Monday
April 28, 2003
Vol. 113. Issue No. 143
Today's weather
78°
Tonight: 58°
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna Goepfert or Justin Henning at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Softball team's last series mirrors season's ups and downs p.1B
Kara Pierce
Blowing offsteam
New whistle restores old University tradition
By Amy Potter
aporter@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Seventeen times the roar of the new whistle could be heard Friday, piercing through campus as workers adjusted the pitch. Bob Sieber, steam shop supervisor, stood atop the power plant building
gazing across campus as steam came pouring out of the new whistle behind him.
Sieber described his last few months as "quiet." He repairs the whistle anytime anything goes wrong.
"I'm dreading the new whistle," Sieber said. "For 23 years I've listened to that thing blow."
The University of Kansas has been noticeably quiet without the loud blow of a whistle, a tradition since 1912, marking the end of class. Now students and
faculty need not worry because their faithful timekeeper is back.
When the old whistle cracked on Jan. 22, George Cone, assistant director of mechanical systems and utilities, began the search for a new whistle. He contacted Richardson's Landing of Cincinnati and an employee told him about a Web site. www.steamboats.com
Cone had 50 whistles to choose from on the Web site. He formed a
SEE WHISTLE ON PAGE 8A
Eric Braem/Kansan
The new steam whistle on top of the Facilities and Operations building is tested for tone.
Virtual casinos present threat to college students
H
He did it for the rush: the adrenaline that surged when a player made a crucial three-point shot. And, to be honest, he did it for the money.
For Shannon Guelbert, gambling added an element of risk to watching sports on ESPN.
"You're a lot more into it," Guelbert said. "But there is never an easy bet."
A friend told the Overland Park junior about Internet gambling; he tried it because he didn't know how else to place bets on sports, and he wasn't old enough to go to the riverboat casinos in Missouri.
"I didn't care about playing blackjack." Guelbert said. "I was just betting on upcoming football and basketball games. It's really easy."
Guelbert signed up online and gambled through his credit card by deposit
ing money into an account and playing with the money in that account. When he won, the company mailed him a check for his winnings, and when he lost, it charged his credit card.
But Guelbert was moving in hazy legal territory from his home computer. Internet gambling is illegal in the United States, but the laws were written before the Internet was created. Congress is considering updated laws that target owners of gambling Web sites and credit card companies.
Guelbert made bets online for the winners of the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl and the Heisman trophy. During the time he made a habit of online gambling, he didn't bet much on KU sports because he said it took the fun out of winning.
"If you bet on KU to win by 10 and they win by eight, you're kind of pissed off instead of being happy that they won." Guelbert said. "At the same time, it's exciting when you win the bet."
Gambling is a complex combination
of anticipation and reward. Online or in a traditional casino, the basis is the same—a prize, a chance and a choice. A gambler, whether recreational or compulsive, places his bets with the knowledge that someone is going to lose. And the odds are it might be him.
AN ELEMENT OF RISK
Internet gambling has been growing since 1995, when the first online casino started, and has encouraged a new generation of college students to give out their credit card numbers online.
Bear, Stearns & Co., a global investment banking and brokerage firm in New York, has estimated that there are 1,800 gaming Web sites, all based outside this country. Bear, Stearns
found these companies take in about $4 billion annually, at least 60 percent of which comes from the United States.
gamblers provide their credit card numbers or transfer money from a bank. On-site operators receive the bets and use computers to run complex programs that simulate gambling games, such as the spin of a roulette wheel. After the game is done, the onsite operator tells gamblers whether they won or lost.
To open accounts in virtual casinos.
One of the reasons students gamble on sporting events is to have a sense of
Frank DeSalvo, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Kansas, Gambling allows students, such as Guelbert, to feel intimately involved in the game.
SEE GAMBLING ON PAGE 7A
Defense's new strategy may weaken Martin case
By Erin Ohm
eohm@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Changes in the defense's strategy in the murder of KU student Shannon Martin could weaken the arguments against two suspects in the case.
Altering testimony from the primary suspect, Kattia Cruz, might affect the prosecution's case against Rafael Zumbado and Luis Alberto Castro, the two other suspects.
Defense attorney Luis Venegas admitted to "incensities" in the testimony of his client, Cruz, in an article in San Jose's The Tico Times.
The Tico Times, a weekly English-language newspaper, reported Venegas met with Cruz last week to revise their strategy before a preliminary hearing. Venegas did not say how his client's testimony would change.
The hearing for the case of Martin's stabbing death in May 2001 in Golfito, Costa Rica, will be held tomorrow in Golfito.
Pedro Irigonegaray, a Topeka attorney representing Martin's mother, Jeanette Stauffer, has worked with Costa Rican prosecutor Erik Martinez to analyze evidence for the case.
He said the arguments of the defense would not affect the strategy of the prosecution.
"The good prosecutor doesn't really care what the defense strategy is," he said. "The role of the prosecutor is not to win; the role of the prosecutor is to seek justice."
The Tico Times reported the evidence and testimony Costa Rican authorities have in the case. Cruz identified suspects Zumbado and Castro as perpetrators of the crime when she was taken to jail in July 2001, one month after Martin's murder. Cruz is one of only two sources Costa Rican police have found who link Zumbado and Castro to the murder.
Police also have testimony from a taxi washer who claimed he saw the three suspects together shortly after Martin was killed.
Lab tests performed on hair samples found in Martin's hand did not match any of the three suspects.
The primary material evidence in the case is the remains of a black sweatshirt found at the scene of the crime, which police traced to Cruz.
Stauffer could not be reached for comment.
The Golfito judge presiding over tomorrow's hearing will have 48 hours to dismiss the case for lack of evidence or send it to a three-judge tribunal for a murder hearing. The judge could decide to send certain suspects to trial and free others.
- Edited by Julie Jantzer
Lindsev Gold/Kansan
Drag Show turnout, donations successful
Veterio Dolls entertain a crowd of 400. Her renditions of "Nutbush City Limits" and "Locomotion" helped raise $633 in donations.
By Kevin Wiggs
kwiggs@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Gray, gloomy skies could not stop the women dressed as guys.
The 10th annual Brown Bag Drag Show was forced inside because of a threat of rain, but many involved said it had little effect on the turnout.
The show was moved from the Kansas Union Plaza to the Hawk's Nest on the first floor.
The show began 20 minutes late because of the sudden move, but once it
started the audience was enthusiastic.
"The energy in the audience was amazing." said Jessica St. Clair, Valley Center senior, who dressed up as a man to perform in the show. "I was surprised by the amount of people."
Audience members clapped and danced along with the music, and some gave dollar bills to the performers. People outside cupped their hands against the glass and squinted to get a peak. The audience inside stood shoulder to shoulder.
"It was wonderful; it blew my mind," said Krystal Daugherty, Topeka junior.
Krystal Daugherty
Topeka junior
"Everyone should come whether gay, straight or whatever — just to have a good time."
Two members of Queers and Allies
"It was wonderful; it blew my mind. Everyone should come whether gay, straight or whatever just to have a good time."
collected donations during the performances. Kelly Carson, Littleton, Colo., freshman, was one of the two, and said it was a method of benefiting from the actions of Fred Phelps, who protested outside.
People could donate $10 and receive a T-shirt, or donate per minute of Phelps' protest.
"It's a passive way to work around Phelps," she said. "People want to do something, and this is a way to fight back."
SEE DRAG SHOW ON PAGE 8A
刻