[---]
on a consultant basis.
Is this real?
No, it was a Doonbury cartoon published June 20. But these days, the situation is closer to reality than many people think.
A weak economy and cutbacks at many businesses have made temp agencies, which place workers in short-term clerical and light industrial jobs, a growing industry. The down side of this is that firms are increasingly hiring temporary workers in place of permanent workers.
For students who are looking for flexible part-time work or employment after graduation, temporary jobs can help them gain experience while getting a foot in the door.
Joshua Rosenbloom, assistant professor of economics, said working for a temp agency can help students understand the importance of helping them experience employers wan
"It's not a bad way to get those kinds of experiences," he said. "It can be used as a good transition, and it provides a way to pay the bills."
Often, short-term jobs located by temporary agencies can lead to permanent positions.
Nancy Slabaugh, branch manager for Manpower Temporary Services, 211 Eighth St., said companies often hire temporary workers to fill permanent positions because it saves training costs. This process also gives employers and workers the chance to get to know each other before making an employment commitment.
Isaak Bell, a Wichita sophomore who found work through a temp agency this summer, said he enjoyed gaining experience while allowing the agency to find work for him.
"It gave me the option of not having to sling pizzas or try to get into a work environment I didn't have connections to," he said. "If I didn't temp, I'd probably still be working at Village Inn on the graveyard shift helping drunkins find their seats."
Hiring temporary workers can be cost effective for companies as well.
Because they pay temp agencies a set fee, companies don't have to provide benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans. Firmsalso can terminate temp workers without paying severance or unemployment.
Companies that are forced to cut back permanent workers and later have a surge in business or begin a project for which they need more workers often turn to temps. Weintraub said this has made temporary
"Anything people can do to get in the door is positive."
the dark side of temporary agencies comes in. Because temporary workers are so convenient, more companies are hiring them in place of permanent employees, or laying off employees in order to hire temps.
agencies into a growthindustry.
Joseph Weintraub Babson College professor
Ronald Ash, KU professor of business and psychology, said that today's economy is forcing companies that are sensitive to economic fluctuations, like IBM and General Motors, to seek greater flexibility while keeping
"Companies want to minimize their aggravation," he said. "They can get as much as they can out of temps in a short period of time, and it gives them the leverage of not having to lay people off."
As the Doonesbury quote indicated, the term trend
Weintraub said this paranoia creates instability in the workplace.
has caused permanent workers to fear for their jobs.
"The psychological contract of lifetime employment has been violated," he said. "It shows that all of us are vulnerable."
Jennifer Foust, an Arkansas City sophomore who has worked as a temp, said she felt the permanent workers at the Rubber Maid plant she
Dohae
worked in resent ed her.
"A lot of people at Rubber Maid complained when temps got hired because they thought it was unnecessary," she said.
Ash said the trend toward hiring more temporary workers should send a message, especially to students, that there are no truly permanent jobs anymore and that flexibility is increasingly valued in the work place.
"The bottom line is that a worker has to be in a constant mode of growth and change," Ash said. "We're going from a time when you'd go to a company thinking you'll work there forever. Now, either the company will change and you'll change with it, or you'll become obsolete."
Temporary agencies offer valuable opportunities for students looking for part-time work, but students should be aware that this system which may benefit today could threaten them once they find permanent work.
As companies scale back their work forces, permanent workers who are unable to be flexible and compete, may find their jobs taken over by temps — like Mike Doonesbury.
Mercy CD showcases 16 local bands
By JL Watson
Kansan staff writer
Start with some Low Life. Add a generous helping of "Nic Cosmos." Sprinkle with "Love Squad," and the end result is a successful turnout at "Loaded in Lawrence," the release party for Mercy recording studios' compilation disc.
The disc, "Loaded in Lawrence," showcases the talents of 16 local bands. Each band submitted one song for the CD. Several of the bands played Satellite at the Bottleneck shown at The Bottleneck 739 New Hampshire St.
