the review washburn university
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Washburn’s offensive line shows what they’re made of. Page A5 Serving Washburn University since 1897
volume 136, Issue 7 • wednesday, september 30, 2009
Families play at Family Day...
University provides fun, education and excitement for Washburn students and their visiting families
Meghan Ryan WASHBURN REVIEW
Washburn University had a busy campus of pre-game fun and activities on Saturday’s Family Day before the football game against the University of Central Missouri. Throughout campus families of all shapes and sizes enjoyed an array of activity tents and tailgating opportunities. The event was created with all ages in mind, especially the younger crowd. “When I walked up here, I thought it was so sweet to see all these children having fun,” said freshman BodSquad member Rachael Johnson on the young children enjoying the free activities. There was definitely fun to be had with the inflated Rat Race Obstacle Course, Washburn tattoo and coloring contest tent and carnival like games. Many Washburn clubs and interest groups participated with the free Family Day games. A large Operation board game was used by the American Medical Student Association and the musical fraternity Sigma Phi Iota sang during games of musical chairs. The Leadership Institute’s Pit Stop Challenge and Modern Languages Department’s bucket toss game were also part of the fun on Memorial Lawn. For the less competitive crowd Alan Dietrich’s fossil display of Mosasaur and Xiphactinus skeletons allowed the campus to view creatures more ancient than the stereotypical professor. The School of Nursing and St. Francis Health Center reminded families of health issues amidst a sea of hot dogs and hamburgers at their free blood pressure screening tent. Level One nursing students were able to practice taking blood pressure readings in a non-traditional environment full of distractions like the chiming bell tower and crowds. This allowed the students to get clinical experience and gave the family members of the Washburn University community valuable insight on their health. Traffic at the tent kept the volunteers busy. One family stopped by together to settle the score in their competition for best blood pressure. Informative
Photo by Matt Wilper, Washburn Review
Family Day: Statistics professor Mike Mosier scampers through the Rat Race Obstacle Course during Family Day. The Sept. 26 event on the Memorial Union Lawn provided an opportunity for families to visit booths for various campus organizations, play games and interact with the Washburn community before the afternoon football game. pamphlets were offered on the H1N1 virus, pre-diabetes, health tips on food and wallet-sized walking log cards. Other activities on campus spread the fun beyond Yager Stadium and Memorial lawn. The Mabee Library hosted Caddy Stacks which allowed families to play mini golf throughout the maze of books. A new art exhibit by Ken Butler called Hybrid Visions debuted in the Mulvane Art Museum. The Washburn Bookstore was bustling with business because of its biggest sale of the year. Shoppers who
bought one Washburn-imprinted item got a second one half off. Such a great deal had many people walking out of the bookstore with some new Ichabod paraphernalia to wear with pride. Outside, grills fired up and delicious-smelling smoke wafted all over campus thanks to tailgaters getting ready for the Ichabods game against the University of Central Missouri. The Alumni Association, BodSquad and Greek houses such as Delta Chi and Sigma Phi Epsilon had food tents for their members
ternational mom, helps the international students get through the red tape and onto campus, then assists Washburn has become an interna- them with legal and practical orientational destination for learning and local tions, cultural and social adjustments students can influence and benefit from and any questions they may have. the experience of these visiting students. Visiting students are also supThis year, 163 students came to ported by the Topeka Friendship NetWashburn from 34 countries scat- work. It helps to match up interested tered around the world. students with American Favoring programs in friendship families. business, nursing, mu- INTERNATIONAL “They get together STUDENTS sic and English, Heidi at least once a month for Staerkel, coordinator of maybe dinner, or go to a international student acsoccer game or just give tivities said 76 of this year’s students them the opportunity to participate come from China and Hong Kong, 12 in American culture,” said Staerkel. more from Paraguay, nine from Ke- “And [they] practice English.” nya and eight from Honduras. Fifteen Yet family and university support countries are represented by only one is not the only thing international stustudent leaving lots of opportunity for dents need, something senior business international students to feel alone. major Travis Byers learned during his Staerkel, a self-described in- studies in Rosenberg, Germany. Be-
ing a stranger in a strange land speaking a strange language he discovered his university’s buddy bystem, which matched visiting students with locals, to be invaluable on a practical level. It was both culturally enriching and a great way to foster lifelong friendships. Byers discussed his international experience with other students and it became clear that having a buddy made a huge difference. Simple things like getting from the airport to the school, selecting classes and instructors, where to eat, where to shop, what to wear, places to go and places to avoid can be quite daunting for a first time visitor to a school, town or country. Add language and cultural barriers and suddenly the concept of having a local buddy makes a lot of sense. It was out of that need for
and guests. Chartwells also offered culinary treats indoors with its Family Day picnic in the Washburn room. Food and sales aside, it was the people that made Family Day successful. Families from all across the region came to participate in the gathering. Sheila Karlin and her family from Garden City, Kan. had to wake up at 4 a.m. for an almost six-hour trip to see freshman daughter Kelli Jo on Saturday. Even after the long journey and lack of sleep, Karlin was still excited for the game, “Go Bods,” she said.
Karlin’s 7-month old granddaughter Hayden Schaffer was also in attendance and cheered on the Ichabods with a blue and white pom-pom, making the Karlin family was a perfect example of a dedicated family. Not only were they there supporting their current Ichabod, but introducing Wasbhurn to a possible future one.
Jennie Loucks WASHBURN REVIEW
and on the module,” said Mike Gunter, director of Information Systems and Services. “There are about 12 upgrades per year, not including patches.” The upgrade that led to all the recent e-mail problems at Washburn was done by SunGard, the company who provides the university with the Banner system. The main problem with the upgrade was that the e-mail server would not function. There were also more minor problems that were fixed along the way. SunGard indicated to Washburn that it had never had issues on such a scale as our before. This was caused by a design failure of the software itself. The failure was discovered on
Meghan Ryan is a writer for the Washburn Review. Reach her at meghan.ryan@ washburn.edu.
Buddy program connects students SunGard accepts blame for technical negligence
Recieve a flu shot this week in the Union.
Please see BUDDY page A3
The e-mail debacle that plagued Washburn’s campus for the first part of this semester is almost over. On Friday, Sept. 18, the 12-member Technology Steering Committee sent out an e-mail to the Washburn community explaining in detail the extended outage. It explained the reasoning for the upgrade, which led to all the problems that occurred, as well as how the problems progressed and were eventually resolved. On the Banner system that Washburn has been running on since 2004, there have been at least three major upgrades. “The upgrades depend on the area
The RoadRunners being their third season with high expectations.
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Please see SOFTWARE page A3
Topeka Youth Project’s 25th annual Battle of the Bands drew a crowd.
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Brian Allen WASHBURN REVIEW
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