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
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN UDK
SPEAK
ce 1904
Pursuing Love
Contributed photo
Summer love: Rafferty fell in love while working at a summer camp in Minnesota.
The water is still. Across the lake, the sun cuts through the dark pines that spring up where the water meets land. Was it a mistake to move here? Twelve-hour days spent clinging to a ladder, brush in hand, beneath a summer Minnesota sun is not exactly what I signed up for. Two months ago it had sounded like a great way to spend summer vacation. The opportunity to work with a dear friend and experience a new place seemed better than anything Kansas offered at the time, but I find myself missing home. These thoughts rock back and forth in my head, like the water softly lapping against the sailboats tethered to the docks.
The sounds of the Westwood worship band practicing for this morning's outdoor service scatter the thoughts of home from my mind. Down by the water a boy helps his young love in to a metal canoe. After finding her seat in the front, she tosses her straw bonnet to the belly of the canoe, letting her curls unfurl down her pepper skinned back. I watch their oars slice through the water propelling them through life together, and I am jealous.
"Excuse me, do you know anything about what is going on at the amphitheater this morning?" I turn my head and there she is. Her beauty catches me off guard. Answers to her question fumble through my head, but all I can think is how her eyes sparkle like diamonds beneath the summer sun. After finding a spot near the back of the crowd, I manage to give Kate the details quietly as the Sunday service begins.
Sitting on the grassy knoll beside her, I notice a blue fraying bracelet hanging from her freckled wrist and I imagine what it would be like to hold her hand. My mind begins to drift off into a sea of questions that swirl around this girl and her beautiful Minnesota accent.
"Would you want to take my canoe out with me?" Around us I notice people making their way to the parking lot, blankets in hand. "Sure, that sounds great," I reply in disbelief that nearly an hour had passed since we first sat down.
Sitting in the rear of the canoe I steer through uncharted waters listening to Kate. With each paddle we draw closer to the center of the lake, closer to each other. She spent the first month of her summer vacation in Costa Rica volunteering at a hospital, and is pre-med at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Want to drop the anchor and rest a little," she asks.
"OK," I reply as I toss the anchor over the side.
Sprawling across the boat, I begin to share my story. I tell her about my volunteering experiences in Cairo. I tell her about school at Colorado University and my plan to transfer to KU in the fall. She tells me about her love for water skiing and I tell her I've never been able to. We talk back and forth for hours.
Above us the stars shimmer against the iliac sky. Looking at my watch I can't believe it's nearly 7 o'clock. Kate reaches for the anchor suggesting it is time to head back to shore. Paddling toward the marina, I can't believe how much has changed in just a few hours. I never would have thought one afternoon, one person could turn my summer around. The stern scraping against the moss colored-rocks along the shore reminds me this is not a dream. Kate steps on to the embankment and steadies the boat as I make my way to the
front. Together we pull the canoe with tired arms along the paint-cracked boards of the marina floor. Reaching her slip, I bend down to tie the canoe to the metal cleats fastened to the wooden plank.
"I is there a special knot to tie this," I say. "I quit Boy Scouts before getting the knots badge."
"Nothing special," she replies, laughing. Finishing my knot is beside her on the edge of the dock, our feet dangling above the crests of splashing waves.
"Thanks for taking me out today. I really had a good time," I say. After an afternoon of conversation, suddenly I find myself tongue-tied.
"Jack do you like mischief?" she asks standing up.
"What do you have in mind?" I ask.
"Follow me," she replies darting up the
dock.
Before I can catch up to her she jumps onto a boat and down the stairs disappearing into the cabin below. Without hesitation I hop the railing and follow her down the steps in to the darkness.
"Where are you?" I whisper.
"Over here," she snickers holding a tan wicker basket
"Do you know who owns this boat?" I ask sitting down beside her.
"No, but that's what makes it exciting" she replies, opening the basket to reveal oranges, apples, and grapes wrapped in a red and white checkered cloth.
She breaks a grape from the stem and hands it to me. I continue to stare transfixed by the moon reflecting in her eyes. Inside I feel myself slowly losing control, giving in to the moment. I watch my hand slowly push her bangs from her eyes. I draw her to me, my hand quivering as our lips meet.
That kiss happened four years ago, yet I can still recall every detail. As that summer came to a close we worried what life apart would be like. I returned home a month before classes were scheduled to begin and two days later I knew. I knew that even if Kate was the only person I knew in Wisconsin, that was where I wanted to be.
The following three weeks were spent filling out forms and convincing my parents and friends that I was making the right decision. It wasn't until Kate and I later painted my bedroom that I truly knew I had made the right choice. Above my bed to accent the beige, she left a blue handprint. Beneath it she wrote, "I love you" in cursive lettering.
Unfortunately the pursuit of love is unpredictable and such was the case for us. After a year of dating, Kate and I felt that our lives were moving in different directions and parted ways. Even though the right decision was made, her absence left a void in my life that only time could fill.
Since then I have felt love's sting twice more, and while I would like to say it gets easier, the truth is losing love is always painful. They've each left fingerprints on my heart that I now carry with me through life. While at times it can be tempting to lose hope, I still believe if you pursue love with a sincere heart, one day you will find it. And so will I.
JACK RAFFERTY
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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 upstairs 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
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.
MORGAN LAFFORGE/KANSAN
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.
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.
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 shelter is serving 11 families with 14 adults and 21 children, 17 of which are in school.
viduals here struggling. Their self-esteem is being damaged each day they're here. Their self worth is
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
"We have families and indi-
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.
Index
ing 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.
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.
CLASSIFIEDS 9 CRYPTOQUOPS 4 SPORTS 10
CROSSWORD 4 OPINION 9 SUNSHINE 10
"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."
Edited by Josh: Kantor
SEE HOMELESS|3
gal assailant is an important part of the week.
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2011 The University Daily Manan
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Today's weather
Forecasts done by:
University students. For
a more detailed forecast,
see page 28.
HI: 61
LO: 52
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see page 2A. This weather is awesome