KU
Kansan
Tomorrow's weather Chance for rain late with a high near 63 and a low near
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
35.
sports: The men's golf team is crushing the competition at the Colorado-Stevinson Invitational.
SEE PAGE 1B
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2000
Inside: Newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin makes policies known.
(USPS 650-640) • VOL.110 NO.120
SEE PAGE 6B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Swim coach promoted; team to be split in two
By Brandon Kristel at
Warisa Chulindra
writer @kansan.com
writer + author
Gary Kempf, University of Kansas swimming and diving coach for 24 years, has been promoted to director of student-athlete life and director of coaches professional development, the KU athletics department announced yesterday.
Kempf will replace John Jefferson, who took an administrative position with the Washington Redskins.
The swimming program will be divided into a women's team and men's team with two coaches. Assistant coach Cathy Burgess was promoted to women's coach, and assistant coach Doug Dickinson will lead the men's program. Assistant coach Tim Chaix resigned to work in insurance with his father in California.
Kempf said the decision to split the program into men's and women's teams was a collective idea.
"Nowadays, the Big 12 is such an elite conference, if we're going to be competitive at that level, we have to pay attention to each program," Kempf said. "The last few years it was a real burden to try to keep things running in two programs at the same time."
Some former athletes and assistant coaches had charged Kempf with mistreating athletes and breaking NCAA training rules. Athletics director Bob Frederick had been considering whether to take action against Kempf since the allegations were raised in a Nov. 17 Kansan article.
However, Kempf said he had been assured of keeping his job in January. He said he learned about the director position in the past few weeks and saw it as an opportunity to spend more time with his family.
Kempf said he would have taken the position even if the team had won the Bie 12 Conference Championship.
"Because Dr. Bob Frederick gave me his approval in early January that I was going to be his coach indefinitely, I was never worried." Kempt said. "For 24 years, I've dedicated my life to raising other student athletes and their progress in life. Now, I need to give my own family the same effort."
Freshman swimmer Lyndsay Devaney said she and some of her teammates began crying yesterday when they learned Kempf and Chaix were leaving the team.
"Everyone was just sitting there with their jaws opened." Devaney said. "We were all shocked. It hasn't totally hit me because I don't know what I'm going to do yet. A group of us said we would leave if he stepped down as our coach."
Freshman Beth Schryer said Kempf and the combined team were the main reasons she came to the University. Without them, she said she would reconsider whether to return next year.
Dickinson said he was happy Kempf was promoted.
"He's been here long enough and done enough good things that he should get to leave on his own terms," he said.
Frederick could not be reached for comment, but he released a prepared statement.
statement." "Gary has given 24 years of dedicated service to the Kansas swimming and diving program," he said in the statement. "I am extremely grateful to him for all he has contributed to the success of our program and for his strong emphasis on academics."
Kempf was a six-time conference coach of the year and a member of the KU Athletics Hall of Fame. After leading his team to a seventh place finish at the 1983 NCAA meet, he was named NCAA Women's Coach of the Year.
Year.
"The position will also give me an opportunity to work with coaches, mentoring coaches, maybe providing extra care as someone to be there when they need someone," Kempf said. "There's plenty of support for athletes, but sometimes the coach needs support, too."
According to state offi cials, mountain lions have been exterminated in Kansas since 1904. You may not think it could happen here, but a growing number of Lawrence residents report seeing...
Several mountain lion sightings have been reported to the state in recent years. Some wildlife experts say that most of the animals are escaped or released pets. Some, however, may be wild. Photo illustration by Jason Pearce and Carolyn Mallett/KANSAN
Mountain lions on the move
Story by Jim O'Malley Photos by Jason Dailey
Brenda Allen couldn't believe her eyes.
She and her husband, Ken, were driving down Hastie Road about a half mile south of Wakarusa Valley Elementary School last fall. There, in the gravel road, was a family of cougars.
"We saw a mother and two kittens," she said. "The mom was sitting in the road with two kittens right behind her. We looked at each other. We've seen a lot of bear back there but had never seen a cougar."
The mother was long — maybe 5,
even 6, feet long — and there wasn't
any question in Ken Allen's mind
about what it was. When he got home,
he recorded the date—Oct. 19—and
the exact location — only five miles
southwest of the University of
Kansas campus.
Cougars, pumas, panthers, catamounts, mountain lions — called by any of their many names — are reported every year to state wildlife officials. Although no one has bagged a free-roving cougar yet, Kansas wildlife experts can't dismiss some of those sights.
Cougars are out there. Some experts even think they could be wild cougars. But most wildlife experts
"I heard a hiss and then saw a mountain lion seven feet long from nose to tail. We watched each other for three or four minutes."
Tom Swearingen Natural History Museum director of exhibits
say they're probably escaped or released pets. And that's not good. Cougars raised as pets don't fear humans, increasing the chances of dangerous encounters.
A true believer
A true believer,
Tom Swearingen, director of exhibits at KU's Natural History Museum, is a believer. A life-long hunter, he has worked with wildlife exhibits at the museum for 40 years.
