CAMPUS/AREA
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, December 6, 1995
3A
Truman scholarship nominees chosen
By Novelda Sommers Kansan staff writer
It took a lot of last-minute cutting and pasting, but Cassie Roth, Honolulu junior, and three other KU juniors got their applications for the 1995 Harry S. Truman scholarship competition sent off on time.
"We all know each other, so we all stayed up late last Wednesday night to get it all finished. It was kind of fun," Roth said. "Everything had to fit on the application forms, so it took a lot of cutting
and pasting."
Mary Klayer, assistant director of the honors program, said the four nominees were selected in October, but their applications were not sent to the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in Washington, D.C., until last Thursday, which was the deadline for applicants.
"We usually don't like to announce it until the applications go in, in case someone decides not to go through with it," Klayder said.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens, enrolled as full-time students, have at least a 3.0 grade point average and aspire to a career in public service.
Christina Lewerenz, Manhattan junior, said the application process to be nominated was long and involved.
"We had to write two short essays and a medium-length one, and we each had to be interviewed by a panel of seven people," Lewerenz said. "That was intimidating and not a lot of fun."
Klayder said that as many as 85 winners from across the nation
will be chosen. Finalists will be selected and interviewed between January and April 1996, and winners will be announced by May 1
Winners are awarded up to $3,000 for their undergraduate studies and up to $27,000 for graduate studies.
Klayder said the KU nominees would be competing with nominees from other universities in Kansas. Usually, only one winner is selected from Kansas, and usually the University is only allowed three nominees. Kansas' winner last year was Sherman Reeves,
Manhattan senior.
The University was allowed to bend rules this year because one applicant was from Hawaii, a state that has had few Truman Scholars in recent years.
"Every year, the Truman Scholarship Foundation allows states that have not had many winners to do that," Kayder said.
Roth would represent Hawaii if she wins, while the other three applicants, Lewerenz; Aimee Owen, Lawrence junior; and Bhavi Shah, Wichita junior, would represent Kansas.
Students vs. finals—the battle begins Caffeine, exercise are common ammunition By Sarah Wiese Kengan staff writer
During the next two weeks, many students will bid farewell to normalcy and unwillingly lapse into a less favorable mode of operation.
Their rituals will range from Kwik Shop pilgrimages to Jane Fonda worksouts.
Though the tactics differ, the goal is the same: to live through finals and all the intense studying that goes along.
For Kara Monson, Omaha, Neb., sophomore studying for finals without her chocolate-covered coffee beans is unthinkable.
When Monson started late-night studying in high school, her mother gave her the beans, a raw caffeine source. Monson said that although she tried to work ahead, she always ended up cramming.
"I generally study best under pressure," she said. "Basically the beans just keep me awake so I can get through all the stuff I need to learn."
Step aerobics tapes and hand-held weights are what make finale manageble for Kelly Maloney, Shownee senior.
Feeling weary after hours of studying, she doesn't talk herself into sleeping, even for a little while.
"I TR to go to sleep. I'll never wake up, so I try to stay up as long as I can." Maloney said.
Instead, she pushes in an aerobics tape, gets out her step and works out. Although it's the last thing most students want to do, Maloney swears by it as a rejuvenating force.
Jim Felkner, Overland Park junior, doesn't make a habit of drinking in the morning. But facing three exams yesterday, a glass of wine early in the morning seemed like the obvious choice, he said.
"I call the nerves a bit," Fek尔 said. "It help me concentrate, and it clears my mind."
He said the wine wasn't a means of escape but rather a way to relax him enough to sort out what he needed to study.
During an all-nighter, Schwartz said she might buy as many as six cups. It is more of a game than anything.
For Shawn Schwartz, Topea senior, Kwik Shop capuccino is the beverage of choice during finals. Actually, it is the diversion of going to get the conesmen who she relishes.
Andrew Rullestad / KANSAN
"I'll go to different Kwik Shops around town so they won't have to see the same face several times" she said.
Facing seven finals in her last semester, Schwartz said that she probably would be making more price than usual to Xwlt Shop.
