KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010 / NEWS
CAMPUS
3A
New community service group started from scratch
BY KELLY MORGAN kmorgan@kansan.com
In high school, Katie Kyzer was a Key Club girl. She loved the feeling of making a positive change with the international organization's community service projects.
When Kyzer came to the University as a freshman last fall, she wanted to continue her service with the organization and decided to join the college equivalent of Key Club — Circle K
International.
There was just one problem.
"KU didn't have a Circle K," Kyzer said. "And I was like well, I'm a freshman, I can't do anything, forget that."
But the more Kyzer thought about it, the more she missed Key Club. So this year, she decided to take action and form a Circle K chapter for the University.
"It's the biggest service organization in the world, and yet KU doesn't have it," Kyzer said. "So
we're going to start it."
Through Facebook and word of mouth, the organization has grown to include 14 members just six shy of the 20 needed to become an official chapter with Kiwanis International, the overseeing body for Key Club and Circle K. With the assistance of the Lawrence Kiwanis chapter, the University's still-forming Circle K chapter plans to start its community service work with small projects like ringing bells for the
Salvation Army and serving food at local soup kitchens.
"So far just getting the word out there has been the hardest part," said Gabrielle Reimer, a sophomore from Meade. "There are many community service organizations here at KU so it can be hard to get people to join."
Emily Miller, a junior from Lawrence, said Circle K is unique to other community service organizations in that, as a new club, members have more say in the
events that are put on.
"Other groups have traditions that they follow and we have the opportunity to make up our own traditions," Miller said. "We are starting from scratch."
The group hopes that its small projects will lead to bigger service events in the future. One possibility includes a holiday event for area children.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing it if it's actually going to work out." Kyzer said with a laugh.
"More importantly, I think we're all excited to see what kind of an impact we can have in the community."
Students interested in joining the University's Circle K chapter can contact the group at kansascki@gmail.com. The group meets every other Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Kansas Union.
Edited by Joel Petterson
CAMPUS
KU promotes buddy system created by journalism class
BY GARTH SEARS gsears@kansan.com
Molly Kretzer's homework has been posted on University police cars, doors of local bars and even the big screen at Memorial Stadium.
That's where the Office of Student Success is putting the logo for its new responsible-drinking campaign called the "Jayhawk Buddy System," which started in Kretzer's campaigns class. In the class, which was taught by associate professor of journalism Bob Basow last spring, students do research and develop a campaign for a client.
Kretzer, a senior from Wichita, said students in her class traveled to several universities across the nation to research effective responsible-drinking messages with money donated by O'Malley Beverage, a local distributor for Anheuser-Busch.
Frank DeSalvo, associate vice provost for student success, said his office used the research to learn a couple of things about how to reach students.
"Students don't like to be preached at, threatened or scared," he said.
"We know that students who get in trouble are often the ones who get separated from their friends at the end of the night," DeSalvo said.
That's why the "Jayhawk Buddy System" campaign focuses on positive actions students can take. There's even a positive acronym for the plan that goes with it: IACT.
Kretzer's campaigns class did the research together but divided into six groups that came up with different campaign proposals for their customer — the University. Kretzer was on the five-member team that proposed the buddy system.
The Office of Student Success took the proposal and made changes to it before introducing it to the University Nov. 1. For example, Kretzer said, her group's proposal didn't include IACT, but it did include suggestions for how to handle the campaign, like with Greek Life or during Hawk Week.
"As soon as we gave our presentation, it was in their hands," she said. "It was its product. That's
the point of the campaigns class."
She said the class took its research approach mostly from the model at the University of Virginia, which focused on in-depth polling to delve into the students' behavior. They conducted their own focus groups with freshmen and sophomores, asking about their habits and opinions on certain key topics like fake IDs or binge drinking.
Kretzer said the class found that students consistently overestimated the drinking habits of their peers, thinking that others drank more regularly or dangerously than they actually did.
"If people realize they are in the majority, it might change how they act," she said.
Kretzer said the University of Virginia's approach used the in-depth information to create positive messages, and it found out that those positive messages worked better with students. Her group applied that lesson to its buddy system proposal, adding ten rules of partying that correlate with the research they did.
"Count sheep, not shots," she
JAYHAWK BUDDY SYSTEM: IACT
said, as an example of a rule. "More than 40 percent of KU students have not passed out from drinking."
Kretzer said the University of Nebraska was a good example of
"It's being built right now," she said.
