Volume 125 Issue 56
kansan.com
Monday, December 3, 2012
POSTING PROBLEMS
THE SECRET'S OUT
A student organization is bringing PostSecretU to campus, where students will be able to reveal secrets on a bulletin board in the Kansas Union
NIKKI WENTLING
nwentling@kansan.com
Girls stayed up late or rose in the early hours of the morning. They snuck down the steps from their cramped rooms to the basement. They checked the adjacent kitchen and living room to make sure no one else was around. Then, they posted their deepest secrets on a public bulletin board, revealed only to the 47 other girls who lived in the hall.
This is the scene every spring at Douthart Scholarship Hall, where residents participate in PostSecret, a nationwide project that allows people to share their secrets anonymously and publicly.
"You see everybody every day," said Autumn Smith, a junior from Kinsley and Health and Wellness chair for the hall. "You smile and ask someone how they are, and they smile and say 'I'm fine.' But
you don't know what they're really feeling or what problems they're having in their lives."
Next semester, this opportunity will be available to all students.
Active Minds KU, a student group focused on reducing the stigma of mental illness in the Lawrence community, is bringing PostSecretU to campus. There will be
"We're trying to open the eyes of the KU community and build a safe zone for people to share their secrets."
Kansas Union where students can submit their secrets into a drop box. Members of Active Minds KU will choose which ones to post on a nearby bulletin board.
said that the idea is similar to that of Whisper, a popular new mobile app.
"A lot of the secrets that I ve been seeing have to do with mental
Maggie Chiu, president of Active Minds KU and a graduate student from Overland Park, said the project would begin jn. 29. Chiu also
MAGGIE CHIU President of Active Minds KU
illness — people battling depression or anorexia or anything like that," Chiu said. "So we're trying to open the eyes of the KU community and build a safe zone for people to share their secrets and to show others
that everyone has similar issues."
Active Minds KU will receive $235 in funding from Student Senate for the project.
Lauren Arney, a freshman from Stilwell and the senator who sponsored the bill to fund PostSecretU, said she thinks it will be more successful than the Whisper app.
"It's a little bit different than Whisper because the secrets are on physical note cards." Arney said. "It might seem more uncomfortable to participate in, but it will make more of an impact. It will allow students to become more educated and open-minded about how diverse our community is."
Smith said that the project was able to work well in her hall, but she was unsure of how productive it would be for the campus as a whole.
"You may get a couple of brave people, but especially with other medium like Whisper out there, I highly doubt it's going to be very effective," Smith said. "Most often what you see with being anonymous is that it doesn't entirely address the problem. I think the real problem is that students aren't seeking help for their mental health issues."
- Edited by Christy Khamphilay
Source: activeminds.org
COMMUNITY
Vermont St. fire causes $20,000 in damage
According to a Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical press release, crews responded to the fire at 5:59 a.m.
A Vermont Street fire caused more than $20,000 in damage Saturday morning to an apartment building at 1345 Vermont St.
Smoke was coming from a second-floor apartment window, and crews extinguished the fire in a second-floor apartment, where the fire was contained.
There were no injuries, and damage is initially estimated at $22,000.
Two displaced residents are being assisted by the Douglas County Chapter of the Red Cross.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
- Rachel Salyer
COMMUNITY
LPD issues 230 tickets during holiday week
The Lawrence Police Department issued more than 200 citations during its participation in the Kansas Thanksgiving Traffic Enforcement Campaign.
The weeklong campaign targeted drunken driving and seat belt enforcement. It was funded by a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation and ran from Nov. 19 through Nov. 25.
Driving under the influence – 1
Child seat belt violations – 3
Teen seat belt violations – 1
Adult seat belt violations – 200
Texting while driving – 3
Other citations or arrests – 22
The following 230 citations were issued:
CAMPUS
AND THE WINNER IS...
