THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
PAGE 3A
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First-year students battle homesickness
HANNAH SUNDERMEYER
@hannahkaylee
Andrea Subirana, a freshman from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, can't wait to be reunited with her family and friends during winter break in December or visit her favorite spot in the heart of Santa Cruz.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
"One of my favorite places in my home city is its principal square-plaza," she said. "It is in the exact middle, and in front of the Cathedral. It's full of palm trees, pigeons and coffee sellers. It's pretty easy to get there and there are many things you can do, independent of the hour or day."
The Plaza 24 de Septiembre in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is one of freshman Andrea Subirana's favorite places back home. When she gets homesick, Subirana tries to find a Lawrence version of the plaza on campus.
While she can't find her own Plaza 24 de Septiembre in Lawrence, she appreciates the older buildings on campus and the changing seasons.
"Right now it's spring there and the flowers fall from the trees the same way that leaves fall here," she said. "It is really nice to experience that similarity."
Today, Subirana seems to have made the transition to her new life at the University of Kansas, but still feels the
effects of homesickness, as do many other first-year students. In 10 short weeks, these students have been obliged to make new friends, take on new responsibilities and adjust to unfamiliar surroundings.
"College proves to be a physically and mentally taxing conversion for many students," said Omri Gillath, a professor in social psychology.
He said as students deal with homesickness and the often attendant feelings of depression or sadness, they should seek support from the people they've been closest to. He recommends emailing or calling as opposed to just posting information on Facebook, perhaps not every day, but often enough to stay meaningfully connected.
"What we found really helpful was to maintain relationships with your old networks," he said. "If you can stay in touch with your friends and if you can stay in touch with your family, that will definitely help you."
Freshmen Kenzie Funk and her twin sister Maddie Funk don't have to go far to see each
other, but just living separately in different dorms has been an adjustment. They have always had a close relationship and shared the same group of friends.
"I'm actually kind of home-sick now, even though I've been here for a while," Kenzie said. "But being away from my
sister was a really hard adjustment for me, I still go over to her room a lot and we talk on the phone more than we ever did at home."
Kenzie, who is from Lenexa, said there is always the temptation to drive home when she starts missing her family, but she has been trying to avoid
doing so. Rather than leaving Lawrence, she will give her mom a call or spend time with her friends to keep her mind off of feeling homesick.
"We both kind of have our own friends now and I think that took a toll on our relation-
SEE HOMESICK PAGE 8A
After this week, there are only three Fridays of classes left in the fall semester.
FOLLOW USON
Kansas judge to issue marriage decision soon
KELSIE JENNINGS
@kelcjen
NEW:
On Oct. 6., the U.S. Supreme
The status of same-sex marriage is still in question for the state of Kansas after Friday's hearing in a federal court. Judge Daniel Crabtree heard the cases Friday for the same-sex marriage lawsuit, Marie v. Moser, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two lesbian Kansas couples, but has yet to make a decision.
After attorneys for both sides of the lawsuit presented their arguments, Crabtree ended Friday's hearing by saying there will be a decision made as soon as possible, but he did not give a specific date.
The two Kansas couples in the case tried to get marriage licenses after same-sex marriage became legal in Oklahoma and Utah on Oct. 6., but were denied, according to the ACLU website.
THE HEARING:
An attorney for the plaintiff, Marie, said the law in Kansas prevents same-sex couples from experiencing the joys and practical privileges of marriage, and the purpose of this lawsuit was to seek a preliminary injunction, which would be a court order for court clerks that says they can't deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The attorney also asked for prospective relief, which means the injunction would apply to same-sex couples from here on out, not past events.
A defense attorney for Moser said if a preliminary injunction is granted, the defense will appeal, which means a higher court, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, would review the
decision. The defense wants a state court, the Kansas Supreme Court, to make the decision on same-sex marriage. They don't want a federal court to make a decision for Kansas.
BACKGROUND:
Court declined to hear cases on same-sex marriage, involving five states, two of them being Oklahoma and Utah. Their refusal to hear the cases made same-sex marriage legal in those five states. Since Kansas is part of the 10th Circuit, along with Oklahoma and Utah, this legalization set precedent, or paved the way, for same-sex marriage to also become legal in Kansas at some point.
- Edited by Emily Brown
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