Friday
March 14, 2003
Vol. 113. Issue No. 117
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KANSAS
Jayhawks begin play today in Big 12 Tournament p. 12A
Jake Sullivan and Kirk Hinrich
Senate's Ng uses power of position to veto plan
By Cate Batchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Student Body President Jonathan Ng created a stink by exercising his veto power.
At Wednesday's Student Senate meeting, Ng wanted to veto a nonbinding resolution, passed on Feb. 26, that wished Mike Appleby well. Appleby was the transportation coordinator who ran KU on Wheels for the last two years but was called away for military service in January.
"No doubt he was a great guy, and he has been a great service to the University," Ng said. "But that's not what a resolution should be for."
The veto needed a two-thirds majority vote to override the veto. Senate overruled it 31-14, which was just more than two-thirds.
A resolution is a statement from Student Senate that expresses opinion on behalf of the student body, Ng said in citing Senate rules and regulations.
Instead of writing the resolution, Ng said a more appropriate means of honoring an individual student was in the form of personal letters.
Ben Walker in 2000 was the last student body president to veto a bill. A student senator proposed a bill that wouldn't allow the president to veto nonbinding resolutions, which don't call for action.
Senate's discussion made the issue personal versus procedural. Ng took the procedural stance. His opponents took the veto personally.
Sam Pierron, non-traditional senator, said resolutions came and went. They may not stop a war, but they can at least voice disapproval.
"In this case, it voices approval of a friend of mine who served on executive staff and as a student senator and has now been called to serve his country," he said. "I really don't see anything damaging about that."
Crash sends 3 to hospital
By Nicole Roché
nroche@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Ng and Loren Malone, student body vice president, said such a personal resolution wasn't Senate business and that it could start a precedent that Senate didn't want to start.
Chris Entwhistle, Queers & Allies
Students returning home from Massachusetts Street bars early yesterday morning witnessed a sobering scene.
At approximately 1:20 a.m. Sarah McWilliams, 25, of Grand View Plaza, drove north on the southbound lanes of the Kansas River Bridge and collided head-on with Emmanuel Gauna Jr., 51, of Lawrence.
Gauna, McWilliams and a passenger in McWilliams' car were all taken on stretches to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
the accident occur as he was walking to work. Grame's friends, who were walking home after a night of barbopping on Massachusetts Street, also watched as rescue workers pried open the doors of the vehicles.
John Grame, Lawrence senior, saw
"They were saying the woman's name over and over again to keep her conscious," Grame said. "It took them 20 minutes to get her out."
About 10 police cars and ambulances lined the bridge by 1:30 a.m. and traffic was blocked off. People driving home from Massachusetts Street slowed to gape at the scene. One bystander said at first it looked like the bridge had caved in because there were so many rescue
Ray Urbanek, Lawrence Police Department lieutenant who was at the scene, did not say why the vehicle was driving the wrong way down a one-way street.
"The cars are really smashed up," Grame said as the last ambulance left the scene. "I think one guy's legs are busted in several places."
He said it was unclear how severe the injuries were at the time, but that rescue workers decided they still needed medical attention.
Both cars had been smashed to two-thirds of their original sizes, and shattered glass was scattered on the bridge.
Sgt. Mike Pattrick of the Lawrence Police Department said yesterday that police were checking blood tests to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the accident.
workers.
SEE VETO ON PAGE 7A
"They always strap them down and
"For a head-on," he said, "it's actually pretty lucky."
Urbanek did say Gauna had suffered facial injuries, but that it could have been much worse.
take them in to make sure," Urbanek said.
All three patients were in good condition as of yesterday afternoon, said Lawrence Memorial Hospital officials.
- Edited by Christy Dendurent
Eric Lecking nails sheetrock to the wall for Habitat for Humanity. The sophomore from Shippensberg University in Pennsylvania is part of a group that traveled to Lawrence during its spring break to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity.
Jegen McDermott/Kansan
Helpers visit to aid Habitat
By Amy Potter apotter@kansan.com Kansans staff writer
Lawrence, Kansas. Home of Yellow Sub, Free State Brewery and ... KU baseball?
