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Editor-in-chief Lara Korte Managing editor Christian Hardy Digital operations editor Matt Clough Social media editor Emily Johanek Associate social media editor Emily Juszczyk ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
Business manager Tucker Paine Sales manager Mitch Tamblyn SECTION EDITORS
News editor Chandler Boese Associate news editor McKenna Harford Sports editor Amie Just Associate sports editor Skylar Rolstad Arts & culture editor Omar Sanchez Associate arts & culture editor Courtney Bierman Opinion editor Vince Munoz Visuals editor & design chief Roxy Townsend Photo editor Missy Minear Copy chiefs Candice Tarver Brendan Dzwierzynski Ashley Hocking ADVISERS
Chief financial officer Jon Schlitt Editorial adviser Gerri Berendzen
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KANSAN.COM/NEWS | MONDAY, FEB. 13, 2017
KU prioritizing action, communication over sanctuary campus designation KATIE BERNARD @KatieBernard15
T
wenty-eight college campuses across the country have declared themselves "sanctuary campuses," or colleges that extend special protection to undocumented and immigrant students. The University of Kansas has taken a different approach. The University’s faculty, administration and Student Senate are working to provide support and assistance to at risk students through statements, Student Senate legislation and direct help to international students. Through various statements from the chancellor and the provost, the University administration has worked to send a message of support to undocumented and international students. Meanwhile, Student Senate has passed a variety of resolutions expressing support for international and undocumented students. “We feel these groups are under attack,” said Connor Birzer, Student Senate communications director. “We need to say that we value these members of our community.” A current senate resolution, which just passed through committees, urges Kansas senators to support the federal Bridge Act legislation. This resolution would help protect undocumented students who fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA). “We are working to find tangible remedies to the problem,” Birzer said. Student Senate passed
a resolution in November urging Lawrence to become a sanctuary city. Birzer also said that he believed the University becoming a sanctuary campus would be a positive step. He said the University should follow the example set by other universities in this matter through limited compliance with legal entities when international and undocumented students are at risk. “We need to be sure that KU remains a place where people have access to higher education regardless of their citizen status or where they’re from,” Birzer said. The University is not currently a sanctuary campus, but the administration has spoken out in support of students and faculty are working to aid at-risk students. At a broader level, Charles Bankart, interim associate vice provost of International Programs, said he is trying to find tangible remedies through working with international and outof-status students affected by the President Trump’s executive order. “We’re trying to keep students informed and actively reach out to them to let them know what we know, what we don’t know and how they need to protect themselves from the impact of the executive order,” Bankart said. Bankart also said he has found this task especially important in regards to out-of-status students, who came to the country legally but have lost that status for one reason or another. Bankart does not work with undocumented students in his position, but said there is
Sarah Wright/KANSAN Activists protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration at Kansas City International Airport on Jan. 28.
little that the University can do to directly help or hinder these students. “The institution is in a really interesting place because we don’t know who our undocumented students are,” Bankart said. The University does not require students to show documentation in order to enroll. An undocumented student would only be inclined to reveal that status if they registered for the benefits granted under DACA. That information is held by the federal government, not the University. Federal action under the Trump administration has not yet been taken regarding these students. “It’s hard to comment on something that doesn’t exist,” Bankart said. The government also holds a wealth of information in regards to international students, as the process they undergo to attend school in the U.S. is overseen by the U.S. Depart-
ment of State and Homeland Security. With this in mind, Bankart is unsure what it means to be a sanctuary school, as many interpretations of the term suggest that universities would refuse to provide student information to the government. “There are two contexts there that don’t exist right now,” Bankart said. “One is there hasn’t been any executive action … that would require us to provide information, and two we would have to make a decision not to provide it. I don’t know that we even have the information they would ask us to provide in the first place.” Bankart said the University can only do so much to protect students on campus from the outside world. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is working to pass legislation that would allow the Kansas Highway Patrol to target drivers they believe may be illegal immigrants. The University,
Campus, state face flu outbreak TANNER HASSELL
even if it were to become a sanctuary campus, has no authority to protect a student who encounters this off-campus. “I am concerned about creating a false sense of security where institutions are claiming that they are protecting, and they don’t have the ability to protect,” Bankart said. Bankart added the University should continue on the path it is on of reaching out to and assisting students. “It’s one thing to protect students and another thing to help them protect themselves,” Bankart said.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH
Lydia Loveless Angelica Garcia TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH
Brothers Gow Gravy
@thassell17
With warm weather on the horizon, the flu can be a cruel reminder that winter isn’t over quite yet, especially for the large numbers of University students currently coming down with the illness. A Watkins Health Center official said influenza has sent a number of students at the University to Watkins with flu-like symptoms. The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Center said this flu season has been relatively typical thus far, but also said the peak of the flu season is approaching. Those in Kansas and Missouri may want to consider getting a vaccination, even this late in the season, according to Watkins Health Provider Pavika Saripalli. Both states and 13 others have reported high numbers of outpatients with flu-like symptoms, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Saripalli said 102 students reported flu-like symptoms at Watkins last week. Kansas and Missouri both sit at level 10, the highest level of severity, according to the CDC website. Other states include
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Silent Planet Hail the Destroyer Dayseeker and more! FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH
The Magic Beans Kansan file photo Tina Keeton, medical assistant, gives a season flu shot to Laura Gilliland, a staff nurse, in 2016. Watkins Medical Center offers flu shots to students during hours.
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Wyoming. The state data is gathered through physicians around the U.S. who report patients with flu-like symptoms to ILINET, a CDC network which tracks influenza-like illness, according to the CDC website. In the state of Kansas, during the last week of January over 8 percent of visits to ILINET-participating providers were for flu-like symptoms, according to the CDC. Influenza-like symptoms include a fever over 100 degrees, coughing and/ or a sore throat. Saripalli said a large number of flu cases began arriving at Watkins after a quiet winter break. “We weren’t seeing the CDC and state numbers be-
cause not many people were on campus through the break,” she said. “Martin Luther King weekend onward we’ve seen very large numbers of cases.” She said students who believe they are experiencing symptoms can benefit from Tamiflu, if taken within three days after seeing symptoms. “Tamiflu has been working well. It tends to differ year to year, but it’s working well,” she said. “If you are seen after day four, Tamiflu may not work for you. If you’re still sick in seven-to-ten days you may need a regular antibiotic for infection.” Director of Epidemiology at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department Mary Beverly said the CDC data raise some concerns,
but does not necessarily spell disaster. “Sometimes when you see the red, it can be alarming,” she said. “Right now we’re in line with seasonal flu and what it does every year.” Beverly said the flu can still be an issue for the very young, old or those who are immunocompromised. Saripalli recommends washing hands, washing shared equipment and isolating yourself when sick. She said the vaccine is still an option as well. “The flu vaccine has been effective this year," she said. "People with the vaccine can still get the flu, but not nearly as bad as other people." — Edited by Paola Alor
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The Unlikely Candidates Spencer Mackenzie Brown
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Smackdown Trivia MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH Open Mic @ The Bottleneck
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Madaila WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
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