Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Partly cloudy.
Kansan
Inside today
Fifty-one decorated and donated Christmas trees will be auctioned off tonight at Liberty Hall for the 13th annual Festival of Trees.
SEE PAGE 3A
Tuesday
November 30, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 70
Sports today
The Kansas men's basketball team has been shooting the lights out in its last three games.
SEE PAGE 10A
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KU athlete hospitalized after serious car accident
By Mike Miller sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Adrian Jones, a freshman on the University of Kansas football team, was upgraded from criti-
terday, after suffering head trauma in an automobile accident on the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia Sunday afternoon.
Doctors told Kansas coach Terry Allen that Jones likely will make a full recovery.
Jones, a redshirt freshman from Dallas, was returning to Lawrence after going home during the Thanksgiving break when the left rear tire of a 1993 Honda he was driving blew out, and the car veered off the road. It rolled
Jones: Upgraded from critical to serious condition
once and landed on its wheels, throwing Jones, a dispatcher with the Kansas Turnpike Authority said.
Jones suffered head trauma and other lacerations and was taken by helicopter to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, the dispatcher said.
Mills also was thrown from the car, but suffered only minor injuries. Mills and Christopher Jones were treated at an Emporia hospital Sunday night, the dispatcher said.
He was traveling with his brother, Christopher L. Jones, a 26-year-old Dallas resident, and Jayhawk wide receiver Derick Mills, a redshirt freshman from Dallas.
It is unclear if the passengers of the Honda were wearing seat belts.
Jones' parents traveled to Wichita Sunday night from Dallas and met with Allen, who was informed of Adrian Jones' condition late Sunday afternoon.
"It takes your breath away when you hear news like that." Allen said.
Mills: Suffered minor injuries after being thrown from the car
Most of the football team traveled home for the Thanksgiving break, taking advantage of the first free time they have had since late July.
Adrian Jones is a 6-foot-5, 230 pound tight end who spent the season on the scout team, but Allen was not considered whether Jones will be able to play football next year.
"Hasn't even crossed our minds," he said. Adrian Jones remains in the intensive care unit at Wesley.
"Hasn't even crossed our minds." he said.
Edited by Jessie Meyer
Decorations illustrate diversity
Decorations from different faiths crowd some students' homes as traditions meet in the holiday season. Photo by Chad Cummings/KANSAN
Students decorate, tolerate for the holidays
By Lori O'Toole
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Sara Deshong will decorate her side of a small Naismith Hall room with a menorah, Stars of David and the color blue for the upcoming Hanukkah season.
Deshong, Minneapolis, Minn., freshman, said her roommate, a Christian, would decorate her side of the room with Santa Clauses and red and green for Christmas.
Holiday decorations often go up in University of Kansas housing as soon as Thanksgiving leftovers are put away. Deshong and her roommate are just two of the many students who may have to work out potential conflicts when decorating a shared living area for different religious holidays.
While religious differences may not become an issue between roommates at other times of the year, holiday decorations tend to be a more bold statement of beliefs, which may upset roommates who have different beliefs.
She said they would not decorate any areas or items they shared, including her computer. The issue may be easier to work out in a residence hall room
"It won't bother me because it's on her side of the room," Deshong said. "That's what she pays for."
Deshong said she would try to be understanding.
than an apartment.
"Since I'm in a smaller area, I don't have to worry about certain things offending me," Deshong said. "There's not room for her to put up a Christmas tree and to cook a ham."
Asner lives in a Lewis Hall room with three Christian roommates. The three must work out how they will decorate for the two different religious holidays.
Debbie Asner, Overland Park freshman, is in a position similar to Deshong's.
"I think it will be fun because we can learn more about each other," Asner said.
Not all KU students celebrate Christmas
She will decorate her room this week for Hanukkah, which
By Erina R. Barcomb
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
After Thanksgiving, the Christmas marketing rush begins with fancy department store displays and Christmas-themed packaging.
See RELIGIOUS on page 2A
While sales may put some in the Christmas mood, the marketing blitz is not as appealing to those who don't celebrate the Christian holiday.
Jay Quinn, Overland Park senior who celebrates the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, said he had a lot of Jewish friends when he was younger, so the prevalence of Christmas themes in commercials and shopping malls didn't affect him as much.
"I think that it affects the kids a lot more than adults because there is more peer pressure," Quinn said. "Especially if you reinforce it at home, it makes it easier."
