THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOL. 116 ISSUE 75
▼ SENATE FINANCE
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Student senators bring home the bacon; groups with senator members get more money
Student Senate gave $5,460 to fund the weekly Shabbat dinner for KU Hillel and $6,670 to the Ballroom Dance Club to help hire a dance instructor and band at its annual gala dance.
The KU Equestrian Team asked for $9,175 to rent horses for the club to use, but didn't get it.
Ballroom Dance Club and Hillel both had student senators as members, but the Equestrian Team did not. The University Daily Kansan reviewed
the $183,000 appropriated this year to student groups by Student Senate, and found that nearly $100,000, or 61 percent, went to groups that had at least one senator as a member. The Senate also allocated itself $143,000 to pay for supplies, salaries, rent and travel and food expenses. This money comes directly from student pockets through the $17.50 fee which students pay each year to Student Senate.
For senators elected by a specific school or other University group, funneling money to constituents smacks of old-fashioned, pork-barrel politics: bringing home the bacon to the people who elected them. Critics say that senators who guide student money toward their own groups present a conflict of interest. Senators deny the conflict and respond that members of student government are simply active in multiple groups, and those groups benefit from well-planned and well-written requests for funding.
"The idea that Senate funds only or even primarily out of self-interest is flat-out wrong." said Nolan Jones, Pittsburg junior and Senate communications director.
SEE PORK ON PAGE 4A
PUBLICATIONS
Bound and determined
33rd Kiosk celebrates art, writing
BY MALINDA OSBORNE
mosborne@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Not even in the time it took to drink a cup of coffee, the 33rd edition of Kiosk, the on-campus student literary and art publication, was officially unveiled Tuesday night at Aimee's Coffee House, 1025 Massachusetts St.
For 15 minutes, writers published in the student magazine had the opportunity to read their works aloud.
Kim Andrews/KANSAN
Hundreds of KU students submitted their art and literary works in the hopes of being published. Only 12 writers and 12 artists were selected.
Paige Blair, Bartlett, Ill., sophomore, read her five-line poem, "Red Line Chicago," which was inspired by an
SEE KIOSK ON PAGE 5A
Megan Johnson, Lawrence senior, read her short fiction story, entitled "Life is Fine" to a small audience Tuesday evening at Aimee's Coffee House, 1025 Massachusetts St. Her piece is one of many fiction and poetry works published in the 33rd edition of Kiosk. Kiosk is a collaborative effort by English and graphic design students.
Professor's attack mislabeled
CRIME
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office initially labeled the attack on Professor Paul Mirecki a hate crime.
Lt. Kari Wempe said that the error occurred Monday morning when the attack was reported.
But the office removed the title today, calling the labeling a mistake.
Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the KU Public Safety Office said the office met with Mirecki yesterday and told him to give them a call if anything happened on campus.
Officers wrongly transmitted the information over the police radio, she said. It is
The safety office is not involved in the investigation because the beating occurred off campus, he said.
now classified as an aggravated battery.
Steve Lynn and Gaby Souza
SCIENCE
University Archives, Spencer Research Library
H. P. Cady, former KU professor of chemistry, with the liquid air machine he and chemistry professor David. F. McFarland used to discover helium in natural gas. They made their discovery 100 years ago today in Bailey Hall.
Helium's centennial Lighter-than-air gas was heavy discovery
Lighter-than-air gas was heavv discovery
BY FRANK TANKARK
flankard@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Helium — the lighter-than-air substance fills that balloons and makes you sound like Mickey Mouse — was discovered in natural gas 100 years ago today in the basement of Bailey Hall.
The events leading to the discovery began inconspicuously in 1903 when residents of Dexter found natural gas in a newly dug well. They were initially thrilled by the prospect of industry that the natural gas could bring to their town. Their spirits soon dropped when the gas wouldn't burn.
The gas intrigued Erasmus
Haworth, a KU geology faculty member and now the namesake of Haworth Hall. He brought a large steel cylinder filled with the gas from Dexter to the University of Kansas. and
of Kansas and asked a chemistry professor named David F. McFarland to analyze the gas.
310 degrees Fahrenheit.
McFarland and chemistry professor H.P. Cady
On Dec. 7, 1905, Cady and McFarland immersed charcoal in the Dexter gas and liquid air. The charcoal absorbed most
The gas intrigued Erasmus Haworth, a KU geology faculty member and now the namesake of Haworth Hall.
assorted kinds of the Dexter gas, but not the helium. Cady and McFarland looked at the helium with a spectroscope, an instrument that splits light
used the University's liquid air machine in Bailey Hall, the only such machine west of the Mississippi River, to discover the presence of helium in the gas. The machine liquefied air by cooling it to minus-
coming from gases into separate colors. Cady and McFarland saw the signature yellow light that comes from helium gas.
SEE HELIUM ON PAGE 5A
Today's weather
Youth Chorus
A weekly singing practice for children at Murphy Hall has helped both the college students leading the Youth Chorus and the children. PAGE 2A
Tonque in Beak
Lawrence's favorite bar, The Rock, is taking a lesson from the School of Business. You won't need your ID any longer with its new honor code, which is sure to decrease underage drinking. PAGE 8A
Loss in New York
The Kansas men's basketball team fell short in a 70-67 loss to St. Joseph's Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. The loss gives the team a 3-4 record for the season. PAGE 1B
Index
Comics...4B
Classifieds...5B
Crossword...4B
Horoscopes...4B
Opinion...7A
Sports...1B
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All contents, unless stated otherwise,
© 2005 The University Dally Kangan