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NEWS / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
CAMPUS
University Career Center eases strain of job search
BY KELLY MORGAN kmorgan@kansan.com
William Harper, a graduate student from Baxter Springs, looks over and discusses his resume with Sara Clayton, the assistant director of the University Career Center, Thursday. The Career Center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mday through Friday.
Dalton Gomez/KANSAN
After years of countless tests, all-nighters and packets of Ramen noodles, many KU students will take the final step in their collegiate careers when they trade in their sweats for slacks and apply for a job in the real world. While just the thought of filling out a job resume is enough to scare students back to the undergraduate starting line, it is an apprehension that they need not experience alone. Located in room 110 of the Burge Union, the University Career Center offers students everything from resume and interview counseling to access to their network of professional employers.
"There are a couple of other offices on campus that work with specific majors," Ann Hartley, associate director of the University Career Center said. "But we are the one that works with career assistance and part-time job search for most everyone."
One way that the Career Center assists students is through resume counseling. Students who submit their resume can receive tips for how to improve it before it is sent out to potential employers.
"We typically look for anything that doesn't follow the norm," Tanvi Nimkar, a sophomore from Lawrence and Career Center employee said. "We have an official guide that we use to look for general formatting mistakes like not putting your work history in chronological order."
Other services provided by the Career Center are mock, group interviews. Adam Smith, a junior from Kansas City, Kan, participated in one such interview during his search to find an internship.
and then went around and criticized one another," Smith said. "They really tried to guide it toward our major."
"We were each asked a question
For those individuals unable to make it into their office, the Career Center brings their knowledge and opportunities to students in the form of job, major and volunteer
fairs held throughout the year in the Kansas Union.
"It was just a happy mistake that I ran into someone from the World Company at the Career Fair," Smith said. "It was the first time I was heavily using resources and I ended up with a summer internship at Channel 6 News."
Hartley emphasizes the importance of these career fairs, noting that some companies in attendance do not advertise their open positions.
"A lot of times employers are looking specifically to hire someone right out of college." Hartley said. "They'll work with a university to
contact students and may or may not post that position on their website."
Students looking to utilize the Career Center can make an appointment on its website at www. kucareerhawk.com or can attend the part-time job fair in the Kansas Union on August 18 from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m.
"It's not too early to start looking for full-time or part-time jobs your freshman year," Hartley said. "The earlier you get started, the more opportunities you'll have."
Edited by David Cawthon
LAWRENCE
Businesses adapt to summer slowdown
BY GARTH SEARS gsears@kansan.com
The University of Kansas had nearly 24,000 on-campus students last semester including commuters, compared to fewer than 100,000 Lawrence residents. The University represents almost a quarter of the city's population.
While students took it easy this summer, local businesses faced an annual three-month crunch how to cope with several thousand of their customers leaving the city.
Many students went home for the summer, or on vacation somewhere, and each departure was another lost opportunity for Lawrence businesses. Every business felt the pinch differently and each has a different method of getting through the summer.
Ken Holloway, assistant general manager at Ingredient, 947 Massachusetts St., said that fewer customers meant that more unused food spoiled in addition to reduced sales, so their summer inventory had to be smaller while costs stayed high.
Holloway said Ingredient had especially been feeling students' absence in the dinner crowd. So in addition to attracting the Massachusetts Street crowd, they
"There's a huge difference not having all the kids in town." Holloway said. "But we can survive on downtown traffic and locals."
have been promoting new dinner-only menu items and promotions.
cally during the summer wedding season.
Lantz said that when the club reopened with school, they would advertise and reach out to students both familiar patrons and those new in town.
Other businesses, such as Abe and Jake's Landing, 8 E. 6th St., depend on students. In fact, Abe and Jake's was closed during the summer.
The feast-and-famine sessions for University Book Shop, 1116 W. 23rd St., aren't limited to summer, though — they feast for about two weeks every semester.
According to store manager Colby Venema, the bookstore gets about 90 percent of its sales from textbooks, and therefore does half of its yearly business during the first two weeks of school.
