THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005
NEWS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3A
Shooting victim remembered
Kansas City freshman was known for his independence, dedication and humor
BY JOSHUA BICKEL
jbickel@kansan.com
KANSA STAFT WINTER
Christopher Martell boarded a bus bound for Mexico City last year, alone, to visit his grandparents.
When he arrived at his destination, his grandparents were not there to pick him up.
So he hailed a taxi and found his way to his grandparents' house.
Independence characterized Martell, an 18-year-old freshman from Kansas City, Kan., who accidentally shot himself and died Dec. 22, 2004. A bullet hit a main artery in his leg, said his father, Miguel Martell.
His body was found the next afternoon in his car.
His father said Martell had no problem traveling by himself to a place he'd never been. In fact, he wanted to do it.
"He always wanted to do things on his own," his father said.
His father guessed that he was giving someone a ride home when the accident happened.
"He was always giving rides home to his friends and family," his father said.
"He wanted to be a clown
Martell graduated with honors last spring from the Sumner Academy for Arts and Sciences in Kansas City, Kan., and was
when he was a kid. He always liked to make you laugh."
Miguel Martell
Christopher Martell's father
studying computer engineering at the University of Kansas. After graduation, his father said Martell planned to work for a company designing video games.
"He was a very hard worker," his father said. "He would work double shifts just so he could have more money for
school."
But even though Martell took some things seriously, he wasn't afraid to bring humor to even the most serious situation.
"He wanted to be a clown when he was a kid," Martell's father said. "He always liked to make you laugh."
"He was the kind of person who wanted to help you," his father said.
But the thing people who knew Martell will remember the most was his dedication to his friends and his family, which he demonstrated by giving rides to his grandmother or cracking a joke just to make his friends feel better.
— Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
Israeli and Palestinian peace talks continue
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli and Palestinian leaders met yesterday to discuss ways to stop militants from firing rockets and mortars in Gaza, heading off the possibility of a large-scale Israeli invasion to curb the surging violence.
The decision came as the top Palestinian security chief ordered a deployment of troops along the Gaza-Israel frontier to stop the attacks — the first concrete step to rein in militants since the election of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel broke off contacts with Abbas' government after a Jan. 13 attack on a vital Gaza-Israel crossing point killed six Israelis. But the ban came under criticism from the United States, the United Nations, Egypt and Jordan — and it lasted only a few days.
coordinate security steps."
After a meeting of his Security Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office issued a statement saying "a security meeting will be held at the field commander level to
Israeli officials said the meeting convened at the Erez crossing between northern Gaza and Israel. Brig. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, representing the Israelis, met Palestinian public security director Maj. Gen. Moussa Arafat. Israel Army Radio reported that Arafat presented a detailed plan to deploy hundreds of armed police in the border area to halt the rocket fire, and Kochavi was to deliver it to Israel's defense minister.
Israel's Security Cabinet was considering military action to stop the barrages of mortars and rockets aimed at Jewish settlements and Israeli towns just outside Gaza, when the Palestinian leadership called for security talks toward cooperation in ending the violence, officials said.
The sudden turnabout defused escalating tension that appeared to be leading toward an Israeli invasion, clashes with Palestinian gunmen and possibly dozens of casualties.
The appeal, coupled with the decision by the Palestinian police commander to deploy forces
along the border to stop the rocket attacks, was enough for Israel's new, more moderate government to put off a military strike and give renewed talks a chance.
Dalia Itzik, a Cabinet minister from the dovish Labor Party, said Israeli pressure led to Palestinian pledges for action. "It's good that they're going to talk," she told Army Radio. Sharon brought Labor into his coalition government to provide crucial backing for his Gaza pullout plan, and its presence is likely to moderate government policy.
However, the Security Cabinet also approved military action if talks fail. Sharon noted both options on Wednesday.
"Israel is prepared to cooperate with the Palestinians on condition that there is no terrorism," Sharon said in a meeting with a top EU official, according to a statement from his office. "If the Palestinians take the right steps, we will be able to cooperate and coordinate on certain matters regarding the disengagement plan."
because of lack of Palestinian cooperation, implying that if talks fail, Israel will take action.
But he warned that Israel is not prepared to take losses
Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who is close to Abbas, said restoring calm depends on Israel, not the Palestinians. "We hope that the peace process will have a chance and we hope that Israel will initiate positive initiatives by stopping the aggression and the killing," he told reporters after a meeting of leaders from Abbas' Fatah Party.
Abbas, meanwhile, was edging toward a truce agreement with militant groups, according to a participant in the talks, Fatah representative Ziad Abu Amr. "The parties were never closer to an agreement than they are now," he said.
After meeting with Abbas, however, Islamic Jihad official Mohammed Hindi was noncommittal. "We discussed all the items linked to the Palestinian political arena including the subject of calming down the situation," he said. "We agreed to continue our discussions and we will meet again very soon."
International students affected by tsunami
BY ESTUARDO GARCIA
egarcia@kansan.com
KANSAN STAT WRITE
It was about 1:30 the morning of Dec.26,2004,when Samadhi Vitharana received a phone call. There had been an earthquake near her home country of Sri Lanka.
The tsunami hit the coastal cities along the Indian Ocean, claiming more than 200,000 lives and leaving over one million homeless. As the spring semester of the University of Kansas begins, these students will have to focus on classes as their home countries focus on rebuilding.
Vitharana, a pharmaceutical chemistry postdoctoral researcher, worried about her mother and father, whose house was located five minutes away from the coast. She immediately got on the phone, but was not able to reach her parents. She tried calling several different numbers, but was unsuccessful.
Of the total international student population at the University, 363 students come from countries that were ravaged by last month's tsunami. Vitharana is one of the eight international students who come from Sri Lanka. Two hundred fifty-six students are from India, 54 from Malaysia, 28 from Indonesia and 17 from Thailand, according to International Student and Scholar Services.
"I was very happy to hear their voices because I didn't know what was happening." Vitharana said. "The details about the individual countries were not exposed at that time."
Ten hours later, Vitharana's parents were able to contact her and tell her they were OK and staying at a friend's house farther inland.
Vitharana and other Sri Lankan students have already
raised money for victims of the tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka. With the help of the American Red Cross, they have set up tables at Checkers Foods, 2500 Louisiana, and have gone door-to-door at Stouffer Place raising money. The group also has plans on setting up a table at Wal-Mart, 3300 Iowa. They have raised nearly $1,000.
Nuttee Sakkullaphat, a graduate engineering student from Bangkok, was enjoying a ski trip in New Hampshire when the tsunami hit Thailand. He too received a phone call informing him about the tsunami.
"The first thing I asked was if there was any warning," Sakkullaphat said. "Even if there was a warning, how do you evacuate people from an island like Phuket?"
Like many others, both Vitharana and Sakkullaphat had to wait for hours before they were able to contact their loved ones back home. Fortunately, Sakkullaphat's parents also live in Bangkok, in the northern part of Thailand, and were not directly affected by the tsunami.
When news about the tsunami reached the the university administration, it immediately made plans to contact international students and students abroad. Monday morning, Joe Potts, director of ISSS, sent out an e-mail to all the students on behalf of Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
He said that they have not had much response from their students. So far, the students who have family in those areas have not reported any loss of life or a lot of property destruction. He said it is still too early to tell what, if any, impact the tsunami had on enrollment of students from these areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report Edited by Megan Claus