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THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 57
CAMPUS
Local bands compete at KJHK's annual Farmer's Ball
BY BRANDY ENTSMINGER bentsminger@kansan.com
The beats of electronica, hip-hop and punk will fill the Jackpot Saloon tonight and Saturday night for KJHK's annual Farmer's Ball.
The Farmer's Ball is a three-day concert series that gives local bands the opportunity to compete in front of a live audience. The competition began Thursday night when four of eight bands played, and it will continue tonight and Saturday.
Rachael Gray, Blue Rapids senior and director of live events for KJHK, said the event was connected to one of the station's weekly radio shows. The show, "Plow the Fields," is KJKH's longest running program and features local music.
Elise Stawarz, Omaha, Neb. senior and president of KJHK, said Farmer's Ball generally featured newer, lesser known bands that didn't have much experience with live performances.
"We just think of Farmer's Ball as a cultivation of what local musicians have been doing in the last year," Gray said.
She said their inexperience often led to technical challenges such as getting sound checks right.
HEALTH
"Nothing too traumatic, but definitely things have been entertaining," Stawarz said.
Audiences at the jackpot Saloon vote to narrow the eight bands to four finalists. The top two bands from Thursday night and tonight will compete Saturday in the finals and the audience will pick the winner.
"Basically it's just a taste of what JKHJ has developed over the years." Gray said.
A group of KJHK DJs and staff chose the eight bands from 41 submissions. Gray said they considered musicality, originality and playability for KJHK while making the decision.
"We're making the kind of music that we want to listen to," Frederick said. "Overall it's probably just to make you dance a bit."
The winning band will receive studio time at Black Lodge, a recording studio in Eudora. The winner will also receive free merchandise from Blue Collar Press, a company that produces customized T-shirts and buttons, and a photo shoot with Alex Bonham-Carter, Omaha, Neb., senior.
Andrew Frederick, Shawnee junior,
will perform with Frederick and the Six
Angry Telephones tonight. Frederick said
the band played fun, melodic music they
hoped would be more than a conversation
piece.
Stawarz said the concert helped KJHK build relationships with local bands and expose students to good bands they may not have heard of in the past. Gray said past winners had gained a lot of popularity and gone on to have successful local music careers.
Sean Wilson, Lee Summit, Mo., senior and promotions director for KJHK has attended the event in the past, but will be performing with his band, Dream Lover, for the first time this year.
"The music's always interesting," Wilson said. "It's a good show."
The four bands playing tonight will draw to determine their order at 9:30 p.m. and the music starts at 10 p.m.
Edited by Jennifer Torline
Emergency contraceptive, Plan B, also known as the morning after pill, can be taken anytime within five days of unprotected sex and is actually two pills, not one
Plan B use increases on campus
BY JOE PREINER jpreiner@kansan.com
Photo illustration by Jon Goering
Having a baby does not rank highly on KU students' list of thing to do before graduation.
According to the Watkins Memorial Health Center, the number of emergency contraception pills sold has risen by 36.5 percent during the last year.
Plan B, the emergency birth control pill offered in Watkins'on-campus pharmacy, was made available over-the-counter in late 2006 after approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Kathy Guth, nurse practitioner in the gynecology department of Watkins, said the increase in sales was due in part to the pill's increased availability. Getting a hold of emergency birth control used to be a hassle, Guth said, because there were legal requirements and parental notification involved in the process. Offering the pill over-the-counter eliminated that need.
Last year, 763 Plan B pills were bought through the Watkins pharmacy. The pill is generally used when other methods of birth control fail, or when two people engage in unprotected sex.
Guth said the two pills in the Plan B package, which costs $24.09 at Watkins, was most effective when taken within 72 hours of sexual activity. She said when taken within the recommended time period, the emergency pill was 'about 75 percent effective at avoiding pregnancy. Outside of three days, the pill loses much of its effectiveness.
Lauren, Dallas senior, who asked her last name be withheld for privacy reasons, has been taking birth control pills for nearly five years. Although she has never found herself in a situation that would require her to use Plan B, she said she would take it if such a situation arose.
"I would consider taking it," she said. "I think it's better than risking getting pregnant if that's not part of your immediate plans."
Guth said most daily birth control contains low levels of two hormones, progestin and estrogen. The combination makes the pill an effective method of birth control. Guth said there was a general misconception about when birth control
pills should be taken. To be effective, anywhere from 90 percent to 95 percent effective, the pill needs to be taken at the same time every day. Guth said even one missed or late pill could potentially result in pregnancy.
nancy from occurring.
