THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS KANSAS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2009
NEWS
3A
INTERNET
Students find housing on Web
Craigslist offers alternate method of advertising apartments, roommates
BY KAYLA REGAN
kregan@kansan.com
John Meyers used Craiglist, a Web site that hosts community classifieds, to find a house that he and his girlfriend could move into. He also advertised for someone to take over the lease from his current residence.
Meyers, New Jersey graduate student, said that he was optimistic he would find someone for the
old lease, but that he hadn't received any responses yet
any responses yet. "I'm hoping people browse before making a decision and they come across my ad to help me out." Meyers said.
Meyers is not alone in his decision to use Craigslist. For the last month, individuals living in and around Lawrence posted approximately 800 advertisements to Craigslist for temporary roommates, new apartments and even trading houses.
"I'm hoping people browse before making a decision and they come across my ad to help me out."
Sean Williams, realtor at Realty Executives, said the Web site was equally popular among Lawrence real estate businesses and students. Williams said Craigslist was an important tool for realtors because 80 percent of home buyers started their searches online.
take care of the technical details for the user and maximize an individual listing's exposure on the Internet. Williams said it was important for students to consult a real estate agent because these online businesses rarely delivered positive results.
"Realtors then play a crucial role in editorializing, explaining data, adding insights and getting people into the houses they wish to see." Williams said.
JOHN MEYERS Graduate Student
While Craiglist comes with benefits, Williams said its users could face problems they never signed up for. Williams said he routinely received advertisements from Web-based companies looking to capitalize on Craiglist's success and its users' ignorance. Such companies often promise to
Despite the presence of scams by outside Web-based companies on Craigslist, the Web site's commonsense rules can help put unsuccessful home transactions in the minority, with or without a realer.
Local property owner Nate Miller, a student at the University of Kansas from 2001 to 2003 said he joined Craigslist a couple of years ago to find tenants for the house he manages on Peterson Road.
By following the Web site's rules, Miller said joining Craiglist proved to be profitable. He found two of his current tenants on the Web site. Although he had one bad experience involving a tenant he found on Craiglist fleeing to Wichita, Miller said he expected that the site would continue to deliver good results, as long as he followed the rules.
"It's not Craigslist's fault," Miller said. "I think it'a good turn on the investment."
Edited by Grant Treaster
BEER (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Siebert said the group currently had nine interns and about 20 students and Lawrence residents who volunteered on a regular basis.
Streeetch
Val Smith, professor of environmental studies, said opportunities to work with Greenpeace came "with pluses and minuses."
"They're activists, and they want to do good," Smith said. "But sometimes what they do is too emotion-based and not always science-based."
Siebert said the group's goals for the spring semester were to reach out to more Lawrence residents and to continue to put pressure on Congressman Dennis Moore to follow with proposed climate-change policies. Siebert said Kansas Greenpeace members considered Moore's stance on climate change to be one of their biggest successes.
"It got to the point that Moore's secretary told us, 'Stop calling us — we're going to do what you say,' Siebert said. "Which was good to hear."
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
Baby Jay helps a member of the KU Spirit Squad stretch during the first half of the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31 in Tempe, Ariz., at the Sun Devils Stadium. Kansas beat Minnesota 42-21.
Weston White/KANSAN
3G (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
phone upgrade is required. Users were automatically upgraded to the faster network when it became available. Hill said this would allow customers to use applications they couldn't use before.
Larson said people who use
Hill said that Verizon's 3G network covered most of the continental U.S. She said customers should benefit from blanket coverage across Kansas and Missouri.
Dustin Larson, manager of the AT&T Store at 4000 W. 6th St.
Suite F, said customers using an iPhone would have to upgrade to a 3G-compatible model.
Larson said AT&T extended the 3G service to Lawrence on Dec.
16. Customers in the Topeka,
Lawrence and Kansas City areas will experience full 3G coverage.
Larson said.
internet-capable phones would now see DSL speeds over the wireless phone network.
Courtney Jerome, Overland Park junior, said she recently upgraded to a new 3G-compatible iPhone.
"I haven't noticed much of a difference. I didn't really even know 3G was in Lawrence yet," Jerome said.
Hill said that the 3G network would probably be short-lived Wireless providers are currently developing the 4G network. Upon Federal Communications Commission approval, Hill said it should be ready for release in 2010.
"4G will be like nothing we have ever seen," Hill said. "We're talking speeds dramatically faster, at least ten times faster than 3G."
Edited by Realle Roth
JOBS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
The workshop will assist students in navigating the nooks and crannies of the site, which include information ranging from how to write a cover letter to a list of jobs available both on and off campus.
"We will demo the Web site and make sure students realize that other things are out there that they might not see at first glance" Harley said. "We'll go over not only the Web site but also its features."
Because the site has so much information, Liz Caldwell, UCC recruitment coordinator, said the workshop could help students find what they were seeking when they visited KU-Careerhawk.com.
"It's much easier to find what you're looking for if you have an idea of where to go." Caldwell said.
Harley said she hoped the site would expand in many different directions in the future. Potential expansions include trying to make the
Web site more interactive, Erin Whelan, UCC assistant director, said.
"We're working on an internship spotlight video that spotlights KU students talking rather than just a picture with bullet points," Wolfram said. "We're working on getting the Web site on video format."
Other workshops leading up to the Feb. 11 career fair include "How to Attend a Career Fair," "Get Your Resume Ready for the Career Fair" and "Get Ready to Interview After the Career Fair." Each workshop will be offered more than once before Feb. 11. Hartley said the workshops focused on educating students about their futures.
- Edited by Melissa Johnson
"We really do focus on the educational piece," she said. "Our focus is long-term — information that students can use for the rest of their lives."