THE UNIVERSITY JARY KANSAN
MONDAY AUGUST 17, 2009
MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2009
NEWS 3A
TRADITIONS
Hail to old—and new-KU
Traditions Night will introduce new faces with the old chants
BY JESSE BROWN
jbrown@kansan.com
Traditions Night has usually been a night to celebrate traditions at the University. But this year the event will also be welcoming many changes to the University.
The event, which has the theme "New Faces of 2009: Think like a freshman," will introduce Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and the new student body president, Mason Heilman. The community will also have the opportunity to see the changes made to Memorial Stadium, including the larger Jayhawks emblem at the 50-vard line.
John Staniunas, chairman of the theater department, is helping organize the event.
"There's a lot of people in the mix," Staniunas said. "Stan jobs is."
to listen to all the people, bring people together to run things smoothly, like clockwork."
In keeping with the theme, the event organizers would go through the traditions in a new order.
Staniunas said that in keeping with the theme, the event organizers would go through the traditions in a new order.
The department of theater will
also introduce its new faculty member, Nicole Hodges Persley, who will serve as co-host of Traditions Night.
Charlie Persinger, director of University ceremonies and special events, said he was excited about the event. He estimated a total of 5,000 students, faculty, staff and community members attended the event last year. He said he hoped the new elements this year would draw more people.
Traditions Night is an opportunity for incoming freshmen, transfer students and others to learn about KU traditions such as waving the wheat, the Rock Chalk Chant and the Alma Mater.
Persinger said James Carothers, professor of English, will be giving a speech about the importance of the school's colors, crimson and blue, and Kansas coach Bill Self will speak to inspire students for
the new school year.
Traditions Night is also gaining special attention from another school, Persinger. He
Traditions Night
8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 17,
Morial Stadium
**Emcees:** Mason Heilman and Nicole Hodges Persley **Speakers:** Professor James Carothers and Kansas coach Bil Self Special introduction of Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little
said officials at Azusa Pacific University were interested in using the University's template to produce a similar event for their
The Marching Jayhawks, KU Choir and Spirit Squad will provide the entertainment for Traditions Night.
Heilman, Lawrence senior, said he has seen the event before. He was in the Marching Jayhawks for the last three years, but this year he will serve as co-host of the event.
"I'm really excited about it," Heilman said. "I think it will be a lot of fun."
Edited by Samantha Foster
ACTIVITIES
Campus groups personalize students' college experience
BY ANNA ARCHIBALD aarchibald@kansan.com
When Megan Do came to the University her freshman year, she never expected it to be so overwhelming.
"The transition to KU was harder than I expected," Do said. "A few people that I went to high school with came here, too, but I never saw them. It was hard to meet new people."
Do, live music coordinator for Student Union Activities, said she was really involved in the Lawrence music scene her freshman year. After meeting people involved in SUA, a friend told her the SUA live music coordinator position was open, and she went for it.
"I've met a lot of people through SUA that I never would have met otherwise." Do said. "It's a support system of people who will help you with anything from planning events to a paper for class."
The transition to a large university, can be difficult for freshmen, Aaron Quisenberry, associate director of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center said. But he said the wide range of student clubs and organizations available could help make the adjustment easier.
There are about 600 groups on campus available to students. From anime to Frisbee, the clubs and organizations at the University appeal to a wide variety of interests. Quisenberry works to help new organizations and clubs register.
Twenty-five thousand students is
Information Fair
7 p.m.to 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 17
Recreation Center
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 21
Kansas Union lobby
overwhelming at first", Quisenberry said. "And if you can meet a handful of students in the beginning it will make the campus more manageable."
Every year at new student orientation, students fill out a handout of about 130 different groups according to their personal preferences. Clubs
and organizations then contact students, making the process of getting involved with groups on campus more accessible.
Joe Day, Derby senior and SUA president, got involved with SUA his sophomore year after meeting other members at
Freshman activity is good for the organizations on campus, too.
"Nobody minds what your major is or where you come from," Day said. "They're just there to have fun."
Dav said.
the annual Templin Hall Casino Night.
Ryan Callihan, Lenexa senior and president of KU Environs, an environmental awareness organization, said the group was expecting 50 to 60 new people to show up at its first meeting this year. He said he expected most of the new members to be freshmen and sophomores.
"Being involved is an incredible learning experience," Callihan said. "It helps students learn the ins and outs of campus."
"What you do outside the classroom makes or breaks you. If you're involved in good things, you'll go on to do good things."
Megan Baker, project coordinator for new student orientation, also helps freshmen get involved when they first arrive on campus.
Baker, along with SILC and about 100 other groups on campus, will hold two information fairs during Hawk Week. One will take place
AARON QUISENBERRY Associate director
from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Aug. 17 at the Amber
Student Recreation
Fitness Center and
the second will be
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Aug. 21 in the Kansas
Union lobby.
"What you do outside the classroom makes or breaks you," Quinserine said. "If you're involved in
good things, you'll go on to do good things."
A list of all the student groups can be found on the KU A-to-Z Web site under "Student Organizations."
Edited by Abby Olcese
FLU (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
According to statistics from the CDC, nearly 60 percent of the 37.030 confirmed and probable cases of H1N1 from April 15 to July 24 were people between the ages of 5 and 24.
"It's safe to assume that university populations are at a higher risk than normal populations of work environments," he said.
ple in university settings should take extra precautions because of the vulnerability of the campus age range.
According to a different CDC survey of 268 hospitalized H1N1 patients, 16 percent of fatalities came from this age group.
Patty Quinlan, nursing supervisor with Student Health Services, said the high numbers of youths contracting H1N1 was different from seasonal flu, which targets individuals younger than two years old and older than 65 years old.
"With seasonal flu we know it's
Alyssa Thiel, Lawrence junior, said that she tends to get sick when she returns to campus. She said she was more concerned than normal this year about the swine flu because two students in her residence hall this summer contracted H1N1 when she studied abroad in London.
New students already have many stressors that weaken the immune system such as a new diet, people, social scene and living conditions combined with less sleep, more stress and increased alcohol and tobacco use, Quinlan said. H1N1 adds to that vulnerability, she said.
The CDC has also found that pregnant women and obese people are more susceptible to H1N1.
coming, we know who's susceptible," Quinlan said. "We don't know these things with a new virus."
"It seems like it's going to be pretty widespread," she said.
Thiel said she was glad the University was taking steps to protect students,but wasn't sure how effective the precautions would be.
University officials have issued a few statements regarding response procedure for the coming school year, including an e-mail to students living in residence halls.
The e-mail states students diagnosed with H1N1 should isolate themselves until they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours.
"The best place for a sick person is in their own bed, with their own clothes and familiar surroundings," Steeples said.
The e-mail recommends roommates of H1N1 infected students move to another living space while the ill roommate is recovering. Steeples said hall staff would arrange another room should the healthy roommate choose to move.
Edited by Megan Morriss
THE BIGGEST & NEWEST BACK TO SCHOOL