"There is a grace period of about an hour," Guth said. "After that, it's not 100 percent you'll get pregnant, but the chances do increase."
Elise Higgins, Topeka junior and president of the KU Commission on the Status of Women, said women who used emergency contraception such as Plan B were sometimes thought of as irresponsible people. Higgins said it was an unfortunate fact, considering the women who take the pills are just like every other woman.
Another common misconception. Planned Parenthood said, is that emergency contraceptive is a form of abortion. The hormones in the pills prevent preg-
"In an ideal world women would have comprehensive sexual education," Stuewe said. "But the reality is we don't live in an ideal world."
Liz Stuewe, 2008 KU graduate and former president of CSW, said the most effective method of birth control for active students was knowledge.
Stuewe said adult women were not often offered the education necessary to protect them. As a result, she said women were shamed into believing their sexuality was inappropriate. Stuewe said women should not be ashamed of seeking emergency birth control.
The side effects of birth control include blood clots, headaches and mood swings, Guth said. Guth said blood clots rarely occur, on average Watkins treats a blood clot once or twice a year. The side effects of birth control are a result of the estrogen in the pills. Guth said Plan B avoided many of the side effects because it only contained progestin.
Plan B facts
763 — number of Plan B pills sold on campus in 2006-07 school year
228 — number of Plan B pills sold on campus since July 2008
36.5 — percent increase in on-campus Plan B sales
ART
Higgins said increased availability of Plan B was a good for women.
"The more open women are talking about things like Plan B and birth control, the more comfortable we will be asking questions about this very important subject," Higgins said.
Mother uses art to connect with son in Iraq
Edited by Ramsey Cox
Cher Ulrich, a nontraditional student from Camel, Calif. poses with her work. Five of 17 pieces, Cher's work depicts veterans of mainly the Iraq war as youthful and with senses of humor.
BY ALEXANDRA GARRY
Alex Bonham-Carter/KANSAN
agarry@kansan.com
"I stood there speechless, trying not to cry." Ulrich said.
Cher Ulrich, a 58-year-old nontraditional art student, was stunned when her then-18-year-old son told her he had enlisted in the Marines.
When her son was deplowed to Iraq several months later, Ulrich was beside herself with worry. Not able to speak with him, she longed for a connection with her son, and eventually decided to try to find that connection by painting a portrait of him for one of her classes.
The project quickly grew in scale as she decided not to paint just her son, but her son's entire unit in Iraq.
"I asked him to ask the men in his unit to send me photos of themselves showing how they see themselfs," she said. "They were so close to my son, and really, they were like any son. I felt connected."
Ulrich poured over the photographs, picking the ones "that spoke to her the loudest" to use in her portraits. The paintings of soldiers, stark in their muted camouflage colors, depicted their everyday activities, from writing a letter to resting against a tank.
Professors and colleagues praised the series, and Ulrich contacted the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo., about displaying the work.
young Marines' senses of humor. One such painting, titled "Pin-Up Boy," shows a solider lying provocatively on a couch in a gas mask.
After months of consideration, representatives of the museum decided to feature the collection as part of its Veterans Day commemoration.
A common theme, Ulrich said, is the
Ulrich said the project has grown beyond connecting with her son or getting a grade in an art class. She said she had become passionate about telling the stories of the men she calls "everyday heroes."
"I feel I know each and every one of them," she said. "I could see their sense of humor and the loneliness of serving, and
their sense of honor and of duty. It became totally about honoring the boys."
Working on the portraits helped Ulrich process her emotions, she said. She wanted the public to understand the Marines' lives, their sacrifices and their vulnerability.
A visiting artist to the school described "In the Field," her portrait of the youngest man in her son's unit, as "disturbing" because of "how young he is, and how much he is sacrificing."
Will Stewart, one of Ulrich's classmates, said her familial instinct made her artwork stand out.
"It's unique to see an artist, especially a student artist, with such a strong voice," said Stewart, who is also a veteran. "It's the relationship she has with these people that makes her able to honor them."
Ulrich has painted 17 paintings since she began the project on August 2007, and she will soon begin her grand finale: A portrait of her son's entire unit in Iraq.
Ulrich's collection, "India Battery: Everyday Heroes," will be on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday and on Tuesday at the National World War I Museum, 100 W. 26th St., Kansas City, Mo. The paintings will be in the lobby of the museum, which charges an $8 entry fee.
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