KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / BACK TO SCHOOL
7
CAMPUS
New policy limits sidewalk chalking
Michelle MacBain, Shawnee senior, advertises an information meeting by chalking on a sidewalk in front of Watson Library in May. A new University policy bans businesses and groups not registered with the Student Involvement and Leadership Center from promoting themselves by writing on campus property.
BY LUYAN WANG
lwang@kansan.com
Senior Vice Provost Don Steepless said sidewalks were used to transport people from place to place and said people should put their advertisements on bulletin boards if they wanted publicity.
Rachel Anderson, president of Student Union Activities, said the new policy would help reduce confusion among students and keep the bullion boards and campus more organized. Anderson said the new policy would help to better promote SUA.
Businesses and others outside the University community will no longer be allowed to write on campus sidewalks to advertise events. A new University policy that took effect Aug. 1 bans anyone who isn't registered with the Student Involvement and Leadership Center from chalking without permission from the University Events Committee.
"From an SUA perspective, it's hard to get the word out when there is so much clutter on the bulletin boards and on the streets of campus," Anderson said.
Anyone who chalks in violation of this policy can be charged with violation of a criminal offense under state law for criminal damage to state property, according to the new policy. Chalking by unauthorized individuals or groups will be removed immediately. The people involved will be subject to University disciplinary proceedings and may be charged for the cost of cleanup.
"If they want to test us in court, we will be glad to run the test in court." Steeples said.
Steeples said the policy, which has taken more than two years to develop, was meant to make the sidewalks more available to registered student groups. Steeples said the provost's office had discussed the policy with Student Success, Facilities Operations, and more than a dozen administrators, faculty members and students. Chalking is only permitted on horizontal campus sidewalks with water-soluble, dry stick sidewalk chalk by registered University groups and student and campus organizations.
"If we had billboards, we wouldn't allow someone to use our billboard for free," Steeples said. "Why should we allow people to do advertising on our sidewalks for free?"
Jessie Plotkin, manager at Envy clothing store, 911 Massachusetts St., said chalking on sidewalks was a way
to get the store's name out, and the new policy was silly.
"We have to change our marketing strategy," Plotkin said.
Ryan Lantz, general manager at Abe and Jake's Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., said the bar would turn its advertising focus toward social media.
Attorney and journalism professor Mark Johnson said other universities had chalking policies, but most only specified what type of chalks could be used and where it was allowed. Some universities require organizations to give advance notice and make sure signs are removed within a week after the event.
Steeples said the outside individuals and groups would have a hard
The new chalking policy has two separate categories: registered campus groups and everyone else. Johnson said a policy that only allows one category to advertise on sidewalks raised some legal questions.
time getting permission to chalk on campus, but Johnson said the new policy didn't clearly state that.
"I will be curious to find out what their legal reason of this for saying this policy is consistent with free speech," Johnson said.
"Why should we allow people to do advertising on our sidewalks for free?"
Steeples said the policy especially wanted to address the use of materials other than water-soluble sidewalk chalk - such as paint or aerosol spray chalk - and chalking on surfaces that were difficult to clean - such as walls and stair risers, covered sidewalks and brick surfaces - because such practices placed increased demands on the University's
DON STEEPLES
Senior Vice Provost
maintenance budget.
Facilities Operations landscape maintenance project manager
Michael Lang said he and his employees only cleaned up chalking done with non-water-soluble products, and that most chalking was washed away by rain.
Facilities Operations director Douglas Riai said the University spent between $3,000 and $4,000 to remove graffiti and chalk every year.
Students have opposing opinions on this issue. Lauren Hopper, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., said the new policy didn't really matter as long as state property was protected.
But Andrew Farmers, a graduate student from Spring Hill, said anyone who wanted to chalk on campus should be able to.
"It sucks," Farmers said.
n/KANSAM lab
vrence science
6A
MONTEMAYOR
smontemayor@kansan.com
M. D. Rezaiekhaligh/KANSAN
For having grown up with the onset of the Internet, our generation may not be all that Web savvy when it comes to researching, a study by the International Journal of Communication suggests.
