6A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2002
BACKLASH
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and they shouldn't be pushing it so hard."
and they shouldn't be pushing too hard.
Bickerstaff said he had expected to be attacked when he agreed to be the campaign's figurehead. He said he encouraged dissenters and wanted to hear what they had to say.
"I've always maintained the mind set that it is awesome people are voicing their dissent, because that means they're thinking about it," he said. "But when people voice disagreements in a way that makes no arguments and is just unfounded insults, then that is no longer voicing dissent. That is voicing immaturity."
Bradley said the goal of the chalkings was not to attack Bickerstaff, but to make a satire of the campaign.
"Humor brings everybody together and that was the motivation," he said.
But Bickerstaff said he didn't get the joke, and he said campus officials didn't either.
"I think some of the anti-Semitic statements pushed things over the edge, and they spray washed some of the chalkings off," he said.
Provost David Schulenberger said the college had no policy of what could and couldn't be written on the sidewalk. He said he hadn't received complaints about the chalkings and doubted that the University had anything to do with washing them off. He said that students probably took it upon themselves to remove the statements. It is unclear who actually removed the statements.
actually yellow.
Tim Miller, professor and chairman of religious studies, said backlash against the "Agree with Lee" campaign didn't surprise him. He also said such reactions weren't limited to religious disputes.
"In general if someone is out promoting a cause, people who disagree make satirical statements about it," he said.
Miller said he would have preferred it if the topic had been discussed on a higher plane.
"But I've been around this campus for quite a few years, and in the end, it's always like this," he said.
Contact Koerth at mkoerth@kansan.com. This story was edited by Joanna Miller.
AMBLER
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After graduating, Ambler had planned to attend law school, but entered the military instead and received his master's degree. He later completed his doctorate degree so he could work as a university administrator.
administration.
"It was the experiences I had as an undergraduate that led me to this position," he said. "And I couldn't have picked a profession that has given me as much personal satisfaction."
satisfaction. Ambler said he was most proud of the leadership conference that took place Friday between former and current student body presidents and vice presidents.
"You get the greatest satisfaction in seeing someone you worked with get to do wonderful things in their careers and communities." Amber said.
Ambler said he remembered one incident when a student group brought a member of the KKK for a speech at the University. Then-student body president Jason
Krakow allowed the group to bring the speaker to campus, even though he was Jewish.
"Hehungtough," Amblersaid. "Whatan act of courage."
actor courage.
Working with dedicated students was what Ambler said he would miss most about the University.
about the University. "I hope whoever follows me makes that commitment to believe in students," he said.
After retiring, Ambler and his wife will continue to live in Lawrence. He said he and his wife would have more time to visit family. They will also co-chair next year's United Way campaign.
Justin Mills, student body president, said he enjoyed working with Ambler during his presidency.
president.
"It's going to be a difficult time because he was here for 25 years. It will hurt KU because he has a lot of knowledge he could pass down from generation to generation."
Contact Beatty at1beaty@kansan.com. This story was edited by Joanna Miller.
LUCY
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Gurche's presentation focused on his reconstruction of Lucy's skeleton for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Anthropologist Donald Johansson discovered Lucy in the Hadar region of Ethiopia in 1974. After the find, an intense media fixation elevated the diminutive fossil to celebrity status.
Gurche took the audience slide by slide through the process of rebuilding Lucy's form, and the show sometimes took gruesome turns.
In one slide, eyeball embedded in a naked skull peered out from Gurche's partially finished constructions. Another slide showed a cross-section of chimpanzee muscle tissue.
Gurche explained that everything he looked at during the formation of a project, from living and dead ape anatomy to minute variations in
reconstruction. Hetakes this evidence, in the form of observations, numbers and creative intuition, into his Denver studio, coming out months later with a life-size, three-dimensional representation of an early hominin form.
bone growth in the actual fossils accumulated as evidence for his final reconstruction.
The final product of his reconstruction of Lucy looked remarkably apelike, with inquisitive eyes and what Gurche described as a "cute little chin."
