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The University Daily Kansan
Partly cloudy with a high near 79 and a low near 60.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Sports: The Kansas baseball team goes out of conference tonight to face UT-Arlington in Texas.
TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2000
Inside: Eleven students at the University of Georgia have died since January.
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 144
SEE PAGE 6A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Reception honors minority students
Event allows interaction with KU administrators
voug Pacey
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
A formal gathering of minority students and University administrators resulted in informal conversation among the groups.
The Chancellor's Reception, in honor of University of Kansas minority students, last night at the Kansas Union was sponsored by the Multicultural Resource Center.
"It's a minority reception that gives students of color an opportunity to network with faculty and staff members," said Kelly Martinez, program assistant for the center.
About 50 minority students attended the reception to talk about their experiences at the University and what their respective organizations have done and are planning.
Shelly Bointy
"I'm here because we're a cultural organization on campus, and our numbers are small and visibility is low."
Lawrence senior
The University began having this kind of reception last year, said David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs.
He said he thought there were three or four similar gatherings at Chancellor Robert Hemenway's house last year.
"We had a separate evening for each of the major minority groups," he said. "This works better, though, because it allows them to meet and talk to each other."
Ambler also said the reception gave students a chance to interact with administrators, something all students should have.
"This is also a University retention effort," he said. "Sometimes having a personalized experience will make a difference in how you feel. You can have the best instruction in the world, but if people have a negative outlook, that's their perspective."
Ambler said he had talked to some members of the Asian American Student Union about a trip to a leadership conference they took part in earlier this semester with 15 other universities.
Alton Scales, director of multicultural affairs, said having a chance to meet administrators was one benefit of the reception.
Hemenway:
Enjoyed chance to
get to know students
"People can meet the administrators and see that they're warm people," he said.
He also said it was a chance to recognize what the students had accomplished this semester.
Students shared with administrators and
each other information about what their groups were doing.
Bointy said the reception was a good way to meet with other cultural groups and talk about plans and possible collaborations.
"I'm here because we're a cultural organization on campus, and our numbers are small and visibility is low," said Shelley Bointy, Lawrence senior and co-president of First Nations Student Association, a Native-American campus group.
one said her group already was planning for the Big 12 Native American Leadership Conference at the University next April.
A chance to meet and chat with "the man himself" — Hemenway — also was a reason for students to go, said Conway Ekpo, Lawrence senior and president of National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Hemenway said he talked with students about a variety of subjects.
"This gives me a chance to get to know students better, and there are a lot of excellent minority students at KU," he said. "People appreciate that the Office of Multicultural Affairs cares about students."
THEN: The University's second power plant, built in 1887, burned in 1898 after being struck by lightning. The original walls remained, and the University rebuilt the plant as a one-story boiler house. Photo courtesy of University Archives
NOW: The old boiler house sits back from the northwest corner of Sunnyside Avenue and Sunflower Road. Because its walls are from the original 1887 structure, the 113-year-old boiler house is the oldest building on campus. The University plans to tear it down as soon as it gets the money together. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
A Humble History
An unassuming stone barn stands as the oldest building on campus, but its future remains in doubt
Story by Mindie Miller
A million fragments of University history lie in a mass grave on West Campus.
tory he is a master in the name of progress, Old Fraser Hall, Old Blake Hall and Old Robinson gym were KU's first architectural generation in the late 19th century. They're gone now, dumped in an overgrown ravine west of the Lied Center. Today, the building that once pumped power to them and all of the University's original campus still stands at the southeast foot of Mount Oread. But not for long.
The oldest building on campus could soon join the rubble pile.
soon join the Historians fondly refer to it as the old power plant or the old boiler house. Facilities Operations personnel call it the old stone barn or the gardeners shack. At this point, assigning a name seems superfluous. The University plans
to raze the 113-year-old building as soon as it gets the money together.
Historic preservationists and others affiliated with the University of Kansas don't want to see that happen.
"It's my darling," said Sandra Wiechert, KU alumna and a founding member of the Historic Mount Oread Fund. "It just looks like it holds many secrets and many tales."
the tale of the boiler house begins in 1887, when the University spent $16,000 to replace its first power plant. John G. Haskell, Kansas' first state architect, designed the new building, and a Lawrence contractor built it from Oread limestone quarried on site. The finished structure rose two stories and supported a five-story brick steam tower.
Only a fragment of that original structure remains today. It sits back from the northwest corner of Sunnyside Avenue
A steamy history
Sandra Wiechert
"It's my darling. It just looks like it holds many secrets and many tales."
