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Volume 125 Issue 32
kansan.com
SAFETY
DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE
A car from an actual texting and driving car accident sits on the lawn in front of Watson Library as part of the "TXT LBR. DRIVE SAFER" campaign by students advocating against texting and driving. Eleven percent of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted according to Distraction.gov, U.S. Department of Transportation.
ASHLEIGH LEF/KANSAN
ENVIRONMENT
Hiking to save the wetlands
nwentling@kansan.com
NIKKI WENTLING
In June, Julia Trechak, Jackson Shaad and 11 other students hiked the last leg of the path, retracing the steps that Native Americans walked in 1938 during the Potawatomi Trail of Death. In Twin Peaks, Ind., people from the community welcomed the group. Students from Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas walked the trail in reverse, from Osawatomie, Kan. to Twin Peaks, as part of their 1,100 mile, two-month excursion to Washington D.C.
The walk, organized by Haskell student Millicent Pepion, was an effort to raise awareness about the environmental concerns surrounding the construction of the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT).
For more than 20 years, there has been a legal battle over the construction of the SLT, a six-mile, four-lane freeway that will connect the west leg of K-10 to K-10 east of Lawrence. The SLT will take up a portion of the Baker Wetlands, something that these students and several other groups are concerned about. Also, the wetlands are considered a sacred area to some staff and students at Haskell.
Julia Trechak, a senior from Wichita, participated in the walk to D.C. She helped map the route and publicize the walk, which the group refers to as the "Trail of Broken Promises."
"I got involved because I think that the issue has been handled insensitive," Trechak said. "The wetlands are so bound to Haskell's history."
Jacks on Shaad, a Wichita resident, joined the walk to promote the Native America Sacred Land Act, which pushes for the involvement of Native Ameri-
"All of us who went on the walk, we still care so much. But at this point, we're at a standstill."
allow the Kansas Department of Transportation to construct the SLT.
The deadline to seek a Supreme Court review of the court's decision passed last week; the plaintiffs did not seek a review, so the court's ruling is now final.
"A lot of times, people in Washington or Topeka don't really consult these groups that are underrepresented," Shaad said. "They don't really consider their claims legitimate."
cans in processes to determine what land is sacred.
The group of students departed Lawrence on May 13 and arrived back in Kansas in early July. Just seven days after the group's return, the U.S. 10th Circuit of Appeals announced its decision, which will
"All of us who went on the walk, we still care so much," Trechak said. "But at this point, we're at a stand-still."
KDOT plans to start construction on the SLT next fall; it announced an expected completion date of May 2016.
JULIA TRECHAK Senior from Wichita
"It's a very good situation for the wetlands, not just for Baker, but for the community," said Roger Boyd, director of natural areas at Baker. "People will be able to come out and appreciate the wetlands in the future."
Baker Wetlands, KDOT will provide Baker University with more than 300 acres, which will be restored to wetlands, prairie and native hardwoods. KDOT will also provide funds to build a wetlands visitor's center.
In exchange for 56 acres of
Boyd started working with KDOT on mitigation in 2001, when the new plan for the SLT was proposed. Boyd said he has restored old floodplain to wetlands before, and he knew he would be able to in this situation. He said the wetlands reduce floodwater, holding it back during heavy rains. The land filters sediments and chemicals and provides a habitat for threatened and endangered animals.
Boyd, who has served as director of natural areas for 25 years, is pleased with the compromise. Boyd, who is used to working with a yearly budget of about $500, said the extra funds were needed to better manage the land.
As for the opponents of the roadway, Boyd suggests that they were unwilling to compromise.
CRIME
"It's never been an issue about the wetlands for them," Boyd said. "They're only really concerned about a geographic area, which happens to be the wetlands. They're concerned about it because they consider it to be sacred, and I can appreciate that, but we're not paving the entire wetlands, we're taking 10 percent. The remaining 90 percent will be just as sacred as it is now."
