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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Rain tomorrow.
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Online today
Monday
April 26,1999
Section:
A
Check out John Elway's career highlights. http://www.nfl.com/players/profile/1656.html
Sports today
Vol. 109·No.138
Wet turf limited Saturday's Spring football game to 60 plays. The game, which pitted the starters against the rest of the team, ended in a 7-7 tie.
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Thousands grieve for loss of innocence
(USPS 650-640)
Nation bands together to remember students
The Associated Press
LITTLETON, Colo. — As rays of sunshine burst through a slate gray sky, more than 70,000 mourners clutched flowers, blue and silver balloons and Bibles yesterday as they wept for victims of the Littleton high school massacre and wondered why it happened.
Authorities delayed opening the service by 30 minutes as twice as many mourners as expected had arrived, despite the 40-degree temperature.
Beneath a fluttering awning of blue and white, the Columbine High School colors, Vice President Al Gore and retired Gen. Colin Powell led an array of dignitaries surrounding the makeshift stage stretching across a movie theater's concrete steps.
At 1:30 p.m., brothers Jonathan and Stephen Cohen of Littleton opened the service with a simple "Hi," and sang a song they wrote in tribute to 12 students and one teacher killed by the gunmen, who then killed themselves.
Jonathan Cohen, a junior at Columbine, was trapped in the choir room when the shooting started. Stephen, a senior, was in the cafeteria where many students
See GROUPS on page 2A
By T.J. Johnson
tjohnson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
A circle of about 40 students and Lawrence residents gathered at the South Park Gazebo last night for a vigil. They voiced their outrage about recent acts of violence — particularly the shootings in Littleton, Colo., last week.
"This must stop," said Jane Stover, vice president of the student group Working Against Violence Everywhere, during the opening speech of the vigil. "Children must stop seeing violence as a solution to their problems."
Stover and Corey Snyder, of the Center for Community Outreach, organized the event to show support for the friends and families of the people killed in Colorado and to ask teachers and parents to look for warning signs of violent behavior in children.
Stover also stressed the need to stop neglecting students in schools and instead to make them feel worthwhile.
"Many students find themselves marginalized or without a place to fit in during their
teenage years," she said. "Every person must realize his or her value, and they should not be isolated."
After candles were lit, pieces of paper were passed around the circle with details about the lives of each person killed in the shooting. After the name was read, the crowd said "May their family and friends be comforted."
The crowd also took a vow of nonviolence, which included pledges to practice nonviolence and to refuse to retaliate violently when provoked.
Stover said WAVE would work to bring nonviolence programs to area schools within the next year.
"Students will have the opportunity to express their feelings about violence in the community and in the world," Stover said. "They will practice nonviolent resolutions to conflict and make a pledge to nonviolence."
Matt Sherriff, Leawood freshman, said he attended the vigil because he had been upset by the shootings. He said the experience helped him to deal with the situation.
"Personally, I came because I needed closure to this," Sherriff said. "I've been having trouble with it. One of my friends actually had a cousin who went to that high school so it hit kind of close to home. I thought it was really good, it's already helping me out."
Edited by Julie Sachs
Students and community members spoke during a candlelight vigil at South Park. The group WAVE presented the vigil in response to last week's incident in Littleton, Colo. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN
Starsky top band at Farmer's Ball
Kansan staff writer
By Ezra Sykes
esykes@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Sweat is pouring down J.J. Hanson's face. As he takes drags of a cigarette in the small, graffiti-adorned backstage of the Bottleneck, he explains his desire to become a pro.
"I pray to God at night to help me give up my bad habits and hit the road," says Hanson, who plays guitar for Coach Mack. "I've been waiting my whole life to play on the road."
Hanson was one of the many ambitious musicians present Saturday night at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., for KJHK's Farmer's Ball. The competing bands were trying to gain exposure, free studio time and the opening spot for Day on the Hill.
After two nights
of preliminary competition that cut the original pool of eight bands to four, the band Starsky received the most votes in the finals on Saturday. Coach Mack came in second and the Palin-
FARMER'S BALL
■ First place — Starsky
■ Second place — Coach Mack
■ Runner up — Electron Volts
■ Runner up — Palindromes
■ Other participants — Dropkick
Murphys, Bucky Boys, Oxymoron, Main St. Saints
dromes and the Electron Volts were runners-up
Marty Bush, lead singer of Starsky, performs during JKHK's Farmer's Ball at the Bottleneck. By popular vote, Starsky won the contest and will perform at SUA's Day on the Hill. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
Both partial and impartial audience members cast ballots for the candidates who presented their campaign promises via rock 'n' roll.
But in this event, there were no negative campaigns, dirt diggers or cover-ups. Just rock bands showing their stuff.
