CAMPUS
Family yesterday mourned a K-State student killed while visiting Spain through KU Study Abroad. Page 3A
FEATURES
CHILLY
Greeks get involved in a group to help the mentally disabled in Lawrence. Page 8A
x3
High 40° Low 25°
Weather: Page 2A
A boy is skating.
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
TOPEKA, KS 66612
VOL.104.NO.146
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
ADVERTISING: 864-4358
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9,1995
(UPS 650-640)
NEWS: 864-4810
Frederick could get Big 12 post
Associated Press source says he is in the top two
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Bob Frederick, Kansas athletic director, appears to be one of the front runners in the race for the Big 12 Conference commissioner's job.
According to The Associat.
According to The Associated Press, an anonymous source close to the selection process said Frederick and Southwest Conference commissioner Steve Hatchell are the leading candidates to head the conference.
The Big 12 is a merger of all Big Eight Conference schools and four from the Southwest Conference — Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor. The conference will begin athletic competition in 1996
Bob Frederick
Frederick said he could not discuss whether he was a candidate for the Big 12 post.
"But you can read the papers," Frederick said. "Like I have said before, I have some interest in the job."
Jon Wefald, president of Kansas State University and chairman of the 12-member search committee, said he could not disclose the identities of the candidates.
But Wefold said the candidates — 18 applicants and 14 nominees— came from varied backgrounds, states and races.
The selection committee has selected six semifinalists. The semi-finalists will be interviewed on March 22.
"It's never diverse enough," Wefald said. "You're always hoping to get the diverse mix that makes up the United States."
The Big 12's chief executive officers will interview the top the two or three candidates and select the conference's first commissioner, Wefal said. The date for the final selection has not been set.
Wefald said he hoped the committee could reach a consensus on the most qualified candidate
"I know that a good commissioner will emerge," he said.
But Wally Groff, athletic director at Texas A&M, said he had not detected any split.
Concern has surfaced about a conflict between the northern schools, who may favor Frederick, and the southern schools, who may favor Hatchell.
"They're both excellent candidates," Groff said. "I'm for getting the best person as commissioner to make this the best conference in the nation."
Groff said he had worked with Hatchell on Southwest Conference issues since Hatchell took over the conference two years ago. Previously, the 47-year-old Hatchell has been assistant commissioner of the Big Eight, executive director of the Orange Bowl and commissioner of the Metro Conference.
Hatchell has a strong athletic background and excels in creative marketing. Groff said.
"I have nothing but high remarks for Steve," Groff said. "He's an excellent candidate."
Groff also commended on the work Frederick has done.
Frederick, who has a doctorate in educational administration, assumed his duties as athletic director in 1897. Frederick also serves as head of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.
"There's no question he's a good candidate, too." Groff said.
Vonnegut to advise at Lied Center
Famous author to speak on 'how to get a job like mine'
By Ian Ritter Kansan staff writer
Kurt Vonnegut will be telling students tonight to get a job like his.
Vonnegnet, a popular novelist, will be speaking at the Lied Center at 8:00 p.m. His speech is titled, "How To Get A Job Like Mine."
The title allows Vonnegut to address a wide range of issues, said Bill Goldstein, Vonnegut's agent.
Vonneget's last lecture on the KU campus was eight years ago, Goldstein said.
popular books.
Vonnegut was born in 1922. He studied chemistry at Cornell University until he went to fight in World War II.
"Slaughterhouse Five" and "Breakfast of Champions" are among Vonnegut's most
During the Battle of
the Bulge in Belgium,
he was taken prisoner
by the Germans. In
February 1945, he
witnessed the fire
Kurt Vonnegut
bombing of Dresden, Germany, in which 130,000 people were killed. He was released by the Germans in April 1945.
Until 1950, Netnegut was a writer for the Chicago News Bureau and the General Electric Company. His first novel, "Player Piano," was published in 1952.
Vonneugel received the National Institute of Arts and Letters literary award in 1970. He received his masters degree from the University of Chicago in 1971 and was
appointed the City University of New York's Distinguished Professor of English and Prose in 1973.
Since "Player Piano," Vonnegut has written more than 20 books. His most recent novel, "Miss Temptation," was published in 1993.
Jack Cohn, professor of English, has taught Vonnegut's novels in a contemporarv authors class.
"In teaching the course, I found that reading a bunch of books successively was very depressing," Cohn said. "When you read these books, you get more and more of a sense of hapless humanity."
Cohn said, however, that Vonnegut was enjoyable to read.
"I'm very excited about him," Cohn said. "I think he's a very witty and original writer. I find him very admirable."
Vonnegut's speech is sponsored by Student Union Activities, the KU Bookstore, the School of Education and Student Senate.
Vonnegut lecture
**Where:** Lied Center
**When:** 8 p.m. tonight
Vouchers for the event were all taken
by Monday afternoon. All open seats
remaining to 7:45 p.m. will be available
to the public.
KANSAN
Paul Wolters, SUA president, said it cost $14,000 to bring Novegut to KU.
"We were looking for a speaker who could speak to a wide range of people," Wolters said. "He just seemed like he was a very prominent author."
