NOVEMBER 19, 2009
THURSDAY
WWW.KYKERNEL.COM
KENTUCKY KERNEL CELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFF
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PAGE 2 | Thursday, November 19, 2009
SPORTS
Cats learn from slow start against Miami of Ohio By Metz Camfield mcamfield@kykernel.com
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Bob Seger releases collection It's about time Bob Seger started rustling around in those archives. When even the most frivolous of pop careers have been chronicled with historical compilations by this point, the Detroit rocker's slim retrospective pickings — just a pair of greatest-hits discs — has stood out. "Early Seger Vol. 1" (4 stars, Hideout Records) is a first spoonful of remedy. With a lineup of hard-to-find album cuts and a handful of previously unreleased, newly spruced up tunes, the 10-track set is, if nothing
Horoscope Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is an 8 — Get close to your partner now. Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is an 8 — Jump on the romance wagon! Gemini (May 21-June 21) — Today is an 8 — Make sure that you get to do what you want today. Cancer (June 22-July 22) — Today is a 7 — No need to
else, a welcome fix for hardcore fans. Songs from three early '70s albums (including the long unavailable "Smokin' O.P.'s" and "Back in '72") provide a fun reminder of Seger's stylistic diversity before he locked into his winning career rhythm. Vintage rock 'n' roll, barroom balladry and soulful Southern rock are delivered with equal aplomb, and a frisky update of "Long Song Comin'" breathes new life into that 1974 track. COPYRIGHT 2009 MCT
recite epic poems now. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Whatever you do today, lace it with words. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Today's work or play should revolve around you. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Personal magnetism controls your environment. Scorpio (Oct. 23--Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — You can accomplish more in one day.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) —Today is an 8 — You find yourself drawn to the exact people you wanted to see. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Take care of yourself first today. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — You're worried about a side issue. Stop that! Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is an 8 — Throw yourself into your work. (C) 2009 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
UK head coach John Calipari got exactly what he wanted — a scare that forced his team to play from behind. With just over seven minutes remaining in the first half on Monday night, Calipari and his Cats were staring at an 18-point deficit to a Miami of Ohio team that was fresh off an 11-point defeat at the hands of Towson. “We need to get down 10, 12, 15 to see where we are,” Calipari said. “I said it on radio, I said it on TV, I said it. I wish it wasn’t 18, but it was what I wanted and I wanted to see what we did.” After seeing their score doubled to the tune of 18-to36, the Cats’ defense stepped up en route to holding the RedHawks to three points in the final 7:04 of the half, exactly what Calipari wanted. Absent for much of that half was freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins. For the second straight game, Cousins started for the Cats, but played only limited minutes after getting into early foul trouble. Calipari said if a player picks up two fouls in the first half, they can expect to sit on the bench for the remainder of that half. It only took Cousins four minutes to pick up that second foul and have to watch as his teammates fell behind. “I just have to get my motor going early,” Cousins said. “A lot of times, I guess you could say I play laid back or whatever it is. I’m just going to try and come out with a different approach.” Cousins called that laid back approach a bad habit from high school. He responded in the second half against Miami of Ohio by scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of play and picking up only one more foul. The Cats can also hope to build on the second half performance of sophomore guard Darius Miller. After receiving
PHOTO BY BRITNEY MCINTOSH | STAFF
Freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins came alive in the second half after playing only four minutes in the first half of the Cats’ 7270 victory over Miami of Ohio on Monday night. countless compliments and praise from his teammates and Calipari during the offseason for his fit into the Dribble Drive Motion offense, Miller went scoreless in his first game of the regular season. He responded by scoring seven points in the second half against Miami of Ohio on 3 of 4 shooting with a lot of the credit going to a critiqued shooting stroke from Calipari. After watching Miller on tape and in practice about two weeks ago, Calipari said he noticed Miller was leaning backward while he shot the ball. After finally pointing it out, Miller’s shot has improved and he is now jumping more vertically and keeping his head straight, rather than leaning back. “I was shooting kind of short when I was fading back,” Miller said. “Now it has more arch on it and
everything.” With such a young team on his hands, Calipari said he’s having to do some things differently; one of those being how often they watch tape. In the last four years, Calipari said his teams would only watch five to 10 minutes of tape a day because they were filled with so many veterans. With this team filled with so many freshmen and inexperienced sophomores, Calipari said an hour of tape may be needed. “You’re not going to be great at everything,” Calipari said. “… There is no such team (that’s great at everything). You’re going to be good at some things and not so good at other things. And most of us attack the guy’s weaknesses. Where aren’t they real good? Like I said, I’m still trying to figure these guys out.”