Chief Ralph Oliver of the KU Public Safety Office said the University police have "jumped right on top of" the campaign. The logo is on a few police cars, but not all yet.
- Agree on a game plan
- Check in with your buddy regularly
- Take charge to return home together
"Their community efforts are intense" she said.
She said Lawrence's partnership between community and the University isn't as strong as that in Lincoln, Neb., but things like the safe bar alliance — another project that used the class' research — are improving that partnership.
effectively implementing a drinking campaign, because it coordinated the police, the community and the university well.
Oliver said his officers would be able to discuss it with anyone who asks about the logo, like when they work crowd control at a football or basketball game.
DeSalvo said the community pitched in with this campaign. In addition to the funding from O'Malley Beverage, he said that Lawrence-based advertising agency Callahan Creek donated the campaign logo and bars around town are now sporting the logo.
"When people have too much alcohol, it can go medical or criminal," he said. "We prefer to deal with less life-threatening situations."
"If people realize they are in the majority, it might change how they act."
MOLLY KRETZER Wichita senior
De Salvo said that now that his office has debuted the campaign with its IACT slogan, they
"It's a multidimensional effort, and we are not alone in this," he said.
want to enhance it. He said the office is developing a website for it that he hopes will be up by the beginning of spring semester. The office is also developing a toolkit, planned for release early next semester, that would give information and advice, like how to divert someone's attention away from drinking.
DeSalvo said no matter where the campaign goes from here, it will involve students' input and be student-centered. That makes sense for a campaign started by students.
"They've given us the blueprint for this program and we intend to follow it," he said.
Edited by Lisa Curran
know what you're getting.
Plus, those extras might not be doing much for your energy level.
HEALTH (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
"That's all bogus," Chapman said.
Caffeine and other stimulants like guarana are giving that extra boost. Also, most energy drinks are high in sugar and calories. Anything with high amounts of those two will give you energy, she said.
He said he drinks them because he likes the caffeine rush. In high school, he said he used to drink four energy drinks a day sometimes. He said he'd get jittery, but he got used to the feeling.
"At least one, sometimes two," he said.
upwards of 500 milligrams, that can lead to problems like insomnia, irritability, anxiety or headaches.
Now, Fitzgerald said he drinks fewer because they're expensive. The jittery feelings and other side effects never worried him much.
Ryan Fitzgerald, a sophomore from Overland Park, said he drinks energy drinks every day.
He said he's probably grown dependent on the energy boost and buzz from the drinks.
- Edited by Michael Bednar
According to the Mayo Clinic, 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine each day isn't unhealthy. The amount of caffeine in energy drinks ranges from 74 to 160 milligrams. A cup of coffee, for example, has about 95 milligrams. But if someone starts consuming
"They can be addictive," Fitzgerald said.
Fraternity files motion in lawsuit
Attorney representing Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Rd., filed a defense motion in a meeting of attorneys held Wednesday. The motion is part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of former student Jason Wren against the fraternity. Wren, a 19-year-old freshman from Littleton, Colo., died in SAE from alcohol poisoning March 8, 2009. The plantiff in
COURTS
The plantiff motion filed in October also requested that Mary Wren, Jason's mother, be removed from the list of plantiffs following her death earlier this year.
-Alex Garrison
The trial is scheduled to begin April 25. The next status conference is scheduled for Dec. 17.
torney's for Wren's family argue that the SAE college members and Stacy should be legally held accountable in the civil case for Jason's death.
The motion submitted Wednesday argued that John Stacy, the president of the board that owns the Kansas SAE chapter, should not be included as a defendant, as the plantiff requested in filings in October. At-
the suit, Jason's father, Jay Wren, alleges that fraternity members failed to seek help for Jason the night he died. The defendants in the suit include the national and local chapters of Sigma Alpha Epison and 10 members of the fraternity, listed as John Does.
Money for college. Career training. And an entire team to help you succeed.
These days, it pays to have someone watching your back. That's what you'll get serving part-time in the Air Guard — an entire team of like-minded individuals who want to help you get ahead. In the Air Guard you can develop the high-tech skills you need to compete in today's world. You can choose from nearly 200 career specialties, with the chance to work on advanced computers, networks and electronics even state-of-the-art aircraft and satellites. You'll also serve close to home. All while receiving a steady paycheck, benefits and tuition assistance. Most important, you will experience the satisfaction that comes from serving your community and your country. Talk to a recruiter today, and see how the Air Guard can help you succeed.
PART-TIME BLUE, FULL-TIME YOU.
GOANG.com > 1-800-TO-GO-ANG