Smoking policy often ignored, not enforced
February 27, 2008
Linguistics freshman Nick Molestina takes a smoke break in front of the White Hall Classroom building yesterday afternoon. Photos by Sabrina Hounshell | Staff
Story by Alle Rorie | Staff
UK’s Smoke-free Policy is more than a year old, but many members of the UK community are unaware of it or simply do not comply.
The policy - which requires smokers to be at least 20 feet away from entrances, air intakes and windows of all university buildings, parking structures and enclosed walkways - was enacted by the Board of Trustees in November 2006.
“I have observed (the rule) being violated fairly frequently, which is unfortunate,” said Ernie Yanarella, a faculty representative on the board. “My hope would be that those individuals who feel the need to smoke would honor this particular rule.”
The policy is designed to keep secondhand smoke out of buildings, making the air healthier, according to the rule.
“The preponderance weight of evidence with regard to secondary smoking is overwhelming and convincing with regard to this as a public hazard,” Yanarella said. “It seems to me therefore that we have a right to call on the campus community members to honor this particular regulation.”
Students who were smoking outside of campus buildings had mixed responses about the policy. Several of them were unaware that the 20-feet rule existed and others had never seen it enforced.
“I don’t think anybody pays attention to it,” said Chris Langefeld, a philosophy senior. “I’ve never seen it enforced, and I have no idea who would enforce it.”
The Student Code of Conduct does not specify disciplinary action for violations of the smoking ban but general disciplinary procedures begin with a warning followed by a written reprimand and finally probation, which would suspend student privileges and exclude violators from extra-curricular activities.
Many smokers said they are generally respectful of the rule except during bad weather. If it is raining, smokers are more likely to be closer to building entrances, they said.
“Everybody is pretty good about it,” said Gwen Goines, a biology and psychology senior. “Wherever there is an ashtray is where I usually see people smoke unless it’s raining. If it is raining, people are just trying to get under shelter.”
A proposed revision to the policy that would ban smoking entirely on the medical center campus and that would give UK President Lee Todd the authority to create regulations regarding tobacco use on campus will be discussed at the March 4 Board of Trustees meeting, said Jeff Dembo, a faculty representative on the board.
If the revision is adopted, the policy would take affect by November.
“We need to make sure all constituents of people associated with the university understand what the policy is and why it is there so they have the chance to be informed about it,” Dembo said. “Then, if they choose to flaunt the policy, to disregard it, then there should be the same type of enforcement as there would be for riding a bicycle in an unlawful manner or a manner that is unsafe.”
E-mail news@kykernel.com
Baseball’s red-hot bats overcome cold weather in home opener
February 27, 2008
Story by Matthew George | Staff
Mother Nature tried to spoil the UK baseball team’s 2008 home opener. But head coach John Cohen refused to let her - for the most part.
Despite freezing temperatures and snow flurries, the Cats’ offense remained red-hot yesterday, scoring 10-plus runs for the fourth consecutive game en route to a 15-5 drubbing of Oakland in the club’s first home game this season at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Originally slated for two games in two days against the Golden Grizzlies, the series was rescheduled to yesterday’s doubleheader in hopes of avoiding inclement weather today.
But the weather did not prove to be any kinder yesterday. Early rain turned to sleet, then to snow, then back to sleet, which didn’t let up from the game’s first pitch to its final out. But Cohen was determined to at least complete the first game, which started at 1 p.m.
Senior pitcher Tommy Warner fires a pitch to home plate during yesterday’s game at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Warner pitched three scoreless innings for his first win of the season. Photos by Ed Matthews | Staff
“We needed to play. If we didn’t play, what we were going to do was practice,” Cohen said. “You cannot recreate game situations in practice - you just can’t do it. So we had to play today.”
Because of the weather, the second game was postponed and will be played tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Slushy conditions led to sloppy play, as the two teams committed a combined six errors on the afternoon.
After starting the game with three runs in the first inning, No. 17 UK (4-0) went stagnant at the plate.
The Golden Grizzlies (0-1), led by a three-run home run from Dustin Joffrion, plated four runs against UK starting pitcher Tyler Henry before the sophomore was able to record the first out of the second inning.
But trailing 5-4 with two outs in the sixth, the Cats’ offense exploded. UK rallied for nine runs and surged to a 13-5 lead, which the team would only build upon in the final innings.
“We kind of figured it out,” senior designated hitter Sawyer Carroll said. “We were getting pretty frustrated there in the beginning. (Oakland starting pitcher Matt Traush) was just burying breaking balls, and we kept making the same mistakes over and over, and finally we just decided we didn’t want to do that anymore.”
