6A
Tuesdav. September 24,1996
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Break up without breaking down
Ending relationship can prove healthy
By Megan Jordan Kansan staff writer
If a relationship is causing more tears than smiles, maybe it is time to break up.
"You try and tell yourself you're happy, but realistically, you're not, and one day you need to wake up and say, I'm just not happy," said Carrie Wieczonek, Lee's Summit, Mo., junior. "To go from something to nothing, that's always devastating. But boyfriends aren't supposed to stress you out."
Mary Ellen Green, volunteer at Headquarters Counseling Center, said students often chose to stay in an unhealthy relationship instead of facing the pain of a break up. Sometimes,
however, it is better for partners to say goodbye.
Reasons behind break-ups are as varied as the people involved in the relationship, Green said. But she does hear some common complaints.
"People go through relationships with lots of expectations, and I think very often if these expectations are not met immediately, it comes down to communication issues," she said.
Green said it was difficult for many students to honestly communicate what they need and want from a relationship, often because they do not know themselves.
Wieczorek, who recently broke up with her boyfriend, said communication problems were apparent in her relationship.
"I think things were getting too serious for him," she said. "But he didn't say anything, so how was I supposed to know?"
James Kreider, clinical social worker for Counseling and Psychological Services, said that while students needed to make their expectations clear, they also had to realize that these needs were not always going to be met. However, one partner's expectations should not consistently be ignored. And one partner should not always be feeling guilty or apologizing for unsetting the other.
Wiezcorek said this had been the case with she and her boyfriend.
"I felt like I was always making the effort and getting my stuff done so I could be with him, and he wasn't returning the effort," she said.
Dependency also becomes a difficulty in many dating situations.
Reider said that it is easy to become dependent on a boyfriend or girlfriend and always look to that person for support. This places a lot of pressure on a relationship because couples expect their partners to have answers to all
Wieczorek admitted that she had become too dependent on her boyfriend and spent little time with her friends.
their problems, he said.
"I wasn't even having fun with my friends because I was always worrying about him," she said.
Kreider said that Wieczorek's realization that she needed friends as well as a boyfriend in her life was important. He said maintaining outside friendships not only reduced stress, but actually enriched a relationship.
"It also means you have more options if things do not go quite as you like with a partner," he said. "You have other people to talk to."
Other problems also plague relationships.
Kreider said after couples get better acquainted, they sometimes find it difficult to deal with their differences.
"The same things that attract us will often drive us crazy later on," he said.
Recycling tops KU Environs' new agenda
By Dave Breitenstein
Kansan staff writer
KU Environs kicked off the 1996-97 school year with several new plans to improve the environment.
The organization urges the city to create bicycle lanes. It also promotes a quicker implementation of the new campus-wide recycling program.
"One of the main focuses this year is recycling," said Natalie Sullivan, Lawrence junior and treasurer for the group. "We're trying to get the University to start buying recycled paper."
Members of the organization collect newspapers in Wescoe Hall and place them in the recycling container in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall.
Bike lanes are also high on the group's agenda. Members want to convert sidewalks to bike paths or have lanes painted on streets where there is extra space.
Environs' strives to educate the public and increase awareness about environmental issues. It acts locally, but also participates in global environmental projects.
The group has lobbied Congress in support of the Endangered Species Act and the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and it opposes the South Lawrence Traffic Way and the dredging of the Kaw River. Members also have protested against several large corporations.
"There is a boycott on Mitsubishi products because they are the world's largest corporate destroyer of rain forests," Sullivan said. "We are also boycoting Pepsi and its subsidiaries because they support the military regime in Burma, where human rights are being violated. It's hard to have success with the University, because they're a supporter of Pepsi products, especially since Pizza Hut is on campus."
The group's budget for this year is $944, which comes from the University. Members also raise funds during the school year.
Matt Caldwell, Lawrence junior and co-coordinator of the group, said he wished the organization received more money from the University, but that he was happy that all necessary expenses could be met.
He said the group was trying to look at how the University spent its money to ensure that administrators support corporations that are pro-environment.
Environs meetings are at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Kansas Union. The meetings, which are open to the public, are held in different rooms each week. The room assignment is available at the candy counter.
High school ties don't bind
Buddies from home not so fun anymore.
By Megan Jordan Kansan staff writer
Sarah Lawton is a Jayhawk, but her close friends from high school are Wildcats.
And although Lawton, Overland Park freshman, has been in college for only five weeks, she said her high school ties are already weakening.
Many college students echoed Lawton, and said that relationships with high school friends often fade in the slow of a new school.
"They are in a totally different environment," Lawton said. "It's so hard to talk because we don't have much in common."
Chris Segin, assistant professor of communication studies, described the transition from high school to college as a sieve that only holds a few serious friendships
and allowed the rest to slip away.
Erica Low, Temple, Texas, junior,
said that this description fit her.
"When I go home, I talk to a lot of different people, but there are only four I make a conscious effort to keep in touch with," she said.
The main reason students lose touch with high school friends is lack of proximity, Segrin said. When you see each other every day, he said, it is easy to continue a relationship. Staying close to friends at other schools, however, is expensive and time-consuming.
"If you stay lured in the past with family and friend relationships and do not make an effort to form friendships here, it could be a serious problem." Segin said.
Maintaining these close ties can also be harmful.
Students who remain rooted in high school friendships are often lonelier at college than those who don't, he said. However, high school friendships should not be thrown away, Segrin said. Freshman year at college can be espe
cially turbulent, and keeping in touch with old friends provides some social stability.
