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8 things to do before graduation Play hide-and-seek in the stacks of Watson Library, for starters JAYPLAY INSIDE
Play hide-and-seek in the stacks of Watson Library, for starters. JAYPLAY | INSIDE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 59
DIGITAL DEVOTION
'Farmville'increases in popularity
More than 63 million monthly users play the online game
BY DANIEL JOHNSON djohnson@kansan.com
About 10 p.m. each day, Hadley Kombrink heads to her farm.
She harvests fields of peas and tomatoes, milks cows and collects eggs. She walks through neatly lined orchards, picking fruit from more than 10 different types of trees. Next she plows, replants her crops, and rakes the leaves off her neighbor's farm.
The work doesn't make her back ache or mar her hands with calluses, but her right pointer finger might become a little tired. The chores take hundreds of clicks on the computer mouse to complete.
ENVIRONMENT
"I spend about an hour a day on Farmville," Kombrink said. "I need it. It helps break up the monotony of my day."
Kombrink, Overland Park senior and level 35 "Skilled Farmer," is one of more than 63 million monthly players of the online game "Farmville." The game can become an addictive distraction for students who have scheduled it into their daily routines. The game's developers say Farmville has become the most popular online game of all time; they plan to expand the application beyond the Facebook platform and allow users to play on Farmville.com next week.
The game's platform is simple: Players receive a 12 x 12 acre plot of land and 100 gold coins. To earn more money and experience, players can plant and sell crops, raise cattle, help on neighbors' farms, among other farming activities. As they gain experience through time
SEE GAME ON PAGE 3A
Illustration by Drew Stearns/KANSAN
Department receives $5 million for research
BY ABIGAIL BOLIN abolin@kansan.com
The department of geology and the Kansas Geological Survey received a $5 million grant — the largest grant KGS has ever received — to study the possibility of storing carbon dioxide underground.
The department has the opportunity to play a major role in helping harness CO2, one of the greatest contributors to the greenhouse effect. The high amounts of CO2 released from fuel exhaust and the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal are examples of the biggest players involved with global warming, Lynn Watney said.
"Receiving the grant was based on the need to start considering what to do about Greenhouse gases and global warming." Watney, the co-principal investigator for the study, said.
The U.S. has the second highest rate of CO2 emissions released from human activities after China, according to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site and the CIA World Factbook. In the U.S., there were around 6 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2007, and in Kansas contributed around 79 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The department applied for the grant in August, according to Bob Goldstein, distinguished professor and co-principal investigator for the study. About two months later, the U.S. Department of Energy signed on to the stimulus grant
SEE ENVIRONMENT ON PAGE 3A
CAMPUS
Parking and Transit discuss accessible parking issues
BY JESSE BROWN jbrown@kansan.com
Members of the University's parking commission asked for directions from faculty and students yesterday at a public hearing.
About 20 faculty members and students took part in discussing comments and ideas regarding Parking and Transit departmental policies, rules and fees.
The issue of accessible parking for the physically disabled, veterans and moped drivers was the most heavily discussed topic at the hearing. Steven Schrock, chairman of the Parking Commission, led the public hearing.
"This is going to be a driving force for the committee and we'll see what we can do," Schrock said.
Donna Hultine, director of Parking and Transit, said the office sent out an e-mail to faculty and students with surveys, which it had never done before. She said the surveys dealt with the issues of assigned parking spaces for faculty and staff, handicap-accessible parking and new or expanded parking areas for motorcycles and mopeds. She said she hoped to form focus groups that would discuss the ideas brought up in the surveys and
public hearing.
Accessible parking was an issue of concern for students and faculty. Tiffany Huggard-Lee, Columbia, Mo. graduate student, is the vice-president of AbleHawks and Allies, a student organization meant to educate and create awareness for students with disabilities. She said she advocated for more on-campus parking spots for disabled students that were closer to buildings where classes are held.
Huggard-Lee also said charging physically disabled students more for closer parking was wrong and conflicts with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Newton senior and vice-president of Collegiate Veterans Association, said he was also against charging more for closer parking spaces on campus. He advocated for discounted parking spaces for veterans. He said with the increased benefits created with the passage of the new GI Bill, the number of veterans on campus would increase in the coming years
Johnathan Duncan.
STEVEN SCHROCK
Chairman of
Parking Commission
"This is going to be a driving force for the committee and we'll see what we can do."
and higher parking prices would not be fair for these veterans.
Hultine said the department had received many complaints about reckless moped driving on sidewalks. These complaints prompted administrators to discuss alternative parking areas for mopeds and watercrafts.
Another student voiced concern over the reckless driving of some moped drivers and demanded that action be taken to avoid injuries.
A few students who drovemopedstalked about having to park elsewhere as opposed to continuing to park by bicycle racks. One student said students should be allowed to park mopeds near bicycle racks because the engine wasn't as powerful as a motorcycle's.
motorcycles.
From accessible parking to accomidating the needs of students and faculty, Hultine said the ideas at the public hearing will help with future Parking and Transit projects. She also said she encouraged those who attended the public hearing to be involved in those projects.
Mike Gunnear/KANSA
Parking director Donna Hultine responds to questions about KU parking at the public hearing Wednesday in Anderson Auditorium.
Anyone was allowed to voice their concerns and offer ideas about better parking. One of the biggest topics was handicap-accessible parking.
- Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
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