The University built the boiler house 60 feet below the level of the other University buildings so gravity could return the steam that condensed after heating the buildings.
and Sunflower Road. The modern Dole Human Development Center looms above its western wall. A stand of redbuds and evergreens to the east of the building contrasts with the blacktop and gravel parking lot surrounding the building.
leading the boilers, the original Aside from the boilers, the original
KU alumna
More information For a video clip from inside the boiler house, See www.kansan.com
See www.kansan.com
structure also housed a machine shop and laboratory for the Department of Electrical Engineering. Double-E students once operated the power plant, providing electricity that illuminated the University's buildings and grounds
On March 22, 1898, lightning struck the power plant, starting a fire that destroyed much of the building's interior. The University reconstructed the building as a one-story boiler house. But its walls are from the original 1887 structure, making it the oldest building on campus.
See PRESERVATIONISTS on page 7A
A study released last week links beer prices with the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Photo illustration by Jason Dailey/KANSAN
Study links cheap beer, STD statistics
Bv Warisa Chulindra
By Wanisa Chukwu
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
For many University of Kansas students, living on tight budgets means that when party time comes around, cheap beer is a must.
But a study released last week by the Centers for Disease and Prevention cites cheap beer as the leading cause of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
The report suggests that by increasing the tax of a six-pack of beer by 20 cents, the rate of gonorrhea could decrease by as much as 9 percent.
The study was based on comparisons of gomorrhea rates and alcohol policies in all states from 1981 to 1995. Researcher's chose gomorrhea for the study because it is one of the most common venereal diseases, long-term statistics were available and the disease is evenly soread among the states.
Out of 36 states that raised taxes on cheap beer, gonorrhea rates among 15 to 19-year-olds dropped in 24. Twenty-six states saw a decline in gonorrhea in the 20- to 24-year-old age group. Rates dropped more among men than women.
Julie Francis, health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said she thought it would take a significant tax increase to affect drinking behavior.
Vanessa Stucky, Newton junior, said she didn't think the study made sense.
"But I don't think a small increase would probably change much behavior or opinion unless it was by several dollars," Francis said.
"It doesn't matter how expensive the beer is," she said. "It's how much you drink and how you handle it."
Larry Johnson, manager at Cork and Barrel Wine and Spirits, 3514 Clinton Parkway, said he thought that the study made a generalization
"People who usually buy cheap beer aren't as classy," Johnson said. "The lower-class person is probably not as hygienically clean and more promiscuous anyway."
keystone Light and Natural Light are two of the cheaper buys, but these aren't necessarily the most popular beers among college students. Johnson said.
Mike Parks, Newton junior, said taste rather than price determined the beer he bought. Parks said that as an employee at Ray's Discount Party Center, 25th and Iowa streets, he knew people sometimes had to change their selection as they were checking out.
"A lot of them come in and try to get Bud Light," Parks said. "But they don't have enough money, so the alternative is usually Natural Light."
Francis said people who drank excessively put themselves at risk of making decisions they normally wouldn't, such as being sexually active or not using protection properly.
Parks said he thought less drinking would lead to fewer one-night stands.
"It doesn't matter what kind of beer you're drinking; it does the same thing," he said. "After three or four beers, it all starts tasting the same."
Britney Spears drives Kansas fans crazy with rumors about visit
Bv Ryan Devlin
writer@kansan.com
Writer @ kansan writer
Kansan staff writer
basis, campus
The queen of sugar-coated teen pop has been rumored to be considering attending the University for some time. The latest rumor has Spears coming to Kansas May 12 to tour the campus with student
Rumors that pop singer Britney Spears may attend the University of Kansas may be just that — rumors. The news has no basis, campus representatives say.
But Walker said that he had not been contacted by anyone about the visit.
body president-elect Ben Walker.
"Rumors like that fly around all the time, but there's nothing official," Walker said.
Nikki Newland, staff member for KU Info, said that during the weekend, KU Info received nearly 20 calls about Spears coming to Kansas.
"They all said they heard a rumor that Britney Spears was coming to KU, and they wanted to know if it was true,"
Newland said. "One guy that he wished it was Christina Aguilera instead."
Newland said that as far as she knew, the rumor had not been substantiated
A media representative for Spears at her label, Jive Records, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
According to www.peeps.com, a Web site run by Jive Records, Spars is scheduled to appear on The Rosie O'Donnell Show May 12. On May 13, she will be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Both shows are filmed in New York.
Thomas Franklin, journalism senator. is a die-hard Britney Spears fan.
"I heard that she was thinking about going to college and that she had narrowed her choices to Kansas, Kentucky and Marquette," Franklin said. "But then I read that she wasn't even going to college."
He recently won an essay contest sponsored by MTV and TeenPeople to
Even if Spears is not coming to campus, Franklin still may get the opportunity to meet the teen idol.
"It was a 200-word essay on why I wanted to go to her dance camp," Franklin said. "I wrote it and sent it in kind of as a joke."
attend the Britney Spears Dance Camp this summer in upstate New York.
1
Franklin said he was notified a few weeks ago that he was the first alternate in the contest. He was then notified that the winner would not be able to attend, opening the door for him.
Franklin said that he had not yet accepted the invitation.
Spears: Not scheduled for campus tour