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SENIOR CLASS SHARES POSITIVE EXPERIENCES
KU professor discusses research from southern Africa. SCIENCE 10A
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ALCOHOL
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 151
Amnesty, parent notification in new policy
BY BRIANNE PFANNENSTIEL bpfannenstiel@kansan.com
The University announced a new alcohol policy Tuesday that allows for parental notification, mandates an online alcohol assessment for freshmen and encourages students to seek help in emergencies.
University officials announced
the changes in an e-mail sent to all students by Provost Richard Lariviere Tuesday morning.
The changes come on the heels of two alcohol-related student deaths during the past two months.
"Some will say KU was late to the game, but we had our policies and we re-evaluated, and we think we're doing everything possible," said Marlesa Roney, vice provost of Student Success.
AMNESTY
The first change institutes an amnesty policy, which will protect from punishment any underage student who seeks immediate medical assistance in alcohol-related emergencies.
Lariviere said in the e-mail that this change was made after students said they were reluctant to get help for alcohol-related health issues because they feared getting themselves
or their campus housing organizations in trouble.
"While that should never stop you from getting help for a friend in trouble, eliminating the threat of being written up takes away that reason to not seek help." Lariviere said.
Many schools began implementing similar systems after Cornell University pioneered the idea with its "Good Samaritan" policy in 2002. According to a 2006 study in
the International Journal of Drug Policy, the number of Cornell students who called for help in alcohol-related emergencies doubled after the policy was created, though alcohol abuse rates remained relatively constant.
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
KU officials will now be able
to notify the parents of underage students who are caught violating alcohol or drug policy on campus. The policy goes into effect immediately.
Roney said the intent was not to punish students, rather to educate them.
"It's about helping students," she said. "We want to make sure
SEE POLICY ON PAGE 4A
BY AMANDA THOMPSON athompson@kansan.com
Chaz Steele has lived in Lawrence his whole life. A 14-year sufferer of asthma, Steele, Lawrence senior, has no doubt in his mind that living near Lawrence's coalfired plant has contributed to his asthma struggle.
In recent years, Douglas County has experienced asthma rates far above the national average. That's not surprising to local doctors and national experts, who say that coal-fired plants like the one in Lawrence create levels of air and water pollution that are bad for health.
"When you have a coal plant in your neighborhood, you're going to have an increased number of people with asthma, and they will have worse problems more often," said Ronald Weiner, a doctor who has been treating asthma patients in Lawrence for 25 years.
Westar Energy's coal-fired plant, known as the Lawrence Energy Center (LEC), is one of the dirtiest in the country, according to a 2007 report by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit organization formed by former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attorneys. The report ranked the LEC as the 12th dirtiest coalfired plant out of the nation's 378 largest, in part because of heavy emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants known as greenhouse gases.
KANSAS TO GET ANOTHER PLANT
After two years of debate, a decision has been reached about proposed coal plants in Holcomb.
Gov. Mark Parkinson and Sunflower Energy came to an agreement Monday to build one 895-megawatt coal-fired plant.
Sunflower Energy's original proposal was for Holcomb to be the home for two 700-megawatt coal-fired plants. In 2007, secretary for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment rejected the original proposal because of concerns about pollutant emissions.
Former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius also opposed the plants and vetoed their approval four times during her tenure. But last week Sebellius was sworn in as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leaving the governor position to Parkinson.
Amanda Thompson
ENTERTAINMENT
I'll take KU student on Jeopardy! for 100, Alex
SEE COAL PLANT ON PAGE 6A
BY JENNIFER TORLINE jtorline@kansan.com
Mark Petterson competed in his own Border Showdown on Monday's episode of the "Jeopardy!" College Championship tournament.
Petterson, Prairie Village senior, tried to outsmart Laura Myers from the University of Missouri and Jennifer Duann from Ohio State University for a chance to make it to the tournament's semi-final and final rounds next week where there is a $100,000 grand prize. Petterson is the first KU student to appear on the show.
After answering questions about the Big 12 and Google, Petterson took second place with $16,200. Myers earned $21,600 and took first place in that episode — something that Petterson attributed to her quick buzzer-clicking skills.
"It's really easy to play at home, but you have three seconds to read the question to decide if you know the answer and then to get your self to buzz in before the other contestants, which is difficult in itself," Petterson, a creative writing major, said.
To help Petterson celebrate his "Jeopardy!" appearance, more than 20 family members and friends gathered at the Red Lyon Tavern downtown on Monday to watch the show and cheer him on.
Joshua Jacobs, Petterson's roommate and a "Lord of the Rings" fan, was thrilled when Petterson correctly answered a question about Shadowfax, the character Gandalf's horse.
Jenny Hamil, Lenexa senior and one of Petterson's friends, was also at the watch party. She
SEE JEOPARDY ON PAGE 4A
If Mark Petterson's $16,200 is one of the top four non-winning scores by the end of the week, he is eligible to make it to the semifinal round of the "Jeopardy" college tournament. Watch Friday's show at 5 p.m. on KTKA, Sunflower Broadband channel 12, to see whether Petterson will make it to next week's semifinals.
index
Classifieds. ... 8B Opinion... 9A
Crossword. ... 8A Sports... 1B
Horoscopes. ... 8A Sudoku... 8A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
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