4A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
CAMPUS
Law students put studies to practice at KC clinic
Third-year students aren't paid for work but fulfill degree requirement
BY HALEY JONES
hjones@kansan.com
Julie Larson, Prairie Village third-year law student, takes notes during an initial meeting with a Family Health Legal Services coordinator and one of the facility's clients, seen at right. The clinic provides legal assistance to individuals who may have incurred legal problems due to medical emergencies or other causes.
Three third-year KU law students walk into the upstairs office of the Hall Building in Kansas City, Kan., at 9:15 a.m. They've sat through countless hours of law courses, ran through cases
and filled out paperwork. But this is no class. Today they will work to solve the legal problems of real clients.
The students work at Southwest Boulevard Family Health Legal Services
Ryn McGeeney/KANSAN
Clinic. The legal clinic is for low-income clients who can't afford medical services or legal aid.
"They're excited about what they're doing. They're very dedicated to our clients and what we're doing or they wouldn't have been here."
staff attorney, said the grant was a huge relief for the clinic because it relies on grants to pay its staff and operate its facilities.
The law students work at the clinic eight to 10 hours a week without pay to fulfill a degree requirement for clinical work. They are supervised by Gottlieb,
Patricia Thomas, the clinic's
David Gottlieb, associate dean of clinical programs at the University, said the idea for the clinic came from medical professionals who discovered their patients' legal problems often hindered complete recovery of their health.
"If somebody comes in and is injured because they are in an abusive relationship, treating their bruises will ultimately be fuleil." Gottlieb said.
The clinic, which has been open since January, recently received a $300,000 grant from the Topeka-based Sunflower Foundation.
PATRICIA THOMAS Clinic staff attorney
KU law professor, and Thomas.
"We're trying to alleviate people's legal problems so they can focus on their health problems," Nathaniel Thompson, Neodesha law student, said.
Thomas said the students had a client who regularly used the clinic's fitness center because he had diabetes. When the client received a traffic ticket that suspended his license, the clinic resolved the ticket so he could continue visiting the gym to work out. Thomas said the connection between a person's legal problems and his or her health problems was important, but not always apparent.
Thomas requested that the full
The legal clinic has already served about 125 clients. The clients are referred from local medical offices and the clinic is working to establish a referral partnership with the University of Kansas Medical Center.
names and specific case information of the clinic's clients remain confidential.
The health clinic provides general medicine services, dental care, fitness, karate and health classes, cooking classes, a massage therapist and a literacy program.
"We wanted to make it a one stop shop so people know they can go to a specific center and get a number of services that will help them." Thomas said.
Thomas said the legal clinic helped reduce clients' stress levels. The clinic advises clients on issues related to traffic tickets, family law, wills and estates, and abuse cases.
Laura Lane, Atchison law student, said it was exciting to help clients exercise legal rights they didn't know they had. She said many clients would not have had access to legal help if they had to pay fees.
Thompson, who handles wills and general law cases, said some clients who faced legal problems and couldn't afford legal help suffered additional health problems such as depression and stress.
"I think I can handle it,"
Thompson said although he was still only a student, he felt his training had prepared him for the reality of clients' problems.
Thompson said. "I know there's going to be things I haven't seen before, but that's the whole point."
Many of the law students commute from Lawrence,where they are full-time students at the University. Thomas said although only eight to 10 hours a week at the clinic was required,students often worked overtime.
"They're excited about what they're doing," Thomas said.
"They're very dedicated to our clients and what were doing or they wouldn't have been here."
Ellen Jensby, Wichita law student, said the client interaction
was something she didn't get much of in law school. She said she liked working in conjunction with other professionals and helping people deal with a broad scope of issues.
Julie Larson, Prairie Village law student, said being a lawyer was like being a storyteller. She said that by helping people solve their legal problems, she was helping them start a new chapter in their lives.
"I just love meeting people and hearing their stories," Larson said. "This place is filled with a lot of hope."