"I think the competition is healthy," said Ryan Bronze, Kansas City, Kan., who plays in the Palindromes. "It's nice to meet others bands and have a good time. That's the important thing. This is kind of a crossroads of Lawrence culture to celebrate
music."
Marty Bush of the winning band Starsky even took his clothing off in the name of it. At the audience's request, he peeled off his button-down shirt in the
And celebration was in the air.
middle of the band's set.
middle of the band's set.
"I think it was peer pressure." he said
"I think it was peer pressure, 'he said.'
Shirtless or not, guitarist Bush will perform again
See STARSKY on page 5A
Mirror stickers reflect ideas on diversity
By Chris Hopkins
chopkins@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Only you can prevent racism.
That's the message that 14-by-6 inch stickers placed on about 100 mirrors around campus send to students and faculty.
The clear stickers with blue type read "the only person who can end racism" are placed at eye level and promote diversity.
Jeremy Johnson, Overland Park junior; Courtney Burbridge, Denver senior; and John Shepard, Overland Park senior, created the stickers for the KU committee Blueprint for Diversity. Some of the stickers were placed on mirrors last Thursday and Friday. More stickers will go up today.
Charles Higginson, journalism program associate and member of Blueprint for Diversity, said the committee developed the idea when they decided the bathroom was the only place every KU student eventually went.
"We're always looking for something that's going to reach people in a new place or a new way," he said. "We try to do something different each semester."
"It's basically to promote diversity," Johnson said. "We decided to take a little more of a direct approach."
"There are messages like that every where in our culture," she said. "I just glanced at it and knew exactly what it was."
Jenny Knopp, Lenexa senior, said she did not think the stickers would be very effective.
Other projects the committee has
Ann Weick, dean of the School of Social Welfare, said the group always produced quality work.
Higginson said Blueprint for Diversity usually worked with the Arts Team, a group of advanced graphics students of which Johnson, Burbridge and Sheard were members.
completed include hanging a pair of large posters and putting "table tents" on tables at the Kansas Union.
"Working with the Arts Team has been a really wonderful experience," she said. "Every semester they come up with a wonderful new project."
ine campaign comes after a pair of crimes in February and March involving swastika burnings in a residence hall door and into the floor at Oliver Hall. The dragging death of an African-American man in Texas earlier this
year also prompted the campaign.
Johnson said this sort of display had more of an impact on students than other methods.
"Telling people these things just wasn't enough." he said.
rne sticker campaign cost the group about $300. Higginson said, which it received from the Equal Opportunity Office.
"It's a fairly low-budget deal, we don't have a lot of money to spend." he said.
Higginson said the committee was impressed when it first saw the stickers in use.
"We just took turns going into the bathroom and looking at it," Higginson said. "We thought it was even more effective than we could have imagined."
-Edited by Darrin Peschka
Hearst Awards put University, KU reporters in top ranks
By Dan Curry
dcurry@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas secured fifth place in the print category of the annual Hearst Journalism Awards yesterday.
Hearst awards are given to undergraduates based on their performance in monthly competitions in categories such as profile-writing, feature-writing, spot news and sports-writing. Last year, the University took fourth place overall.
An institution receives its ranking based on how many and how high its students place in the competitions.
"We've been in the top five the last three to four years," said Rick Musser, professor of journalism. "It's good, but it's not as good as we've done."
Five KU students made it into top-20 rankings at the competitions this year.
Spencer Duncan, to early this year for editorial writing.
celebrer Duncan, topeka senior, won $1,600 donations
towards for
His editorial explored funding options for Robinson Center, he said.
Duncan, who has won two previous Heart awards, was pleased at the University's fifth-place ranking.
"You're happy to win one," he said. "To win another, is even more surprising."
FIVE KO students placed among the top 20 in individual competitions.
Musser compared the Hearst ranking to basketball.
HEARST AWARDS
Spencer Duncan: 4th place for editorial writing
Sam Mellinger: 9th place for sports writing
Lindsey Henry: 11th place
Mike Harrity: 11th place for profile writing
proficial writing
■ Marc Sheforgen: 18th place for spot news.
"It's good to be in the top five," he said. "But it's better to be No. 1 or No. 2."
Universities that placed in the top three won cash awards of $10,000 for first,$5,000 for second and $2,500 for third.
The University of Missouri earned the first place award in the print category, while Northwestern University was second and the University of Florida was third.
Besides Kansas and Missouri, the only other Big 12 Conference school that placed in the print category was the University of Nebraska, which took seventh. Still, our overall ranking is good 14.
Sam, a turn-place overall ranking is good, Musser said. "There are a lot of people who would be glad to place to fifth." he said.
Jimmy Gentry, dean of the School of Journalism agreed.
"You can't win every year," he said. The Associated Press contributed to this story
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.
The Associated Press contributed