Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

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Summer scene hit by heat wave Oummer is a time for swimming, softball and in general just soaking up the sun. But this summer there was quite a bit more sun to soak up than usual. In fact, a little too much. The summer 1980 heat wave in Kansas ranks in the top three of the nation July had temperatures above 100 every day except July 2, Only in 1936 and in 1954 has it been as hot as it was this summer. The hottest day recorded was in mid-July when the mercury shot up to the 108 degree mark. Although the previous record summers hit a hotter mark of 114 degrees both years, conditions were worse this summer. Very little rain fell. Kansas received only 11,69 inches of rain last summer, which is the smallest amount in 11 years. Many of the local pools had to put ice in the pool to make them com- fortable, many people suffered heat stroke and dehydration, and many elderly people died from the unusally high temperatures. Inspite of the heat wave, PSU continued to offer a wide range of activities. Pittsburg State University’s Playhouse on Broadway produced a number of popular shows. The musical production of “Sweet Charity” drew largely adult audiences, while the production of “Dracula” drew large audiences of young people and college students, “The Wizard of Oz,” the summer’s major production, attracted the largest crowds and the performers had the opportunity to play a packed house during its run. “Oz” had the largest cast of university and com- munity actors ever put on stage by the PSU summer production com- pany. As the summer heated up so did the negotiations between the PSU Ad- ministration and the Kansas Higher Education Association, which represents the PSU faculty. The contract talks and negotiation committees met, held discussions, and made proposals and coun- terproposals with no end in sight. The summer proved unproductive and the problem continued into the Fall ’80 semester. While the faculty and administration negotiations heated up, students cooled off at the ever popular strip pits, Whitmore, better known as Quincy pits, has traditionally been IN PREPARATION FOR HER ROLE, Kelly Waldo applies makeup back stage between scenes at Playhouse on Broadway’s production of Dracula. —photo by Kyle Cleveland

