THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NATIONAL
PAGE 3
Bank cancels debit card fee
JONATHAN SHORMAN
jshorman@kansan.com
The corporation had planned to charge debit card customers a $5 monthly fee for using its cards. Bank of America was set to begin charging on Jan. 1.
Bank of America announced Tuesday that it would not implement a planned debit card usage fee after public outcry.
Bank officials said additional revenue was needed to gain back a $2 billion annual loss because of new federal "swipe fee" regulations, which began Oct. 1, the Associated Press reported.
In the release, Darnell also said that the company would not currently be charging the fee, nor would the company move forward with any additional plans to do so.
"We have listened to our customers very closely over the last few weeks and recognize their concern with our proposed credit usage fee." David Darnell, co-chief operating officer, said in a news release.
Bank of America, with approximately 17,750 ATMs in the United States, is one of the largest banks so far to abandon plans to charge customers a debit card usage fee.
"Hundreds of thousands of consumers joined the movement to push Bank of America, and its competitors, to eliminate its $5 debit card fee," the website said. "In less than one month, Bank of America went from announcing the fee, to reeling under huge pressure from the media, Congress and change.org."
An online petition on change, org garnered more than 306,000 signatures asking that plans for the fee be canceled.
Other banks have also canceled plans to implement new fees in the face of intense public pushback. As an example, the Associated Press reported on community banks in Arkansas who had decided not to levy new fees on customers. The AP reported these banks have seen an increase in business.
"It certainly is giving us some opportunity, but quite frankly, I don't think the big play will hit until those charges start, probably at the first of the year or whenever they kick them in," John Womack, chairman of Arvest Bank's central Arkansas region, told the AP.
—Edited by Rachel Schultz
Home basketball games are not the only sporting events students have to plan around. Rob Jackson, a student in biology and biochemistry from Robinson, said football games make parking especially difficult.
PARKING FROM PAGE 1
Jackson said normally there's only a few spots behind Wescoe Hall open during football games.
"I usually go to the library on Saturday mornings," he said. "So football kind of screws me over."
"I'd say I make about $60 to $80 dollars per game," Sowers said. "My whole neighborhood sells parking spaces."
Sowers said he sells three or four spaces for $15 to $20.
While some students have complained about parking, to others it is an economic boom. Ryan Sowers,
a senior from Wichita, sells parking spaces where he lives at 19th and Missouri streets.
However Sowars said he and his neighbors didn't have much luck during the season opener against Pittsburg State. He hopes parking profits will pick up when the regular season starts.
Edited by Adam Strunk
EBOOKS FROM PAGE 1
load those e-books using their local library card, according to Sherri Turner, assistant director of the library. The state library provides its own card, which can also be used to download e-books and audio books from the state's website. Turner said the local platform would accept those as well, in the future. She said the Lawrence library will adapt as the state library changes digital platforms.
"We're still waiting for training and information to know exactly how that's going to work for us", Turner said. She said the state and local library websites also steered patrons toward sources of free downloadable content, such as Project Gutenberg, which provides classic literature and other works that are out of copyright.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2011
Currie said the University will not be affected by changes at the state library, and will continue to purchase e-books at the same level or higher, depending on demand. Students can access the University's collection through KU Libraries' website.
KU Libraries has participated in the state-wide e-book program in the past, but now purchases digital content from various vendors and publishers, according to Lea Currie, head of collection development at KU Libraries.
"Most of the e-books provided by the state consortium are not appropriate for a research library," Currie wrote in an e-mail. "Therefore, KU selects e-books that support the teaching and research of students and faculty at the research university level."
Edited by Jonathan Shorman
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
JEOPARDY FOR 600
Max Weinberg, a senior from Leawood, and Stone Dodson, a senior from Tulsa, OKla., high five each other after winning the Student Union Activities event Jeopardy!, in Woodruff Auditorium Tuesday night. The team won a cash prize of $600.
CAMPUS
Common products may pose danger to students
While many Kansas students have questioned if they should do laundry, others are worried about what they are using for it. The Green Clean Initiative, hosted by an Environmental Studies class, has told students that many common cleaning products, including laundry detergent and shampoo, contain harmful chemicals like carcinogens.
Erin Diel, a senior from Overland Park, said effects from these chemicals can vary; they can range from skin irritation from dyes and scents, increased chances of disease
and even effects on future children's development.
Along with education, these students have also handed out samples of "green detergent," which they made from shaved organic soap, Borax and washing soda. These samples contain enough detergent for two loads of laundry and cost 16 cents.
Diel said not only is this detergent good for your body, but it actually works.
"I've used them on my clothes and it cleaned an entire load of wash," she said. "It works great."
away with their price tags, Diel said that making organic cleaners yourself is cost effective and can lead to changes throughout your life.
"Look at one where you feel that you can make the recipe easily in the amount of time that you have and just transition there," she said. "You'll find that you save a lot of money."
Although some green products found in stores may scare students
The Green Clean Initiative will be on Wescoe Beach until Thursday and will host "Chemerical," a film about these everyday toxins, tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Snow Hall.
—Julianna Tidwell
EDUCATION
University recognized for 20 Fulbright scholarships
The University of Kansas won the second highest number of faculty Fulbright scholarships in the country this year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Fulbright scholarship winners will have the opportunity to teach and conduct research overseas for a full academic year. The University won nine faculty scholarships.
"This ranking reflects our faculty's outstanding achievements and the importance we place on being an international research university," Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a press release. "KU exists to educate leaders, and these students are well on their way to becoming leaders in their communities and world."
The University also won 11 student Fulbright scholarships. The
University ranked 27th in the nation and first in the Big 12 conference in these honors.
IAN CUMMINGS/KANSAN
Over the years, KU faculty members have won 297 scholarships and students have won 432.
Pennsylvania State University took first in the rankings, winning 14 faculty scholarships.
—Laura Sather
THIS PARTY IS DEAD
An exhibit at the Watkins Community Museum of History. 1047 Massachusetts St., shows toys and art representing the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos. The holiday, traditionally celebrated on Nov. 2, is a blend of indigenous and Catholic beliefs that pays tribute to the deceased. The exhibit will be on display throughout the week.
Workers stopped the leak by 5 p.m., about two hours after it was detected in a storage tank in the water purification system of Unit 3 at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, said Todd Adler, the plant's engineering manager.
HEALTH
No radioactive material released in plant leak
IRVINE, Calif.- A non-radioactive ammonia leak at a Southern California nuclear plant prompted an emergency alert and precautionary evacuation of nearby workers before it was contained Tuesday, authorities said.
The emergency alert was required because fumes could prevent access
to certain areas of the plant, Adler told reporters at a media information center in Irvine, Calif. The alert was canceled at 6:07 p.m. and evacuated workers were allowed to return.
The leak was in the non-nuclear section of the plant, which is operated by Southern California Edison. No radioactive material was released, no injuries were reported and there was no danger to the public, the company said.
Approximately 30 gallons of leaked ammonia were collected in a basin underneath the tank that was designed for that purpose, Edison spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett said.
was not affected and other units remained fully operational, Adler said.
Electricity production at the plant
The plant is located about 45 miles north of San Diego, just south of San Clemente, and is jointly owned by Edison, San Diego Gas and Electric and the city of Riverside.
While not dangerous for the public or plant workers, an emergency alert at the power plant is an unusual occurrence.
"This is not normal," Edison spokesman Chris Abel said. "The last time we had one (alert) declared was May 1999, because of a suspected pipe bomb on the freeway."
Associated Press