CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, August 28,1995
3A
Proposed legislation unlikely to curb cigarette usage
Education isn't what prompts people to quit
By Joann Birk
Kansan staff writer
When you light up today, keep in mind you are not only smoking a cigarette — you are helping to shape American politics.
President Clinton has proposed the biggest challenge to the cigarette industry since the Surgeon General linked smoking to lung cancer in 1964. The proposal, which focuses on curbing teenage smoking, represents the larger political battle surrounding the cigarette industry.
Charles Vockey, a physician at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said as long as people continue to smoke, cigarettes will
continue to make for big business and big politics. But making smoking a political issue is unlikely to make a significant
number of smokers, he said.
The most common reason for smoking is peer
educated," he said. "They know the risks, but they don't want to believe that diseases such as lung cancer or emphysema can
"If people want something bad enough, they will find a way to get it."
happen to them."
pressure, Yockey said. The only way smoking would significantly decrease would be if it became socially unacceptable.
Laurie Nourse
Lenexajunior
"It is not that people are not
them. Yockey said most students did not seem to be impacted by the possibility of diseases that may not strike for 50 or 60 years.
smoking is for you," he said. "But they still continue to smoke."
"In the college population, we have a higher educated group who has been bombarded daily about how bad
Tom Caffrey, Leawood freshman, said while he was not convinced restrictions would have a
large impact, he agreed with some of Clinton's ideas. Caffrey only disagreed with the idea of banning cigarette sponsorship of sporting events.
Some students were more pessimistic about Clinton's plan.
Thomas Hudgens, Raytown freshman, said he had smoked since seventh grade and always had found ways to get cigarettes.
"I guess I can see a problem with underage smokers." Hudgens said. "But I don't think smoking should be restricted any more than it is."
Laurie Nourse, Lenexa junior and a non-smoker, agreed that smoking legislation would make very little difference.
"The only restrictions I agree with are limits on advertising," she said. "But as far as checking IDs, it will not do any good. If people want something bad enough, they will find a way to get it."
Clinton's teen anti-smoking plan Highlights of President Clinton's plan to cut teen, youth smoking in half
- Prohibit sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to pencils under 18
Eliminate cigarette vending machines, mail order sales, free samples, self-service displays and sale of single cigarettes
Require face-to-face sales, with retailers verifying age with photo ID
Ben outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds
Allow only black-and-white text in advertising in publications with significant youth readership
Prohibit sale or giveaway of products like caps or gym bags that carry product brand names or logos for cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products
Permit sponsorship of events in corporate name only; for example, Virginia Slims tennis tournament would have to use Phillip Morris name
Require the tobacco industry to fund a $150 million annual public education campaign to prevent children and teens from smoking
Textbook business can hurt students
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder Washington Bureus
Newest trends increase prices student dollar is plundered
By Brenden Sager
Kansan staff writer
Knight Ridder Tribune
Buving books is tough, but try selling them.
Buying books is tough, but try selling them. The life of a textbook is a long and winding road involving authors, publishers, salespeople and dealers. However, all textbooks are destined for the student's desk — the most easily exploited link in the chain, said Bill Muggy, manager of the Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road.
There are several new phenomena in textbook sales that have changed the way students buy books these days, he said. None of them is making books any easier to get or any less expensive.
"Things have radically changed," Muggy said.
want books bundled with software; in communications, they want books with tear-out sheets.
"That kills buyback," Muggy said. "It's nothing more than overselling to faculty members."
Preventing buyback is a goal for publishers, he said. If students cannot buy or sell used books, publishers can sell them new ones. When students try to return books that were
The first of these is bundling. Books are packaged in shrink-wrap forcing students to buy books or other materials in a single package, said Mike Reid, manager of the KU Bookstores.
Course materials that used to be available in a single text now have gone multimedia, Muggy said. In American history, professors want books bundled with maps; in economics, they
"This is all a scam so bookstores can make more money..."
Muggy said many times the changes were updated trends professors should be on top of and should address in class. Also, professors can choose not have used books in their classes, forcing students to buy new ones, he said.
Muggy said the philosophy department was notorious for ordering textbooks that go unused. Professors assign graduate teaching assistants who ignore bookstore deadlines and order completely different books — forcing students to come back for textbooks.
Arthur Skidmore
Professor of philosophy
"That is the worst department on the whole campus, and the funny thing is, one of those courses is logic," he said. "There isn't any." If instructors did not tell the bookstores at least two months ahead of book-buying time what they want, students were again forced to wait while dealers try to find textbooks, he said. Dealers, again, could be faced with losing a sale.
sold with other materials, and those materials are used up or lost, the bookstores cannot buy them back.
