THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Study to follow eating behavior
By Nikki Overfelt
noverfelt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Two-thirds of college students gain weight during their first year at college because of unhealthy eating and drinking, according to the Tufts Longitudinal Health Study.
In order to study the eating and exercising behaviors of freshmen at the University of Kansas, Ann Chapman, registered dietitian at Watkins Memorial Health Center, and Cynthia Akagi, assistant professor of health, sport and exercise sciences, are conducting an online survey beginning this week.
The Kansas State Attorney General's office awarded Chapman and Akagi a nutrition education grant for $49,000 for two years to do the study.
All freshmen and students new to the University will receive an e-mail this week with a link to the survey and will have until Feb.14 to answer the questions. In Spring 2004 the students will be asked to fill out a follow-up survey.
Akagi said they decided to conduct the research after many freshmen voiced their concerns about gaining weight and not having time to exercise.
Chapman and Akagl will examine the students' eating and exercise behaviors and then study the changes in those behaviors over a year.
The study is targeting freshman because they are making the transition from eating at home to eating in the residence halls and then on their own, she said.
By studying these changes over the year, Akagi said, they want to develop programs to improve students' eating habits. They plan on sending the data to the food services on campus, other universities in Kansas, health departments and high schools.
Akagi said they also hope to educate students on early intervention for eating disorders.
Chapman and Akagi said they chose to do an online survey because it was faster, easier and had a better response rate compared to a regular survey.
"We want to be responsive to student needs and online is where their world is at," Akagi said.
Emily Proffitt, Lawrence freshman, said an online survey was quicker and easier, but saw the convenience as a disadvantage, too.
"It's easier and quicker to blow it off, like I did," she said.
Proffitt said she overlooked the survey and didn't find the $2 Blockbuster coupon offered upon completion of the survey much of an incentive.
Ashton Boone, Wichita freshman, however, said he might do the survey and thought an online survey was a good idea.
"That's how they do everything else," he said.
The Tufts Longitudinal Health Study has been done at Tufts University in the Boston area every spring for the past three years. It is a mail-in survey about college students' eating behaviors.
— Edited by Andrew Ward
Appeal parking violations effectively
Book bag, check. Keys, check.
Imodium AD — better check again.
Judges on the KU Parking Department's appeals board hear the gamut of excuses when it comes to illegal parking — some more effective than others.
"I couldn't walk that far," "My car broke down" and, yes, "My bowels were seized in spasmodic agony and I had to leave the car and run."
Kimberly Ireland, chief justice for the appeals court and a Wichita second-year law student, said judges heard a "fair number" of diarrhea excuses each year.
"It depends on the judges you get," she said. "Sometimes we'll excuse it just because we don't want to hear about it."
Tickets are inevitable at the University of Kansas, a cruelly crafted campus that sometimes requires a pair of hiking boots and a burro to traverse. Sometimes we just have to park, and sometimes we have to pay.
The parking lots at the Univer
COMMOMCENTS
Nicole Roche
nroche@kansan.com
sity spell doom by their very design. Permits were oversold by an average of 24 percent last year, said Margretta de Vries, court clerk and receptionist at the parking department. Yellow permits, which allow parking at locations such as Memorial Stadium and the Burge Union, were oversold by 32 percent. The poor GSP-Corbin Hall women have to battle it out big time for parking — their lot was oversold by 49 percent.
Surprisingly, the number of tickets issued at the University declined steadily in recent years. In 2001, 43,978 tickets were issued, as compared with 47,223 in 2000 and a whopping 58,817 in 1999.
Fewer overall tickets means lit.
te to irate students with pink envelopes lining their hoods. Ticket prices range from $5 for expired meters to $100 for handicapped spots. De Vries said employees at the parking department office had panic buttons in case a ticketed individual became belligerent.
For those students with a little more tact, the parking department appeals system offers hope.
De Vries said there were effective wavs to appeal a ticket.
Last year 951 tickets were appealed, and 231 of those appeals were granted. Not an astounding number, but it shows the parking department is willing to admit when it's wrong.
"They should be matter-of-fact and honest," de Vries said.
De Vries said the court would consider the appeal as long as the department received it within 10 days after the ticket was issued.
Appeals can be made in person or "ex parte," which means the student fills out the appeal form and does not appear in court.
Forms are available online at www.ku.edu/-parking.
Ireland said students should include as much relevant information as possible.
"It's hard for us to give the student the benefit of the doubt when we don't know all the facts." she said.
An decisions are made by five law students who, thankfully, know what it's like to drive on the KU campus. Students who received tickets while visiting Watkins Health Center could get a break if they brought in proof of an appointment, de Vries said. Ireland said if a student's car broke down on campus, they should let parking know immediately so the car won't be towed.
Tickets on campus are inevitable. Still, an effectively appealed ticket could mean that $20 will stay in your wallet.
Until your next trip to campus, anyway.
Nicole Roché is a Wichita senior in journalism
Freshman underrepresented in Senate
By Cate Batchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Kevin McKenzie, Salina freshman, is a minority — in Student Senate.
The Association of University Residence Halls' senator would like to see more of his freshmen peers by his side. He wrote legislation to have better representation in Senate, but the bill failed last night in Senate committee meetings.
of the student body, according to the University of Kansas Fall 2002 Student Profile. Two of the 80 student senators are freshmen.
McKenzie said freshmen weren't equally represented in Senate. They make up 22.4 percent
Jennifer Ternes, Nunemaker senator, said the freshmen had opportunities to get involved either by being an associate senator or joining a committee. As a Nunemaker senator, representing students with less than 60 credit hours, she said she thought she was representing both sophomores and freshmen.
"I don't think in the period from the first year to your second year that you lose all perspective on
what freshmen are concerned with," Ternes said.
As a freshman last year, Bryan Young, University Affairs committee member, started coming to committee meetings but didn't run for a voting senate seat because he didn't think he knew enough about the senate processes.
"I think if we just allow freshmen to come in right away without any real senate experience, they will become discouraged after they realize what it's like," Ternes said.
Although the bill didn't pass, McKenzie will continue to work on the bill to include more freshmen representation in Senate. One option is to divide 15 of the Nune-maker senator seats and give half exclusively to freshmen.
In other news:
A bill failed to provide speaking privileges at Senate meetings to all KU students.
The Finance Committee passed a bill to fund Campus Crusade for Christ with $5,000 to bring Gene McConnell of Authentic Relationships International to speak about pornography Feb. 25 at Budig Hall.
Edited by Melissa Hermreck