Swearingen saw a cougar prowling around his son's farm north of Lawrence in September 1966.
"I neared a hiss and then saw a mountain lion 7 feet long from nose to tail," he said. "We watched each other for three or four minutes."
Then the cougar bounded off into a cornfield.
Swearingen said he got a lot of calls from people who reported seeing cougars. One was sighted near Vinland, about 10 miles south of Lawrence within the past year. The Allens called him after their sighting last fall.
He also found tracks and made a plaster cast of one. The track is about 3 inches wide. Dog tracks have claws. This one doesn't.
After Swearingen found cougar tracks near Wakarusa Valley Elementary School, just outside of Lawrence, he called the principal and suggested that the kids stay out of the timber near the school to prevent a possible attack.
Terry Morgan, school secretary,
said the staff was warned to keep
their eyes open. But students weren't
told because school staff didn't want
them to become alarmed, she said.
Cougars aren't new to Kansas. They frightened people here for thousands of years until they were exterminated in 1904. But now some wildlife experts say there are probably cougars on the loose again in northeast Kansas.
See WILD on page 6A
Kylee Moon, Lawrence graduate student, and Scott Sharp, Olathe senior, supervise a mountain lion at the Prairie Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper St., earlier this month. The lion was affectionate toward people and allowed close attention. Photo by J.M.Dailey/KANSAN
Number of reported crimes down
Drinking and driving other demonstrations may have helped stats
By Erinn R. Barcomb
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The KU Public Safety Office has good news for students—the number of reported crimes is down from previous years.
In 1998, 1,206 crimes were reported on the Lawrence campus, but last year only 1.094 crimes were reported.
Dede Seibel, student body vice president, said the campus safety board focused on lighting and emergency phones because of a specified fee for that purpose. She said she thought the board's efforts had helped to decrease crime.
1. 654 Crimes Witness of the KU Public Safety Office said the drop could be attributed to more involvement from the University and support from the administration of crime prevention programs.
Mailen said that programs during new student orientation and demonstrations about the dangers of drinking and driving had made a difference.
Seibel said she was introducing legislation in Student Senate that would change the name of the fee so that money could be spent in other areas, such as advertising and campus phones.
"As long as we can promote the perception that it is a safe campus, then these statistics show that," she said.
Selected campus crime statistics
general crime 1997 1998 1999 hate and bias crime 1998 1999
arson 2 3 1
assault 74 70 103
burgery 343 248 186
criminal damage 251 214 220
drugs/ narcotics 32 23 36
embezzlement 0 5 2
fraud 3 2 4
kidnapping
larceny/ theft 588 525 386
liquor law violation 2 5 9
motor vehicle theft 9 3 3
rape 7 1 1
robbery 0 1 2
sex offenses 1 2 2
weapons violations 4 1 1
anti-African American
occurred in campus housing 2 2
anti-homosexual
occurred in campus housing 1 0
crimes of interest 1997 1998 1999
theft 595 525 386
occurred in campus housing
arrests for operating
under the influence 120 113 92
source: KU Public Safety Office
Maggie Curry/ KANSAN
"As long as we can promote the perception that it is a safe campus, then these statistics show that."
Dede Siebel
student body vice president+
The report also showed that the number of violent crimes, such as rape and assault, remained low.
"Rape is a sensitive issue," Malien said. "It's usually a female victim dealing with a male officer. We do everything we can to encourage people to come forward, regardless of what crime they've been a victim of, including rape and blas crimes."
Hate and blas crimes, which weren't
tracked until 1998, also were low. Four anti-African-American bias crimes and one anti-homosexual hate crime were reported in 1998 and 1999 combined.
Theft remains the most common crime on campus, although reports of theft have dropped. Mailen said.
"A majority of our caseload falls into unattended property like bookbags, wallets and KUIDs that are unattended for a minute or two while students go to the circulation desk at Watson or use the restroom," Mailen said. "Textbooks are popular around finals and buy-back time."
Although the use of alcohol might be more common in student housing than drugs, the numbers for drug crimes are considerably higher.
Mailen said that the Department of Student Housing dealt with alcohol issues internally, but that drug offenses usually involved the police.
Local bar closes after fire damage; students will miss favorite night spot
A fire during the early morning hours of March 21 temporarily has closed the Jet Lag Lounge. 610 Florida St.
By Katrina Hull
By Katrina Hull
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The lack of Lawrence upset some students returning to Lawrence from spring break.
And one less bar in Lawrence leaves an empty spot in some students' hearts — or at least an empty evening.
"You feel like you lost something," said Dan Corderman, Leesburg, Va., senior. "It was something we did every Wednesday night. I'd meet friends down there. Now, I'll stay at home probably."
But maybe not for long.
Casey Jones, a Lenexa senior whose father owns the bar, said the Jet Lag should reopen in one or two months.
An electrical short in the bar area caused the fire, said Rich Barr, a fire marshal with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical. Damages totaled $140,000, and the fire destroyed about 50 percent of the bar, Barr said.
See LOCAL on page 5A