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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Still warm tomorrow with sunny skies.
Kansan
Wednesday
February 3, 1999
Online today
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To go along with the '80s feature today, we've let you in on a secret...Molly Ringwald's Web site. http://www.blkbox.com/~draper/ ringwald
Vol.109·No.86
Sports today
Kansas women's basketball player Brooke Reves faces her home-state university tonight as the Jayhawks take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Diversity vote is in the mail
Assembly to cast requirement ballots
By Dan Curry
Kansas staff writer
(USPS 650-640)
A mail ballot will decide the fate of the University's U.S. Diversity Requirement that, if passed, would require future students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to take a course devoted to issues of diversity.
The College Assembly resolved yesterday to conduct the vote by mailing ballots to each of the members of the assembly, thereby creating the opportunity for greater participation in the decision.
The vote will be concluded by April at the latest, said Rochelle Votaw, graduate student and member of the ad hoc committee for the U.S. Diversity Requirement.
About 70 people attended yesterday afternoon's meeting.
The proposed requirement would add a class to an undergraduate's general
"Such classes are offered in many cases, but they are not required," said Anna Neill, associate professor of English and member of the ad hoc committee. "It is perfectly possible to complete a B.A. or B.G.S. without having had any exposure to discussion of the kinds of issues that the diversity requirement foregrounds."
education requirement. Students would choose the class from a list of courses that dealt specifically with racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, age, disabled or class themes.
Sally Frost Mason, dean of the col.
lege, said that in a random survey of 100 graduating seniors, 82 reported that they had taken a class that would have fulfilled the diversity requirement.
Neill said that with this requirement, students would have the advantage of having taken at least one course during their undergraduate careers that dealt with issues affecting minority populations in the United States.
"This exposure will better equip students to be informed citizens of a
See DIVERSITY on page 2A
Urban Outfitters
New chain may dress up downtown
By Heather Woodward Kansan staff writer
Clothes shopping in Lawrence soon may take on a new dimension. Urban Outfitters, which specializes in clothes for 18- to 30-year-olds, will move into the building now occupied by Varsity Theaters, 1015 Massachusetts St.
Wade McDeVitt, the real estate consultant for Urban Ouffitters, said the company was close to executing a lease with Jayhawk Equities L.L.C., owner of the property.
Sarah Goldstein, St. Paul, Minn., freshman, said she was excited that Urban Outfitters might come to Lawrence.
The store offers men's and women's fashion apparel, jeans, T-shirts, vintage clothing, intimate wear and other accessories.
Urban Outfitters, which has about 30 stores nationwide, are established where there is a high concentration of students and recent graduates. McDeVitt said.
"I love that store," Goldstein said. "It's a good college store. Coming from out of town, my only options for shopping have been Abercrombie and Gap."
"There is some work the landlord needs to get done before we start renovation." McDeVitt said. "We hope to start March 1."
McDeVitt said he could not predict when the store would open but that he thought it would be sometime in late summer.
"Our clothes are for people who care about being different from the masses and want to know they can find stuff here that they can't find anywhere
else," McDeVitt said.
Carrie Giffen, Prairie Village senior, said she had visited Urban Outfitters in Chicago.
"I think that it's definitely a store that college students would be attracted to because they have fun stuff, but it's reasonably priced for the most part," Giffen said.
Urban Outfitters are not found in traditional shopping malls but in unique architectural structures. It is this philosophy that attracted the company to downtown Lawrence, McDeVitt said.
"Varsity Theater has great deal of character, McDeVitt said.
"There's interior brick, a nice volume of space and a wonderful street scape. We will be building a Mezza-nine."
Whether the company will be a threat to ex ist ing Lawrence retail remains to be seen.
Craig Randle, manager of Britches Clothing Company, 843 Massachu-
St. said he thought Urban Outfitters would be a good addition to downtown but that it would take time to see what type of competition it would bring.
"I'm sure it's probably going to
that block," Randle said. "They're a good company. Anytime a new, bigger store comes to town, you have to work hard to stay on top of the game. The stores that are doing that job will still be here."
Break proposal clears hurdle, gets forwarded
By Nadia Mustafa
Kansan staff writer
Students finally may enjoy a few days off during the fall semester if the Board of Regents approves the University's revised calendar proposal this summer.
The University Senate Executive Committee voted yesterday to forward the proposal, which includes a four-day fall break in October, to the University Council.
SenEx also recommended that the new calendar be implemented in Fall 2000 if possible.
