Volume 124 Issue 83
kansan.com
Thursday, January 26, 2012
the student voice since 1904
ON LOCATION
Film crew comes to Lawrence, involves students in project
KELSEY CIPOLLA
kcipolla@kansan.com
Lawrence is coming to a theater near you, thanks to actor, writer and director Blake Robbins, who spent several weeks this month filming "The Sublime and the Beautiful" in town.
The film tells the story of a professor whose three children are killed by a drunken driver just before Christmas. Robbins said the film is a study of how people cope with death and loss, influenced by his own experience, which includes watching the second tower fall during the terrorist attacks on September 11.
"I got fascinated with how tragedy sideswipes an ordinarily normal day," Robbins said. "To me, the movie is about life, love, fate, free will, how much we control over and how much we don't, and its a real, hopefully, authentic portrayal of grief and loss."
Robbins, who has guest starred on shows like "Oz," "The Office" and "The O.C." said he worked on the script for years. When he came to Lawrence to work on associate film professor Kevin
Willmott's "The Battle of Bunker Hill," Robbins realized Lawrence would be the perfect place to shoot his college-town drama.
Finding a location was just the beginning of the process. In need of money to fund his project, Robbins reached out to people via Kickstarter, a website that allows people to donate money to finance projects. He raised $20,000 through the site and managed to stretch his budget.
"He wrote it to what we have here and he wrote for what we would have access to," said Willmott, who is serving as executive producer. "Writing it that way was just really, really smart. Suddenly it doesn't look like a low budget film. You've created a whole world."
Having a local cast and crew willing to help bring his vision to life proved crucial, as did the help of Lawrence community members who allowed their hotties and cars to be used in the film. The University also played a major role in the filmmaking process, allowing Robbins and his crew to film in the Alumni Association building. Wescoe classrooms and offices and basketball courts in
the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center.
I couldn't have done it without the University's support," Robbins said.
He also gave back to the University by hiring several graduates and current students to work on his film.
"It really is an outreach program for students in the film department," Robbins said. "They're working with professional actors, professional cinematographers. They certainly have an experience now to apply to their lives as future filmmakers."
One of those students is production assistant Eric Rowlands, a senior from Manhattan, who donated $150 to the film through Kickstarter. When he realized the movie was being made in Lawrence, he con-
asked if he could work on the film.
"It's amazing."
Rowlands said of his experience. "I don't even want to
CAMPUS
Aerospace jobs still essential
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
Job prospects for KU aerospace students remain strong despite Boeing's recent decision to close its Wichita facilities by the end of 2013.
"I think there will be a huge need for airplanes in the future, which requires aerospace jobs," said Jan Roskam, emeritus professor at the University. "There's a need for the skills we impart on them all over the world."
Roskam worked for Boeing from 1958 until 1967 before coming to the University. He sees the decision having little effect on students' job prospects, considering the move affects 2,100 Wichitans, most of whom are not aerospace engineers.
Alejandra Escalera, a sophomore aerospace engineering student from La Paz, Bolivia, hopes to work in the space industry, perhaps for Lockheed
Martin, a global security and information technology company that works with the U.S. Department of Defense. For the past school year, she worked in the composites lab where she applied concepts learned in the classroom.
The composites lab develops materials that are constructed for use on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
tion, though prospects are more difficult as a foreigner because of security clearance issues. She is considering becoming a U.S. citizen, which would allow her to join the Air Force as a test pilot, another dream of hers.
"I think there will be a huge need for airplanes in the future, which requires aerospace jobs."
"You're learning with the book and also applying what you're learning." Escalera said.
"Going abroad would be ideal, but I need to get experience in the U.S. before going anywhere else," Jasperse said. He points to his experience in the lab, where
Chris Jasperse, a senior from Gardner, has worked in the composites lab for the past two years and will be looking for a job after graduating in May. He is interested in wind turbines, which is a growing field because of the popularity of green energy. Jasperse has yet to send out job applications but would be happy working locally or abroad.
Escalera is not too concerned about finding a job after gradua-
JAN ROSKAM Professor emeritus
said that the company, like many American businesses, suffers from "optimize quarterly profits syndrome." This means businesses only consider short-term gain versus long-term growth and the needs of their employees.
he has built radar wings for NASA, as preparing him for the industry.
"It was a perfectly legal decision, but unethical," Roskam said. "They should have honored their oral commitment."
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
R o s k a m would understand if the companymoved because of losing money,but
Edited by Pat Strathman
David Schroer, a senior from Lincoln (front), and Julian McCafferty, a junior from Lawrence (back), finish working on the main spar for one of the wings of the unmanned plane known as the Meridian. The Aerospace students, along with other majors, have developed this unmanned system which is designed to fly over Antartica and Greenland to record the depths of ice which have never been recorded.
Boeing 737 engines stand, Jan. 10, 2012, at the company's factory in Renton, Wash. Tuesday. Boeing celebrated the increased production rate of the 737 line to 35 planes per month on Tuesday.
STEPHEN BRASHEAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAWRENCE
rsalver@kansan.com
RACHEL SALYER
Stipulations on what is considered a boarding house changed, decreasing the number of eligible houses in the Oread district, at Tuesday night's weekly city commission meeting.
In a four to one vote, the city commission decided to change boarding house eligibility from 3,500 raw square feet to 4,500 raw square feet. This changes the number of eligible houses from 89 to 20. Last week the commission said it thought 20 eligible houses was appropriate, but deferred the decision because it was unclear if the research that produced the number included basements and attics.
The decision affects all housing in Lawrence, though most boarding houses are in the Oread neighborhood that surrounds the University.
A boarding house is a type of zone exempt from the rule that four or more unrelated people can live together, as long as it meets the square-footage requirement and provides 1/2 a parking space per bedroom.
The decision may lead to fewer potential student houses in an area some students feel they deserve to live.
"It ites appropriate that this is where I live," Sheila Collins said, who lives in an Oread boarding house. "I think if anything this area should be more student occupied because it's in the middle of where we need to go."
During last week's meeting the issue was open for public comment, and many voiced concerns that 1/2 a parking space per bedroom was not enough, leaving streets congested.
"I don't want to see the parking intensity increase anymore," said John Brewer, an Oread resident.
Collins said not everyone living in her house has a car, and the
However, it is uncertain how long the new regulations will remain in place with the upcoming Oread Neighborhood Plan.
"It's a great, complicated neighborhood with a mix of residents," Cromwell said. "We want to keep it that way."
The plan is aimed at overall improvement of the area's infrastructure, land use and atmosphere. The plan will keep the balance of the population, but will "maintain and stabilize the strongest concentrations of owner-occupied housing and encourage owner occupancy throughout the neighborhood," according to the land use section of the plan.
availability to walk both downtown and campus is one of the reasons she lives there.
The plan also calls for re-zoning throughout the Oread, and the commission recognized that their boarding house regulations may only be temporary, but think it will carry some meaning.
"If I couldn't live here, and had to live further away, to the point that a car was needed, my daily commute would absolutely be more difficult," Collins said.
Mayor Aron Cromwell said last week that it's important to keep the neighborhood mixed with both students and permanent residents. He believes the 20 eligible houses, which account for just less than five percent of the neighborhood, will accomplish that.
"They may make some changes." Cromwell said. "But this will probably carry a little bit of weight."
The commission is expecting to look at the plan within the next few months.
Edited by Katie James.
Index
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
all contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
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