/ GRADUATION GUIDE / THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS
Wide range of options available for new graduates
BY CLAIRE MCINERNY editor@kansan.com
As some seniors are preparing for jobs and planning their lives after school,some students are experiencing a different scenario the end of college panic.
Four years of classes and one degree later, some students do not know what they want to do post-coll rigl
er. One opportunity that enables students to make that happen is through Teach for America. Teach For America is a program that allows recent college graduates to teach in public schools in low-income communities. The assignment lasts for two years.
Wiechman spent his two years in Saint Lucia doing community development. He helped a farmers' cooperative develop a grant proposal to get funding for a composting project from the United Nations and also taught reading and music at a school.
Gina Littlejohn, the campus campaign coordinator for Teach For America, said the program accents people of all majors, and apa way to prolong having to find a job,but rather look at it as a way to find new opportunities and new ways for students to use their passions.She said a lot of politicians who now work in Congress were in the program and are now fighting for education rights.
The Peace Corps was an attractive option for Wiechman because he did not have a clear direction for his future at the end of col
Like Teach For America, the Peace Corps is another way for
PEACE CORPS
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011
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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPEN SEASON
Severe weather ravages region in summer
READ MORE ABOUT STUDENTS VOLUNTEERING AFTER SEVERE WEATHER DEVESTATED JOPLIN, MO.
Go to http://udkne.ws/19x9k
SAFETY
During severe weather, students can protect themselves in residence halls and apartments by keeping a disaster kit ready, developing a plan for when sirens go off and practicing taking cover.
Experts say planning before storms hit key to staying safe
Chris Bronson/KANSAN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
BY CHRISTY NUTT
cnutt@kansan.com
When severe weather hits, it's important to stay informed and have a plan and disaster kit.
Different student living situations, whether in an apartment, dorm or house, call for different plans.
house, or can for the emergency management department of Douglas County, said students should seek the lowest level when a tornado warning is issued. The lowest level, preferably an area without windows, provides students the most protection from the storm.
Students need to find a place to go it they don't have place like this, Smith said.
If students live in an apartment without a basement, they should get to know their neighbors on the bottom levels and make a plan to take shelter in their apartment, Smith said.
Students in some of the dorms must think of alternatives, too.
Pat Phillips, resident director of
Students without a basement should take cover in the center core areas of their home, like a closet or bathroom, said Mark Bradford, chief of the Lawrence Fire Department. This will offer protection from flying debris. Blankets and mattresses can also be used to add extra protection.
Naismith Hall, said his dorm doesn't have a basement. The plan there is to take cover in the stairwells and hallways on the lower floors, he said.
Practicing a plan and preparing a disaster kit should be done before severe weather strikes, Smith said.
"I don't think people understand how quick tornados can form, or how
When the sirens sound, students need to take cover immediately. The Douglas County Emergency Management staff sounds the sirens if the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning or if trained weather spotters determine a threat.
On the hill, select buildings have voice-emergency warning systems. The system sounds take-cover message when the Lawrence sirens are activated.
quick the damage can be done. It only takes seconds," Bradford said.
The sirens are designed to alarm people who are outside. People indoors or in their car might not hear the alarms. This is why it is necessary to stay alert to changing weather conditions and plan on how to get information when a tornado watch is issued.
Smith said it is important to have multiple ways to get weather information instead of being dependent on just one.
The buildings with emergency warning systems give an all-clear
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration all-hazard weather radio is one source for severe weather information. Students can also receive a KU Alert text message in the event of severe weather.
message when an official all-clear is announced for Lawrence.
It's also important to understand that severe weather is not done after a major tornado passes through, Bradford said. Damaging winds, lightning or even the formation of another tornado often occur after a tornado touchdown.
After a destructive tornado, people find themselves in a state of shock, and there are precautions to take to prevent post injuries. Debris, electricity from down power lines and leaking natural gas can become dangerous after a severe storm, Bradford said.
"The more prepared we can be through education and training the better we are if the event happens." Smith said.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Atmospheric science students volunteer in damaged Tuscaloosa
Contributed photo by Chris Inmar Atmospheric science students volunteered in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and found that the devastation they saw was much more than their studies prepared themfor.
Contributed photo by Chris Inman
David Huber thought he was prepared for the devastation that ravaged Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he and ten classmates arrived in the college town on May 23. But the far-reaching destruction caused by an EF4 tornado on April 27 left the meteorology student in awe.
"It kind of looked like a postapocalyptic scene," Huber said. "You would drive from one edge of the town to the other, and parts of it looked fine. But once you got to the devastated areas, there was nothing left at all. It was really eerie."
BY MATTHEW GALLOWAY mgalloway@kansan.com
Huber, a graduate student from Lee's Summit, Mo., was in Tuscaloosa to volunteer and deliver aid to the tornado-ravaged community. He and ten fellow meteorology students helped clean up two
leveled homes before returning to Lawrence on May 27.
"I was hoping to clean up a little more, but once I got down there, I realized how big of a job it was going to be." Huber said. "It seemed like two houses was a pretty good deal."
In total, the atmospheric science students raised $2,400 with the help of local businesses such as Hy-Vee and Orange Leaf. That does not include the drinking water and other supplies the group hand-delivered upon arrival.
Mike Robinson, a senior from Emporia, said many on the trip were inspired to volunteer by their years of studying weather patterns.
"We all study meteorology, and we've all seen tornadoes, but I don't think we've seen what they can really do," Robinson said. "It was scary to see a tornado of that."
magnitude rip through a major metropolitan area. Just as meteorology students, we felt compelled to help out in some way."
Garrett Black, a senior from Hutchinson, said he volunteered because he has always had an interest in storm chasing. He said the pictures and videos did not prepare him for the quiet and surreal scene in Tuscaloosa when the group arrived that Monday night.
"Seeing the kind of devastation that these tornadoes can cause kind of put us in our place," Black said. "A lot of time we forget these tornadoes are affecting real people, so to see that really meant a lot to us."
Seeing the tornado's destruction first-hand was a crucial experience for the students, Huber said, adding that interacting with
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