CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, September 13, 1994
5A
Five false fires 'alarm' McCollum Hall residents
Is it worth it?
Penalties for pulling fire alarms with no cause can be severe. Here's what happen
1. Person working front desk will call
911 to report fire alarm.
2. Police and Fire Department arrive and suspect is turned over to authorities.
3. Police will file a criminal report for "Making a false alarm," which is sent to the district attorney's office
4. Possibly sentenced to a maximum $2,500 fine and one year imprisonment.
Source: University Housing and KU Police
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
By Ashley Miller
Kansan staff writer
Most students dread hearing the incessant buzzing of a fire alarm at 3 a.m., but Patrick Koehler, McCollum Hall resident, looks forward to it.
"The housing department takes fire alarms very seriously," Schmaedek said.
Jim Schmaedeke, complex director of McCollum, said the hall had five fire alarms between Aug. 28 and Sept. 8 this semester.
"It's good," the Peru, Ill., junior, said. "We get to associate with our friends outside."
According to Lawrence Fire Department reports, a fire extinguisher in the abandoned cafeteria set off the first alarm on Aug. 28. The second alarm was caused by the smoke from candles on a birthday cake, and firecrackers set off the third alarm. The fourth fire alarm was pulled intentionally on the second floor.
KU Crime Stoppers posters were hung in McColium to find out who pulled the false alarm, said Fred McElhenie, assistant director of student housing.
"People get real tired of this, real quick," he said.
He said three of the five fire alarms were set off between 2 and 4 in the morning. The other two alarms were set between 8 and 11 at night.
Chaya Wittman, Quinter freshman, said she hated fire alarms in the middle of the night, especially if they were pulled for no reason.
The most recent alarm, on Sept. 8, was caused by cigarette smoke in a resident's room. The call to the fire department was cancelled by KU police. Schmaekde said that this had been the only case in which student housing knew who set off the alarm.
"It wakes me up in the middle of a dream, and it makes me mad," Wittman said. "It's disgusting that people have to lower themselves like this to have fun."
Both McElhenie and Schmaedeke said the time of the alarm determined the length of the wait
Schmaedeke said it usually took about 30 minutes from the time the alarm went off until residents were allowed to enter the building.
"Basically, we have to make sure the residents have evacuated the building," he said. "The resident assistants try to knock on all of the doors on the way down."
Schmaedeke said he thought residents in the halls pulled fire alarms in cycles. A residence hall might have several alarms intentionally pulled in one year and have only a handful pulled the next year.
According to an article in the Nov. 11, 1922 issue of the University Daily Kansan, Oliver Hall had six false fire alarms between Oct. 29 and Nov. 11. A resident in Naismith Hall was caught and prosecuted for all six alarms.
McElhene said intentional false alarms occurred at certain times of the year, too.
"If we have a lot of false alarm pulls, they occur in the fall," McEllenie said.
Hosts help guide new students
By Heather Kirkwood Special to the Kansan
When Poon Kin, a graduate student from Hong Kong, first came to the United States, he expected to find a country full of gang mobsters and drug abuse. But when he arrived in Lawrence last year and met his host family, he discovered something different.
Through the Lawrence Host Family Program, a citywide program which uses KU's International Student Services as a liaison, Kin was able to meet a traditional American family, see what their home was like, and participate in typical American holidays.
"When I came a year ago, I felt like a newcomer, and they told me what to do and what I should not do," Kin said. "It's like a guideline for international students." Kin stayed with Bill and Margaret Feay, 3027 Longhorn Dr.
This community program matches international students with host families for the purpose of building friendships. Students are told about the program at an international student orientation at the beginning of each school year. Host families are not responsible for housing, health care, or any legal difficulties. While there is an organized picnic in September and a Halloween Square Dance, it is up to the family and student to coordinate other activities throughout the year.
This year the program has paired more than 100 students with local families, but there are still several students in need of a family, according to Diane Sanders, co-chair of the program's steering committee. If the program cannot find host families for them in the next week, the students will have to do without the service, she said.
Families need not be stereotypical to get involved.
"We have traditional families and then the empty-nesters," she said. "We have older couples and senior citizens. We also find young singles that participate." KU students are also welcome. Sanders said.
Gene and Jo Ann Van Hoesen, 1312 W. 21st Terrace, have sponsored from 50 to 60 students from approximately 26 countries in their 18 years of involvement.
"I feel almost selfish sometimes because I wonder what our life would have been like without our students." Jo Ann Van Hoesen said.
The Van Hoesens recently returned from a trip to Europe where they visited several former students.
