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Volume 128 Issue 45
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Kansan.com | The student voice since 1904
Senate works to give parents priority enrollment
GEORGE MILLINIX/KANSAN
Kariss McNeal is a parent to her 7-year-old son Micah and a full-time student at the University. Student Senate is working on an initiative to allow parents priority enrollment.
MIRANDA DAVIS
@MirandaDavisUDK
Kariss McNeal can't take an 8 a.m. class. It's not because she can't get out of bed in the morning, but because she's taking her son to school during that time. There's no way she could ever be in a classroom at the University that early in the morning.
McNeal, an Army veteran from Houston, Texas, is in her first year at the University after completing an associate's degree at Kansas City Kansas Community College. She's considered a non-traditional student for several reasons, including being a parent to her 7-year-old son, Micah.
For many students who are also parents, scheduling can be difficult. When McNeal enrolled last April for the current semester, she had to strategically plan classes for times when her son is at school, which she was luckily able to do. McNeal has also mapped out her next several semesters, but isn't sure yet if she will be able to get into those classes.
"Hopefully the classes aren't full and things like that whenever it's my time to register," McNeal said.
McNeal said she has to stay on track with classes, or her GI Bill funding will run out before she finishes school.
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Student Senate has been working on priority enrollment for parents like McNeal since October. Parents would become one of the first groups to enroll every semester among honors students. The purpose of the initiative is to ease the heavier scheduling concerns, that most traditional students at the University don't
have to consider.
Morgan Said, a senior from Kansas City, Mo., and student body president, said she wants to ease the scheduling for students who are parents, hopefully as soon as the next enrollment period for spring 2015 classes, if efforts are successful.
"I think parenting alone is probably the hardest job the in world so to pair that with school and in most cases a job, is such a tough balancing act and many students have reached out to me since we started this, indicating their excitement about this," Said
said earlier this semester.
McNeal is a single parent studying American Studies and English, and a resident at Stouffer Place Apartments. She said she would like to return to the Army after she graduates, potentially in a civilian capacity where she would handle human resources for those currently serving.
One of her passions is helping active soldiers. McNeal was in the military for more than 10 years, with a break to have her son. She left in 2012 and enrolled at KCK Community College.
Her son attends Boys and Girls Club after school, something McNeal said is crucial to her success. Once she gets out of class for the day, she spends the time her son is there doing homework, running errands
A typical day begins with McNeal and her son waking up at 7 a.m., eating breakfast and getting ready for school and classes. They head out the door a little after 8 a.m. so McNeal can drive her son to school. She comes back to her apartment and gets on the bus to go to class.
After she picks her son up from Boys and Girls Club, they eat dinner and work on Micah's homework. Usually they will hang out until his bedtime, around 8 p.m., then McNeal is able to watch some TV or read a book before bed.
"If he wasn't doing [Boys and Girls Club]. I have no idea when I would be able to study and get other stuff done," McNeal said.
and making dinner.
weekends for her son, when they read, play video games and go on walks, and her boyfriend, who visits on the weekends from Leavenworth.
She said she tries to knock out most of her homework before her son comes home for the day. She reserves
While most days she is able to handle everything on her plate, McNeal said being a student and a parent can be draining at times.
She spoke excitedly about her son's upcoming eighth birthday, in December.
"It gets frustrating sometimes, I feel like I'm so tired from doing all of my
SEE PARENT PAGE 3
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Campus police are searching for a suspect who damaged a Coca-Cola vending machine in the Parking Services lobby, 1501 Irving Hill Drive.
Campus police search for suspect linked to vending machine damages
The Office of Public Safety wants the public's help in identifying an individual who is believed to have damaged at least one Coca-Cola vending machine on campus, according to an emailed crime alert released Monday morning.
The vending machine is located inside the Parking Services lobby, 1501 Irving Hill Drive, next to Allen Fieldhouse. The lobby is an open area, not located inside a campus building, and is accessible after hours. Therefore, the
The suspect is described as a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 150 pounds and brown hair. He was caught on surveillance cameras on Nov. 3 at 10:45 p.m.
captain James Anguiano of PSO said it's possible this individual is involved in more than one incident because the Public Safety office has received similar reports of damage to vending machines this semester.
suspect did not break into a building before allegedly damaging the machine.
The rink, which will use an artificial ice surface, should be open from Nov. 28 through mid-January for the holiday season, Recreation Operation Manager Jimmy Gibbs said. Seasonal events are being planned to attract skaters, which
New ice rink hopes to bring fun, profit to downtown
Floors for the new ice skating rink are being put down this week in preparation for the scheduled Nov. 28 grand opening.
"One of the goals is just to help provide a fun activity for folks in Lawrence and to draw people to the library and downtown to shop and eat," Gibbs said. "I'm excited to see people having a good time."
Miranda Davis
Brady Pollington, vice president of the Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence, said the rink will bring business to the
will be announced later
SEE RINK PAGE 3
DETAILS
Where: 9th and Vermont Street, beside the Lawrence Public Library Cost: $3 per person for skate rental and unlimited time on the ice Opens on: Nov. 28 What it's for: Recreational skating, lessons and community events
CRYPTOQUIPS 6
OPINION 4
CLASSIFIEDS 15
CROSSWORD 6
SPORTS 16
SUDOKU 6
ROTC students participate in first Veterans Day Run
Starting at Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center, the route follows Naismith Drive to the Jayhawk Bookstore, around the Chi Omega Fountain, past the war memorials, along Jayhawk Boulevard, past the residence halls on Daisy Hill and back to the Rec Center.
"The idea behind [the route] is we want to go through Memorial Drive to show respect to the veterans, run on Jayhawk Boulevard because this is our school and we want to run on Daisy Hill to run through the Jayhawk community," said Air Force ROTC Physical Training Leader Sebastian Thomas.
If you saw 200 ROTC students running through campus this morning, you witnessed the first Veterans Day Run. Leaders from each of the ROTC branches coordinated the event to promote awareness of Veterans Day while also building camaraderie between branches.
KELSI KIRWIN
@knkirwinUDK
Despite the distance,
"For one, I'm not a runner. However, I'm really looking forward to this," said Caitlin Longhofer, a student cadet in the Air Force. "It's a reminder that if I want something, I'm going to really have to work for it because there are millions of soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines who have worked much harder for much less before me. A three-mile run is something so small in comparison to the lives given for our great nation."
Don't Forget
Members from each of the three ROTC units were selected to perform a cadence, a song performed while running or marching in the running rhythm, while the rest of the members run through campus.
"They [the members] are singing a running song." Thomas said. "They [the songs] are funny, they're morale-boosting and some of them are sad. It's a pretty emotional experience for a lot of cadets."
members of the ROTC said they were excited to participate in the run.
"When you go on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and even bases here in the U.S., you can find uniforms of every color," Thomas said. "It's a joint fight out there. There's Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines. We're all working together so we feel like it is important to emulate that here at KU, especially to show respect to those who have fought before us."
Everyone affiliated with ROTC, freshmen through
Fisher said in addition to reminding people of Veterans Day, the run will bring together the different branches of the University ROTC which typically do not spend a lot of time together.
"It [the run] is an opportunity for midshipmen and cadets to get out there and show pride in what we're doing," Fisher said. "It will also help remind everyone that what we do is part of a long line of history of those who served before us."
seniors, participated in the run. Physical Training Instructor Marley Fisher said she hopes to see the Veterans Day Run become an annual tradition.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
Happy Veterans Day.
Edited by Rob Pyatt
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