The study, written and conducted by professors at Northwestern University, found that students often only chose websites that appeared at the top of Google searches to complete tasks or perform research. Eszter Hargittai, associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern and one of the study's authors, said that most mistakes in the Web research process occur before students even click "Search."
Hargittai said that search results aren't necessarily ranked in terms of credibility. More sophisticated queries are also needed to glean credible sources from popular search engines.
University of Kansas students have nearly 400 databases at their fingertips, with information on every subject at the University that is not usually found through Google searches.
"I think part of it is not so much necessarily what else they can be using." Hargittai said. "I think a big part of it is being more critical and careful about what they are already using."
Tami Albin, undergraduate instruction and outreach librarian, often helps students interested in improving their ability to navigate the library's extensive online resources. She said that whether a student is using Google or a library database, a level of skill is needed to effectively complete a desired task online.
Rothman said he most often uses the library's databases or news sources such as The New York Times when working on a project. Rothman analyzes the assignment and considers what research will be necessary before logging on. He said that these skills were instilled during a freshman English course.
"The research process, you know, it's like anything else," Albin said. "You learn how to do something well over time. With new technologies, you have to learn how to do research different ways. A student who jumps online and pulls three articles off of the Internet and then writes a paper on it and hands it in the next day is not going to get really, really good grades."
"Librarians love to find stuff, so we're really good at it," Albin said.
Albin said that students are welcome to bring assignments to the library to review with a librarian and seek the proper avenue for research.
While Alec Rothman, a sophomore from Boston, is an exception to the rule, Thea Glassman, a sophomore from New York City, affirms the study's results.
"My English teacher last year actually looked at our bibliographies before he read our papers to see how valid our sources were," Rothman said. "And once he saw
"We can find ways to access the things they need."
SEE RESEARCH ON PAGE 6A
employees to you until a deposit
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
Though the state's deadline to direct deposit enrollment is Oct.1, the goal of the Bursars Office is to have 100 percent enrollment by the beginning of September. Yoakum said more than 95 percent of University employees have already signed up.
The second policy is a state mandate requiring direct deposited paychecks for all state employees, which includes University employees. The employees have until Oct. 1 to comply with the new policy.
"We've been trying for years to encourage staff and employees to utilize direct deposit," said Diane Goddard, vice provost for
"The advantage to the University is better business efficiencies," said Katrina Yoakum, comproiller for the University. "We spend a lot of time following up with checks that are not picked up."
Two separate policies require students and University of Kansas employees to sign up for direct deposit to receive refunds and paychecks electronically.
According to an announcement that the Bursar's Office posted online, the new refund policy allows students to receive refunds faster and more safely than they would if the University distributed them as checks.
administration and finance. "We ramped it up to the 80 percent level pretty quickly. Getting from 80 to 95 percent has been more difficult."
Employees who do not have an account at a financial institution will receive a Skylight Financial account, an ATM-based bank, and a Skylight pay card. Employees must sign up for this service at the Payroll Office.
Kelsey Smith, a junior from Council Grove, signed up for direct deposit when she started work for KU Libraries three years ago. She said shed recommend other students to sign up for it as well.
"I think it's easier that way," Smith said. "You don't have to worry about getting a new check deposited in the bank."
Though University officials have recommended refund direct deposit for at least five years, they was unable to mandate the policy until a federal law changed. The
policy has been in effect since last November.
Yoakum said direct deposited refunds will save the University $10,000 annually.
The Bursar's Office most recently notified students of the refund policy in an e-mail sent Aug. 2. The e-mail included instructions explaining how to set up direct deposit online or by completing a direct deposit authorization form.
It's also much quicker. Goddard said students signed up for direct deposit will receive refunds at least a day faster than they would otherwise.
"Having everyone on direct deposit means there are fewer people who handle that transaction," Goddard said. "It's just more efficient and much more accurate."
— Edited by David Cawthon
For more information on refunds, please contact the Bursar's Office.
Bursar's Office.
(785)864-3322
bursar@ku.edu
For more information on paychecks, please contact the Payroll Office.
(785) 864-4385 payroll@ku.edu
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