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
THURSDAY
WWW.KYKERNEL.COM
KENTUCKY KERNEL CELEBRATING 38 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
After 3 years, UK promotes Monroe to police chief By Katie Perkowski kperkowski@kykernel.com
Maj. Joe Monroe has been named UK’s permanent police chief after a three-year tenure as interim police chief, according to a UK news release. Monroe Monroe said he found out about his promotion Tuesday night. “I’d hoped that my qualifications as well as my period as interim
chief proved a lot to people that I could do the job and do it successfully,” Monroe said. He said the promotion would not change his job duties but would provide closure. Monroe said over the last three to four years UK Police has had four to six officers leave because they were tired of not having a permanent chief. “It gives us some closure to that unknown of being interim, of what was going to happen if we had a chief come in from the outside,” Monroe said.
campus
Web site where students can register to have lunch with him to discuss and address concerns they may have. In the spring semester, he said he will work with Student Government to come out with a student focus group. The group will pick out random students around campus and meet with them about once a month to get feedback on certain issues, such as possible plans from the department. Monroe is the first UK police chief to have moved up through the ranks of the department, according to the news release. He began his UK
Monroe said he hopes to make UK Police one of the top 10 departments in the state and top 20 in the country for universities, according to the news release. One way he plans to do so is by improving communications with the university, he said. One plan he has is to have a “lunch with the chief.” He said there will be a link on the department’s
career in 1994 as a patrol officer, and then went on to serve as a detective, sergeant, lieutenant and major. Monroe said he thinks his progression shows UK has good, quality people that work for the department. “I think it is a great accomplishment and I feel good about it. It shows that hard work and determination, setting yourself to be successful by setting reachable goals is an easy thing to do as long as you stay focused,” he said. See Monroe on page 6
TAKING ON TOBACCO
Christians help students find ‘Origin’ By Katie Perkowski kperkowski@kykernel.com
G.B. Shell drives his truck through the fields of his tobacco farm while a contracted farm worker lifts a stick of tobacco onto the back of a truck bed. Shell is a third-generation tobacco farmer and has been harvesting tobacco for nearly 70 years.
Cutting its roots
Students on UK’s campus may be used to seeing the men in black suits passing out little green books, but on Wednesday, they were met with a different kind of handout. Members of churches throughout Kentucky passed out about 1,000 copies of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” as part of the national Origin Into Schools movement. Living Waters, the organization whose vision is to inspire and equip Christians to fulfill the Great Commission, according to its Web site, passed out the books. The copies of the book had a special introduction by best-selling author Ray Comfort, which includes a timeline of Darwin’s life and his thoughts on the existence of God. The introduction also exSee Darwin on page 8
Story by Austin Schmitt | Photos by Allie Garza | news@kykernel.com
CAMPUS
By Laura Clark lclark@kykernel.com
Council concerned for smokers’ safety By Brooke McCloud
No more cigarette butts, no more smoke breaks, no more dip cans — tobacco is no longer allowed on UK's campus. The ban begins Thursday, and affects all universityowned properties in Fayette County. Products not allowed include cigarettes (traditional and electronic), chewing tobacco, pipes, cigars, snuff, snus and hookah. With a new Web site that includes the tobacco-free policy, a map of campus boundaries and treatment resources, UK is working toward creating “a healthy environment.” “We know that when access to tobacco is limited … people do quit,” said Ellen Hahn, co-chair of the TobaccoFree Campus Task Force, in an October interview. “They won’t quit right away. It will encourage people to take the steps to quitting. They’ll cut down, though, and that can’t be bad.” Anthany Beatty, the other
news@kykernel.com
PHOTO BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFF
UK Physical Plant workers collect the smoking posts and old trash cans from around UK’s campus on Wednesday night. co-chair of the Tobacco-Free Campus Task Force, said heavy enforcement does the opposite of helping others change their habits. “It’s about changing the habit and getting the help and making a safe environment for everyone,” Beatty said. “The most effective way to do that is to do all the things you can in a positive approach to lead
people to make the change, not force them to.” Hahn said student leaders, supervisors, faculty and staff have been trained to enforce the ban by “scripting.” If a faculty or staff member violates the policy, they will be subject to consequences under the Human Resources Policies and ProceSee Ban on page 6
One of the main complaints of the tobacco ban is that smokers are not able to smoke on campus. But what about their safety? The safety of smokers, and how often and where they will go to smoke, was brought to special attention at Wednesday’s Town and Gown Commission meeting. “I have received tons of e-mails,” 3rd District councilwoman Diane Lawless said. “Surprisingly, none of them have been about smoking rights. Anti-smokers are concerned about the safety issues about the pedestrians running across the street during their 15 minute breaks.” Neighborhood representative Robert Kelly said it would take a city-wide ban to move UK’s ban to sidewalks. “The only thing that would solve this problem is to make it uniform and ban public smoking on the sidewalks in the entire city,” Kelly said. Anthany Beatty, vice president for public safety, said while the university administration is concerned about students crossing busy streets to smoke, he does not see it being a major problem. “We don’t envision this large mass of people congregating to smoke together, the whole purpose of this smoking ban is to talk about treatment and turn people away from the use of tobacco products,” Beatty said.
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Ready or not: Ban hits campus
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Yet on Thursday, UK will turn its campus into a tobacco-free environment. No more smoke breaks behind White Hall Classroom Building. No more strolls through campus with a lit cigarette in hand. No more late night smoke breaks outside Blanding Tower on a long night of studying. Tobacco will no longer exist on this campus. Some on this campus will tell stories of how cigarettes have killed their family. Others will say it provides a break to the stresses of college life.
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A single pack of cigarettes holds the power. The power 11.19.09 to darken lungs, cause shortTOBACCO-FREE ness of breath and bury people. It also has the power to put food on the table, send kids through college and buy pickup trucks. Tobacco surrounds UK’s campus, whether it is the fields lining the streets into Lexington or the smokers lining the hospital sidewalks on South Limestone.
