Thursdav. April 17. 1997
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Student Senate unites brother and sister
Siblings practice persuasive powers
By Dave Morantz
Kansan staff writer
When Kristen and Scott Merchant attended Shawnee Mission South High School, they had to share a car. The brother and sister from Lenexa continually battled about who would use the car on the weekend and how long one would have to wait for the other to drive home from school.
But Scott, a senior at the University of Kansas, and Kristen, a KU sophomore, learned how to negotiate and solve their disputes. Next year, the two will use those skills in Student Senate.
Both won seats in last week's Student Senate elections
Scott will represent students in the School of Business. Kristen will represent freshmen and sophomores as a Nunemaker senator.
Although they will not argue about who has to scrape ice off the windshield before driving to school, they will debate how Senate will allocate almost $9 million of student fees to campus organizations and students' positions on issues such as campus safety and recycling.
Their mother, Donna Bloecker, said that when disputes arose between the two, like the war to control the car, she required Scott and Kristen to work out their problems.
"Over all, they've always been great negotiators," Bloecker said. "We always told them, 'If you can't work it out, come to us. We'll find a way that will be miserable for the two of you.'"
Bloecker said Scott became interested in student government when he was in fifth grade. In high school, he served on student council and ran for student body president. After Scott won a Senate seat last year, he encouraged Kristen to join a committee.
Kristen said, "I've always looked up to him. Going to committee meetings was one of the few times during the week that we could get together and talk."
This year, Scott and Kristen decided to run for Senate with the Unite coalition.
Kelly Huffman, Bellevue, Neb., junior and winner of a liberal arts and sciences seat for the Unite coalition, said Scott and Kristen brought an upbeat attitude to the campaign and constantly competed with each other to see who could work harder.
"They just always seem to be laughing," Huffman said. "It's amazing how much energy those two have."
And they will need that energy next year to handle a full load of classes and to sit through weekly meetings that can last past midnight.
Scott plans to go to law school after he graduates next year. Kristen is thinking about a career in public relations.
Scott said that because he and Kristen shared many of the same positions on student issues, disputes would probably not arise in Senate meetings. But if debates do, Scott said Kristen was sure to win.
"We'd argue all the time when we were kids, and it'd end up that she'd always get her way," he said. "I'm sure it will be that way in Senate."
Chris Hamilton / KANSAN
Brother and sister combination Scott and Kristen Merchant both won seats in last week's Student Senate elections.
Cyber map to update KU Web site
By Meredith Thedinger Special to the Kansan
Software originally used for architecture may be the answer to updating the University of Kansas' Web page.
AutoCAD, originally created to allow architects and engineers to draw their designs on the computer, would give the University's Web site a new map, showing buildings on campus room by room.
Currently, the facilities operations Web site doesn't offer a map. But Eric Hiebert, University Relations' CAD/LAN manager is working on getting the facilities operations section updated.
"We want to take AutoCAD and
use it to make maps for KU's page," Hiebert said. "We expect that we will have accomplished this by next year. When it's completed, anyone, whether it be alumni, new students or visitors, would know how to get to places on campus, just by looking at our Web page."
AutoCAD would not only provide a detailed map for Web visitors, it would also record a building's floor plans. This would determine exactly how many people a building's room could hold, and how a building could be reconstructed.
Hiebert said that he believed AutoCAD online would benefit the University.
"It's easy to say we need a home page, but what's behind it is key," he said. "The map would be detailed, from the whole view of the campus, down to each square foot of the floor plan. We want to create maps that change."
Matthew Friedrichs, program assistant at admissions, said that keeping all aspects of the University's Web page would improve the University's image.
"We need a quality home page," Friedrichs said. "The Internet is becoming predominant and people are using it more. The more people that go online, the more they'll want to use our Web page. We want to utilize new technology so that that image will help bring more students to KU."
Hiebert and his department are working to implement AutoCAD on the facilities page. They expect it to be on the Web by the end of the year.
"Many universities are working to establish this, and we want KU to keep up with the rest," he said.
AutoCAD 2.6 was created more than 10 years ago to computerize drawings. The updated AutoCAD
2. 14 is now used in the architecture and engineering schools.
But now AutoCAD's users are discovering that the software can be used by anyone, whether it be as a map, or as a reference to a building's measurements and capacity. In the future, AutoCAD could reduce paper work like floor drawings and manual work such as measuring for reconstruction.
Hiebert said that AutoCAD was part of the wave of the future and that eventually, all universities would catch on.
"The University of Michigan's page uses a scanner, which uses pictures in sequence like a picture show," he said. "The user can actually walk through main campus by using their computer. It doesn't just show the overall map of the campus or a picture of a building. It can actually take a person there. We're going to look at that."
Herbal medicines may remedy student ills
Lawrence businesses offer holistic options
By Emily Vrabac
Kansan staff writer
Herbal treatments are gaining popularity among college students, and several Lawrence businesses offer these remedies for a variety of health conditions.
Carolyn Micek and Richard Morantz specialize in Chinese herbal treatments and acupuncture at the Lunaria Holistic Health Center, 1103 Massachusetts St.
