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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
BUTTERFLY HERON
Hot tomorrow with mostly sunny skies.
Kansan
Tuesday
September 29,1998
Section:
A
Vol. 109 • No. 28
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Receiver Harrison Hill scored three touchdowns Saturday. Hill's heroics included a punt return at the end of the first half and two overtime TDs.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Waiting woes at Wescoe
(USPS 650-640)
Students wait in line in front of Wescuse Hall to pick up bus passes. Students are required to pick up bus passes by Monday. Passes can be picked up between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in front of Wescuse Hall and between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and Thursday in the lobby of the Kansas Union. Students also can pick up passes in the evenings between 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. today at Ekdahl Dish Commons, between 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. tomorrow at Oliver Hall Cafeteria and between 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at GSP/Corbin Cafeteria. Photo by Jeff Severin/KANSAN.
Stress often drinking excuse
Harvard study finds partying, binge drinking are problem for two of five college students
Kanson staff writers
By Sue Franke and Angela Johnson
Mid-term exams, relationships and grades may lead some students to relieve stress by having more than a few drinks.
Holly Rowland, Overland Park senior, said she thought excessive drinking happened when people were trying to escape from their problems but the line between social drinking and binge drinking was a blurry one.
"You don't go up to someone at a party and say, 'Are you drinking six in a row to escape your problems?' " she said.
According to a 1997 study recently released by the Harvard School of Public Health, two of five college students are binge
drinkers. It defines binge drinking as five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women. Students were asked to count drinks consumed during the two weeks before they completed the study's self-administered questionnaire.
Ryan Russ, Nevada, Mo., freshman, said he had taken friends to the hospital because of binge drinking.
"At a party last summer, one of my friends started chugging rum," Russ said. "I had to drive her to the hospital, and she had her stomach pumped."
The study also was completed in 1993. The study found that one third more drinkers "drank to get drunk" in 1997 compared to 1993.
Clint Sewell, Caney junior, has his own measure for excessive drinking.
"It becomes a problem when all the friends you have left are the ones you drink with," he said.
According to the survey, the biggest offenders of binge drinking are fraternity and sorority members. Four out of five people living in greek houses are binge drinkers.
Matt Grenier, Atchison freshman and Phi Delta Theta pledge, said that although the figure was accurate, fraternity members did not pressure one another to binge drink, is often thought.
THIS WEEK'S ALCOHOL SERIES:
Today
Today
■ The law
see page 5A
Tomorrow
Alcohol and Beverage
Alcohol and Beverage Control Bar security Rising beer prices
University housing regulations
Thursday
Alcohol free greek housing
Friday
Role of the University
Question and Answer
Question and Answer with Chancellor Robert Hemenway
A former student at the University of Kansas admitted to breaking into the school of journalism's web server about a week-and-a-half ago.
Alcohol use across cultures
Journalism alumnus breaks into web server
"The first few parties we had, someone would get up and announce, 'You don't have to drink if you don't want to.' Now it's just understood," Greiner said.
Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said if someone was drinking for an effect and did not find that effect, then that person had moved from social to problem drinking.
He defined the warning signals of problem drinking as missing class or work, relationship problems and DWI's. He said students also were in trouble if their drinking required medical attention or if they had placed themselves and others at physical and sexual risk.
"They think having eight to 10 drinks is the norm, and it is not," said April Marvin, director of the Kansas Drunk Driving Prevention Project for DCCA, a Lawrence educational and counseling center.
Frequent binge drinkers were eight or more times more likely to miss class and fall behind in their school work, according to the Harvard study.
Many students have a misconception about how much is too much.
Janine Cednick, Hoffman Estates, Ill., sophomore, said she learned about the consequences of binge drinking the hard way.
She said in her first year at the University, she was exposed to drinking for the first time and fell into the
Jon Brewer, a December 1997 graduate from the school of journalism, said he replaced the journalism school web page with a page detailing his frustrations with the school's web site.
Mike Cuenca, assistant professor of journalism, said a student first called the web site to his attention about a week ago. Cuenca went to the web site and attempted to get onto the web server, but the password had been changed.
See BINGE on page 5A
Brewer, who said he planned to work with Cuenca last year on redesigning the page, said he knew the password to the server. After breaking into the server, he said he added his changes and changed the password.
Cuenca said he notified James Gentry, dean of journalism, who contacted Gary Hawke, the general manager of the integrated media laboratory.
