FEATURES
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
Page 9 | OCT. 29, 2014
Features Campus Profile
Student launches customized beanie business Anna Zavell
Staff Writer giovanna.zavell@drake.edu
Usually spotted around campus sporting one of his handmade bright and colorful beanies, sophomore Stuart Kofron turned what was his summer craft project into a campus business that helps students combat the coming cold weather. “I really like slouchy beanies, but I was never able to find ones in stores that fit properly or were the right amount of slouch,” Kofron said. Kofron always wanted to learn to knit, but never pursued it until this summer. After finding a pair of knitting needles at his grandmother’s house, he took the extra yarn he had sitting around his house and began to knit. “I failed my first project terribly,” Kofron said. “I then started doing some research and found crocheting. I decided to try crocheting which turned out to be much easier and faster than knitting.”
Study Habits
Kofron said he has always been a crafty person since he was young. With patterns and video tutorials online, Krofron self taught himself how to make his own personal beanie that fit everything he wanted. “I found a pattern online and decided to try it myself,” Kofron said. “The left-over yarn I had at my house was an array of colors, which is why my first few beanies are either a bright neon blue and yellow, or a darker version of rainbow colors. You can really spot me anywhere when I am wearing them.” Once back on Drake’s campus, Kofron began wearing his vibrant beanies, and immediately received a lot of attention from his friends. People suggested that he could make beanies and sell them to students on campus. “I first got the idea from a few people telling me how impressed they were with the beanie, and a worker at Quad who complimented my beanie,” Kofron said. “So I looked up the average price for a beanie and found you
could not find one for under $15, some were priced in the mid 20s.” College students are typically tight on money, since going to school has its price. Kofron recognized this problem and began to think about what his peers had said about selling his beanies on campus. “It was about 12:30 a.m. and spur of the moment I made a Facebook page and named it Bulldog Beanies,” Kofron said. “I was curious to see what kind of traffic it would get.” Crocheted beanies are priced at $8.50 and knit beanies are priced at $9.50. The prices are a combination of the yarn price and labor costs. Knits are a dollar more since they require more yarn and are a little more labor intensive. Sophomore Bridget Fahey purchased a beanie and loves it. “It’s super comfy cute and wellmade,” Fahey said. “It’s a lot better quality and cheaper than other beanies I’ve gotten from stores.” Kofron has received a lot of business so far and is excited to see where his business will go.
“Since the page went up I have had many people place orders,” Kofron said. “Not only do I make beanies, but also scarves, ear bands for girls that won’t mess up their hair, fingerless gloves and coasters made from recycled plastic bags.” Kofron has a little over 16 orders from his theater friends, a professor and peers who
are ordering his handmade accessories for their family. “I just love making things with my hands,” Kofron said. “There’s no better way to combine my love for crocheting and knitting and making things for people than this.”
STUART KOFRON started Bulldog Beanies, his own business where he knits and crochets beanies to sell. ANNA ZAVELL | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pulling all-nighters leads to negative health side effects
Students discuss the pros and cons of staying up all night to study
Sarah Mondello
Staff Writer sarah.mondello@drake.edu
Whether it’s to finish a YouTube series or to cram in some lastminute studying, today’s college students often face the temptation to pull an all-nighter. But does the late-night cramming do any good? What are the side effects of sleep deprivation? Actuarial Science major Anthony Pullano often stays up late. So often, in fact, that it’s almost a rule. “You can’t go to bed yet. It’s not even quiet hours,” Pullano said. First-year Russell White pulled an all-nighter the evening before he sat down for an interview. He was still running on no sleep. “For me, they’re kind of easy only because I’m naturally a night person,” White said. “But they’re
one of those things that are just like a necessary evil. Every now and then, you’re going to kind of have to, even though you shouldn’t and you don’t want to.” The effects of all-nighters are both physiological and psychological, according to both WebMD and MD Health. Sleep deprivation can affect physical health too. It can lead to increased risk of diabetes and strokes, not to mention skin damage, impaired long-term memory and a lower sex drive. If the freshman 15 wasn’t enough – lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain. Sandy Corrigan, a registered nurse at the Drake Student Health Center, reiterated the negative effects of all nighters. ““You definitely compromise your health,” Corrigan said. “It lowers your immune system when you don’t get enough sleep.
Everybody should get seven to nine hours a night, so that is, I guess whether or not you think that is worth it, risking your health.” The spiraling effects don’t stop there. Mentally, risk for depression in sleep-deprived people increases, as does the risk of accidents and injuries on the road, job or even in one’s own living area or dorm room. According to Harvard University research, this is due to the impact on attention and the ability to be alert. These are both drastically reduced the longer a person stays awake past a reasonable amount of time. In fact, sleep deprivation can be comparable to drunkenness since they both have similar outcomes: poor judgment and inefficient decision-making. At this point, learning and performance are severely
impaired, along with our ability to assess a situation, interpret events and decide how best to behave. The result of sleep deprivation is a person who is incapable of making sound choices, neither on the road nor in class, stated in the same study. While unhealthy, all-nighters no longer faze Pullano. “They’re very unwise to do,” Pullano said. “Especially if you know that you have something that you need to do the next day. I’ve pulled four or five in my entire life, but now my body’s used to it, so they don’t have as negative of effects.” However, Dr. Philip Gehrman, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, your body doesn’t get used to a lack of sleep. “Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight,
begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation — they’ve gotten used to it,” Gehrman said. “But if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they continue to go downhill. So there’s a point in sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are.” Still, Pullano considers both the pros and cons of all-nighters on somewhat equal scales, when it comes to the effects on the body and mind. “Physically you have to say negatively,” Pullano said. “But a couple times (it) is definitely positively because we have to weigh the fun that we have against the stupidity of staying up all night and ruining your next day. So it depends on the all-nighter and whether it’s worth it or not.
Local Calendar
Friday
Thursday Chris Newberg
Dark Dinner on Halloween.
Blah Blah Blah Tec
The comedian performs at Funny Bone.
Des Moines Social Club is hosts a dinner with executive director Zach Mannheimer
WHERE: 570 Prairie View Drive, West Des Moines WHEN: Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. PRICE: $10
WHERE: 900 Mulberry Street, Des Moines WHEN: Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. PRICE: $100-$125
Beggars’ Night.
Hockey
Trick or Treating in the state of Iowa.
Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Sioux Falls Stampede
WHERE: All around the Des Moines metro WHEN: Oct. 30 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. PRICE: Free
Saturday Fencing Class
Come learn the art of fencing.
WHERE: 220 East 3rd Street, Des Moines WHEN: Nov. 1 from 1 - 3 p.m. PRICE: $20
James Taylor and His All-Star Band
Artist James Taylor performs in Des Moines.
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena WHEN: Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. PRICE: $67 - $87
SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO THOMAS.SCEARCE@DRAKE.EDU
WHERE: 7201 Hickman Road, Urbandale WHEN: Oct. 31 7:05 p.m. PRICE: $11 - $21
Sunday Day of the Dead celebration
Join the Des Moines Art center to learn more about this Mexican holiday.
WHERE: 4700 Grand Ave., Des Moines WHEN: Nov. 2 from 1 - 4 p.m. PRICE: Free admission
Fleece FUNdraiser
Make a fleece hat with St. James Lutheran Church.
WHERE: 5665 Merle Hay Rd., Johnston WHEN: Nov. 2 from 2 - 5 p.m. PRICE: Free
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