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MELISSA VESSELS | STAFF
Eatery damaged in early robbery A robbery was reported at J. Gumbo’s cajun restaurant, located on South Upper Street across from Fazoli’s, Wednesday around 6:50 a.m., just three weeks after its opening. The robber, who police have not found, took about $475 in cash and broke the cash register and a window, said Carmelo Gabriele, owner and manager of J. Gumbo’s. Gabriele said altogether the business lost about $1,000 because of damage repairs. “It sets us back just in cash flow, we’ve got to pay extra … to have the window repaired right away and buy a new cash register. I had to call a couple employees to help clean up and get the place ready earlier,” Gabriele said. Gabriele had the window fixed Wednesday morning, and said the restaurant would serve lunch like normal. Anyone with any information regarding the robbery should contact the Lexington Police Department at (859) 258-3600. STAFF REPORT
PAGE 4 | Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009 | PAGE 5
“
Social work sophomore Nora Farmer smokes outside of the W.T. Young Library on Nov. 15. Farmer, a four-year smoker, said the ban wouldn't affect her. "I live close to campus, so I'll just smoke before (I get there)."
During its hay day, tobacco paid the bills, it put a lot of kids through college, it bought a lot of new pickup trucks. It was pretty much the safety net for agriculture and the crop that everybody depended on to pay the bills.” — Will Snell
PHOTOS BY ALLIE GARZA | STAFF
G.B. and Giles Shell ride a "tall boy" fertilizer sprayer through a field of tobacco. The Shells contract 440,000 pounds of tobacco a year to Phillip Morris.
A cigarette receptacle behind White Hall Classroom Building is filled with cigarette butts. On Nov. 18, UK grounds workers removed all cigarette receptacles in preparation for the Nov. 19 tobacco ban.
Giles Shell (left), 24, and G.B. Shell, 83, are part of a history of Shell tobacco farmers, which began five generations ago. With Giles being the fifth generation of Shell tobacco farmers, the crop will continue to provide a source of income for himself and his family.
crop’s future unclear
But some are in the middle, like communications junior Derek Goode. Three weeks ago his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. As a smoker, he sees the smoking ban as an opportunity to quit smoking. The struggle his mom will have to endure finalizes that decision. “Just the fact that she has to go through it, I don’t want to do it myself,” Goode said. But there is still opposition. English freshman Hannah Mayfield lights up a cigarette with her conventional grill lighter and talks about how the ban will inconvenience her while she is on campus. “I really like to smoke before and after class, so it's going to suck,” Mayfield said. Leaving tobacco behind is something that many accomplished years ago, but in Kentucky this trend takes precedence. In this state a different, softer face emerges, a face that defines an entire industry – the wrinkled, sun-beaten face of a tobacco farmer. Giles Shell is one of those faces. A May 2009 graduate of UK with a degree in biology, Giles grew up on the farm. Playing in the tobacco fields since the day he could walk, Giles woke up every morning and worked alongside his 83-year-old grandfather, G.B. Shell. Starting at the age of 14, Giles worked in the tobacco fields. Known on the Shell farm as a quiet kid growing up, he was more likely to want to cure cancer than farm tobacco. But after graduating from UK, Giles believed his skills were needed somewhere else, so he returned to the farm. He returned home to do the one thing he loves, the one thing he has known all his life, the one thing that paid for him to attend UK: farm tobacco. “I’ve tried to do something else but I can’t do anything else,” Giles said. “It’s something I’ve done since I was young.” For Giles though, tobacco is more than just a crop. It’s a way of life. He says when people talk about how tobacco is bad for health, it bothers him. It’s the overuse of the product, not the actual tobacco that causes the problem, Giles said.
Garrard rd countyy Lancaster
KELLY WILEY | STAFF
He hears the future of tobacco being disputed but thinks there will always be a need for the crop. Even then, the sake of his family depends on the plant that grows in his backyard. “It’s my livelihood, it’s my life, it’s what feeds my family,” Giles said. “It’s what buys my vehicles so I can go from here to there.” Giles’ story is not singular. Will Snell, a UK agricultural economics extension professor, grew up on a tobacco and beef cattle farm in Bourbon County, Ky. Tobacco was the main social function of Snell’s hometown and a constant throughout most small towns in Kentucky. The first day of school is affected by the tobacco season. Originally a Labor Day tradition, the first day of school turned into a mid-September start. The kids had to help on the farm, Snell said. The opening of the markets was a social scene in itself. From the local pastor to the town health care provider, every person in the community came to market. “It was very much the social fabric of many of those rural communities here in Kentucky,” Snell said. Most importantly for the Shell and Snell families, though, tobacco provided a way of living. Health ramifications aside, tobacco put food on the table and provided opportunities beyond the farm. “During its hay day, tobacco paid the bills, it put a lot of kids through college, it bought a lot of new pickup trucks,” Snell said. “It was pretty much the safety net for agriculture and the crop
that everybody depended on to pay the bills.” The UK Cooperative Extension program provides the kind of support to the tobacco community that a flagship university is responsible for. By being active in the community, the program helps tobacco farmers yield productive crops every year and provides a way to connect the community to the university. This year’s 28th annual edition of the Garrard County Tobacco Cutting Contest in September was put on by the UK Cooperative Extension program. Every year they work with the Garrard County community to showcase tobacco and bring tobacco farmers and community members together.
online www.kykernel.com
See more of Allie Garza’s photos and a video about UK’s tobacco ban.
