UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, January 18, 1996
3A
One year later, Kobe still a painful memory
Graduate student recalls earthquake
By Shelly Shepard Special to the Kansan
Jan. 16, 1995, was a day that Yoko Harada will never forget.
After arriving home from class about 5 p.m., Harada, Kadogawa, Japan, graduate student, received a phone call from Jim Hough, her former Rotary sponsor. The call was the beginning of the most frightening 24 hours of Harada's life.
Two hours earlier, at 5:46 a.m. Japanese time on Jan. 17, a devastating earthquake had struck Kobe, Japan. Kobe is a port city about 40 minutes by train from Harada's hometown of Kakogawa. Hough was calling to inform her of the disaster.
Before turning on the television for news of the earthquake, Harada remembered thinking that it couldn't be a major one.
She learned later that more than 5,000 people died.
city was burning, and so many buildings were destroyed. It was almost like a movie."
"It was so unreal," Harada said. "When you're in a foreign country, you don't see much new about your home country. The
After watching news reports about the earthquake, she tried to phone her parents in Kakogawa. The lines were down, though and she couldn't get through to them.
"I knew then how serious it really was," Harada said.
With tears running down her face, Harada remembered the next 24 hours. She said she couldn't speak to anyone about it. She went to class the next day and tried to keep busy.
Laura Lopez, Vigo, Spain, graduate student, was Harada's roommate at the time.
"The night after she heard about the earthquake, before she contacted her family, was very difficult for her," Lopez said. "She couldn't sleep, so I made some tea for her. She seemed to be internalizing her fear, though, because she was very calm. She cried very quietly, which I admired her for."
"I really thought my parents might be dead," Harada said. "It was so scary thinking that I might not have parents or a home anymore."
reached her parents. They were okay.
Harada said that two people in Kakogawa
were killed, but aside from the death toll
Harada is still not sure of the extent of the
damage in her hometown.
The evening of the 17th, Harada finally
While her father was unharmed, the private high school in Kobe where he worked as an administrator was destroyed.
Harada said she realized that her father had been lucky.
"If it had happened a couple hours later, my father would have been at the school when it was destroyed," Harada said.
Many of Harada's friends from Kobe were affected by the earthquake, she said.
"They didn't have gas for several weeks and had to take sponge baths," she said. "Work was called off a week, but when they returned to work they had to walk two hours each way."
Harada attended college at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, where she completed bachelor's and master's degrees before coming to the University of Kansas.
When Harada completes her linguistics degree, she will return to fann.
"Originally I'd planned on working and living in Kobe," Harada said. "But now I probably won't. It's a lot harder now to find a job there."
Kathleen Driscoll/KANBAN
Yoko Harada, Kalogau, Japan, graduate student, remembers the Kobe earthquake that struck one year ago today. Harada's hometown is 40 minutes from Kobe by train.
Women are changing fitness ideas
Amanda Arbuckle Special to the Kansan
Suzy Davis walks confidently over to the leg-extension machine and selects the amount of weight she is going to lift. With her back pressing against the pad, knees bent, and her ankles under the rollers, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and lifts at a slow, controlled pace.
Like many women, Davis, Lawrence junior, is no longer a stranger to the weight room.
"I started lifting weights because, overall, I wanted to lose weight," Davis said. "I think it's important to be fit in all different ways, cardiovascular and strength-wise."
Geminee McCoy, Kansas City, Kan., junior, uses weights to enhance her squat exercises Tuesday afternoon at Robinson Gymnasium. An increasing number of women are lifting weights in order to stay fit.
Jerel Harris/NANSAN
As the societal roles of women are changing, women's ideas on fitness also are changing.
"As women are more in control of their lives, they also want to be more in control of their bodies," said Shannon Bollman, assistant director of KU Recreational Services and a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader. "Women want to be stronger physically."
For people fighting the battle of the bulge, strength training can help. Having more muscle mass raises one's metabolism because muscle tissue uses more energy than fat tissue.
Women should dismiss their fears of becoming bulky from lifting weights, Bollman said. A woman will become bulky only if she undertakes a bodybuilder's strict diet and regime.
