Volume 124 Issue 129
kansan.com
Friday, April 6, 2012
RELIGION
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The newly constructed Kansas City, Mo., Temple is lit up at night in Independence, Mo. The temple is one of just 137 temples around the world, and it will serve up to 45,000 Latter-day Saints throughout Kansas, Missouri and parts of other surrounding states.
New temple closer option for local Latter-day Saints
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The newest temple in the Kansas City area has been a project 180 years in the making.
kcipolla@kansan.com
Christina Edwards, a graduate student from Dubuque, Iowa, is the president of the University's Latter-day Saints student organization. She said temples are a sacred space to members of the church.
Sacred ordinances, like wedding ceremonies and baptisms for deceased relatives, take place in the temple, which also has areas for instruction on the scripture and personal reflection, said William Walker, a Church authority.
The temple, which is one of 137 in the world, was built in Kansas City, Mo., to accommodate the 100,000 church members in Kansas and Missouri. Before the temple was built, they traveled to Omaha and St. Louis to reach the nearest temples.
"We believe they're places on Earth where we can be closest to God." Edwards said.
A sealing room sits empty inside the new Kansas City Missouri Temple in Independence, Mo. A sealing room is where couples in the Mormon faith make their vows to one another as they get married. It will be open to the public from Saturday, April 7, until Sunday, May 6.
Dennis Karpowitz, an associate professor of clinical psychology, is retiring at the end of this semester to serve as one of two counselors to the temple's president.
"I'm going to miss working with students," he said. "But this opportunity came along, and I feel that it's a wonderful way to be helpful."
The 32,000 square feet temple stands 151 feet high and features limestone floors, Swarovski Crystal chandeliers and gold leafing. Walker would not give the exact cost of the building, but said it cost more than $10 million to build.
— Edited by Corinne Westeman
The recently completed Kansas City Missouri Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints is now open to the public.
"We occasionally get comments that the LDS church is very secretive about things, but really we think we are open," Walker said. "It's not a secret matter. It's a matter of being sacred."
The public is welcome to visit the temple for tours, from today until Saturday, April 28, excluding Sundays. Once it is formally dedicated on Sunday, May 6, only church members in good standing will be allowed to enter the temple. Tour reservations can be made online at kansascitymormontempite.org.
Members of the Mormon church came to Missouri in the 1830s and had plans to build a temple in Independence, but it was never completed because church members were forced to flee after years of violent conflicts with Missourians.
KELSEY CIPOLLA
ROCK OUT
AIR GUITARING
Lawrence championship: one stop on road to nationals
Rachelle Landreth, a senior from Shawnee who performs as Sonic Bitch, said she feels that a strong sense of camaraderie has developed amongst local performers, who carpool to competitions and performances.
Landreth said she usually practices her routines in the car, but sometimes starts performing without noticing.
"I was walking around campus listening to a song and caught myself air guitaring." Landreth said with a laugh.
That disregard for public opinion can be an asset to a performer.
"You have to have no shame," Melin said. "It's not about air guitaring the song accurately because that's no fun. For me, it's the ultimate expression of rock and roll fandom."
Whitney Young, a senior from Overland Park who performs under the name Glory Wholesome, said the fact that she does have a sense of shame makes her nervous before performances, despite years of experience and a performance at the Kansas City championship last year.
"I have a couple drinks in me before I start doing anything." Young said. "Usually I don't have anything prepared."
The evening's performances were judged by Joel Pfannenstiel, owner of Astrokty Comics.
SEE GUITAR PAGE 3
Rachel Landreth, a senior from Shawnee, rocks out on stage during her air guitar solo. She had one minute to perform along with sixteen other competitors. A table of four judges gave scores to decide who would be named Lawrence air guitar champion.
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
SENATE
Bill approved for soap-making
VIKAAS SHANKER
vshanker@kansan.com
Next year, students can expect to wash their hands with student-made liquid soap on campus. Student Senate approved the bill that finances the Alternative Energy Society during its regular meeting Wednesday night.
This bill asked for another $15,000 from the Senate's reserve account to fund soap-making equipment.
AES' biodiesel fuel project converts used cooking oil into biodiesel fuel, which is used for lawnmower equipment, the inflatable figures at football games and portable power for Potter Lake. But the process also makes a byproduct, glycerin, which program co-director Ilya Tabakh said can be made into liquid soap with this equipment.
AES has produced more than 5,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel and Tanakh thinks the soap-making initiative will push the student organization to be more sustainable.
But the bill concerned some senators as they debated whether AES provided a "long-lasting impact for students," a requirement used to justify funding from the reserve account.
"We're asking for continued support this year to give us an opportunity to upgrade our processor a little bit and add soap to our portfolio," Tanakh said. "Hopefully this will set us up to be sustainable at this level."
Aaron Dollinger, a liberal arts and sciences senator, likes the project but didn't believe it should be financed through the reserve account.
"I think what this group is doing on campus is fantastic," Dollinger said. "This is better than about 98 percent of the things we spend through the reserve account, but that doesn't mean it's right for this account."
ELECTION CHALKING CHANGES
Dollinger also said the money saved through this process went
Student Senate also decided to pass a bill limiting student election chalking to registered coalitions or candidates. Currently, Article XII of the Senate's rules and regulations doesn't regulate chalking, but after this semester's election, coalitions can't chalk until they are officially registered with the election commission, a nonpartisan panel that oversees student elections. The change was made because the commission had some concerns with early chalking.
"Over the past eight years, there have been some issues the way chalking is allowed," said Aaron Harris, a liberal arts and sciences senator, referencing past coalitions that started chalking early.
Another bill passed by Senate updates Senate's budget code by introducing language that puts unwritten practices into its rules and regulations.
Senate also passed bills granting funding to student organizations.
to the University, not to students, and that it didn't contribute to a long-lasting impact for students. He suggested that the funding be taken out of the sustainability portion of student fees instead of the reserve account.
Vikaas Shanker
But the bill passed after other senators contended the group
contributed a long-lasting impact by reducing the carbon footprint of the University for the biodiesel project, and said that the sustainability fee wouldn't cover the expenses.
— Edited by Corinne Westeman
CLASSIFIEDS 11 CRYPTOQUIPS 4 SPURTS 12
CROSSWORD 4 OPINION 5 SUDOKU 4
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
Student Senate coalitions can start active tabling today. That means coalition members can approach you on campus.
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