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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Sports: Former Kansas swimmers try to raise money to keep swimming program.
See page 8A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 108
For comments, contact Lori O'Toole or Mindie Miller at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Inside: Student's homework turns into business in Lawrence restrooms.
SEE PAGE 3A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
KU student fights disease with new drug therapy
By Livi Regenbaum
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Jared Brandon has decided to undergo a new drug treatment instead of getting a bone marrow transplant.
Brandon, Overland Park senior, who suffers from aplastic anemia, a potentially fatal, noncontagious bone marrow failure disease, said he wanted to avoid a bone marrow transplant by sticking to ATG treatments for a cure.
ATG, or ante lymphotic globulin, is a new drug treatment plan and Brandon's only alternative to a bone marrow transplant.
"I'd rather not have a bone marrow transplant," he said. "It is kind of a last resort to do a bone marrow test."
Brandon said he preferred the ATG treatment because it could be done again if it failed, whereas a bone-marrow transplant could only be given once.
Brandon: wants to avoid a bone marrow transplant
Paul Walker, Merriam senior and Brandon's friend, said Brandon was feeling better since the treatments.
"He is more active," Walker said. "The medication seems to be working. It is improving his blood levels, but it is not a cure yet."
Delva Deauna-Limayo, the staff physician at the University of Kansas Medical Center who oversees Brandon's treatment, said she was waiting to see if the ATG treatments worked.
Deauna-Limayo said it could take one to three months to know if the ATG treatment would keep Brandon from having to get blood transfusions.
"ATG actually gives a 50 percent chance that he will be transfusion independent," she said.
Since being on the medication, Brandon said his white blood cell counts had increased.
"I am feeling a lot better," he said.
"This last week my numbers have gone up. They aren't normal, but they are the highest they've ever been."
Shellie Brandon, Jared's adoptive mother, said she was cautiously optimistic about his treatment. Brandon goes twice a week to the Med Center for blood work, where staff members monitor his red and white blood cells.
"Jared has been out of the hospital for nine days, and he hasn't had to have red blood cells or platelets replaced in the last nine days," she said.
Although a bone marrow transplant is Brandon's last choice, his mother is organizing a bone marrow registry on MAY 12 from 9 to 5 p.m. at El Centro, a community outreach center at 290 S. 10th St. in Kansas City, Kan.
"He is able to move around more," he said. "His spirits are a lot better. Jared is not like the guy who can sit around doing nothing all day. He's got to be doing something."
Brandon, who is Hispanic, has had a hard time finding a match on the Heart of America Bone Marrow Registry because there aren't as many minorities on the registry, Shellie Brandon said.
She said Brandon's birth mother was willing to be tested for a bone marrow match.
Since his condition was diagnosed, Brandon has withdrawn from classes, but plans to return this fall. In the meantime, he and a friend have opened a painting company in town.
Steve Gatzoulis, Mission senior, said that Brandon's spirits were up and that Brandon was regaining energy and keeping active.
- Edited by Jacob Roddy
Leadership minor in works
University to offer program for leaders
By Brooke Hesler
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Next fall University of Kansas students will have the opportunity to learn to be leaders — and they will earn college credit as they do it.
The department of communication studies is planning to offer a minor in leadership. Students interested in the minor can pick up an application at 3006 Wesco Hall.
Each semester, 30 students will be accepted into the program. Acceptance into the program will depend on several factors,
including leadership experience and grades, said Paul Friedman, associate professor of communications studies and chair of the Leadership Minor Advisory Committee.
The 19-credit hour minor includes courses in ethics, community development and culture.
Friedman said instruction in the classes would be nontraditional and would include interactive activities and collaboration with other campus programs. He said many of the classes offered in the minor would be taught to small groups of 12 to 15 students
Laura Rupe, Nunemaker student senator for freshmen and sophomores, said she was very interested in the minor, which has a prerequisite of 28 completed credit hours.
"I think it's an excellent idea," Rupe said. She said she hoped the program would
improve her leadership skills and provide more real-world experience.
"It says you want to be a leader in your community." she said.
Friedman said this minor would benefit students.
Although not listed in the course catalog, the first course in the minor — introduction to leadership studies — will be offered this fall. Three sessions will be offered from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 3 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays.
"People can be very knowledgeable, but not be skillful at the process of leadership," Friedman said. "Because leadership is so important, there are a lot of ideas and tactics out there that would be useful to students."
The program will also require students to spend more than 200 hours participating in leadership activities, donating time to a
LEADERSHIP MINOR
What happened: The department of communications studies will begin offering a minor in leadership next fall.