College students from Pennsylvania are in Lawrence this week to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity. During its free time, the group requested to attend a KU baseball—not basketball—game.
Students from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa.. are representing their university's Christian Fellowship.
All 20 will attend today's baseball game against Oral Roberts University at Hoglund Parkball.
"We wanted to attend a Jayhawks baseball game because when I think about habitat, it seems building a house for other people is as American as apple pie and baseball," said Tim Bergner, Shippensburg senior and senior special activities supervisor for the group.
The baseball team received quite a few requests for groups to attend games, coach Ritch Price said. Today is the best day to come to a game because each team's No. 1 pitchers go head to head, he said.
"We're pleased to have them. Hopefully they play well so they can enjoy the
experience," Price said.
The group arrived in Lawrence Saturday and will leave tomorrow.
They worked on three houses on Atherton Court, near 15th and Harper streets.
The group worked on multiple assignments for each house including painting, sheet rocking, door fitting and roof work, said Linda Klinker, program manager for Lawrence Habitat for Humanitv.
The group chose Kansas over a site in Georgia and Missouri.
"We chose Kansas because it was a state many of us had not been to before," Bergner said. "We were curious to know what it was like out here."
So far they have enjoyed Lawrence. It's quite a change from Shippensburg where the university has only 8,000 students, said Colby Windholz, Shippensburg freshman.
"Shippensburg is actually a very small town. Not much going on. I've enjoyed going downtown to some of the coffee shops." Windholz said.
Though Windholz is not the biggest baseball fan, he is looking forward to watching the game that will top off the week spent in Lawrence.
"I think it will be a good time," Windholz said. "I'll eat some peanuts. I hear that's pretty baseball-ish."
-Edited by Todd Rapp
War may cause civil disobedience Local groups suggest they would act out if force begins in Iraq
By Kelley Weiss
kweiss@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Allan Hanson, Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice coordinator and professor of anthropology and humanities and western civilization, said that on the day war was declared peace activists would meet at the Douglas County Courthouse at 6 p.m. for a candlelight vigil.
Lawrence protesters say they will step up anti-war demonstrations — even going as far as civil disobedience—if war breaks out in Iraq.
The weekly peace vigils held Saturdays at the courthouse will continue. Hanson said the coalition would carry on its normal activities and might start teach-ins to educate people about what a war in Iraq could mean.
Ryan Williams, Lawrence resident and member of the Black Cat Collective said he knew people who would be taking a more aggressive approach. Direct
"Things have come to a boiling point, and I am sure there will be sit-ins and walkouts in Lawrence."
action and civil disobedience is when people act in a disorderly manner that will call attention to authorities. This will happen in Lawrence, Williams said.
"I think it will be pretty nuts," Williams said, "Things have come to a boiling point, and I am sure there will be sit-ins and walkouts in Lawrence."
Ryan Williams Lawrence resident
A more forceful way of protesting is needed to show the administration that anti-war activists are serious, Williams said.
Participating in direct action and civil disobedience carries the possibility of being arrested, but Williams said that would not deter him.
"There's always a chance of being arrested," Williams said. "We've come to expect it."
"If efforts were made to silence us, it seems to be entirely appropriate to get our voices across," Hanson said.
Using forms of protesting that breaks civil laws is not normal procedure for the coalition, but Hanson said he did not rule it out.
Lawrence Police Department Sgt. Mike Pattrick said he didn't think protests would be disruptive.
"I don't anticipate any violence in the city," Pattrick said. "But if it were to happen we would handle it like we handle any large event that happens."
He also said Lawrence police had a plan in place if any disruptive protesting broke out. The number of officers on duty would increase as part of the plan, he said.
Patrick said he had been pleased with the nonviolent peace demonstrations in Lawrence so far.
"Both sides, pro-war and anti-war,
History of marijuana matters
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
An American soldier smokes marijuana from the barrel of a gun during the Vietnam War in the film Grass. The documentary about marijuana usage during the last 100 years played last night at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. For more on Grass and student reactions, see the story on page 7A.
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