oranges, orange peelers and T-shirts with the character "Scurvy Boy" were handed out to students to educate them about the disease.
Plentiful diets in the United States prevented cases of scurvy, Chapman said.
Anne Chapman, dietitian at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that in her 20 years at Watkins, she had never seen or heard of an instance of scurvy.
But if a students lives on fast food and has lack of vitamin C, she said, it was possible for them to get scurvy.
Edited by Ryan Wood and Anne Mantey
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Steve Birdine elaborates on the keys for success at the KU NAACP Heritage Ball. Birdine, a motivational speaker with Affirmations In Action in Washington, D.C., was invited to speak at the event held in the Kansas Union Ballroom last night. "To do the incredible, you have to dream the impossible," Birdine said.
Ball honors black heritage
By Henry C. Jackson
cjackson@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
The keynote speaker at the NAACP's Black Heritage Ball said he wore traditional African clothes because they left room to grow.
Although Steve Birdine may have been referring to weight gain, he could have been talking about the African-American community's future as well.
"To do the incredible, you have to dream the impossible," he said.
Birdine's hope-filled keynote address was one of several events during the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Black Heritage Ball last night, the group's second annual celebration of Black History Month. Among other activities during the three-hour event were a buffet dinner, a dance and a live performance by local music act Hot Sauce. About 100 people attended the event in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
The highlight for much of the crowd was Birdine's colorful motivational speech. Birdine is a Washington, D.C.-based motivational speaker with Affirmations in Action.
"He spoke the truth," said Melva Landrom, Minneapolis, Minn., sophomore and the KU NAACP's secretary. "He said a lot of stuff people didn't want to hear. He made people cringe in their seats."
Among the many topics broached by Birdine were the dating patterns of young people. If women think men are dogs, Birdine said, women should look in the mirror.
"You don't see a cow having sex with a dog, a squirrel having sex with a dog," Birdine said. "If you think your man's a dog, you need to take away the puppy chow or send him to another kennel. The point is, dogs hang out with other dogs."
Birdine also said young women should be more concerned with the academic pursuits of potential suitors and less
with their "game."
"If someone comes up to you at a party and says 'Hey baby, what's up?' you need to say, 'Stop, what's your GPA?'" Bird-dine said.
Ultimately, focus was the key to avoiding the pitfalls of college life, he said.
"I think focus is the most important thing in any of our lives," Birdine said. "The focus just needs to be on the right things."
Although NAACP members said the Heritage Ball and Birdine's speech were a success, attendance could have been better. Landrom said.
Marshanna Hester, Boonville, Mo., sophomore and membership chairwoman for KU's NAACP chapter, said the event was the most important one of the year for the NAACP.
"This is one of our biggest focuses," she said. "It's great to see people interacting with different types of people."
- Edited by Michelle Burhenn
Auction
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Van Halen. He said it was hard to adjust to being onstage, but he had a great time doing it.
The $105 price tag on Lenz was higher than it was last year when a Kansas City woman bought him for $75. He and went on three dinner dates with her to fulfill his three-hour service.
The idea for auctioning themselves came one night when the team was brainstorming ideas for fundraisers. Last year's auction, which raised $1,500
brought unexpected results. Lenzsaid.
"We were thinking about fundraisers, but didn't think this would be such a success." Lenz said. "But it really has been."
He said the team raised about $1,600 Saturday night. Kenney said he planned to have the auction again next year and would use the money the team made Saturday night to pay back the coach, who helped pay for the plane tickets of one of the players who was staying in Lawrence for six months and buy jerseys.
- Edited by Lindsay Hanson
Laws
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
the end of the hour-and-a-half-long protest.
"Standing in the cold is just one small sacrifice I have to make," Cook said. "But being able to give voice to an injustice — it was totally worth it."
One Kansas teen, Matthew Limon, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for performing consensual sex on another male teen about three years ago. According to The American Civil Liberties
Union Web site. www.aclu.org, the "Romeo and Juliet" lawwould have reduced Limon's sentence to a maximum of 15 months.
But the law does not give protection to homosexuals.
"If Matt had been a female, he would already be out of jail," Robinson said. "Matt will be in jail until he is 36 years old."
Robinson said the protesters asked that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius commute Limon's sentence to time served.
Protesters also supported the Lambda Legal Defense Fund's
current case before the Supreme Court, which appeals a Texas court's decision to uphold Texas' sodomy law.
If the Supreme Court declares Texas' sodomy law unconstitutional this spring, Robinson said. Kansas' sodomy law would be invalidated.
Lambda Legal is a national organization that fights for the civil rights of homosexuals, transgendered individuals and people with HIV or AIDS.
— Edited by Anne Mantey
Military
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
made it easier then.
"It's very important for people over here to support people over there, because they're the ones directly affected, they're the ones who are put at risk, and they're the ones who know what's going on," said DiAnn Mroszczak, Chicago sophomore.
Another worry that concerned students with military ties have was a lack of respect they felt their relatives, the military and the U.S. government received for the war.
"We realize the gravity of the situation now," she said.
Mroszczak's father is a retired officer in the army and her older brother, a senior in college, will enter the Marines when he graduates in May. In 1995, she and her family spent a little more than a year in Saudi Arabia, where her father was stationed. Her family was sent home early when terrorists began threatening the U.S. military. Eventually, her father's office building was car bombed.
Steve Connelly, Leavenworth sophomore, has seen many things because of his father's career in the Army.
Connelly said it was his duty to join the Army, and in early January, he joined the National Guard. He leaves for basic training next fall. From there, he will go to Advanced Individual Training, where he will learn to be a mechanic for a Black Hawk helicopter.
Despite his interest in the military, Connelly said he still hoped a resolution could be found.
"Peace is the ultimate goal of the military." Connelly said.
Edited by Ryan Wood
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