THE UNIVERSITY DAILY Kansan Tomorrow's weather Mostly cloudy tomorrow. LOW 39 Online today Monday January 25, 1999 Section: A Vol. 109 • No. 79 This site is a comprehensive valentine gift guide from roses and champagne to romantic getaways. Sports today http://www.hotbot.com/valentine/ The Kansas men's basketball team falls to conference foe Missouri. SEE PAGE 1B Contact the Kansan THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS News: (785) 864-4810 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 WWW.KANSAN.COM (USPS 650-640) Seven KU students involved in collision By Katie Burford Kansan staff writer A head-on collision involving seven KU students occurred late Saturday night. Thomas Kelly, Englewood, Colo., sophomore, was rounding a curve heading east on 11th Street near Maine Street when he lost control of his Pontiac and swerved into the westbound lane, according to Rob Kort, battalion chief with the Lawrence Douglas County Fire and Medical Department. Elizabeth Yoder, Lawrence freshman, was driving westbound on 11th Street in a Honda Accord when the two cars collided head-on, Kort said. Susan Powell, Topeka sophomore; Brooke Skinner, Lawrence junior; Lindsay Flicker, Garland, Texas, freshman and Todd Ruediger, Topeka resident, were passengers in the Honda. Curtis Zimmerman, Lawrence freshman and Kyle Little, Leawood freshman were passengers in the Pontiac. were passengers in the car. "The car was hot and full of steam — I thought it was on fire," Zimmerman said. The impact caused Kelly to be pinned against the steering wheel of the Pontiac and special equipment, called "The Jaws of Life," was required to pry him out of the car, Kort said. Everyone involved in the accident, except Flickner and Zimmerman, were taken by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Yoder was treated for a broken toe, Powell was treated for bruises. Ruediger Skinner was treated for facial injuries and cuts and was held overnight for observation. She was released around noon yesterday, a hospital spokesperson said. was treated for a minor head injury, Kelly was treated for a broken wrist and Little was treated for cuts and bruises. Yoder, Powell, Ruediger, Kelly and Little all were released from Lawrence Memorial Hospital early yesterday morning. The three occupants of the Pontiac were going to Blockbuster Video, 1516 W. 23rd St., to rent a movie at the time of the accident, Zimmerman said. Powell said she and the others in the Honda Accord had been bowling at Jaybowl and were en route to get something to eat at Perkins Restaurant, 1711 W. 23rd St. Head-on collision Rachel KesselmarKANSAN Students join pilgrimage Thousands expected for papal celebration By Dan Curry Kansan staff writer With a rosary in his pocket, a cross around his neck and a crucifix in hand, Peter Martin will step into a crowd of 104,000 faithful expected to fill the Trans World Dome tomorrow to hear the pope celebrate Mass. "I wouldn't pass it up for the world," said Martin, Wichita graduate student. More than 1 million people are expected to go there, hoping to see Pope John Paul II, history's most traveled pope, on his way back from the Americas synod. Martin will join 23 other KU students travelling tomorrow to St. Louis to attend the papal Mass. The other students received tickets to watch the pope on a big-screen television at the Convention Center in St. Louis from Mike Scherschlert, cathectical director at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center, 1631 Crescent Rd. The Convention Center is connected to the dome. Martin won two tickets to see the papal Mass inside the stadium through a free lottery system. All 99,000 tickets to the Mass have been allocated. Priests, nuns and other members of the clergy can attend without tickets. The last time Martin saw the pope was last August in Rome. "It symbolizes a lot for me because I'm Catholic. There's so much tradition and history about how much he represents." Martin said. "It just overwhelms me to be part of it again." "I saw him in the Vatican. He flies up by helicopter every Wednesday. I was in the last row. I had my zoom lens on and I could barely see him," he said. Whether or not he is any closer to the pope this time, Martin said the trip would be important to him. St. Louis will shut down major city streets during the pope's three motorcade parades and will place 1,500 police officers along the routes for crowd control. The Mass is expected to take three hours because of the large number of people receiving communion, Mart said. Michelle Mueller, Chesterfield, Mo., sophomore, is one of the students who will watch the mass in St. Louis on television. She said she was amazed by how much of a crowd the pope can draw. "I heard it's going to be really crazy," Mueller said. Nick Probst, Des Moines, Iowa, sophomore, who will be traveling with Mueller, had seen the pope once before in Rome when he sang a solo in front of Scherschligt said the pope would most likely devote his homily to his familiar themes of respect for life and Christian evangelism. he pontiff with his high-school choir. "I guess it's kind of a mini-pilgrimage," Probst said. "I'll learn new things about my faith." "His two primary things he talks about are the call for all Christians to spread the gospel, and he always speaks on the sanctity of life from conception to death — the dignity of human life." he said. Another