TODAY'S WEATHER: Warm with storms late and a high of 79. SPORTS:'Hawks look ahead to 2002-03 basketball season.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
TALK TO US: Contact Leita Walker, Jay Krall or Kyle Ramsay at (785) 864-4810 or editor@kansan.org
KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY
APRIL23, 2002
ISSUE 136 VOLUME 112
CHRISTINA NEFF/KANSAN
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, will retire at the end of July after working at KU for 25 years. Ambler came to the University from Kent State University in 1977 and has since provided leadership and mentored staff.
Vice chancellor to retire, remembers years of memories
By Lauren Beatty
Kansan staff writer
At the end of July, David Ambler will retire from his post as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Kansas with accolades from colleagues and fond memories of KU students.
Ambler came to the University of Kansas from Kent State University in Ohio in 1977. He was the vice president for student affairs when tragedy struck the Kent State campus after four students died protesting the Vietnam War. He stayed to help rebuild the campus, but in 1975, he began thinking about the next chapter in his life. A friend recommended him for the job at the University of Kansas.
"I've always been a public university advocate," he said. "The opportunities are greater here for students. Coming to KU was a little like coming home."
Ann Eversole, associate dean of students, worked with Ambler from the first day he arrived at the University. She said he was respected by his higher education colleagues.
"He's provided leadership for 25 years, developed programs and mentored staff," Eversole said. "One of the things I've admired the most is that he's calm and reasonable. He's been an advocate for students without fail throughout his career."
Ambler said he was the first member of his humble blue-collar family to attend college. He said he decided to major in business so he could have a better life than his parents had had.
While pursuing his bachelor's degree at Indiana University, Ambler was involved in campus activities. He was vice president of the freshman class and worked closely with the Office of Student Life. He said the workers in the office told him he'd be good at their job.
SEE AMBLER ON PAGE 6A
PLAYING KEEP AWAY
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Nicholas Beckmann, Smith Center graduate student, keeps the Frisbee out of his opponents hands until he has an opening to pass during a game of ultimate Frisbee yesterday on Fraser's front lawn.
Not everyone agrees
Students show disagreement with Christian campaign, as Lee Bickerstaff faces backlash
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
The "I Agree with Lee" campaign ended Friday, but backlash against Lee Bickerstaff, the campaign's figurehead, has continued.
Bickerstaff, Emporia sophomore, helped organize the controversial campaign that aimed to get University of Kansas students talking about Christianity. He also lent his name to the campaign's slogan, which was printed on T-shirts and in a full-page ad in The University Daily Kansan. The ads and T-shirts
were paid for by several campus Christian organizations.
Yesterday morning, the KU Public Safety Office discovered a series of sidewalk chalkings in front of Wescoe and Stauffer-Flint halls that attacked Bickerstaff personally. Some of the chalkings made reference to doing drugs or getting sexually transmitted diseases from Bickerstaff. Others attributed anti-Semitic statements to him. The Public Safety Office said the chalkings broke no laws and no charges would be filed.
Other students had spoken out against the campaign last week through chalkings, "I disagree" T-shirts and posting comments on the campaign Web site, www.iagreeku.org.
Most dissenters claimed organizers of the campaign were trying to force religion on them and were ignoring people's rights to have different religious views.
Lance Bradley, Spring Hill junior, said those feelings were the motivation behind yesterday's chalkings. Bradley posted a message to the campaign Web site Sunday night that told Lee's supporters to check out campus yesterday morning.
Bradley said that although he did not participate in the chalkings himself, he knew the people who did.
"It's a group of diverse people who are upset about the way religion is trying to divide people on campus," he said. "We don't want to be solicited everywhere we go. These people need to realize they aren't selling Air Jordans. Religion is something people take very personally,
Exhibit shows early human
SEE BACKLASH ON PAGE 6A
By Mandalee Meisner Special to the Kansan
If "Lucy," a world-famous early human fossil, was miraculously brought to life in today's world, she wouldn't be able to ride the Tilt-a-whirl.
At about 3 feet 5 inches, Lucy was about the size of a modern first grader — and way below the ride's height limit.