Hawke said he went to the Computer Center Sept. 21 and had the password changed again.
"I think this is all pretty insignificant in the greater scheme of life," Gentry said. "Essentially the web site was"
out of date, so it should have been
Gentry: Says no had been charges filen after break in.
taken off any-
touch on any way."
No charges have been filed against Brewer, Gentry said.
The web page content will be rewritten by students in an online writing class this semester. Gentry said he honored to have
the web site updated by Christmas.
Off-campus housing numbers increase
Data not worrying residence halls, Greek organizations
By Sarah Hale Kansan staff writer
The student housing report released in conjunction with last week's enrollment numbers reiterated a growing trend of KU students living off campus.
In fall 1987,48.2 percent of students lived off campus in apartments or houses. This year, that number has increased to 58.9 percent.
The 13,746 students living off campus is up from last year's 13.235 students.
"I lived in the dorms the past two years, but decided to move out this semester," said Chris Dundon, St. Louis junior. "It's great for the freedom and the space, but I could do without having to cook or pay the bills."
Total Lawrence campus enrollment in the residence halls is 13.5 percent, down by nearly 1,400 students and 5 percent since 1987.
Despite Dundon and other KU students moving out of the residence halls, only about 200 fewer students live in the halls.
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
Although the number of students has decreased, the occupancy of the residence halls is at 97 percent.
Fred McElhenie, associate director at the department of student housing, said part of the decrease was because of residence hall renovations. Before renovations, Templin Hall could hold 432 students, and now it only can house 270.
"The general trend has been
toward reducing the amount of space and increasing the attractiveness in appearance of the halls." McElhenejie said.
McElhenie said the department of student housing was not alarmed by the small decrease since last year.
"We're in good shape generally," he said. "I don't see this as
See MORE on page 2A
University faculty blames decline on economic factors
Enrollment of international graduate students continues fall
By Jason Pearce
Kansan staff writer
International and graduate student enrollment continued its downward trend this fall at the University of Kansas, and faculty say the economy is to blame.
According to official University enrollment figures for Fall 1998, the number of international students dropped to its lowest level in 15 years, with 1.526 students attending.
This was a 5 percent drop from last year when
1,607 international students studied at the University. In 1993, 2,181 international students attended, which was the largest number in the last 15 years.
Joe Potts, director of international student services, said a reason for the decline was that many undergraduate and graduate students from Asia had a difficult time paying for American universities because of the struggling economy.
"One of the reasons the financial crisis has affected that group of students is because many of them come from middle-class families," Potts said.
He said many Asian middle-class families — many of whom were able to send their children to college in the United States for the first time only this decade — were affected by the struggling economy the most.
"So now the reverse is happening. Middle-class families don't have the resources to pay out-of-state tuition right now." Potts said.
Potts also said many Asian students who remained at the University were forced to take fewer class hours because of linear tuition.
Graduate student enrollment also declined this fall by 2.7 percent to 5,928 students. Last fall, 6,087 graduate students attended the University, and in 1983 that number was 6,692, an overall decline of 11.4 percent.
Ruth Hillers, co-director of the college graduate administration, said much of this decline also could be attributed to the Asian economic crisis because much of the decline was in the number of international graduate students.
Hillers said other factors included the IRS cancellation of graduate teaching benefits a few years ago and a strong economy in the United States.
Down because of economy
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
Numbers of both international and graduate students have declined in the past five years, both because of the economy. Asian students are facing a poor economy which means they cannot afford out-of-state tuition. American students considering graduate school are facing a good economy, which means a bachelor's degree is all they need to find a good job.
"I think anytime our economy is good, students are less likely to come back for a graduate degree," she said.
Carl Strikwerda, associate dean for liberal arts administration, said another reason for the decline in international students was that universities in other countries competed for the same students.
"KU has been aware of these changes and has been working harder to recruit students, Strikwerda said. "We hope the trend will reverse in the next year or two."
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, associate provost, said faculty members recently formed the International Recruitment Advisory Committee to tackle the enrollment declines.
McCluskey-Fawcett said some faculty members either had completed or planned recruitment trips to Central and South America.
"We are trying to focus our recruitment efforts in countries where the economy is still strong," she said. "We would hate to have a student come here and then have to leave for economic reasons."
Potts said the committee comprised of faculty from many parts of the University including the School of Business, the School of Engineering and the department of admissions.