CAMPUS / AREA
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Mild weather puts allergies on attack
Pesky pollen assaults KU student sinuses
By Katherine Manweiler
Kansan staff writer
Allergy sufferers could pay a price for this year's mild Kansas winter.
Hay fever, an allergy usually caused by pox,
from trees, grasses and weeds, could come early this year because the warm weather has caused
flies in man making pollen a few weeks earlier than usual.
Andy Finch, Kansas City, Kan., senior, suffers from seasonal allergies, including an allergy to pollen. Finch said he got allergy shots once a week to control his symptoms, which include sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. Late March to early April normally are one of his worst times to battle allergies.
"The shots have made it much more bearable," he said. "My bad things are ten" *tas bad* as they once were.
Ami Carr, Kansas City, Kan., freshman, said she had been taking six shots each week for a year for her allergies.
"Allergies trigger my asthma, but hopefully, the shots will help control it," Carr said. "When it rains, that's the best time, because the pollen level goes down."
Ronald Weiner, Lawrence allergist, said that not everyone who was allergic to pollen or other elements in the air needed to see a doctor.
"If you use over-the-counter medications and they don't work or they have side effects, then you should see a doctor about your allergies," he said. "If you are so miserable during certain seasons that you feel like you can't go outside, or when it becomes debilitating, you should see an allergist."
Pollen levels in the air are highest in the early morning, Weiner said. People with severe pollen allergies should try to avoid activities such as outdoor sports or early in the day to minimize exposure to pollen.
Weiner said people who knew they were allergic to pollen could minimize exposure to it by keeping
Hay fever:
nothing to sneeze at
With the unseasonably warm weather, pollen from trees has increased. This is leading to a higher incidence of hay fever at KU. Some hay fever symptoms:
Source: Watkins Memorial Health Center
Almee Brainard, Daily Kansas
windows closed, changing the filters on heating and air-conditioning units monthly and not using attic fans.
Fifteen percent of the patients at the allergy clinic where Weiner is a partner take allergy shots to control their allergy attacks, he said.
"I think the vast majority of college students with allergieskneed it before they cametocame," Woolsey said.
Sometimes a change in environment triggers allergic symptoms that people were not aware of before they changed climates, he said.
Esther Smith, a Watkins Memorial Health Center nurse who staffs the allergy clinic, said about 40 students a day came to Watkins for allergy shots.
Judy Leonard, lab manager at the Topeka Allergy and Asthma Clinic, said the clinic measured the pollen levels in the air every three hours. She expected pollen levels to start rising today. Last week's cold weather decreased the pollen in the air dramatically.
"The pollen level is always weather dependent," she said.
Spring swing
With the weather turning warmer, Jamie Finkeldei, Wichita freshman, studies outside. He found two trees, put up his hammock and started reading yesterday in the trees south of Potter Lake.
School of Education prepares for future
The School of Education wants to make sure it keeps up with the times.
By Janet Rorholm
Kansan staff writer
"For 25 years we've been running the same way," he said.
A committee created to look into how the school could be more efficient and effective will make a proposal in April to be made, said
The school's accreditation last year helped faculty members and administrators take a good, hard look at what was happening in the profession and at what the school needed to change, Meyen said.
He said the school wanted to address a series of questions, including how it was using its resources and how its mission related to public schools and the University of Kansas.
"We need to be more responsive to the outside environment, which is the public schools," said Howard Ebmeier, committee member. "As they change, we need to change."
The Board of Regents is requiring all of its schools to evaluate themselves this year in order to pinpoint ways to operate more efficiently.
Meyen said the committee's evaluation was not made to fulfill the Regents requirement but it asked similar questions. He said it would make the
school's evaluation for the Regents easier because it already had been through a similar process.
The committee was formed in December and meets once every two to three weeks. It will meet until it makes its presentation in April.
The committee is looking at three main proposals, Ebmeier said.
The first proposal would provide more continuing education classes for teachers.
Research shows that there is a different kind of teacher today then 25 years ago, he said. Today's teachers are older, between the ages of 30 and 40. The average teacher 25 years ago was between the ages of 25 and 35.
Today, many teachers coming back to the University already have received their master's degrees and need classes geared toward retraining, he said.
The second proposal would improve the school ability to increase the number of students.
Ebmeier said the way to improve this area was to break the standard university model of having teachers teach, conduct research and serve the community.
"It's too much for one person," he said.
The third proposal is to reorganize departments so similar departments are combined and more efficient.
Christine McFartand/KANSAN
In preparation for Lawrence's 5th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, Cheryl Harsh (right) and Phil Hairson, both of Lawrence, decorate a float sponsored by The Pool Room, 925 Iowa St. The parade begins today at 1 p.m. and travels from 501 N. 91st to 610 Florida St.
St. Pat's preparations
Couple bequeaths $1.1 million for KU athletic scholarships
Kansan staff report
A $1.1 million scholarship fund for varsity athletes has been established from the estates of a former KU football player and his wife, Chancellor Gene Budig announced yesterday in a news release.
Harry Nielsen, who played football for KU before he graduated in 1918 with a bachelor's degree in geology, and his wife, Clara Hood Nielsen, both of Midland, Texas, had donated part of their estate before their deaths in 1986 and 1974, respectively.
Victoria Thomas, University General Counsel, said that the Nielsen's bequest was left directly to the University with the provisions that it be used for scholarships on the basis of financial need and that Kansas residents receive priority consideration for the scholarships.
The fund will provide scholarships on the basis of need to students who participate in KU's intercollegiate athletics programs.
"At a time when all universities are concerned about the mounting cost of intercollegiate athletics, it is especially encouraging to receive the Nielsen gift," Budig said in the news release. "This gift will make a real difference for deserving young people in the years ahead."
Bob Frederick, Kansas athletic director, agreed that the funds would help because of the increasing costs of providing athletic scholarships.
"This gift will make a real difference for deserving young people in the years ahead."
Chancellor Gene Budig
"The scholarship fund established by the Nielsen's estates will be a significant help to us in our continuing effort to provide opportunities for young men and women to earn a meaningful degree from the University while participating in intercollegiate athletics." he said.
He said that the interest generated from the money would be distributed annually to the athletic department, which will provide funding for the aid that almost 400 student athletes receive
Clara Nielsen died in 1974 and left her estate in trust for her husband.
When Harry Nielsen died in 1986, the estate was divided into two portions. Half was distributed equally among KU, Fort Hays State University and Clara Nielsen's alma mater, Trinity University in Texas.
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(Happy ST. Patrick's Day)
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