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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM News WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2008
STUDY ABROAD
Weak dollar affects program
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
The KU Study Abroad program is not growing as quickly as it used to, partly because of the weak U.S. dollar, which has made necessities such as food and transportation more expensive for students.
Susan Gronbeck-Tedesco, director of the Office of Study Abroad, said the weak dollar had caused a noticeable decline in study abroad interest.
"Summer 2008 enrollment is up just 0.6 percent over summer 2007 Normally, we would expect a greater increase."
According to the KU Office of Study Abroad, participation in the program grew at an average of 8 percent each year from 2004 to 2007.
While the basic cost of enrollment in study abroad programs has not changed drastically, the dollar's weak exchange rate has raised the cost of overseas goods in comparison to domestic items. As of Monday, one euro was worth $1.56, meaning the
dollar has depreciated by about 20 cents in the past year.
Jordan Kallas, a 2008 graduate who studied abroad in Australia last year, said the cost of food made his trip more expensive than expected.
"I'm still recovering from the trip, and it was a year ago," Kallas said.
John Keating, professor of economics, said that the exchange rate usually levels out in the long-run, but could be unpredictable in the near future — a bad sign for students planning未来 or fall travel.
"When the value of the dollar goes down your dollars aren't going to buy as much foreign currency", Keating said. "The consequence is a much bigger cost of living. It's got to be painful to go overseas right now."
In a national poll conducted last spring by the Institute of International Education, 43 percent of students said they had changed their travel plans because of the weakening dollar. Institute president Allen Goodman said studying abroad could be affordable if students altered their approach.
"Students should look for destinations like India or Southeast Asia, where their dollar will go further," Goodman said. "There are a lot of ways to make it work."
Because of students like Kallas, who said his trip was worth the financial strain, studying abroad expensive as it may be — has not gone out of style. According to the Institute of International Education, more than 2,000 students from the state of Kansas studied abroad last year.
Edited by Rustin Dodd
"You want to travel when you study abroad," Kallas said. "You want to make the most of the trip, and that means spending money."
Tomatoes become absent in businesses
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
LAWRENCE
Finding a plump, juicy tomato in Lawrence these days might be tough because of a national salmonella outbreak, but it's possible.
The outbreak across 23 states was responsible for 228 infections and 25 hospitalizations. The outbreak forced establishments such as McDonalds, KU Dining Services and Rudy's Pizzeria to remove tomatoes from some items on the menus. But stores such as Local Burger and Checkers Foods are still offering tomatoes grown in areas approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
"We've been happily reassuring our customers that they can eat our tomatoes," Marissa Massoni, Local Burger employee, said. "It's one of the benefits of buying ingredients locally."
The FDA has not confirmed the source of the contaminated tomatoes. The FDA has cleared tomatoes from 39 states including Kansas. According to the FDA, locally grown tomatoes are not always safe, but Massoni said Local Burger's supplier in Linwood was not affected by the infection.
The sources of contamination are red Roma, red plum and red round tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes with the vine attached have not been connected with any illnesses.
Checkers, which gets its Roma tomatoes from Arkansas through Kansas City-based Associated Wholesale Grocers, posted signs by its tomato bins to reassure shoppers. Despite the store's extra effort, consumers are not lining up to purchase the vegetables.
"There has been some hesitation and our sales haven't been as strong," Smith said. "Even though our Roma
Massoni said she noticed more Local Burger diners leaving uneaten tomatoes on their plates, but she said consumers were mostly happy about the safe vegetables.
tomatoes are safe, we didn't order any more because we knew we wouldn't sell them."
"The tomatoes involved in the outbreak aren't likely to be coming from our source," Massoni said. "Our tomatoes definitely will not make you vomit."
The salmonella outbreak has prompted cautionary measures at some other Lawrence establishments.
At The Market food court in the Kansas Union, Brellas Sandwiches and Wraps has held its sliced tomatoes in storage since last Monday. Cherry tomatoes are still available at the Garden Gourmet salad bar.
"None of our tomatoes were infected," Steve Walker, server at Brellas, said. "We're holding them as a precaution to make sure nobody gets sick. We haven't had many complaints."
Rudy's Pizzeria started replacing tomatoes on its gourmet pizzas with other ingredients. Rudy's is serving tomato sauce as usual. McDonald's has left sliced tomatoes off its sandwiches since last week as a precaution.
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