Tuesday, February 9, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
Programs to share African-American history in February
By Jamie Knodel
Kansan staff writer
KU students interested in diversity and cross-cultural training will be given more opportunities to examine these issues starting this month.
The Department of Student Housing has planned a series of programs for Black History Month. The department also will launch a yearlong program emphasizing diversity when Lewis Hall re-opens.
In February, five programs will highlight African Americans in various aspects of society.
"Diversity is the hot topic," Randy Timm, assistant director of student housing programming said. "You can't just look at your own culture in today's world."
A week full of lectures, games and discussions will start Feb. 22 and run through Feb. 25. Oliver Hall will kick off the week by sponsoring a Black History Jeopardy contest at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22. Step-on-it, a discussion on the life of an African American in the greek community, will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in Gertrude Sellars Pearson-Corbin Hall. Jayhawker Towers will present a profile of University of Kansas African Americans at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 in Tower D.
Timm said that McColllum Hall also planned to be host for a How Stella Got Her Groove Back program. He said that it would include a viewing and discussion of the 1998 film. No date has been set for the event.
Timm said that the Department of Student Housing is making plans to emphasize diversity even further.
Residents of Lewis will be able to participate in a new program
BLACK History Month
STUDENT HOUSING'S HISTORY MONTH EVENTS
Black History Jeopardy at 7:30
p.m. Feb. 22 in Oliver Hall
Step. no. it.
Step-on-it at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in GSP.Corbin Hall
KU African Americans at 7 p.m.
Feb. 24 in Jayhawker Tower D
- How Stella Got Her Groove Back; McColm Hall, tba
stressing diversity, community service and leadership when the residence hall re-opens this fall.
"We are starting the program because there is increasing interest and additional focus from students on community service and diversity," Ken Stoner, director of student housing said.
Timm said that there were already 130 students signed up to live and participate in the program once renovations to the building were complete.
Participants of the program would be required to attend one program each month on either diversity, community service or leadership. Students involved in the program would sign a participation agreement stating their commitment to the program and intent to comply with requirements.
Timm said that plans for the program had not been finalized but that the program's structure would be similar to Ellsworth's 3E, Excellence, Experience in Ellsworth.
City commission's room gets overhaul
By Heather Woodward Kansan staff writer
The Lawrence City Commission has moved its meetings out of its City Hall home, at least for a while.
Kansan staff writer
When commissioners move meetings back to their usual meeting room, now being renovated, it will be multi-media capable.
Starting tonight, the commission will meet in Suite 301 at the Riverfront Plaza until remodeling of the meeting room at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth Street, is complete.
City Manager Mike Wildgen said the project would cost about $100,000 and was estimated to take about two months to complete.
"Basically, it's a modernization of the room." Wildgen said. "It's 20 years old. It was not designed for computers or modern audio/visual capabilities."
Mayor Marty Kennedy said the completed room would have a built-in screen so that videos shown at commission meetings could be viewed by the general public.
Commissioner John Nalbandian said, "I think the changes are necessary because we want to make sure that the television viewing audience can see the visual aides presented to the city commission."
Wilden said that the project also would replace the existing furniture, carpeting and wall hangings and would eliminate one of the doors to the room.
Kennedy said that Sunflower Cablevision would be rewiring
the room and that there also would be changes in lighting to create a softer atmosphere.
Kennedy said the primary purpose of the renovation was to upgrade the commission's audio/visual systems.
"We're not all getting personal computers or anything," Kennedy said. "But they are building more outlets and creating additional wiring so that in the future we may have that capability or go completely paperless."
The city has not accepted a bid on the audio/visual improvements. Kennedy said he thought that would happen next week.
The Riverfront Plaza sits on land that the city owns. But the city is leasing the room from the owners of the building. Chelsea GCA Realty Inc., which is based in New Jersey, for $810 a month. Chelsea currently is negotiating a sale of the building with Riverfront L.L.C., 411 Iowa St.
Kennedy said that the city would continue to pay $810 rent if negotiations between Chelsea and Riverfront L.L.C. were completed before the renovation of the commission room was finished.
"We plan on being there about two months, which would complete the project by April 13, when three new commissioners will be stepping up, and three commissioners will be retiring," Kennedy said. "We keep pressing to get it done by then, but it doesn't look like the project will be done until later in April or early May."
Texas prosecutors to use DNA testing in 22-year-old case
The Associate Press
On Monday, a judge delayed a fourth trial for the victim's former neighbor while a newly-found trace of semen is subjected to DNA analysis.
BASTROP, Texas — For nearly 22 years, investigators had genetic information that might identify a woman's killer, and they didn't know it.
It's up to experts to determine whether the old, neglected sample found on the woman's blood-soaked underwear is salvageable and, if so, whether it came from Kerry Max Cook or someone else.
Cook, 42, has been convicted of the 1977 killing twice,
but both verdicts were thrown out on appeal.
Although DNA deteriorates over time, experts said some information could be extracted from Linda Jo Edwards' underwear if the sample was large enough.
"It really depends on what it is, where it has been and under what conditions it has been kept all this time," said Kermit Channel II, forensic biology supervisor at the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock, Ark.
District Judge Robert Jones scheduled a conference call for Thursday to decide whether there was enough of a sample to continue with DNA testing. If not, jury selection will begin next Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Cook beat 21-year-old Edwards in the head with a plaster statue, stabbed her repeatedly and sexually mutilated her in the East Texas apartment. Investigators found Cook's fingerprints on Edwards' sliding glass door.
A 1992 retrial ended with a hung jury. In 1994, ne was again convicted and sentenced to death. An appeals court overturned that verdict in 1996, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
Cook was first sentenced to death in 1978 and spent 13 years on death row until a state appeals court threw out the conviction because a psychiatrist who testified at trial didn't tell Cook their conversation could be used against him.
Let the sun shine in
Ansgar Grune, a graduate student from Germany, takes a quick nap in front of Haworth Hall. Grune took advantage of the warm weather yesterday with the high temperature of 53 degrees. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN
For more on-campus photographs, see the UDK1.
www.kansan.com
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