While eight regular tobacco field hands work tirelessly through the eighth of a mile of tobacco stalks, competing to raise the plaque given to the winner, attendees socialize, crack jokes and eat fresh-grilled hamburgers. This is the way life is on the farm. Even though the future of tobacco is in jeopardy, there are still no worries. On UK’s campus it’s a different story. The plans for a tobacco-free campus have been on the books since January 2009 when the Board of Trustees, with the backing of UK President Lee Todd, announced a Tobacco-Free Initiative. The committee would be co-chaired by UK College of Nursing Professor Ellen Hahn and Vice President for Public Safety Anthany Beatty. On Nov. 19, UK will join over 300 other college campuses in adopting a policy similar to this one, but they are one of the largest institutions to implement a ban. In a state where 50 percent of the domestic production of tobacco is performed, it has not come without controversy. Despite the negative feedback of the tobacco
ban, it has positives. The statistics on tobacco health are well-known. But the common college student may not know what just one cigarette can do to the body. Casual smoking at the bars or having a couple of cigarettes on the weekends can cause shortness of breath and lead to being more susceptible to other illnesses, said Joanne Brown, a UK nurse practitioner. Even smoking one cigarette can lead to a possible long-term addiction. “College students don’t see themselves as smokers,” Brown said. “If I ask someone if they smoke, they’ll say, ‘No not really. I just smoke on the weekends, when I go out to the bars with my friends or do hookah once in a while.’ They don’t realize that even just occasional smoking affects their health.” Continuing to smoke into later life can lead to lung cancer and other diseases that are life-threatening. All these problems can occur from a natural plant grown in the same Kentucky dirt that UK students, staff and faculty walk over every day. Snell says tobacco is still a profitable crop for farmers in this state. Hahn says the health effects are too much to overcome. But on Nov. 19 the main public university in the state of Kentucky will turn an eye toward combating the health effects of tobacco and attempt to make a better, healthier commonwealth in the minds of its administrators. “I always say it’s a good business decision, but the reason the Board of Trustees did it was for health reasons — to create a healthy environment,” Hahn said. While the debate will continue, UK hopes the use of tobacco on its campus – and its state – will decline. For some, tobacco is a health issue. For others, it’s a financial issue. Many are torn between the two. The debate may never be snuffed out, but neither will the people. Even if tobacco fades away, there will always be a farmer looking to make a living. “If they ban tobacco, we’re Shell’s, we’ll bounce back,” Giles said. “We always do.”
Benjamin Bullens and Pam Carter of Berea smoke outside of UK Hospital on Nov. 15. Carter gave birth to her son, Camrin, on Nov. 13, and is at UK Hospital recovering.
The UK College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension program hosted the 28th annual Garrard County Tobacco Cutting Contest on Sept. 3. Eight participants cut an eighth of a mile of tobacco on the property of G.B. Shell.
PAGE 4 | Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009 | PAGE 5
“
Social work sophomore Nora Farmer smokes outside of the W.T. Young Library on Nov. 15. Farmer, a four-year smoker, said the ban wouldn't affect her. "I live close to campus, so I'll just smoke before (I get there)."
During its hay day, tobacco paid the bills, it put a lot of kids through college, it bought a lot of new pickup trucks. It was pretty much the safety net for agriculture and the crop that everybody depended on to pay the bills.” — Will Snell
PHOTOS BY ALLIE GARZA | STAFF
G.B. and Giles Shell ride a "tall boy" fertilizer sprayer through a field of tobacco. The Shells contract 440,000 pounds of tobacco a year to Phillip Morris.
A cigarette receptacle behind White Hall Classroom Building is filled with cigarette butts. On Nov. 18, UK grounds workers removed all cigarette receptacles in preparation for the Nov. 19 tobacco ban.
Giles Shell (left), 24, and G.B. Shell, 83, are part of a history of Shell tobacco farmers, which began five generations ago. With Giles being the fifth generation of Shell tobacco farmers, the crop will continue to provide a source of income for himself and his family.
crop’s future unclear
But some are in the middle, like communications junior Derek Goode. Three weeks ago his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. As a smoker, he sees the smoking ban as an opportunity to quit smoking. The struggle his mom will have to endure finalizes that decision. “Just the fact that she has to go through it, I don’t want to do it myself,” Goode said. But there is still opposition. English freshman Hannah Mayfield lights up a cigarette with her conventional grill lighter and talks about how the ban will inconvenience her while she is on campus. “I really like to smoke before and after class, so it's going to suck,” Mayfield said. Leaving tobacco behind is something that many accomplished years ago, but in Kentucky this trend takes precedence. In this state a different, softer face emerges, a face that defines an entire industry – the wrinkled, sun-beaten face of a tobacco farmer. Giles Shell is one of those faces. A May 2009 graduate of UK with a degree in biology, Giles grew up on the farm. Playing in the tobacco fields since the day he could walk, Giles woke up every morning and worked alongside his 83-year-old grandfather, G.B. Shell. Starting at the age of 14, Giles worked in the tobacco fields. Known on the Shell farm as a quiet kid growing up, he was more likely to want to cure cancer than farm tobacco. But after graduating from UK, Giles believed his skills were needed somewhere else, so he returned to the farm. He returned home to do the one thing he loves, the one thing he has known all his life, the one thing that paid for him to attend UK: farm tobacco. “I’ve tried to do something else but I can’t do anything else,” Giles said. “It’s something I’ve done since I was young.” For Giles though, tobacco is more than just a crop. It’s a way of life. He says when people talk about how tobacco is bad for health, it bothers him. It’s the overuse of the product, not the actual tobacco that causes the problem, Giles said.