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The toxic threat remains The Toxic Shock Syndrome has recently exploded in the eyes of the American public as a threat to life. In the past year, the medical world has shed a little more light on Toxic Shock, a disease now believed to be at least partially caused by the use of tampons. According to Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a professional medical journal, symptoms of the disease are characterized by a very brief illness consisting of high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, irritability, confusion, sore throat, abdominal tenderness, a decrease in blood pressure, skin rash and intravascular blood clotting. According to an article in the Sunday, Jan. 11 issue of The Kansas City Star, Dr. Roy Garrison, a Kansas City pediatrician, was the first to link the disease to the use of Rely tam- pons, several months before it gained national publicity. After submitting his findings to the United States Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, and after the center completed compiling the needed data to support Dr. Garrison's theory, they announced on Sept. 17, 1980, that more than 70 percent of syndrome victims were users of Rely. However, Dr. Garrison's theory was questionable because it was found that TSS had affected some men also. Dr. Garrison then shared his curiosity of the disease with Dr. Damon Mountford, a Kansas City family practitioner that had treated a 15-year-old girl from Kansas City for the syndrome who had almost died. The girl had returned home from a party early in March, 1980, thinking she had the flu. Within three days she was admitted to the intensive care unit at Kansas City’s Baptist Memorial Hospital with extensive dehydration, extremely low blood pressure and a temperature that had soared to 106.4. The girl spent six out of 10 days in the hospital in intensive care suf- Artwork provided by Rosemary Hessman fering from various hallucinations, chills and a skin disorder that caused “hunks of flesh to fall from her fingers and toes. Physicians administered a drug called Dopamine in order to bring her blood pressure to a level high enough to move the blood around in her body and keep her alive. According to physicians, she recovered as suddenly as she became ill. In the weeks following, her vision was blurred and nine months later she was weaker and tired more easily. Dr. Mountford had diagnosed her condition as a toxic shock, which can result from various bacteria or viruses. Her mother said that she was not convinced that tampons were the cause of what had happened to her daughter. She was using Playtex at the time her illness occurred and continues to use tampons but has switched brands. According to the article, among Toxic Shock victims who used only one tampon brand, 19 percent used Playtex compared with 71 percent who used Rely. However, in another group of women who did not have toxic shock syndrome, 25 percent use Playtex and 26 percent used Rely. In the Pittsburg area, one case was reported last year in which the vic- tim’s symptoms were similar to those of TSS. However, after she was sent to Kansas City for further examination, it was found that her illness was due to a pleural pneumonia-like organism and was more respiratory-oriented than TSS, according to Kathy Nucifora, one of Mt. Carmel's medical technologists. Due to the fact that the company distributing Rely tampons re-called the product from business shelves, Burton Crowell, manager of Crowell Drug, said that his store's sales in all brands of tampons had decreased. “There has definitely been a noticeable decrease in our tampon sales, and I’m sure it’s because of doubts women have about Toxic Shock. Needless to say, our feminine napkin sales have increased, said Crowell. “Our tampon sales have decreased on all of our brands and we're selling more of the feminine napkins, said Robert Cook, Wal-Mart manager. According to Andrew Bailey, manager of Scotties, he hasn't noticed a change in sales. “We took Rely off the shelf when the brand was re-called but there hasn’t been any drop in the sale of our other brands. However, our feminine napkin sales have risen, said Bailey. Verlen Kresin, Pittsburg State University Bookstore manager, said, We took Rely off the shelves after the re-call but there’s been no significant drop in the sales of our other brands but, we don’t really sell that many either because they’re really more of a ‘convenient’ item here. Girls will, more than likely, buy them at drugstores where they are less expensive unless they just happen to be here, said Kresin. In a bulletin published by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in November, 1980, the college recommends that, in general, women need not stop using tampons; however, it would be prudent, at present, to discontinue the use of the newly-developed super- absorbent tampons until more conclusive scientific research has been conducted. To reduce the possible risk of tampon use even further, the college advises women to alternate tampons with feminine napkins, and if, while using tampons, a women experiences such symptoms as high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or a sunburn-like rash, she should discontinue using tampons and consult a physician immediately. The threat that TSS has presented has definitely influenced many of the younger girls at PSU in their decision of whether to continue using tam- pons. “I never really used Rely, but I did use tampons until I found out about Toxic Shock. Now I don't use them anymore, said Lori Mendenhall, Pittsburg freshman. “I used only Rely until everything came up about Toxic Shock. Now I don’t use any tampon brand, said Lisa Miller, Pittsburg sophomore. Susie Cope, Pittsburg freshman, and Connie Rentz, Paola senior, said that they didn't ever use Rely, but were tampon users. Neither has discontinued doing so since no definite information is available as to whether or not tampons are the cause of TSS. Although scientists and physicians have discovered substantial evidence to support the cause of TSS in theory, the disease has not yet been com- pletely conquered and its threat remains. —by Jacque Porter Toxic Shock—21

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the most popular watering hole of all the surrounding pits. The pits provided a cool place to spend those hot days only if you could find the time. However, the 2,400 students that attended PSU last summer found that things seemed to move slower. Many bodies could be seen laying under one of the numerous shadetrees on the Oval. There were of course the ever present frisbee throwers defying the heat and to some defying normal sanity. Others, less inclined to heatstroke, spent as much timeas possible in air- conditioned buildings playing such things as ping pong. The heat even seemed to slow down the preparations for the demolition of Carney Hall. Most of the work on the condemned building took the form of transporting salvageable contents. Summer also gives prospective new students an opportunity to learn more about PSU during Freshmen Previews run by the admissions department. The purpose of these Previews are to help freshmen with the transition to university life and explain the educational opportunities available to them at PSU. Education continues even through the heat of the summer. “Summer to me on campus is really enjoyable. It gives me a chance to take classes that during a regular term would be a lot larger and probably harder. It’s also a good time to catch up on credits I’m going to need to graduate. Besides, although I’d rather be somewhere else when I’m in class, the short term makes it easier,” explained Nila Siedel, Pratt senior. Lea Ann Davied, Arma sophomore DURING MID-JULY FRESHMAN PREVIEWS, Mark Farris, Randy Jones and Kevin Baldwin talk to TKE member Otto Stuber about fraternity life, —photo by Kyle Cleveland said, “The only thing about summer courses I don’t like is going every day, but I do love the casual at- mosphere and the small classes. I really like summer classes,” she added. Summer is tans, shorts, sports and fun, but along with this an op- portunity to get a little ahead on classwork.—by Cindy Cowan Summertime—23