CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, February 17, 1997
3A
Director really shows some class
Mary Myers awarded for leadership
By Kevin Bates
Kansan staff writer
Walking out on the court of Allen Field House was nothing new to Mary Myers.
Myers, assistant director of the Organizations and Activities Center and a former Kansas women's basketball player, received the CLASS (Citation for Leadership and Achievement in Student Services) award Saturday during halftime of the men's basketball game.
This was the first time Myers was nominated, and she said that she felt blessed to-have won the award, which consisted of a plaque and $150.
"I'm truly honored to be selected among a great group of nominees," Myers said. "It's really special to be recognized by students for what you try to do for them."
Myers also works as the coordinator of student leadership programs at the Organizations and Activities Center.
She is a former adviser to the Black Panhellenic Council and has worked in the Organization and Activities Center since 1990.
Myers said that being involved with groups such as Blueprints Student Leadership Council, a program for freshmen and sophomores, made her an informal resource for students.
"I deal with students on a daily basis. But most of what I do is unsee, so I think I have a lot of versatility with the position I'm in," Myers said. "Having been an undergraduate at KU, I think I have a wide experience of who students are."
The CLASS award, established by the class of 1987 as a gift to the University, is annually awarded to an unclassified staff member who works in student affairs.
secretary, said that the selection process was difficult.
Heather Austin, senior class
"It was really hard to decide on one," Austin said about Myers' selection for the award. "Every interviewee was exceptional. We could have had a six-way tie. Everything she talked about was about learning and making students the best that they could be."
Brian Karney, senior class treasurer, said that Myers was dedicated to helping students.
"She's a behind-the-scenes person," Karney said. "I'm in the OAC office a lot, and she puts in a lot overtime. She always seems to put time aside to do things for people. She really has a genuine love for working with students."
The nominees for the award were: Michael Fine, Kansas Union program coordinator; Jo Hardesty, director of student legal services; Danny Kaiser, assistant dean of student life; James Kitchen, dean of student life; and Linda Lyle, Watkins Health Center physician.
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
Mary Myers, assistant director of the Organizations and Activities Center, receives the CLASS Award from Robert Shutt, senior class vice president. The award is given to one unclassified member in student affairs for leadership.
Watkins makes virtual house calls
Web site offers tour and e-mail
By Emily Vrabac
Kansan staff writer
Students can tour Watkins Memoria Health Center and meet its personnel without even entering the building.
The Watkins CyberHealth Center has been updated and now provides a simulated introduction to the facility, which allows students 24-hour virtual access to health information, said Timm Brownlee, web site facilitator. The Watkins address is www.ukans.edu/home/watkins
Brownlee said that the web site has existed for about five years. He began working on it nine months ago. He said that most of the information on the site was already there, but he made some revisions.
"I changed the structure of it, added
graphics and color, and regrouped the information so it made sense," Brownlee said.
The web site now averages about 20 to 25 hits a week, Brownlee said, compared with just a few hits per week before Watkins began advertising the web address.
"That's not gangbusters," Brownlee said, "but I noticed a big difference from our link in the UDKi health and fitness page."
The address now is included in Watkins ads and brochures.
Brownlee said that the web site is geared toward KU students who want to know more about Watkins. He said that he has received quite a few positive comments and suggestions.
Randall Rock, chief of staff at Watkins, said that he has some other goals for the site.
"Hopefully, we can keep articles of current interest and use it as a forum if there's something on campus that needs to be discussed, like an epi
For example, Rock said that if there were a measles outbreak on campus, Watkins staff could use the site to provide immunization information and also signs and symptoms of measles.
demic." Rock said.
"Luckily, we haven't had to use it to date, but it is there if we need it," he said.
Rock said that at this point, Brownlee will continue to update the site with weekly changes in topics as they have been doing.
The site is not intended to take the place of phone calls to Watkins or doctor's visits, Rock said, but it does provide access to health information during hours that Watkins is closed.
Rock said that the staff will continue to be available to answer questions during the day.
The web site also provides an e-mail address for students who have health concerns or questions about Watkins in general. The e-mail address is: healthyjayahwk@ukans.edu
Separation takes trust but adds excitement
Distance takes romance to new dimension
By Elena Macaluso Special to the Kansan
Absence makes the heart grow fonder ... most of the time. One thing is certain, distance adds an entirely different dimension to relationships.
Jim Kreider, a counselor at Counseling and Psychological Serivices, said that distance may add excitement to relationships, an excitement that couples involved in day-to-day relationships don't feel.
"For some, it can intensify the relationship because there is
less contact," Kreider said.
Scott Carney, Denver, Colo. junior, agreed.
"It keeps things fresh and new when we see each other. We don't get bored with each other," said Carney, whose girlfriend lives in St Louis.
Kreider said that although the excitement and anticipation are nice, it is important that couples spend time together on a routine basis so that they can really get to know each other.