Garrard rd countyy Lancaster
KELLY WILEY | STAFF
He hears the future of tobacco being disputed but thinks there will always be a need for the crop. Even then, the sake of his family depends on the plant that grows in his backyard. “It’s my livelihood, it’s my life, it’s what feeds my family,” Giles said. “It’s what buys my vehicles so I can go from here to there.” Giles’ story is not singular. Will Snell, a UK agricultural economics extension professor, grew up on a tobacco and beef cattle farm in Bourbon County, Ky. Tobacco was the main social function of Snell’s hometown and a constant throughout most small towns in Kentucky. The first day of school is affected by the tobacco season. Originally a Labor Day tradition, the first day of school turned into a mid-September start. The kids had to help on the farm, Snell said. The opening of the markets was a social scene in itself. From the local pastor to the town health care provider, every person in the community came to market. “It was very much the social fabric of many of those rural communities here in Kentucky,” Snell said. Most importantly for the Shell and Snell families, though, tobacco provided a way of living. Health ramifications aside, tobacco put food on the table and provided opportunities beyond the farm. “During its hay day, tobacco paid the bills, it put a lot of kids through college, it bought a lot of new pickup trucks,” Snell said. “It was pretty much the safety net for agriculture and the crop
that everybody depended on to pay the bills.” The UK Cooperative Extension program provides the kind of support to the tobacco community that a flagship university is responsible for. By being active in the community, the program helps tobacco farmers yield productive crops every year and provides a way to connect the community to the university. This year’s 28th annual edition of the Garrard County Tobacco Cutting Contest in September was put on by the UK Cooperative Extension program. Every year they work with the Garrard County community to showcase tobacco and bring tobacco farmers and community members together.
online www.kykernel.com
See more of Allie Garza’s photos and a video about UK’s tobacco ban.
While eight regular tobacco field hands work tirelessly through the eighth of a mile of tobacco stalks, competing to raise the plaque given to the winner, attendees socialize, crack jokes and eat fresh-grilled hamburgers. This is the way life is on the farm. Even though the future of tobacco is in jeopardy, there are still no worries. On UK’s campus it’s a different story. The plans for a tobacco-free campus have been on the books since January 2009 when the Board of Trustees, with the backing of UK President Lee Todd, announced a Tobacco-Free Initiative. The committee would be co-chaired by UK College of Nursing Professor Ellen Hahn and Vice President for Public Safety Anthany Beatty. On Nov. 19, UK will join over 300 other college campuses in adopting a policy similar to this one, but they are one of the largest institutions to implement a ban. In a state where 50 percent of the domestic production of tobacco is performed, it has not come without controversy. Despite the negative feedback of the tobacco
ban, it has positives. The statistics on tobacco health are well-known. But the common college student may not know what just one cigarette can do to the body. Casual smoking at the bars or having a couple of cigarettes on the weekends can cause shortness of breath and lead to being more susceptible to other illnesses, said Joanne Brown, a UK nurse practitioner. Even smoking one cigarette can lead to a possible long-term addiction. “College students don’t see themselves as smokers,” Brown said. “If I ask someone if they smoke, they’ll say, ‘No not really. I just smoke on the weekends, when I go out to the bars with my friends or do hookah once in a while.’ They don’t realize that even just occasional smoking affects their health.” Continuing to smoke into later life can lead to lung cancer and other diseases that are life-threatening. All these problems can occur from a natural plant grown in the same Kentucky dirt that UK students, staff and faculty walk over every day. Snell says tobacco is still a profitable crop for farmers in this state. Hahn says the health effects are too much to overcome. But on Nov. 19 the main public university in the state of Kentucky will turn an eye toward combating the health effects of tobacco and attempt to make a better, healthier commonwealth in the minds of its administrators. “I always say it’s a good business decision, but the reason the Board of Trustees did it was for health reasons — to create a healthy environment,” Hahn said. While the debate will continue, UK hopes the use of tobacco on its campus – and its state – will decline. For some, tobacco is a health issue. For others, it’s a financial issue. Many are torn between the two. The debate may never be snuffed out, but neither will the people. Even if tobacco fades away, there will always be a farmer looking to make a living. “If they ban tobacco, we’re Shell’s, we’ll bounce back,” Giles said. “We always do.”
Benjamin Bullens and Pam Carter of Berea smoke outside of UK Hospital on Nov. 15. Carter gave birth to her son, Camrin, on Nov. 13, and is at UK Hospital recovering.
The UK College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension program hosted the 28th annual Garrard County Tobacco Cutting Contest on Sept. 3. Eight participants cut an eighth of a mile of tobacco on the property of G.B. Shell.
