Volume 124 Issue 118
kansan.com
Thursday, March 15, 2012
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
STUDENT SENATE
FUNDS MARKED FOR REDESIGN
Finance Committee Chairman Josh Dean, addresses Student Senate on the agreement to raise the supportive service fees for Kansas students. This will allow the Student Safety Advisory Board to grant new health and safety benefits to students.
RACHEL SALYER
rsalyer@kansan.com
The University Student Senate passed a bill allocating $100,000 from the Senate Reserve account to help fund the Wescoe Beach Renovation Project during its meeting yesterday evening.
Senate Bill 2012-183 passed with a vote of 48 to six.
The project comprises updating Wescoe's exterior by adding seating, lighting and trees. Student Senate's Campus Safety Advisory Board allocated $25,000 covering half of necessary funds for lighting. The other half of the lighting came from University administration, which agreed to match the funding dollar-for-dollar, putting the estimated project total at $250,000.
The plan is designed to promote functionality within the space by adding 17 new seat-walls while maintaining all major student walkways, which were determined in a study.
It also adds 13 new trees, one new light pole and relocates two existing light poles, bringing lighting for the space up to University standard.
Libby Johnson, student body president, and Gabe Bliss, student body vice president, authored the bill and began working on it in April after they were elected.
Exact details for the plan, such as adding outlets for the four or five tableing spaces, will be worked out through the office of design and construction management.
"We're extremely excited to see this come to fruition," Johnson said. "It's been a lot of time and a lot of work. We've gotten to work with a lot of people from the University, and we are very excited it is paying off."
The project is expected to start May 15 and be completed by August 1.
Johnson said the senate reserve
account was created to be used for projects that would have a lasting effect on campus, but in his speech Mitch Rucker, a freshman senator, asked voting members whether the money may be better spent.
"I think this is purely an exercise in vanity and excess, and it isn't necessary." Rucker said in his speech.
Wescole was last renovated in 1973 and was referred to as an eyesore by Johnson.
The reserve account's current balance was just under $320,000, an amount higher than usual.
"I think we're using the students' money in a way that will enhance campus life." Bliss said. "That's the
purpose of student senate and the reserve account"
"Wescoe is really a hub for student activity." Johnson said. "It's where student study, relax and socialize. It's also where student organizations connect with the student body, and it's time to upgrade and update that space."
Edited by Nadia Imafidon
PLACE YOUR BETS
Bracket strategies involve all variables
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
Whether it is gut intuition, statistics, or team loyalty, students rely on a variety of factors when filling out their brackets for March Madness.
Cal Bayer, a freshman from Kansas City, Mo., filled out three brackets this season, all different, one of which he is submitting for his pool at his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.
"I go through and pick what I'm feeling at the time," Bayer said. "I remember different things about different teams at the time I'm filling each one out."
Bayer always picks the University to win the national championship, and usually chooses Big 12 teams, except for Missouri.
Henry Clever, a junior from St. Louis, Mo., has yet to fill out his bracket, but also plans to choose the University to win it all, mostly due to his loyalty to the team.
"The reason why teams win is too complicated for me to predict, and the seeds aren't a good determination of who's going to win," Clever said. "You can't really know, so I might as well hope I get lucky and pick my team."
As for the other match-ups, Clever said he will choose teams that have done well all season, but lost a big game recently. Those teams will have a reason to be fired up and go further, Clever said.
For those less interested in team loyalty, the Wall Street Journal offers an online bracket in which you can fill out a bracket based on team statistics
while remaining blind to the team name, referred to as the Blindfold Bracket.
For those more interested in a more statistical approach, The New York Times offers a probability field for winners in each round. Currently, it favors Kentucky as the most likely school to win the national championship with a probability of 26.4 percent.
Jacob Baty, a junior from Overland Park, relies less on team loyalty and more on objectivity when selecting winning teams. He too has Kentucky winning the championship. While a Kansas fan, he did
not say how far he picked the University going.
"It's debatable whether they'll beat Georgetown," Baty said. "Losing to Baylor didn't help my confidence."
