Family Ties: Amanda Bucher, a junior from Omaha, Neb., holds a picture of her family. She says she talks with family often, but misses helping her younger sister get ready.
After a hard day of classes or your first cold of the year, a common need is parental support. When you realize that dorm food is questionable and you can't eat pizza every night, all you want is a home-cooked meal. These are situations that most college students face. Being homesick is extremely common among students, however, arguably more difficult for out-of-state students with a longer drive home. Students struggle when they first move into their new life and miss specific things from home. For some, these feelings don't change over the years.
Moving to college is exciting and terrifying at once. An easy transition into college life is a support system of friends from high school. This is more difficult for out-of-state students with few classmates that go to the same school, like Doug Dawson, a freshman from Austin, Texas. "There was only one other girl
KU BY THE NUMBERS:
- Percent of students from Kansas: 69.1
- Other states represented at KU: 50
- International Students: 2,093 from 109 countries
that came from my high school from my graduating class,” Dawson says. “We don't have a class together so I never really see her.”
Source: ku.edu
If a student comes to college with few friends it is imperative that they get involved with groups on campus says John Wade, licensed psychologist and outreach coordinator at the University's Counseling and Psychological Services. According to the Student Involvement and Leadership Center there are 559 groups available at KU and these can include anything from religious groups, Greek life and groups related to majors.
Finding a support system of new friends is helpful but does not solve the problem. Wade stresses that the adjustment of college takes time. "I think people often expect the first couple weeks to be hard, but it goes on longer than they expected in their minds and it starts to feel problematic" he says.
Keeping in contact with home is helpful. Wade says it's OK to call home more often early on in the semester to get that extra support.
Amanda Bucher, a junior from Omaha, talks to her mother often to get updates of what is going on with the family. Bucher misses when her family gets together and watching her sister grow up. Bucher has always helped her sister ready for school dances but could
not this year due to a conflict with the University's homecoming. "I used to do her hair and makeup and take pictures at the group stuff," Bucher says.
The feeling of homesickness is not just for freshman. Over the years, older students still feel homesick. For Bess Drum, a senior from Los Angles, this feeling has increased each year. As a freshman, Drum was so excited about meeting new people and living in a different place that she didn't have time to think about home. "Now it seems like I have more time to think about the future and that includes finding a place to live and a job," Drum says. "Now that I am settled at KU with my academic and social life, I think about the bigger picture."
Parents also struggle with their children leaving as much as students do. Rita Drum, Bess' mother, finds it difficult talking to her daughter on the phone. "Sometimes your kids sound one way on the phone and you don't know what's going on behind the scenes." Rita says. She also says that it's difficult to tell whether her daughter is stressed or busy from school, is having a bad day or is homesick. The two don't always have the desired time to talk on the phone so they resort to text messaging. A lack of communication with parents can add stress and increase the feeling of being homesick.
Students go through a roller coaster of feelings while being at school. Homesickness is a common feeling among students who are miles from home or down the street.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE HOMESICK IF
- You would do anything for your favorite meal your mother makes
- The background of your phone is one of your pets
- You listen to your hometown radio station online
- You check the weather of
- You are craving a local restaurant from home
- Your planner or calendar has multiple "going home" posts on it
- Everyone from home is on speed dial
- You have a countdown until a break from school
- You still wear t-shirts with your high school's name
- Keep up with your high school sports and events
- You have more than two pictures of your family in your room
DAVID SCOTT
Obama's proposal will allow more than 1.5 million students to take advantage of the cap and six million students the ability to consolidate their loans in 2012.
Through an executive order, President Obama will move forward with his "Pay as You Earn" proposal that will help reduce monthly student loan payments. By 2014, borrowers will be able cap their payments at 10 percent of their discretionary funds and consolidate their loans, which will reduce interest rates.
The White House announced Tuesday that the administration will take steps to increase college affordability by making it easier to manage student loan debt.
BY THE NUMBERS
dmscott@kansan.com
Jill Jess, director for news and media at KU University Relations.
Molly Iler, a senior in English from Summit, N.J., is a bit skeptical about the feasibility of the idea. She wonders if the program can keep interest rates down while borrowers pay less. But she holds out hope that the president's proposal will help fellow students.
"It's unfortunate that financial setbacks can prevent students from pursuing their true dreams," Iler said. "They have to get a job that they know will help them pay back their loans."
SOURCE: OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND PLANNING
"In a global economy, putting a college education within reach for every American has never been more important," President Obama said at the plan's announcement in Denver. "But it's also never been more expensive."
positions. The consolidation of the Direct Loan program and
said capping the monthly payment allows former students in repayment to better manage their finances if they are in low-income
SEE LOANS ON PAGE 3
necessarily.
The flu shot also assists with students' education.
"We are hopefully preventing missing classes," said Ken Sarber, public health educator for the University.
Students have the option of immunization through a shot or nasal mist, which cost $15 and $20, respectively. Jacque Bagwell, a nurse giving vaccines for the clinic, sees the benefit of her work.
"It's important for your health and the health of those around you," Bagwell said.
The vaccination via shot consists of three inactive, non-live flu viruses that are expected to be most common this flu season out of the 200 flu strains in circulation. The flus mist consists
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students, sand Wenger. "I enjoy getting to interact with patients and becoming more comfortable with the process."
Index
Wenger even considers opening his own flu clinic someday after he graduates. While there are concerns that immunizations might eventually be ineffective because of their widespread use, Wenger's confident that the vaccines will continue to help flu prevention without any long-term consequences.
As for Bissell's unexpected flu vaccination, she feels positive about her experience.
CLASSIFIEDS 9
CROSSWORD 4
"I would highly suggest it. It's a really fast process," said Bissell. "I was in and out within five minutes between my classes."
Edited by Sarah Champ
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 10
SUODOKU 4
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
Have fun and stay safe over the Halloween weekend.
FNCL
for
Today's Weather
纹
HI: 60
L0: 29
Forecasts done by
University students.
For a more detailed forecast
see page 2A.
北
Sunny day and a chilly night
B