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THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
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How to celebrate Earth Dav
See a list of events for today and the rest of this week at www.sustainableku.wordpress.com.
CAMPUS
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 141
THE PRICE OF PASSING
KU Dining buys local food for Earth Day
BY BRENNA LONG blong@kansna.com
KU Dining Services is celebrating the 40th year of Earth Day by going local. As part of the Rock Chalk Green Hawk event tonight, KU Dining Services will serve food that comes from a 300-mile radius, from hamburger buns to eggs.
"This is something KU Dining has been proactive with," said Sheryl Kidwell, assistant director of KU Dining.
Working with Sysco, a food distributor out of Olathe, and their local suppliers, Kidwell and Jim Schilling, assistant manager of Mrs. E's, have worked for more than a year to make the local dinner possible.
On the menu will be hamburgers, fresh bread, bison meat, whole-wheat pasta, grilled cheese sandwiches, deviled eggs and ice cream
As KU Dining's prime vendor, Sysco KC helped to provide those items that could be purchased locally. But not everything could fit the theme.
"Unfortunately, the Midwest growing season and availability of fresh produce this time of year prevented us from being able to serve fresh fruits and vegetables as part of this menu lineup." Kidwell said.
- Availability is not the only barrier to consistently providing local food.
The cost, availability and quantity challenge residential dining services to provide local food. Schilling said. Nearly 1,500 residents will eat at Mrs. E's tonight, and about 600 residents at both GSP Corbin Hall and Oliver Hall will also eat the local meal.
"We want to support local purchasing when it is feasible for our operations," she said. "That is why we look toward the possibility of increasing our local support, but we will have to weigh any financial impact because remaining fiscally responsible to our customers is also very important."
To accompany the local food, the cafeterias will also have a local market atmosphere. Groups with information about sustainability
This local night, like other events hosted throughout the year, such as the Thanksgiving and SpongeBob SquarePants dinners, costs more than a normal meal, and KU Dining budgets accordingly. Kidwell said. Some items on tonight's menu cost from 15 percent to as much as 195 percent more than the regular items.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Ryan Waggeon/KANSAN The chapel inside Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana St., is seen from the alcove where the casket would be placed during a memorial service. Funeral homes in Douglas County provide services for about 500 deaths a year.
Sales of the death men
How America's funeral industry thrives on the dead
SEE DINING ON PAGE 3A
khardy@kansan.com
BY KEVIN HARDY
khardy@kansan.com
Todd Miller slowly positions the head of the body between plastic blocks as Curtis Foley makes a 2-inch incision on the neck near the collar bone. Miller then digs beneath the skin, grasps the carotid artery and jugular vein and pulls them toward the surface, tying them together to ensure easy access for later. Foley makes a tiny cut for a tube to enter each vessel.
Meanwhile, Miller closes the corpse's eyes. He uses plastic textured eye caps to affix the eyeball to the lid. This prevents the eyes from sinking into the skull and keeps the eyelids from dehydrating.
He runs his hands along the arteries, preparing them to be emptied of blood.
Miller washes the body several times with heavy-duty disinfectant soap and water and massages the body to loosen the muscles, reversing the effects of rigor mortis.
In the world of morticians, this process is called
"setting the features." Once embalming fluid is added, the body will stiffen into position — the position it'll stay in until it's buried.
This body, like most of those that are embalmed, is destined for a plush casket, a fancy outfit and plenty of makeup, all before being placed in the ground and topped off with an elegant headstone.
It's here, lying on a shiny metal table under the care of morticians like Foley and Miller, that most of us will eventually wind up. Roughly 2.5 million Americans die each year, and about 2 million of them will be embalmed, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Though overwhelmingly popular in U.S. funerals, embalming is performed on only a fraction of the world's newly dead.
Although conventional embalming and burying the dead remains the most popular choice in this country, recent years have shown a shift toward different methods to dispose of America's dead. Today, the bodies of about one-third of Americans are cremated after death, perhaps the most significant change in consumer preference.
Industry experts estimate that 10,000 bodies are donated to science each year. Movements toward green burials and home funerals and burials are emerging, creating a simpler and significantly cheaper transition from life. In some cases, these emerging practices reject America's idea of a conventional funeral.
For those dealing with loss, navigating the world of death care can be a daunting and expensive task. Critics say many people avoid planning for death until it happens, leading to uninformed consumers and a system susceptible to abuse.
It's a problem many have faced. For one KU professor, the experience of arranging funerals for her father and two grandparents during her time of grief left her feeling so unprepared and frustrated that she devoted much of her research and writing to the topic. She now teaches a course on death and dying to help students prepare for and better understand death.
SEE FUNERALS ON PAGE 4A
ENVIRONMENT
Chancellor makes Earth Day official
BY BRENNA LONG blong@kansan.com
22 Earth Day for the University when she signed a proclamation on April 16.
Today might be the 40th anniversary of the nationwide Earth Day, but it's the University's first.
"This proclamation is a tangible landmark," said Tyler Enders, a junior from Leawood and president of From Blue to Green. "It's a reflection of a whole lot of work
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-
Little officially declared April
The proclamation notices the green initiatives that have been happening for the last 15 years, including green fees, the Center for Sustainability development, an energy performance contract, the KU Student Rain Garden and
done by a whole lot of people."
Students met with the chancellor three times throughout the semester to talk about sustainable investments and changes that could happen on campus.
the Potter Lake Project.
SEE EARTH DAY ON PAGE 3A
CRIME
Driver named in Louise's crash
BY ELLIOT METZ emetzkansan.com
Police have released the name of the driver of the car that crashed into Louise's West early Sunday.
Brandy Fausnaught, a 22-year-old Lawrence resident, was issued four
citations for the accident
Fausnaught was cited for leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and failure to report an accident.
index
Classifieds...6B
The bar has been closed since Sunday.
Edited by Cory Bunting
Crossword...6A
Opinion... 7A
Horoscopes...6A
Sports...1B
Sudoku...6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2010 The University Daily Kansan
Islamic Awareness Day continues through today
The Muslim Student Association is holding an event on the lawn outside Stauffer-Flint Hall to answer questions. RELIGION | 8A
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