Carol Holstead, calendar committee member, said the only major changes in the revised calendar were the fall break and the shortening of the finals period from six to five days.
She said one of the main considerations in the revisions was the administration's request for a full two weeks of break during January before the spring semester begins.
"The break is an excellent time to go out and get some practical experience in the workplace," said Bob Basow, associate professor of journalism and SenEx member.
With the proposal, the spring semester would begin most years after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. During years in which the intercession would push commencement ceremonies to the Memorial Day weekend, the semester would begin before Martin Luther King Jr. Dav.
Holstad said the calendar ensured that the fall and spring semesters would be of equal length.
With the proposal, Stop Day would fall on a Friday and the finals period would be the following Monday through Friday. The shortened finals period would require finals to last two-and-a-half hours instead of three hours.
"There will be some implications," said Bob Hohn, SenEx chairman and professor of psychology and educational research. "More students will have three finals in one day."
Holstead said the finals period adjustment would not be a biz deal in the long run.
"It's one of those things where people will grumble," she said. "It's a change, but I think we can adapt."
Adam Gressel, Bururt freshman, said he would not mind having more than two finals a day.
"I think fall break is a good idea because we wouldn't have to go to school for such a long time without a break," he said. "I wouldn't mind more finals in a day if we could just get them over with."
In addition, the spring semester would begin on a Friday some years.
"It has all the benefits of the original calendar," Holstead said. "The only compromise is that it is not very symmetrical."
The University Council will consider the proposal Feb. 11. Chancellor Robert Hemenway and the provost must approve the proposal before it is forwarded March 1 to the Board of Regents.
The Regents must approve the calendar, which will set academic dates for fall 2001 through spring 2004, by June.
Ryanne Enyeart, Kansas City, Kan., senior, left, and Oliver Sowards, Wichita junior, watch the Lawrence City Commission meeting at The Jayhawk Cafe, 1340 Ohio St. The commission, which met last night, tabled an ordinance requiring a midnight closing time of both The Jayhawk Cafe and The Wagon Wheel. Photo by Tara Bradley/KANSAN
Commission nixes early bar closings
By Heather Woodward
Kansan staff writer
Instead, in a 3-2 vote, the commission adopted six conditions set forth in a memorandum by Ed Collister, an attorney who represents the interests of bar owners from the The Wagon Wheel and The Jayawk Hafe. The conditions will be a part of the bars' drinking establishment licenses.
In an unexpected turn of events last night, the Lawrence City Commission tabled an ordinance that would require The Wagon Wheel Cafe and The Jayhawk Cafe residential neighborhood bars to close at midnight.
Chris Lane, 1998 KU graduate, said, "I'm shocked and pleased with the decision. I think it's a good one."
In the memo, the bar owners promised to hire public or private security on Thursday through Saturday from 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. They also promised to close the beer gardens daily at midnight, with the exception of 15 days per year for special occasions.
The commission will revisit this issue in a year to see whether the conditions have had any effect on improving the neighborhood.
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
Authorized $800,000 in general bonds for public building improvements, including City Hall and the Lawrence Public Library.
Awarded a $30,117 bid to Sichie Group for a prisoner transportation van for the Lawrence Police Department.
- Directed publication or a notice of publication
- Delaware Street and north of Hobbs Park.
Set Feb. 16 as the date to receive bids on the Storm Sewer and Waterline projects on Ninth Street from Vermont to New Hampshire streets.
John Heleniak, owner of The Jayhawk Cafe, 1340 Ohio St., said he hoped the neighborhood would help to clean up the area.
"To a point, I'm relieved," Heleniak said. "My parents grew up in an area that had neighborhood bars, where the bars and the residents worked together. This is a stipulation that we are putting on ourselves, and I hope that the neighborhood can help out also."
"I think its probably the best decision we can have at this time," Hickam said. "It's a reasonable compromise. We'll see if it works."
Greg Hickam, who is on the board of directors for the Oread Neighborhood Association, said he was pleased with the commission's decision.
On Jan. 12, the commission told the bar owners and the neighborhood group to meet and attempt a compromise. Janet Gerstner, president of the Oread Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood proposed that the bars close at midnight on weeknights and at 2 a.m. on weekends. She said the bar owners rejected that idea.
Collister said he didn't think the ordinance drafted previously by the city would have solved the complaints made by residents.
1.
"For the most part, the complaints I've heard have to do with people who aren't acting like good citizens," Colllier said. "This way, there is more of a security presence. If the operators do what they say they are going to do, we can address part of the problem."