However, this is not the only way the student dollar is being plundered. Reid said editors published new editions with insignificant changes but an increase in price.
"The students can't get the books until they go to class," he said.
Muggy said there was a solution.
"The longer an instructor or department stays with a book, the better for everybody," he said.
Arthur Skidmore, professor of philosophy,
he said he disliked the whole process of buyback.
"This is all a scam so bookstores can make more money selling used books," he said.
KUID card could expand for other uses
By Josh Yancey
Kansan staff writer
Some students and administrators have been hoping for years for the development of a multisee identification card that could be used for services all over the University of Kansas.
Presently, KUIDs can be used at the Burge and Kansas Unions to purchase food and bookstore supplies, at University libraries to check out books and at University residence halls for meals.
Expansion of the card's use to include banking and long-distance calling could be implemented, but those are secondary concerns, said Jim Long, director of unions.
"We first would want to determine for what and how the card could be used on campus by various entities that could benefit from its use," he said. "Then, you might take look at ATM access or long-distance carrier possibilities. But the first priority is use for campus agencies."
Long said the convenience of having a multi- use card, thereby limiting the amount of cash
and additional credit cards an individual would have to carry on campus,would be ideal for many students.The potential for inconvenience if the card is lost,however,is a legitimate concern.he said.
"We would have to make sure there were secondary sources of money if the card was lost," he said.
At least two schools in the region have implemented the multi-use card. Fort Hays State was the first university in Kansas to use the card, and Northwest Missouri State University in Marysville, Mo., uses a similar card. The cards work in photocopiers, campus vending machines, at campus libraries, at campus ATMs and on campus phones as a long-distance calling card.
Fort Hays State developed the card through sponsorships by AT&T and Commerce Bank—the two companies paid most of cards' costs in exchange for carrying the long-distance and banking services. Some businesses in the area also agreed to accept the card for purchases.
Some administrators and students think the
multi-use ID card is a great idea, but others are apprehensive about carrying such a valuable item around.
The long-distance and ATM capabilities of the card would be protected by a personal identification number, and the card could be canceled immediately if lost.
"Cash is just easier," said Shana Smith, Wichita freshman. "With everything else, I'd probably lose my card."
Although the ID cards have been discussed at KU for several years, their implementation at the University remains in the indefinite future. Minor changes would have to be made in campus communication services, but the costs of those changes could be paid by sponsors.
Jan Weller, director of network and telecommunication services, said infrastructure adjustments would not disrupt existing University-company partnerships. The AT&T service used in University residence halls, for example, would remain intact.
"The whole point is to get the best deal for the University," she said.
Employees like Hemenway plan
Faculty, staff value chance for free class
By Josh Yancey
Kansan staff writer
A proposal to allow all fulltime employees at the University of Kansas to take one three-hour course free each semester has many people hoping for its swift enactment.
Although the suggestion to offer free classes to University employees has been kicked around for years, Chancellor Robert Hemenway in his Faculty Convocation speech Aug. 21 gave new hope to those who want to learn as they teach and work.
Hemenway listed the plan as one of the 10 things he wanted KU to accomplish by the year 2000.
"To be effective teachers, we must be students ourselves," he said at the convocation.
Full-time University employees would be able to enroll on a space-available basis into any course offered at KU. Space-availability means that students would have priority in getting into classes.
The suggestion was met by whispers and nods from the crowd of faculty members.
David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs, said that KU already had a limited employee academic assistance plan but that Hemenway's proposal of a free course was more inclusive. He said that the plan's financial adjustments were being reviewed but could not speculate on the policy's potential cost to the University.
University employees generate about $400,000 a year in tuition revenue. This money would be lost if courses were offered free.
The availability of free courses could be an especially welcome opportunity for University employees who did not attend or finish college. Theoretically, KU employees could take courses free of charge to finish degrees or improve their job skills.
However, a lack of time could prevent some from taking advantage of the opportunity.
Dorothy Embers, keyboard operator for the School of Business, said those who wanted to market themselves at the University should take advantage of the opportunity to learn.
"I'm reaching the age when I'll retire, so I probably wouldn't take a class, but for the younger employees, it probably would be a good idea. But, I might want to take a computer class or something." Embers said.
Jewel Ireland, Counseling and Psychological Services secretary, agreed.
"Many people in my department are already working on degrees, so this could help them out financially," Ireland said.
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