KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2010 / NEWS
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LAWRENCE (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
violator offense fine. The fine, originally passed in 1996, has been a constant source of controversy. Under the ordinance, individuals who accumulate five or more parking violations for expired meters within a 30-day period are considered habitual parking violators and are subject to the $50 fine. If they are cited for additional parkingviolations within the 30-day period, each additional violation is $50. By the end of March, 122 habitual parking violator citations were issued, 92 citations were still pending or past due and the total revenue collected was $1,305. In response, Britches owner Jeremy Furse presented a petition with more than 700 signatures and 100 businesses asking the city to repeal the fine at the City Commission meeting March 30.
"I have lost track of the amount of tickets my roommate and I have had to pay over the three years we have lived downtown," she said.
Danielle Littman, a senior from Chicago, said she did not support the habitual violator fine. Littman, who lives near 10th and Massachusetts Streets, said parking was a recurring issue for downtown residents and employees.
Littman said she thought that tickets were issued in excess for downtown residents. In her opinion, the city should issue a parking permit for universal downtown parking, including meters, to accommodate residents and downtown employees.
Currently there are 1508 meters, seven two-hour free parking lots, 10 two-hour, five-hour and 10-hour metered parking lots and two garagees with free parking for a couple of hours. Yearly city passes, which cost $192 are available for the River Front Mall and New Hampshire parking garages or any of the 10-hour meters.
Jane Pennington, executive director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., who supports the habitual violator fine, said the idea of a specific employee or resident parking lot was not very practical. She said there was plenty of parking, and that employees and residents should be willing to walk a few blocks if need be.
"Parking is kind of at a premium and it ought to be saved for our customers," Pennington said. "I've received complaints, but if it's employees I don't have a lot of
PARKING FINES AT A GLANCE
Citations for overtime parking are $3. Failing to pay the $3 overtime parking ticket within 10 days will result in a fine of $15. If you receive five or more parking citations within a period of the previous 30 consecutive days, you can receive a habitual violator citation, which is $50. Citations can be issued every two hours if there is no payment to the meter or pay station. If you fail to move your vehicle completely from the two-hour free parking lot, you can be cited every two hours.
Parking Control has five full-time Parking Control officers and one fulltime meter maintenance employee.
- Parking Control operates from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, excluding city holidays.
Source: Lawrence Police Department
sympathy for them."
She added that the top floor of the New Hampshire parking garage was free to anybody all day and that parking garages were rarely full.
But for Hoffman and Littman, it is an issue of safety. Hoffman said she didn't feel safe walking to the garage when she got off work at nine, especially being female. Littman had similar concerns.
"I usually park on the street because I feel uncomfortable walking from the fourth floor of a parking garage at night," Littman said. "The city seems more concerned with writing tickets than making people feel safe."
Edited by Kirsten Hudson
BULL (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
when his assistant came across an advertisement on Craig's list.
The previous owner, Colin Elwell, sold the bar because of his busy schedule. Elwell recently got married and started graduate school at Baker. He said he owned The Bull for more than a year-and-half and remodeled the building.
"I went there when I was in school and I really liked it," Elwell said. "But I thought someone needed to put some T.L.C. into it and bring it back into the state it is now."
Swords and his friends purchased The Bull at an undisclosed amount, although Elwell said their price met his expectations. He was not short on offers, however. He received many phone calls inquiring about the sale.
"I needed somebody to buy it and I knew someone would be interested; it's Lawrence tradition," Elwell said.
That tradition started when the bar first opened in 1920. Throughout the years, The Bull
As a well-known hang out spot for the Greek community and other students, The Bull offers a laid back atmosphere, a large outdoor deck area and a location that plays into its popularity.
has gone by other names such as "The Beer Stoop," because it is a beer-only bar.
"The fact that its visual to a busy street like Tennessee, that helps our business," J.D. Christie, a Mission Hills senior and manager of The Bull, said. "It's a domino effect."