Strength training also improves the body's appearance. It causes the underlying muscle to press out against the upper layer of fat
and the body to appear smoother.
Davis believes that in addition to improving her body, weight lifting also improved her self-esteem.
"When I started weightlifting, I was really intimidated by all these guys and these girls with size-two bodies," Davis said. "But I got over it when I started feeling better about myself,
inside and out."
Bollman advised that anyone beginning a strength training program should speak to a doctor first. She also recommended lifting three times a week.
Survey examines freshmen's opinions
By Heather Kirkwood
Kenyon staff writer
Kansan staff writer
A new national survey of college freshmen has revealed changing views on sex, marijuana, abortion and politics.
The UCLA survey, given to 323,791 incoming freshman at 641 two-year and four-year colleges and universities, showed that support for casual sex had fallen from 52 percent in 1987 to 43 percent in the recent survey.
Billy Marshall, Salina freshman, said he thought the findings about sex matched the attitudes of his fellow KU freshmen.
"I don't think casual sex is as big as it once was," he said. "It still occurs, but not in as large numbers."
Yet while freshmen were becoming more conservative about sex, the survey also reported that support for the legalization of marijuana doubled from 17 percent in 1989 to 34 percent in this year's study.
Jane Wright, Platte City, Mo., freshman, questioned the survey findings about abortion. According to the survey, support for keeping abortion legal fell for the third consecutive year to 58 percent.
"I personally wouldn't smoke pot, but a lot people I know would support legalizing marijuana," she said.
freshman, did not dispute the survey's results.
"People don't come out and support it, but they don't condemn people for doing it," Wright said.
The survey also reported that only 28.5 percent of freshmen were committed to keeping pace with current affairs, an all-time low in the 30-year history of the survey.
Brent Peterson, Lenexa freshman, said he fit that description. He was saying that I have broken off ties with the political world," he said.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
City's homicide rate drops to zero in 1995
Rape, robbery increase; burglary, OUI's go down
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
In 1995, the city of Lawrence saw an increase in aggravated assaults and vehicle accidents, a decrease in burglaries and, for the first time since 1989, no homicides, according to the crime statistics compiled by the Lawrence Police Department.
The one-year trend of decreasing operating-under-the-influence arrests also occurred last year. In 1993, there were 601 OUI arrests. That number fell to 508 in 1994 and was 494 in 1995.
Sergeant Rick Nickell said the decrease in arrests didn't necessarily mean there was a decrease in people driving under the influence.
"It could be because of our enforcement efforts and education efforts in the community," he said. "Or possibly officers have been so busy with other things they haven't been able to make as many arrests."
The statistics Nickell said concerned him the most were the increased aggravated assaults and violations against children.
In 1994, there were 191 violations against children. In 1995, the number was 245.
There were 140 aggravated
assaults in 1994. In 1905, that number increased by 21.
The number of burglaries decreased from 691 in 1994 to 650 in 1995. But the number of robbery's increased from 85 to 95.
There were also 30 rapes reported last year, up from 26 the year before.
Officer Doug Payne of the crime prevention unit said even though Lawrence is a small city, students should be aware of their surroundings to help avoid being victims of crimes.
"Increase your awareness," he said. "Don't have the mentality that it can't happen to you."
Payne offered the following tips to help students keep themselves and their property safe:
Be on the lookout for suspicious people
Use the buddy system when going out at night.
Plan ahead when using automated teller machines. Try and use them during the day and don't use one if people are loitering near the ATM machine.
When you get into your car after shopping or using an ATM machine, lock your doors and drive away. Don't sit in your car and turn on your radio or anything else before departing.
If someone demands your purse or wallet, give it to them. Your belongings are not worth your life.
Crime rates for the city of Lawrence
| | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Homicide | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Rape | 34 | 26 | 30 |
| Robbery | 73 | 85 | 95 |
| Burglary | 563 | 691 | 650 |
| Auto theft | 126 | 160 | 184 |
| Aggravated assault | 167 | 140 | 161 |
| O.U.I arrests | 601 | 508 | 494 |
| Vehicle accidents | 3,511 | 3,349 | 3,466 |
Noah Musser/KANSAM
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