Kim Taylor, exhibit designer at the Museum of Natural History, explains the style that characterizes the work of John Gurche, anthropologist and KU graduate. The museum's current exhibit, "Early Us (and them) in Africa" showcases some of Gurche's renderings of early humans.
A glance at the cast of Lucy's adolescent skeleton, on display through Aug. 25 at the University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology, reveals one reason why humanity's early human-like relatives waited another 3.2 million years to invent carnival rides.
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
But that's not the only way Lucy was different from modern humans.
"To walk her down the streets of Manhattan, you might get the same effect if you try to walk a chimp down the street," said anthropologist and paleo-artist John Gurche, explaining the differences between Lucy and modern man. "There's no evidence that she would do much different from what a chimp would do."
The exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology, "Early Us (and Them) in Africa," takes an extensive look at the world of modern man's primitive cousins, the Australopithecines, pairing fossil replicas like Lucy's with information about the ever-changing
hominid family tree.
David Frayer, professor of anthropology and coordinator of the exhibit, said that most visitors expected the Lucy cast to be more massive and were surprised by her actual proportions.
A lecture series associated with the exhibit recently brought
Gurche, who does reconstructions and artistic renderings of Lucy and other early humans, to the Museum of Anthropology. Gurche, a KU alumnus, shared insights about his painstakingly detailed process with an audience of about 50 on April 17 at Spooner Hall.
His method has been the subject of National Geographic articles and Smithsonian exhibits, and involves adding layers upon layers of muscles, tendons, skin and hair upon casts of bones, eventually revealing startlingly realistic, fleshy creatures.
SEE LUCY ON PAGE 6A
Arthur Andersen job cuts affect campus
By Christina Neff and Jegen McDermott Special to the Kansan
The effects of the Enron-Arthur Andersen scandal hit the University of Kansas last week.
One student who was promised a job with Arthur Andersen in its Chicago office was told the job no longer existed.
Another student hired to work in Houston will likely lose her job too, said James Heintz, professor of business.
He said at least five KU students had accepted jobs with the company.
Because of accusations of fraud by the U.S. government, the accounting firm plans to lay off about 7,000 of its 26,000 U.S. employees, according to an statement released by the company on April 8.
Andersen, an international accounting firm, served as auditor and consultant for the Houston-based energy trading giant Enron, which filed for bankruptcy in December.
Stepnane Gauthier, Overland Park graduate student in business, was hired last fall by Andersen to work in its Houston auditing department — the very department that has received so much attention for its role in the Enron scandal.
In September, when Gauthier is supposed to begin her job at Andersen, she could be searching for other work.
"It's hard thinking you have a job for so long and then finding out you might not have a job," she said.
Gauthier is not the only one.
Heintz, director of the accounting program at the School of Business, said that in addition to several current students who had been hired by Andersen, four December graduates had gone to work for the firm.
James Heintz
Late last week,
Jill O'Connell.
Heintz said the school always maintained strong ties with Andersen, and that as a member of the "Big Five" accounting firms, Andersen recruited on campus and hired numerous students over the years.
Merriam senior who was hired for Andersen's Chicago office, found out she didn't have a job, Heinz said. O'Connell declined to comment.
"These are really top notch students, all top five hire our best," he said.
Heintz said if the layoffs occurred, the students would have a number of options available.
He said it was possible that various Andersen offices would merge with or be purchased by other Big Five accounting firms. The students would still have jobs, he said, it just might be with some other company. The other four firms in the Big Five are PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Touche, KPMC, and Ernst & Young.
INSIDETODAY
He said that at this point; however, advising a student to go to another firm would be inappropriate.
"We want to help students but not to the detriment of Andersen." Heintz said. "We think they are a top notch firm."
Contact Neff and McDermott at cneff@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kyle Ramsey.
REGIONAL NEWS ...7A
HOROSCOPES ...2B
WEATHER ...4B
CROSSWORD ...4B
COMING IN TOMORROW'S KANSAN
PLAYBOY: National magazine to interview students for Women of Big 12 issue.
STUDENT SENATE: The fate of the infamous presidential baseball to be decided.
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The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
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