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- THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JUNE GUIDE
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2004
Public toilets frighten
Julie Jones
jjones@kansan.com
Kansan stff writer
You are at the bar, perhaps drinking more than you should. You have to pee — badly. You walk, maybe stumble, to the bathroom. Most likely, said bathroom is horrific. Trash litters the floor and the toilets are overflowing. Absent are toilet paper, soap and paper towels.
A few days later you fall ill with the flu a result of the nasty bathroom?
Because bar patrons are often inebriated, bar bathrooms tend to be used more and thus messier. Consequently, the toiletry stock is depleted faster, which means more bacteria and more germs.
Bar patrons are also at a slightly higher risk of contraction because smoke and alcohol disrupt the immune system, said Myra Strother, chief of medical staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center.
Despite these seeming hazards, bathrooms are a low risk for disease transmission, said Kathy Colson, registered nurse at the Douglas County Health Department.
This doesn't mean using the restroom is risk-free.
Cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes a diarrheal disease, and conjunctivitis, or pink eye, can survive for a short period of time outside the body. Hepatitis B, in dry or wet blood, can survive for two
weeks outside the human body.
Diseases and bacteria such as these can be spread through faucets, door handles and other bathroom surfaces, though the chance of contraction is low.
The best prevention against disease, bacteria or viruses is hand washing. By breaking the cycle of disease transmission, your health is protected. The danger of spreading your own germs to others is also eliminated.
in dry or wet blood, can survive for two
No soap? Scrub your hands under hot water or carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in your purse or pocket. Use a paper towel to turn faucets and open doors.
No paper towels? Never touch your mouth, nose or eyes after handling bathroom faucets or door handles.
Sexually transmitted diseases are also rarely contracted in a bathroom. Because STDs are transmitted only through the exchange of bodily fluids or from intimate skin to skin contact, it is nearly impossible to get one from a restroom surface.
Most STDs die once outside the body. Some exceptions are crabs, herpes and scabies, which can survive on toilet seats for a short time span. The chance of transmission is possible, but extremely rare, said Bill Smith, Watkins health educator.
Marc Ingber
mingber@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Summer crowd taps bars
- Edited by Jay Senter
Historically, summer is a time for students to kick back, relax and celebrate the end of regular school year classes. Although in Lawrence most students have less classes to take, those expecting a lively bar and party scene might be in for a surprise.
According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, the University of Kansas had less than 10,000 students enrolled last summer, which was about 75 percent fewer students than a Spring or Fall semester.
"It's like a beach town," Ashleigh Garcia, Stilwell senior, said. "You can basically go anywhere and it's not as crazy."
But Garcia said fewer students was a benefit to summer bar-hopping. Garcia said in the summer no one at the bars really cared what people wore and the atmosphere was a lot more laid back. She said she enjoyed the older crowd the summer usually attracted.
Eric Collins, manager of the Jazzhaus, 926-1/2 Massachusetts St., said the older crowd is a benefit for the establishment.
"In all honesty it helps bring out the people who don't go to the clubs because they are packed with college kids," he said.
The bar crowd tends to go out later than usual in the summer because of the hot
weather, said Denise Spidle, Hesston senior and waitress at Jefferson's Restaurant, 743 Massachusetts St. She said she got to know more regulars in the summer because students had more income from summer jobs and more free-time.
"A lot of people you know by name, which is neat." she said.
Garcia said that you could usually spot the same people at different bars throughout the week.
Bars aren't the only places in Lawrence who see a change in their clientele during the summer months. Liquor stores see the change as well.
Most of the people who come into Cork and Barrel Wine and Spirits, 901 Mississippi St., in the summer are student regulars and professors, said Kyle Koch, Shawnee senior and night manager.
"There's a surprising number of professors who shop at the liquor store than what you might think," he said.
What type of alcohol people buy usually tends to change too. Larry Johnson, manager at Cork and Barrel Wine and Spirits, said there was a nationwide trend of buying more beer in the summer. Johnson said he wasn't sure how this summer's liquor sales would compare to others.
"It's going to be affected," he said. "What was surprising last summer was that it didn't fall off that dramatically."
— Edited by Amanda O'Toole
Revised Summer Hours for the SRFC!
Starting Monday, June 7th,these are the new summer hours for your Student Recreation Fitness Center to better suit your schedule. Stop in today!