Tuesday, September 14, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A • Page 3
Union sales slow down; director blames location
By Amanda Kaschube
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The Kansas and Burge unions blamed a poor 1999 fiscal year on the decrease in student traffic because of the low number of classes held in the buildings, said Warner Ferguson, associate director of the unions.
Kansan Union Operation Costs
Rachel Kesselman/KANSAN
The Kansas and Burge unions released an annual report at the University of Kansas Memorial Corporation board of directors meeting last Saturday. The corporation oversees the operation of the unions.
Ferguson said the directors had anticipated a loss during the 1999 year, which runs from July 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999.
The largest decline in sales came from the Kansas Union Bookstore textbook department, which were down one percent for the year. Sales were down $651,798 from last year, while expenses for the bookstore rose by $87,478.
"We knew that fiscal year 1999 would not be a good year," he said. "The whole operation is based on a high volume of activity. It takes longer to recover and then keep increasing volume when it decreases."
Ferguson speculated that online book sales and decreasing book sales nationally might have contributed to the drop.
KU merchandise sold by the unions experienced one of the largest declines, dropping by 20 percent. Overall, sales from the Kansas Union were down 4 percent. Burge Union sales were up 1.7 percent and merchandise sales at athletic events were down 40 percent.
Ferguson said another possible factor for decreasing sales was the location of the Union.
"The campus is moving south and west, and the Kansas Union is north and east," he said. "The new parking garage could bring more people over though."
The northern location also could be hurting food served at the Kansas Unions. Food services overall increased 0.1 percent, but sales in the Union Square, Hawk's Nest, Prairie Room and Burge Union were all down.
Ferguson said the decrease in union food services could be caused by an increase in traffic at Wescoe Terrace and the snack bars at Murphy Hall and Visual Arts.
Kelly Peterson, Vermillion,
S.D., junior, said she chose
where to eat based on her location
when she got hungry.
"Wesco is better located during classes," she said. "I've eaten at the Union if I've had a meeting there though."
However, not all sales in the unions have decreased. The Jaybowl saw an increase in sales by 13 percent led by a 38 percent increase in bowling.
unions, said the unions needed to recalibrate their services to see what students wanted from their campus.
David Mucci, director of
"We are going to try to do marketing surveys with consultants and KU classes," he said. "We need to find what best satisfies student and campus needs. If we do that, everything else serves itself."
Mucci said they would make 600 phone calls to students as well as conduct focus groups. Results from both would be in by November, he said.
"We are trying to find new solutions," he said. "Schools are in transition, we just need to find where we'll end up."
Ferguson said Mucci, who was named director this semester, was devoted to improving the services at the unions and attracting students.
"We are going to try to make them interested to come even though they don't have classes here," Ferguson said. "We are going to begin marketing it to the campus."
- Edited by Jamie Knodel
By Amber Stuver writer@kanson.com Kansan staff writer
About 70 University of Kansas women are involved in a nationwide gynecological study testing a vaccine against a type of the Human Papillomavirus.
Students join STD-vaccine study
HPV is a virus that causes genital warts and cell changes that can lead to cancer. HPV-16, the variation of the virus being studied at Watkins Memorial Health Center, is one of the most common causes of cervical cancer in women.
"If this ends up being a successful vaccine it'll be a very important vaccine," said Henry Buck, Watkins head of gynecology. "The diseases due to this are very common."
The HPV-16 study, which is being conducted at 16 other universities around the nation, tested participants for the virus before the study began. In that testing, 20 percent of participants — women aged 16 to 23 years — were infected.
He said that a 1998 Rutgers University study had found that 60 percent of college women studied over a three-year period tested positive for HPV.
All of the universities are studying HPV-16, which is just one of more than 60 variations identified.
REQUIREMENTS FOR HPV-16 VACCINE STUDY
Healthy
Not pregnant
Unmarried
- Up to nine visits in three years required
Age 16 to 23
No previous diseases caused by HPV, such as dysplasia of the cervix or genital warts
Must agree to use an effective birth control method through seventh month of the study
- Must keep Watkins informed as to place of residence
Merck & Co., a pharmaceutical company based in New Jersey, is sponsoring the study in hopes of developing a vaccine against the virus.
"It's a big step towards figuring out controlling an STD," said Ginny Williams, HPV-16 study coordinator at Watkins.
Watkins is looking for about 50 more participants. Women involved in the study may experience flu-like symptoms but are at no risk of getting lesions directly from the vaccine. Students involved in the study can earn up to $1,000.
"We wouldn't be involved in the study if we thought it was dangerous." Buck said.
Half of the women involved in the study are injected with the vaccine and half are injected with a placebo. The vaccine contains a viruslike particle and not the actual virus, making it impossible to contract the disease from the vaccine.
Neither Watkins staff nor the participants know who was given the vaccine and who was given the placebo.
A participants is given immunizations for HPV-16 during the first visit and then two months and six months later. The women will then be tested for the virus at seven months and every six months thereafter. If a participant does not contract the disease, she will receive $850 after 30 months of the study. If a woman tests positive for HPV at the first testing or becomes positive, she will stay involved in the study for 36 months and will earn $1,000.
However, Buck said, women involved in the study also would be rewarded with the satisfaction of knowing they had helped prevent diseases caused by HPV-16.
"Someone who participates in this program knows they can do something to help others and possibly help themselves," Buck said.
Edited by Chris Hopkins
Nature's reading room
Maren Luft, graduate student from Germany, reads a book near Potter Lake. Luft took advantage of the 70 degree weather yesterday afternoon. Photo by Eric Sahmann / KANSAN
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