THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY,MAY 9,2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 149
AN UNSETTLED LIFE
How Sarah Bregman's tumultuous life gave her a chance at a better future
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
On her first day of school the year before, she arrived at Smoky Valley High School in a sleepless
arah Bregman's first day of college at the University of Kansas was surprisingly normal, at least by her standards.
daze. She had spent the previous night listening to her mom's incoherent screams.
Two years earlier she had been committed to Prairie View, a mental health center near Lindsborg, her most recent home. Her aunt and uncle, then guardians, thought she was suicidal. Though she denies their claim, Sarah had certainly lived a difficult life — a life marred by mental illness, drug abuse, neglect and sexual violence.
But that was the past, something Sarah tried not to think about as she walked down Jayhawk Boulevard in her strapless, tie-dyed sundress.
"I really wanted to be this new person," she said. She even cut her hair and dyed it hot pink as if to emphasize her point.
Ironically, Sarah's story of personal hardships — and her ability to overcome them — led directly to her winning the Hixson Opportunity Award, a $20,000 scholarship that finances most of her four years at the University of Kansas. The Hixson is unique among KU scholarships, most of which are awarded based on a combination of academic achievement, extracurricular involvement and need.
Though a well-rounded application is important, it alone doesn't qualify students for the Hixson. Like Sarah, applicants need to have overcome significant challenges in their personal life to be eligible. Having heard about the award, Sarah's high school guidance counselor considered her the perfect candidate. Sarah's essay outlining her old life won her what she now thinks of as her new life.
Gone were the parents who neglected her, the babysitter and foster brother who raped her and the aunt and uncle with whom Sarah regularly fought over strict rules during her teenage years. Gone were the judges, social workers and child psychologists who insisted they were only doing "what was best for the children" when they took them from their parents. Gone was the money Sarah won from a lawsuit filed on her behalf against social services in Colorado. Gone were the 12-hour shifts she worked at a nursing home to help support her bi-polar mother who attempted suicide more times than Sarah could remember. Gone were the custody battles that left her mother bankrupt and divided her family. And gone were the drugs she took to escape: marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, her aunt's Lortab and the prescriptions she had taken intermittently since she was nine.
They were all gone, or at least far away from Sarah's new life as a student in Lawrence. And she didn't want to think about them. She wanted to move on.
"I refuse to allow my past to cast a shadow over my future," she wrote in her Hixson scholarship essay. She had come too far to let that happen.
Chris Neal/KANSAN
SEE BREGMAN ON PAGE 6A
One in three women ages 18 to 24 use tanning beds, despite the risks involved. Melanoma is the second most common cancer found in women in their 20s.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
HEALTH
Tanning beds cause cancer scare
BY AMANDA BLUE editor@kansan.com
editor@kansan.com
Cindy Patrick would tan for about one to two months per year while at the University of Kansas, even though she said she knew that she was endangered her health.
Patrick, a KU graduate, said she had fair skin and felt pressure from friends to be tan.
"I knew tanning could cause cancer, but I didn't really care," Patrick said. "For me, having a tan at that particular moment far outweighed the risk of cancer."
Then one day about five years ago, Patrick found a suspicious mole. It turned out to be melanoma. The mole was successfully removed and since then, Patrick has had 34 moles removed. She said that she was now a strong advocate against tanning beds and wears sunscreen, large hats and
A recent study from The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, had increased 3 percent per year since 1992 in women ages 15 to 39, and it was the second most common cancer found in women in their 20s.
Patricia M. Denning, chief of staff at the University of Kansas Student Health Services, said that she believed the use of tanning beds had contributed to this rise in skin cancer.
"They may say that tanning beds are now filtering out bad rays," Denning said. "But I'm doubtful of that."
Many customers who frequent tanning salons believe that tanning has health benefits because of the increased vitamin D intake from UV-exposure. However, Denning said this was just a marketing tool.
long sleeves for protection whenever she is outdoors.
"It has been a true change of lifestyle," Patrick said.
Minneapolis stating that one in three women ages 18 to 24 used tanning beds, despite the risks involved.
"You only need about 10 or 15 minutes of sunlight a day to get the necessary amount of vitamin D." Denning said. "You do not need to be sunbathing."
In December, Reuters News reported survey results from the University of Minnesota in
moles did not end up being cancerous, but Brown said that her doctor said that they could have easily developed into cancer in the future.
Justine Brown, a junior from Kearney, Neb., did not worry about the risks of tanning beds until she had a wake-up call two years ago. Brown, who has a naturally pale complexion, discovered two suspicious-looking moles. She said that her doctor examined the moles and determined that they should be removed. However, the
Now, Brown said that she tried to make protecting her skin from the sun a daily priority. She said that she used a daily facial moisturizer with SPF 15, and knew that she needed to use sunscreen when she was outside for extended periods of time in order to prevent getting sunburned.
INDEX
"I'm always religiously applying sunscreen in the summer," Brown said.
Classifieds...10A
Crossword...4A
Cryptoquips...4A
Although Brown takes necessary precautions, she uses tanning beds for two weeks before special occasions.
"If everybody is tanning, then there is a standard of how tan you should be," Brown said. "There
SEE CANCER ON PAGE 3A
Opinion ... 5A
Sports ... 12A
Sudoku ... 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
WEATHER
TODAY 9270
Forecasts by KU students. For a complete detailed forecast for the week, see page 24A.
DIVERSITY | 8A
Diversity among University faculty
For a demographic breakdown of the faculty, see inside
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