6A the university daily kansan
news
wednesday, September 17, 2003
Relaxing Manicures
- Award winning nail artists
- Exfoliating spa manicures
- French manicures
- Parrafin Hand Treatments
- Rock chalk nail art
- Spa pedicures
- Sculpture & acrylic nails pink and white
- Gift Cards & Packages Available
- Award Winning Nail Artists
1009 Mass.
Skeptical society believes in itself
By Meghan Brune
mbrune@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
On a campus filled with religious organizations, the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics fills a gap for those who question traditional beliefs.
At this year's first SOMA meeting, president Stephanie Kirmer was approached by two international students from England. They told Kirmer that they thought the United States was "hung up" on religion.
Kirmer, an atheist and Topeka sophomore, said the student organization was created to increase awareness on campus of secular beliefs.
"They said that they noticed an intense religious presence on campus," Kirner said.
know one." Kirmer said.
"We are basically saying, 'Yes,
atheists do exist and you probably
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, there were 991,000 atheists and 902,000 agnostics in the United States in 2001.
SOMA will have its third meeting of the year at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at the International Room in the Kansas Union.
In August, 15 to 20 students attended the first meeting, Kirmer said. This was up from last year, but she said she wanted membership to grow.
The group works to be a welcoming environment to theists and agnostics. Paul Mirecki, chairman of the religious studies department and SOMA's advisers, said atheists did not believe in the existence of gods, while agnostics believed there was no way to know whether a higher power existed. Mirecki is an agnostic.
The coupling of a religious
studies professor and a group of non-religious students may seem ironic, but not to Mirecki.
"It may not be typical, but it is natural for me because we share a lot of the same beliefs," Mirecki said.
Despite these common views, Mirecki said that he did not advise the students in religion. He said that the group was independent and had established its own agenda.
"SOMA is concerned with moral issues and the belief that religion hijacked morality," Mirecki said.
Andrew Stangl, Wichita freshman and SOMA member, said he would be discussing extreme religious beliefs at the next meeting. After reading an article about a former Presbyterian priest — Paul Hill — Stangl said he questioned people's interpretations of their religion. Hill, an anti-abortion activist, was executed Sept. 3 for the double murder of abortion doctors.
"He said he was proud to die and that he expected a great reward," Stangl said.
He said he also questioned how a religion based on doing good could lead someone to murder.
SOMA plans to have Clark Adams, a member of the secular organization directory Internet Infidels, speak at one of its meetings. It's a joint venture with two other groups — Individuals for Free Thought, at Kansas State University, and the Heartland Humanists.
Mirecki said the activity was a good move for the growing group.
Fall breezes in for allergy sufferers
"They need to get noticed." Mirecki said. "They are too invisible on campus and in Kansas."
Edited by Ehren Meditz
By Kevin Kampwirth
kkampwirth@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Kansas City, long renowned for its barbecue and blues music, is now known for its high fall allergy rate as well.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recently released its list of the nation's top 50 Fall Allergy Capitals. Kansas City came in at number nine.
Warren Frick, a specialist in pediatric and adult allergies, said he saw many patients this time of year.
"Weed pollen and ragweed are the allergens that affect the most people in this area around this time," Frick said.
An estimated 36 million Americans suffer from fall allergies, making it the fifth most prevalent chronic medical condition in the United States.
Around mid-August, ragweed flowers are at their peak and begin to release pollen. One ragweed plant is capable of releasing
about a billion grains of pollen. each of which can be carried in the air as far as 400 miles, according to www.allergies.com.
Frick said that the heat, humidity and wind of the Kansas City area were all elements that made the ragged problem worse, and all of those factors were present in the area during fall.
"Pollen counts peak in the morning," Frick said. "That's why most allergy sufferers are congested when they wake up."
Mold is another allergen that is prevalent during fall in the Midwest.
Gerald Goldstein, a specialist in allergy and immunization at KC Allergy and Asthma in Overland Park, said that weather played a big part in the especially high mold count.
"After an extremely dry summer like the one we had and then all the recent rain, the conditions are ideal for mold spores to spawn," Goldstein said.
In the fall, mold often grows in damp, dark places like gutters.
soil and rotting wood. When trees begin to shed, leaf piles become another major spawning ground, according to the allergy foundation.
Although complete avoidance of these allergens is almost impossible, Frick said there were steps one could take to combat some of the more severe symptoms.
"Keeping windows in the house closed and running the airconditioning are two things we often recommend," Frick said.
The next step is medication, which allergy sufferers spend an estimated $3.5 billion on annually, according to research by the University of Iowa.
Daily antihistamines, such as Claritin and Allegra, and nasal sprays, such as Nasalcrom, worked pretty well to quell the symptoms of most people, Goldstein said.
But there are those who need something stronger.
"Allergy shots are the last resort and are for the worst allergies," Goldstein said.
Allergy shots are given once a week, and as symptoms alleviate are trimmed back to bi-weekly and then monthly until an immunity is built up to the allergen. Shots are more of a commitment than prescription or over-the-counter drugs, but they have a 90 percent long-term success rate, Frick said.
Fall allergens such as ragweed and mold usually remain active until the first major frost hits, but can sometimes last into the winter months.
For Ryan Moulder, St. Louis senior, this is bad news as he deals with a runny nose and watery eyes.
"The milder winters that we've seen the last few years have not allowed for the mold spores to be killed off." Goldstein said.
"I'm usually pretty miserable for most of the fall," Moulder said. "I look forward to winter just so I can get some relief."
- Edited by Scott Christie
Georgia sanctions first alligator hunt
The Associated Press
ALBANY, Ga. — Georgia's first ever alligator hunt is under way, with 180 people picked by lottery to kill the giant reptiles that pose a nuisance by crawling into carports and sliding into swimming pools.
Georgia is allowing the hunt in 13 counties and a wildlife management area near Valdosta, Ga. The hunt began Saturday and ends Sept. 28.
Melissa Cummings, a spokeswoman for Georgia's state Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Management Division, said there were no reports by Monday of any alligator kills, but hunters have until Oct. 15 to register the 'gators they take either for hide or meat — or both.
Alligators are hunted at night by light beam, with only the eerie glow of their eyes visible. Hunters must snare them first and pull them close to their boats before killing them, either by handgun
or severing the spinal cord.
The reptiles can grow up to 16 feet and weigh as much as 800 pounds.
Georgia's state Department of Natural Resources received 2,557 applications for the hunt and chose 180 people at random. Each hunter pays $50 for a license and the alligators have to be at least four feet long. Each hunter is allowed only one alligator.
With state and federal conservation efforts, Georgia's alligator
population has surged from almost none in the 1960s to an estimated 200,000.
Georgia wildlife officials receive an average of 450 nuisance complaints a year. Nuisance alligators are killed or moved by the state's licensed trappers.
The state has had eight alligator attacks on humans since 1980, but none were fatal.
The areas where hunts were sanctioned have been hotbeds for complaints.