KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2011 / NEWS / 3A
SERVICE
Alternative Breaks offer an affordable experience
BY LISA ANDERSON landerson@kansan.com
Students who want to see the country from a new perspective and at a low cost are in luck. Alternative Breaks provides the opportunity to volunteer in various communities around the nation, and they take place year-round.
"It's a fairly inexpensive way to get out and see the country, and see how social issues are outside of Kansas," said Whitney Bloom, director of Alternative Breaks.
Groups are divided into seven people (enough to fit in a rental van), and applicants provide their top site preferences, along with an explanation of what they can contribute to the issue.
"Students can get credit for service learning." Bloom said. "We accept most people who apply and we have an alternate list; it's not too hard to get onto a break."
ers on each trip.
Alternative Breaks covers topics such as environmental issues and poverty head on. Breaks is primarily student run with two site leading unemployed citizens work on their resumes at the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency.
"There are advisors who are faculty members, but that's the closest to adult supervision we have," Bloom said.
Julia Barnard, a junior from Lawrence, is coordinating all 13 breaks this semester.
"You meet a lot of wonderful people," Barnard said. "No matter where you go, you're going to learn from the people you're working with and the communities."
Edited by Caroline Bledowski
Atlanta
"Many didn't know how to click to get online; it was kind of heartbreaking." Do said. "After helping them, all you could really do is wish them good luck and hope that they find a job."
Megan Do, a senior from Wichita, traveled to Atlanta winter break and volunteered to make meals for participants in a drug and alcohol program at Cafe 458, along with help-
Do said teaching basic technology skills to those at the center was particularly memorable.
Catalina Island
Julia Barnard, a junior from Lawrence, participated in a trip to Catalina Island off the coast of California last summer. Barnard helped plant trees, make trails and remove invasive species for the Catalina Environmental Leadership program.
"Since then, I got really interested in issues of environmental justice," Barnard said. "I'm centering my academic research around problems of waste also."
Barnard appreciated meeting new people and working with a community on her trip.
"It's a great way to introduce yourself to some of the problems that our country and our generation are facing," Barnard said.
New York City
Rachel Gadd-Nelson, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., volunteered in New York City at Sylvia's Place, an emergency overnight shelter for LGBT youth. Gadd-Nelson said she enjoyed learning more about the issue.
"Queer youth homelessness is definitely an issue worldwide, and the Midwest is no exception to that," Gadd-Nelson said. "I think it was good for us to go to this establishment and see how they do things and support them in any way we can."
Catalina Island
Joe Stogsdill, a junior from Lawrence, also went to Catalina Island last summer to help with the Catalina Environmental Leadership program. Stogsdill enjoyed his alternative break because it gave him the opportunity to volunteer for something he enjoys.
"I didn't have to sacrifice what
I wanted to do just because I was volunteering. Stogsdill said. "I got to give my time, but I was doing it in a way that I feel I will benefit from down the line."
Stogsdill is going to participate in his second alternative break as a group coordinator on an organic farm in Austin, Texas, this spring.
CAMPUS
University provides support for students dealing with personal loss
BY MAX LUSH mlush@kansan.com
His dad's heart had stopped and doctors were busy administering chest compressions, hoping to help his heart beat once more.
On Dec. 11, 2010, Ed Schroer,
a junior from Topeka, answered a
phone call from his mom just as
he was heading out to a party with
friends.
At first, Schroer thought his dad. Gene Schroer, would pull through. That changed when the doctors moved him and his mom, Anne Schroer, to a smaller, more personal waiting room. Schroer remembers his mom saying she did not like the idea of the new waiting room, knowing the doctors were preparing them for the unfortunate news.
Two-and-a-half hours of chest compressions later, the doctors delivered the bad news. Schroer's dad had died of heart failure.
"I didn't know what to think," Schroer said. "He usually pulls through."
For students like Schroer, the University offers various services to help students balance the grieving
process with their commitment to school.
Jane Tuttle, assistant vice provost for student success, said if students told University officials about their loss, or other personal issues they are experiencing, officials would do everything they could to aid the students.
"We want them to know that someone, or an office at KU, is here to help and care for them," Tuttle says. "We can help them through processes that may become more difficult when grief-stricken."
Tuttle said the biggest worry for her was to make sure students could handle their academic load while grieving, and if they could not, when would they be ready to come back to school.
On top of Schroer's tragic news, the Monday after his father's death marked the beginning of finals week and he still had to complete a final project for one of his classes. Luckily, he e-mailed his teacher, who understood his need for an extension and granted Schroer more time to complete his project.
"Even though it was one paper, I still felt a lot of pressure because it was just something else I had to
worry about," Schroer said.
John Wade, a psychologist for KU's Counseling and Psychological Services, said CAPS could offer a place for students to talk about their loss and find ways to get back into a normal routine.
"There is a sense after a few months that they don't want to bother their friends anymore about their grief because they think it's annoying." Wade said. "This is a place to be able to devote time to yourself and talk."
He said society did a good job of supporting grieving friends immediately following their losses, but two or three months later, people tend to forget, and those who are grieving could still be trying to cope with their losses.
Tuttle and Wade both said each person deals with grief differently and that their jobs were to help that person figure out a way to handle their grief and how to get back in a daily routine and perform well in school and in their lives.
Schroer, a film major, made a video about his dad to be shown at the funeral as a way to remember him, but he said it also helped his grieving process.
Jessica Janasz/KANSAN
Edward Schroer, a junior from Topeka, lost his dad during finals week last semester. The University of Kansas makes accommodations for students who experience a death in the family, such as permission for makeup exams and extensions on financial deadlines.
"It was pretty tough to do, but it was therapeutic for me to put together," Schroer said. "I felt pretty bad throughout break, but I think it
gave me enough time to recuperate
and be ready for the next semester".
Edited by Helen Mubarak
WAKA WINTER CLASSIC HELP DECIDE WHO WILL PLAY AT WAKARUSA!
Local bands compete for a chance to play the Wakarusa Music Festival. The winner, decided by the audience, is invited to play at the Wakarusa Music Festival, June 2nd-5th, at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas! MENAGE OF TWANG • WHISKEY DIK ASHES TO IMMORTALITY • 3 SON GREEN SOUL REBEL AND THE BEAST
TONIGHT! FRIDAY FEB 4 THE BOTTLENECK 737 NEW HAMPSHIRE IN LAWRENCE
WWW.WAKARUSA.COM
Don's Auto Center
Lawrence's local repair shop | 11th & Haskell | 841-4833
FRIDAY
Brandon Jenkins
with Country Road 5 and Exit 13
tickets still available
Doors Open at 8PM
KANSAN & ECHO EVENTS (E^2) PRESENTS:
平