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Group raises cancer funds awareness
It's Awareness Week at the University of Kansas. Up 'til Dawn, a student-led organization, will be actively trying to inform students about St. Jude Children's Hospital and asking them to help the hospital fight childhood cancer.
Today, Up 'til Dawn will hand out T-shirts at the Kansas Union and will also campaign at the residence halls. The group is hosting various events on campus this week.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 4A
Graduates give time to children
Former student body president Jason Boots decided not to start his career right after college. Instead, he chose to give something back to his community by joining Teach For America. Boots said he didn't realize how difficult and how rewarding teaching could be until he started doing it himself.
Teach for America has 5,000 members teaching this year at low-income schools around the U.S. The program plans to expand its region to the Kansas City, Mo. school district next fall.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 3A
VOLUME 118 ISSUE 23
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEATH TOLL HIGH AFTER PLANE CRASH
At least 88 killed as plane runs into wall, splits in half FULL STORY ON PAGE 11A
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COMMUNITY
Crisis in the kitchens
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Rob Ryan, Kansas city senior, helps clean up the kitchen after serving breakfast at Jubilee Café at First United Methodist Church, 494 Vermont St., Friday morning. The cafe, where volunteers cook and serve breakfast to the homeless two mornings a week, is in jeopardy of closing because it's low on funds. "A friend of mine is trying to do a benefit concert because we're doing well on volunteers, but the money" Ryan said.
Insufficient funds force Lawrence food pantries to limit production and possibly close down
BY ERIN SOMMER
esommer@kansan.com
A lack of funds is putting some Lawrence soup kitchens and food pantries in danger of closing.
Kelli Stout, co-director of the Center for Community Outreach, told Student Senate last Wednesday that Jubilee Cafe had enough money to stay open for another two and a half weeks.
Without more funding, Jubilee Cafe may be forced to temporarily close, or at least limit the amount of food it gives out each week.
Jubilee Café provides food to people in need on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Although it is located off-campus in United Methodist Church on Vermont Street, it is a registered student group at the University and runs on student help.
Dan Pierron, Olathe senior and co-director of the Center for Community Outreach,
said Jubilee Café was a special social service.
"Jubilee Café is something that's really unique to KU and Lawrence," Pierron said. "To shut it down would be a tragedy."
Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry, a local food pantry run by five Lawrence churches, recently decreased the amount of food it serves because of low funds. The organization, which has been open for several years, previously offered food to those in need on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week and on one Saturday a month. Now the organization offers food only one day a week and one Saturday a month.
Barry Molineux, a volunteer at the food pantry, said the decision was made after about two months of a tight budget that resulted from an increasing number of people requesting food.
"The need for food is great in the city of Lawrence," Molineux said. "Certainly all of us can help supplying that help for people who need it."
Molineux said that it cost about $175 to $200 each day the pantry handed out food. He said the pantry served 596 people last month and had been asking churches to donate food and money.
He said the food pantry receives funding from the local and federal government, and receives donations from local and national food drives.
Michael Gillasbie, Ashland junior and director of Jubilee Café, said he did not foresee Jubilee Café closing.
"We hope to open it up again," Molineux said in response to the pantry's cutback. "I anticipate this to be a temporary closing."
"If some week we don't get donations, we could have a problem," Gillasbie said. "If it came push to shove, I don't think we'd close."
Gillasbie said that Jubilee Café was currently about even in funds. Pierron said he thought the cafe currently had about $300 of usable funds.
Jubilee Café receives funding from various donors, including the United Methodist Church. Because it is a registered student group, it could also receive funding from Student Senate, if a senator wrote legislation requesting the funding, and it was approved.
Darlene Mortell, Lawrence resident and Jubilee Café volunteer, said that she had been volunteering with Jubilee Café for 12 years, and that the organization had never stopped serving food, although it had sometimes limited what it served.
Molineux said he hoped the local community would help Jubilee Cafe, the Food Pantry and other similar organizations such as Just Food.
"There is plenty of food in the community," Molineux said. "There is plenty of food to solve this problem."
Edited by Chris Beattie
New online network open for students
College.com is a new social networking site available for only college students that debuted earlier this month.
College.com representatives said the Web site combines socializing with academics. It has unique features such as a wake-up call, course notes and syllabi, a "rate my professor" function and greek rush applications.
Only 16 KU students have College.com accounts now, compared to almost 35,000 that have Facebook profiles. Sam Marks, a College.com representative, said the site can be an additive to Facebook or other social networking sites because of its new features.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 4A
Students can intern in Washington, Topeka
Tonight, students can learn about a way to spend their spring semester as an intern in Washington D.C. or Topeka. An informational meeting is at 7 p.m. in 114 Blake Hall.
Burdett Loomis, a political science professor and director of the program, said the internships could provide experience for students majoring in areas besides political science. Past student interns have worked with interest groups, think tanks, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Department of State.
The internships count for credit hours, provide students with real-life experience and sometimes include pay. Loomis said the program was much like a study abroad program that gave students an in-depth look at areas they are interested in.
FULL STORY ON PAGE 8A
KU student interns in Washington, D.C., meet former Kansas Senator Bob Dole during the spring semester. A meeting today will provide information about the political science department's internships in Washington and Toneka.