OPINIONS Thursday, November 19, 2009
Kenny Colston, editor in chief Melissa Vessels, managing editor Allie Garza, managing editor Wesley Robinson, opinions editor
Austin Schmitt, asst. opinions editor Ben Jones, sports editor Megan Hurt, features editor
The opinions page provides a forum for the exchange of ideas. Unlike news stories, the Kernel’s unsigned editorials represent the views of a majority of the editorial board. Letters to the editor, columns, cartoons and other features on the opinions page reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of the Kernel.
Page 6
KERNEL EDITORIAL
UK stumbled over Chief Monroe hiring
BRETT HATFIELD, Kernel cartoonist
TOBACCO BAN HITS CAMPUS Ban provides valuable Incredible restrictions resources to help kick habit impede personal freedoms It's here. This longtalked about, dreadful day has finally arrived. Smokers and nonsmokers have been featured on the news and opinion pages of the Kernel, but KATIE I hope to SALTZ offer the Kernel columnist perspective of someone who has lived on both sides of the fence. I quit smoking only five months ago. My reasoning didn't have anything to do with the campus-wide tobacco ban. It wasn't even for my health — like most college kids, I, for some reason, forget I will grow old someday. My reason was simple and some might say stupid. Someone asked me to. My best friend looked at me and sincerely asked me to quit. I resisted at first. I didn't want to try to quit because I was scared I would fail. People had tried to scare me into giving up cigarettes before, but the idea of emphysema in 30 years was not as terrifying as admitting to myself I may not be strong enough to quit — but I had someone who was willing to help. Every day he was there, slapping those itchy nicotine patches on my back, distracting me, putting up with me being an absolute pain. Now I am in better shape, I don't get sick as often and I love the way my car smells. People have said they hate walking behind someone on campus and inhaling their secondhand smoke. To me, it's the most tempting smell and I have to restrain myself from hovering over
that person's shoulder. Cutting down on the amount of smokers I pass by daily greatly helps me and other “quitters.” There is less temptation to break down and ask to bum a cig outside White Hall, and I stay more focused on what I'm doing. If you had asked me six months ago my opinion of this tobacco ban, I would have told Lee Todd to his face he could not stop me from smoking wherever I pleased. So, I truly understand how all the smokers on this campus feel. I believe in their rights and I think the ban is extreme and won't be effective. But I also think people who are so adamant about smoking should at least give quitting a try. It really could be the best thing that has ever happened to you. UK is trying to give campus a healthier environment. While this may not be the right way, the administration does offer some great services for students looking to quit. The Counseling and Testing Center has smoking cessation services. For those of you who don't want to go cold turkey, the university will pay for nicotine replacement therapy for people involved in the program. Nicotine patches, gum and lozenges are expensive, but here is an opportunity to throw that excuse out the window and go for it. You know you are going to be on Facebook at some point today anyway, so just check out the Web site, (http://www.ukhealthcare.uk y.edu/UHS/SmokeFree.htm). Quitting smoking won’t be easy or any fun at all — but it won't kill you to try. Katie Saltz is a journalism senior. E-mail ksaltz@kykernel.com.
In a column published on Sept. 22 of this year in the Kernel, Jacob Sims pointed out that “in this country we have free choice,” a point that is apparently lost on President Lee RICHARD Todd as he BECKER seeks to clasKernel sify students columnist who smoke as secondclass citizens. It would be one thing if the administration set up a designated smoking area on campus where those students who do choose to indulge in nasty addictions could go to get their dastardly fix. Instead, students, faculty and staff who smoke (or use the other many tobacco-related products banned) will be required to walk to the edges of our massive campus. But the story doesn’t stop there — with UK even going as far as attempting to get the city to help enforce the ban on sidewalks. My father started at UK in 1966, and has vivid memories of a campus that was (perhaps a little too) friendly to tobacco use. “I can remember sitting in ChemPhys listening to a lecture while Dr. Stanford Smith chain-smoked in front of the class,” he said. Were the students innocent? “No. Students were smoking in class too. There were ashtrays in many of the classrooms.” Hearing stories like this may be strange to the average student in 2009. Smoking in classrooms? Get out. If you listen to the UK administration talk about tobacco use, you’d think it was this bad today. They’ve trot-
ted out all kinds of half-baked statistics about everything from second-hand smoking to the rates of quitting among smokers that occur after a ban is implemented. This ban is, plain and simple, a solution in search of a problem. Every smoker I know at UK (myself included) is quite conscientious about his or her behavior toward non-smoking students, faculty and staff. We make sure to dispose of our cigarette butts and blow our smoke as far away as possible from passers-by. Yet the university feels the situation is so dire that it requires an all-out ban, not just on smoking but on all tobacco use. This is insane — not just on its merits but also because of the costs associated. The Kernel recently reported the university spent $25,000 on signs welcoming pedestrians to a tobacco-free university. What the sign doesn’t say is how this ban will be enforced. The question of enforcement is perhaps the biggest thorn in the administration’s rear end. They claim to want to create a “culture of compliance,” which sounds more nefarious than I would have thought the administration is capable of being. I’d like to personally invite those opposed to the tobacco ban to the free speech area on Thursday from 12:50 to 3 p.m. Let’s show the administration at least one last time that we’re not afraid to smoke on campus. It may not change anything, but at least our voices may be heard. In the meantime, may the assault on personal liberties continue in our old Kentucky home. Richard Becker is a history senior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
On Thursday, the areas inside the black lines will be tobacco-free
BAN Continued from page 3 dures. Students should be reported to either the deans of their respective colleges, or the Office of Residence Life. Visitors who do not comply will be asked to leave campus. While UK is implementing the tobacco-free policy, other Kentucky schools are as well. The University of Louisville will take part in a ban in June 2010, and Bellarmine University will implement their ban in January 2010. Hahn said the ban is about more than the right to use tobacco. "If we’re truly an institution where we want to make others’ lives better and create a population that’s going to give back to Kentucky and be the next leaders of Kentucky, we need to go back to the reason why we’re doing it — to create a healthy environment," she said.
