Students suffer sleep deprivation

LEXINGTON, Ky. - After a long night of studying, University of Kentucky architecture senior Stephanie King found herself facing something that seemed more terrifying than any textbook. "I thought a fire hydrant was a man chasing me," she said. King had just suffered a hallucination brought about by severe sleep deprivation.

Fred Danner, a professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at Kentucky, said that most college students are chronically sleep-deprived, and this can have a number of negative effects. "Sleep debt can lead to illness, accidents, poor academic performance and depression," he said.

David Gooding, a Kentucky University senior, has often gone for days without sleep while working on projects. He said the third day is the hardest.

"Sometimes I can see a trail after my hand if I put it in front of my face and move it side to side," Gooding said.

Even people who don't pull all-nighters on a regular basis still can experience sleep debt if they don't get enough sleep on a nightly basis. Danner explained that sleep debt builds up over time. For instance, if a person gets 1.5 hours less sleep per night than they need for a period of five days, then their sleep debt is 7.5 hours. Danner said regulating one's sleep schedule is the single best thing a student can do to avoid the negative effects of sleep deprivation.

Reforms greatly affect Greeks on Duke campus

DURHAM, N.C. - In a year that saw the loss of one Duke University fraternity, harsh judicial punishments, a shift of social life off campus and a brand new residential plan that has shaken up housing, a wave of anti-administration Greek sentiment has surfaced across the Duke campus. Whether that criticism is legitimate or not is up for debate.

"I've been in the business for 30 years, and if you go back over 30 years, you find the same concerns. Social life is dynamic and no one model has been the same," said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs at Duke. "You're going to see changes every year forever. That's the fallacy that we're dealing with. Life is evolving. We're about constant improvement."

But many Greek leaders said they have a different view of "constant improvement." Duke junior Kate Hackett, president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, lamented what she called a dramatic decline in the quality and quantity of social events in the past few years.

"I believe the worst is yet to come," she said. "With all of this energy and focus being on the annual review - trying not to be put on probation - there's more of an emphasis just to stay out of trouble, rather than to do things better."

The annual review process, which requires selective living groups to prove their contributions to the community are valuable, is targeted frequently by students as a means of university control over individual Greek groups. The pressure on fraternities at Duke to monitor each action, Greek leaders said, is becoming overwhelming.

U. Oregon law students petition against mascots

EUGENE, Ore. - University of Oregon law school students are gaining support to keep the school's Athletic Department from scheduling games and events with schools using American Indian images or names as team mascots.

Within the next two weeks the law school plans formally to propose a resolution, sponsored by the school's Sports and Entertainment Law Forum, to the administration and the Athletic Department. In order to submit the complete resolution, supporters must gather signatures from at least 50 percent of the law school student body.

- Compiled from U-WIRE reports by Daily Staff Reporter Maria Sprow.