6A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2008
VOLUNTEERISM
students spend weekend volunteering locally
BY RYAN MCGEENEY
rmcgeeney@kansan.com
About130 KU students arrived at the Kansas Union at 10 a.m. Saturday. Some bustling with energy, some still bedraggled from a late night, the students came ready to participate in Volunteer Day, organized by the Center for Community Outreach.
Alison Zeigler, Los Banos, Philippines, junior, CCO co-director, said the annual event was part of Hawk Week and provided students a chance to establish a sense of community before the semester became too hectic.
"We want students to be asking themselves about what their community is," Zeigler said. "What do you want to give back to it? How
do you want to create that sense of change in your own life? Hopefully, that's what you can take with them as they leave college."
Students signed up to volunteer with one of three different organizations: the Lawrence Adopt-a-Park program, Habitat for Humanity of Lawrence and the Boys and Girls Club of America. They were then bussed to the various locations around Lawrence.
Volunteers with the Adopt-a-Park program collected trash and chalked sidewalks in "Dad" Perry Park. Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity sanded and painted exterior and interior surfaces on a home nearing completion in North Lawrence's Comfort Lane area, where Habitat for Humanity has already completed a number
of homes.
Volunteers for the Boys and Girls Club went to four Dillons Grocery stores around the city to encourage shoppers to participate in the "Round Up" program, in which shoppers round up their bill to the nearest dollar and donate the difference to the Boys and Girls Club.
While some of Saturday's participants were new to volunteering, others had lengthy histories of community service.
David Wilcox, Manhattan junior, said he had participated in alternative breaks, where students dedicated their time during academic breaks to volunteer service.
He said he planted trees in Salt Lake City and worked with developmentally disabled people
at Misericordia Heart of Mercy hospital in Chicago.
"The people you meet volunteer are usually the people you'd like to hang out with anyway," said Wilcox, who participated in the Adopt-a-Park program. "What else are we going to be doing from 10 to 2 on a Saturday?"
Mark Brooks, construction manager for Habitat for Humanity in Lawrence, said he was always happy to have the extra hands available.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
"KU kids are just wonderful for us," Brooks said. "I mean a real gold mine of enthusiasm and willingness to come serve. I think that if we're willing to use their energy and grace in the way we do to get these houses built, then the least we can do in return is try to
Blake Mankin, Dallas freshman, adds a coat of paint to the window trim on a Habitat for Humanity house in North Lawrence on Saturday. Mankin, along with about 130 other KU students, participated in Volunteer Day, an annual event organized by the Center for Community Outreach.
offer students an opportunity to do something where they actually see
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POLITICS
BY JESSE TRIMBLE
jtrimble@kansan.com
Sebelius' VP hopes squashed
In the early hours of Saturday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-III.) announced his choice of running mate for the 2008 election as U.S. Senator Ridley.
Sen. Joe biden (D-Del.), end-
inspeculation that Kansas
Gov. Kathleen
Sebelius,
University
graduate,
would be
the nominee. Political
analysts
had pegged
Sebelius
Sebelius, who was also a vice presidential possibility in the 2004 election as a running mate for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.,) as a top four choice for Obama's vice presidential candidate.
Among the other potential running mates for Obama were the governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), according to The New York Times.
Julia Groebblacher, McPherson junior and former president of KU Young Democrats, said that based on recent polls of Obama supporters, the likelihood of Sebelius becoming vice president had been low.
"Unfortunately, I think it's because she's so new to the scene nationally," Groeblacher said. Groeblacher said she would have liked to see Sebelius step up to the role of vice president because of Sebellius' knowledge of the economy and education.
"The country at large is facing a lot of problems now that Kansas faced many years ago," Groeblacher said.
Tom Hartley, chairman of the Douglas County Democratic Party, said the main reason Sebelius didn't receive the nomination was because Obama had to consider how to win more electoral votes.
"From a political standpoint I didn't think she shed be a nominee, because I don't think she wins him a lot of votes on a political point from electoral strategy," Hartley said. "She's a phenomenal choice and definitely a bridge divide between the parties, but at the end of the day it comes down to who is going to help him win."
Amanda Applegate, Wichita senior and member of KU Young Democrats, said although Sebelius got bonus points for policies with the economy, health care and education, she was missing a very important element for a vice presidential candidate.
"She lacks foreign policy experience, which would greatly benefit her right now," Applegate said.
Experience is something for which supporters have praised Biden.
Biden has been in the Senate since 1973 and currently serves as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Applegate said that Sebelius also wouldn't pull enough electoral votes for Obama, and that it was hard for Democrats to run in Kansas, a primarily Republican state.
—Edited by Adam Mowder