WEDNESDAY,APRIL9,2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Sorority house relocation delayed
By JJ Hensley
jhensley@kansan.com
Kansan writer
The Alpha Gamma Delta sorority house will not be built next to the Sigma Mu fraternity house without a traffic study and more discussion with neighbors, the Lawrence City Commission decided last week.
Angie Carr, coordinator of Student Organization of Leadership and Development, has said the sorority wanted to move to be closer to campus.
members of the sorority went to the commission meeting expecting the site plan for the house near Emery Road to be approved, said chapter president Katie Hardacre. Instead, vocal opposition from their future neighbors caused commissioners to defer voting on the site plan for three weeks.
Peggy Hilpman, Lawrence resident who lives near the Sigma Nu house, said noise and trash
problems concerned her most
"Many nights out of the year, the noise starts up, and by midnight the windows in their house were vibrating to the base sounds from the music that comes off the hill," Hilpman said. "The students that live up there stand out on the cul-de-sac area and on the back porch of the fraternity behind their house screaming, shouting and throwing bottles into the woods."
According to the Alpha Gamma Delta national office, no alcohol is allowed in its chapter houses. Because the Lawrence chapter hasn't moved to the neighborhood yet, it would be hard to pin the current problems on the AGD house, 2005 Stewart Ave., Hardacre said.
"It did seem like they were including us with a stereotype they already had of the Greek community," said Hardacre, Overland Park junior.
"We've never had any problems at our current location," she said. "If anything we'll help with the noise and trash problems they already have."
In addition to the noise and trash generated by the fraternities in the area, Hilpman's concerns centered around water run-off and increased parking on Avalon Road.
The project's designers had those concerns in mind when putting the site plan together, said Darron Ammann of Bartlett and West Engineers. To alleviate those problems the group included a water retention pond in its plans, along with parking spaces for each resident in the proposed house's lot.
"From a design standpoint many issues were considered," Ammann said. "We didn't just decide on this building the first time we sat down."
The design team did its best to consider all the potential problems, Ammann said, even going so far as to hold a meeting for public comment, but only two neighbors showed up.
A traffic study and more meetings might satisfy some of the neighbors concerns, but it wouldn't necessarily address all the problems facing those families living around fraternity and sorority houses, said commissioner David Dunfield.
Despite those efforts and a recommendation for the site's approval by the planning commission, city commissioners decided to defer voting until a traffic study could be completed and the site designers could hold another public meeting.
"We're not going to solve the issues of college students' use of our streets in the vicinity of the University with this project," he said, "whether they approve it or not."
Saddam's status unknown after bombing
Edited by Julie Jantzer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — For U.S. leaders, the latest air strike aimed at Saddam Hussein has returned the Iraqi president to the limbo he had occupied after the first bombs nearly three weeks ago. Officials just don't know whether he is alive or dead.
After videotapes were aired last week in which Saddam seemed to refer to wartime events, officials said
he probably had survived the March 20 strike aimed at killing him.
Then on Monday, U.S. intelligence learned that Saddam and sons were possibly going to attend a meeting with Iraqi intelligence officials in a building in the al-Mansour neighborhood of western Baghdad.
The site was in the same general part of Baghdad where Iraqi television had shown Saddam being mobbed by supporters on Friday,
said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence information was passed to U.S. Central Command, which directed a B-1B bomber to the site. Forty-five minutes later, it dropped four bombs.
Three houses were destroyed. It was unclear who was within, and whether there were any survivors. Yesterday, Iraqi rescue workers recovered bodies from the debris with a bulldozer. The
body of a child and part of a young woman were pulled from the site.
Iraqi security around the site was light, raising questions about whether anyone important had been inside.
Two of the bombs dropped were designed to penetrate underground tunnels. Officials said they had no specific information that there were underground facilities at the site. The bombs were apparently dropped in case there were.
Psychology club seeking members
By Kevin Wiggs
kwiggs@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Although about 1,000 students major in psychology at the University of Kansas, only two dozen or so consistently attend psychology club meetings.
The University of Kansas Chapter of Psi Chi and the KU Psychology Club will meet today at 6 p.m.at room 537 in Fraser Hall to draw more students to the club. The club is looking for new members who are psychology majors, perspective psychology majors or anyone interested in psychology. Psi Chi is a national psychology honor society; however, not all members of the club are in the honor society.
The meeting will include a presentation by Gail Rooney, director of University Career and Employment Services, to discuss alternative career options for psychology majors and how to translate the skills learned when getting a degree into job skills. The meeting should last about an hour and people are free to come and go as they please.
Stacy Greenbaum, president of the psychology club said Rooney's speech would offer a different perspective on psychology careers because she had a psychology background but worked in career services
Greenbaum said the goal of the organization was to share information about psychology to KU students, including the more than 1,000 declared majors. The club helps members with career development and tries to create a sense of community.
"We talk about volunteer experiences and getting involved in research early on," Michael Vitevitch, psychology club and honor society adviser, said. "We want to have activities broad enough so that freshmen and sophomores can come in and get early advise."
Vitevitch said he didn't know the exact number of people in the psychology club, but he said about 24 people attended each meeting.
Greenbaum said a major problem with the club had been lack of publicity.
"The reaction we get is usually I wish I would have known about it," she said.
This will be the last meeting before the ice cream social on April 30 at room 547 in Fraser Hall. At that meeting, club members will elect next year's officers.
- Edited by Amber Byarlay
APRIL 9TH FROM 9 AM TO 8 PM APRIL 10TH FROM 9 AM TO 4 PM
STUDENT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SENATE GET OUTTHE VOTE APRIL 9TH FROM 9 AM TO 8 PM APRIL 10TH FROM 9 AM TO 4 PM
STRONG HALL
WESCOE HALL
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MRS. E'S
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OLIVER HALL