What it means: Each semester, 30 students will be accepted into the program, which will require 19 credit hours with courses in ethics, community development and culture.
service organization and doing an internship as part of the service learning practicum course.
Friedman said he had already received positive feedback about the program from students.
"We're still kind of in the planning stages, but I've heard a lot of interest so far," he said.
Doing time
Volunteer just visiting county jail
Library work counts for community service class
By Lauren Brandenburg
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
While her classmates volunteer in organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters for their community service class, Vikkie Strahm decided she wanted to log her hours volunteering at the Douglas County Jail.
"I knew it was going to be uncomfortable, but that's kind of why I did it. I wanted something different, something to get used to," said Strahm, Sabeth sophomore.
Between a couple of steel-barred windows, Vikkie Strahm, Sabeth sophomore, shelves a handful of books at the Douglas County Jail's library. Strahm volunteers as the jail's librarian to complete credit hours for her human development and family life class. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
She said she could volunteer anywhere her hours could be monitored to complete her 33 required hours for human development and family life 337, a course that explores volunteering and community service.
Before she could begin volunteering at the jail, she had to tour the jail and attend an orientation session "to talk about how the inmates may treat you and how much you should or shouldn't tell them about yourself." Every time she goes to volunteer, she surrenders her license and signs in. If she's brought a purse, it must be locked up in the lockers.
Strahm said she had initially wanted to lead a Bible study with female inmates, but that did not work out between scheduling and needing a partner with whom she could lead the study. So she now spends three hours a week volunteering in the jail's library.
Strahm is also helping Mike Caron, program director for the Douglas County Jail, by compiling weekly statistics for each volunteer program. She compiles statistics on how many hours per week, month and year inmates spend in the programs such as yoga, Bible studies and other scheduled events.
Caron said he wanted to document how many disciplinary reports are filed while inmates are in the programs to determine if there is a correlation between the programs and the atmospheres of the pods, where
the inmates live. When officers have fewer inmates to supervise in the pod because some are participating in volunteer programs, it lowers the stress level and improves the atmosphere of the pod. Caron said.
Caron said Strahm's help at the jail was working out well. He said he had quite a few volunteers affiliated with the University, but none who had
volunteered for a community service class.
"She's the first person who's come in and said, 'I have three hours to volunteer. How can you use me?" Caron said.
For Strahm, the experience has expanded how she views the world.
"It's helped me to look at people in a different way," Strahm said. "Not just inmates, but
anybody who has done something wrong in the past."
She said she hoped that she would not pay as much attention to stereotypes after volunteering in the jail.
"Just because they screwed up doesn't mean they can't get out and be as successful as any other person," she said.
— Edited by Jy Pilarean
Writing Center sees jump in visitation
By Cassio Furtedo
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Spring semester has 36 percent increase
More students are getting help with their term papers and essays this year, said Michele Eodice, director of the KU Writing Center.
The center has experienced a 36 percent increase in the number of students assisted during the first six weeks of the semester compared with last spring. Edodes said.
The center assisted a total of 1,050 students last spring, including 308 in the first six weeks. It has already assisted 420 students in this semester's first six weeks, which ended March 4.
Eodice said that writing centers at almost all universities didn't attract as many students during spring semesters as fall semesters. She said more students came in the fall because freshmen sought assistance and because of the work the center did during orientation to publicize itself to incoming students. The center assisted more than 2,000 students last fall.
"It's part of the transition process," Odice said.
She said the center tried to encourage students to look for help by asking their teachers to encourage visits, by going to classes and explaining the activities of the center and providing teachers with information on the center that they could
"Writing is everywhere. We want everyone to recognize
yone to recognize that."
Michele Eodice
Michele Eodice director of the KU Writing Center
include on their syllabuses.
She said that as a result of the center's actions, it had seen a positive response from students.
"Most people don't come because they're told to come in," Eodice said. "We'd like students to choose to come in."
Eodice said the Writing Center had taken steps to increase the number of students visiting during the spring, including an
increase in staffing for its two most visible sites - Wesco Hall and Watson Library.
"Our mission was to become very visible on campus," she said. "Writing is everywhere. We want everyone to recognize that."
Elizabeth Johnson, Leavenworth junior, said she was reluctant to visit the center when she first arrived on campus, but she soon realized that it played an important role in helping to improve students' writing.
"I come all the time," Johnson said. Johnson is currently enrolled in a class taught by Eodice that teaches students how to be a writing tutor.
Akshaya Amin, Pune, India, freshman, said he visited the center periodically looking for help with his English papers.
"It has made a big difference," he said.
— Edited by Jason McKean
— Edited by Jason McKee
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