Friday inside
Japanese cartoons
University of Kansas student organized an anime club.
Students said they enjoyed anime,not only for the animation, but also for its socially conscious content. PAGE 3A
Family matters
Mother and daughter pair Janet and Abigail Adams work at the Applied English Center. Abigail, Lawrence freshman, leads five discussions, including one with her mom. PAGE 6A
Calendar calamity
The men's
The men's basketball team faces another tough road test against the
Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb. Coach Bill Self said the team lacks energy and he wants it to play hungry. PAGE 1B
West Coast swing
The baseball team travels to Palo Alto, Calif., to play a series against No.4 Stanford,starting tonight. The Jayhawks, coming off their best season in 10 years, look to return to their winning ways after a disappointing weekend. PAGE 3B
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Contact Michelle Rombeck or Andrew Vaupel at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
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Briefs 2A
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Sports 1B
Sports briefs 2B
Horoscopes 4B
Comic 4B
KANSAN
IN ITS 100TH YEAR AS THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Vol.114 Issue No.92
Alone on Valentine's Day
Spending the holiday with friends can be more fun, cheaper
dy Matt Rodriguez
mdrroguez@ku.edu
Kansan staff writer
Regardless of whether she loves him or loves him not, Alia Hassan has never celebrated Valentine's Day.
For the Olathe junior, Valentine's Day builds expectations.
"It's a bunch of crap," Hassan said. "It's a commercial holiday when we're expected to spend money on others because we're expecting a gift."
because we're super excited for some singles, Valentine's Day can be a reminder of how lonely a person actually is. More students now see the holiday as materialistic and feel obligated to give a gift if they are in a committed relationship.
It's a reflection of the overall culture, said Toni Coleman, psychotherapist and expert in personal relationships.
"It's become a hallmark holiday for our culture," Coleman said. "Where the idea has become the more money we spend reflects the amount of love we have for a person."
It would be good if people actually exchanged meaningful gifts and rebelled against this materialist view of Valentine's Day, Coleman said.
The Center for Counseling and Psychological Services has seen students with high expectations of Valentine's Day, said Frank DeSalvo, director for the center.
"They think spending a lot of money will mend a troubled relationship, which is wrong." DeSalvo said.
Coleman said Valentine's Day should be no different from any other day.
"You shouldn't express your love for someone just because it's the thing to do on that day — that's meaningless," Coleman said.
And for some men, they're happy they're not in a relationship come this time of year because of this materialist view.
"I make fun of my roommate who has
"It's a bunch of crap. It's a commercial holiday when we're expected to spend money on others because we're expecting a gift."
Alia Hassan
Olathe junior
a girlfriend and has to buy her something." Ritchie Price said. "I'm glad it's not me buying the expensive gifts."
For the San Louis Obispo, Calif., sophomore, being single on Valentine's Day doesn't bring the added pressures of finding a relationship.
Women, by nature, are searching for more of a steady relationship. Coleman said Valentine's Day adds pressure for some to find a partner.
Coleman said younger men aren't predominantly focused on starting a serious relationship or finding a future wife until their late 20s and early 30s.
It's hard to get away from Valentine's Day symbolism, Coleman said, seeing all the commercials and other Valentine's Day reminders.
For Hassan, the constant bombardment of Valentine commercials brings up some feelings of loneliness, but she never let's it get the best of her. Hassan plans on spending tomorrow night with three other single friends and heading out to the bars.
Coleman recommends a single person in search of a partner start the journey by evaluating themselves.
"Readiness for healthy, lasting love starts with each person as an individual," Coleman said. "The stages of developing an intimate relationship require availability, energy, focus, healthy sense of self and time."
— Edited by Nikki Nugent
Advising re-evaluated Survey results gave KUnited a new focus
Brent Carter/Kansan
By Andy Marso
amarso@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Every Friday the Kansan will review one of the platform issues of past Student Senate coalitions to update
readers on how the programs have progressed. This is the third article in the series.
Lisa Turner, Madison freshman, and Keval Shah, Brookfield, Ill., senior, looked over a calculus question yesterday in the hallway of Haworth Hall. Shah tutored Turner and this was their second meeting since the semester began. "I haven't got back any of my homework so far this semester so I am not sure how well I understand everything yet," Turner said.
When KUnited conducted surveys before Student Senate elections last spring, tutoring and advising was consistently voted a top-five concern. The news wasn't what Catherine Bell expected.
"We thought tutoring and advising were pretty strong at KU." Bell, student body vice president, said. "But obviously it was something students were concerned about."
Accordingly, Bell and the other KUnited coalition members promised to work for online advising and lobby for affordable, widely available tutoring services.
The page provides information tailored to each students' major, including what courses are required and what order they should be taken in. Bell said the service should be available to all students next semester, but traditional advising would continue.
Since then online advising has become a reality for freshmen and sophomores. A link on their Blackboard accounts labeled "Major Information" sends them to a Web page created by the Freshman and Sophomore Advising Center.
"We never had in mind that online advising would replace face-to-face advising, but rather supplement it when students don't have time to meet with their adviser." Bell said.
Currently, the University offers tutoring through the Student Development Center and Supportive Educational
Expanding the University's tutoring has been a slower process.
Catherine Bell Student body vice president
"We thought tutoring and advising were pretty strong at KU, but obviously it was something students were concerned about."
Services, both located in Strong Hall.
The Supportive Educational Services tutoring is open to students who come from certain backgrounds, specifically low-income households, families in which no older generations have attended four-year universities, or students with disabilities.
All other students must go through the Student Development Center for tutoring. The center currently offers smallgroup tutoring in biology, chemistry physics, business, statistics, math and Spanish and costs $100 a semester.
Senate is still working with administrators to get funding for more tutors for the center, but until then, a Senate tutoring program is serving as a stopgap.
Bell said she and other senators met with staff from the center last spring to talk about expanding the number of courses available. She said the main obstacle was that the center didn't have the resources to hire more student employees to tutor.
The program is a list of private tutors, mostly senators and former senators, who are matched up for one-on-one tutoring sessions with students who call the Senate Office. Tutors are available for 32 different subjects. Most of them tutor for a negotiable fee.
The program was started by Michael Roessler in 2000 when the St. Louis senior was a senator. Roessler said he started it to provide a more flexible option to the Student Development Center, which requires a semester-long commitment.
SEE ADVISING ON PAGE 7A
Legislature considers wage increase
By Ron Knox
rknox@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
"I'm a college student," the Lawrence freshman said. "It would mean everything."
Now, a bill before the Legislature could increase the state minimum wage from $2.65 per hour to $7.50 per hour during a span of three years, affecting entry-level positions and serving jobs many college students work.
Anderson makes $2.15 per hour, plus tips, to support herself in a place where the "cost of living is so expensive."
For Alexis Anderson, a server at Molly McGee's, any little bit of money helps. Even a small raise in her hourly salary.
According to the act, businesses that make more than $500,000 per year corporations such as Target and
The federal minimum wage, $5.15 per hour, replaces the state minimum in businesses that fall under the Federal Fair Labor and Standards Act.
The Kansas minimum wage is the lowest state minimum in the country.
SEE LEGISLATURE ON PAGE 7A
MINIMUM WAGES
Kansas minimum wage: $2.65 per hour
Federal minimum wage: $5.15 per hour
Proposed state minimum wage:
$7.50 per hour
Number of people in Kansas making less than the federal minimum wage: 24,000
If the proposal passes, the state minimum wage would replace the federal minimum wage.
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