"We used Mercy for our first CD," said Love Squad guitarist Al Levine. "The guys at the studio liked it so much they asked if they could use it for the label. We were on Mercy records before there was a Mercy records."
"By playing here tonight, we'll reach a bigger audience," said LowLife member Scott Allen. "We get to play for a lot of people who haven't seen us before."
"Three years ago it was just Outhouse bands making a lot of noise."
For Love Squad, playing on the compilation disc seemed natural because the band is already ahead of the pack.
Allen said his band contributed the song that its members thought best represented their sound.
"No one here is really the same type of band," he said. "It gives people a chance to see what's up with different styles."
Levine said the CD party allowed audiences to bear different types of bands.
Stacey Schmitz
Olathe freshman
"We can offer them lots of cool flyers, free pub
liety and a good show," he said. "Whenever we have bands, we pack the theater, the lobby and the stairs."
Suzanne Etheridge, Norman, Okla, senior, said she attended the party so she could hear a variety of music.
"Ilove the variety we have now," he said. "Three years ago it was just Outhouse bands making a lot of noise. Over the past year or two things have there, where are a lot of intelligent bands out there now."
Stacey Schmutz, Olathe freshman, is arts chair for Hashinger Hall. He attended the party hoping to convince at least one of the bands to play at the residence hall.
Schmitz said he would be pleased if any of the bands on the Mercy label played at the University.
"I just wanted to know what the bands sounded like," she said. "I'm not that familiar with all of them."
The "Loaded in Lawrence" CD features diverse musical styles, from the recently signed, hard-hitting Stick to the aw-shucks bluegrass of the band loaded in Lawrence* is available in local music stores.
The "Loaded in Lawrence" CD release party was held at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. The disc showcases the talents of 16 local bands. Each band submitted one song for the CD, which is available in stores now.
People and places at the University of Kansas.
Drano and acid drug use makes stink for police
— thus requiring police to treat all manufacturing and sales sites they raid as toxic waste dumps. Symptoms of use include: sweating, quivering, shaking, experiencing long periods of stupor and paranoid hallucinations, and, said Wausau, Wis., sheeriff's deputy Tom Kujawa, smelling bad. Said Kujawa, "The people who use it stink."
In a January report, The New York Times described New Year's Eve on a mountain near Ashikaga, 50 miles north of Tokyo, in which participants in an annual festival walked in darkness to a temple while expressing themselves vocally in ways never permitted by their polite society. They screamed obscenities and indecencies aimed at politicians or supervisors. ("My teacher is an idiot!" "Give me a raise!")
According to several reports, the latest synthetic drug craze in some U.S. cities is methathionone, or "Cat," which is made with various industrial chemicals, including battery acid and Drano
Multiculturalism
Cairo, Egypt, governor Omar Abdel-Akheer announced in August that the centuries-old tradition of throwing virginies (and in recent years, statues representing virginies) into the Nile to hold back floods would have to end soon because of concern that the river is becoming too polluted.
Women are also permitted this rare opportunity to use abusive language.
The Independence (Mo.) Examiner reported in April that residents of the Tennessee towns of Peters Hollow and Rome Hollow have been engaged for 169 years in an Eastertime battle about which Hollow produces the most solid hard-boiled eggs. The contestants sit in a circle and tap each other's eggs together, little end first, then big end. The last person who has an uncracked egg is declared the winner.
In July, the interior minister of Sudan called to a halt the week-long fighting between the Awlad Umlran and Zlod clans. The clans took up arms when a bride's brother took offense at not being consulted over his sister's impending marriage to a man in the other clan. At least 108 clan members were killed and 50 wounded.
Last fall, Sean Fowler, 22, of Chilliwack, British Columbia, enlisted in the U.S. Army because he had been turned down when he attempted to enlist in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, whose quota system, said a spokesman, precluded
See WEIRD, Page 10.