Vouchers for the event, which were available at 8 a.m. on Monday, were gone by 1:30 p.m.
Budig Hall: Plans not ready yet
New documents library put on indefinite hold
By Brian Vandervliet Kansan staff writer
"I can never take my eyes off it because I know there should be a library there," said Crowe, dean of KU libraries.
When William Crowe walks past the gaping hole at the Budig Hall construction site, he feels a certain pain in his heart.
Originally, the bottom two levels of Budig Hall had been designated for a new government documents and maps library. But lack of funds caused those plans to be put on hold indefinitely.
The total budget for the project is $21,800,000. Completing the library would require at least another $4 million, said Allen Wiechert, University architect.
The University's plan, at this point, is to leave the roughly 49,000 square feet on the bottom two levels of Budig Hall as an empty shell. No carpeting, no computers and no books.
Budig Hall, which is named for former KU chancellor Gene Budig, is scheduled for completion in July 1996. The building, which was formerly Hoch
"As it is, it's just going to be concrete, blank space," said Dennis Odgers, on-site project manager for Budig Hall construction.
"At some point the government documents library will become virtually unusable," he said. "This is a very, very serious problem that is getting worse every day."
Brian Vandervliet / KANSAN
Crowe said that although he believed the space eventually would become additional library space, University libraries were running out of time. The government documents library on the sixth floor of Malott Hall reached capacity three years ago. Watson Library, he said, would reach its capacity three years from now.
DiCarlo Construction Co. bulldozers continue to excavate soil from an area that will house Budig Hall, scheduled for completion by July 1996. The bottom two levels of Budig Hall will not be used until money is obtained for completion of a new government documents and maps library.
The new building will include a 1,000-seat lecture hall, two 500-seat lecture halls and a testing commons.
The library may be put on hold for a long time, said David Shulenburger, vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Auditorium, was gutted by fire when it was struck by lightning in June 1991.
"I don't have any reason to be hopeful at this point," he said.
Shulenburger said the University was preparing a list of building priorities that would be presented to the Board of Regents. Obtaining funds for the library will be difficult because the project will compete with other proposed construction projects.
"It's an extra-tight budget right now," Shulenburger said.
A two-level library was planned for the basement of Budig Hall, former Hoch Auditorium, but due to lack of funds the University has had to postpone the project. So far, nearly 5,000 truckloads of dirt have been removed from the area.
The hole behind Hoch
Page18
Kelly Cannon / KANSAN
Kansas point guard Jacque Vaughn has the highest GPA on the men's basketball team, which has an overall higher GPA than the rest of the student body.
KU student returns to KC after car crash in Chile
By Paul Todd Kansan staff writer
Campus groups raise money for the family
Karin Lucke, the KU student who was seriously injured in a car accident that killed her brother Hermann Lucke in Chile over winter break, returned to Kansas City, Mo., Monday afternoon with her parents.
The family flew a commercial airline from Santiago to Miami and then took a special private flight with a doctor on board to Kansas City.
Her condition is quickly improving at Baptist Medical Center.
Rosie Valverde, Lawrence junior, is Rosie Lucke's best friend. Valverde said that although Karin Lucke was improving, she was having trouble remembering the
wreck that killed her brother and her two cousins.
Karin Lucke and her brother Hermann Lucke were returning from a day at the beach with their three cousins. The Luckes were visiting family in Chile during winter break and were driving to Santiago where the rest of the family was waiting.
Karin Lucke sat between her cousins — Ignacio on the left
"Forherthings can seem like a dream.She used to ask, 'Mom, am I dreaming?' "
Rosie Valverde
Karin Lucke's best friend
and Jimena on the right. Her brother Hermann sat in the front passenger seat. Everyone had fallen asleep except Ignacio and the driver when they attempted to pass a car on a narrow hilltop road. The car being passed sped up and left the group's
in intensive physical therapy for the next week before she is allowed to return home. She suffered a broken neck and crushed left leg in the accident. Doctors in Santiago reconstructed vertebrae in her neck and placed two screws and a 10-inch steel rod
Karin Lucke will be
The truck hit the car head on.
The two girls survived the crash, but everyone else in the car, including Ignacio, died in the accident.
Ignacio saved Karin
Lucke's life.
Karin Lucke will be
Nissan facing oncoming traffic. Ignacio saw a truck coming head on and reacted. He threw his body over Karin and his sister, Jimena.
When Valverde arrived at the hospital to see her best friend, she was speechless.
in her leg, which is permanent. When Valverde arrived at the hospital to
"I was sort of in a state where I was almost blank,"she said.
But Karin Lucke recognized her right away. She hugged Valverde and held her hand.
"I just thought, 'She's alive; and I love her,' Valverde said.
Valverde said Karin Lucke was improving rapidly, but was still having trouble with short-term memory. She has to be reminded where she is when she wakes up from naps. Valverde said.
Valverde said doctors were working with Karin Lucke on her hand-eye coordination and memory so that everyday tasks, such as hair brushing, would be easier when she
"For her, things can seem like a dream," Valverde said. "She used to ask, 'Mom, am I dreaming?'
B