The bookstore still faced a summer slowdown and employed about half of its usual number of workers during the summer. During those two big weeks, the store will have twice as many workers, quadrupling its numbers from summer's end to school's beginning.
Ron Hassen, owner of Ray's Liquor Warehouse, 1215 W. 6th St., said he noticed the summer absence of students in a couple ways — the Thursday and Friday nights were slower — but not many.
According to general manager Ryan Lantz, money is generated from holding wedding receptions and other events year round, espe-
He said the students old enough to buy alcohol tended to be the ones who live here year round, compared to younger students in the dorms. And as Lawrence
"There's a huge difference not having all the kids in town."
KEN HOLLOWAY Ingredient assistant general manager
Hassen said his summer effect of losing students was worse 20 years ago when Lawrence
thus as Lawrence expands westward, bringing in more residents and a more diverse economy, there are more non-student customers in town.
was more geographically centered around the University. But more recently, he has experience with liquor stores near Sixth and Wakarusa streets on the northwest edge of town that actually see business increase in the summer.
Edited by Clark Goble
Jessica Janasz/KANSAN
Volunteer coordinator Veronica Howard takes student and local volunteers on a tour through the Humane Society. The group learned of their responsibilities at the orientation which took place on Thursday night.
Volunteer center seeks KU students
LAWRENCE
BY SAMANTHA COLLINS
scollins@kansan.com
An easy way for students to become more involved in the Lawrence community is to volunteer.
"You're going to be in Lawrence for four years," Bolt said. "It's important to be aware of what is actually happening in the community."
Kellen Bolt, a junior from Iola and communications director of the KU Center for Community Outreach, said he urged students to volunteer.
"It helps get you connected in the community and it makes you feel like you're a part of Lawrence," Johns said. "It makes you a more well-rounded person." Johns said the center constantly received various volunteer opportunities, so students should check back often.
KU students can find volunteer opportunities in the area through the Roger Hill Volunteer Center, 2518 Ridge Court, a partner with United Way. The center represents more than 150 volunteer programs throughout Douglas County. Opportunities range from working in food pantries to working with animals.
Lori Johns, director of the center, said volunteering was about more than resume-building.
The Center for Community Outreach provides both on and off-campus volunteering opportunities. Bolt said there was a program to suit every student. Students can find more information by visiting the Community Outreach office, located in the Kansas Union or by calling the center at 785-864-4073.
Johns encourages students to look into volunteering, even if
"Some people find that they become absolutely hooked with volunteering." Johns said. "It fills up your gas tank of life."
they have no past experience.
Eliot Hill, a junior from Topeka, volunteers with Meals on Wheels and Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He said volunteering provided him with great life experience and helps him become more involved.
"Most importantly it's made me realize that as college students, we are sitting in one of the most hopeful and fortunate places of our lives with regards to our futures." Hill said. "It offers more real-world experiences that often aren't apparent walking around campus."
— Edited by Emily McCoy
Obama gives OK for Ground Zero mosque
RELIGION
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — Weighing in for the first time on the emotionally charged issue, President Barack Obama gave his blessing Friday to a Muslim group's plans to build a mosque near ground zero in New York, saying, "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."
In making his case for supporting the Cordoba House project, Obama, who once taught constitutional law, referred to the Constitution and the words of Thomas Jefferson.
However, the audience to
whom he addressed his remarks looked strikingly different from the Founding Fathers: dozens of Muslim-American men and women in politics, government, business, academia, faith and activism, all his guests at a White House "iftar," the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
He said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had been "a deeply traumatic event" for the nation, that emotions of opponents of the mosque project are understandable and that "we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground."
He also said that the United States had flourished because of religious freedom.
"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country," Obama said. "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and
"The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
Obama had kept his opinion to himself since an Aug. 3 vote by a New York City landmarks commission paved the way for the project, an Islamic cultural center and house of worship. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs originally said it was a matter for the local community to decide.
ordinances."
In the days since, however critics have ramped up their rhetoric, hoping to pressure backers of the Cordoba House project to find another site. They argue that building the mosque two blocks from where al-Qaida terrorists took 2,800 lives is too insensitive and provocative.
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