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Volume 124 Issue 146
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
kansan.com
HEALTH
TRENDING
MARCH 31,2012
FINAL FOUR
Panic breaks out in rush for student tickets
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
NEW ORLEANS — As thousands of students lined up waiting for tickets in a parking garage adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a "Let's go Jayhawks" chant bounced through the garage. Right on cue, Louisville, Kentucky and Ohio State fans drowned out the chant with boos. But that was the calm part of March 31.
The chaos began early in the morning when students from all four universities lined up, hoping to get a floor seat to the two Final Four games. A metal barrier separated each school, and everything was calm, until security guards told the students they weren't supposed to be in the garage at all.
That's when panic broke out.
Students said they stamped outside of the garage, hoping to keep their spot at the front of the line. Before things could settle down, the students were instructed to return to their original place inside the parking garage, creating the morning's second mob.
Two Louisville students, senior Pat Hoagland and sophomore Grant McKenzie, said everything was orderly when they first arrived at the garage. But the relaxed nature of the line, quickly changed.
"We got here at 12:30 a.m. last night, and there was no one here," Hoagland and McKenzie said. "As soon as we all got back outside, it was literally 2,800 students, running in one direction and then the other direction. It was like running of the bulls with drunk college students."
Another Lousiville fan, who wished to remain anonymous, captured a video of a confrontation he had with a security guard for Festival and Event Staffing and Security Services Inc., or FESS, that turned ugly. The student recorded the video once the students were let back in the garage.
"I'm going to kick your fucking ass," the guard said.
Once they were let back inside, the students from opposing schools began to chant in unison, in haste of the security team and NCAA, who turned the students' morning into a nightmare.
The NCAA did hand out water bottles to every student lined up, which helped ease the students' frustration.
Hoagland and McKenzie said they also saw a girl with a black eye and that someone they know who attends Louisville got his forehead split open.
Two students, who made the drive from Lawrence, Kan., to New Orleans, junior Tanga Fastoski and senior Aaron Pearson, found themselves in the middle of the confusion.
Pearson lost his shoe while he was running in and had to turn around and face the crowd of hurried students. He retracted his steps and said he was being hit like a series of dominoes.
"It was crazy. It was horrible," Fastouski said.
The NCAA released a statement on Saturday's incident, saying that approximately 500 students crossed barricades and entered the garage without proper authorization around 12.30 a.m. The NCAA said students were instructed by their respective schools to arrive at the garage at 10 a.m.
But the system was on a first-come, first-serve basis, and students showed up early to get the best seats possible.
the statement said the NCAA adjusted their process to accommodate the students at 7 a.m.
"While they were being removed in an orderly manner, some students rushed back into the garage and remained there against the orders of security staff," the statement said.
The NCAA is reviewing the incident and taking measures with increased security for Monday night's game to ensure the safety of the students.
The scene reminded Kansas students of the camping scene for the first Ohio State game in Lawrence on Dec. 10, 2011, when an ambulance was called to Allen Fieldhouse to help a girl who had passed out after waiting in line for nearly three hours in frigid temperatures.
"It was camping to a new extreme." Fastoustki said of Saturday's incident.
Students waiting in line before the NCAA Final Four Tournament in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
49
drives some of this."
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Edited by Max Lush
Soap said he expected the trend to pick up again in the fall when the football season kicks off. Soap said October would be a good month
o revamp the trend because it's also Breast Cancer Awareness month.
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KEN SOAP Local radio DJ page moderator
book likes: 672
book photos: 481
unique, but with a trend like KU loops, it is less about the attention and more about the risk.
"What makes this slightly different from, say, posing nude in an adult magazine is that once photo is shared via twitter or ebook or text message, it's eventual ending point is unknown," he said. "This not knowing and we risk involved is what I think
Elizalde McCoy pointed to studies showing contributions from donors
dowment
undraising will end in June 2012, when an additional 588 million will hopefully be raised for a total of $1.2 billion.
University community and our alumni around a central cause," said Rosita Elizalde-McCoy, senior vice president for communications and marketing for KU Endowment. "It presents a cohesive case in front of our donors."
The press release said that students are already benefiting from the donations. According to the release, 246 new scholarships have been created along with 14 new professorships, which retain
increase by 20 to 30 percent during campaigns. While acknowledging that the plan is ambitious, she said that achieving the goal is possible, given that more than half the funds have already been raised.
of April 2012, they have raised $612 million.
ROSITA ELIZALDE-MCCOY
Senior vice president for communications and marketing for KU Endowment
Bob Page, president and CEO of The University of Kansas Hospital, said the funds would benefit expansion efforts for the
Edited by Jeff Karr
"The success of this campaign for Kansas' flagship university will benefit people in every corner of our state and region," Gray-Little said.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little praised the initiative and said it would push the University as well as the entire state in the right direction.
"The hospital serves patients from every county in Kansas, so supporting our needs impacts Kansans everywhere," Page said.
KU Medical Center.
$400 million for students (scholarships fellowships and opportunities outside the classroom)
$325 million for programs (academic research, clinical and community engagement initiatives)
$300 million for faculty (professorships, recruitment of exemplary faculty and staff)
$175 million for facilities (construction and renovation of facilities for learning and patient care).
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 4A
CRYPTOQUIPS 4A
OPINION 5A
Index
These numbers total to the $1.2 billion goal.
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 4A
Fundraising began in July 2008.
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The Annual Visual Scholarship Art Show is today in the Art and Design Building from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.