TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2002
NEWS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Rafting adds splash of adventure
By Vonna Keomanyvong
vkeomanyvong@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Jared Soares/Kansan
Marissa Stephenson, Tonganoxie sophomore, is an avid rafter and kayaker. Stephenson has been rafting and caeyaking since she was five years old. She has also ridden the Grand Canyon river two times.
Every face in the crowd and every name in the phone book has a story behind it. Each week, Kansan writer Vonna Keomanyvong tells the story of a randomly selected KU student.
For Marissa Stephenson, a whitewater rafting trip is not complete until a 15-foot rapid wave hovers above her head.
The Tonganoxie sophomore said that since she was 5 years old, she had spent nearly half of her sum.
Faces in the Crowd
mery of her mers whitewater rafting. Three months ago, the 19-year-old rode the Colorado River by herself in Desolation Canyon in Utah. The year before that, she went on an 18-day whitewater rafting trip with her father in the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
"When you whitewater raft, you always want to be on the side of a huge rapid," Stephenson said. "As soon as that wave comes up, you know the fun is about to begin. It's an adventure."
Stephenson said there were two kinds of rafting: paddle rafting and oar-rigged rafting. Her father taught her to raft with oars. She said the oars were attached to both sides of the raft, which required good upper body strength.
"I had to lift weights and do a lot of cardio workouts three months before going to Desolation Canyon." Stephenson said.
Her father, RJ, has been whitewater rafting for 20 years. He said although being in the wilderness was fun, rafters had to be aware.
"When you're rafting, you are not just responsible for yourself, but you're responsible for others on your raft," RI Stephenson said. "You just don't survive the day. You have to accomplish little goals during the day to survive through it."
He said Marissa incorporated that awareness into her life.
"My wife and I never have to worry about Marissa, because she's always thinking things through and planning things out," he said. "When she has a problem, she solves it without any help."
Stephenson said the Colorado River was the most difficult river she had ridden. She said riders could go through 10 major rapids in just one day.
Although Stephenson said she loved
being out in the water, she also loved hiking near the river. She said one of her best experiences outdoors was when she hiked nine miles to Tepeats, an underwater channel cave in the Grand Canyon.
Stephenson said she found a red journal in the cave that had the names of 55 people who had been there to see it.
"Just looking at something so precious gives you a sense of pride," she said.
Stephenson said she hoped to be able to tell people stories of the things she did in life.
"The worst thing that can happen is for me to be 85 years old and to think back about the things that I didn't do." Stephenson said. "I don't want to have any regrets about it."
Edited by Christine Grubbs
"We're willing to work with this gentleman, and we're hoping to solve the problem outside a city ordinance." Blasi said.
made by the people who parked along the road.
Complaints were made to the fraternity about the litter and trash
Blasi said much of the good the fraternity had contributed to Edgehill Road was often overlooked.
"At least two or three times a year we clean up Edgehill and all the debris. We've worked with the corresponding community to better the environment around us,"
Blasi said.
Shelby Massey, Amarillo, Texas. freshman, said about 25 members of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity parked on Edgehill Road.
Fraternity members need to park along Edgehill, Massey said, because other students often parked in the fraternity's lot.
"It's hard for people who don't
The city commission meeting will be held at City Hall, 6 E. 6th St.
at 6:35 tonight.
live on campus. Students who live in houses have to drive to campus," Massey said. "I don't think east campus has a whole lot of parking."
Parking CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Edited by Amy Schmitz and Melissa Shuman
By Lindsay Hanson
lhanson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
University survey studies 'burning' question of tans
The American Cancer Society has found that about 1.3 million non-melanoma skin cancer cases, which account for 40 percent of all cancers, and 53,600 cases of melanoma skin cancer develop every year. The Society partially blames exposure to ultraviolet rays, which are produced by the sun and by tanning beds, for the formation of skin cancer.
College students still are turning to tanning salons for a healthy appearance despite information about the risks, according to a study that was just released this month.
The study, which surveyed 147 college-age men and 342 college- age women in September 1999, found that 47 percent of those surveyed had used a tanning lamp since September 1998. Before then, 15 percent had used a tanning lamp.
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind., gave surveys to patients at the university's health clinic to produce the study, which was published in the October issue of the American Medical Association's Archives of Dermatology.
Owners of tanning salons say the figures don't directly condemn the tanning bed as a cause of cancer.
Leo Rottering, owner of Tantoo Tanning Salon, 1410 Kasold Drive, said sunburns caused cancer, not suntans.
The International Smart Tan Association — whose "golden rule" is to never sunburn — supports Rottering's view. According to the group's Web site, Tan-
ningtruth.com, 30 million North Americans agree as well. The site says public debate has lost sight of the benefits of sun exposure.
Mary Ellen Hall, who owns Jamaica Tan, 2311 Wakarusa Drive, said the Food and Drug Administration required her to warn clients that repeated overexposure to ultraviolet rays could cause premature aging and skin cancer.
"However, I do believe that safe, moderate and responsible tanning will greatly reduce those risks," she said.
"A tan is the body's natural defense against sunburn," the site says.
Morgan Langstaff, St. Louis, Mo, junior, said she tanned once or twice a week for relaxation, not a darker look. Langstaff said she didn't consider skin cancer an immediate concern.
Hall said her regulars usually tanned two to three times each week, depending on the season
"It's a possibility, but I figure whatever you do, there's a risk," she said. "Live for the moment."
The study concluded that standards of beauty would have to change before students stopped tanning. Results of the study show that those who thought a tan gave a "healthy appearance" were five times more likely to tan and that education about the dangers of tanning lamps was minimally effective, if at all.
Melissa Smith, health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said Watkins didn't offer information about tanning.
"Maybe it's an area, as college health professionals, we need to look at," she said.
— Edited by Adam Pracht
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ENVIRONMENTAL career symposium
October 24th, 2002
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Employer Panel: 4 - 5 PM, Frontier Room
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