Who knows? Her capuppccino-buying operation might have to branch out to Topska or Kansas City.
A long way down
Bobbi Palmer, Chapman sophomore, climbs up the wall at Robinson Center as Jonathan Kirsch, Englewood, Colo., junior (below) holds the safety harness.
Flu epidemic overcrowds Watkins
Doctors say early detection helpful in some situations
By Joann Birk
Kansan staff writer
Despite warnings to get a flu shot, KU students across campus are suffering from an early outbreak of influenza that is keeping them from going to classes and studying for finals.
Ontaries Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said two strains of the flu virus had reached the University much earlier in the season than usual, and they were affecting a large number of students and faculty.
Yockey said the wait at Watkins had increased by about 30 minutes, but doctors were trying to make evening appointments whenever possible.
"Our waiting room has been a third busier, and we have had a third less staff," he said. "We have had two or three doctors gone almost every day with the same illness."
"Over-the-counter drugs will probably just delay having to see the doctor."
Bob Emerson staff pharmacist at Watkins
Students should not come to Watkins expecting a cure because antibiotics cannot cure the flu virus. Doctors at Watkins usually prescribe a medication called Amantadine which can reduce the severity of symptoms and duration of the illness by three to four days, Yockey said. Flu shots could prevent the virus, but the vaccine takes two weeks to become effective.
Yockey said that the respiratory flu was characterized by abrupt onset of symptoms, including intense muscle aches.
fever and a cough.
Bob Emerson, staff pharmacist at Watkins, said that students should see a doctor immediately if they suspect that they have influenza because Amantadine works best if prescribed within 48 hours of the onset of the illness.
"Over-the-counter drugs will probably just delay having to see the doctor," he said.
Some students are also suffering from the stomach flu, a different strain of the virus that can not be prevented with a flu shot. Yockey said that students with the stomach flu were suffering from nausea and diarrhea that lasted four to five days.
"This is making people much sicker than the typical viral infection," he said.
Emerson said that there was no cure for the stomach flu, but doctors sometimes prescribed a medication called Phenergan to help control nausea.
Students suffering from the stomach flu should drink a lot of fluids and avoid solid foods. Yockev said.
Flu shots are still available at Watkins for $7.
Last week of classes not the time to get sick
By Craig Lang
Kansan staff writer
Even as he threw up Monday morning, Steve Williams wasn't sure if he was really sick or if it was all in his head.
"I felt like maybe I was trying to be sick just to have a break," he said.
Because his classes were keeping him so busy, Williams, Lenexa junior, thought that perhaps he was subconsciously making himself ill so that he could take a day off.
During this last week of classes, when projects are due and teachers begin reviewing for finals, many KU students have fallen ill. While being sick has not kept some students from doing their work, others have given up on trying to stay caught up.
Sarah Storms, St. Louis junior, said that she had had a cold since Tuesday of last week. She said that while ill, she had had to take two tests and complete a landscaping project.
"My project will be done, but I just won't get caught up in my homework. At the beginning of the semester, you can catch up on the work you missed," she said. "Now you can't because you don't have enough time, plus you have other stuff to worry about."
Amy Oberdieck, Manchester, Mo., junior, has spent the last week working on an architecture project in her studio class while suffering from a sore throat, swollen glands and congestion. But she said that she really didn't notice those things once she began work.
"In studio, once I actually sit down and do something, I'm less aware of being sick," she said.
Oberdieck said that she could have asked her professor for an extension on her project, but she finished it on time. She said that just having the project out of the way caused her relief.
"Now I can actually take the time to recuperate and get better before finals," she said.
Barry Newton, associate professor of architecture and urban design, said that if students told him that they were sick and could not complete a project on time, he would work with each student on an individual basis. If it seemed that a student's illness would keep him or her from performing effectively, he said, he would give that student a project extension.
While lying on his living room couch Monday night, Steve Williams said he felt as if his body was making itself sick on purpose. He said he had things he could be doing to prepare for his finals next week.
"I feel like a heel," he said. "I feel like I'm being lazy and giving myself an excuse to get out of anything."