CLARIFICATION A graph from Wednesday’s Kernel Editorial gave the results for an unscientific online reader poll. UK conducted its own study finding that students, faculty and staff were in favor of the tobacco ban.
Weekly Poll Results According to an online poll from the Kernel Web site, 52 percent of the readers are against the tobacco ban, 44 percent are in favor of the ban and 4 percent do not care.
4% Do not care about the tobacco ban
W. T. Young Library UK Hospital
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KELLY WILEY | STAFF
TOBACCO-FREE SCHOOLS
The following schools are either smoke-free or plan to go tobacco-free in the future. Benchmark schools University of Iowa University of Minnesota (Crookston & Duluth) Penn State University (14 campuses) Purdue University (W. Lafayette & N. Central)
SEC schools University of Arkansas University of South Carolina (Upstate) University of Florida (July 2010) Other schools Indiana University System (9 campuses) Stanford University University of Louisville (June 2010) Bellarmine University (January 2010)
SIGNIFICANT DATES
History of the tobacco ban Nov. 6, 2006 UK goes smoke-free in all university buildings, structures and vehicles. Nov. 20, 2008 UK goes tobacco-free for the medical campus and health care facilities. Nov. 19, 2009 UK goes tobacco-free for the entire university campus and all UK properties in Fayette County.
Against the tobacco ban
for the the latest latfor est campus updates
Continued from page 3
White Hall Classroom Building
44% 52% In favor of tobacco ban
Follow the Kernel at twitter.com/ KernelOpinions
MONROE
SMOKING BOUNDARIES
They mark what is considered part of UK’s campus, which is affected by the tobacco ban. Anyone in these areas will not be able to smoke, dip, chew or use any form of tobacco.
For three years, this campus has needed, and asked for, some sort of stability when it comes to campus safety. The type of stability that comes from a permanent police chief. After three years of sitting on its hands, UK’s administration finally filled that need. After three years of “searching,” UK surely found some nationally-known safety figure to fill this void. That’s the only justification for such a long search, right? Wrong. UK did do one thing right in the search for a police chief, promoting former interim police chief Maj. Joe Monroe to the permanent police chief, after a threeyear, on-the-job audition. But UK did a million things wrong throughout the entire process — announcing the promotion through e-mail, without a formal news conference or a chance for Monroe to be formally presented, is one of them. The way UK decided to circulate the fact it finally made a decision reflects its attitude during the whole process — underwhelming and careless. The selection of Monroe was an opportunity for UK to turn the page on a history of bad choices when it comes to campus safety. Monroe surely didn’t need three years to prove himself and the UK administration didn’t need three years to evaluate him. It was an opportunity for Anthany Beatty and Lee Todd to get in front of a podium and announce that from this day forward, safety is as much as a priority as banning tobacco on this campus. It was a day to acknowledge past mistakes, and to assure to the campus they finally got this one right. However, instead of putting a premium on promoting safety, UK took the typical carefree approach. Hiding the biggest hire on this campus in the last three years is a blatant disregard for what the most important thing is. So congratulations, Joe Monroe. You’ve finally received the promotion everyone thought you deserved. And shame on you, UK administration. You took three years to eventually promote someone from within, misleading to the media and the public the entire time. You fumbled through a three-year search and even though you promoted the right guy in the end, you still did everything the wrong way. It’s almost as if there’s a ban on adequate safety on this campus, not tobacco.
Monroe said one thing he has focused on is developing people underneath him by sending them to leadership programs to get them ready for future roles. Monroe said he has wanted to be a police chief somewhere since he arrived at UK, and he has worked toward this goal by attending different kinds of leadership conventions. Anthany Beatty, vice president for public safety, said the university chose Monroe for the job because of his leadership abilities, his knowledge of the campus and his positive working relationship across the campus. Beatty said a national search was not necessary because Monroe had “earned this opportunity,” according to the news release. The university waited three years to select a permanent chief because the administration wanted to make sure to avoid missteps of the past, Beatty said. “As we look back, we realize that there were a couple of missteps in terms of getting the right person to be chief of police,” he said. “The reason (for waiting) was we wanted to make sure that given what we were seeing with Major Monroe’s leadership … that, that would be sustained and that he would be the person that would lead the agency into the future.”