They're also interested in cooking food outside on Fridays and Saturdays. Ultimately though, they want to leave The Bull as untouched as possible.
The new owners plan to add a bar in the basement some time during the summer.
"We always want it to be The Bull," Swords said. "It's never going to be anything else."
Edited by Megan Heacock
Stormy weather
Tanner Grubbs/KANSAN
The top half of a tree rests on a no-parking sign near 13th and Louisiana Streets after breaking off during Tuesday evening's storm. The line of storms that rolled through Lawrence brought fierce winds, small hall and flooding.
CHILDHOOD (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
usual child"
He said that everyone had insecurities and that they used different means to deal with them. Some find comfort in alcohol, drugs or sex, while others find it in objects, such as a stuffed animal.
"Actually, if you think about it, this is a really OK way to do it. What's the big deal?" Gillath said.
Rachel Shallenberg, a junior from Olathe, doesn't go to bed without her stuffed black panther. The panther was the latest in a line of childhood stuffed animals, which included a bear called White Bear and a black horse named Raven.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Natalie Sellers, a junior from Council Grove, has slept with a stuffed Minnie Mouse every night since she was 4 years old. She said her mom didn't want to buy it for her at first because Sellers already had so many stuffed animals.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
"She figured it would just be another stuffed animal that would go on the shelf," Sellers said. "But it wasn't. I kept her and brought her to college. I take her everywhere."
Women aren't the only ones who still sleep with stuffed animals or blankies, but social norms may make it less likely for men to talk about it. The image of a grown man cuddling with a stuffed animal is less socially acceptable.
"You don't see any differences when they're young." Gillath said. "We all use it at some point."
Gillath said another reason for the apparent disconnect was that men were usually more avoidant and women were more anxious. Women may be dealing with their anxiety through the object, while men may be suppressing their emotions.
Andrea Greenboot, associate professor of developmental psychology, said attachment could depend on the family's treatment of the object. She said children often named their stuffed animals and treated them as real people.
"If the family and friends of this person reinforce that, and they're all sort of in on it, then you can see how this person is socialized to keep that with them," Greenhoot said. "It's just a part of their life in the same way their brother or sister or pet might be a part of their life."
Sellers said her family didn't think it was strange that she still had Minnie. She said she and her dad still joked around with Minnie and pretended to talk like her.
"She's just always been around, so why wouldn't she still be around?"
Sellers said.
Sellers said she even slept with Minnie when her boyfriend was around.
Sellers' boyfriend, Adam Baratz, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., said he met Minnie in the dorms his freshman year when Sellers introduced Minne to a few of her friends. He said he didn't think it was weird.
"I had a friend in high school who also had stuffed animals around," he said.
Baratz said that he wasn't jealous of Minnie, but that if Sellers had to choose between Minnie and him, she would definitely go with Minnie.
"I'm OK with it." Baratz said. "Mimie's been around longer than I have."
GROWING PAINS
When students go to college they leave the friends and family who usually provide comfort in times of stress and insecurity. A stuffed animal can help because it's something familiar from home.
Gillath said depression and adjustment problems were becoming more common among college students. According to an American College Health
Association report, about 30 percent of college students felt so depressed it was difficult to function at least once within the last 12 months.
"I think if students can find ways for themselves to go through college and survive or succeed and if what they need for that is a blankie, provide the blankies as they get in," Gillath said.
"As you get older you just move on. Or your ex-boyfriend doesn't give them back," Schallenberg said.
When Schallenberg came to the University she never tried to hide her panther. She said that before her panther she had several other stuffed animals. Her old favorites were a bear named White Bear and a little black horse named Raven. She said she still missed Raven, whom she lent to an ex-boyfriend and hadn't seen since.
Gillath said having an attachment to a blankie or stuffed animal did not always mean there was a psychological problem. Sometimes there is just sentimental value to the object.
"It's something that's very normal in a way and if it helps, then great. It's better than becoming a drug addict," Gillath said.
Edited by Katie Blankenau
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