THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
VOL.116 ISSUE 74
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2005
CRIME
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Professor reports beating
Mirecki has been in the news for his canceled class'on intelligent design.
Controversial figure alleges attack south of Lawrence
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
KU professor Paul Mirecki was hospitalized Monday morning after two men beat him on the side of the road in rural Douglas County, he said.
Mirecki said the two men beat him for about one minute with a metal object, striking him repeatedly on the head, shoulders and back.
Mirecki, chairman of the department of religious studies, drew criticism from University officials and state legislators last week after e-mails he had sent to a list server became public.
In the messages, he made remarks about Christian fundamentalists that some considered offensive, including the message that the intelligent design class he planned to teach in the spring would serve as "a nice slap in their big fat face." He apologized and canceled the class last week.
He said the assailants made reference to the intelligent design controversy during the attack.
"I had no idea who they were, but they certainly knew who I was," he said.
Mirecki said he was taking a long, pre-dawn drive in the country to clear his mind in wake of the recent controversy and was planning to end his drive by stopping at a restaurant for breakfast.
He said two men were tailgating him in a pickup truck, and he pulled over to let them pass. He said he got out of his vehicle, then they did the same and beat him.
Mirecki said he spent between three and four hours at Lawrence
Memorial Hospital, where he received X-Rays and a CT scan. He said he suffered a broken tooth but didn't specify other injuries he may have sustained.
Lt. Kari Wempe of the Douglas County Sheriff's office said the incident occurred south of Lawrence at about 6:40 a.m.
Wempe described the suspects as two white men between 30 and 40 years of age who left the scene in a large pickup truck. The sheriff's office reported that one of the men wore a red visor-style ball cap and wool gloves and that both men wore jeans. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 843-TIPS or the sheriff's office at
841-0007. Lynn Bretz, director of the Office of University Relations, said that she was "alarmed and concerned" by the incident and that the University had offered Mirecki assistance. Sen. Kay O'Connor (R-Olathe), who has strongly criticized Mirecki for his e-mails, said whoever beat him should be "prosecuted to the fullest."
"If they try to cover themselves under the mantle of being Christian or being Christian people, sorry Charlie," she said. "They're just thugs."
Staff writer Steve Lynn contributed to this story. Edited by Erick R. Schmidt
Student pressure changes policy
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rsneider@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
After complaints from students about the new ticket policy for men's basketball tickets, Kansas Athletics Department officials decided it was time for a change.
Beginning with the team's
Dec. 22 home game against
Dec. 22 home game against Northern Colorado, the $2.50 transfer fee on student tickets will be waived, and only one person needs to be present to transfer tickets. Students have two ways of transferring tickets. Transfers can be made after 1 p.m. on gameday at the Kansas Athletics ticket office, at the southeast corner of the fieldhouse. For weekend Beginning with the team's Dec. 22 home game against Northern Colorado, the $2.50 transfer fee on student tickets will be waived and only one person needs to be present to transfer tickets.
transfers can be made until 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The ticket can also be transferred at a special entrance, near the regular student entrance. In both cases, the student only needs to bring the two KUIDs to make the transfer. Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said the change occurred after the department heard students complain about the policy being too confusing.
Despite the empty seats in the student section at several games this season, Marchiony said the change was not in response to dwindling attendance.
"The reason the change was made was to make it easier for students to exchange their tickets," Marchiony said.
Previously, both students had to be present for the transfer at the ticket office and were charged a $2.50 fee.
STUDENT LIFE
Online gambling puts students in the RED
Matt Anderson was a freshman when he got involved in a habit that took him down a path of great stress and financial hardship.
He was debt-ridden because of lost bets from the previous semester. To pay off his bookie, he bet on every college football bowl game that season. But it wasn't just to pay off his debts — he also did it for the adrenaline rush.
As he talks about his experience with sports gambling, the Crystal Lake, Ill., senior's face shows the pain he suffered as a result of his addiction.
It started with the New Orleans Bowl, which pitted Cincinnati against North Texas. He checked the line, the number of points a team in a game is favored by, on sportsbook.com. After some research, he put $50 on Cincinnati.
The Bearcats lost 24-19.
Anderson, like many other college students, found the ease of gambling and the allure of a quick dollar enticing. With the ease of placing a bet online, more and more students are falling into the same trap and losing big. The limited regulation of online gambling — despite the fact that gambling on sports is illegal in every state except Nevada — only makes it easier. Most gambling Web sites operate offshore, making it nearly impossible for U.S. law enforcement to press charges against them.
"Once I got started I couldn't stop," Anderson said. "It was my drug."
By the end of the bowl season, Anderson had lost almost $2,000 after losing wagers on 15 of the 16 games he bet on.
SEE GAMBLING ON PAGE 4A
SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
Students question spending
BY GABY SOUZA
gsouza@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Students in the design department wondered where their differential tuition dollars were going. They knew their department had spent the funds, but they had no tangible proof that the money spent was benefitting them.
Differential tuition is an extra fee added to credit hours within particular schools. The schools can spend the extra money on specific projects, equipment and upgrades.
The School of Fine Arts, the umbrella under which the design department is found, began receiving funds from differential tuition in 2004, and continues to receive them every year, although the school did not release specific numbers.
Student representatives, staff members of the department, Greg Thomas, chairman of the department of design, and Steve Hedden, dean of the School of Fine Arts, met Monday night to discuss problems with differential tuition.
- Edited by Ty Beaver
Student committees in each discipline of the department decide how the money will be used.
Last year, Thomas spent between $16,000 and $20,000 of the differential tuition money for new equipment, and student committees in the department approved all of the purchases, which included a film scanner, a paper trimmer and cutting mats.
But Katie McRoberts, Overland Park junior, said she was never able to use the equipment because it was locked in a room that, until recently, she did not have the code to access the equipment. Nothing was done to make the students aware of the equipment either, she said.
"If we're not being given immediate access to it, there's no purpose," she said.
Thomas said he hoped this was something that would never happen next year with anything purchased through differential tuition.
The department has made some of the equipment available and will simplify the check out process.
Michelle Lenihan, Overland Park senior, was concerned that about $6,500 of the differential tuition money used for department scholarships had not been received by its recipients. She said she knew at least one of six students who were supposed to receive the scholarship but had not.
"The question on everyone's mind is 'where is it?'" she said.
Thomas said he was not aware of any students not receiving their scholarships, but he and the department's accountant would be looking at it first thing this morning.
Hedden, Thomas and other students agreed that the funds could have been handled better this year, but to effectively spend the money, they would have to move on and not dwell on the problems.
Edited by Theresa Montaño
Professor practically part of the institution 46 years later, after holding varied high-profile positions and teaching classes all along. Del Shankel can still be found in his office. PAGE2A
An animated treasure for years to come Columnist Michael Phillips praises efforts by University staff and students to preserve a tradition of Allen Fieldhouse for generations and the namesake of his column. PAGE 12A
Freshman on the rise
Freshman on the rise Ivana Catic plays with poise and consistency, even setting an assist record, though it's only her first year. Women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson has plans for the outstanding guard. PAGE 12A
Index
Comics. 7A
Classifieds. 8A
Crossword. 7A
Horoscopes. 7A
Opinion. 6A
Sports. 12A
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All contents, unless stated otherwise,
© 2005 The University Daily Kansan
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