TIMELINE
Feb. 1, 2006 After a 14-month search, McDonald Vick is named the UK police chief. Over the next week, local media brought to light a lawsuit in which Vick was named a defendant in alleging sexual discrimination and illegal wiretapping against a female former officer. July 13, 2006 Vick resigns after court documents show he paid a female former police officer $25,000 to drop a sexual harassment lawsuit in North Carolina. Maj. Joe Monroe was named interim police chief. Sept. 24, 2009 With Maj. Joe Monroe still serving as interim police chief, UK President Lee Todd said UK did not currently have a search for a permanent police chief. Oct. 20, 2009 No updates on the search for a permanent police chief had been made, said Anthany Beatty, assistant vice president for public safety. Nov. 10, 2009 Beatty said the search for a permanent chief would end Thursday, Nov. 12. Beatty said 60 to 70 applicants had been on file and were reviewed for the position. Nov. 18, 2009 Maj. Joe Monroe was named UK’s permanent police chief after serving as the interim police chief for three years. Monroe is the first UK police chief to have moved up through the ranks of the department.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 | PAGE 7
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PAGE 8 | Thursday, November 19, 2009
Dangerous teenage love ‘Twilight’s’ appeal comes from the ‘bad boy’ fantasy By Megan Hurt mhurt@kykernel.com
Hollywood has a fascination with vampires, and this fascination has spawned a cultural phenomenon of dangerous love in vampire form. The new vampire craze is the “Twilight” series, novels written by Stephenie Meyer that have been turned into films. Friday at midnight, the second film in the “Twilight” saga, “New Moon,” will open in sold-out theaters across the nation. There will be hordes of prepubescent and teenage girls lined up at the theaters. But there will also be college-aged girls in line. Most will be just as, if not more, excited to see the story of Edward and Bella on the big screen again. “Twilight” explores the relationship of a vampire, Edward, and his human girlfriend, Bella, and the trials they encounter dealing with their love for each other. The story is told through four books, ending with (spoiler alert) Bella and Edward living happily ever after. But why has a young adult novel about teenage vampire love become so popular with college women? “The book is not exceptional,” said Janice Oaks, who is teaching “Twilight” as part of a Gender and Women’s Studies class this semester. “It doesn’t break any new ground, but clearly (Meyer) has an audience … enough to make this woman a fortune.” Oaks said the first “Twilight” book is
DARWIN Continued from page 3 poses the unscientific belief that nothing created everything, according to the Web site. Kaitlin MacMillen said the group came to UK be-
not literature, does not have an imaginative plot and does not break ground in the literary or cultural world. “The core thing that draws young women to this is the intense emotions Edward has for Bella,” Oaks said. “The idea is, ‘I can make a bad boy good. I can get a bad boy and make him love me enough to change.’ That’s a powerful fantasy, but it’s still a fantasy.” Stephanie Carter, a psychology freshman, loves the “Twilight” book series, and said she understands how the plot taps into the bad boy fantasy in young women. “That’s probably why so many girls love it,” she said. “Most of us want the bad boy, but why do we want the bad boy? Because he is dangerous and cool, yes, but at the same time, we want the bad boy because we want to be the special one who changes him.” Chris McCurry, an English senior, said he read all four of the “Twilight” books on the recommendation of his girlfriend, but in the end was not pleased with the series. He believed the only thing that held the book together was Edward and the audience’s attraction to him. “The single thread that held the first novel, and every teenage girl’s attention, was the characterization of this young vampire,” McCurry said. “The tragic part about this character is he becomes little more than an icon of a girl fantasy. He never develops. He remains forever sparkling and dreamy, and fails to be-
cause a pool of students exists who are interested in the academic arguments and debate. “This presented a great opportunity to share our take on evolution and things like that,” MacMillen said. She said the group was amazed because the books were all passed out within about 15 minutes.
come of literary importance.” Oaks said the book is as conventional as a romance novel, and the characters reflect the romance genre and expectations of women in relationships today, by making Edward the center of Bella’s world. “These are characters that would appear right out of a romance novel,” she said. “Bella is innocent and inexperienced and the vampire is dangerous … True to form, (Bella) is someone who becomes completely enmeshed in (Edward) and that’s the expectations for women today.” However, Oaks said Bella is not a conventional heroine, instead she is neither rich nor beautiful, and becomes more passive as the first book goes on and she becomes more in love with Edward. Carter agrees Bella is passive, but thinks Meyer wrote her character true to how real teenage girls act. “Yes, she is passive, but that’s what is so great about her character,” Carter said. “It is reflective of teenage girls out there; it’s normal for her to react that way. She is those things, but what teenage girl isn’t?” The dangerous part of “Twilight,” Oaks said, is where dangerous love becomes too dangerous, reflecting domestic abuse in our culture. Oaks said there are rumblings of this kind of violence in the first “Twilight” novel. “There is always that potential (of danger),” she said. “He’s a vampire, he lives off violence, but the danger is at least part of the appeal.”
“(The students) were excited to receive them. I think some people were surprised that they were Darwin’s book,” MacMillen said. One of the organizers of the event, Jessica Kidwell, said the movement is a cooperative effort of many different churches, including those
of the Methodist, Baptist and Catholic denominations. The movement coincides with the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s book, which was published in November 1859, according to the Web site. About 120,000 copies of the book were distributed to universities nationwide.