Edited by Rachel Burchfield
NATIONAL
Unused drugs contaminate water Pharmaceuticals could be affecting 46 million people
ASSOCIATED PRESS
U. S. hospitals and long-term care facilities annually flush millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals down the drain, pumping contaminants into America's drinking water, according to an ongoing Associated Press investigation.
These discarded medications are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded. Some are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, cannot tolerate them or die with nearly full 90-day supplies of multiple prescriptions on their nightstands.
Few of the country's 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data on the pharmaceutical waste they generate. Based on a small sample, though, the AP was able to project an annual national estimate of at least 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging, with no way to separate out the drug volume.
One thing is clear: The massive amount of pharmaceuticals being flushed by the health services industry is aggravating an emerging problem documented
by a series of AP investigative stories the commonplace presence of minute concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the nation's drinking water supplies, affecting at least 46 million Americans.
Researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild. Also, researchers report that human cells fail to grow normally in the laboratory when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs.
ULTIMATE TAN
ACTIVISM
Students fight University T-shirts made in sweatshops
BY AMANDA THOMPSON
Wave the Wheat. Rock Chalk Jayhawk. Win or lose, we'll still booze.
These phrases adorn the backs of hundreds of T-shirts around campus every day, sported by proud layhawks who most likely don't know where their shirts come from. But Ben Jefferies, Tonganoxie junior, does, and that awareness prompted him to form KU Students Against Sweatshops this year.
The goal of KUSAS is to end KU's participation in the sweatshop economy. Jefferies defines a sweatshop as a factory where workers are not able to form unions, or earn high enough wages to solely support themselves and their families
"We probably have a long road ahead of us," he said, "but it's definitely possible."
The first official semester for KUSAS has kicked off with the extensive research into the factories that produce Kansas apparel and how the clothes are made. KUSAS compiled a list of factories the University buys clothing
from, but research is still ongoing.
Despite the odds, Jefferies said he remained optimistic.
Tailan Chi, associate professor of international business, said it could be difficult to find and define a sweatshop because local regulations vary greatly between countries.
Even with monitored regulations in place, it can still be difficult to know what will go on in the factories.
"Some countries with lower incomes can't afford to have factory regulations that seem appropriate to a developed society like ours," said Chi. "They can't be held to our standards."
"The DSP is under the Workers Rights Consortium, which is completely independent of corporations like Nike and Adidas, and has much stricter enforcement mechanisms," said Jefferies. "It would actually ensure that workers' rights are respected."
"It's challenging to enforce these regulations," Chi said. "Every organization has its own self interest. You can try to control it, but it's never perfect."
The DSP is a program that protects the rights of workers who sow university logo apparel. A license from the DSP would ensure that individual factories that produce KU apparel are heavily monitored.
Two hundred universities around the country have their own chapters of Students Against Sweatshops. Jeferies wants KU to join the ranks of 48 universities who have achieved the ultimate goal: a license from the Designated Suppliers Program.
the Fair Labor Association, but Jefferies not satisfied. He said representatives from Nike, Adidas and Reebok sat on the board of the FLA, creating a conflict of interest.
The University is licensed by
— Edited by Ramsey Cox
ODD NEWS Two weeks later, 8-foot gorilla returns home
EAST MACHIAS, Maine — An 8-foot-tall mechanical gorilla is back home at an eastern Maine flea market-style store two weeks after it was stolen and later dumped in a cornfield in Vermont.
A pickup truck carrying the
somewhat battered and torn gorilla arrived Saturday afternoon on Sandy's Sales a day after being picked up at a Vermont police barracks.
Owners Sandy and Lowell Miller were delighted to see the gorilla dubbed "Seemore," which was stolen from outside their store over Labor Day weekend. But they agreed the gorilla needs some tender loving care for its
injuries: a head severed from its body, holes and rips in its face, and a broken arm.
"After people see her battle wounds, we are going to have her have a face lift." Sandy Miller said. "A new rubber face."
Maine State Police said last week that Vermont authorities had identified a suspect.
Associated Press