Tomorrow's weather
STILL WARMER
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Mostly sunny.
Kansan
HIGH LOW
56 35
Monday
December 6,1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 74
Inside today
Six Massachusetts firefighters perish while searching a burning five-story warehouse for trapped homeless people.
Vol. 110 No.74
SEE PAGE 5B
Sports today
Behind the unselfish play of Lynn Pride, the Kansas women's basketball team beats California-Santa Barbara 76-73.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Web site lets grades be viewed a bit earlier
By Nathan Willis
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
In what could be an early Christmas present for some and a lump of coal for others, University of Kansas students will be able to take a peek at their grades a little early this winter break.
The University Registrar's office opened a Web site Friday that allows students to see their final grades for this semester as they come in. The site also displays class schedules. The site's address is www.ukans.edu/~registr
The grade piece of it is pretty exciting," said Bob Turvey, associate registrar. "It will be updated once a day as grades come in."
Although the site is running now, most grades won't start appearing until Dec. 14. Turvey
said. Most grades should be in the database by Dec. 22. he said.
— provided they have access to the Internet during the break.
That's almost a week before grade cards will be mailed, he said, so students either eager or anxious to see their grades will be able to find out what they got earlier than ever before
GRADES ONLINE
Where to register your e-mail address with the University:
www.ukans.edu/cgiwrap/name-serv/people/update
"This is one of those things we've wanted to do for a long time," Turvey
Where to go for the new online grade reports and schedules: www.ukans. edu/~regist
said. "We just needed to solve security problems." Those security problems involved how to prevent everyone except the students to whom the grades and schedules belong from accessing that information, he said.
The problem was solved by setting up a system in which the grades and schedule information are not actually on the site. Rather, students enter their KUID numbers on the site, and the site automatically sends an e-mail report to the student's e-mail address, be said
However, the e-mail address has to be registered with the University for that to work, he said. People who have University accounts are generally already registered under those accounts, but Turvey said a student could choose to register any e-mail address he or she wanted. Students can register or change e-mail addresses at www.ukans.edu/cgiwrap/nameserv/people/update.
The process for obtaining schedules — both fall and spring are online — works the same way, he said. There is one problem in the schedules, however: The system cannot display multiple locations for classes that have them.
Justin Scholtes, Overland Park sophomore, was one of the students who helped the registrar's office test out the new system before it went online.
"It's a pretty handy deal," he said. "A lot of students lose their schedules several times, I know, and this will help them."
Scholtes said that he would probably check out his grades online during the holidays.
"I'm curious about them," he said. "And this will let you see them a little bit earlier."
Edited by Mike Loader
Rebekah Moses, Great Bend junior, could not attend the University of Kansas directly after high school because her application for placement into the scholarship halls was rejected. Moses was accepted into a scholarship hall the following year, but some fear her experience is becoming a trend.
Shortchanged
Financially needy students edged out of scholarship halls, some say
Story by Nathan Willis ● Photos by Roger Nomer
Rebekah Moses' parents went bankrupt at exactly the wrong time.
(USPS 650-640)
Moses, Great Bend junior, grew up in a middle-class household, but when her parents' finances fell apart during her senior year of high school, her plans to attend the University of Kansas fell apart, too.
Moses had hoped the answer to her financial problems would lie in the University's scholarship halls, which cost up to $2,100 less than residence halls. With scholarship-hall housing, she figured, she still could cover the cost of attending the University.
But her application was rejected.
Weighting scholarship hall admittance Only applies to non-national MtScholarship
Moses would seem a good candidate for the scholarship halls, which traditionally have served high-achieving, financially needy students. The halls are a housing system within a housing system. Students are assigned to them on the basis of merit, need and their ability to
In her appearance was rejected.
"I was seventh in my class. I was very involved in high school, and I thought I wrote good essays." Moses said. "But my first year, I didn't get a chance to go to school here because of that."
Without the money she would have saved by living in the scholarship halls, Moses couldn't afford the University. So instead, she enrolled in her hometown community college and reapplied to the scholarship halls the next spring. That time, she got into Miller Scholarship Hall, where she has lived since.
fit into a communal lifestyle. But there's only one sure way to get into the halls: Become a National Merit Scholar.
Some worry that the University's use of the scholarship halls as a recruiting tool for marquee students is crowding out financially needy students like Moses. They say scholarship halls favor an increasing number of National Merit Scholars — students who typically have little need of the halls' affordable lifestyle. University officials say those charges are hyped.
"The school halls are a low-cost living opportunity," said Eric Rush, Topeka junior and selection committee chairman for the scholarship halls. "I think we're doing a disservice to people who need the help most."
This year, almost 60 of the record 101
Low-cost living
incoming merit scholars at the University chose to live in the scholarship halls — a majority, according to an unofficial count. Those who chose to live in the scholarship halls alone outstrip the total of 40 merit scholars who enrolled for the first time at the University in 1994.
