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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
A chance for rain or thunderstorms.
Kansan
Moving On
The double-decker bus that was part of a fleet owned by Bill Muggy, also the owner of Jayhawk Bookstore, moves on to a new owner in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wednesday
September 17, 1997
Section:
A
Vol. 104 - No. 19
Sports today
SEE PAGE 8A
Kansas head football coach Terry Allen is worried about injuries debilitating his team's wide receiver corps.
SEE PAGE 1B
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GTAs lobby for Kansas money
(USPS 650-640)
Money will help pay for health care
Jennifer A. Yeoman
jyeoman@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The Graduate Teaching Assistant Coalition went in front of the Legislature's budget committee yesterday morning to present an argument that the University of Kansas should receive state money for
GTA health care.
As GTAC prepares to vote on its contract with the University later this month, two major questions remain to be answered: who will pay for GTA health coverage coverage and what percentage of coverage will be provided.
The coalition, which was formed when GTAs unionized in 1995, reached a tentative contract agreement with the University on June 26, 1997. The agreement says, among other things, that the University will request funds from the state to cover a portion of GTA health care.
FOR KU students over the age of 26, one year of a student health care plan at Watkins
Health Center costs $566. The University has agreed to ask the state for enough money to cover 75 percent of those costs, said Mark Horowitz, president of the coalition.
However, Dan Stanley, a representative from the state Health Care Commission, which will decide how much money the GTAs should receive, hinted at yesterday's hearing that only 50 percent of GTAs' health care costs should be covered.
The state budget committee will determine whether the state will give the University any extra money or whether the University will pay for GTA health care costs out of its own pocket.
One of the first steps in this process is determining once and for all whether GTAs are state employees or students.
A 1994 ruling by the Kansas Public Employee Review Board (PERB) determined that GTAs are state employees first and students second.
The HCC representative testified yesterday that because of this decision, the state should give the University money to help cover GTA health care.
But some legislators are not convinced that GTAs indeed should be considered state employees.
minds about whether they are employees first and students second," said state senator Dave Kerr, a member of the budget committee. "We picture them as students first. We want to try to understand the thinking behind the decision that these are indeed employees and not students who are supplementing their income."
Kerr said the committee had requested the 50-page explanation of why PERB decided that GTAs were employees. He said that if the budget committee did not
"There was a question in some of our
Smokers kick butts at Watkins
See GTAS on page 3A
By Sarah Chadwick
By Sarah Chadwick
schadwick@kanson.com
Kanson staff writer
Smokers searching for a way to quit the habit have many options: cold turkey, tapering down, a patch or nicotine gum. Watkins health educator Julie Francis offers yet another solution: a lifestyle change.
If smoking is a habit that accompanies studying, the student could go to a place where smoking is not allowed.
Francis said if a smoker normally had a cigarette after getting home and sitting in a certain chair at night, then the habit should be changed by not sitting in that room.
A new program for stopping smoking helps smokers quit by putting the responsibility in their hands. Smokers design their
The program, based on Tom Ferguson's book "The No-Nag, Guilt, Do-It-Your-Own-Way Guide to Quitting Smoking," was started by Francis six years ago when she came to Watkins.
The first step in the do-it-your-own-way plan is to discuss how long the person has smoked and how much they smoke. Francis said.
Francis gathered between eight and 12 students together for two and a half hours to come up with individualized plans to stop smoking.
"Then we figure out if the addiction is strong for the nicotine or if it's for the habit itself," Francis said. "Most people are more addicted to the habit of having a cigarette."
Randall Rock, Watkins chief of staff, said the plan is a good option for those struggling to quit smoking.
"Smoking cessation is not a one size fits all thing," he said. "I think her plan is a good option. The key determine is 'are you truly ready to quit smoking?'
break the habit
Quitting smoking really is about changing long-term habits, Francis said. In this program, students learn what prompts cravings for cigarettes, what their daily habits are and what needs to be changed to
own plan and prepare to quit by examining their habit. Photo by Chris Hamilton/KANSAN
"They have to stop and really pay attention to what they do on a daily basis and then change the routine," she said.
Francis sees three to four students a week and encourages them to let her know how the program is working.
*Progressive small group tour with children's experience*
ages them to let her know how the program is working.
“Progress is really hard to rate with this.” Francis said.
“When you decide to quit, if it's in a week or year, here are the ideas. The motivation has to come from within. This is definitely a very do-it-your-own-way plan.”
We've got a winner
school with Vaughn in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and a shopping spree at the Warner Bros. store in Kansas City. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
Kelsey McCarthy, 10, talks with Jacque Vaughn at Holy cross Elementary School in Overland Park after winning the "Jam with the Pros" contest. McCarthy won a trip to
Diet pills removed from Watkins center
By Sarah Chadwick
By Sarah Chadwick
schadwick@kansas.com
Kansan staff writer
The decision to pull two popular diet drugs off the market on Monday will effect fewer than five KU students who received their pills through the Watkins Health Center pharmacy.
Fenfluramine, one part of the diet drug Fen-Phen, and Redux, an appetite suppressant approved in 1996, were taken off shelves at the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration.
The diet drugs were pulled from shelves because of a link between taking them and heart valve disease. The FDA recommended patients discontinue use of the drugs.
"We've had a few people on it, less than five people," said Cathy Thrasher, chief pharmacist at Watkins.
The diet pills were pulled off the shelves Monday at Watkins, but patients had not been informed of the change as of yesterday afternoon.
"I'm sure some of them will be upset, but it's for their own health," Thrasher said. "I'm still running reports on it right now and haven't contacted the patients yet."
Watkins chief of staff Randall Rock is not surprised that the medications were pulled.
"We chose not to prescribe Fen-Phen from this facility for cosmetic reasons," Rock said. "In retrospect, I'm glad we did that."
Fen-Phen was originally intended to be a short-term way to get a jump start on dieting, Rock said.
"The drug was meant as a boost and was not intended for long-term dieting," Rock said. "Hopefully they got that start."
Watch your permits
More parking permits are being stolen from vehicles with open tops such as Jeeps and convertibles.
By Mary Corcoran
mcorcoran@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Only one month into the semester, 33 KU students have experienced auto burglaries. One of the most coveted objects: KU parking permits.
Hang tags a real hang-up for open-air automobiles
KU police said about half the permits stolen came from Jeeps, convertibles and other easily accessible cloth-topped vehicles.
Most students' cars sport the easily removable hang-tag KU parking permit. What many students do not know is that the KU parking department offers a not-so-easily removable sticker permit to students who drive Jeeps or other convertibles.
Parking department officials said they did not advertise the stickers but that any student who owned a Jeep or convertible could bring the vehicle to the department and trade the tag for a sticker.
"If they tell us and if they can bring in the vehicle so we can see it, we can provide the sticker instead of a hang tag," said Pat Runkle, office assistant at the department.
Many students who own such vehicles do not realize that they can buy a sticker, KU police said.
"Stickers are available for convertibles, Jeeps and other other vehicles that cannot be locked easily," said Sergeant Chris Keary of the KU police. "Some people leave their top down because they're afraid someone will cut it, but they also need to remove anything valuable from the vehicle."
Runkle said that if a tag was stolen and needed to be replaced, the student should report the burglary to the KU police, show a copy of the police report to the department and pay a three dollar replacement fee.
Brent Arrowood, Springfield, Mo., freshman, said he had never heard of the stickers until his parking tag was stolen from his Jeen during the first week of classes.
"When I went back and stood in line to pay the three dollars, they almost gave me another tag again," he said. "Then, she realized I had a deep and offered to give me the sticker instead. That was the first time
See PARKING on page 3A
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