Volume 124 Issue 20 kansan.com Friday, September 16, 2011 PARKING PROBLEMS AbleHawks group question if administration is listening to its concerns PAGE 3 WALKING THE RUNWAY Go to Kansan.com for photos of new fall fashions. LOCALLY GROWN Lily Siebert, left, and T.J. Everett, arrange fruits and vegetables at a farmers market outside at 6th and Wakarusa Streets. Proceeds of the market help fund the Growing Food Growing Health School Gardens program. CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN GROWING CHILDREN Area schools lead the way in healthy eating by growing their own produce CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN BOBBY BURCH bburch@kansan.com They gather on a Thursday afternoon, setting up their tables and canopies on the blistering black asphalt outside the Salty Iguana restaurant. Local farmers, chefs and winemakers have posted signs at street corners advertising their produce, vittles and vintages. The few shoppers wandering around the parking lot inspect the merchants' goods. A cornucopia of fresh produce and locally crafted goods rest on tables of the small farmer's market: Swiss chard, huckleberries, peach pie, boysenberry jam and homemade Merlot. Freshly picked tomatoes sit on a table outside of the garden. The tomatoes will be used in the West Middle School's cafeteria or sold at a farmers market. At one table Lily Siebert, assistant "No, those went pretty fast," Siebert replies. She then presents the largest of her remaining gourds. education and outreach coordinator for the Community Mercantile and former University student, smiles broadly as she answers a passer-by's question. Ostensibly, the food on Siebert's table is no different than the fruits and vegetables at any of the other vendors' booths — fresh, organic, locally grown and nurtured by the effort of a few individuals. "Any bigger cucumbers?" the shopper asks. However, Siebert's produce differs from others at the market in at least one notable way — Its home; Lawrence Public Schools. THE PLOT Some two miles from the farmers market, on the northeast lawn of West Middle School, lies the birthplace of the food Siebert sells. The "Growing Food, Growing West" garden project began SEE GARDEN | 3 LAWRENCE Homelessness harder on kids D. M. SCOTT Students know the challenges of waking up for that 8 a.m. class. But some students — much younger students — understand a different struggle. These students, along with getting up early, must make their way from the Lawrence Homeless Shelter. In the morning, a group of 17 children woke up and shared two showers and two toilets along side 14 adults. After getting ready they went up stairs and waited with 40 more adults for breakfast, or walked to school and received a free meal at school. "Kids are so adaptable. The stressors we see are getting used to a new school and the stigma that may come with the label 'shelter kid' or 'homeless kid,'" said Jennifer Davis, the case manager at the Lawrence Community Shelter. "Luckily, so many of them are going to the same school that they MORGAN LAFORGE/KANSAN dmscott@kansan.com have their own support system. In the past, it would be just one new kid coming from the shelter. He or she would stand out a little bit more." According to the Kansas Point in Time Homeless Count for Douglas County, a biannual report, the Lawrence school district counted 100 children ages K-12 who were homeless in 2009 and 149 in 2011, accounting for a 49 percent increase. Johanna Moon, a student at Cordley Elementary, leans on the front door of Lawrence Community Shelter early Thursday morning as she waits to go to school. There is a large number of families with children elementary age that are currently living here. Davis has seen a dramatic increase in family homelessness in Douglas County. The school district defines homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act, which includes families that are double-up or staying with family or friends. viduals here struggling. Their self-esteem is being damaged each day they're here. Their self worth is The shelter began its Family Program at the end of 2008. In 2009, there were 14 families with 24 adults and 24 children in the program. In 2010, there were 50 families with 67 adults and 83 children. So far this year, the speller is serving 11 families with 14 adults and 21 children, 17 of which are in school. "We have families and indi- SEE HOMELESS|3 CAMPUS CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN Sheila Sadeghi, a senior from Boston, writes a comment on a poster asking how you can help a friend who has been sexually assaulted. The posters have been put out on Wescoe Beach every day this week to promote Sexual Assault awareness. Students share ideas on stopping sexual assaults KELSEY CIPOLLA kcipolla@kansan.com A student who approaches the Sexual Assault Awareness Week table on Wesco Beach can comment on one of the boards provided. Some students struggle to vocalize their ideas and experiences. A widespread problem on campus has been students' inability to openly communicate on such a serious and complex issue. "I think it's important that we acknowledge that, yes it is a difficult subject, but it's something that is happening all around us and we are all affected by it no matter if we realize it right now or not," said Sonja Heath, assistant director of the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center. Sexual Assault Awareness Week has traditionally been in April, but this year, the WRC chose to move it to the beginning of the year in an effort to reach new students at a time when they may be particularly vulnerable to attacks. Students are still trying to make friends, adjust to the college environment and might be experimenting with drugs and alcohol for the first time, said Heath. The WRC hoped providing students with information about the issue up front rather than waiting until the end of the year would help them navigate potentially dangerous situations better, she added. The main goals of the week were to increase awareness and educate the campus about sexual assault. Each day this week, volunteers had a table on Wescoe Beach set up where students could take a pledge to hold others accountable for their actions and try to put an end to sexual assault. Students could also decorate bandanas in honor of a victim of sexual assault and learn more about what sexual assault is and what resources are available for assistance with a different topic to focus on every day. Heath said involving men in the discussion about sexual assault is an important part of the week. On Tuesday, the topic was how alcohol consumption can create problems in sexual situations, particularly on college campuses. It also served as the focal point of a presentation at Hashinger Hall about consent and alcohol put on by the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. "One of the questions we were talking about out on Wescoe Beach was 'What can men do to prevent sexual assault?' he said. "I took that as, how can men educate themselves and how can men educate other men and hold other men accountable for their actions?" "We want to make sure they know how they can help and how they can be an advocate," said Heath. "And we want them to know its not just a women's issue. We want to make it okay for men on this campus to be able to talk about it seriously and try to help prevent it on our campus." Max Ayalla, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., and the vice president of the fraternity, said that the house typically hosts a rape prevention seminar at the beginning of the year, but when Sexual Assault Awareness Week was also moved to the beginning of the year, the fraternity saw an opportunity to participate in a bigger project. Today, volunteers will discuss the importance of bystander intervention. The GaDuGi SafeCenter will also host two events over the weekend to raise awareness and money to prevent sexual assault. Edited by Josh Kantor Kappa Alpha Psi's involvement was related to Wednesday's topic on men's outreach. Index CLASSIFIEDS 9 CRYPTOUPUS 4 SPORTS 10 CROWDRESS 4 OPINION 5 SUODKU 4 NI contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2011 The University Daily Kansas Don't forget Make a friend today! Today's weather Forcasts done by University Students. For a more detailed forecast for week 20, click HERE. HI: 61 L0: 52 see page 2A This weather is awesome!