Hanukkah starts Friday at sundown.
Gift-giving has become a large part of the Christmas tradition. According to a CNN report, an estimated $180 billion was spent in retail stores during the Thanksgiving weekend. That averages to about $500 per family.
Daniel Breslauer, professor of religious studies, said although he thought the tradition of gift-giving originated with Roman winter celebrations, the greatest push came with the advent of Christmas.
"It is the assumption that if you are American, you are celebrating Christmas," said Breslauer, who is Jewish. "If Americans think they can make a buck, they will. The overwhelming presence of Christmas does make one uncomfortable."
He said Hanukkah has been marketed, although not to the same extent. He cited the example of a sign at Walgreen's, 3421 W. Sixth St., advertising dreidels.
Aali Shah, Wichita senior who is Muslim, said because the Islamic holiday of Ramadan was a month of fast
"It is the assumption that if you are American,you are celebrating Christmas."
Daniel Breslauer professor of religious studies
ing, buying gifts was not a large part of it.
"You might get presents out of it at the end, but kids get money," he said.
This year, Ramadan begins Dec. 9 and ends Jan.8.
Shah said although he didn't initiate Christmas giving, he did not object to participating.
"I don't give out Christmas cards or anything like that, but if they give me a present, I give them one, too," he said.
Shah said he thought elaborate displays at department stores, like the Christmas trees at Dillard's stores in Kansas City and Topeka malls, were a good marketing ploy.
"Even though there's nothing for me to get excited about, I thought, 'Wow! This is a Hallmark holiday.' Shah said.
Scott Eidelman, Chesterfield, M., graduate student and president of the Kansas Humanists, Atheists and Freethinkers, said he had never celebrated Christmas. He was raised Jewish and considered himself an atheist.
Eidelman said he didn't think any one source was to blame for the prevalence of Christmas-oriented marketing, but he thought the phenomenon stemmed from the tradition of gift-giving and looking for bargains on gifts.
"We do have rampant consumerism," he said, "I suppose it's good for business, but I'm in favor of it."
Eidelman said he thought the holiday would be better celebrated by acknowledging the religious significance it held for some people and by spending time volunteering or with family.
— Edited by Ronnie Wachter
A parking sign outside of Snow Hall displays the time during which the space is open to the public. Many students think the sign is misleading because it pertains to that space only, not the many beyond it, which don't open until 7:30 pm. Photo by Chad Cummings/KANSAN
Ambiguous signs confuse students
By Michael Terry writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Some parking lot restrictions seem to contradict each other
Students who park in any of the parking lots around the University of Kansas know how difficult it is to find a spot.
According to some students, the deceptive wording and placement of some signs throughout campus is making the problem worse.
Lot 3, next to Strong Hall, has been particularly troublesome.
Scott Rowland, Newton junior, said he has received tickets for parking in there after 5 p.m.
"I saw several cars with yellow permits parked in the lot that the KU ticket takers did not bother to ticket, so I thought it was all right to park there," Rowland said.
"When I came back, I was surprised to find a ticket on my vehicle."
There are several spots in lot 3, however,
that contradict the main sign. Those spots
have signs that say they are only restricted
from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lot 3 is a blue zone and one of seven lots that is restricted from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The fine for illegally parking in a lot without the proper permit is $20.
Rowland said there also were spaces under the canopy next to the Spencer Research Library that were supposed to be restricted 24 hours. But he said some students received tickets for parking there and others did not.
Rowland said the contradictory signs in lot 3 caused problems for him and many other students who come to campus for late classes or to go to the library.
Zeke Cunningham, safety security officer, said he was aware of the problems with lot 3 behind Strong Hall, especially the spaces under the canopy.
"A lot of students don't realize that the entire lot is restricted until 7:30 p.m.",
Rowland said. "They see vehicles with yellow permits that don't receive a ticket, and they think it's all right to park there."
"The signs are a little deceptive, and we have been told by the department to treat the area lightheartedly and not ticket the lot unless we received a complaint," Cunningham said. "The department is working on a way to clear up the confusion with the signing, but I'm not aware of any solution department heads have come up with vet."
Rick Lange, Leavenworth senior, said he had received a ticket in lot 3, and he thought that signing was deceptive.
4
"Now that I know which spaces are restricted, and which are not, I don't get ticketed anymore," Lange said. "I think it's just another way the parking department is trying to make even more money off the students by not simulating the letter."
Edited by Jennifer Roush