Sophomore second baseman Neiko Johnson lines a single during UK’s 15-5 victory over Oakland. Johnson finished the day 1-for-4 at the plate.
Facing a two-run deficit in the fifth, sophomore right fielder Troy Frazier smashed an RBI double that sliced the lead in half. The RBI was one of five for Frazier on the afternoon, who finished the game a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate.
Though the Cats had trailed for more than half the game, Frazier said he never doubted they would come back.
“(Traush) had us going for the first few innings, but I really wasn’t worried,” Frazier said. “We put some runs on the board this past weekend, so I knew we were going to put some runs up there at the end.”
With two outs and the game tied in the sixth inning, Carroll belted a double to right field that drove in two runs, giving the Cats their first lead since the first inning and opening the floodgates for the nine-run inning. UK never trailed after that.
“We knew we were good enough to come back and win the game - we were just waiting on the spark to explode us,” Carroll said.
Carroll was 1-for-4 in the game with two RBIs. Freshman shortstop Chris Wade was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in UK’s big sixth inning.
The Cats totaled a season-high 13 hits against the Golden Grizzlies.
UK has now scored 10 or more runs in each of its first four games, something Carroll said he expects the team to do every time it takes the field.
“I think the most important thing is we’ve had good at-bats all season long so far,” Carroll said. “We’ve been wearing pitchers down, seeing lots of pitches, and I think that’s how we’ve scored runs.”
E-mail mgeorge@kykernel.com.
Dancing in drag
February 27, 2008
Communications disorders sophomore Emma Feinauer, far right, watches performers Shane Richardson, middle, aka India Ferrah, and Hernando Quecan, right, aka Adriana Fuentes, wait backstage before the drag show last night during the Cats Den’s “Spring Breakout”. Photos by Emily Coovert | Staff
Hernando Quecan, aka Adriana Fuentes, performs onstage as a part of the drag show.
Weekend wins launch UK to national tourney
February 27, 2008
Story by Metz Camfield | Staff
A trip to Florida never felt so cool.
After a pair of big wins in the Southeast Regional Tournament this weekend, the UK hockey team will venture to Fort Meyers, Fla., to compete for its first national championship.
The Cool Cats defeated fourth-seeded Wagner College 4-2 Friday and third-seeded William Patterson University 3-2 Saturday in the Southeast Regional Tournament in Washington, D.C. With the wins, UK qualified for the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Tournament for the first time in 13 years.
Senior defenseman Patrick McAdams winds up for a slap shot against Kennesaw State on the weekend of Oct. 19. Photo by Ed Matthews| Staff
“It’s really, really cool,” said Patrick McAdams, senior defenseman and assistant captain. “This weekend could have been our last ever. We haven’t been (to the national tournament) in forever; it’s pretty neat to be the first UK team to go in so long. We had a rough start to the season, for awhile it seemed so far off.”
The Cool Cats won just four of their first 12 games to open the year; one of the losses was an 8-2 whooping by William Patterson in October. But the team rebounded and finished the season winning 16 of its final 21 contests to earn a No. 9 ranking in the Southeast Region.
The top two teams of each of the four regions (West, Southeast, Northeast and Central) automatically qualify for the national tournament at the end of the regular season. The regional tournaments pitted the teams ranked 3-through-10 in each region against each other in seeded playoffs, with the top two teams from the tourney earning a national tournament berth.
As a nine seed, the Cool Cats defeated Wagner in the tournament’s first round.
The teams were reshuffled after the first game so the highest seed played the lowest seed, matching UK up with William Patterson.
After the 8-2 drumming UK took against the Pioneers in the regular season, the Cool Cats were looking for payback in the regionals, said senior goalie Drew Matichak.
“It was revenge, we weren’t going let it happen again,” he said. “Everyone came out and played their best game this time. We knew what to expect.”
Head coach Rob Docherty echoed that sentiment.
“When we played them earlier we weren’t ready,” he said. “It taught us a lesson. We had to live with that loss. It’s nice to get them back when it really counts.”
The game illustrated how much UK has grown during the course of the season, Docherty said.
“The depth of the team has really shown up,” he said. “At the beginning of the season we just weren’t catching the bounces, all those little things just weren’t going for us, we were hitting goal posts, all that stuff. Now we’re playing patient and gelling well together at the right time. I’m very proud of them, they’re enjoying it.”
Though the Cool Cats are not sure who their opponent will be in the opening round of the ACHA National Tournament, Docherty said they would be ready for whoever it is.
