THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
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KANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 123 ISSUE 3
CREEPING CRITTERS
Turtles crawl into unique class
KU couple's new book enlightens Kansans about the amphibians, reptiles and turtles in their state
BY KELLY STRODA kstroda@kansan.com
<stroda@kansan.com
Thirty-eight species of snakes slither around in the state of Kansas. But don't worry — only five of these are venomous.
Information like this can be found in the book "Amphibians, Reptiles and Turtles in Kansas."
"That's why we wrote the book, said Joe Collins, senior author and adjunct herpetologist with the Kansas Biological Survey. "We wanted to tell
you a little bit about these animals and get you a little more accustomed that there are all of these harmless animals out there that look a little more frightening than they are."
For the past 17 years, Joe and his wife, Suzanne, have been working together on the book. The Collins worked with another author, Travis W. Taggart, associate curator of herpetology at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays. The book includes all 99 types of amphibians, reptiles and
turtles in Kansas along with color maps showing where they live.
pioneering those five life.
Joe and Suzanne both worked for the University of Kansas for 30 years. Joe retired in 1997 from the Natural History Museum, where he was an editor and herpetologist. Suzanne retired a year later from the School of Education, where she was a teacher certification officer.
"So much has changed in the profession of biology in terms of how we define biological diversity that this book will be quite different than our previous books on the subject." Joe said. Proof of this lies even in the title of this book. In years prior, turtles were considered to be a type of reptile. This book puts them in their own class.
"All of the evidence that's now in modern, molecular biology says that they're not related to snakes and lizards," Joe said.
Suzanne took nearly 500 photographs for the book displaying these animals mostly in their natural habitats. She has been taking wildlife photos for 25 years.
But taking wildlife photos isn't
“It's really a two-person job. Joe really controls the animal and my job is to take care of focusing and lighting and backgrounds and that sort of thing,” Suzanne said. “He really gets the attention of the animal so I can move around and take photos of it.”
always easy.
Rafe Brown, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said this new book would be useful in teaching his classes.
"This volume will help me personally in teaching Kansas students about the state's natural heritage," Brown said.
The book was financially sponsored by a number of businesses and organizations. These include the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Touchstone Energy, Westar Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
"We hope that the people of Kansas enjoy it,"Joe said.
Crawfish Frog
Edited by Lisa Curran
Common Musk Turtle
Photos contributed by Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH
Eastern Racer
See more photos of amphibians, reptiles and turtles at kansan.com/photos/galleries/
CAMPUS
Energy club calls for student involvement
BY NICOLAS ROESLER nroesler@kansan.com
A new student organization on campus is trying to bring sustainable energy issues facing the country to students at the University of Kansas.
The KU Energy club aims to educate students about energy by bringing together students with key players in the energy field, such as industry leaders, policy makers and academic faculty, to openly discuss all methods of energy reform and the energy issues today.
"The coal plant is a big issue right now," said Greg Loving, KU Energy Club co-president and a junior from Salt Lake City. "So we could have somebody from the industry, a government official, and somebody who's protesting it. I think when you have all that dialogue is when you really get some positive interaction."
The KU Energy Council is a group of 15 distinguished professors from the schools of engineering and business. Its main goal is to heighten the awareness of energy research at the University. For three years, the Energy Council has studied fossil fuels and worked with policy makers to affect how Kansas handles its energy.
Loving, along with co-president Brian Larkin, a senior from Garden City, sought help from the KU Energy Council in establishing this new club.
GOALS OF ON
CAMPUS GREEN
GROUPS:
KU Energy Club:
• Promote the collaboration of academia, industry leaders, policy makers, and students with interest/expertise in the energy field
- Encourage positive discussions on solutions to energy challenges
Howard Ting/KANSI Jill VanCoever, operator of the Jayhawk Ink Print on Demand, assembles a textbook from scratch in less than 8 minutes. VanCoever explains that it took less than a day to get trained on the five-step process in assembling the textbook.
SEE ENERGY ON PAGE 3A
Environs:
- Promotes environmental awareness
- Encourages sound environmental practices within the university and Lawrence
- Source: http://groups
ku.edu/~environs/
- Opportunities to gain experience towards the same end
Howard Ting/KANSAN
Source. http://www.
ku.edu/students/orgs/
Emerging_9499.html
- Provide KU students with educations supporting environmentally sustainable design
Emerging Green Builders:
MONEY
Hewlett Packard teams up with KU
New program offers cheaper books to students
BY KELLY MORGAN kmorgan@kansan.com
This summer, Hewlett Packard selected KU Bookstores to house a pilot for its Print-On-Demand book printing program. The program brings a publishing center to Jayhawk Inc. on the second floor of the Kansas Union and now allows them to quickly create textbooks and other course materials for a fraction of the cost. While only a few months old, the program has quickly gained popularity among departments on campus.
"It has been a much higher volume than what we intended," said Estella McCollum, director of KU Bookstores. "We've probably produced around 5,000 books in a month. It's been incredible."
The draw for many of these departments lies in the removal of the hassle that comes with printing books off campus.
"If I were to go off campus to another place it would probably take about a week to 10 days to get," said Robin Holladay, administrative associate senior for the English department. "Here it was done in four days."
"If a student were to come up to us and say that we were out of a certain textbook that they needed, we could just tell them to go grab a coffee and when they come back the book will be ready for them to pick up," McCollum said.
Books not bought individually can be created in as little as eight minutes.
The final product is a neatly bound book complete with a laminated cover.
Holladay said.
“What sold me on it is the fact that you can take your file, send it to them and they download it and do whatever they do with it printing-wise, and it really comes out clear and crisp.”
"The cover is a lot better."
"One example of a course where we were able to significantly decrease the cost of the books was with Professor Holmes' psychology
"We've probably produced around 5,000 books in a month. It's been incredible."
For students, the Print-On Demand program means cheaper book options on the shelves of the KU Bookstore.
ESTELLA MCCOLLUM Director of KU Bookstores
and his course packs," said Rachel Barnes, custom materials buyer for KU Bookstores. "It used to be $45, and we've gotten it down to $22."
The price decrease comes
from the bookstore's ability to cut production costs by not having to pay for shipping or labor.
said. "We don't want students to feel like we're robbing them, ripping them off. It's just kind of changing that perception of what we're here for."
In the future, KU Bookstores would like to expand its services to further accommodate the needs of students and members of the Lawrence community.
"Wed like to go past even publisher and custom course materials, into individual creative works." McCollum said. "Whether it be for a class project or just personal interest, we want to allow students the ability to come in and easily print their own materials in a bound format."
"We are really here trying to provide a good service," McColluin
Edited by Abby Davenport
index
Classifieds... 6B
Crossword... 4A
Cryptoquips... 4A
Opinion. .5A
Sports.1B
Sudoku.4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2010 The University Daily Kansan
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