Tomorrow's weather
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
(4)
Kansan
Breezy tomorrow with partly cloudy skies.
Monday
November 29, 1999
Section:
A
Vol. 110 • No. 69
Inside today
Many students living in residence halls are not looking forward to returning to cafeteria food after eating home-cooked meals during Thanksgiving break.
SEE PAGE 3A
Sports today
Both the Kansas men's and women's basketball teams won their respective tournaments last weekend in Anchorage, Alaska.
SEE PAGE 1B
Contact the Kansan
WWW.KANSAN.COM
News: (785) 864-4816
Advertising: (785) 864-4358
Fax: (785) 864-0391
Opinion e-mail: opinion@kansan.com
Sports e-mail: sports@kansan.com
Editor e-mail: editor@kansan.com
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Candle sparks fraternity fire
(USPS 650-640)
Blazing bedding sprinkler system damage house
By Chris Wristen writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Members of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity received a surprising wake-up call Tuesday morning — alarms and sirens.
Two fire trucks and an ambulance raced to the
chapter house, 1537 Tennessee St., in response to the fire alarm that sounded at 8:20 a.m.
Bill Stark, battalion chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical, said the fire took place in a second-floor bunk room when bed sheets accidentally were pulled onto an unattended candle and ignited.
"You've got covers, a candle and a typical result," Stark said.
After the bedding lit, an emergency sprinkler system was triggered, and it aided in extinguishing the fire.
Stark said no one was injured.
Windows and doors were left open to air out the house all day Tuesday, and some ash remained on a first-floor window awning beneath the bunk room.
"One of the pledge brothers got a fire extinguisher and put (the fire) out," said Andy Bond, chapter vice president. "We executed the fire drill well, which we had practiced."
Stark said the estimated total damage was nearly $15,000 because of both fire and water damage.
—Edited by Katie Hollar
This fire was the latest in a trend of candlesparked fires in greek houses on Midwestern college campuses.
Last February, a fire at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of Missouri at Rolla killed one student. In May, a University of Missouri at Columbia freshman, Dominic Passantino, died at the Sigma Chi fraternity after a burning candle ignited his bedroom.
Firefighters carry water damage recovery equipment out of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, 1537 Tennessee St. A candle started a small fire Tuesday morning that set off the house's sprinkler system, causing $15,000 of water damage.
Photo by Matt J. Daugherty/
KANSAN
Some students not so jolly about holiday hype
By Emily Hughey
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
One day it's corncupiops, fallen leaves and thankfulness. The next, in a flash, it's evergreen trees, holiday carols and talk of snowfall.
For some, the day after Thanksgiving officially begins the Christmas season.
It happens the same day every year.
"I like to enjoy one holiday at a time," Colantuono said. "I think sometimes people start celebrating Christmas before it's time. Once Thanksgiving is done, I'm ready for Christmas."
Kristen Colantuono, Leawood junior, said she welcomed the holiday season, but not until after the other holidays.
While some students appreciate the holiday hysteria, others have mixed feelings.
She said she thought some people let holiday hype get in the way of what she deemed the true meaning of this time of year.
"As long as you appreciate and understand what it's really about, I think it's perfectly fine to have fun with Christmas carols and things like that, even though some people think it takes away from the true meaning," Colantuo said. "I think the holidays have to do with your particular religious beliefs and family time."
To Sigle, the holiday season means time with family and friends at home and working overtime. She said she acquired extra working hours during the days leading up to Christmas. While she said she appreciated the extra pay, she said she hated the attitudes of some customers this time of year.
Other students think differently.
- Edited by Brad Halfter
Mindy Sigle, Wichita senior and Dillons employee, said she saw the holidays from a different perspective.
first," Sigle said. "But from a marketing perspective, it gets people thinking about Christmas and shopping."
"People get crazy this time of year," Sigle said. "The closer to the holidays it gets, the meaner people get."
She said Dillons started displaying holiday paraphernalia on Halloween and continued through December. The early displays, she said, seemed sudden.
"A lot of us couldn't believe it at
Renowned professor, soloist dies
By Chris Borniger
One of the most respected voices in the jazz community is silent.
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Richard Wright, professor emeritus of music and host of KANU's "The Jazz
Scene since 1960,
died Tuesday of cancer
at Lawrence
Memorial Hospital.
He was 68.
Steve Anderson,
chairman of the department of music and dance, said Wright loved people and teaching. He said Wright dedicated his life to his work.
Wright: Continued to teach even after he retired
"It's a profound loss." Anderson
Wright received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in voice from the University of Kansas. He began teaching in 1970.
said. "He's irreplaceable."
"His knowledge of jazz — of the players, of the singers, of the music, of the styles — was encyclopedic," he said. "The major performers in jazz know Dick Wright and his work."
Anderson said Wright was respected throughout the world.
Wright hosted "The Jazz Scene" until a few weeks ago because of health problems. Even though he was retired, he continued to teach.
-
"He was doing that which he loved up until the day he died." Anderson said.
his day he died," Anderson said. Wright was renowned for his vast knowledge of jazz history. He was the curator of the University's Jazz Archives and an associate professor of music at Baker University, Washburn University and Johnson County Community College. He also donated about 20,000 recordings to the University's sound archives. He helped found the University Audio Reader Network and was KANU's station manager from 1970 to 1976.
— the highest arts award given by the state of Kansas.
Wright received multiple honors for his work. In 1996, he received both the Chancellor's Club Career Teaching Award and the Governor's Arts Award
As a vocalist, he was the Midwest regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1959. A tenor soloist, he sang at more than 3,500 weddings and funerals.
Maxine Wright, his wife, said he loved teaching just as much as his music.
"Students were very important to him," she said.
Wright also is survived by six children and eight grandchildren.
The funeral was Saturday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
---
—Edited by Becky Stouffer
---