Friday
September 27, 2002
Vol. 113. Issue No. 27
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Tonight: 55°
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KANSAN Golden Hurricane looks to blow away losing streak p. 1B
Lucky to be alive
Traci Pillard reflects on possibly fatal lightning strike
By Michelle Burhenn
mburhenn@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
When millions of electrical volts surged through Traci Pillard's body, she didn't feel a thing.
A lightning strike seared her skin, blew a hole in her eardrum and scorched her clothing when Pillard walked to her car on the first day of classes.
Anton Bubnovskiy/Kansan
Traci Pillard's Gap shirt contains holes from a lightning strike. Pillard was left with scars on her body.
"I didn't feel anything or hear anything," Pillard, Salina senior, said. "All I can say is that I was walking and the next thing I knew I was on my stomach half-naked with my umbrella five feet in front of me."
Pillard was walking to her car to run some errands between two classes shortly after noon on Aug. 22. She never parked behind Snow Hall before that day, she said.
It was sprinkling that day and she was carrying a black umbrella.
"I could not move my legs or even feel my legs," she said. "I had absolutely no feeling in them for about two hours."
After the surge, it took a while for reality to set in, she said.
The lightning strike blew her favorite shoes off her feet and burned her most comfortable jeans to shreds, she said.
"I looked up and this girl asked me what had happened," she said. "I finally said I think I was struck by lightning." She said 'Yeah, I think you have, too.' It's one of those things you never think you're going to say."
Although help arrived within minutes, the wait seemed like hours.
"I never ever wanted help so fast," she said. "I wanted the hospital there now. It was like they couldn't get there fast enough."
enough. She was taken by air ambulance to University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. Pillard spent a day in intensive care but soon moved to a regular room.
tims usually fell into three categories.
Jeff Strickler, nursing director of emergency trauma, burn and ambulatory services at the Med Center, said lightning vic-
A third of the patients aren't really injured at all, he said. They generally receive lacy-patterned burns that are limited to the skin's surface, much like a sunburn.
About another third fall into the most severe and fatal category.
"They may have severe burns, but that is a rarity," he said. "Usually what you see is such a high current that is actually paralyzes your diaphragm that helps you breathe and their heart stops as well."
If these patients don't have basic and advanced life support within five minutes, they will usually die, he said. In some cases, air within the body heats up and rapidly expands causing internal organs to rupture, he said. Sweat on the body can also cause some minor injuries.
"The sweat on your feet is instantly turned to steam and you're blown from the ground," he said. "There are so many millions of voltage and so much heat that it's able to do that. And it's in an instant — parts of a second — that it happens."
Pillard's case falls into the middle third of lightning strike victims.
"In that category, you usually see a deeper burn because the current has actually passed through the body," Strickler said. "Maybe they're jolted and thrown. It can have an explosive effect and people suffer from injuries from the jolt."
In Pillard's case, the metal from her underwire bra, metal umbrella and watch may have served as both a conductor for the electricity, protecting her
SEE LIGHTNING ON PAGE 64
Anton Bubnovskiy/Kansan
Lightning blew the Adidas shoes off the feet of Traci Pillard. Pillard didn't want her face pictured after she was struck by lightning Aug. 22. "I'm glad to be back at school," she said. "But I was intimidated because I just wanted to be back and normal."
University enrollment increases 2.3 percent
By Kyle Ramsey
kramsey@kanans.com
Kanans staff writer
The University of Kansas announced yesterday that enrollment for the fall semester showed the largest growth in 16 years.
Enrollment data released by the Board of Regents showed a 2.3 percent increase of 669 students. This is the largest increase since 1996, when the number of students rose by 1,119.
The increased enrollment came during the first semester of a 25.2 percent tuition increase for the 2002-2003 academic year.
"We were determined to keep a KU education affordable for families," he said. "We funneled $2.2 million of the recent tuition increase into need-based aid. Keeping the doors of KU open to deserving students will continue to be our priority."
