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NEWS / WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
CAMPUS
Gardeners grow global produce
BY LUYAN WANG
lwang@kansan.com
Residents of Stouffer Place Apartments, a University-owned complex for married, graduate and non-traditional students, are growing vegetables from all over the world in their community garden this summer.
Rohan Bandara lives at Stouffer Place with his wife, who is a graduate student at the University. He said he worked in the garden every day to kill time. Bandara used to have a full-time job in his hometown of Keawe, Sri Lanka., but he has lots of free time in Lawrence.
"I am not doing anything in my home," Bandara said.
Bandara bought vegetable seeds
from his native country at an Indian market in Kansas City and planted them in the garden. Bandara said working in the garden gave him a chance to meet more of his neighbors.
"We are new to the place and we do not know much about the families." Bandara said. "We can talk with each other."
Stouutter Neighborhood Association President Seyool Oh said the garden was built in 2005 to give the residents an opportunity to plant various vegetables and fruits. Oh said many international families living in Stouffer Place missed the food of their home countries and growing vegetables helped them adjust to the new environment and maintain their own cultures.
"If we have some space to plant our own countries' vegetables, we will be more relaxed."Oh said.
Fourty-five out of 283 families have a plot in the garden. Families are planting Chinese cabbage, Korean chives and other vegetables from China, Korea, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Russia and Chile.
"I am very happy and excited to have a garden this year in Stouffer Place because it brings us a lot of enjoyment," said Yi Zhang, a graduate student from China, who has a plot in the garden.
Working in the garden together could help the neighbors communicate more and build a better connection. Oh said. Residents help each other with their gardening and share their fruits and vegetables.
POPULAR VEGETABLES IN EASTERN CULTURE
- Chinese Cabbage Green Bean
- Chive Zucchini
- Kale Potato
- Eggplant Broccoli
- Hot peppers Cauliflower
- Squash Tomato
- Green Onion Leek
"If my friends are very busy and they do need vegetables, I just share mine," Oh said.
Ying Du came from Shanghai, China, to visit her daughter, a graduate student at the University. Du said the vegetables she planted were not enough for the family and they still
needed to buy some from the market, but she enjoyed working in the garden and meeting with people here.
Stouffer Place residents can apply for a free plot every March. The garden plots will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis.
EDUCATION
Empty Nest 101: College orientation for parents
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Call it Empty Nesting 101: Colleges around the country are holding orientations for families of incoming freshmen. But these are not simple "Meet the Dean" receptions held the day before school starts. These are elaborate two- and three-day events, often held on midsummer weekdays, requiring parents to take time off from work and pay $70 or $80 in addition to lodging, food and travel expenses.
They're packed with workshops, tours and speeches on subjects ranging from letting go to campus safety. Reed College in Portland, Ore., even invites parents to read "The Odyssey" and attend a lecture and discussion similar to what their kids will experience in a freshman humanities course.
You might think parents facing massive tuition bills would balk at more demands on their budget and time. But many colleges report that well over half their freshmen have family in attendance at these events.
"What I've heard across the country from parents is that these events are marked on their calendar with a big red heart," said Natalie Caine, who counsels parents through her business. Empty Nest Support Services in Los Angeles. "They'll pay the airfare, they'll go into debt to attend parent orientation if they have to. They're warriors. They say, 'I need to go. I need to see what it's like. I want to hear what they have to offer, what the security system is like, who's the contact person if there's a problem."
Joe Mondy said he was skeptical when he saw a long lecture on "letting go" scheduled for the parent
orientation at his daughter's school, Stonehill College in Massachusetts. But he ended up thinking the session was terrific.
"My generation, the Baby Boom generation, wants to over-control and manage things," said Mondy. "You want to make sure everything goes smoothly, familiarize yourself with the college and what it stands for."
Kristine Goodwin, associate dean for student life at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., says the orientations try to show parents that the school is on their side.
Holy Cross also warns parents that kids may call home in the first few weeks saying they're unhappy. "They don't have emotional support yet," Goodwin said. "Your job is not to overreact. Don't panic! They're just venting."
At Northern Michigan University in Marquette, parents get to hear exactly what those desperate calls sound like. The school plays tapes during the parent orientation of upperclassmen recreating actual calls they made home. One girl tells mom and dad she'll be spending Thanksgiving with her new boyfriend instead of her family. In another call, a boy confesses that he's not doing well in school, and P.S., he's in trouble for alcohol violations. A third call is from a student who's homesick and lonely.
"The girl's voice in the homesick tape makes many parents cry every time we do it," said Christine Greer, dean of students at NMU. The tapes were made some years ago, but "the issues haven't changed — independence, breaking rules, not doing well in classes, homesickness. They are
still things that parents worry about, and students deal with, every year."
Parents only hear the kid's side of the call; they're then asked to imagine their own reactions before being told what really happened: The parents of the girl with the boyfriend let her go to his house for Thanksgiving, and she ended up marrying him. The boy in trouble became a police officer. And the lonely girl became a resident adviser and later a teacher; she's now married with three kids.
At Indiana State University at Terre Haute, orientations have included as many as nine family members, including grandparents," said spokesman John Beacon. "We don't mind at all and we enjoy having the whole family participate. We recognize there are lots of helicopter parents. Rather than try to limit their involvement, we embrace it."
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