Although Lawton's close friends do not attend the University, she is growing closer to acquaintances from her high school that study here.
Segrin said such relationships were common among younger students. As they spend more time in college, however, these friendships tend to decay, he said.
"I sit in class everyday with somebody from high school that I was never really friends with before," she said.
Despite distance and new friends, it is possible to stay close to high school friends, Segrin said. Relationships with solid foundations should not crumble from separation. Others, however, may disappear.
"Let's not have any illusions of grandeur," Segrin said. "Those 20 or so acquaintances in your class are not going to be good friends forever."
Kansas summer strangely mild
Bv Dave Breitenstein
Kansan staff writer
Summer officially ended Sunday and the traditional beastly Kansas weather was friendly this year.
"This summer was pretty cool compared to last year," said Doug McIntyre, Overland Park senior. "I really don't have any complaints about this year's weather. I've learned to accept Kansas weather after spending 25 years here."
This summer's average temperature recorded at the Kansas City International Airport was 83.7 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 1.6 degrees below normal. Rainfall totals were 0.71 inches below the normal of 12.23 inches. McIntyre said the mild summer was a relief from the typical Midwestern summers.
"I don't mind it here. I spent a few weeks vacationing in Seattle and I enjoyed the cooler weather," he said.
is that you know when the seasons change. We experience all four seasons here." he said.
"But the nice thing about Kansas
Julie Smith, Lenexa junior, also said this summer was better than usual, even though it seemed to rain more.
"I thought it was a pretty good summer overall," she said. "The Midwest is always hot, but I like it warm in the summer so I can go outside and enjoy the nice weather."
The hottest days this summer were July 18 and 19, when the thermometer topped 97 degrees, which is still much cooler than the all-time high of 113 set in 1936. The low dipped down to 45 on September 14.
The dog days of summer were more like puppy days of summer, because only two days in August and September when the temperature was more than 90 degrees.
Mark Lumpie, production boss at Community Mercantile, 901 Mississippi St., said few hot days and spread-out rain create an ideal
Summer weather wrap
This summer's high temperature — 97 degrees
All-time high — 113
Average high - 83.7
Record number of days above 100 degrees—53 in 1936
Normal summer high temperature -853
■ Number of days above 100 this year — 0
This summer's low — 45
This summer's rainfall total 12.23 inches
Normal summer rainfall total 12.94
Information compiled by KCI Airport
summer for this region, which led to lower prices on many foods grown in the Lawrence area.
"Better weather does tend to keep prices down because we've had a glut of some foods," he said. "On the whole, vegetable prices are up, but most prices are lower."
Med Center strengthens by rebuilding
Two buildings to be torn down replaced with nursing center
By Ashleigh Roberts Kansan Staff Writer
The Board of Regents recently approved the University of Kansas Medical Center's prescription for a facility booster shot to save crumbling classrooms and keep up with growing academic programs.
"Crumbling classrooms describes a whole group of projects," said Roger Lambson, vice chancellor of the Med Center. "The Med Center has defined over 200 projects that will cost $19.4 million."
The biggest project is the new nursing center, which will cost $8.6 million, Lambson said. It will be located on Rainbow Boulevard, where Hinch Hall and the Eleanor Taylor administration building are today. Those buildings will be torn down.
"It's recognized that we have a premiere nursing program that is doing some innovative things, and it will help the program advance," Lambson said. "With the new nursing building, we will be able to construct classes where we can carry out interdisciplinary teaching that will benefit allied health, medical students and nursing students."
The new nursing building also will enhance technology through the use of multimedia, interactive video and distance programs, he said.
Applications to the undergraduate nursing program have increased by 125 percent during the last five years, and enrollment in the graduate program has increased more than 100 percent since 1989. The nursing school has 300 undergraduate, 260 graduate and 30 doctoral students.
Jeni Miller, Lenexa junior, has most of her classes in the two buildings that will be torn down. She said the renovation came as a disappointment because all of her classes will be disrupted.
"I really like having all of my classes located in an organized, compact area. I have no idea where I will go for my classes while they are doing all of the construction," she said.
But Miller said the renovations were necessary. The existing nursing building has only one classroom for teaching purposes. Many nursing classes have to be scheduled in the medical center. Other renovations include the former treasury building, Sudler Hall and the Orr-Major laboratories, Lambson said. Many support services, including computer labs and resource centers, also will be renovated and moved.
In addition to major renovations, the Med Center is remodeling classrooms and buildings to comply with the American Disability Act of 1990 and with fire and safety codes.
"In it's totality, it's a very large project," Lambson said. "It involves work in a majority of the buildings on campus. It's going to be very disruptive, and it will take two to three years to finish all the work."
While minor repairs already have begun, the major parts of the project are still to be bidded.
According to Regents' capital needs report, coping with the aging of facilities and complying with current life safety building codes are two of the most pressing issues facing the Regents' institutions.
However, the project will not raise students fees.
"It is a tax-payer funded project that is paid for by the existing property tax levees that support the educational building fund," Lambson said.
SUNFLOWER
1996 CLEARANCE SALE
Specialized and Trek bicycles
at incredible prices.
804 Massachusetts 843-5000
WELCOME BACK EARN CASH
NABI
New Donors Earn $20 Today. Up to $40 this week by donating your life saving plasma.
NABI Biomedical Center
749-5750
816 W. 24th Suite B (behind Laird Noller)
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:6-30
$20
Save time and money... Shop the Classifieds!