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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2007
NEWS
3A
>> SEXUAL RESPONSIBILITY WEEK
Center uses holiday to promote safety
BY DANAE DESHAZER
Whether tonight is spent with that special someone or not, the Wellness Resource Center is sponsoring Sexual Responsibility Week by handing out safer-sex kits and educating about sexually transmitted infections through Thursday.
Stacey Shields, Wellness Resource Center intern, said Valentine's Day provided "added pressure and an expectation of what you're supposed to do." She said the importance of this week was to give information as an option.
Sexual Responsibility Week is a part of the BACCHUS Network, which created specific calendar weeks that were designed for student health organizations to promote safe lifestyle decisions about issues such as alcohol and sexual health.
National Condom Day is ironically Feb. 14, said Matt Agan, coordina
tor of Sexual Responsibility Week.
Volunteers have been handing out free kits that include condoms, liquid lubricant and educational information on how to use a condom and sexual transmitted infections at a Health Hut display on campus.
Shields said many people don't use condoms while sexually active because they don't know how to use them or don't want to trek to the store and purchase them.
To educate on condom use, four penis models were displayed prominently in the center of the Health Hut. The penis models were used for races between friends, to see how fast each could put a condom on correctly. Students could wear beer goggles during the races to show how much harder it was to put the condom on accurately.
"The display will definitely catch your eye." Shields said. "It's getting over the stigmatism of being scared
Find the health hut
Sexual Responsibility Week Locations
Wednesday: 3-5 p.m. Student Recreation and Fitness Center
Thursday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Fourth floor of the Kansas
Union
Source: Wellness Resource Center
or intimidated of the issue."
Despite some confused looks, Agan said that he handed out 300 safer-sex kits Monday and had quite a few people participate in the condom races.
"Some people were a little weirded out by the condom races, but others said, 'this is cool, this is fun.' Agan said.
This was not a new idea for the Wellness Resource Center. Each
year, the center has worked to sponsor a week of events that support sex education and responsible sexual activity.
Bridget Monahan, wellness director of Student Health Services, said each year the center has improved its activities.
"We decided to make it fun and functional," Monahan said. "The week's events appeal to students because it's a small amount of information at a time."
Protect-a Sweetheart kits are also available in the Watkins Memorial Health Center pharmacy. These kits cost $5 and include five condoms, a small bottle of lube, hand sanitizer and a dental dam. Watkins also sells three condoms for 50 cents.
Kansan staff writer Danae DeShazer can be contacted at ddeshazer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
>> BOARD OF EDUCATION
Evolution-friendly standards adopted for public schools
BY JOHN HANNA ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA — New, evolution- friendly science standards for Kansas' public schools were adopted Tuesday by the State Board of Education.
The new guidelines reflect mainstream scientific views of evolution and represent a political defeat for advocates of "intelligent design," who had helped write the older standards being jettisoned.
The state has had five sets of standards in eight years, with anti- and pro-evolution versions, each doomed by the seasewaking fortunes of socially conservative Republicans and a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans. The moderate bloc had a 6-4 majority after elections last year; conservatives prevailed when the board adopted
anti-evolution guidelines in 2005.
That back-and-forth brought Kansas international attention and ridicule whenever evolution skeptics prevailed, even though other states have seen such debates.
CITY COMMISSION
The board on Tuesday removed language suggesting that key evolutionary concepts — like a common origin for all life on Earth and change in species creating new ones — were controversial and being challenged by new research. Also approved was a new definition of science, limiting it to the search for natural explanations of what's observed in the universe.
"Those standards represent mainstream scientific consensus about both what science is and what evolution is," said lack Krebs, an Oskaloosa math and technology teacher who helped write the new guidelines.
Study to address homeless concerns
BY MATT ERICKSON
The city commission agreed Tuesday night to hold a study session later this year on improving Lawrence's services and housing for the homeless.
The study session would include the city commission and the Community Commission on Homelessness, as well as input from Steve Ozark, a local advocate for homeless causes.
Is this something we're going to
Ozark went before the commission Tuesday night to request the study session, which would look at ways to include improved homeless concerns in the city's 2008 budget. Ozark said that helping Lawrence's poor and homeless had fallen too low on the city's list of priorities.
turn a blind eye to, as we build new parks every quarter-mile and build new roundabouts?" Oark said.
Ozark said Lawrence's homeless population could also use more help from the University of Kansas and its students. He said the School of Social Welfare had made contributions, but he said KU students could do much more to provide help for Lawrence's homeless population.
"There's so much more potential with students in Lawrence," Ozark said.
"Year after year, we go without really solving the problem of the
Marilyn Roy, another Lawrence advocate who was once homeless herself, also spoke during the meeting. She said shed been involved in the Lawrence homeless community for about 10 years.
homeless persons here in Lawrence"
Roy said.
She said a study done by Lawrence homeless services found that more than 400 homeless people live in Lawrence.
Ozark said some Lawrence residents misunderstood this homeless population. In January, he asked the commission for a citywide vote on the issue of homeless funding, but he said he no longer wanted a public vote because he realized the idea of increased funding might not be popular.
Some people have the false impression that homeless people choose their own fate, he said.
"Our middle-class biases take us far outside the realm of people that come from this life," Ozark said "There's nobody me meeting on
the street who's having any kind of party."
Ozark said the city must provide housing and personalized social services to the homeless in order to rehabilitate them. Many of them suffer from mental illness and addiction, he said, and close personal interaction with case workers is key.
He said the city employed four case workers to work with the homeless and poor, but each worker has about 35 clients — nearly triple the number he said was usually recommended. He said this hampered the city's ability to fully rehabilitate people.
Kansan staff writer Matt Erickson can be contacted at merickson@ kansan.com.
Edited by James Pinick
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
People gather Inside Lawrence Community Shelter Tuesday afternoon. The Lawrence City Commission plans to hold a study session later this year about improving housing and services for the homeless.
Spring 2007 Career Fair
Open to all majors and all academic levels!
- Full-time & Part-time Career Opportunities
- Internship, Fellowships
- Graduate & Professional Schools
- Summer Camps, Summer Jobs
For further information:
Presented by The University Career Center and the Office of Multicultural Affairs Contributing to Student Success!
www.ucc.ku.edu
Tuesday & Wednesday February 13th & 14th 12:30PM-5 PM daily-Kansas Union
Opening Doors For You!