Students become National Merit Semifinalists by scoring well on Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test in their junior year of high school. From there, they are judged on a variety of measures, including activities.
essays and references in order to become National Merit Finalists. Ninety percent of semifinalists become finalists, and all finalists become merit scholars once they enroll at the University.
The number of merit scholars should continue to increase, too, said Chancellor Robert Hemenway, who initiated the drive to attract merit scholars.
"It's not going to jump the same amount as in the past few years," Hemenway said. "I think it will continue to increase gradually."
The University's nine scholarship halls hold about 50 students each for a total of about 450 students in the system. About 165 spots were available in the scholarship halls this year, according to a count within the halls.
That means the nearly 60 merit scholars who chose to live in the scholarship halls
See ACADEMIC on page 6A
Members of the Sunflower House Cooperative gather for an evening meal. Most residents of the cooperative, which opened in 1969, are KU students. Photo Jamie Roper/KANSAN
Co-op home a cheaper option
By Lori O'Toole
lwriter@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Lori O'Toole
Dividing labor helps to subtract expenses
Rick Garcia, Lawrence graduate student and Sunflower resident, said he enjoyed the community atmosphere.
Sunflower House Cooperative, 1406 Tennessee St., is home to about 30 Lawrence residents and has been a housing option for University of Kansas students since it opened in 1969.
Thirty-one bedrooms, six bathrooms, two kitchens, two adjoined houses.
"It's not real individual here," the 38-year-old said. "We get together and talk in the evenings, often study in the kitchens. We just hang out."
"It has all the benefits of the
dorms without the hassles of an apartment," said Andy Strattrman, Wichita junior and Sunflower manager. He has lived in the coed residence for three consecutive semesters and plans to live there until he graduates in May 2001.
Each resident has a private bedroom, ranging in size from 10 by 10-foot to 16 by 25-foot. Rent varies according to the bedroom sizes but is usually between $150 and $210.
Garcia said the cheap rent and cooperative food and work share programs attracted him to move
The residents, a majority of whom are KU students, share laundry facilities, bathrooms, kitchens, a TV room and a game room. About 15 people share the main
phone line, and others choose to pay for a private line to their bedrooms. Strattman, for example, pays $50 each month for his.
See COOPERATIVE on page 3A
Kansas offers new homes and new lives for refugees
By Chad Bettes
Kansan opinion editor
With more than 650,000 immigrants entering the United States in fiscal year 1988 and more than 26.3 million living in the country, America's historical reputation as a melting pot thrives. What people may not realize, though, is that tens of thousands fleeing their homelands every year come to the United States as refugees.
Lewis Kimsey, state refugee coordinator for the Kansas Department of Social Rehabilitation Services, said refugees were granted entry because they had a "well-founded fear" for personal wellbeing in their native lands. Sources of this fear include war and persecution for political or religious views.
Lawrence resident Alisa Mehmedovic, 26, left Bosnia Herzegovina for Kansas in 1994. She and her family chose the United States because European countries had succeeded their refugee limits.
"We had the good life there [in Bosnia-Herzegovina]. We had jobs, and I had finished school," Mehmedovic said. "But then was war."
Russell said she remembered the exact moment she found out the family would be coming to Lawrence.
Unable to speak English and with no significant possessions, Mehmedovic escaped the war with the aid of Catholic Community Services. The group facilitated the move after a Lawrence community group organized by Sister Francis Russell agreed to sponsor Mehmedovic and her family.
"It was like these people were putting their lives in our hands," she said. "It was pretty awesome."
But, overall, she loves the United States and plans to pursue citizenship. "People are friendly here, even though I am a stranger," Mehmedovic said.
Mehmedovic said she adjusted to most changes here. She learned English, primarily from television, and worked for three years at the Holiday Inn before choosing to stay home with her two children. Her husband has a job in construction.
She has had difficulty adapting to U.S. clothing styles. She said she had trouble finding things to suit her taste at area stores.
Nguyen's parents had known democratic times in Vietnam and were not happy with the Communist changes. They also were Buddhist, and the government discouraged strong religious involvement.
"The people in our town made it hard on us," she said. "They raised the taxes on our business, just on our family."
Miyhanh Nguyen, Lawrence non-degree seeking student, has been in the United States since 1991, when her family left Vietnam after 10 years of struggling to get permission. Nguyen, 25, was in her teenage years at the time and has fond memories of Vietnam, but she said her parents experienced problems because of their political views.
She said her family members were excited to come but encountered difficulties after arriving that made them long for Vietnam. Their apartment was in poor condition, some neighbors harassed them because they were Vietnamese and they had difficulty communicating in English.
Furthermore, Nguyen's father died in an automobile accident before the family left Vietnam. His strong desire for the family to live in the United States inspired the family to persevere through difficulty.
Now a citizen, Nguyen prides herself on her U.S. education and said teachers at her high school and the University of Kansas had impacted her life. She plans on starting medical school next year.
"We have a good life here ... even as students, compared to Vietnam."
See KANSAS on page 3A