CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, August 29, 1994
3A
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Youth gather to end drug use, racism
By Carlos Tejada Kansan staff writer
The letters KKK painted on the wall of the women's bathroom were a rude introduction to hate during Diane Foster's final year at junior high school.
"I wanted to change that," said Foster, an African-American who is now a Lawrence High School senior. "I didn't want to be in that environment."
So Foster joined Project Freedom, a group sponsored by the Kansas Health Foundation to fight racism and help keep young people off the street. Foster was one of the coordinators at Project Freedom's "Back to School Youth Rally" against drugs and racism Saturday afternoon in South Park.
About 150 youths — some from Lawrence, some from Kansas City, Mo. — attended the rally, which was sponsored by Sunflower Cablevision, the city of Lawrence and Project Freedom. The rally featured local bands, live comedy and KJHK disc jockeys. Teenagers in T-shirts, tank tops and shorts spread blankets under the trees and watched the show while trying to fan away the 100-degree heat.
The rally was held to discourage racism and show teenagers alternatives to drinking and drugs, said Lori Johns. Project Freedom coordinator.
"This is one of many ways to do it," she said. "There's not a whole lot for kids to do in this town and they helped
us put this together."
Local musicians Cicada Rhythm,
Motherwell, Dave Lipkind, and the
Good Christians performed along
with the Renegade Youth Theatre and
the Youth Rally Dance Troupe.
All the performances were a welcome respite from the usual, said Ellen Lowe, Lawrence High School senior. Lowe said Lawrence usually did not offer entertainment for people younger than college students.
"There's just not much," Lowe said. "Unless you want to drink, there's not much to do."
Mallory Schmidt, Lawrence High junior, and Nicole Negley, Lawrence High senior, agreed with Lowe. They also said they came for the rally's antiracism and anti-violence message.
"It's important," Negley said. "If it weren't, we wouldn't be here watching it today."
The message of the rally was not lost on Shonda Williams, a fifth-grader at Carver Christian Academy in Kansas City, Mo. She watched the performance from the edge of the park while playing with friends.
"Drugs can kill you and they're bad for your body," she said. "It's not good for the people around you to see you doing drugs."
Sara Embree, Davenport, Iowa junior and promotions director for KJHK, ran a table for the radio station and its DJs. She said the station got involved because it felt more KU organizations should take part in the community.
Jay Thornton / KANSAN
Patrick Sumner, youth organizer for Project Freedom of Lawrence, sits in the shade during a performance at the Back to School Youth Rally at South Park on Saturday. The rally offered positive solutions to youth problems.
Fee payment line reduced by mail-in system
By Colleen McCair Kansan staff writer
The line of students waiting to pay fees snaked through the Big Eight Room, down the hall and down two flights of stairs Aug. 19 in the Kansas Union.
But comptroller Kathe Shinham said the line was not indicative of the fee payment system's effectiveness.
"We had a printer stolen on the second day of fee payment, so that caused a back-up of students waiting for their statements," Shinham said. "The line moved very quickly, and it truly took 20 minutes from start to finish."
This semester, only 3,150 students did not pay all of their fees by mail.
and fewer students had to endure fee payment lines at the Union, Shinham said.
Mail-in fee payment was implemented in the fall of 1992. Prior to that, all students were required to stand in lines at the Union to pay their fees.
Shinham said the mail-in system provided students with an assessment of fees when they enrolled in Spring 1994. Students then were billed in early July.
Students could pay all or part of their balances by mail, but every student had to pay at least $260 of their balances by mail. Shinbham said.
Diane Del Buono, director of the office of student financial aid, said the mail-in system had become more effective as students became more
familiar with the process
"I don't think there ever will be a time when there won't be some students at fee payment," Del Buono said. "But I think that given the limitations of the University, the system is working as well as it can."
Richard Morrell, university registrar, said the system would be at its best when students' financial aid could be transferred electronically into their bank accounts, eliminating lines of students waiting to pick up financial aid checks.
"The system isn't perfect yet, but we have been able to automate more and more," Morrell said. "Under the old system, students stood in very long lines and we kept all of their statements in boxes."
The possibility of lines at fee payment didn't faze Michael Ezra, Rockville Center, N.Y. graduate student. He said he would continue to pay his fees in person, even if it meant waiting in line.
"I guess you could say I don't trust the mail," Ezra said. "It's nice that students have the option to pay by mail, but I want to see the transaction done in front of me."
Laura Pickard, Hays senior, said students should continue to have the option to pay by mail or in person.
"I had to stand in the long fee payment lines when I was a freshman, and the new system does eliminate the lines," Pickard said. "But some students just don't have the money to mail in ahead of time."
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