They use a mixture of herbs to treat ailments such as colds or coughs, and they said the prescribed mixture would alleviate the symptoms and the organs affected by it.
Micek and Morantz are acquainted with about 400 herbs and their chemical properties. They said that Chinese herbs were different from Western herbs because the Chinese herbs had
"In that way, it becomes holistic because we don't just treat the symptoms," Micek said. "We treat the other organs effected by the condition."
distinct functions and categories.
"They don't deal so much with symptoms as they do with patterns," Micek said. "We put together a formula of four to 15 herbs to treat the person."
The formulas are available in pills, powders or in a raw mixture.
"The traditional way is to give the person a tea made of herbs, and they take it home and boil it." Morantz said. "Americans don't do that as much. That's why we have the pills."
The herbs are available for a variety of ailments, and Micek and Morantz consult with each patient before prescribing a specific combination.
"We find out their chief complaint," Morantz said. "Then we'll spend a long time, it could be an hour, to find out how you live and the illnesses you've had."
"We ask if they are feeling cold or hot and a lot of questions about their urinary tract and bowels." Micek said. "The reason is that we don't have access to scientific labs to analyze things."
Micek said they asked questions that most patients weren't accustomed to answering at a doctor's office.
Morantz said he and Micek
"It's important for us to recognize things that are out of our scope practice."
Carotyn Micek
Chinese herbal specialist
would create a health program for patients that could include acupuncture, massage, diet and exercise.
"We try and do our part with our tools, but then we really expect the patients to meet us halfway," Micek said. "It's an important part of our philosophy that the patient is part of their own health."
Micek and Morantz said that they had some education in Western medicine practices, but often they encouraged patients to see doctors as well.
"It's important for us to recognize things that are out of our scope of practice," Micek said.
Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said he had not recommended herbal treatments because there was no scientific research from the FDA that supported their use.
"Many of our medications do derive from plants, so I think the potential is there for certain extractions in exacting quantities." Rock said.
He said that some combinations might work for one person and not another, but often the body healed itself,
"There are many conditions, a common cold for example, that the body is going to fight off regardless," Rock said. "The natural process is that you're going to get well."
Cathy Thrasher, Watkins pharmacist, said she had seen increased interest in natural treatments in recent years.
Thrasher said that students should tell her if they were using herbal medicines because of potential interactions with prescription medications.
"Those kind of calls have increased over the past several years," Thrasher said. "They've increased to the point that I got a reference for natural products that is updated monthly."
Students, faculty finish documentary
By Tiffany Kohl Special to the Kansan
Starting this summer, visitors and residents of Lawrence will be watching a documentary created by KU film students and faculty in the Lawrence Visitors Center of the recently renovated Union Pacific Depot, 402 N. Second St.
The documentary, entitled Lawrence: Free State Fortress, represents more than a year of work and has involved the effort of the University of Kansas and the community.
Steve Bruner, a family practitioner in Lawrence, has been raising money and community support for the documentary.
"I had lived in Lawrence for 20 years and knew very little about its history besides Quantrill's raid," Bruner said. "The beginning of the Civil War was in part because of the controversy over Kansas coming to the Union as a free state or a slave state."
Bruner's idea appealed to other participants in the production.
"I first became aware of the idea when I met Dr. Bruner, who has been the major force behind this project," said Joe Anderson, associate professor of theatre and film. "He thought it would be a good idea to make a film about the founding of Lawrence and have it shown in the depot. Since the University was a major part of the community and always has been, he began to raise money and support the effort to shoot the film here."
"It is a long process, and most work is working on a volunteer basis, so it is a lot of hard work," Hunter said. "Right now we're finishing the soundtrack and going over and improving the quality in small ways wherever we can. The end talks about Lawrence today and promotes the existing community and merchants."
Mike Gunter, Lawrence graduate student, producer and co-screenwriter, is working with Anderson to put the finishing touches on the documentary.
Anderson said the 30-minute documentary included photographs, letters and footage shot locally of re-enactors of the period. It spans a nine-year period, 1854 to 1863, from the founding of the community until Quantrill burned Lawrence. Much of the existing downtown area, including Massachusetts Street, was rebuilt after the burning in 1863.
"Lawrence had a very unique history..."
Joe Anderson assoc. professor of theatre and film
"Dr. Bruner wrote the initial story, then graduate students Mike Gunter and Karen Dillon wrote the screenplay. The Advanced Film Production class shot the film in the spring of 1996." Anderson said.
Bruner said the documentary was a welcome to visitors, as well as an education for Lawrence citizens about the history of their community.
"Lawrence had a very unique history and was founded for the specific purpose of bringing Kansas to the Union as a free state rather than a slave state," Anderson said. "It has given our students a chance to work on a larger project and has given us a chance to give something back to the community."
The total cost of the documentary is about $40,000, and an additional $25,000 has been spent to put a theatre in the depot to show the film.
Bruner said that he had collected about $30,000 from the local medical community and another $8,000 from local individuals. He received $5,000 each from Sprint and Hallmark and from the local Douglas County, Mercantile, and Commerce banks. Eastman-Kodak gave $2,000 worth of film to the department.
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