Baty usually picks lower seeds, experienced coaches and teams who played strong opponents to do well.
"I hope KU does well, but I try to be more objective than blindly loyal," Baty said. "Being blindly loyal never wins brackets."
Edited by Amanda Gage
LEGISLATURE
Student IDs accepted as valid at election polls
REBEKKA SCHLICHTING
rschlichting@kansan.com
To add to the list of the different uses a KU student ID card possesses, students can now use them at election polls in Kansas.
All university student IDs in Kansas have recently been considered a valid form of identification for voting purposes according to Secure and Fair Elections Act (S.A.FE Act.) Kansas legislature adopted S.A.F.E. Act on April 18, 2011 and went into effect on Jan. 1. It requires voters to show an approved photographic identification at all Kansas government and presidential election polls.
Voter turnout for college students is not as high as other age groups said Jack Martin, director of strategic communications for the University. He said more student involvement in the political process results in the views of students being taken more into account when decisions are being made in the local and national governments.
A list of other acceptable photo IDs include driver's licenses, nondriver's licenses, concealed carry of a hand gun licenses, military IDs, public assistance IDs and employee badges that are issued by a municipal court, county, state or federal state of Kansas.
"We wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to comply with the new requirement, while at the same time, protecting against voter fraud," Kansas Secretary of State Chris Kobach said. "We felt that the universities in Kansas were sufficiently careful in distributing photo IDs. It was unlikely that university photo IDs would be used as a tool for fraud."
departments of motor vehicles (DMV).
"We want KU students to be active, informed, and engaged citizens. Part of the rights and responsibilities in citizenship is voting and you need an ID to vote in Kansas." Martin said.
Kay Curtis, director of public affairs for the Kansas Secretary of State, said before the S.A.F.E. Act was passed, the only requirement when registering to vote was a statement claiming citizenship if no other form of proof was available. The S.A.F.E. Act demands documentation to be shown that proves citizenship when registering to vote.
Voters are still required to register to vote before going to the polls. Registration forms are available online at www.dmw.org, local libraries, city halls and local
There is a state-wide voter education campaign to inform Kansas residents about the S.A.F.E. Act. The campaign is paying for ads on TV, radio, newspaper and internet. Curtis said partnerships across the state are encouraged to meet with different organizations, political parties and candidates to help spread the message.
"We're especially pleased with the growth and enthusiastic support of the S.A.F.E. Act Community Partner group that includes most of the leading Kansas universities, associations, financial services, utilities, media organizations, state
and social agencies and retailers," Curtis said. "They're all equally important because they reach different audience groups."
Graphic by Bailey Atkinson
Kobach said the law has already seen some success at other schools in the state.
"We have seen the law in effect in Wichita," Kobach said. "There was a big election, on Feb. 28, on a tax bill at question in the city of Wichita. Wichita State University students were affected and I'm not
Citizens who do not have a form of photo identification can receive a free voter ID by applying at a DMV. Details and more information are available at www.gotvoterid.com.
aware of any University students that had any difficulty voting."
Edited by Max Lush
Student Senate voted to expand the student code of rights to protect online speech, and to a $15 increase in student fees during its regular meeting Wednesday night.
Senate also agreed to fund the People of KU international student magazine and the $100,000 renovation of Wescoe Beach using money from the Senate's reserve account.
STUDENT SENATE
Before the regular meeting took place, Senate invited a guest speaker to discuss diversity and the importance of being aware of underrepresented populations at the University.
Cody Charles, the assistant director for multicultural affairs, led an interactive discussion during the meeting to explain how members can recognize the diversity in their peers. He urged student senators to push for multicultural awareness.
"Continue to educate yourself on issues that are affecting a wide variety of students." Charles said in the meeting.
Bill increases fees protects online speech
CLASSIEIEDS 8 CRYPTOQUIPS 4 SPORTS 10
CROSSWORD 4 OPINION 5 SUDOKU 4
contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
Vikaas Shanker
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