When two people are used to being apart, Kreider said that they may find it an awkward transition to include each other in their daily lives once they are finally together.
Ryan Horstman, Simsbury,
Conn., junior, and his girlfriend Alison Becker, Minneapolis, Minn., sophomore,
were apart for a year prior to her moving to Lawrence.
However, he admitted that when Becker first moved to Lawrence, they spent all of their time together, often at the expense of others.
Horstman said that the transition to seeing each other on a daily basis was not difficult for them to make.
"When you see each other every day, you neglect other friends." Horstman said.
Kreider said that couples involved in long-distance relationships need to make an extra
"Some people love e-mail, others find it sterile," said Kreider. "There is something special about hearing another person's voice, and there is something special about getting letters, too. You can keep them."
effort to maintain frequent contact. Phone calls, letters and even e-mail might be a good way of keeping in touch.
Trust is also a big factor in the maintenance of a long-distance relationship.
College careers can lead to extremely long-distance relationships. Natsue Yasunaga, Yokohama, Japan, graduate
"A long-distance relationship makes trust 10 times as important." Carney said.
student, has been separated from her boyfriend, who is in Japan, since August. Yasunaga said that without trust, their relationship would never last.
"I really have to trust his feelings and the same thing for him. If he worries and asks what I did every single day, I wouldn't like it," said Yasunaga.
But there are benefits to being separated for a period of time.
Carney said that the distance has actually helped him learn to communicate better with his girlfriend.
"In the future it will benefit our relationship because we have spent so much time talking and communicating," Carney said.
Nature calls for the beauty product dollar
By Steph Brewer
Special to the Kansan
Beauty products featuring ingredients such as mountain spring water or herbal extracts have created a boom in the natural product industry. But some say the reasons for using these products may only be skin deep.
For some, that means buying products that feature all-natural ingredients. For others, it means buving Clairol Herbal Essences instead of Suave.
"We're at a peak in the industry," said Margot Wells, co-owner of Bloom Bath and Body, 704 Massachusetts St. "Philosophically, I think we're all trying to touch base with nature in any way we can."
"I think it's what it says on the outside of the bottle," said Midge Grinstead, manager at Natural Way, 820 Massachusetts St. "People are attracted to the package and attracted to the smell."
But those claims on the package don't necessarily mean the product is natural.
"The word natural doesn't mean a whole lot," said Hal Sears, herbalist and nutritional supplement specialist at the Community Mercantile, 901 Illinois St. "There's no definition, but it sounds good."
Jason Hopkins, master stylist at Beauty Brands, 3514 Clinton Pkwy., agreed.
"The key on most herbal products is it will say herbal extracts, which is a whole bunch of water with a little bit of chamomile," he said.
Some stores, such as Bloom Bath and Body, shy away from such products, selling instead items made up almost completely of natural ingredients. Even so, some products, such as shower gel, need a certain amount of preservatives for safety reasons, Wells said.
Natural Way follows a similar philosophy by only selling all-natural, non-animal tested products that contain no animal byproducts.
Kabran Chapek, Newton freshman, agreed with Grinstead, saying that he didn't mind paying more for natural products.
"It feels so much better to use natural." Grinstead said. "You just never want to use the other again."
"I don't have much money, but it's worth it," he said.
Nicole Aliber, Leawood senior, said that she didn't think natural products were any different than the normal products one can find at Wal-Mart.
Not all consumers are willing to pay the price for the natural label. While a bottle of a shampoo such as Suave costs in the $1-$2 range, a "natural" shampoo can cost up to $10.
"To me, it's just a bunch of words," she said. "It's just another way they can charge more for a bar of soap."
Aliber said that the trend is especially prevalent in Lawrence, where nature is a theme.
"It bugs me," she said. "Everybody is like: I like to go into the wilderness and use all-natural stuff. I'm not going to buy something because it says 'this is made with leaves.'"
Sears said that the problem of overcharging can be solved by buying from companies that were around before the fad began.
"I feel safest going with companies that are in business for conscious reasons," Sears said. "A lot of these companies that started 20 or 30 years ago have a commitment not to rip off the customer and not to charge a lot because of the word natural."
Price aside, the main question regarding natural products is: are they better for the body?
At least in terms of hair, a December 1996 Consumer Reports article said no. The report noted that there was no evidence that natural extracts were any better for hair than their synthetic counterparts.
In fact, many of the chemicals used in natural products are identical to the synthetic ones; they were simply created differently, said Matthew G. Buxton, dermatologist at Lawrence Dermatology, 346 Maine St.
"Aveda talks about being all-natural, but they use all the same chemicals," he said. "They just extract them from fruits and vegetables."
Buxton said that he doesn't normally recommend natural products to his patients because of the higher risk of allergies. In terms of products like moisturizers, he said that both natural and synthetic products work in much the same way.
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