focus of his homily will be young people, which is a favorite topic of the pontif. Scherschlid said. "We don't want students flunking class even if it's the pope," he said. "I don't think the pope would want them to." Two students bowed out of the trip because of class work concerns, he said. "He puts a challenge on the young people to take up the gospel," Scherschliet said. —The Associated Press contributed to this article. More informati. For more information on the pope's visit to St. Louis and his Kansas connection See page 6A Leak hospitalizes four KU students By Chris Hopkins Kansan staff writer A carbon monoxide leak in an apartment furnace sent four University of Kansas students to the emergency room last Thursday. Ally Harpaz, Chicago sophomore, and Molly Ackerman, Minneapolis senior, had the leak in their apartment at Park25. 2401 W. 25th St. Jessica Hund, Leavenworth senior, and Sianna Beetle, Silver Lake junior, live in an apartment above the other two women. Harpaz said she and Ackerman had been having problems with the furnace, but Harpaz did not get suspicious until later. "I got home from school on Thursday and started feeling kind of sick." Harnuz said. satterfield Ackerman said when she returned home later, the apartment smelled like dust and she began to feel ill. When her roommate started getting sick as well, Harpaz realized that something was wrong so she called their gas company, Kansas Public Service/Energyone. "kind of put two and two together," Haraz said. Larrissa Johns, spokesperson for the utility company, said they received the call around 9 p.m. Thursday. When Energyone employees arrived, they found all four women outside and suffering from nausea. Energygy employees found the carbon monoxide readings were at unhealthy levels in the apartment. The readings were 30 parts-per-million in CARBON MONOXIDE - Poisoning causes the following symptoms: - loss of appetite - alopecia - Nearly 300 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by residential appliances. - Poisoning causes the following headaches, dizziness, weakness, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and disorientation. If you experience these symptoms, leave the building and call Energyone at 1-800-303-0357. Source: American Lung Association Johns said the four students were taken to the emergency room while the employees continued to inspect the complex. "Management asked that they check all the rest of the rooms," Johns said. the apartment, where zero parts-per-million are safe. There also were 2,500 parts-per-million detected near the furnace, where 100 parts-per-million are safe. She said no other Park-25 apartments were found to have leaks. After the furnace was repaired, Harpaz, Ackerman, Hund and Beethe, returned to their apartments the next day. None of the four suffered serious injuries, although the situation left Ackerman a little shocked. "You hear about carbon monoxide poisoning but don't think it happens — and then to have your roommate telling you about it, and saying you have to leave," Ackerman said. "It just makes you even more sick. I'm just glad we caught it." Park-25 management could not be reached for comment. Actresses win, move on to national contest By T.J. Johnson Konson staff writer A KU graduate student was a winner at the Irene Ryan Region IV acting competition in Ames, Iowa, Last Wednesday. Megan Dillingham of Overland Park, and her acting partner, Alice Robison of Lawrence, graduate students in English, were one of two acting pairs from the competition picked to advance to the national finals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in April. Dillingham represented KU's English Alternative Theater in the competition Dillingham: Will compete in Washington, D.C. and was nominated to participate by Paul Lim, who directed her in the EAT production of the play "Victim Art" last fall. Dillingham competed with Robison as her partner in a preliminary round. The two were selected from about 250 competitors to enter the semi-finals of the event. The pair went on to compete against 16 other groups in the finals and were selected as one of two pairs from an eight-state region to advance to the national finals at the Kennedy Center. "I feel very honored that I get to go to the finals," Dillingham said. "I feel very honored. I'm also excited to go to Washington, DC. I've never been there." Dillingham performed a monologue at the beginning of the competition from "The Primary English Class" by Israel Horovitz and then performed a scene from Shakespeare's 'Henry V' with Robison. Each performance was limited by a strict five-minute time limit. Each group in the competition had a primary contender with an acting partner to help the judges see how the actors interact with other people. "Alice did a great job of helping me interact," Dillingham said. Ditlingham said the competition was exciting because it was an opportunity to see a lot of different pieces performed with different techniques, but it also was stressful to compete with so many great performers. Lim, an associate professor in the English department, said the achievement of Dillingham and Robison was even more impressive because they are English graduate students competing in an acting event. Lam said it had been about 12 years since a competitor from the University of Kansas had advanced to the national finals in Washington.