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said yesterday that KU worked to ensure the tuition increase would not be an obstacle for students.
Although McClusky-Fawcett praised the growth, she said the University would not continue to pursue record-breaking increases because the number of students enrolled could overcome KU's ability to provide an optimum education.
Kathleen McClusky-Fawcett, senior vice provost, credits the growth to greater recruitment effort and higher freshman retention.
"This is not the kind of growth we want to sustain," she said.
- Edited by Erin Ohm
KU ranked high for revelry
By Kelly McNearney
kmcnearney@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas may be slipping in academic rankings, but as a party school it has grown in strength.
KU recently dropped from 39 to 41 overall in U.S. News and World Report's academic ranking of public research universities. But Playboy named KU number nie in the country in this year's top 25 party schools ranking.
"When a school becomes a big party school, I imagine the academic standard goes down," said Dan Barker, St. Louis freshman.
The last top-10 party school ranking awarded to KU was by the Princeton Review in 1998. KU was ranked number eight.
Richard Johnson, dean of students did not credit the high party-ranking with the drop in academic ranking.
"I'm not sure they use the same criteria in judging the schools, so I'd have to say I do not believe there is a correlation." Johnson said.
Theresa Hennessey, public relations officer for Playboy Enterprises, said student write-ins determined this year's rankings. Hennessey said more than 1,500 students called, e-mailed and wrote in telling Playboy why their schools should be at the top of the list. The number of responses and student testimonials, as well as Playboy's own research, influenced the vote. This year marks the first ranking the magazine has done since 1987.
Some students said KU's party scene earned its spot at the top of the list. They praised KU for offering a diverse social scene.
scene.
"We've got house parties, greek functions and great bars," said Blake Julian, Steamboat Springs, Colo., sophomore. "It's kind of like Cheers. You'll go where everybody knows your name."
Other students said KU offered a great social atmosphere every night of the week.
Some students thought KU did not deserve the ranking. They said stringent police action caused KU's party scene to decline.
Todd Rosen, Columbus, Ohio, junior, said bars in Lawrence are crowded even on Sundays.
"I'm extremely surprised we're number nine," said Drew Voegele, Overland Park senior. "We've got no music scene. The drugs are gone. We got nothing now."
Voegele said the ranking was unjustified because KU offered little for minors to do.
He said the only option for minors was to go to The Hawk and pay large cover charges or go to house parties that police quickly break up.
The Playboy ranking named The Hawk as the place to scope out freshman girls. It said Massachusetts Street
Top Ten Playboy Party Schools
1. Arizona State University
2. California State University-Chico
3. Rollins College
4. Louisiana State University
5. West Virginia University
6. University of Colorado
7. University of Wisconsin
8. University of Connecticut
9. University of Kansas
10. San Diego State
Source: Playboy.com
was the "strip to cruise for chicks" and the Crossing offered the best people watching.
"I'm glad to know that students are as proud of the social life at KU as they are of the academic life," said Johnson.
Edited by Jessica Hood and Matt Norton
Abby West/Kansar
Amanda Geivett from the truth.com campaign speaks to Hamid Hajebian, Gardner junior, and Mark Schmeltz. Springhill junior, about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. The group was on campus yesterday handing out frac items and spreading information about tobacco companies and tobacco use.
Group visits KU to spread truth
By Aaron Passman
apassman@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The truth is the truth.com doesn't care whether people smoke.
the truth.com visited the University of Kansas yesterday as part of a 17-city summer tour to spread information about smoking and big tobacco companies.
"We wouldn't say don't smoke," said Eanna Clark, the truth.com employee. "But we would say that the tobacco companies manipulate the truth and don't
give you all the ugly details."
Clark was part of a group of 18- to 25 year-olds on the truth.com's summer tour. The tour hit several major cities this summer, including Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Kansas City. Clark said this was the tour's first year in the Kansas City market. Tour members were on campus during the day and planned to hit downtown Lawrence in the afternoon and evening.
Clark said the truth.com was started as
.