PAGE 6A
MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012
FINAL FOUR EXPERIENCE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Students enjoy special trip to New Orleans
RACHEL SALYER
rsalyer@kansan.com
NEW ORLEANS — As University students poured out of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome Saturday night, rock chalk chants and high-fives to strangers filled the streets. The game was painful for all fans to watch at times, but for the students who made the 14-hour trip, the journey was more rewarding.
Kansas students cheer before the game against Ohio State at the Meredes-Benz Superdome. Kansas won against Ohio State 64-62.
Thousands of students from all four teams lined up in a parking garage, where they waited until 2:00 p.m. for floor seats.
Alex Arteaga, a freshman from Naperville, Ill., made the trip with four other students, and sat, stood and slept on the cement floors of the garage from 3 a.m. Saturday until the doors opened.
"We're first in line, so of course it's worth it," Arteaga said. "I would say it is uncomfortable, and it makes for a long day, but just knowing what we're here for makes things easier."
MacKenzie Splan, a freshman from Chicago, Ill., was one of the 350 students who sat on the floor during the game.
FROM THE GAME
"Even though we were so close, we ended up watching a lot of it on the screen," Splan said. "But, being on the floor, obviously the
atmosphere is the best you can get.
The energy was out of control."
Other fans cheered from the sixth floor of the stadium where the Jayhawks had a designated spot.
TRAIVS YOUNG/KANSAN
Stephen Blumhardt, a 2011 alumnus from Overland Park, attended the Final Four in 2008.
THE COST OF THE EXPERIENCE
"I bought my ticket from a scalper today," Blumhardt said. "It kind of sucks being so far up. Last time I got to be with all the students, and now I am kind of disconnected, but I will see them all on Bourbon tonight."
Ninety-seven percent of all hotel rooms were reserved in New Orleans Saturday night, pushing some students on the outskirts.
"We stayed like 30 minutes or so outside of town," Arteaga said. "Our hotel isn't in the best part of town, but it is cheap and it is better than sleeping on mats on the cement floor."
Arteague estimated his cost to go to both games was about $150.
Splan and her boyfriend stayed with friends in Mandeville, La., about 45 minutes away, and said the biggest cost to her was missing class.
"Our teachers weren't exactly excited when we told them we were coming," Splan said. "Having to miss class isn't a good thing, but it's totally worth it. This will only happen once, and I don't know who wouldn't want to be
apart of it."
TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
The student gate opens at 4 p.m. for tonight's game and all students will be seated on the floor, but that guarantee alone isn't enough.
"We haven't set an exact time yet, but we are going fairly early for sure," Splan said. "I know it's unlikely I'll get to do this again, so I want to make sure it's worth it."
For Arteaga and his group, the goal is to be the first in the
building one more time.
"We really want the best seats so we're getting there at midnight." Arteaga said. "I'd never even considered going to a championship before and I am sure it'll be unlike anything ever
before. I will probably be telling the story for years."
Edited by Pat Strathman
New Orleans Police officers ready for tournament crowds
SECURITY
JESSICA JANASZ/KANSAN
A Kansas fan hangs from a traffic light in honor of the team's Final Four victory. Fans flooded Massachusetts Street to celebrate after the game.
LAURA SATHER
lsather@kansan.com
NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Big Easy is no stranger to large crowds, whether people are in town for Mardi Gras or sporting championships.
New Orleans Police officer Ross Bourgeois, who is part of the special events section, said with all their experience, officers were ready for all the Final Four fans.
"It is very taxing, but we seem to do it pretty well," Bourgeois said.
George Guthrie, a Kansas fan from Overland Park, flew in last Wednesday for the game, and he said Bourbon Street in New Orleans reminded him of a road in Lawrence.
"It's like a thousand blocks of Mass Street," he said. "It just goes and goes and goes — one party after another."
Back in Lawrence, Lawrence Police Department Sergeant Trent McKinley said in a press release that glass bottles and cans wouldn't be allowed on Mass
street saturday night, but police wouldn't be enforcing open container laws as harshly as usual as long as alcohol was kept in plastic cups.
Bourgeois said New Orleans Police officers take a similar stances
small infractions," he said. "We don't focus a lot of energy on small infractions until it becomes a point where it becomes a public safety issue, so our tolerance alon open containers and other alcohol-related infractions so they can make sure no bigger crimes fall through the cracks.
"The police department is very tolerant - probably the most tolerant police department for small infractions."
ROSS BOURGEOIS New Orleans Police officer
"The police department is very tolerant — probably the most tolerant police department for
lows us to focus on keeping the public safe."
Bourgeois said up to 660 officers are stationed in and around Bourbon Street and the French Quarter on any given night, but during big events like the Final Four. even more
officers will come from other districts in the city to help with crowd control. And no matter what happens, the New Orleans Police Department will be ready.
"We plan for, and we anticipate all manner of things, from
demonstrations to civil unrest," Bourgeois said. "We've got contingency plans for all that, much like we do contingency plans for the weather, or contingency plans for hurricane season."
Edited by Max Lush
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Check out the online photo gallery online on kansan.com
FLIPPIN' FUN
JESSICA JANASZ/KANSAN
A student catches a pancake on his plate at Flapjacks for Philanthropy Saturday morning at Eaton Hall. The event was hosted by sophomore students in the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program. The proceeds went to the GaDuGi SafeCenter, a nonprofit organization that provides support and advocacy for sexual assault victims in the Lawrence Area.
While Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little acknowledged the atmosphere surrounding the basketball team playing in the national championship, she maintains her decision that classes will not be cancelled tomorrow if the team wins tonight.
CLASSES
Win or lose, classes to be held tomorrow
Gray-Little's announcement last week that school will resume Tuesday no matter the success of the team drew theire of students, many of whom took to Twitter and Facebook to voice their displeasure with her decision.
"Our classes will be in session," Capilouto said. "It will be business as usual."
In response to the petition, Gray-Little said, "I appreciate the enthusiasm of some of our students, but Ku'l's first duty as a university is to encourage excellence in the classroom. We're all thrilled that the Jayhawks are playing for the national championship, and we should win, I'm confident students will celebrate safely."
In reaction to Gray-Little's email, students created a petition through gopeetition.com asking her to reconsider the decision. The petition has gained more than 700 signatures as of Sunday afternoon.
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilotto issued a video statement to Kentucky fans on March 30 stating that the Lexington campus will run regularly on Tuesday.
Vikaas Shanker
CRIME
The New York donor, Abake Assongba, has contributed more than $50,000 to Obama's reelection effort this year, federal records show. But Assongba is also fending off a civil court case in Florida, where she's accused of thieving more than $650,000 to help build a multimillion dollar home in the state — a charge her husband denies.
Donor accused of defrauding official
WASHINGTON — A major donor to President Barack Obama has been accused of defrauding a businessman and impersonating a bank official, creating new headaches for Obama's reelection campaign as it deals with the questionable history of another top supporter.
Obama is the only presidential contender this year who released his list of "bundlers," the financiers who raise campaign money by soliciting high-dollar contributions from friends and associates. But that disclosure has not come without snags; his campaign returned $200,000 last month to Carlos and Alberto Cardona, the brothers of a Mexican fugitive wanted on federal drug charges.
Associated Press
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