“I’ve said it before, it doesn’t matter who we play against, we’ll take on anybody,” he said. “We’ve always played well against the top-ranked teams; we love to play in big game situations. Rankings don’t matter at this point, we’ll be ready for anybody.”
The team will continue to practice every Tuesday and Thursday and hit the gym to keep in shape during the long break before the 16-team playoff, which starts March 12. UK is not satisfied with just making the tournament, Matichak said.
“We can beat anybody,” he said. “We’ve come to believe in ourselves, we’re not just happy about making it this far, we want to win it.”
E-mail sports@kykernel.com
Freshman playing huge roles in SEC
February 27, 2008
Story by Travis Waldron | Staff
Freshman forward Patrick Patterson puts up a shot over the Arkansas defense during UK’s 63-58 win Saturday at Rupp Arena. Photo by Ed Matthews | Staff
Forty years ago, college basketball was a different game. The shorts were shorter. The shoes weren’t as flashy. There wasn’t a 3-point line and the lane was skinnier than Perry Stevenson.
And, to the amazement of many modern college basketball fans, freshmen weren’t eligible to play varsity ball.
Freshmen became eligible in 1972, but now, as four-year stars are going the way of short shorts and the set shot, they’re dominating college basketball like never before, and coaches are still debating about how much of a load freshmen should bear.
One thing seems clear: First-year players like Kansas State’s Michael Beasley, Memphis’ Derrick Rose and Indiana’s Eric Gordon are dominating the college landscape.
“The extensive travel league schedule they play in the spring and summer is the No. 1 reason,” said Jerry Meyer, a recruiting analyst for Rivals.com “They’re used to traveling; they’re used to playing in front of college coaches and against other top talented players. When they step out on the college court, it’s not nearly the adjustment it once was.”
The AAU leagues that have become prominent havens for high school players in the summer and fall have increased the amount of games players are playing. Meyer said players often play as many as eight times in a weekend and 25-30 games each month during the height of the AAU season.
But the question remains: Are freshmen still subject to lapses in production as the season wears on?
Meyer said the top freshmen aren’t, but the second-tier players are still susceptible to the late season crash and burn.
“I still think they hit a wall. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Meyer said. “The upper-echelon guys aren’t. The intensity on the defensive side of the ball and the team play on defense and the schemes on defense, they’re not going to see that in travel ball.”
That’s still a topic for debate in the Southeastern Conference, which has been overrun by freshmen this season. UK, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Florida are among the conference’s NCAA tournament contenders that are depending largely on the play of freshmen.
UK’s top freshman, forward Patrick Patterson, has only gotten stronger as the season has worn on. Patterson was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, the third time he’s earned the honor this season.
“I’ve never believed in anyone hitting a wall if their mental framework was right and their mindset was right,” head coach Billy Gillispie said. “I’ve always been a big believer that your legs … are only determined by how strong your mind is.”
Patterson is second among SEC freshmen in scoring and rebounding, and he’s the leading SEC freshman in minutes per game at 35.7. He’s scored in double figures in 12 consecutive contests, has nine 20-point performances and six double-doubles.
Thus far, other SEC coaches haven’t seen their freshmen produce less as the season goes on either.
Vandy center A.J. Ogilvy averaged 15 points per game in his past four games. LSU forward Anthony Randolph has scored at least 10 points in 15 of his past 16 games. And guard Chris Warren, whose Ole Miss team visits Rupp Arena tonight, is averaging more points in conference play (16.5) than he has overall (15.2).
Coaches will have plenty of time to figure out their stances on relying on freshmen, because the influx of talented first-year players isn’t going away anytime soon, Meyer said.
With the NBA mandating that all players wait a year after their high school graduation to enter its draft, the best players have no choice but to suit up on campus for at least a season.
“The college game is more and more being dominated by freshman, and I think that’s only going to increase,” Meyer said. “The talent level and the comfort level are just going to a higher and higher level. If they can’t play in the NBA, they’re going to play somewhere.”
E-mail twaldron@kykernel.com.
-
Recent Posts
- The anatomy of a turnaround: John Cohen & his success as UK’s baseball coach
- Getting FreeKY downtown
- UK Students confront their country’s darker history
- Cliff Hagan bullpen is the throne for redshirts
- Tables have turned: WRFL celebrates 20th anniversary with FreeKY Fest
- UK scholars filling void in Vietnamese history
- Bridging past and present
- Signs of war persist for Vietnamese man
- Seniors relish final games as Cats
- Football dominates UK’s 6th-annual CATSPY Awards