Angie Kempf, a member of the team that prepared the Australopithecine exhibit, said she enjoyed learning about the reconstructions.
"It was really interesting to see what kind of scientific basis they have, in terms of actually working with the bones to generate them," said the Sun Prairie, Wis., graduate student. "Plus, I'm artistically challenged, so I have more appreciation for this sort of thing."
Gurche also discussed his two-
dimensional representations of hominids.
One of his paintings, which was reproduced and exhibited at the KU museum, appeared in the March 1996 edition of National Geographic magazine. It depicted a group of Australopithecines roaming the forests of prehistoric Africa.
Gurche said when he was painting, he liked to engage himself in fantasy. He said the secret to creating a believable rendition of extinct species was to create a window into their world.
In the picture, the baby Australopithecine appears to be surprised and frightened by something outside the scene. The baby is, as Gurche said, looking right at the viewer.
"Some of the figures in that painting are a little bit aware of our presence on the other side of the window," he said.
Contact Meisner at
Contact Meisner at meisner@kansan.com. This story was edited by Eve Lamborn.
Arena to bring little new money
The Associated Press
WICHITA — Three economists say much of the expected economic impact of a new downtown arena would be from money that would have been spent in Wichita anyway.
Wichita State University economists John Wong and Janet Harrah, and Cleveland State University's Mark Rosentraub said a substantial portion of the projected economic impact of $814 million over 10 years would be from money already being spent in the area. None of the economists, however, could say exactly how much new money the arena might generate
Residents will vote May 21 on the plan, which would raise the sales tax by a half-cent to 6.4 percent for 13 years to pay for the 17,000-seat arena.
Yersen toppebru, dean of the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State, said arena
backers were repeating a common error of proponents of such facilities — confusing economic activity with economic benefits.
Rosentraub, who wrote the book Major League Losers: The Real Costs of Sports and Who's Paying For It, said new money generated by the $150 million facility would come from two sources: out-of-town visitors drawn to the arena and residents who decide to go to shows in town instead of taking their entertainment dollars to other cities.
The consultants, business leaders and city officials who developed the projections for the arena said they did their best to make realistic estimates.
"You can debate the numbers all day long," said Jerry Harrison, the assistant county manager who was part of a committee that developed some of the figures.
"At the end of the day, somebody's got to decide what numbers you're
going to use," he said. "If all these things occur as projected, this is what will occur. Is every number right? I'd have to say probably not. Is everybody making their best effort at their best guess? I think so."
Bob Hanson, president of the sports commission, said the shifting of money from elsewhere in the community was not a significant flaw in the arena proposal, because all development took business from somebody else.
Sports commission officials also say the arena will benefit the city, because it will give it a bustling area of bars, restaurants, hotels and shops.
Rosentraub said the facility would shift some spending from the suburbs to downtown, which could be worthwhile on its own.
"Having a thriving downtown is important," he said. "Moving spending from the suburban areas to downtown may reduce sprawl, and that's a gain."
Hey KU PLAYBOY is here interviewing
Attention female student body! Ever fantasized about being pictured in the number one men's magazine in the world? Now's your chance to turn fantasy into reality. Representatives from PLAYBOY magazine are in Lawrence to interview and photograph female students for "Women of the Big 12," the 2002 25th anniversary edition of the magazine's annual fall pictorial. Thousands of coeds have tried out for PLAYBOY since it began its college conference pictorials 24 years ago.Many have gone on to become PLAYBOY Playmates, models and actresses. Who knows what the future holds for you?
To be considered for this pictorial and to qualify for an interview, candidates must be at least 18 years of age and registered as a full- or part-time student at a Big 12 university. Clear copies of identification-one verifying enrollment in school and one photo ID that shows date of birth-must be brought to the interview. All photos become property of PLAYBOY and cannot be returned.
INTERESTED STUDENTS SHOULD CALL TO ATTEND THE INTERVIEW SESSIONS:
CALL DAVID RAMS 312/315-7342 TUESDAY, APRIL 23 & WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24
© 2002 PLAYBOY