— Rachel Salyer
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
Richie Powell, a freshman from Parkville, Mo., and his backup dancers, Savannah Slavin, a freshman from Shawnee, and Tori Young, a freshman from Overland Park, react to their first place victory at KU's Got Talent on Friday night at the KU Ballroom sponsored by Student Union Activities. Ten different acts preformed for a first, second and third place prize of $600, $300 and $100. Xclusive, a member of DragonHouse dance crew and a former contest on the NBC reality show "America's Got Talent," was emcee for the night.
LUKE RANKER/KANSAN
LOCAL
Parking policies to know
Imagine you're running late to class. In a moment of panic, you park your car in a reserved lot. Fifty minutes later, your car is gone. You've now received a large fine and you must retrieve your car from the towing company.
BRYENN BIERWIRTH bbierwirth@kansan.com
This inconvenient scenario became a reality for Sophie Pickering, a sophomore from Overland Park.
A car pulls into the parking lot in front of Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. The lot is closed during home athletic events, and cars not removed by the deadline are towed. Towing costs on campus are $100 plus $30 per day for storage.
"It's one of the worst feelings I've encountered being a college student," Pickering said. "There were things I had to do right after class, and I ended up missing them because I didn't have a car."
The Jayhawk Bookstore's parking policy is posted on signs around the parking lot, stating that cars can only be parked in its parking lot for bookstore purposes and for no longer than 20 minutes. Parks carped longer than 20 minutes are "subject to tow." Pickering, who rarely parks at the bookstore, admits to "learning her lesson" - an expensive lesson. Quality Towing, 920 E. 28th St, charged Pickering $85, and she had to find a ride to take her to pick up her car.
If Pickering breaks down her towing cost, she paid $1.70 a minute to illegally have her car parked for 50 minutes. Opposed to parking at the Kansas Union, which charges a rate of $1.50 an hour.
However, $85 isn't the standard rate for all towing companies.
Alex Eftekhar, a senior from Wichita, parked illegally at Naismith Hall and was towed by Midwest Towing, 2401 Ponderosa Drive. Unlike Pickering, he was charged $200, and the towing company only accepted cash.
"It is ridiculous that they can charge that much and I can't do anything about it." Eftekhar said.
"I'm a college student. I'm sorry for illegally parking, but I was here for one hour, and I get charged $200? And they only take cash? That's crazy."
Midwest Towing, like other towing companies, charges a $35 storage fee after the first 48 hours a car is towed.
When Midwest and Lighthouse Towing were asked about the differences in prices, they had no comment.
There are nine towing companies in Lawrence. In most parking lots, there are signs that specify which company will tow cars from the lot.
If you park illegally on campus, the towing fee is $100 plus $30/day after 48 hours. The University uses Lighthouse Towing.
Margretta de Vries, the Parking Commission Secretary for KU Parking and Transit, said that last year, Parking and Transit issued 45,811 tickets totaling $850,000. That's an average of $18.5 per ticket, but excludes the towing fees that the 369 drivers incurred during that same year.
If a car gets towed on Massachusetts Street, the towing fines can be more expensive, depending on the size of the vehicle, and the procedure to get your car back is different as well.
According to the City of Lawrence website, "There is a towing charge of $500.00 on vehicles over 12M gross vehicle weight or trucks with more than four wheels on the ground. The towing charge on all other vehicles is $95.00. This is paid to the Lawrence Police Department at the time of the vehicle release."
Parking and Transit offers more than 20 parking permits, ranging in price between $45 to $285. These parking permits last for the
Index
The website also states, "All vehicles impounded by the Lawrence Police Department for infractions and/or arrests are taken to a local wrecker service, which has been contracted by the City of Lawrence. Releases for vehicles are obtained from the Lawrence Police Department, 111 East 11th."
CLASSIFIEDS 3B
CROSSWORD 4A
These permits also eliminate the $25 fines for parking in designated parking zones without a proper parking permit.
entire school year and allow riders to park in designated areas.
Edited by Brittney Haynes
CRYPTOQUIPS 4A
OPINION 5A
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 4A
Don't forget
Relieve your stress with Power Yoga at the ECM tonight at 6 p.m.
Today's Weather
Partly cloudy, Fog early, Breece,
Winds from the South at 15 to 25
mph with gusts to 30 mph shifting
to the WSW in the afternoon.