Jo Ann Van Hoesen's face lights up when she talks about her students, whom she thinks of as if they were her own children. Van Hoesen, a mother of two and grandmother of four, became interested in the program after her own kids left home.
it was my way of re-feathering the nest." she said.
Jo Ann Van Hoesen said she believes the program has helped to keep her young, has introduced her to different political ideas and has made her more tolerant of other cultures.
Sometimes people think that they will be too busy or that they won't be able to understand the students, she said, but she believes it is good to take time out, even just to share a yogurt cone with a foreign student. As far as understanding, Jo Ann VanHoesen said she gets used to the accents.
Mike Muder, graduate assistant in the International Student Services Office, helps coordinate the Host Family Program. Anyone wishing to get involved, either as a student or host family, should get in touch with him at 864-3617.
Extend a helping hand
Suggestions for meeting international students:
BE YOURSELF. Informality makes everyone feel more at ease. Speak more slowly, and try to avoid slog. Ask your new friend to repeat things several times if you don't understand.
n LEARN ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS COUNTRY.
Respect that country's religion, national customs and dietary preferences. Don't try to "Americanize" your friend.
- KEEP IN TOUCH. Send a note at the beginning of your acquaintance to clarify invitations and information. Please remember that punctuality may be important in the culture where your your friend has been living.
City working to meet housing needs
STUDENTS FIRST. Don't forget that the student's academic responsibilities must always come first, if your invitation to an activity is refused, try again later.
■ INCLUDE THE STUDENT'S FRIENDS IN SOME ACTIVITIES. Your hospitality will be appreciated and your horizons expanded.
Source: Lawrence Host Family Program
By Carlos Tejada
Kansan staff writer
A Lawrence family applying for government-subsidized affordable housing could wait two years to get a home.
And according to city officials, the line won't get any shorter. Since the mid-1980s, the number of people on the waiting list for affordable housing has risen due to national trends and the city's growth.
The problem has sent officials of the Lawrence Housing Authority, the city agency responsible for overseeing federal housing funds, looking for a solution. And the officials say they may have found one. Next month, they formally will ask the Lawrence City Commission for permission to change from a government agency to a non-profit corporation.
The move, they say, is the only way to get badly needed funds to create more affordable housing.
Source: Lawrence Housing Authority
Demand for affordable housing already is three times larger than the number of units available, said Barbara Huppee, executive director of the Lawrence Housing Authority. The authority, whose leadership is appointed by the mayor, maintains 740 housing units subsidized in some way by the federal government, she said.
Huppe said the solution was to transform the authority into a non-profit corporation. As a government agency, she said, the authority couldn't own land, take out loans or sell bonds. But as a non-profit corporation, it would have fewer restrictions on fund raising and would be eligible for private-sector government aid.
But according to the 1990 Census, almost 3,000 families in Lawrence live at or below the poverty level of $17,000 in gross annual income. And so far this year, 497 of them were on the waiting list for some kind of housing assistance.
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
"Money is very tight," Huppe said. "So if we keep our current role, it's not likely we'll be able to raise enough funds."
To live in the low-income housing units, such as the ones at Edgewood Home Apartments, 1600 Haskell Ave, at Babcock Place Apartments, 1700 Massachusetts St., and other places in Lawrence, the family must live below the poverty level, Huppee said. Once there, the family pays 30 percent of its income on rent and utilities. For a family living on $6,000 a year, Huppee said, 30 percent is the only affordable rent in Lawrence.
Lawrence's affordable-housing squeeze partially is a symptom of being a growing university town, said Jay Leipzig. Lawrence housing coordinator. Leipzig said KU students took up much of the available family housing by living three or four to an apartment. Landlords then could jack up prices, keeping Lawrence rental
rates high, he said.
Leipzig also said the high cost of land in Lawrence discouraged the building of cheaper housing.
Jo Andersen, Lawrence mayor, said national trends also contributed to the problem. She said during the 1980s, federal cutbacks forced local governments to take up the slack. But local governments couldn't keep up, she said, and the result was cutbacks in programs such as unemployment and education.
"This created this massive underculture of people who couldn't afford housing and didn't make much from their jobs," she said.
Andersen said the commission would be receptive to the idea of a non-profit corporation when it came before the commission in October. However, details, such as who would appoint the head of the authority, still had to be ironed out, she said.
"We believe they do a really good job with what they have," Andersen said. "We just have to see what affect this could have."
Horoscopes
Everyday in the Kansan!
Grab one and save!
Keep it clean.
Get your Kansan Card today!
Stretch your money!
Use Kansan coupons