Edited by Allison Kohn
Female KU student robbed at gunpoint
RACHEL SALYER
rsalery@kansan.com
The University issued a crime alert after a female student was robbed at gunpoint between Irving Hill Road and Stouffer Place Apartments Monday around 8 p.m.
According to the alert, she was on a swing set when a black man wearing a ski mask demanded her property and displayed a silver handgun. He left the area after she gave him a cell phone and an iPod.
The suspect was described as 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and wearing a gray hoodie.
Students signed up to receive text messages about special safety alerts were not notified. Instead, the alert was posted on the University's website under "KU Lawrence Campus Alerts".
Jill Jess, a University spokes
woman, said the text alert system was not implemented because alerts run on a tier-based system.
"Text messages are used to communicate an immediate danger or need for action," Jess said in an email. "Based on their investigation, police believed the suspect had left the area, so there was not an immediate danger."
Though the alert was not posted on the KU Office of Public Safety's website, Jess said it was tweeted by @KUNews, and area media outlets were notified as part of the tiered system.
No additional information has been released about the incident.
Anyone with information about the suspect's identity is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 785-864-8888 or the KU Public Safety Office at 785-864-5900.
Edited by Christy Khamphilay
SAFETY TIPS
- Report any unusual people or activities to the KU Public Safety Office or your local police.
- If you are the victim of a robbery, surrender your property. It can be replaced.
- Walk in well-traveled and well-lit areas.
- Walk in groups or with a friend.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Students from the University and the Haskell Indian Nations University stand in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. The trip was organized to raise awareness about the environmental concerns of the Southern Lawrence Trafficway.
HEALTH
Students make use of campus flu clinics
FLU CLINICS OFFERED BY STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES
Thursday, Oct. 25
11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Wescoe Hall
(The Underground)
Monday, Oct. 22
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Strong Hall
Thursday, Nov. 1
1-5 p.m.
Watkins Memorial
Health Center
Monday, Oct. 29
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Anschutz Library
MARSHALL SCHMIDT mschmidt@kansan.com
Students concerned for their health and the health of others are taking advantage of the flu vaccine clinics offered on campus.
For Brittany Hartwell, a graduate student from Ames, Iowa, spending a few minutes getting her shot was worth lowering the chance of missing classes from catching the flu.
"Making up that time as a student, especially at this point in the semester, is difficult." Hartwell said. "I don't want to infect my husband
Students are especially susceptible to the virus, which can debilitate them for five to seven days with high fever, body aches and cough, said Patty Quinlan, a nursing supervisor at the clinic.
"The flu virus is easily spread on campus because of the mobile population," Quinlan said. "Getting the shot protects your neighbor and is doing a community service."
or anyone I come in contact with."
Though more prevalent in older populations, the virus can be lethal if it turns into pneumonia, Quinlan said.
While some students may be
"There is no research that correlates personal or environmental harm with the vaccine," Quinlan said.
Rachel Frish, a freshman from Dallas, chose the shot over the nasal mist.
According to the Center for Disease Control, the flu virus is attributed to up to 49,000 deaths and over 200,000 hospitalizations each year.
"The mist causes me to sneeze,
concerned that the virus is harmful, Quinlan has yet to see any negative effects in her 28 years of administering the vaccine.
Edited by Joanna Hlavacek
"Being sick is terrible," Lilek said.
"Get a flu shot if you don't want to get sick."
Index CLASSIFIEDS 7 CRYPTOQUIPS 4 SPORTS 8 CROSSWORD 4 OPINION 5 SUDOKU 4 All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget Stop by one of the campus flu clinics and take care of business.
Today's Weather AM Showers / Wind. NW Winds at 23 mph.
HI: 66 LO: 38
After already being sick earlier this semester, Joe Lilek, a freshman from Bethesday, Md., hopes to prevent future illness by getting vaccinated.
so I prefer the shot because I know it will get in my system," Frish said.