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Conquering concrete
Engineering students claim victory at national competition. CAMPUS|8A
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THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 121 ISSUE 131
X'ed off
Freshman guard Xavier Henry, right, begins to tear up while announcing his entry into the NBA draft Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse. He was accompanied by his brother C.J. Henry for support. Xavier said he wanted to be remembered most for his outgoing character on and off the court. Read the full story on 1B.
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN
ECONOMY
How we survived the Great Recession
On-campus employers still filling student positions
BY ALEESE KOPF
akopf@kansan.com
Despite the recession, student employment on campus has remained largely unaffected by the economic downturn.
Student on-campus employment has remained at about the same level for the past decade. The University employed 4,721 students last year and 4,802 in 2000. Employment has varied only by about 100-200 students in the past decade.
Students make up 48.2 percent of the total number of employees at the University, which includes faculty, university support staff and unclassified non-faculty staff. That number has stayed consistent during the past few years.
Mary Chappell, director of Recreation Services, said the department had been able to avoid downsizing its staff despite budget concerns. Recreation Services, which is the department in charge of the Ambler Student Recreation Center, still hires more than 200 students each year.
"Students are our lifeblood in regards to our daily operations," Chappell said. "These individuals are placed in leadership positions on a daily basis."
The total number of student applications sent out to campus employers each month is significantly higher than the current number of student employees. For the 2006-2007 academic year, stu
dents sent 21,149 applications. In 2008-
2009, that number jumped to 28,835.
All campus jobs are now listed online, which caused the increase in applications after switching from the paper system in 2004, said Ann Hartley, assistant director of student employment at the University Career Center.
"It has always been challenging for students to find an on-campus job because of the competition for these positions," Hartley said. "I recommend that students who want to work next fall start looking at spring job postings."
Hartley said that student employment rates hadn't changed significantly since the recession but that students still had a hard time finding jobs.
Depending on the month,
on the month,
anywhere from 1,100 to 6,100 appli-
SEE JOBS ON PAGE 3A
Lawrence endures economic woes
BY ZACH GETZ
While the national unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent, Lawrence is tied for eighth lowest in the country with a 4.6 unemploymentrate,according to a December 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics report,the
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
(AS OF DECEMBER 2009)
Lawrence: 4.6%
Kansas City 8.6%
metro area:
Manhattan: 4.5%
Lincoln, Neb.: 4.1%
Ames, Iowa: 4.6%
National average: 10%
Bureau of Labor Statistics
As the nation struggles through its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Lawrence has weathered the storm rather well — at least in terms of unemployment.
zgetz@kansan.com
Manhattan has the sixth lowest at 4.5 percent, and Ames, Iowa, ties Lawrence with the eighth lowest at 4.6 percent.
most recent report available.
"Colleges tend to be countercyclical as far as economies go, and funding won't get cut in a recession," said Roger Zalneraitis, Lawrence economic development coordinator. "As a result, you wind up having less unemployment and fewer people getting laid off."
Several of the Big 12 college towns are in the top 10 lowest unemployment rates in the nation. Lincoln, Neb., has the second lowest rate at 4.1 percent.
In fact, all of the Big 12 cities are well below the national average. All 11 Big 12 cities - Stillwater and Norman are both counted in Oklahoma City's data - are in the top 65 lowest unemployment rates out of 347 metropolitan areas. All have an unemployment rate under 7 percent.
John Pagen, vice president of economic development for the Manhattan area Chamber of Commerce, said a large number of service-related jobs, such as restaurants and retail stores, could keep unemployment rates low because they employ dozens of people and are always opening new stores. Graduating students and students taking a semester off can cause a lot of turnover, which also keeps the unemployment levels low.
Universities are always bringing people in research positions, such as many of the lab jobs and projects on West Campus, which helps create new jobs that require higher education degrees. Pagen said.
"There's always so much going on in a college town," Pagen said. "There's all this activity, and we've been fortunate to have a lower unemployment rate because of it."
In December 2007, Lawrence's unemployment rate was 3.6 percent while the national average was 5 percent. Between December 2007 to December 2008, the unemployment rate rose 2.4 percent nationally and 0.5 percent in Lawrence. Between December 2008 and December 2009, the national unemployment rate rose 2.6 percent, and Lawrence maintained its 0.5 percent increase.
Lawrence officials try to use as many different programs as they can to help keep the unemployment rate low, Zalneraitis said.
We are trying to take advantage of as
SEE LAWRENCE ON PAGE 3A
SENATE
See the interactive timeline of unemployment rates at kansan.com.
Funding approved to clean up Potter Lake
BY ANNIE VANGSNES anniev@kansan.com
The Potter Lake Project's two year effort to clean up the pond paid off Wednesday evening after Student Senate approved $58,000 in funding to hydraulically dredge Potter Lake.
Student Senator J.J. Siler, a senior from Overland Park who has worked with the project since last semester, said the dredging would combat the current buildup of about 30 feet of sediment in the lake.
Through dredging, hydraulic pistons are inserted through the sludge to the bottom of the lake. The sediment is then lifted out without changing the water level.
"It itkes a careful balance."
Husch said.
For about two years, the Potter Lake Project has been working to beautify the lake by suggesting improvements for the area and collecting donations.
Ezra Huschur, a senior from Salina and treasurer for the project, said too much sediment could offset the natural equilibrium of the lake.
The large amount of algae and vegetation depletes the water's oxygen level, making it hard for animals to survive. Melissa Allen, a senior from St. Louis and vice president of the project, said all man-made lakes, such as Potter Lake, need to be dredged routinely to sustain them over time.
Allen said dredging the lake was not the group's top priority because
SEE LAKE ON PAGE 5A
SENATE
Separate fee keeps Kansan funding
BY ERIN BROWN
ebrown@kansan.com
Funding provided to The University Daily Kansan from student fees will remain intact for the 2010-2011 academic year after a vote by Student Senate Wednesday evening.
The full Student Senate met to debate the student fee review sub-committee's bill, which called for a $1.70 cut to the $4 campus media fee and the elimination of the Student Media Board allocating funds to The Kansan. Senate ultimately approved creating a separate subscription fee for The Kansan under the Newspaper Readership Program, which provides other local and national newspapers to students.
Senators voted 57-3, with three.
SEE FUNDING ON PAGE 5A
index
Classifieds. 6B Opinion. 7A
Crossword. 6A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 6A Sudoku. 6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2010 The University Daily Kansan
Archaeologist makes case for round stones
Associate professor John Hoopes travels to Costa Rica to lend expert advice to the UN on mysterious stones in the area. CAMPUS | 4A
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